the twisted yarn

Knitting, crochet, running, and silliness.

Yarn. Oxford. Also, Sarah The Killer Whale.

by 21 Comments

Whoa, it’s cold today. (Alternative blog text for southern hemisphere readers: Gosh, isn’t it warm?)

We’re not at ice-on-the-inside-of-the-windows levels of chill quite yet, but we can’t be far off. Here at Twisted Towers, the twinnage are abed (if only to keep warm), and the Stoic Spouse and I are both choosing pastimes that don’t require straying very far from the fire:-

That’s the Stoic Spouse on guitar, there, with me accompanying on knitting needles. It’s a rare privilege to be allowed by the Stoic Spouse to post pictures of any part of him, so if you happen to be strolling in rural Oxfordshire and you recognize that arm out and about, please don’t let on, OK?

Talking of that arm, and of the rest of the Stoic Spouse too, he and I have just marked ten years of marriage. We didn’t make a huge deal of it because, well, busy, but we did enjoy a trip to the we’re-lucky-to-have-this-stuff-on-our-doorstep Ashmoleum Museum in Oxford. There are so many different galleries to explore, but we decided to hit England from 400-1600AD… and walked straight into a 1500-year-old copper alloy brooch that was found in our village! Lookety-look:-

Perhaps I should dig a little deeper than the Victorian clay pipes I’ve found so far as I redesign our own garden:-

Anyway, down in the basement of the museum, there’s a history-of-textiles gallery, and the Stoic Spouse stoically accepted that we’d be spending serious time down there. Look what I found! Look! Look! I was so excited that you’d think I’d dug this thing up myself:-

It’s a 3000-year-old Italian copper alloy drop spindle. I was gobsmacked and awestruck. Obviously I had my own drop spindle in my handbag, ready for a photo-shoot.

I know I’m still a novice spinner…

…but how magical is it to imagine sitting with someone from another era, another country, and with our near-identical pieces of kit, we could each understand perfectly what the other was doing (though I’d try to tap my ancient companion for some advice). I wonder what marvellous yarns were created on that old spindle. I wonder what the spindle would be like to use. I wonder whether the Ashmoleum would let me have a go using it…

Sadly, the museum was closing by this point, so we headed out into the damp, chilly, Oxford night.

…and felt very old indeed as we sat in a pub amongst students who weren’t even born when we were studying here. (You possibly have no idea how very painful those words were to type.) So yeah, we celebrated a decade of marriage in a very low-key way.

Back at home, the twinnage have developed a passion for whales, sharks, dolphins, and sundry marine life. They’ve been making impressive paper models of their favourite creatures, so I decided to throw some yarn at the subject. Meet Sarah (named by the twinnage):-

Sarah is an orca that I crocheted in secret (pattern here, but I made her in chunky yarn so she’s LARGE). I presented her to the boys a couple of nights ago. According to the experts (aka my sons) an orca’s gender can be determined by the size of its dorsal fin, which is how they concluded that she is a she. Apparently I will be making a male companion for Sarah over the coming days.

I have knitting to show you, too, but you’ll have to wait a few days for the finished object to be revealed…

Yarn: Stylecraft Batik Swirl. Pattern: I’ll tell you when I’ve finished designing it.

I hope your week has been similarly yarnful?

Comments

  1. I am so enjoying your blog!!! I’m not sure why – partly because I live far away in Wyoming, USA, probably!! Out here, Native American stuff is the farthest back we could go. And although part of Wyoming is fairly wet, overall, our state is dry dry dry.
    Whatever, Anyway, I enjoy your stuff!!!

    Reply

  2. Mad about the Stoic Spouse. [grin] Mine woulda still been were he still around; I reckon he must’ve been about as stoic as it’s possible to be, married to me …
    Everything you make is beautiful. That must be really gratifying, making beautiful things.
    Also you live in Oxford. That must also be gratifying, living in the middle of academic history. But then, England is history from one end to the other. We don’t have any, Downunder. Well, scarcely any.
    Lovely blog, as the Yank says. 😀

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  3. Only you would carry around a drop spindle, why am I not surprised. I too feel old when I think how long ago it was that I was a teenager studying. And I love Sarah, I’ll dig out some pics for the Twinnage of various dolphins and orcas we’ve seen whilst sailing…

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  4. Similarly yarnful doesn’t begin to describe it. Somehow I only found out recently that my package to my new great niece went astray last year and she never got her welcome-to-the-world sweater. I ran to ravelry and found a perfect little sweater for a one-year-old girl so I’ve been busily knitting it up and ignoring my Christmas knitting.

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  5. I am a fan of T. Hardy in whose books are mentioned frequently the clay pipes, so I was actually thrilled to see photos of the pieces of same. I’ve sent off five boxes containing knitted Xmas trees – and thank you beyond measure for the idea! Your blogs and pics are a joy and I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have found you here. Bless you and yours.

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  7. Sarah looks brilliant! I didn’t know that the sex could be determined by the fin… Good to learn something new everyday I guess 🙂 Take care, Anne

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  8. V jealous of fire – as in sitting to knit by. My reality is generally, at the kitchen table, being generously wafted by cold air as husband trails in and out from t’shed!

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  9. I am new to your blog, and I love it! You are so funny, and very very talented, love Sarah the whale. Keep writing please, I so enjoy reading my blogs over breakfast in sunny Yorkshire, how decadent you must be thinking, but it’s the joys of being ‘older’, but young at heart have a lovely week

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  12. I know that feeling of feeling too ancient in a pub – visiting my son last summer when he was away in Uni we went to a bar and felt like relilcs!

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  15. Happy 10 year anniversary Ms T 🙂 Here’s to OH so many more. The twinnage are showing their brilliant genetic coding right there. You must have either bought the last Orca pattern on this page or sent SO many of us scuttling over there to check it out (and buy it) that it has sold out now. Nothing like revisiting your old haunts to be reminded of how much water has passed under the bridge but your excavation potential has now been exponentially ramped up with that glorious brooch find so get the twinnage out digging for victory Ms T!

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  16. What a lovely post. How old are the twinnage? That’s impressive knowledge. What an idyllic photo of you and your stoic spouse sitting by the fire. I’m not sure if my oh classes as stoic or not…. Yesterday, as I got my second craft shop I suggested he could keep wandering down the high street instead of coming in where there are several ladies sat knitting and chatting round the table… He thought that was a good idea and wandered off, coming back with some bottles of cider for himself and otter beer for me (I was so happy, you cast find it here and I shall really enjoy it tonight in my beautiful otter brewery glass!). Unfortunately he always seems to turn up in craft shops at the moment when all my purchases are being rung through the till 😂.
    I had a feeling very old moment when I met a lady a couple of weeks ago. I used to babysit for her kids and it was a shock to discover they were more mid thirties and have kids of their own.
    I loved all your musings… Keep them coming

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  20. NOOoooooo! I have (just about) reconciled myself with the fact that I went to uni some twenty-something years ago, but weirdly hadn’t taken the next logical step……those students at my college, in my bar, weren’t born……weren’t even born….when I was there….I feel so old. Thanks for that!

    Reply

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