Cottoning on

I have eaten approximately four onion bhajis too many. You don’t need to know that, but it is my excuse for sitting here without moving. I do believe that I have perfected my bhaji recipe now and they are even better than those that we remember with fondness at the Karachi café. I got to wondering today whether or not onion bhajis would be good spinning group fodder…

Speaking of Spinning Group – we were expecting a visitor from the States this week but she unfortunately hit difficulties with her travel arrangements and missed our meeting. She did however eventually reach Sanday and came to visit Gill and I in my studio space yesterday. Laurie Schlitter is an expert spinner and all round fibre enthusiast. She is an experienced teacher of cotton spinning and  brought some cotton samples to show us. We had a brief lesson in spinning with the most delightful tahkli (supported spindle.)

I can’t find any video of Laurie at work but this one from YouTube shows what appears to be an identically similar spindle. In the video, poonis are used, but Laurie showed us  spinning from cotton sliver. Otherwise, things look pretty similar.

I’m not sure that cotton spinning is for me as I lack the necessary patience, but I’d like to have a fair go at it. The idea of a small travelling spinning kit is attractive, and the wee tahkli (or Takli)  is just plain gorgeous – an artefact I’d love to have and to hold,  quite apart from its function. Poonies (or Punis) seem to be exorbitantly expensive in the UK. Cheap overseas but then there is the postage to contend with and Customs…

There’s another video that I would like to add at this point as I think Gill will find it interesting  but I must apologise for the need to follow a link to YouTube. Some people just don’t like to share.

The final word on this subject comes from Etsy:

No, I did not.

Can you even buy those on Etsy?

It has been a productive day today – the wardrobe has its hanging bar returned to place,  the toilet cistern has its lid back on and the bathroom light switch is now functioning again. Shopping has been done and my doily has caught up with its schedule. Chicken Makhani and Onion Bhajis have been made and eaten. All this and I still found time to tidy some kitchen drawers, make  a large batch of Granola, write a blog over at Sanday Spinners and watch Strictly.

One job that has not been done is the defrosting of the chest freezer. I’m in no haste. Would you be?

We watched another of the Empire top 100 films last night. I say “watched” but confess that I fell asleep at least three times during the film. Number 26: Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. Clearly, I do not recognise a masterpiece when I see one. Next: Number 9, Pulp Fiction – DVD on its way to us.

There is nothing lined up for watching tonight, but the Guardian Prize Crossword is printed off and waiting for our attention. We did extremely well on last week’s crossword, let’s hope it goes as well tonight.