MONDAY'S COLLAGE

These skeins were all made from the same fibre source - a mini-fibre-sandwich!!! I spun three bobbins and then plyed each with a different coloured commercial plying thread. I used black, pink and blue. I seem to use black alot when plying.

Pink isn't really my favourite colour to spin, however, as I continually tell others .... "spin outside your comfort zone (OCZ)". When I spin pink, I always think of Joan D from the Guild - a lovely lady who doesn't like spinning pink.

A couple of years ago, I gave a workshop on colour blending at the Guild. In the morning session I asked each participant which was their favourite and least favourite colours. These were then written on a white board ...... BUT that wasn't the last of it !! Oh no ....... just before the lunch break I handed each participant a length of roving in their least favourite colour and told them that after lunch they had to spin it !!! hehehehe

So then, after lunch just as they were about to spin their piece of roving, I told them I had changed my mind and that they weren't required to spin it at all ..... they could keep it and use it anyway. (what a mean thing to do to your students!!!!)

My exercise was to get the participants to "think outside their comfort zone" .... and for them to think how they could spin something they didn't like. hehehehehehe

To conclude ..... they all used their "hateful" roving during the afternoon's session and created some lovely skeins. (BTW: Joan D was a participant and I had anticipated her "pink"answer)

Monday's Collage

Although it is now winter, the autumn leaves are still looking beautiful in our garden.

AM I COMING OR GOING ????????

My head's in a turmoil ..... am I coming or going ??? I sit in front of the my computer screen thinking of what am I going to write on my blog .... there are so many things that I could be writing about ..... what am I currently spinning, dyeing or knitting. So what do I write about ? NOTHING ....... I leave my blog with an empty screen.

A CLAYTON'S HARRIETVILLE .....
Yes that was my Harrietville for this year. My dear friend Ellen arranged with Ern's daughter to stay in the house with Ern, whilst I went to Harrietville for a couple of days. This was unbeknown to me. Was I surprised when I found out ..... I cried and cried ...... BUT .... when
Ern found out there was no way Kate was going to "babysit" him !!!! Ern said that I was to go to Harrietville and that he could look after himself. Words were firmly spoken but to no avail .....

Friends and neighbours had mixed thoughts ..... some thought he was being selfish and that I was being tooooooo soft with him. Alzheimers is a frustrating disease because although they may have a short memory loss, sufferers are still able to function as normal. It's the Carers who suffer the most. I must admit that since Harrietville I have not been as forgiving as I have been in the past. Then I feel guilty ..... no Counsellors for me ...... says me !!!!!

A couple of weeks after Harrietville, Ern had a nasty fall whilst putting the wheelie bin out. No broken bones thankgoodness BUT ultra sound results not good. Completely torn all ligaments in the shoulder and upper arm ...... the doctor and physiotherapist said that they were the worst ultra sound results that they had seen. Some of the damage was caused by the fall but most of the damage he has had for years. Ern being Ern ... STUBBORN ..... shouldn't be able to move his arm ...... but he can and he does !!! The Physio said that the neck muscles were compensating for the lack of arm muscles.

OK, so now that Ern is 85 years old, how many more years ??? ..... gotta make the most of life .......