...as Granny Weatherwax would say. (From Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, which I consider highly addictive.) No pictures today, just a quick post to say I'm alive. (Heck, I haven't managed to get the last four knitting projects photographed and onto Rav yet.)
It's been a crazy fall. Mostly fun and all, but I find myself needing more hours in a day, every day. There's been Havelock Fair and the Roxham WoolGathering, a dye class to teach, a baby shower, Rhinebeck, the Knitting Guild vendor's night, and now next weekend is the OVWSG Exhibition and Sale. On top of that, work hasn't had the September slowdown we did last year, and it looks like we'll be running another 2 weeks at least, when last year the garden end wrapped up a week or two earlier. I really hope we don't get early snow or really cold weather...
We worked yesterday, the first Saturday in a while. Today the apartment is going to be very warm and steamy, fan and open window notwithstanding. Damp socks hanging in the living room, damp skeins hanging on the rack in the bathtub, two dyepots simmering on the stove, and the week's baking (pizza and apple muffins) in the oven. Tags are on the table for writing out whenever I have 2 minutes to spare. With any luck I can get the lion's share of the prep for Ex and Sale done today, (apart from reskeining things once they dry), and do all the other little chores that are piling up (like sorting the recycling, which is also piling up), then I can concentrate on reskeining and packing during the week. I'm thinking the Sale should be pretty busy this year. Carole, the co-ordinator, has arranged an interview on TV this week (Wednesday on CTV Morning Live, I believe) where they will try to teach the interviewer spinning, weaving and felting. Sounds like a fun session!
...And there goes my timer. One batch of skeins ready to rinse, one dyebath ready to put skeins in, and the pizza's done, so I can start muffins as soon as the next round of pots is simmering.
Man, I'm looking forward to end of season. I want a nap. And then Kristina and I are planning a fibre prep day later in November, and then in the winter, Heather of HelloMello, who I met at Rhinebeck, and I are planning a SAL, like a little Tour de Fleece. I have ambitions to make a serious dent in the fibre stash this winter, and knit a few things for me, and...yeah, need more time again ;)
Showing posts with label Ex and Sale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ex and Sale. Show all posts
Sunday, 1 November 2015
Monday, 4 November 2013
Ex and Sale, Sheets, and a Pumpkin
Weaving and Spinning Guild Ex and Sale done for another year, and it was a great one. My only regret is that I completely missed getting photos for a few of my things before they were sold, so now I will have permanent blank spaces on those project pages on Ravelry :(
But I did bring home a really neat something, completely unexpectedly. On Saturday I was chatting with an older lady, also of Dutch extraction, about knitting, and the patterns from various countries, and dyeing, and we had a nice time. Sunday she showed up again at my booth and gave me a huge wooden knitting needle holder. Painted and carved, and likely Dutch; she said she'd enjoyed it for years, but was trying to cut down on the things she had, and she wanted it to go to someone who would appreciate it! I was just about bowled over.
The painting reminds me a bit of the folk art my Dutch grandmother used to paint. So special, and yet kind of sad that this lady had no one in her family who would want it, and it came to me, who she'd just met. It's a common issue, though; my mother has a lot of things - vintage clothes, quilts-in-progress - that came to her from someone she knew whose family would have tossed the things out if they inherited them.
The night before the show, I was ironing my tablecloth, aka a navy-blue bed sheet, and it occurred to me that, like vinegar, bedsheets must be one of those household items that have 101 uses. My coloured bedsheets have served as chair slipcovers, frost blankets for my plants, tablecloths for shows, a costume sari for Halloween, floor covering when I'm picking or carding wool...we used sheets for tents or to mimic a canopy bed as kids, Mom uses old ones for weaving rag rugs, and my living-room curtains are patterned sheeting we bought as a remnant. Very useful things.
It seems the next time I go to the parents', there will be another cat to get acquainted with. Mom said she wasn't looking for another cat, certainly not a male, and not an orange one, since her Abby is orange. And Halloween night, an orange male cat decided to adopt them. He apparently has a big round head too, so he has been given the obvious name, Pumpkin. The other cats have done the feline equivalent of shrug and go about their business, but the dog is getting a lot of exercise, constantly needing to look for That Cat and discourage it from staying. Pumpkin just sits and watches from a higher vantage point, but doesn't seem scared, (and the dog gets tired easily), so that should resolve itself pretty soon...
But I did bring home a really neat something, completely unexpectedly. On Saturday I was chatting with an older lady, also of Dutch extraction, about knitting, and the patterns from various countries, and dyeing, and we had a nice time. Sunday she showed up again at my booth and gave me a huge wooden knitting needle holder. Painted and carved, and likely Dutch; she said she'd enjoyed it for years, but was trying to cut down on the things she had, and she wanted it to go to someone who would appreciate it! I was just about bowled over.
The painting reminds me a bit of the folk art my Dutch grandmother used to paint. So special, and yet kind of sad that this lady had no one in her family who would want it, and it came to me, who she'd just met. It's a common issue, though; my mother has a lot of things - vintage clothes, quilts-in-progress - that came to her from someone she knew whose family would have tossed the things out if they inherited them.
The night before the show, I was ironing my tablecloth, aka a navy-blue bed sheet, and it occurred to me that, like vinegar, bedsheets must be one of those household items that have 101 uses. My coloured bedsheets have served as chair slipcovers, frost blankets for my plants, tablecloths for shows, a costume sari for Halloween, floor covering when I'm picking or carding wool...we used sheets for tents or to mimic a canopy bed as kids, Mom uses old ones for weaving rag rugs, and my living-room curtains are patterned sheeting we bought as a remnant. Very useful things.
It seems the next time I go to the parents', there will be another cat to get acquainted with. Mom said she wasn't looking for another cat, certainly not a male, and not an orange one, since her Abby is orange. And Halloween night, an orange male cat decided to adopt them. He apparently has a big round head too, so he has been given the obvious name, Pumpkin. The other cats have done the feline equivalent of shrug and go about their business, but the dog is getting a lot of exercise, constantly needing to look for That Cat and discourage it from staying. Pumpkin just sits and watches from a higher vantage point, but doesn't seem scared, (and the dog gets tired easily), so that should resolve itself pretty soon...
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Lots of Colours
I've got a new acquisition which I love. Seems one night at knitting, one of the coffee-shop regulars, Mike, mentioned he'd seen something at the second-hand store next door that some of the knitters might like. So Teresa went to check it out the next day, and decided it would be perfect for me, wrapped it up in shiny paper, and delivered it as a gift!
And she was right, it is perfect. It's a dye sampler, inscribed on the back as being from New Mexico. I recognize the plants used as southwest US, and the language as Native American, probably either Hopi or Navajo, since I know both groups have lovely textile traditions, and I think both from that quadrant. And I love the concept of using the little tapestry loom to show off the colors. In any case, I am now extremely curious to know how they got that gorgeous green from the red onion (my efforts have been more yellow-green, if anything), and whether some of these other plants can grow here... I know Johanne has a book on the Southwest dyes I will have to consult, but since she loves the dyes and tapestry weaving as well, I shall have to keep an eye on my sampler!
Not that I have any shortage of colours about. Packing up and labelling has begun; it's only a few days now to the OVWSG Ex and Sale. Friday at 4 is door-opening, and I'm hoping it doesn't rain. The suitcases are on loan, and I don't want them to get wet or dirty. But they make a great dual-purpose carrying and display tool for the yarn.
And she was right, it is perfect. It's a dye sampler, inscribed on the back as being from New Mexico. I recognize the plants used as southwest US, and the language as Native American, probably either Hopi or Navajo, since I know both groups have lovely textile traditions, and I think both from that quadrant. And I love the concept of using the little tapestry loom to show off the colors. In any case, I am now extremely curious to know how they got that gorgeous green from the red onion (my efforts have been more yellow-green, if anything), and whether some of these other plants can grow here... I know Johanne has a book on the Southwest dyes I will have to consult, but since she loves the dyes and tapestry weaving as well, I shall have to keep an eye on my sampler!
Not that I have any shortage of colours about. Packing up and labelling has begun; it's only a few days now to the OVWSG Ex and Sale. Friday at 4 is door-opening, and I'm hoping it doesn't rain. The suitcases are on loan, and I don't want them to get wet or dirty. But they make a great dual-purpose carrying and display tool for the yarn.
Friday, 18 October 2013
Fiber Factor
Just to let you know, first off - we found the mouse that escaped. He was hiding behind the flour bin. One of the cats drew our attention by staring at that corner, and we saw the mouse, managed to capture him in a sour-cream container and let it out in the field. He may still be running, or he may be telling tales to all his mates at the mouse pub; we don't know, but it's a happy ending for all (except for the cat, who didn't get to eat the mouse).
Anyway, my holiday is over. Back in the city, back to school. It was a gorgeous, fiber-y week, though. Got a lot done. Two classes (spinning and dyeing) at the ranch, with enthusiastic students. And a lot of prep for the OVWSG show, which is now only 2 weeks away.
Who says prep is work, though? It was gorgeous weather, warm enough to pick fleece or spin on the front porch, and admire the scenery.
Never any shortage of helpers for making sure my wool didn't escape, either.
Got several skeins of wool spun, and did two days of dyeing, got some lovely colors out of it (not that purple and pink stuff, but the rest is this week's work).
I did a bit of knitting also - finished the yellow and teal mitts and started the brown and white ones, and did a pair of booties in-between, except I haven't taken pics of those yet.
That is brown on the mittens, even if it's so dark it looks black. I dyed that last week with the new crop of black walnuts, and they are definitely strong. (My fingernails will be attesting to that until they grow out, probably. It looks like I've had a French manicure but in black instead of white).
Anyway, my holiday is over. Back in the city, back to school. It was a gorgeous, fiber-y week, though. Got a lot done. Two classes (spinning and dyeing) at the ranch, with enthusiastic students. And a lot of prep for the OVWSG show, which is now only 2 weeks away.
Who says prep is work, though? It was gorgeous weather, warm enough to pick fleece or spin on the front porch, and admire the scenery.
Never any shortage of helpers for making sure my wool didn't escape, either.
Got several skeins of wool spun, and did two days of dyeing, got some lovely colors out of it (not that purple and pink stuff, but the rest is this week's work).
I did a bit of knitting also - finished the yellow and teal mitts and started the brown and white ones, and did a pair of booties in-between, except I haven't taken pics of those yet.
That is brown on the mittens, even if it's so dark it looks black. I dyed that last week with the new crop of black walnuts, and they are definitely strong. (My fingernails will be attesting to that until they grow out, probably. It looks like I've had a French manicure but in black instead of white).
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
Here and There
Whoops, disappeared for a while there. Been a busy week - Ex and Sale, group project for English, general studying and catching up...
We had a really nice weekend for the Ex and Sale, at least. A bit chilly, but not raining. I was really glad I didn't have to lug my stuff on and off the bus in the rain. And the colder weather makes people think of Christmas. I don't know if the attendance was as high as last year, but there were always people wandering around to booths and displays, demoing going on, and a buzz of conversation.
I made enough to make it worth coming back next year, for sure, and since most of the finished work went fast, I think that will be something to concentrate more on. I spent most of the time I wasn't talking to people in knitting and reciting plant names for this week's quizzes.
The cold weather coming in also means we need to get our outdoor work finished at school. I noticed when I was shoveling stone dust today that it was starting to freeze into chunks. But the walkway is progressing well, and we should hopefully have it finished in a week or so. Besides hauling stone dust today, I got to use the Core Cutter (the saw for the brick), help level stone dust, and lay brick. Can't you just see the frantic activity as we work? Like our uniform? Hort Couture, if ever there was. The big balding dude at right in one pic is our teacher, and he is very good at bellowing.
Yesterday I was helping with getting one of the water features cleaned up for winter, so between pond scum and stone dust, my pants and gloves have some pretty interesting residue this week!
One final thing the cold weather is bringing out, and that is the Christmas ads in flyers. I got the Canadian Tire one today. There seems to be a tacky tropical decorating trend I missed. Not only are there normal fake Christmas trees, but there are also pre-lit fake palm trees - and a lit pink flamingo and tinsel palm tree for the front yard. Oi. As if the normal pink plastic flamingos weren't enough!
We had a really nice weekend for the Ex and Sale, at least. A bit chilly, but not raining. I was really glad I didn't have to lug my stuff on and off the bus in the rain. And the colder weather makes people think of Christmas. I don't know if the attendance was as high as last year, but there were always people wandering around to booths and displays, demoing going on, and a buzz of conversation.
I made enough to make it worth coming back next year, for sure, and since most of the finished work went fast, I think that will be something to concentrate more on. I spent most of the time I wasn't talking to people in knitting and reciting plant names for this week's quizzes.
The cold weather coming in also means we need to get our outdoor work finished at school. I noticed when I was shoveling stone dust today that it was starting to freeze into chunks. But the walkway is progressing well, and we should hopefully have it finished in a week or so. Besides hauling stone dust today, I got to use the Core Cutter (the saw for the brick), help level stone dust, and lay brick. Can't you just see the frantic activity as we work? Like our uniform? Hort Couture, if ever there was. The big balding dude at right in one pic is our teacher, and he is very good at bellowing.
Yesterday I was helping with getting one of the water features cleaned up for winter, so between pond scum and stone dust, my pants and gloves have some pretty interesting residue this week!
One final thing the cold weather is bringing out, and that is the Christmas ads in flyers. I got the Canadian Tire one today. There seems to be a tacky tropical decorating trend I missed. Not only are there normal fake Christmas trees, but there are also pre-lit fake palm trees - and a lit pink flamingo and tinsel palm tree for the front yard. Oi. As if the normal pink plastic flamingos weren't enough!
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