Spin Out!

So I managed to attend Spin-Out! Well...sort of. Actually, it went like this. I was going there with two friends, and we planned to eat lunch in the park, enjoy the spin-out for a couple hours, and then I'd go straight to the bus (a mere 20 blocks away) which would take me to Long Island. Sounds like a great plan, right? Except for the part about dragging all my stuff with me during this whole outing, including the 20 blocks of half-running to make the bus on time. And we started out late. And got delayed again picking up food at Fairway (why do I always think this will be a matter of only a few minutes' delay??).

Here I am trying to coordinate with friend Meg who was also late, though for different reasons, and surrounded by my stuff (half of which you can't see, but note the KIPer bag on lap). (Also note that all photos in this post were taken by friend Aline, because I was too lazy to take my camera out of my bag. Also because Aline is a better photographer than I am - you'll notice.)



That was in Strawberry Fields, about an hour later than when we'd intended to get there. I was already totally exhausted from dragging stuff at this point, and one leg was going a bit numb for some reason. Not good. All this, and I wasn't even carrying a spinning wheel (unlike, it seemed, everyone else in the park).

Moments later, we had finally made it to Spin-Out:





At first all we could do was plop ourselves on an open patch of ground and breathe. Then stare at the pretty view. Then ravenously devour our lunch. That taken care of, I suddenly realized that Nishanna was right nearby with her lovely Ashford Traveler wheel (look at the bobbin go!):



You guys remember Nishanna from the first Yarn Harlot event I went to, in Brooklyn? It was great to see her again - it's amazing to feel like I have old friends when I go to a thing like this. And just as soon as I'd spotted Nishanna, Spinning Spider Jenny appeared! I met her at the same Yarn Harlot event. She was spinning silk on a tiny tiny spindle at the time, and I couldn't take my eyes off it. Afterwards, I started reading her blog and found out she's a famous spinning teacher. For months I read her blog, not comprehending most of it but totally in awe of spinning. Then I finally learned, and went back to her archives and read through it all again with constant waves of "a-ha!...now I get it!" washing over me...and here she was again, in the flesh!

Of course, just as all this is happening and I haven't even yet stood up and actually seen the rest of what was going on (and just when friend Meg had arrived, with whom we were supposed to be lunching and whom I probably won't see again until next spring...) I realize that I have all of 20 minutes before I have to move to make that bus. Damnit!

So Aline and I, the ones who had at least eaten, took a quick turn around the spin-out to ogle the wheels and rovings and talented spinners:







It was such an amazing sight! And everyone there was so *great*. One woman (in the bottom picture, above) was spinning a "core yarn," i.e. a boucle made by spinning a commercial yarn with mohair locks held perpendicularly so that they wrap around the core in little twirls and bobbles. I also got to see nearly every type of wheel that I've been surreptitiously researching online in recent weeks (don't tell Hubbster). The hitchhiker is really cute. Okay, they're all really, really cute, but the hitchhiker is affordable and cute. I also recognized Cara and Kay but was too shy and star-struck to approach them. It was just surreal to be surrounded my buzzing conversation from which words like "etsy" and "blog" and "setting the twist" float up over and over...I'm used to those words usually coming up in real live conversation in the context of me explaining what they are to someone who clearly thinks I'm nuts.

And then...I had to run. With all my stuff.

Here are some pictures Aline took after I left, which accurately reflect the glorious day in the park that I ran through on my way out:







I did manage to make it to the bus stop on time, sweaty and sore but otherwise fine. And I made it safely to Long Island, where for the next few weeks I get to enjoy this:



Life is not so bad, really.