I will say this for demo-ing... I would not have been motivated to spend 6 solid hours spinning if it hadn't been for the Caponi Demo last Sunday. My hands didn't entirely forgive me for several days, and I'm pretty sure that the results on the spool are rather desperately overtwisted, but hey, I have a full bobbin of lace-weight Icelandic singles to show for it, and proof that I can in fact demonstrate effectively even when the wheel is set up for lace.
I've also picked up a bit of mojo on the knitting front and am in mid-insect on a lovely preying mantis, and I must say that even though she is currently just a thorax, abdomen and three legs, I am charmed. The only reason I'm not done yet is that I haven't yet laid hands on the "chenille stems" so she can have properly posable legs.
But in the meantime, I've drifted slightly off my usual fiber track and am taking a class at the MN Center for Book Arts. It's a 6 week intro to a whole range of skills. Thus far we've made paper and tried marbling. The next couple of weeks will be devoted to bookbinding, and after that we try out the letterpress. I'm having lots of fun. I wasn't originally a fan of marbling, but the process is a blast and having my own personalized results is growing on me. However, I don't know that I'm ever going to love the results on white or the acid green paper. But since we've made this stuff, I'm going to take at least a few pieces with me next week and try making it into a single project. Might as well, since I have no idea what I'd do with all these papers otherwise. Maybe I will make sure all my Christmas presents are on the small side and wrap packages in it.
