Pursuing Inspiration

2009-09-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sad news tonight, and news that so many of us are dreading. My good friend, Laura, lost her mom. Thankfully, Laura and her sister and a helper were present. Thankfully again, Laura's mom - Jean's, husband Lane was present in their home, playing the piano, and playing a tune that Jean loved. Or maybe it was just that Jean loved to hear Lane playing their piano.

Laura called this evening to tell me of Jean's passing. I met Laura's parents years ago - at least 17 or 18 years ago - while we lived in Truckee and I was just getting to know Laura.

Mother and daughter relationships are complicated, but one thing I'm pretty sure about is that a certain daughter takes after her mom. I seem to be taking after mine, and I could see from the beginning that Laura was taking after hers. Jean was Opinionated,with a capital "O", which made her a huge asset in her southern CA weaving and spinning guild. Same with Laura in our Northern NV guild. Laura has been out of state for a few years, but her impression on our guild is and will remain a legacy.

Laura - you should be proud of the ideas and energy you instilled upon us - your vision and energy lasts and I offer up that much of who you are reflects upon your mom. Jean was a spitfire, an actuator, and a mother who loved you so much that at times neither of you could see that. You guys butted heads now and then, which has been amusing and frustrating at times, but I certainly could always recognize that you were your mother's girl. Of this heritage you should be proud.

My heart goes out to you and Mary and of course, your mom's love of her life, Lane.

Tibetan flags a-flyin- so may prayers going your way.

Love, Peace, and finally, Love.

A

2009-08-06T18:00:00.001-07:00

Here's the plan:

2009-07-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

Ok. It's only been 2 years and 4 months since I last posted, but today Inspiration struck so time to get back in the game.

I have the world's ugliest window treatments outside of the Netherworld and this needs immediate attention. Of course, "immediate" in the fiber world means start on it this week and by next year you will see the finished project. Did you notice that I didn't include the word, "hopefully"?

Teaching knitting has slowed to a snail's pace for the summer, soon to resume to a pace I'm not sure I'm up to, but for now, the hiatus has given way to - what? - Inspiration!

I collect photos and postcards and greeting cards that I'm hoping will Inspire me one day. In gazing at the ugly window coverings and then checking the bulletin board for those pics that cheer me up, it occurred to me that I could either knit 4 strips to replace the four 74" swags in my living room, or I could do a bit of tapestry weaving.

Holy Cow! 12" wide, 74 or 76" strips would be great in super bold colors and then also address the issue of the mint green vertical blinds. I'm going for the tapestry to begin with. May have to fall back on the knitting....

Amy, my friend, you are on your Alaskan cruise but our short time together the other day is pushing me towards a project that will take a while, but which I can own. Thanks!

2007-05-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

I've spent the better part of today watching the hummers....have tried to identify them and I'm coming to the conclusion that there are 2 females and 1 male, and that they are Black-chinned Hummingbirds. The illustrations from "Discovering Sierra Birds" was incredibly helpful in identification, while the photo of the male only from "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds" was not. But here is what the Audubon book says about the courtship flight of the male, which I hope I can witness: "He courts his female with a dazzling arial display involving a pendulum-like flight pattern." Whoowhee!! I love this shot of this hummer (below) because of the detail of the little, itty bitty feet. Perhaps I've been un-observant in the past, but I don't ever recall seeing hummingbirds in my yard before July.

Another amazing sighting this week: while driving along about 2 miles from home, I saw a rather odd looking quail crossing the roadway (we have California quail here, by the hundreds). When I got a little closer I realized it was a chukar! Before development they were hunted around here, but I've never seen any that weren't WAY away in the desert and far from people. I am keeping my eye out for more. My DH tells me that they are vicious birds, and will flock together to kill a cow or steer on BLM land, then drag it to a cave to feed on it over the winter. So he's planning on forming a party (consisting of himself and hunting dog, a yellow lab, who is perfect in every way except for this habit of shedding, named Maggie) to scout them out so as to protect the local livestock and small children.

So here's the 2nd part of the tale of my journey to NE a couple of weeks ago:

A TALE OF TWO CATHERINE'S/KATHRYN'S

Brother Gus & I spent the Sunday travelling to the vicinity of Albany and Troy, NY. Catherine Lowe was our first stop. She is a knitwear designer from whom Gus had taken a workshop last fall. She is meticulous in her sampling/swatches/finishing. She's just started a line of yarns and the unique bit about them is that they are 2-ply, and incredibly fine and smooth. They make a crisply even fabric, and you combine the plied yarns to make the thickness of yarn desired for your project. Not only can you combine the yarns for thickness, but also the various fibers (merino, alpaca, silk, or kid mohair/silk blend) for different effects, but you can also combine colors. They are very rich and right now consist of a gold/bronze, red (very much on the cool side), mossy green, black, charcoal, deep teal, black violet and raisin. It's obvious that the way she likes and/or MUST work is without distraction. She's got a painter's studio which is mostly white, with some black and gray accents. Windows are covered over with a translucent shade, obscuring the green of the surrounding woods. We had a lovely visit, and the very best coffee I've ever had, bar none.

Next stop: the home of Kathryn Alexander.

Talk about two very successful knitwear designers who are at the extreem ends of the spectrum. Kathryn and husband Mark live on a 15 acre farm with their 2 horses, Buck and Little Bucket. It's always been a policy of mine to NEVER get on a horse named "Buck" (or "Scar Face" or "Widow-Maker", for that matter, and if you know about horses that leap over jumps, "Chip" is another no-no). Not to worry! On my next visit, I get to ride Little Bucket!

Kathryn's home is her studio. It is as rich in color as any place I've ever been. Warm and inviting - cut pile rugs of many styles covering hardwood floors. Her work covers her walls, saddles, harnesses and bridles accent the rooms. Baskets of yarn are artfully arranged beside sofas that blend in only because they also carry dozens of colors. How inspiring! Creativity abounds, fer shur. The only black/white/gray I observed was a Peter Collingwood rug. Oh, my.... Friend's work also adorn the walls, and I noticed a silk weaving that could only have come from Sara Lamb. I ran to the car to grab my camera - only to find I'd left it behind at Gus's house. How sad is that?? A lovely lunch and glass of wine, stories about Habu, exchanges of ideas to help Gus along with his fledging fiber business. A visit to the barn and much-needed closeness with horses. The most tidy barn I've ever been in, and Kathryn emailed a few days later to tell me she was vacuuming the spider webs from the rafters. Now THAT is one devoted horse-woman!

I've gotten my vest kit from her and thrown all else aside to work on it. As in all things color (whether a variegated yarn with interesting color changes, or intarsia or Fair Isle knitting), I find I cannot stop working on it. 48 colors - imagine!! Pics to come on my next posting. Jimmy Beans Wool is now carrying her kits, or you can order directly from her.

2007-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I returned from a trip to Massachusetts to have a visit with family and friends. My brother, Gus, flew me out so that I could help him with a booth he was offered at Sheepshearing Day in Waltham, MA, just outside Boston. If an exhibitor was demo-ing or showing some livestock, the booth fee was waived. I was the demo-er. Gus has worked to develop a couple of yarn lines from his Shetland sheep. One is a 2-ply jumper weight yarn, and the other is a 3-ply dk weight. Both are blended with 5% silk and are lovely to work with. As of now, there are 3 natural colors and 4 yarns which are dyed with natural dyes.

The weather prediction was for rain. It had been raining off and on since I had arrived there Thursday. The field the tents were set up on was quite wet, and we didn't think to bring drop cloths. But the day ended up being quite sunny and things began to dry out.
I was fortunate to be able to spin on Gus's wheel, custom made for him by a man on Fair Isle who built it out of driftwood. A sweet little castle wheel, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it. We thought we'd brought a clean fleece - also unfortunately, this turned out to not be true. So I spun all day in the grease, and today, 4 days later, my hands and arms still ache. Lots of people wandered through the tent and were fascinated by the spinning process. Sheepshearding Day isn't necessarily something that attracts a lot of fiber people - it's mostly set up as a crafts fair, with sheep shearing demo, sheep dog demo, folk dancers, and lots of booths selling mosly non-fiber related things. Oh, and don't forget the food vendors. (Sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to sample the Fried Dough or Sponge Bob Square Pants popsicles!) This was Gus's 1st experience selling in such a setting, and at the end of the day, it turned out quite sucessfully. Lots of cards were distributed with his website information
(www.swiftriverfarm.com)
Preparation for the day took all day Friday - winding skeins and wrapping ball bands, putting kits together, packing up, and trying to predict just what we were going to need. All in all, too much fun!

Next:
further adventures in New England and the Adirondacks.

2007-04-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

As rightly pointed out, I've been very remiss in my posts! Sometimes life just takes you down a different road for a while, and I've been DOING but not WRITING.

All is well in the garden (oh, except for the freezing temperatures and snow yesterday & today). I always seem to do my fall clean-up in the spring, and this year has been no exception. Lots of leaf litter with some very nice composted material underneath. This year I am planning on building a frame for a compost heap. Living in the desert, I'll have to keep it watered, but my first concern is location, location, location!

Got together with friends a few weeks ago and we dyed up a storm! It was great to see everyone's techniques (or lack thereof). Here is some of my handspun Shetland yarn that came out great. I found myself mostly focusing on shades of purple, olive and brown. Once I got a "theme" going, it was hard to consider any other colors.

Finally, a good-bye to our awesome horse, D'Arcy.
Spring, 1987 - April 13, 2007

2006-10-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

I don't know...trying to keep up with my blogging is just another something to accomplish. I guess right now if I can manage once a month I'm doing pretty good for me!

I'm working hard on trying to make progress on my cutpile weaving. I'm using my brother's yarns (see the shawls woven in August for our sister's wedding). Still only available in gold/rust, they are lovely colors and the shetland-silk combination works well.

This is how my weaving was looking about a week ago. It's going to be a bag, and the design is a spiral. This spiral works counter clock-wise and symbolizes Rebirth. The other panel on the bag will reverse the colors and direction and will symbolize Spirituality.

Left: More progress this week

Left: I used thrums, mostly, from the weaving of the shawls

The piece is warped on a Mirrix loom, and I was having trouble with it truncating (going flat from the pattern). So I removed some of the weaving, including the heading of soumak, and re-distributed the warp over the spring which serves as determining the sett - I took out the spring for a wider sett, replacing with a spring for a closer sett, and am very happy with the results. Now the problem is in the fell - it is not level and I think this is due to uneven tension. Do you see how it frowns? Lower at each selvege edge. I've been trying to build up with more knots at each side, and to my inexperienced hand it feels like the tension is even, but it must not be. So I'll try adding a shim under the warp at each end to see if more tension will even things out.

To follow: Super bulky weight knit vest with zipper, and shrug from Noro silk garden variegated yarn!

2006-09-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Sharon,and her DH Ian are having an open house today! I was so excited because this is the first Saturday since Christmas and one vacation, that I've had off from work. So many friends will be there, plus 1 dog who needed rescuing that Sharon and Ian took in, and I haven't seen him since. I loaded up my truck with the spinning wheel that needs major dusting off, fiber from 15 yrs ago that I am determined to spin and knit up (although I REALLY need to get spinning something that will be used in cut-pile weaving to be shown off at SOAR - and this could be this fiber's destination. Sometimes we don't know until we actually spin it up where it will land).

Sharon & Ian came by my shop yesterday and were so happy I'd actually be able to join up with them and mutual friends. Then - SABOTAGE! I worked for about an hour this morning (between working at home and at the yarn store, never mind the travel in between), then stopped by the ranch to give our horse a bucket of grain and to check up on her. She's an old gray mare, and in this part of the world, gray horses are very suseptable to melanomas. She's got lumps and bumps and is about 20 yrs old. We've recently noticed a growth in her ear. Gross to look at, but more importantly, irritating to her. Vet is coming next week and I am anxious about what treatment to follow - major surgery is not a possibility because of age. Minor - yes, if it gives relief, but for how long will she have relief and at what cost? Sadly, these are factors....

Back home and catching up on cleaning and organizing. I've been hugely stressed lately with tons of work at the yarn store (hundreds of orders online which is a GOOD thing, right?) But short-handed and too many hours put in already this past week. So trying to throw things together for the outing at Sharon/Ian's - stop to get gas and the final blow: I've locked my keys in the truck, as well as my cell phone. Fortunately, not my wallet, which has the AAA card. Call Mike - he tells me where the hide-a-key is, but I can't find it. Never put back after the last brain fart, apparently. Call AAA, and they tell me 30 minutes to 2 hrs, even after I've told them I'm blocking a business (gas pump at 7-11) Call our daughter Amanda from the pay phone. Leave a message. Thank goodness the tow truck guy shows up in about 15 minutes. I'm in the truck in 30 seconds or less, give the guy a tip towards a Big Gulp as he says he's really thirsty, and call Mike & Amanda (who never got the msg) to tell them I'm ok. But not on my way. I'm crying at this point - I'm angry at Mike, AAA, and myself. Who is to blame? Me, of course. Stressed out, I sabotage myself and human nature being what it is, want to blame the rest of the world. By now the Open House is winding down (will be 45 minutes to get there, by which time it's over, for the most part).

So - disappointing. I stopped by the market to pick up stuff for the dinner I'd hoped would be provided at the O.H. Ian is a master bbq-er, so far as I know, and the thought of meeting up with that darned dog, plus the other folk I haven't seen in forever...well, more whining won't get me anywhere! But comfort food! Poor Amanda has been valient in shipping orders from the shop - she feels good in the morning, but I think she's got a mild virus/flu going and fever at night. What comfort food for the 2 of us tonight (Mike is going to the UNR football game....yawn....and HE is the major cooker guy around here)? I am no fan of breakfast, unless it is for dinner, so waffles and maple syrup and sausage....YUM!

My apologies, Sharon, Ian, Amy, Linda, Lucky (aka Eddie)....

2006-08-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

Phoebe's Blanket

For her birthday, Phoebe picked out a color of Kureyon for me to knit this blanket from (#148). I wonder what I would have done had she asked me to knit it from say, a pastel, or (uck) blue. I have nothing against these colors, and right now am knitting a baby hat from some very softly colored yarns. Blue, you ask? I am not in my blue period right now. Check back in a couple of years.

So this brings up the question: When you are knitting something for that special someone, do you surprise them, or let them choose?

I surprise them. The exception is my husband. He is quite particular and since we do share the same space (he would differ - I and the loom, spinning wheel, books, fiber and yarns occupy the house - he just owns the space around the various tv's and his recreational toys like his motorcycle, 2 dirt bikes, and his wonderful hunting dog) it's a little hard to have something as a surprise. In Mike's case, the first sweater I knit for him was a sucess in a TKGA contest, but a disaster for him. So I get to wear it! The next sweater I knit for him (which is the most current, done this winter, a mere 10+ years after the first one) I definitly got all of his input before even starting. And at that I had to re-do it twice. But it was worth it. He wears it and loves it and that is what matters. I have found that anything larger than a hat requires approval. And if there is a color I don't/won't knit (like black these days, since my daylight knitting time is very limited), it doesn't come up as a consideration. I'm lucky to be able to bring the yarn home (oh - please - do NOT bring your DH to the yarn store! It is too painful!!!) for his approval. Get the yarn, if he doesn't like it you can always exchange it (at Jimmy Beans Wool) anyhow.

OH! Major digression! Back to the blanket!

7 squares sewn up in 1 day, just 9 more, then a border. Better find more yarn to create that!!

2006-08-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Pleated Skirt

I knit this skirt from the Blue Sky Alpaca pattern called (what?) Pleated Skirt. It recommends their 100% Alpaca sport weight - I - Allie the Fiberist - having trouble following any pattern to the word started out by deciding to knit it from Rowan's Cashsoft DK. I thought it might work out a bit better with this yarn, being a little more wash-friendly (Cashsoft is machine washable, but I hand washed anyway - not a lot of skirt here, but a LOT of work went into it!)and having perhaps a little more elasticity. The jury is out on that one. Amanda, daughter #1 is modelling, and she said that it stretched a bit today - this is the 2nd wearing. So we'll wash and let it dry and it'll be good enough for the next wear or 2. She spent a day working at Jimmy Beans, and if that's not enough to wear a person out, it'll at least stretch a skirt out, fer shur.

Do you see the kinda dead stuff at Amanda's feet? Yep - you got it - Zone 1!!

I didn't mention in yesterday's blog that the model for the shawl is daughter #2, Katie. She's a natural, dontcha think? Especially since it was into the 90's and here she is sitting in the sun with a wool/silk shawl draped over her and Mom and Uncle directing!

I still haven't started piecing the blanket squares together - maybe early tomorrow I will start, before heading out to the Fair in Grass Valley, CA. So many friends to see and all their good work! 100 miles from here, and the trip will be a pretty one.

2006-08-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've figured out how to post some pictures - we only have 3 computers here...my main working one doesn't recognise the cable connection from the camera all of a sudden...oy...gotta get Ramsey the computer genious on this one!

My sister, Meg, and her partner of 14 years, Clay, got married this past weekend on 8/5. We lashed pontoon boats together, we ALL took the plunge to celebrate! I wove 2 shawls from our brother Gus and his partner, Bruce's Shetland sheep's yarn. Blended with 5% silk, it has incredible sheen and drape and the colors - a rust and gold, are almost irridescent in their interaction. Gus & Bruce have a magnificent farm in central Massachusetts: Swift River Farm (www.swiftriverfarm.com) Gus performed the ceremony and of course, this being in California, the weather was perfect. Oh - I did encounter about 2 mosquitoes =0)

This is my last floor loom, or low warp, weaving project. From now on my weaving is cut pile combined with tapestry. So the loom is going away, making space. Hopefully a good thing, but not necessarily. I've found that Nature Abhors a Vacuum. So does any household I've ever lived in....

2006-08-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

I'm getting so tired of all the bad news in the world - it makes me sad, angry, depressed. And really cuts into any creativity I might have! So for now I've got the radio off and pondering my next projects. Or should I say those projects already begun and seemingly hanging out there in space!

Two are the most immediate to tackle: first, a knitted blanket I've been working on for daughter Phoebe. 16 squares knit from Noro Kureyon in a log cabin pattern. They measure 14" each and all are knit up. Now comes the sewing together. I guess what is holding me back is that I have to lay them all out to see who gets sewn up next to whom. This is daunting not because I don't have the space, but because as soon as I lay them out, they will get covered with Maggie fur which is constantly flying about! Winter is on it's way, however, and Phoebe being in Michigan right now is going to need this blanket before too much longer....

Second, a cut pile woven bag from handspun silk I started at SOAR last fall. I plan to have it finished by this year's SOAR, so I'd better get crackin'! Or should I say, knottin'!

But first, I have to get out into the yard - a major irrigation leak and if it's not fixed, those plants in Zone 1 (it's like the garden has zip codes!) will soon be suffering.

Then off to work at Jimmy Beans Wool.