Don't do as I do redux

I hope all of you realize that I document my mistakes here just so you don't have to make them! Here's the latest fiasco. I figured I could ply the gradient on my Swan so I wanted to wind off the cops and create plying balls. So far so good. But how to anchor the spindles so that I don't lose or gain twist as I wind off?

Ann suggested sticking them in a cup of rice. Brilliant!

That worked reasonably well and I was able to wind the cops off the two trindles onto toilet paper rolls. The TP rolls here are more sturdy than the ones in the US and I expect to use them many more times than I would in the US where they crush very easily.

Now that I had the two singles in the correct order, at least the beginning part, I decided to start winding my plying balls. I took the bobbins with the first single and stuck a chopstick through them and stuck them in a cup of rice also. The first bobbin wound off pretty well. The second one, though, is a mess.

The problem with this bobbin was that it was over full and the ends were slipping off. The problem arose because the strands at the bottom got messed up due to friction with the rice. It is all fuzzed up and a tangle. I have been breaking off the fuzzed up part and rejoining the end onto the plying ball but it takes patience. I need to do it in small segments so that I don't lose patience and mess it up further.

Next time I will just let the bobbin roll around on the ground between my feet and see how that works.

I took some more photos of New Year decorations. I asked around about what actually happens during the festival but it appears that, like Christmas, the actual festival is pretty low key. People go to their family homes and spend it with family. The city is quiet. There is not much traffic on the streets. Stores close early today and tomorrow - the first couple of days of the festival.

This was in the lobby of the IFC mall. Goldfish and gold coins are a common theme.

I was in HSBC yesterday, fixing a mistake that they made. They had a clementine tree in the office.

Their lobby had a decoration with cherry blossoms.

And lastly, the decoration in the lobby of my office building. That is all for Chinese New Year decorations. Let's see what else strikes my fancy after the New Year holiday!

Happy 2013 to everyone! 春节快乐 - Happy Spring Festival!