Saturday, July 17, 2010

Sam Is Guilted Into Writing An Entry About Maitri's Low Tech Approach To Spinning Yarn....

Sam Speaks...


I would like it to be known that I am writing this under duress, and because treats are involved, and because, truth be told, our mother is the ultimate "travel agent for the guilt trip." Oy Vey, you oughta hear her moan and wail -- "All you all do is lay around all day while I work my fingers to the bone spinning yarn so I can buy you treats. The least you can do is write a blog entry now and again." -- and then she struck terror in the heart of every pug on the place. She started flinging things around in the studio and saying that she had come up with A WHOLE NEW IDEA and is very excited about starting on it as soon as she gets the first four yarns shown so far on this blog, and in this entry, up in the shop. We don't like it when she gets that look in her eye. She works all kinds of weird hours in the studio and won't sit in our big chair and I don't know where to go. Sometimes I help, I really do, if she just stays in our chair I help and we get a lot done. See.....



Well, ahem, maybe that wasn't the best picture to show but we got worn out separating the sari silk. 

Anyway, to the task at hand. I have to write this quickly so I can take a nap. I've been up for ten minutes and I'm ready to go back to sleep. 

Mama Maitri believes in a low tech approach to most things in life (except for the computer which, if you ask me, she is a daggoned fanatic about..). She writes with fountain pens, putters about barefoot in cotton caftans, ambles about in the garden slower than the snails, and leaves the house so little she hasn't put much more than 800 miles on the car since New Year's Eve. She's not exactly (whispering) a ball of fire if you get my drift...

Anyway, since we moved her fiber tools and whatnots are all asunder in boxes and heaven only knows where and she said, "Why waste money? I'll just use an oatmeal box." She already uses the old fashioned spindle spinning and she said she bets more than one spinner in the old days used an oatmeal box or something of it's ilk when coiling the yarn off of the spindle. You see here. And she used the yarn that she used for plying to tie off the little skein in 4 places...



Here's a closeup of the yarn on the box...



And a closer closeup of the yarn itself before soaking to set the twist...



... and off of the box...




... and sitting on the kitchen table while Mama Maitri gets a bowl of water ready to soak the skein...


... and into the water...



... and then hung to dry on the porch on one of the hangers she bought at the Dollar Store. Man, did she go nuts. They were 10 in a package for $1. She got 10 packages, half bright pink and half neon green. I tried to explain to her it's not a bargain if you buy 100 hangers you can never rightly use in your natural life, but she loves those hangers and she gave me The Look. (That means No treats for you if you don't shut your pug mug up right there!) We are all afraid of The Look, and you would be too if your treat was hanging in the balance!

Anyway, here's the wet yarn hung out to dry... (Gee, aren't the other 99 really useful? Snicker)




.. and finally dried in the bright sunshine...


I think it's pretty though I'm loathe to admit it until I've had my treat. The smug look of satisfaction she gets, well, it's pitiful really...

Now she's working on a yarn in many kinds of reds with bits of white. I hope it takes awhile because once she's finished on the oatmeal box it will go, they'll all go up in the shop and then The Big New Idea will unfold. (Shudder)

Anyway, here's the red and white yarn on the spindle...



... and a closeup....



... and now I'm going to go get my treat. I've done my duty and she's got it sitting next to her while she's spinning. Slave driver, that's what!

"I HEARD THAT SAM!"

"Mais non, eet twas not me, eet was Big Dog Moe!"

I don't think she bought it, but I got my treat anyway, and that's all that counts.




Sampson, Velcro Pug and Blog Author, who secretly hopes for a book deal any day...

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