WIP Wednesday - Swaledale

My WIP this week is what I mentioned I was planning on doing on Sunday, spinning!

I did not realise just how much of a time suck spinning on a wheel is. It's so relaxing, and I had no idea how much time had passed until Connor asked me if I wanted tea at any point soon! I was spinning this:

100g of Swaledale fibre from Wingham Wool Work. It's quite a rough, coarse fibre, with lots of short guard hairs, which have ended up everywhere. I don't think I did too badly for an even single for my first time spinning using a wheel

I've also plied about 85g of it into a worsted/aran weight yarn, but that's still drying so no pictures. Since my singles were split so unevenly, I have about 15g left, and as it's the first thing I spun, it's a bit underspun. I'm going to run it through the wheel then ply from each end to make a bit more of the same yarn. I've got about  90 yards so far, and I promised my Dad that as he bought me the wheel, I would make him a hat from the first yarn I spun. He even chose the fibre, but I don't think 90yards is enough for a man's hat,so I want to get as much yardage out of it as possible.

I'm also linking up with yarn along, as I've recently finished 2 books.The first is In The Midst of Life by Jennifer Worth. This is the author who wrote Call  the Midwife and other  books about her life as a midwife in London's East End in the 1950s. Although all her other books are lighthearted anecdotes, this one is much deeper and darker. It deals with the subjects of death and dying, and in particular the medicalisation of death and our loss of acceptance of death as a culture. It details the invention of palliative care and the introduction of CPR into medical practise, and is based on her own personal experiences as well as interviews with others who have been bereaved in various circumstances. I found it very thought provoking and it challenged me to consider where I stand on the subject of death, both as a person and as a doctor in training. It deals with people's right to choose how they die and making sure that these wishes are communicated to friends and family. Although it is, by nature, a very sad book, it's also wonderful. There are some real tales of joy in it,and it is engagingly written without being preachy or overly medical. I can highly recommend it, although it may be upsetting to people who are expecting more of her lighthearted work, or who have been recently bereaved.

The second is A Chance to Live: Isaac's Story. This was given to me by a paediatric consultant, who recommended that we all read it, and deals with the life of Isaac, a little boy diagnosed with Hurler's Syndrome. It is written by his grandfather and follows him through diagnosis and undergoing a bone marrow transplant, with parts written by his entire family. It is an uplifting story with a happy ending (I can say that as it tells you that in the first page of the book), but is also a frank look at how dealing with what could be a terminal illness effects parents, families and carers. It's quite simplistically written, and a very quick read, but it puts a personal face on a rare and impersonal disease, as well as giving a good insight into life with a disease that is hard to treat, and has a treatment that causes huge disruption to a family's life. Although I think there is only a subset of people who would benefit from this book, I think it is a great book to encourage medical students, who may not have to personal experience of severe diseases in childhood, to read, to give them a better understanding of a parent's perspective.

I could do with some more Goodreads friends, I love seeing what people have read and recommended, so if you want to add me, I'm here.

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday and Yarn Along.