Spinning

When we live in the countryside in SoHum, we had all kinds of critters; from emus to rabbits to horses to finches. Then we moved to town and all that came with us were the finches. I have had these little darlings for seven or eight years. These are 2nd generation from the original pair that I received. Once in a while one of them will escape the cage while I am feeding or watering and it's exciting and intense trying to get them back inside! The song they sing keeps my heart glad in a stressful world.
One rabbit managed to tag along as well, but then one day she met my young black lab and needless to say the introduction didn't go well. She was an angora rabbit and I used to pull her fur to use it for spinning.

The entire experience of spinning wool fibers into usable yarn is simple yet fascinating. Women have been doing it for centuries to create essential garments for their families. This art invokes a spirit of tranquility in me each time I sit at the wheel. The concept of taking something so raw, right off the back of an animal, and then utilizing it to provide sustenance for my use is amazing. I have always enjoyed creating something out of nothing so to speak. Watching something so seemingly useless be turned into something so necessary as clothing really inspires me and motivates me to participate and try it out. My sock project is coming along fantastic and they will finished soon! I am actually going to finish them in a timely manner!
A group of us went to the Summer Arts Festival in SoHum this weekend to see my daughter play with her drumming troupe. They were fantastic. Lots of fun in the sun. We watched a group demonstrate "capoeria" which is a Brazilian form of dance, exercise, martial arts kind of movement. They were amazing! What energy and strength! When they finished, each of them went into the audience to chose someone to "teach" it to....well, one of the guys picked me out of the crowd! I got up and tried to look like I could do this! It was fun. My friends said I did great - aren't they sweet?! I will try to post video of the drum group later.