Pet peeve sleeves

I really really hate doing sleeves. I looked at all my UFOs lying about and/or hidden away, and at a guess I think 90% of them are sweaters or cardigans or tops stuck at the sleeve part of knitting. That means really they're over half done and if I were only to apply myself rigorously, I'd finish them. Yet, I just really hate doing them. They're boring, they're endless, they are very deceitfully really as big as a whole front or back bodice, you have to shape them to fit in an armhole, you have to sew them up, you have to increase and then decrease and usually at the same time on both sides, YUK, no, take them away!

There are, of course a couple of ways around this problem.
-I could start with the sleeves, instead of leaving them like a hateful chore to the end of all that more interesting knitting of the bodice.
-I could knit them top down and in the round, instead of bottom up, flat, to avoid the hated mattress stitching. ( in fact I do this a lot, it's definitely better, but you if you want to do it properly, there is still some shaping to do at the shoulders, AND it's still as endless going downwards than it is going upwards).
-I could knit 3/4 length sweaters or short sleeved ones, or better yet, no sleeves at all. Hurray for the sleeveless vest! But the sad truth is, I live in a sea climate, and the idea of a knitted sweater without sleeves, is rather like wearing a raincoat with a bikini bottom. I need the sleeves for warmth.
-I could move to Florida.

Still considering the last option.

I'm in love.....

...with my new big saxony wheel, the 30" Schacht-Reeves, in ash wood, with the flyer on the right. It arrived yesterday morning, and I can't tell you how nervous I was in the hours before it's arrival! Cecile, the dealer not only delivered it in my living room but singlehandledly put it together for me.. now that's service!
Here it is:

still without its flyer installed, and here Cecile dives into the LARGE box to get another part of her out:

and this is the whole wheel put together, with the Matchless next to it. You can really see the size difference in the wheels!



The spinning sensation is unlike any other spinning wheel I've ever tried. Due to the large wheel circumference, it has an ease and speed of spinning that's amazing, and the uptake is smooth and gentle and even.
I'm reaally happy I bought it, and I suppose for a while the Matchless will be ignored, but just while the honeymoon lasts.

30"Schacht-Reeves on its way!!

I can hardly breathe, it's coming! I've arranged with the dealer she will drop by to deliver it and help me set it up the 17th of this Month, so only 11 more days, YAY!!!

Happy New Year

I'm finding myself rewriting this blog post for the fifth time now. What I basically want to say is this. For the first time in many years, I actually had quite a good New Year's Eve, and am really looking forward to coming year. Those of you who have gone through painful stuff in their lives, such as divorce, extreme pubertal excesses of their kids, and a new, demanding and stressful job, like I have, will probably recognize how happy and grateful I am when I say that. I wish everyone a happy new year.

On a sadder but trivial note: the Schacht - Reeves spinning wheel I ordered in October, will probably arrive not this month but - gasp - in February! That's really awful. January somehow always seems such a long month, now it will seem even longer! I hope it'll turn out to be worth the wait.

I never thought I would ever...

... Need a third wheel
... Like a huge Saxony wheel
... Buy a wheel from a Dutch dealer....

But I did all of the above!

Time-out and vitamins

Since last blog, my life has ground to a forced halt. After all my hard work and after all that happened to me and my kids after the divorce, I just felt so exhausted. There seemed to be no give anymore. Just dead tired and totally out of balance. Thankfully, my GP told me I ought to take a time-out to regain my strength, get some help, and stop working for a while to sort out my issues. At the same time - oh yes, that dreaded direction in knitting patterns- we decided to also check some physical stuff. And guess what: I was very low on vitamin B12. So low I need to start with intramuscular injections. I had all of the symptoms: extreme fatigue, muscle stiffness and fasciculations, paresthesias, light-headedness, a sore tongue; and I'd never ever connected those things or thought of vit B12 deficiency! It must be due to poor take-up from the diarrhea. Because I do eat meat, eggs and cheese, which are sources of it.
Anyway, I'm still off work and I'm coming back to it slowly. You can imagine I have loads of time for spinning and knitting!
In another month, I'll be going back to Florida too!

Last weekend, I went to the Landelijke Spindag. 200 women and a couple of men were gathered in a big room with their wheel! It was truly a unique experience. In the afternoon there was a vendor's market, where I bought lovely Wensleydale and also a Merino/silk combed top, as well as some yak down. There was a Schacht dealer there and to our surprise she'd brought along a 30" Schacht-Reeves wheel. I was very impressed. Very impressed! I think I want one...

Back blogging with some hurdles

So, I wanted to put in a new blog, as my last one was made last year November and a lot has happened that I wanted to update you on.
However, I couldn't for the life of me remember either my username or my password for my Blogger account, as it's linked to an email account that I don't use regularly. And when you put out a request to Blogger that you've forgotten your password, they send you it on the email account that they have for you.. Which I couldn't remember!
It took me a long time of trying different names and combinations until finally it clicked and it let me enter the blog.

So what's happened, since I last blogged. I have been back to Florida, not once but twice. First time alone, in November, the second time in February this year together with my two daughters. We had such a great time! It was the first time in the US for the girls and they really loved it. I guess they've been as bitten by the Florida bug as I have.

I have bought an amazing second spinning wheel, a Schacht Matchless. I was so proud to be able to buy her, she 's a magical wheel, that is now my to-go wheel ( sorry Little Gem!). This spinning wheel is able to spin you any kind of yarn you like, be it gossamer lace or bulky fun art yarns. Since getting her, I have spun almost every day, as opposed to in fits and starts as with the Gem. Still, the Gem is a great traveling wheel, since the Matchless is not that easy to schlepp around.

I've become a member of the Enchanted Knoll Farm batt club (Happy Hooves club). it's so exciting to get a beautiful batt of silky, sparkly batt every month! Josette of EKF makes such beautiful batts, that are wonderful to spin, in gorgeous and imaginative colorways.

After a long hard think, I have decided to break it off with my boyfriend Theo. We had a wonderful year together and he is a great friend still, but he's not my big love. I have found that, and I don't know if we can ever be together, but I'd rather be alone than be with someone who is not the one that I want to be with.

On another personal note, I've had some health issues. Since about a year, I've been suffering from terrible bouts of diarrhea and bowel cramps. After some tests with the GP, I was referred to a gastro-enterologist , and had to undergo more testing including a colonoscopy, yuk! The gastro doctor thinks I have some sort of late complication of a stomach operation I underwent as a baby. It makes the food in my stomach enter and transit my small bowel too quickly, which results in cramps and diarrea very soon after eating. I have to keep to a couple of diet and lifestyle rules, and got prescribed medication ( Questran), and with these measures I'm able to keep the symptoms at bay, even if it's not a cure. I have to be careful what I eat and I tend to avoid spicy foods and anything containing milk and cream. Yes, that does include ice cream!

In only three more weeks, Ellen, Kars-Jan and I, together with the dog, will leave for France, where I have rented a villa with swimming pool in the Loire valley. Yay!! So looking forward to some sunshine and quiet! I will take my spinning wheel ( the LG) and do lots of spinning I hope..