Diving In

Out of focus shot of the box of warps!

First painted warp rough sleyed with potential wefts...

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

I collapsed into bed almost as soon as I came in the door so exhausted was I from the long flight and lack of food.  With my food allergies, I decided not to eat anything they were serving on the plane and made do with some dry rye crackers, a serving of protein powder I'd prepared ahead of time (and just added water to) and some fruit I bought in the airport.

Yesterday I did ease into the studio weaving one session of place mats, clearing off the table (Doug had dealt with most things but some were left for my return) and started on my inbox.

The trip was great and I don't know if I'll ever be able to make such a journey again.  Fibre Focus asked me to write up a 'travelogue' so I'll be jotting my thoughts down today and once the article has been published may add it to my web site.  Or here.

The box of warps was waiting for me so the incentive is high to get the mats off the loom today so I can throw the first of the warps onto the loom.  Two were still damp when the dyer packaged them up so I'm starting with them.  They are more on the pastel end of the value spectrum so I had to kind of dig for suitable wefts.  I think the three in the photo will work just fine and will give me some pale scarves which I've not really had previously, having stuck to the darker shades.

There is just a month until the Olds Fibre Week and ANWG conferences.  Doug will be doing Olds by himself while I'm in Bellingham.  Really hoping I can attend Fibre Week next year, I've heard so much about it.  :)  We need to pack up all the yarns, making sure everything is priced, ready for him to sell...

While I was away I had my usual stack of reading material.  I read one of Kelley Armstrong's books (title forgotten but it was a mystery, not one of her urban fantasy series), Ian Rankin's latest with both Rebus and Malcolm Fox (from the Complaints).  Turned out I'd already read the Robin Hobb I bought so I wound up buying some books in England.  Kjell Engstrom, Iain Banks (Stonemouth) and still reading Karen Maitland's The Falcons of Fire and Ice.

I'd seen recommendations for Iain Banks but this was the first title I'd read.  I will go looking for more.  Maitland is a good writer but the topic of the Spanish Inquisition I find - disturbing.  That she does too is what is keeping me reading.  The Inquisition is apparently the back drop to an 'adventure' the heroine is to have.

I have let my request list at the library dwindle because I was going to be away so much in the early part of this year.  I will be spending some time searching out the titles of some of my fav authors who have had new titles come out (or will shortly) and build up my reading list again.  I was tempted to buy Lindsey Davis' new title in England but it was only in hardback - expensive and heavy to pack.  So I will wait until the library gets that one in.

Spring is slowly coming here.  Apparently we had some 'hot' weather earlier but it is cool now again.

All in all, good to be home, good to have done the trip, good to have the memories.