SOS #3

I finally got the third pair of Summer of Socks done. I had a severe case of Second Sock Syndrome with these, but I forced myself to finish by 9/21/11 because I wanted to be in the running for a prize by completing all three pairs within the time allotted. I wanted these to look completely different from last month's pair, even though the two patterns were very similar. As I was casting on, I knew that the dark yarn with a slight fuzz would not show off the lace pattern, but I kept on anyway. I think these will be good winter socks and will go well with all the black that I wear.

Now I can cast on something else!

Learning to Spin

I'm inbetween my two spindle spinning classes, learning to spin. The class is held at Fibre Space in Old Town Alexandria. The teacher, Antonia Bookbinder, taught herself to spin two years ago so that she could teach spinning for boys wanting a Boy Scout merit badge and has been teaching children. Sunday's class at Fibre Space was her first class for adults. Fibre Space generally keeps the class size small -- we had 5 people in the class. A book the teacher suggested is one that I already have: Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont. I purchased it when it first came out because I wanted to learn to spin, but it seemed too intimidating to teach myself. I am glad I am taking a class . . . it is easier than I thought, but I am still in the early stages, so my yarn is the thick-and-thin type made by beginners. I spin a little bit each day, in small increments, and already I am learning a lot by trying different things as I practice.A lot of people move on from the spindle to the wheel, but Abby Franquemont does a good job of arguing for the use of a spindle.