Bucket of Textiles

Doug is sick with a nasty cough/cold and has been run off his feet trying to deal with all of his own stuff and what I can't do for myself as well, so I asked a friend to help me get the textiles ready for the up coming show at the Community Arts Council "Studio Shoppe".

There was one bucket of things from the sale last weekend and Loralee sorted through the storeroom filling two more. I don't know how much they want for the exhibit, so figured it would be easier to send lots and let them choose.

If I remember correctly the other artisan is a woodworker so I sent some tea towels and table runners as well as scarves and shawls.

It probably would have been a good idea to send a display rack, but that was just too much to contemplate considering I wasn't able to schlep it over there myself.

I'm trying to cross one thing off my to-be-done list everyday. This was a biggie!

Currently reading The Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

Knitting to Pass the Time

Since one of the captain's chairs from the van is currently living in the, er, living room, it got used as the backdrop for this photo of my 'pass time' knitting. And yes, that orange shag carpet is actually going to go -finally - in May. :D YAY!

A major stash enhancement event was the acquisition of about a ton of yarn from a mill that was closing out. Some of that yarn was a very high quality acrylic slub yarn (the white and black in the above photo.) I have this yarn in 3 different colourways and have used it as weft for afghans.

But a 90 pound case (in one instance two cases of one of the colours) is one heck of a lot of yarn so for the last few years I've taken a cone and combining it with various other tidbits of left over weaving yarns, knit scarves that I donate to worthy causes (Salvation Army, women's shelter, emergency room, etc.)

It's my end-of-the-day-watching-tv type of 'creative fidgeting' (as a friend calls it) and it has been a life saver the last few weeks.

I confess I'm getting mighty tired of sitting all day long. :(

But I'm almost at the half way mark and things continue to look good so I'm hopeful that I'll be up and at 'em in a little over 3 weeks. :)

Currently reading Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

No Pictures, Please!

As you can imagine, my days are pretty much devoted to 'nursing' my ankle. Since getting the moon boot, I've left it off as much as possible for the incisions to heal. It's looking much better today, but still a sight to make strong men flinch I think, so I'm not including a photo. :}

The swelling is coming down nicely, and my foot no longer looks like an over-stuffed sausage. It still feels like one, though.

I've been sort of watching a whole lot of tv, knitting some, hemming some, reading some, and put a puzzle out on the dr table. The fact that the sun has been coming out so I can bask in it has been an added bonus after so many grey dreary days this winter.

It's nearly half way through the 6 weeks (like a 5 year old will protest they are 5 and a *half*) and I'm sure that the next 3 and a bit weeks will zoom by very quickly in retrospect.

Like a friend says - it's much nicer to say that you have already done the 6 weeks rather than to say you will do 6 weeks.......(I'm paraphrasing, of course).

Once I can tolerate leaving my foot down I have a stack of paperwork to do, including the class instructions for the workshop in Columbus, Ohio the middle of May. What a pity I'll be out of town for the Great Rug Removal Adventure! :D Doug re-booked his holidays to mid-May so that I will be mobile enough to pack up the living room and dining room contents, which will get stored in one of those mobile storage bins that get parked in one's driveway.

And even though I'll be able to walk after 6 weeks, I've been told by others what have hobbled this road ahead of me that that doesn't mean I'll be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound - actual recovery to pre-break function will be a year. Not something the surgeon chose to share with me. OTOH, since I require full mobility in order to weave, I still would have opted for the surgery.

What that means is that I'm going to get me a nifty fashion-statement cane and when I travel to Columbus (and perhaps even Complex Weavers/Convergence) I'm going to request pre-board and transportation between gates. The walk in the Vancouver airport alone will be a challenge, never mind what other airports I'll have to scurry through to get from here to there. :} Now I know why the temporary parking pass expires this December and not sooner????

Mom and I will have matching canes and limps for a while, I guess. :}

Moon Dance, Anyone?

I got the wardrobe.....

This morning, rather early (for me and Doug, that is) I went to the hospital Cast Room and got the staples removed from the incisions, an x-ray taken to check on healing and then got outfitted with a 'moon boot'. Didn't ask how much the boot cost - didn't want to know. :} I'll wait til the bill arrives in the mail.....

No I can't put any weight on my foot yet. Another 3 weeks before I can even think about putting maybe half my weight on it.

But the boot is removeable and I'm to start doing gentle physiotherapy - mostly stretching and flexing the foot in order to keep the ankle muscles limber - as well as some gentle massage. And to let the incisions heal in the air.

Doug is about ready to start loading the van - just waiting on a few more items to pack up. I've woven some on the rigid heddle demonstrator loom so he can now package that up for transport, too.

I ventured down the stairs to the studio yesterday (bum bump, bum bump) and finished threading the last 2 inches on the AVL, then started sleying, but I can see that it's going to be a few more days before I can contemplate weaving. I'll aim for when Doug returns next week. :)

In the meantime I finished hemming a dozen placemats and a table runner, and have a stack of tea towels to do yet.

I'll get Doug to dig that stack of Terry Pratchett's Disc World books that I haven't yet read out of the guest room. That should keep me well occupied while he's away.

Currently reading Masqurade by Terry Pratchett

Knitting Samples

I don't consider myself a spinner, even though I got sucked into the wonderful world of weaving via the orifice of a spinning wheel. :} (See my earliest posts for the story.)

I only ever learned how to spin woollen, not worsted, and I've not spun nearly enough to become proficient at it or taken the time to really learn the craft. OTOH, I'm grateful I came to weaving through spinning because I learned so much about fibre characteristics which made choosing appropriately for weaving much easier.

That said, becoming a dealer for spinning fibres sent me back to my wheels (how on earth a non-spinner acquired 3 of them in the first place is beyond me - guess the Universe knew what it was doing!)

With our first show as Ashford and Ashland Bay dealers coming up rather rapidly, most of my productive time the last week has been spent wet finishing the skeins of handspun (some done by me, some by a local spindler - thank you Margaret!) and knitting up some samples.

I'd hoped to have some woven examples too, but needless to say - that ain't gonna happen. :(

The beige sample is a blend of merino and nylon. I'd intended to knit a toque, but didn't have a pattern handy, so just did a seed stitch scarf. The fibre was blended on Ashford's Wild Card, about 90 merino, 10% nylon. Adding a little nylon will make the wool wear better, especially for socks. But I'm not much of a knitter these days, either, so I didn't try for sock yarn. I'm just not consistent enough for that. After it was spun I Navaho plied it. Someone sent me another video clip of Navaho plying that I'd like to study more because it looks much more efficient than the clip I'd found on my own.

The other sample, still on the needles and which I'm hoping to finish knitting today, is a merino silk blend. It was absolutely wonderful to spin! Since I spin woollen, Judith MacKenzie told me to spin off the fold and this blend was just lovely. I expect that if I spin for my own enjoyment this will be the top I choose.

This yarn was not plied, so again I used a seed stitch to prevent the yarn from torquing along the bias.

Doug has spent most of his free time gathering up and boxing the product for the show. He's got Tuesday off work to take me to the hospital to have the staples removed, after which I'm hoping I'll feel a lot more adventurous (and less pain). Then he'll load the van and he and his friend will leave early-ish Wed. am.

Set up is Thursday at 5 pm but they have other errands to run during the day so getting there a day 'early' is working out well for them.

I'm looking forward to a few days without pathways through the piles of boxes, and a dining room table on which I can lay out a jigsaw puzzle. :)

Doug has also suggested delaying doing the floors until I'm mobile again, and I can certainly see the wisdom of that. In fact, it turns out that I may be out of town for the rug removal, now, which suits me just fine!

If you enjoy books with music (and even a few mentions of weaving) as an integral part of the plot, Sharon Shinn's book Archangel might be a good read. It's a 'fantasy' and a romance (think of The Taming of the Shrew set in an alternate universe) but the author obviously knows a lot about music and a little about weaving.

Kimono As Art

Yesterday Doug set off on a round of errands including the post office and came back with a parcel containing this amazing book.

Tien Chiu had blogged about seeing an exhibit of Itchiku Kubota's work and here on my doorstep was a taste of it.

Talk about eye candy as well as food for the soul! And probably one of the most thoughtful convelescent gifts someone could make to a textile person. Thanks Tien!

I've not managed to read much of the text yet - keep getting caught up in the images. This is most definitely a book to savour!

As is Jack Lenor Larsen's book Material Wealth. Another book I've never actually read because the images keep sucking me away from the text. :D Another gift from some weaving friends.

I will have to spend some serious time at the computer tomorrow. My local guild wants to nominate me for an award and they need a resume including all the books and articles I've written. Unfortunately I stopped keeping a detailed resume years and years ago. I figured no one wanted to read such a long list! For the past 10-15 years I've simply stated that I've written numerous articles for....and listed the publications.

But now they want the details! Doug carried up the Textile Arts Index which lists articles published up until the mid-80's and I guess I'll have to see if Handwoven has a searchable database/index. Otherwise it's page through the contents of the magazines because I honestly don't remember which issues I've had stuff in.

Well, all except the ones that my weaving was used on the covers. :}

Currently reading two books - one when I'm propped up in bed, one when I'm propped up in Doug's chair - part 3 of Spider Robinson's Lifehouse Trilogy and Archangel by Sharon Shinn. Nearly finished my pile of library books which means I can start on the books I own but have never gotten around to reading - cause there's no deadline on those, naturally! :DDDDD

Inching Along

bookmark almost done

I'm surprised this photo came out - not the steadiest on my feet - I was expecting it to be out of focus or blurry cause I zigged or zagged when the shutter opened. :}

However I have managed to pick away at the bookmark the last couple of days. But I spent too much time with my foot down yesterday and am paying for it today. Since I can't take heavy-duty painkillers the best thing for me is to keep my foot elevated as much as possible, so I have been.

Of course having a good book to read helps!

While it's awkward, I've been able to do a little computer time and surfing, finding The Textile Blog by John Hopper.

One of the big holes in my knowledge is any kind of grasp of the history of art, especially textiles. This blog is great - little nuggets of information about textiles, their designers, their influences. Thank you John!

http://thetextileblog.blogspot.com

Currently reading A Night Too Dark by Dana Stabenow (set Spider's trilogy aside for the nonce)