A nice hot cup of tea

BBC News: Black tea 'soothes away stress'. Scientists have evidence behind what many tea drinkers already know - a regular  cuppa can help you recover more quickly from everyday life stresses.  The study of black tea - instead of green or herbal varieties - found it helps cut

Knitting in progress

Made it over halfway (eleven repeats of twenty) on the trailing fuchsia scarf with  the first skein, I'll have enough yarn leftover from the second skein for a potholder  or a couple of coasters, but not for a matching hat.  One leaf is entirely pink and  purple, another

2006 Ig Nobel Winners

The award ceremony for the 2006 Ig Nobel Prize winners was Thurs Oct 5th.  These were the winners: Ornithology: Ivan R. Schwab, of the University of California Davis, and the late Philip R.A. May of the University of California Los Angeles, for exploring and explaining why woodpeckers don'

Plane old recycling

BBC News: Where old aeroplanes go to die. It was 38 years ago this weekend that the 747, the "jumbo jet", first rolled out of a factory in Everett, Washington State.  It was famous for one thing - being big - and phrases like "the size of

Spinning Q&A

What spinning questions would you like to ask Shannon Okey?  She's out on tour but still emailing, and I've got some questions answered already.  Her book Spin to Knit is showing up in bookstores, though Amazon still has it as a pre-order.  It turned up in

Beginning spinners Q&A with Shannon Okey!

If you could pick the brains of an experienced spinner what would you ask?  Shannon Okey, author of Spin to Knit, is going to do a beginner's Q&A right here!  Leave a comment and I'll get your questions to her, and post all the

Milestones winner!

The humble colander is an item with many uses.  You can strain vegetables with it.  You can use it as an armoured hat in dressing up games.  You can throw it in the air, take poorly-lit photos, and pretend it's a UFO sighting.  You can also pull the

All mapped out

BBC News: From Aaron Hill to Zoffany St. When Phyllis Pearsall, born 100 years ago on Monday, got lost on her way to a party in 1930s London, she set about designing her own street map of the capital.  The result - the A-Z - has become a byword for

Spinny spinny

I'm never going back.  I have spun merino and it is wonderful!  And a whole heck of a lot easier than that dratted Finn too (finished, plied, and dripping in the bathroom). This is Walking on the Sun, from Spunky Eclectic.  Fast shipping, great colour, and it came

Spinning progress

Finished spinning and plying a skein of Coopworth on Sunday, it's mostly consistent, slightly thicker than worsted weight, dark chocolate colour, and soft.  Plied it with a lot more twist than before and it came out good.  Found two breaks in the singles, but they're easily