Equinox

3 hours into it, reflecting on the past quarter.

SW 2013

I'll start with a summary of the damage report:

fiber ... yarn and hardware.

There was reconciliation with Molly.

There were daily visits to A Verb for Keeping Warm's booth and Lisa Souza's booth. Because it's good to visit kind souls and beauty.

I took Andrea Wong's class on "Knitting in the Portuguese style", where the yarn is tensioned around the back of one's neck. I've seen pictures of South Americans knitting in this manner, and apparently this method is also used in areas of Asia and the Middle East, too. The tension created by looping the yarn around the neck actually assists in maneuvering the yarn at the needles. The left hand thumb flicks the working yarn over the right needle tip. When I use this technique I'll need to swatch to get gage. It's quite different from "English" and "Continental" methods that I currently use interchangebly.

I also took Galina Khmeleva's class on "Spinning for Lace Knitting." Great introduction to precious fine fibers and spinning with a traditional Russian supported spindle.

The left photo shows samples of singles on spindles as well as plied yarn in balls. The right photo shows my sequential single of cashmere, buffalo, pygora, and quiviut winding onto the plying spindle with white silk. Oo-la-la.

The yarn on the round card is from class; the yarn on the square card is my practice yarn after class. Plies need more twist, I see.


Here's a fitting toast to the entire experience. It was wonderful.

TdF 2012

Na lei hulu hipa (from inside to outside):
2-ply merino off a bobbin from SW 2011 (yep, pretty old);
2-ply "Salad Days" from several "first-try" bobbins;
TdF 2012 project of 2-ply cashmere-merino.
They've gone through the wet bath and are drying.

After the yarn was dry and hanked up I had a chance to mention the project to Lisa. When she asked if it had a tight spin I knew I had to revisit this yarn.

I put the hank on a swift and put it through the wheel again, adding more twist. This first pic was taken when it was taken off the niddy-noddy.
Looking good!

This second pic was taken a few minutes later as the yarn was no longer constrained with tension.
Looking wacky!

I made wool soup again. I love the aroma. We'll see what's up when this is dry in a few days.

Some things done

Saturday Jun 30: This afternoon dying occurred - turmeric, vinegar, soda ash in a boiling solution onto muslin. The aroma triggered a yearning for curry.

At 11:30pm I opened my eyes wide and realized I had not started my TdF. I found consolation in knowing I had my goal and fiber in mind, so re-affirmed those two thoughts and vowed to spin tomorrow.

Sunday Jul 1: Countless "birds" were crushed, maimed and killed with my sweaty right hand that held tufts of cashmere and merino. At least 3 false starts occurred in getting spun fiber onto the bobbin before my hands and wheel found their balance with this precious short-staple fiber blend.

When I took this picture I intended to stop for the day. But my hands wanted to feel the fiber so I continued, putting aside the desire to eat (or do anything else on my weekend "to-do" list) and spin instead. Hours later, 2 ounces were spun, with 2 ounces of fiber remaining for another day. I don't know if I can spin this fiber in short periods of time - once a rhythm is established it is difficult to stop and re-start without losing consistency of spin. I suppose the consistency will occur with more practice.

Then I went into the kitchen (in the early evening) and saw the bowls of rhubarb and strawberries that I'd prepared a day earlier, to be put into jars. I could no longer postpone this so I just did it.

Recipe notes: 2# rhubarb, 2# sugar, 50g grated ginger, 1/4C lemon juice. 2# cut strawberries, 2# sugar, 1/4C lemon juice and a few shreds of lemon peel. Macerate fruits in different bowls for 2 hours then refrigerate for 24 hours. Bring strawbs to a boil several times, resting 5-10 minutes between each boil. This process gets the air out of the berries. Drain & divide juice & solids for each mixture (yields approx 4C juice, 4C solids for each fruit). Put 1/2 of each fruit's juice in pan, bring to boil until "set stage", skimming scum. Add 1/2 of strawbs & boil about 10min, then add 1/2 of rhub & boil another 5min or until "set stage". Yield 5C for this 1/2 batch (total yield 10C). Process jars.

I'm a bit tired. But I feel like I've put money in the bank.

SW 2012 album

Stitches West 2012, February, Santa Clara, CA.
I took two classes: "Slick set-in-sleeves" with JCBriar, and a "Fitting Knits" class with Lily Chin. Both were worthwhile.

I got a beautiful lightweight spindle by KCL Woods. It weighs less than an ounce and spins true. I got what I call a "more fun than a barrel full of monkeys" pack of colorful fiber. And some MadTosh yarn and sumptuous Souza fiber.

I met up with some friends at A Verb for Keeping Warm's booth, which was selected by the Stitches West instructors as "most beautiful"! Congrats!
In the right-hand photo I'm flanked by Kristine and Romi, sources of the dress pattern and fabric, as well as the scarf I'm wearing. The turtle fabric is whimsical and from AVFKW, and the scarf is "Caliz" and designed by Romi.

Here are a few other purchases. And in the lower left corner you can see a little souvenir from my visit with Ysolda.

Plaid Friday: t minus 7

In addition to supporting local, you can support indie. Plaid Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when you (and yours who are lounging around) can go browse and support an independent retail merchant.

Can you walk, bike, or take public transportation there? drive less than 10 miles there?

Do you know who the retail proprietor is? or do you know that if you needed to speak with them, they would be responsive to your request?

Is the merchant somewhat knowledgeable about what they offer you? either about the source of the item, how to best use it, or other resources? are they helpful?

I'm going to support places where there are faces, names, and intelligence behind the counter.

Lodging

On a recent journey I decided to take two days to get to a destination.

The first day, I drove through urban, rural, and logging roads to get to a campsite.

Table Mountain Casino. Hmm.

High Sierra Station

As I set up shelter and prepped to eat and drink, I realized that I am a walking commercial for REI Co-op. Add that shop to others that I spend time in - places that contain artifacts, fiber, books, art supplies, hardware.

A smoky fire keeps bugs away.

This probably also explains why, especially whenever I travel, I usually look like I came off a mountain. Others' appearances are more chic and acceptable to city folk; mine is typically met with a questioning look or comment. Whatever.

The second day, after a short boat ride and a hike filled with wonderous views, evidence of the power of natural forces, some anxiety and weariness, I arrived at the destination.

Waiting for the ferry.

A compass would've been helpful.

Destination benchmark.

Plays well with others.

There were friendly creatures, beds, pillows, home-cooked meals with fresh, varied and healthy ingredients, a river, some hot springs, and horses. This is a working place.

One of twenty-five.

Where it gets done.

Tackle.

A working place.

Another kind of horse.

I slept soundly the first night as my body recovered from internal chills and sore spots (mercifully no blisters!) from the hike and altitude. The next afternoon was spent napping. I brought some fiber to keep me company.

Can I have a witness?

My pre-occupation with it in the late afternoon was costly because mosquitoes and black flies (I didn't know they would bite!) gorged on me when I couldn't move around enough to shoo them away. Experiences are embedded in this fiber.

TdF end

Today I saw an exquisite spindle, beautifully crafted on the top and engineered with a metal rim. It's a Golding (about 1oz) and belongs to a friend.

Here's my work this afternoon on my wonderful Kundert spindle. Lisa Souza's "Sedona" fiber is being Navajo-plied-on-the-fly. Not much has been done but it's really not about volume, is it.

It's about doing something that brings you joy. Despite grieving about the heineous events in Oslo, being totally dismayed about the bipartisan politics and corrupt businesses in this country that are jeopardizing our quality of life and our future, and wondering just what the hell makes certain people tick, this fiber is infused with sun and music.

First Project with Handspun

Got some fiber from Lisa Souza. 50/50 fine-merino/bombyx-silk in Sourball, Winter Pansy and Leafpile. Started with 8 to 15g of each, split in half, then each half split 3 or 4 times and attentuated, with approximately equal yet randomly chosen amounts of each colorway in each single, which was spun long-draw and somewhat relaxed, and then plied moderately hard. Barberpoling could be a good thing.

So I have a few balls of yarn, spun at different times and temperaments during this month of March: 167g, 473y, predominantly fingering weight.

With this handspun I started another High Road yesterday, with a few minor modifications. We'll see how it goes.