The Floor at Last

I've been promising to post a picture of my new floor and there's always been some good reason not to. The main reason being that I haven't got things sorted yet. Three weeks after moving back in, I'm starting to doubt whether I'll ever really have things sorted. My usual messes are starting to be superimposed on the packing and unpacking chaos. I did a bit of a tidy up yesterday for the benefit of a spinning student and a friend who is coming to stay. So I've seized the moment and taken a photo of my front room this morning.

I think the floor looks good. It's solid underfoot, since it's stuck down to the concrete slab. And it is easy, easy, easy to clean. It is a bit cold for me in comparison with the carpet, but I'm more than happy with the trade off. My spinning student got off to a good start.

My next challenge is to make space in the sewing room for a spare bed for my friend to sleep in. I've hardly done any unpacking in this room, so I'm afraid it's going to be a bit make do. Note to self: this is not the time to contemplate the significance of all the boxes of fabric in here! The plan is to just stack them up and pull out the bed. There! Now I have my instructions in writing. I'd better get on with it.

Bouquet

Rob came over to give me some emotional back-up yesterday morning. I had the flooring people coming for what I hope will be the last time. I had to act like the "customer from hell" for a few minutes and demand that they check and fill every single gap between the floor-boards. The gaps were several mm wide. That's wide enough to let in water if I spill something--and you know, I'm sure to spill something! The workman who came was good about it and set to work much more willingly and thoroughly than I'd feared, but I didn't feel as though I had it in me to handle it on my own. So I asked Rob to come over.

Rob is the husband of one of my oldest quilting buddies and his mum is the one who introduced me to the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild. That's an impressive pedigree. He has a lathe and does some wood-turning. So when I fell in love with drop-spindling earlier this year and couldn't find any Australian spindles, I asked him for help. He's been working on the challenge on and off. Yesterday he brought a prototype, partly finished, to compare and consult. How's this for a handful of beauties!
The dark one at the front is the one I bought earlier this year. It's made in the US and it's a dream to use--it just doesn't want to stop spinning. The largest spindle at the back is politely referred to as a "student spindle", it came flat packed from New Zealand. I'm afraid it didn't have any aspirations of dreaminess. Rob's prototype is on the right.

After a coffee and a chat, Rob went off to continue development. He asked if I'd like the big spindle "trued". Did I ever! He came back with it: glued and turned and polished. It's now a joy to use. It's graduated from being a "student" to being a "master". He also finished off his prototype: complete with groove and fine hook. It's great. Just what I was hoping for. So there's another member in my drop spindle family--and a smile on my face.

Bamboo

I didn't get to do the cotton dyeing yesterday. Somehow I just didn't have it in me after not enough sleep the night before.

What I did manage to do was stop off at a flooring showroom on my way to my afternoon appointment. I'm looking at replacing my carpet with something more suited to my lifestyle. Light coloured carpet hasn't got a chance against me and my dogs and my textiles!

Would you believe this is bamboo?

I'm considering bamboo flooring. It's apparently quite hard-wearing and I like the fact that it's a renewable resource. The big question is, "what's going to happen when I spill my dyes on it". I don't intend to spill my dyes, but realistically, it's going to happen.

I found a friendly salesman who was happy to let me bring home a sample and see what happens. So this piece of of bamboo flooring is going to be on my workbench for the next couple of weeks. I'll make sure it gets a good spattering of whatever I'm working with. If it still looks good after that, I'll be convinced.

Of course, the major challenge then will be getting myself sorted to have the floors replaced. The thought of packing everything up is horrifying. One of the attractions of the bamboo is that it comes pre-sealed, so I could have one room done at a time. Then again the state of my carpet is horrifying, so I guess it will be worth it in the end. Meanwhile I'm amused that bamboo is also one of the new yarns I've started to use recently. It's a beautiful glossy fibre with a lovely drape.