A wee spinning update
As I write this, Thumper is finally napping. He’s having a rough day because a certain someone who is responsible for breastmilk production ate toast with butter over the weekend and then a burrito with cheese yesterday when she knows damn well that dairy gives him excema and lo and behold he has a doozy of a flare-up today. Poor itchy kid. So back to the strict no-dairy for me (it really worked, cutting out dairy. Until this slip his excema had pretty much entirely cleared up).
But the promised spinning post…right. Thumper will tolerate my spinning for about ten minutes at a time. This means it takes a damn long time to fill a bobbin when spinning what will become (one hopes) a 2-ply sock yarn. So this is still the first bobbin of this Lorna’s stuff (Lorna’s Laces Wool Top in the Flames colorway. Breed unknown), started the week before Rhinebeck. 
A standard Louet bobbin has a 4 to 7 oz capacity, or so the internets tell me. Eyeballing the 10 oz I started with, I think there’s about 4 oz on the bobbin right now. So if I fill it and then fill another and ply ’em, I’m thinking I can expect enough yarn for two pairs of socks or some serious knee-highs.
I’m also very occasionally spinning some Foxfire BFL on my smaller Bosworth. (That is, the Bosworth that doesn’t have toothmarks in the shaft. Jonathan Bosworth has kindly agreed to repair the cat damage. I need to send that one off to him very soon…) Sorry for the crappy photo. Anyone have any tips on how to get a decent shot of pale laceweight singles on the spindle?
And that’s about it. I’ve got some plans for what to spin after the Lorna’s is done. Plans that involve both some luscious mini-batts that Julia very generously sent me and some roving she’s dyeing for me as well (She’s insanely generous, actually, besides being so damn good with the dyepot.) Photos of all that to come soon.
And now to do a bit of knitting while the kid sleeps off his crankiness (I hope).
Lovely spinning.The Sunrise Jacket is beautiful, and such a clever design. My youngest had a total body red rash with exposure to milk products. Her pediatrician said that she would likely outgrow it by age two and she did. Here’s hoping Thumper will tolerate them later on.
Posted by: Cyndy
The flames colorway is so vibrant-can’t wait to see how it looks plied.
Posted by: brooke
Butter bothers him? Oh poor dear! That’s surprising because my brother is SUPER lactose intolerant and he can eat as much butter as he wants.
Posted by: Risa
You probably know this, but perhaps it’ll help: when N & H had skin flare-ups as babies, popping a muslin or cheesecloth bag of oatmeal in a warm bath was very soothing to them. You just squeeze the wet bag over the baby’s skin. Poor sweetie.
Your spinning looks gorgeous.
Posted by: regina
Poor Thumper! Aveeno makes a nice oatmeal bath that soothes itching. I used it for chicken pox. Your yarn looks just like sunshine! Really pretty.
Posted by: Carol
If your camera has a macro function that’ll allow you to get closer and let everything stay in focus. That’s all I got.
Posted by: cc
Lovely spinning.The Sunrise Jacket is beautiful, and such a clever design. My youngest had a total body red rash with exposure to milk products. Her pediatrician said that she would likely outgrow it by age two and she did. Here’s hoping Thumper will tolerate them later on.
Posted by: Cyndy
The flames colorway is so vibrant-can’t wait to see how it looks plied.
Posted by: brooke
Butter bothers him? Oh poor dear! That’s surprising because my brother is SUPER lactose intolerant and he can eat as much butter as he wants.
Posted by: Risa
You probably know this, but perhaps it’ll help: when N & H had skin flare-ups as babies, popping a muslin or cheesecloth bag of oatmeal in a warm bath was very soothing to them. You just squeeze the wet bag over the baby’s skin. Poor sweetie.
Your spinning looks gorgeous.
Posted by: regina
Poor Thumper! Aveeno makes a nice oatmeal bath that soothes itching. I used it for chicken pox. Your yarn looks just like sunshine! Really pretty.
Posted by: Carol
If your camera has a macro function that’ll allow you to get closer and let everything stay in focus. That’s all I got.
Posted by: cc
Love that you are posting so much this week.
Try using the ‘flower’ setting on your camera for the macro close up–and turning off the flash.
I hope Thumper feel less itchy.
Maxly
Posted by: maxly
I’m really glad to hear that Jonathan can fix that spindle. So new! So pretty! Too young to die….
Posted by: claudia
beautiful spinning!
…and poor thumper; i can relate. i’ve had excema since i was eleven, and unfortunately I/doctors can’t find a trigger for it, other than stress…which isn’t so easy to get rid of! i hope he grows out of it, as babies often do. 3
Posted by: Violet
The Lorna’s is just gorgeous. I say go for knee-highs.
Hope Thumper is feeling better.
Posted by: Michelle
The nice thing about spinning and knitting is that it waits for you while you’re busy with life. What’s on the wheel looks great and your spindle spinning is so fine, too! Hope Thumper is over his grumpiness.
Posted by: margene
Your spinning looks great! The Lorna’s Laces is a great colorway. It’ll make some stunning socks. The singles on the spindle look so thin!
Posted by: Karen
Love that you are posting so much this week.
Try using the ‘flower’ setting on your camera for the macro close up–and turning off the flash.
I hope Thumper feel less itchy.
Maxly
Posted by: maxly
I’m really glad to hear that Jonathan can fix that spindle. So new! So pretty! Too young to die….
Posted by: claudia
beautiful spinning!
…and poor thumper; i can relate. i’ve had excema since i was eleven, and unfortunately I/doctors can’t find a trigger for it, other than stress…which isn’t so easy to get rid of! i hope he grows out of it, as babies often do. 3
Posted by: Violet
The Lorna’s is just gorgeous. I say go for knee-highs.
Hope Thumper is feeling better.
Posted by: Michelle
The nice thing about spinning and knitting is that it waits for you while you’re busy with life. What’s on the wheel looks great and your spindle spinning is so fine, too! Hope Thumper is over his grumpiness.
Posted by: margene
Your spinning looks great! The Lorna’s Laces is a great colorway. It’ll make some stunning socks. The singles on the spindle look so thin!
Posted by: Karen
Have you tried switching to goat instead of cow’s milk products? There’s some really good goat cheese out there, and if you can’t find goat yogurt you can make your own. Goat butter is very good, just really rich. Just a suggestion, but may be worth a try. It worked for me.
Posted by: Lee
Hi there, I like your blog but have never posted. Would you share your rolltop sock pattern?
Posted by: Esther
Is that a Bosworth featherweight? I’ve been eyeing those myself. I have a grand master plan that involves spinning all the yarn for my own shawl and then designing the shawl and submitting the pattern to SpinOff. I think a Bosworth might be necessary to realize that plan… *plots*
Posted by: Miriam
Ooh, giving up dairy??! You are a good mom!! I’d just buy lots of calamine for the baby (kidding).
The spinning looks gorgeous!
Posted by: Annie
Very nice spinning! I’m intrigued by the laceweight yarn. How do you spin that fine a yarn without over twisting?
Posted by: Teri S.
A knitter AND a novelist–what could be better? Your blog is fantastic. I’m the author of 8 published novels and the knitter of two sweaters for me, three for my son, and one for my husband. I’m trying to start knitting with beads–have you done it? Got any tips?
Caroline
http://www.carolineleavitt.com
Posted by: Caroline
Have you tried switching to goat instead of cow’s milk products? There’s some really good goat cheese out there, and if you can’t find goat yogurt you can make your own. Goat butter is very good, just really rich. Just a suggestion, but may be worth a try. It worked for me.
Posted by: Lee
Hi there, I like your blog but have never posted. Would you share your rolltop sock pattern?
Posted by: Esther
Is that a Bosworth featherweight? I’ve been eyeing those myself. I have a grand master plan that involves spinning all the yarn for my own shawl and then designing the shawl and submitting the pattern to SpinOff. I think a Bosworth might be necessary to realize that plan… *plots*
Posted by: Miriam
Ooh, giving up dairy??! You are a good mom!! I’d just buy lots of calamine for the baby (kidding).
The spinning looks gorgeous!
Posted by: Annie
Very nice spinning! I’m intrigued by the laceweight yarn. How do you spin that fine a yarn without over twisting?
Posted by: Teri S.
A knitter AND a novelist–what could be better? Your blog is fantastic. I’m the author of 8 published novels and the knitter of two sweaters for me, three for my son, and one for my husband. I’m trying to start knitting with beads–have you done it? Got any tips?
Caroline
http://www.carolineleavitt.com
Posted by: Caroline
A knitter AND a novelist–what could be better? Your blog is fantastic. I’m the author of 8 published novels and the knitter of two sweaters for me, three for my son, and one for my husband. I’m trying to start knitting with beads–have you done it? Got any tips?
Caroline
http://www.carolineleavitt.com
Posted by: Caroline
A novelist AND a knitter! What could be more wonderful! I’m the published author of 8 novels and the knitter of about 6 sweaters so far (two for me, one for my husband, the rest for my young son!) I was wondering–have you knit with beads? Got any advice or caveats????
Caroline
http://www.carolineleavitt.com
Posted by: Caroline
A novelist AND a knitter! What could be more wonderful! I’m the published author of 8 novels and the knitter of about 6 sweaters so far (two for me, one for my husband, the rest for my young son!) I was wondering–have you knit with beads? Got any advice or caveats????
Caroline
http://www.carolineleavitt.com
Posted by: Caroline
I don’t think those knee highs will be serious at all! 🙂
Posted by: alison
My boy had the same dairy/skin issues. He outgrew it by age one or so. Now he just doesn’t like dairy. We used copious quantities of baking soda in his bath and that seemed to help.
Posted by: Dogen’s Mom
You’re probably adviced out by now, Cari, but here’s my $0.02, as an eczema sufferer: Diaper rash cream, on every single red spot that looks even vaguely like a flare-up. You’ll doubtless find other sensitivities (mine have come and gone but include dairy, detergents, some perfumes, starches used in manufactured clothing, a lot of make-up…), and creams made for diaper rash calm things for me every time. Looks ugly, feels amazing. I use Burt’s Bees, but plain ol’ Penaten has also saved me in a pinch.
Good luck!
Posted by: Dani
A knitter AND a novelist–what could be better? Your blog is fantastic. I’m the author of 8 published novels and the knitter of two sweaters for me, three for my son, and one for my husband. I’m trying to start knitting with beads–have you done it? Got any tips?
Caroline
http://www.carolineleavitt.com
Posted by: Caroline
A novelist AND a knitter! What could be more wonderful! I’m the published author of 8 novels and the knitter of about 6 sweaters so far (two for me, one for my husband, the rest for my young son!) I was wondering–have you knit with beads? Got any advice or caveats????
Caroline
http://www.carolineleavitt.com
Posted by: Caroline
A novelist AND a knitter! What could be more wonderful! I’m the published author of 8 novels and the knitter of about 6 sweaters so far (two for me, one for my husband, the rest for my young son!) I was wondering–have you knit with beads? Got any advice or caveats????
Caroline
http://www.carolineleavitt.com
Posted by: Caroline
I don’t think those knee highs will be serious at all! 🙂
Posted by: alison
My boy had the same dairy/skin issues. He outgrew it by age one or so. Now he just doesn’t like dairy. We used copious quantities of baking soda in his bath and that seemed to help.
Posted by: Dogen’s Mom
You’re probably adviced out by now, Cari, but here’s my $0.02, as an eczema sufferer: Diaper rash cream, on every single red spot that looks even vaguely like a flare-up. You’ll doubtless find other sensitivities (mine have come and gone but include dairy, detergents, some perfumes, starches used in manufactured clothing, a lot of make-up…), and creams made for diaper rash calm things for me every time. Looks ugly, feels amazing. I use Burt’s Bees, but plain ol’ Penaten has also saved me in a pinch.
Good luck!
Posted by: Dani
Lovely spinning!
When you take pics that keep popping up blurry, rest your elbows on a table or lean against a wall with the arm that has the camera. 😉
Posted by: sachis2112
Oh, sister! I love your blog and have been lurking for an embarassingly long time, but I had to delurk and discuss this dairy issue! I have one baby who was mildly sensitive to dairy, and the last one was the mother of all cranky kids…finally a GI doc diagnosed a severe case of milk and soy protein intolerance! OK, my best tips:
1. Rice milk or almond milk are the best tasting subs.
2. If you crave cheese on italian food, add some garlic.
3. If you crave cheese on mexican food, add avocado.
4. Fleischmann’s unsalted margarine sticks are the only dairy free ones I’ve found
5. Fudge and/or Mint oreos were (at last label read) dairy and soy free; the Rice Dream fake-chocolate-covered, mocha rice cream/cookie sandwich things are a divine treat if you don’t have to worry about calories.
Need more dairy free info? Feel free to email. 🙂
Posted by: Michelle
I love that colorway – so deliciously vibrant and spicy. Interesting that dairy affects Thumper’s eczema – how about soy substitues?
Posted by: Nancy
That is so wierd! I recently discovered that if I eat yogurt every day my excema doesn’t itch as much. It’s not the dairy, it’s the bacteria, but isn’t that interesting?
Posted by: Beth
Lovely spinning!
When you take pics that keep popping up blurry, rest your elbows on a table or lean against a wall with the arm that has the camera. 😉
Posted by: sachis2112
Oh, sister! I love your blog and have been lurking for an embarassingly long time, but I had to delurk and discuss this dairy issue! I have one baby who was mildly sensitive to dairy, and the last one was the mother of all cranky kids…finally a GI doc diagnosed a severe case of milk and soy protein intolerance! OK, my best tips:
1. Rice milk or almond milk are the best tasting subs.
2. If you crave cheese on italian food, add some garlic.
3. If you crave cheese on mexican food, add avocado.
4. Fleischmann’s unsalted margarine sticks are the only dairy free ones I’ve found
5. Fudge and/or Mint oreos were (at last label read) dairy and soy free; the Rice Dream fake-chocolate-covered, mocha rice cream/cookie sandwich things are a divine treat if you don’t have to worry about calories.
Need more dairy free info? Feel free to email. 🙂
Posted by: Michelle
I love that colorway – so deliciously vibrant and spicy. Interesting that dairy affects Thumper’s eczema – how about soy substitues?
Posted by: Nancy
That is so wierd! I recently discovered that if I eat yogurt every day my excema doesn’t itch as much. It’s not the dairy, it’s the bacteria, but isn’t that interesting?
Posted by: Beth