Every Girl Wants Diamonds!

No, not THOSE kind of diamonds!  The diamonds that are present in the middle section of my latest handwoven!

A coworker had admired my irridesent tencel scarves in the past, and had requested I weave her a table runner with the same design.  Other projects took precedence (weaving for craft fairs and the holidays), but all the while her design was ruminating around in my head.  Her color choice was tan and orange, and the material was to be cotton.

I think that I was unsure about how those colors would work together - in my mind it as not a pretty picture (orange is definitely not on my favorites' list).  However,

that goes to show you that the interweaving of color and texture can transform yarn into something unpredictable and lovely.  The close-up:

The other side is tan-dominant, which makes it somewhat reversible.  She seemed quite pleased with it, and let me know after she took it home that she just loved it on her table.  It's always gratifying to know that your work is appreciated!  The original design is not my own, but one that was shared on a very accomplished weaver's blog (http://weeverwoman.blogspot.com/).  I merely added to the diamond center to create the appropriate width.

I have also been bitten by the spinning bug lately.  I seem to have limited time here at home to spin, so I have been spinning in my odd idle moments at work on a spindle.  Once the single plies have been spun (which takes alot less time than you would imagine - spindles are "slower by the hour but faster by the week" is an old adage), I wind the singles in to a plying ball and use my wheel at home to ply the yarn in no time.  Then I have to skein it, count it, tie it, wash and whack it, and hang it up to dry.  So far, the last two skeins I spun in this hybrid manner have turned out well.

The latest is superwash Corriedale wool, dyed in a colorway called Tartan.  It could almost be called Primary Colors, since the dyer used very vibrant colors, with a healthy dose of gray in the center.

Here it is spun into its skein:

And wound into a center pull ball:

I'm in the process of knitting up some quick fingerless mitts - I think I can get two pairs out of this yarn.  I got approximately 232 yds of 2 ply worsted-ish weight.  It's nice and soft and feels great on my hands.

On a personal note, hubby was in the hospital yesterday having his shoulder repaired.  He had fallen in August and jammed his shoulder, and it had been getting progressively worse.  He finally saw an orthopedist, who told him he had torn his rotator cuff.  During surgery the doctor found that the tear was larger than he thought - the size of a postage stamp.  He had wanted to do it laparscopically, but he had to make an incision in order to get the work done. Chris wanted the surgery in the winter, so that he'll be back up to steam in the spring when the boat work picks up.  The doctor said he'll have 6 weeks in a sling, then another 6 weeks to be back to normal.  Passive exercises were started this AM, and he goes to physical therapy tomorrow.  So far the pain has not been anywhere near as bad as the doctor predicted (he wanted to keep him overnight at the hospital).  I took the dressing off at noon, and all looks well, if a bit chewed up.  And just his luck - the first real snow of the season fell today and is supposed to be more than was predicted.  I foresee alot of shoveling in my future.  Oh my aching back...