Purina One Campaign & Spinning Goodies

Today I started Pyro on her Purina One trial. I applied for this a couple of months ago and last week her pack arrived with three weeks worth of food. To be honest I wasn't sure if Pyro would take to it at all since she can be a bit fussy in what she likes. Thinking to give it the best chances I held off her breakfast till lunchtime. I needn't have worried, it was gone within a couple of hours. She came begging to me for dinner too, which is a bit unusual as well. I think the real test of this will be if she maintains her ethusiasm, since all three weeks are the same flavour!

I have some vouchers for money off it that came with the campaign pack too, so if any of the cat-people out there are interested, drop me a line.

In other news I got not one, but two amazing spinning parcels today! The first was from Enid Ashcroft bearing two tibetans. A african blackwood and black walnut standard tibetan and a cocobolo and african blackwood pocket tibetan! The second is very cute, in the manner of tiny things, but still completely functional.

The other parcel was my Spindle Candy Spinning Club prize from last month, all the way from Corgihill Farm in the States! It's even more beautiful in person! Included was a wee surprise, a sample twist of another fibre and some american candies!

I am waiting on getting some photos from Saturday and then I will write up about the PF Conference. But it was very fun, and very tiring!

Dysfunctional Spinner

There's often talk on Ravelry's spinning forums about a poorly-made or requiring-repair spinning wheel or spindle, and not so much talk about the spinners themselves being dysfunctional. I mention this because a few days ago I strained my left shoulder quite badly. For two days I had a diet of painkillers and hot compresses until the shoulder healed and during that time my spinning capability went down drastically. I couldn't spin suspended at all, and I lacked the motion to use a wheel. I could only spin supported, and then on my slowest tibetan, with big rest breaks. But having the ability to do that was a lifesaver for a spinning-addict like me.

It really made me think. I don't just have quantity in my spinning life - I have variety. If I sustain an injury that might make it impossible to use a wheel, I can use a spindle. If I can't bear the weight of a drop-spindle, I have a choice of supported spindles. I have russians and tibetans and turkish spindles. I have my wheel. And I have a range of fibres in a range of preps. When I think that it was not so very long ago at all that I had just one beginners topwhorl and a bag of undyed tops I feel astounded at how far I have come and how much I have accomplished.

Spinning isn't just something I do for pleasure. It's a part of my daily life. And having the options to always keep it a part of my daily life is very precious to me.