Dear Alice, Postcards from the fringes

September

2009-09-15T21:04:00.011-04:00

Dear Alice,

I wrote this in my 'Morning Pages' (see Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way) in 1993 when I had committed to morning pages work. Last night, at the AAFG meeting, Kathy Zasuwa talked of the many, many books out there for artists who are "Clearing a Path: Making a Creative Commitment", the lecture she presented last night. I had not read this entry in years...but remembered the colors I saw, the change in the atmosphere, and my yearly September commitment to new goals. So here it is:

"1 September 1993. The signs are there—the movement more and more often of the honking geese, the erratic, drunken, slow movement of first one, then another Monarch Butterfly. Pricks of brilliant red now and again in the green of the Shining Sumac making it look like early warning signs of...yes, Christmas. Somber, heavy heads of sunflowers bowing their heads in prayer. And fields gone wild claim their triumph with an unabashed display of regal gold...no other plant can compete...Goldenrod has won! Patches here and there this morning attest to the chill that settled in overnight, fog on little cat feet. And the moon. The moon shone so BRILLIANTLY that I was wakened by it at 2, or 3. What a sight! The Blue moon, it was, last night. Not another until 1996 they say, though I have noted so many now that that seems hard to believe. And this morning it directed my way as I headed westward 'til the sun glazed everything with a brilliant, shining orange. The grasses in the nursery I passed looked like angel hair because of the mists caught there. Such a delicate, lovely sight!"

Alice, there is a sweater that has been waiting to make its debut every Autumn since then. Really. Since 1993. That was the Autumn that Suzy and I took the Spinning and Natural Dyeing class from Beth Pennington. (I can only remember that it was 1993 because that was the address on here mailbox! Silly, but true.) Suzy was in 8th grade, and it would be the perfect science project for the Science Fair, so we did it, together.

Ahhh, the sweater. I should say THE SWEATER. It is Kaffe Fassett's zigzag design. After getting started with this sweater, I found that the little 5 yard samples that I had dyed were no where near enough, and so I embarked on another summer of dyeing after that initial Fall, and I can share the result of that adventure in another epistle. For now, let me just say that I learned after knitting Kaffe Fassett's 'House' vest for DH, and working at this sweater for, well, now the effort is 16 years old, I vowed somewhere along the way to never knit another of his patterns unless they indicated only 2 (two), let me repeat TWO colors, in one row of knitting.

This Autumn, Alice, I endeavor to finish it. I would like to become part of, to be lost in those brilliant colors that we experience in September in Michigan. You be the judge. There are so many ends to weave in, and I am getting really close. And, methinks, too, that I shall leave the little tags inside. Suzy's initials are on them, mine too. Maybe someday she will want the sweater from—let's just say—the sweater from Michigan.

Love to you, and we miss you,
Nancy

Threads of Friendship

2009-07-19T06:34:00.007-04:00

Dear Alice,

As you well know, George is holding the sale of all sales yesterday and today, and then again next weekend in an attempt to disperse your huge yarn stash. My gosh, Alice. I knew you had a nice stash, but there are things that we Chicks had never seen.

Mary, Ellen and I helped out yesterday (well, yes, both by reducing your stash and helping with customers) and I came home with several cones of beautiful cashmere and cashmere blends, wool, silks, cotton, linen, ramie, and some fun novelty yarns. One of the yarns I am anticipating using the most is that wool cashmere blend. Big cones...two of them...and almost 4 pounds each. Yummm. You had some linen that will make some placemats that will go nicely with our Mason 'Pink Vista' dishes! I have put that task off for too long a time.

It will be back to East Lansing next weekend to help again. We had put the word out to Michigan League of Handweavers and as many guilds as we could. We had good traffic, but there is a lot more to disperse, so I hope that folks who couldn't come this weekend will make time next weekend.

One of our customers was a volunteer spinner and knitter at Greenfield Village, who promptly put in a call to Chris and Richard Jeryan, the restorers of the jacquard loom at the Village. They made it at the end of the day, but since we three were tired and had loaded our yarns, we left before Chris and Richard checked out. George had some cards for them. Richard was looking for some 40/2 linen, which was gone. Some very nice heavier linen is still there. (I wish I had seen that the new Weavecast audio features Richard and Chris before I had gone to Lansing yesterday!)

One of the nicest comments we heard was from the woman who works at 16 Hands. A friend of hers said this when her mother had passed away and she asked all her mother's friends to come and take her mother's art materials with them as her gift. It was as if everything was going out into the world to be seen and appreciated, just as her mother had intended.

Alice, your legacy is infusing the world in many ways. I hope that there will be a nice recoup so that it will help to preserve your wonderful collection of books, papers, samples, and fabrics that are going to MSU's Museum.

Hopefully,
Nancy

ps Anyone out there who lives in or is vacationing in the lower peninsula of Michigan and needs more information on the sale of Alice's yarns, please be in touch with me for the location, dates and time of the sale.

NEWS

2009-07-13T20:51:00.003-04:00

Dear Alice,

It has been so long since my last postcard, and I have felt so guilty because I haven't written, that I think I will just dive in. 'Just start over, Nancy' I told myself when I alighted back in Ann Arbor this afternoon. So, here goes....

Mary, Ellen and I arrived home safely at 3 p.m. +/- this afternoon after our 12 hour drive from the NEWS Conference at Smith College. We started out at as soon as I finished up Daryl's Fast Warping class yesterday and drove as far as a bit east of Syracuse, arose at 5 this morning and continued the journey at 6:30 a.m. What a wonderful time we had! This was my first NEWS (not to mention my very first trip ever to Massachusetts!!), so I took advantage of every possible class I could. I signed up for every slot. There was so much to see, so much to do, vendors to check out, weavers to talk with, people with whom I was acquainted via internet to meet in person, architecture to see, the gardens (which I missed), Elm trees the likes of which I haven't seen in the USA (the one at Carl Linneus's garden is pretty impressive) Hancock Shaker Village, Fashion Show, Gallery Show, Instructors' Show...I was exhausted! I was so wound up I couldn't sleep. The inspiration I gained at NEWS will carry me a long way for the next year.

Thank you for introducing the Chicks to NEWS. This was Ellen's third, and I think this was actually Mary's fourth (she went with you, Sonja and Lois the first time. Remember that Hot Fudge Sunday in bed?)

I'll try to get some photos posted over the next few days. However, remember that tomorrow night is a Board of Trustees meeting, tomorrow morning I am taking Steve & Courtney to Detroit Metro at 5:30, Wednesday evening I am cashier for the AAFG booth at the Art Fair, I have a few details to wrap up on the "It's Spring Alice!" jacket, and then Saturday is the beginning day of the sale of your incredible stash (for which I have volunteered to help George out).

Chelsea, Scott and Stew are all glad to see me. And, of course, there is no place like home.

Love to you, n

Programs, Workshops, and Learning—Oh My!

2009-02-11T19:48:00.008-05:00

Dear Alice,

This has been a crazy/busy month, and this morning I decided that "the honeymoon is over". People have learned that I am there, and that there is someone who listens to their complaints (and more positively, their suggestions as to how their local government can run more smoothly and better).

And in the midst of all this new experience, I am plugging away at getting things underway for the Guild's next season. The theme for our 2009-2010 Season is "Say YES to Michigan!" The past year has been a difficult time economically in Michigan, so my thought was to do what we can to stimulate the economy locally. We have some very talented, skillful, brilliant, knock-your-sox-off creative people in Michigan, so I knew I could come up with some really great workshops and speakers, and keep costs down for our own members.

Because our guild is composed of approximately 115 members who are all over the map in terms of what their interests and skills are, we try to offer a variety of workshops. But, I also limit the number of workshops to three for the season—usually one in October, one in March, and if we have someone local, one in January (due to unpredictability of weather). At the beginning of my term as V.P in charge of Programs and Workshops, I sent out a questionaire with the monthly newsletter. One of those questions was "What workshop topics interest you? (check all that apply)" The choices were Weaving, Surface Design, Dying, Silk Painting, Design, Stitching--free hand embroidery, Beading, Quilting, Clothing, Mixed media, Basketry, Paper making, Felting, and Other. Yes, Alice, every choice was checked, and just about equal interest on every topic. Our Guild started out as a weaving guild and over the years became focused on all manner of fiber art, so I can't offer only weaving workshops (believe me, I hear about it if I do!)

Back to the theme. Say YES to Michigan! I am thrilled with the line-up so far for 2009-2010. In September, the kick-off program for the year will be with Kathy Zasuwa, a talented weaver from Milford, Michigan. Her lecture will be "Clearing a Path: Creative Commitment". Isn't that a stunner for a start to the season?

In October, we will have Ann Arbor's own Karen O'Neal giving a paper-making workshop one weekend, and the following weekend teaching a workshop on creating your own book from your hand-made paper! (A good thing to have done before the Holiday season, no?)

November is always Member Showcase...one of my favorite programs because there are always beautiful pieces that come to be shown and shared. December is easy...no meeting...just a delightful party that one of our members hosts, a gigantic potluck, and lovely clothing (but remember to be casual if you want).

Usually January is the other member Showcase meeting, but in January 2010 we are going to have the talented Susan Moran teaching a workshop on shibori and dye-baths on Day 1 and shaped resists on Day 2. Enticing to us weavers, isn't it?

In February I have scheduled Diane Little from suburban Detroit area to give a program on textile conservation, and to talk to us about all the chemicals we may be using on our fabrics as well. Diane worked with textiles that were retrieved from The Titanic. How cool is that?

In March Charlie Patricolo, another of our members, is giving a two weekend doll-making workshop. Charlie lived in this area for many years, flew away to North Carolina to live and teach, and is back with us.

And so, finally in April we will have Member Showcase for the second half of the alphabet. That should give members plenty of time to wrap up what they have been inspired to do, especially since the Fiber Feast is always in April. Now all I have left to visualize is a program for May, and then get contracts out to each workshop leader and program lecturer, and procure/confirm workshop spaces.

This year's line-up is coming to a close (for this job anyway), and here is where you can see the whole list of programs and workshops. Delightfully, the theme for 2008-20009 was all about color. We had two workshops with Lois Bryant on Magical, Marvelous Color, and Daryl talked about color inspiration in her October lecture. This past Monday evening we had Victoria Silks give her lecture on "Color Energy: Reflection of our Inner Life". It was fascinating!

So, tell me...would you sign up for this line-up?

Hugs,
Nancy

ps. Oh, GOSH! Alice. I almost forgot the best thing that happened today! I was asked to serve on the Endowment Committee for your collection of books, articles, textiles, and notebooks that you left to the Museum at MSU. I am so honored.

The Design Game

2009-02-03T19:29:00.009-05:00

Dear Alice,

I had been thinking about making up Ann Sutton's Design Game for over a year. Mary's birthday was fast approaching, and finally I got in gear to 'make' the game. I gathered different colored card-stocks, decided upon making a largish envelope rather than a box, dug out my inspiration for the envelope, and made a trip down to Hollander's. Oh, yummm. Dangerous place to visit! The papers, cards, and other enticements are hard to resist. I caught a glimpse of the fun thank-you note that Jean had sent last November and thought 'Ahhh...I can stitch that heavy paper.' I took a scrap of leather that is part of another project and created a closure. All in all, it was fun to do, the cards are colorful, and after cake on Saturday, we played our first round of The Design Game!

What is the Design Game? Ann Sutton describes it in her book Ideas in Weaving. She says:

"The Design Game is played like an open game of Pontoon (Twenty-Ones, Vingt-et-Un, Blackjack). Each card in the pack (at least 50) contains an element of design found in a woven cloth. A player is dealt two cards and is asked to read them aloud. If the elements conflict irredeemably, the dealer moves on to the next player who might have two cards which are more amenable, and feels that a third element could be incorporated into the cloth (the vision of which builds up differently in the minds of all in the group). A fourth card could then be accepted, and even a fifth. Each should be read out and considered, with solutions suggested by the group for any ‘impossibilities’. If the player accepts a card which counteracts a previous one and makes the fabric truly impossible, then the dealer declares him ‘bust’ and moves on to the next player.

"The purpose of the game is to produce, by chance, unexpected combinations of technique, weave, color, finishing, etc., and to create a problem-solving attitude to design challenges. It has usually been found to be a mind-stretching experience enjoyed by weavers of all abilities.

"The cards should be similar to playing cards in size, and all of exactly the same size for easy shuffling. These cards include a list of suggested elements. It will be found that a near even quantity in each of the seven categories will give the best results but the cards should be mixed together and not dealt from the separate lists."

The categories are Technique, Color, Yarn, Fiber, Finishing, General Design, and Weave, and each category has several descriptions of possibilities. Using chance to design a new cloth. Great fun! We felt you peeking over our shoulders as we described the fantasy cloths in our imaginations.

I hope it is warmer where you are. We are getting tired of single-digit temperatures.

Yours on the road to discovery,
Nancy
* Today's photos by Mary.

Long Overdue Postcard

2009-01-20T21:16:00.016-05:00

Dear Alice,

When we went to Illinois to visit Mom at Thanksgiving, Scott and I decided that we would really like to visit Bishop Hill again. It had been many years since we had gone there the day after Thanksgiving with the children...it is always fun to try to catch the Julbuck playing tricks on people. We also needed to stock up on some Kalle's caviar.

Bishop Hill was an early Swedish settlement on the Illinois prairie. I remember studying it in the 70's when working on my BLA, and wrote a paper for my urban planning class at the time. Back then the buildings were in terrible disrepair. By the late 80's the settlement had been restored somewhat as a historic site by the state government, and sadly, the most recent governor pulled any supporting funds from important historic places like Bishop Hill and Black Hawk State Park.

There is a wonderful spinning guild that serves much of the western Illinois community, the Bishop Hill Fiber Guild. Many of those who are members have work in the Prairie Arts Center, a lovely shop that we visited. They have really grown since the last time we were there! On the 28th of November, there was a lovely lady demonstrating weaving--weaving rag rugs with sock loopers. In fact there were four looms set up that day, but only one weaver at the time we visited.

There are wonderful treasures in some of the other historic buildings, things that unfortunately will be hidden away now that they have lost funding, so some of the State-owned buildings will not be open to the public. Do not hesitate to visit Bishop Hill, though! The architecture is fascinating, and there are some great little privately owned shops and restaurants.

I'm sorry it took so long to get this in the mail to you,
Nancy

A Little Like Pennies from Heaven

2009-01-18T18:14:00.009-05:00

Dear Alice,
Last Monday we had 'Member Showcase' at our regular Guild meeting. At first I thought I would be lucky to find something that I had done in the past year, since often I give things away before that meeting rolls around for me. I had sent Caiden's newly finished sweater off the week before, I had finished Penny's sox shortly after New Year's Day (but not yet delivered them), I had just finished weaving my first-ever rag rug, and not yet hemmed the ends, and I had finished weaving the Big Bluestem project, but not yet finished the ends and sides as I have envisioned. So...nothing to show? I decided that I could take the "It's Spring Alice!" fabric--after all, it was finished! I carefully unrolled it from the tube I had rolled it on, packed it up and took it along to the meeting. Tuesday morning, when I decided that it should be rolled back on the tube (so as not to become creased where I had folded it) I tipped the tube as I was about to put it on and lo! a roll of paper fell out. "What's this?" thought I. Indeed. Notes from Heaven. Alice, it was the instruction sheet for your crackle weave blanket gamp. Thank you...it made me smile, and it made my day!

In the meantime, I have hemmed the first-ever rag rug. It was merely an experiment. I used Janet Meany's Rag Rug Handbook instructions to get an interesting pattern. Rather than use wool, though, I used cottons, a cotton/linen blend, and even a velveteen (OK, yes, it's too thick with the other fabrics, but it was the right color), and I used quarter-inch seams. Of course those are little bumps all over the rug. That day, though, I tossed perfectionism to the wind and recalled Jean's words as I did it. One of the cards I tossed into the fire on New Year's Eve said 'perfectionism'. I really just wanted to play with the rag rug warp since I had never done one before. Jean had said the day before: "I'm always a bit anxious about trying something new like this, but I keep reminding myself that it's only a bunch of thread, and if it gets too ugly, there's always the wood stove." Don't you love it?

Thanks for the serendipity!
Nancy

Best Wishes for a Wonder-filled 2009!

2009-01-01T19:15:00.004-05:00

Dear Alice,

Last night I wrote out my most important weaving goal for 2009. If I post it here, there are a lot of folks who will hold my feet to the fire.

I will have every 'Apprenticeship' requirement finished by the end of 2009 so that I can send my submission to the Weavers' Guild of Boston for judging at the beginning of 2010.

There! I have committed fully to my goal.

What is your most important weaving goal for 2009?

Happy New Year!
Love,
Nancy

Handwoven Dishtowels

2008-12-31T17:55:00.005-05:00

Alice, Dear,

I was mangling table cloths, napkins, and dishtowels last weekend, draping every one gently over the drying rack as I went along to let them finish drying completely. Wow! I thought to myself. Quite a collection I am lucky to have! Ellen has contributed many to this cache...her lovely blues, and the most recent orange one with the red and yellow stripes which is sunshine in itself. Mary's is the organic cotton one, done in a diaper weave, and it has the most luscious hand. And there are yours...the multi-colored cotton stripes with a linen weft. Some I gave as gifts, but after your leaving us, I kept the last one for myself...I knew there would never be any more of those, and I like it so much. There is the one I wove myself with handspun cotton as weft. I decided that that particular one should go into the archives. It is really much too flimsy, though it does do a nice job on glasses. Maybe someday, 75 years from now, one granddaughter or another will pull it out of the archive and exclaim with joy about the handspun cotton weft. We can only hope....

Lots of love,
Nancy

APB

2008-12-28T17:57:00.004-05:00

Dear Alice,

We have put out an APB. Nancy has gone missing from her looms and fiber equipment. We have nearly given up and have begun our siren songs.

Frantically,

Jack N. LeClerc, Alice Macomber, Colleen LeClerc, and Spinny Ashford

39...Again

2008-11-24T22:18:00.007-05:00

Dear Alice,

I have been trying really hard to follow in your footsteps, to age gracefully. I don't know that it will ever happen, since most of the time I am only 30 or so in my head. Maybe this is a good thing. I don't see any wrinkles on my forehead (at least not early in the morning, before I put my glasses on). There is not much more to say except that birthdays have always been a wonderful thing for me. Usually there is a turkey dinner associated with my day, and I get calls and emails from very dear friends, and from children scattered far and wide. That is the best part. Since Thanksgiving this year is late, Scott and I enjoyed a wonderful whitefish entrèe with dried cherries and shiitake mushrooms. Dessert was a flourless chocolate torte with raspberry coulis, something I would love to be able to share with you.

What a perfectly lovely, snowy day! These ladies were wondering why I wasn't in my 'old' office today.
Nancy

What Path?

2008-11-06T19:00:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends,

At first it was hard to know where to go after Alice's departure. I have decided to stay the course...Alice would have wanted it and Scott encouraged me with these words:

Love lives on forever

in each memory and thought...

For, in our hearts,

our loved ones are with us every day....

And so, the next installment will be another postcard to Alice.

Peace and love be with you all,
Nancy

Dear Friends, A Sad Day....

2008-10-31T20:44:00.009-04:00

Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I write to tell you that Alice passed away yesterday afternoon at her home. I was at 35,000 feet somewhere over the Atlantic and I remember thinking of her, hoping that we would be able to visit with her today.

It is so good to have the memories that we have of her while she still felt well. The last time the Chicks visited with her as a group was on our return trip from our Retreat Weekend. She loved seeing the samples we had to share with her, hearing all about our weekend, the food we ate, and asking each of about our next projects.

The World has lost another Weaving Great.

Nancy

Crash Courses

2008-10-14T10:08:00.005-04:00

Dear Alice,

When Daryl Lancaster says 'Crash Course', you had better take he at her word! We had three intense, lecture-filled, practice-filled, garment-looking, study-filled, days. She gave 200% in her teaching to every one of us. I will catch up with you soon (all about it), since there are a few loose threads to wrap up here before Scott and I head to Scot-land!

Love to you!
Nancy

Not Gone....

2008-10-08T22:27:00.005-04:00

Dear Alice,

It wasn't fair to entice you with that photo of my pressure canner, was it? I went to look for the little booklet that came with it, and alas! there is no publication date. I rather think it is from the 30's or 40's. The Kook-Kwick Handbook from Sears Roebuck & Company. It is a great little canner. I didn't meet my goal of 30 quarts of tomatoes, but there are 20 qts. and 4 pts. on the pantry shelf, and that half peck of tomatoes that were dried—those all fit into 2 quart jars and 1 pint jar! I used some of those today in the pistou mix that the turkey breast is marinating in tonight.

So begins a week of craziness! Suzy and her family are due here yet tonight. Friday I pick up Daryl Lancaster at Detroit Metro, and this weekend is our workshop with her. We also have to start our jurying process all over for the Guild.

I'll give you an update when things calm down a bit.

For now, be well!
Nancy

P.S. The scarves are finished!

Last Day of September

2008-09-30T21:38:00.012-04:00

Autumn Sunrise at LA

Dear Alice,
The last day of September is Scott's birthday, so this evening we went for dinner at Weber's. He had a seafood combo (very nice for someone who loves all seafood) and I chose the scallops with sautéed vegetables, which included dried tomatoes. Delicious!

Today I halved a half peck of tomatoes and put them in the dehydrator, so soon we will have our own stash again. 'Tis the Farmers' Market again tomorrow morning, so I will pick up another 1/2 bushel of tomatoes for canning. Did I ever show you my pressure canner? It is clearly an antique!Tomatoes, potatoes...we picked up our order of 110 pounds of spuds at the Traverse City Farmers' Market on Saturday. 30# of Yukon Golds, 20# of Adirondack Blues, 20# of Red-skinned Whites, and 40# of Russets. Mr Westmaas also handed us a few of his new variety Adirondack Reds, which have a pink flesh.
I have almost finished the last of the three scarves that I have been working on since the painted warp group (see Sept. 20). Here is the last one which will be finished early tomorrow morning.

I was really surprised to see the Hummingbird at the feeder again tonight. A new record? We haven't had any frost yet....

Nancy

Painted Women Oops! I Mean Painted Warps

2008-09-23T19:59:00.013-04:00

Alice,
I finally took a few photos of the painted warp scarf, the painted warp too-short-to-be-a-scarf, and the unpainted warp scarf for you. In fact, I wore the Mint Chocolate Chip scarf this morning to a meeting. (I promised myself just before Retreat that I cannot leave the house without sporting something that I have made/designed/created. Yes, I was inspired by Anita Luvera Mayer.) For this one I used UKI Boston Brown 20/2 as weft.

I think the Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake piece is destined to become a bag of some sort. The weft here is a polyester (where on earth did I get that???) I considered a table runner, but honestly, it doesn't go with anything we set at the table. Maybe I should be more open-minded.

The last scarf is one that I was particularly taken with when all was said and done. I still had warp that I didn't have time to paint (mostly because I was thinking too much and not playing enough), so there was enough un-painted warp to do one more scarf. I settled on a natural-colored silk noil weft.
When finished, the sheen from the rayon in the 20/2 cotton/rayon warp made it just lovely. I am ready to try more warps with that cotton/rayon thread. I do love white on white designs. You will see more soon...the cashwool/silk warp and weft is in process now. It is a little slower going than the plain wefts.

Canned another 7 quarts of tomatoes today. It is so good to see the pantry filling up again.

Enjoy this Indian Summer!
Nancy

OH! P.S. I saw the hummingbird again this evening. Yesterday I thought maybe she realized that it was Equinox and headed south....

New Scarves

2008-09-20T12:48:00.006-04:00

Alice,
I do wish that you could give your input on the latest warp, a set of three new scarves that I am readying for jurying to put in the Holiday Sale for the Guild. I thought I had a cashmere/wool blend yarn (which I used, along with some reeled silk in the warp), but after further investigative work discovered that Lane Borgosesia's "Cashwool" is really a lovely, fine yarn that is 100% extra fine Merino. Puh! as min vän Mari-Ann would say. Well, even though I was into the idea of cashmere and silk scarves (OK I will let it go), the resulting samples, when wet-finished were absolutely divine. Mary and Ellen agreed when I asked for their opinions. It would be nice if I had your 'OK', too.

We couldn't ask for more perfectly beautiful days and cool nights. It does make me wonder about global warming, though...the hummingbirds are still at the feeder every day. Did I tell you about the one that landed on me when DH and I were at the cottage in August? What an amazing experience!

For now I will stop. I want to finish weaving the 2nd scarf today. (I still need to go to the Farmers' Market, mow the lawn [which has finally turned green and grown after our 6 inches of rain last weekend], and make the turkey sausage for pizza tonight.) Still deciding about the weft pattern on #3; Marty really liked the 'plaid-effect' of the silk and Merino wool in my sample. I really do too.

Have a great weekend!
Nancy

New Goals

2008-09-15T19:56:00.010-04:00

Hi Alice,

We all delighted in visiting with you on the return trip from our Retreat! It was so great to see you (and it is so cool that you still worry about how you look!)

We had a wonderful time together, and even though it rained every day, it was still beautiful. The meals were grand! Weavers sure know how to cook, and Ellen has encouraged me to share more recipes of some of the things we had. Our first breakfast, though was at LA Cafè, a part of the tradition.

Even though we were weavers retreating, there were only two loom there. It really is rather difficult to pack looms with the coolers, people and nap-sacks. Ellen brought her little table loom with a crackle weave gamp from a workshop, and made a little progress.

Jean brought a tape loom, which was fun to see in operation (why have I never seen one before?)

Pat practiced making i-cord to that she can easily knit from the top down sweaters for the multitudes of nieces and nephews that keep showing up in her family!

Mary was so intent on (and I quote) "burning through the basket of wool" roving that she brought, that she literally did melt the little plastic part on the whorl of her Ashford Traveler. She was spinning fast and furious to have everything ready for the Spinners' Flock Sale on the 21st.

We all worked on our individual visualizations of who we are and what we have accomplished by 2013...it was very cool! And we have all come home and dug right in and started to make those goals and dreams a reality!

And moi? Oh, yeah, me. Well, I did make progress on starting a little sweater for dear Caiden.

Jean and I actually went swimming Sunday morning before it started to rain again (and fortunately, before all the boaters in the bass fishing tournament took off). We deserved a pat on the back...the water was 68°F! Brrrrr.

Ah, yes. And one of the other traditions is a reading before bedtime. This year it was Woolbur, a delightful children's story. OK, so we are a little crazy....

Alice, we missed having you there with us, but Mary brought along a lovely photo of you which we moved to wherever we were working. You were there in spirit!

Now, back to the loom,
Nancy

Painted Warp...Woven!

2008-09-10T08:58:00.004-04:00

...but not yet finished, Alice. Early this morning I finished the painted portion of the warp, the Chocolate Mint Ice Cream piece was finished days ago and the Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake piece was finished off this morning. I think I still have enough warp for a scarf; this end of the warp is unpainted since I ran out of time in Sarah Saulson's workshop. So, I have planned for a fringe, hemstitched, and started a white on white scarf that has a raw silk weft. It could be particularly lovely, and certainly a lightweight scarf...something for a California or Florida gal maybe.

Now the rush is to try to cut everything off before Friday when we leave to retreat! I wish you could be there, too.
Nancy

Starry, Starry Days

2008-09-09T21:26:00.008-04:00

Dear Alice,
Clematis terniflora, Sweet Autumn Clematis, Old Man's Beard...one of my favorites that signals the end of Summer. Its little stars grace the fence screening our outdoor patio from the rest of the private drive. Its scent on a warm day draws my eye to find it. The honey bees, though decidedly few this year, are frequenting it.

We finally got an inch of rain yesterday and last night. It has been horribly dry, down 3.5 inches of rain for August alone. The leaves from the trees are giving up, snapping free, relieving stress, collecting in the gutters, littering the ground plane....

I always am saddened to see summer go. But I also welcome the fresh new start of Autumn, new goals, and the cooler nights.

So welcome, Sweet Autumn Clematis, welcome to your starry beauty!

Do you have one of these on your east fence, Alice?
Nancy

An Invitation

2008-09-04T19:49:00.014-04:00

Dear Alice,

I know that this is a little intimidating to all of us...this year's retreat invitation calls for each of us to "Come as You Will Be in 2013". I also know that you will be there in spirit with us as you have every year. Mary said after her last visit that you are having difficulty seeing from one of your eyes. What does Dr. Sugar say about that?

Here are a few 'Invitation' photos for Hen and Chicks, something to remind us that it is to be a r-e-t-r-e-a-t and also a chance to stretch ourselves to try/do/be something new.

Kick back, take off your shoes, enjoy the Peace, the Beauty, the sunshine, and the comraderie!

Join us in spirit!
Nancy

Last Visit...Lilies and Birches

2008-08-28T13:48:00.003-04:00

Painted Warps with Sarah Saulson

2008-08-24T22:47:00.015-04:00

Dear Alice,

What fun we had yesterday and today! Today we finished up the workshop that the Warped Women/Weavers held with Sarah Saulson. Painted Warps. Very cool. I really can't wait to weave my warp...I tried two colorways, based upon using a cocoa brown that I mixed. It was a conglomeration of cool red, warm red, a touch of black, cool yellow,and aqua. I finally got a yummy color of cocoa. With this I painted a 'mint' green that I concocted; the other colorway is the cocoa combined with a blood red that Phyllis
created, and the weft yarn that I tested on this section of warp was a red polyester that will make a really great table runner for Autumn. Phyllis dubbed them Chocolate Mint Ice Cream and Cherry Chocolate Pie.

Here is what Fran did:
So apropos! A few days later I saw a sweater in the 'Designer Runway' section at T. J. Maxx that looked just like Fran's pretty warp! Here she is tightening her warp on her little workshop loom. She's too cute!
Ellen took a walk on the wild side and put some lime green with splashes of red and 'Ellen's blue'. She tested a very fine dark green weft that is going to make this piece stunning!

Pat was a little worried about using her table loom, but all worked out, and she has a beautiful painted warp that I can't wait to see!

Here's part of our engrossed class

I wish you could have come...Sarah is a really organized, thorough teacher!

She sends her regards! Hugs from me too,
Nancy

The Envy of LA

2008-08-14T11:00:00.001-04:00

Alice,
It seems that this oldie but goodie is the envy of LA:

This was one of the enticing elements of the place when we bought it 23 years ago. Now, with all the decorating shows featuring outdoor kitchens, this has become the most talked about outdoor piece as people pass by in their boats. We love it! We use it often, and when the weather is such as it is, we eat outdoors at every meal.

I hope you have had a few moments outdoors in this beautiful summery weather,
Nancy

MLH Summer Workshops

2008-08-12T12:12:00.015-04:00

Silks and Samples

Dear Alice,

What a fabulous time I had at MLH's Summer Workshops held in Holland this past weekend! I had signed up for the Shimmering Silks workshop, taught by Heather Winslow. What beautiful samples we made, and what a very good teacher Heather is!

The sad part was that there were only three students in our class, and the good part is that there were only three students. I was lucky to be in a workshop with two other accomplished weavers: Barbara
and Martha

We were so lucky that two of the MLH Board members dressed two looms each and brought them to our workshop so that we were able to have 7 samples each in our 'Round Robin' workshop. (Thanks, Cathy and Ann!)

The samples included point twills, transparent effect, collapse, two block twill, lace and a braided twill.

It was a small crowd this year and because of that it was easier to spend some more concentrated time with several people, a benefit, to be sure. The other presenters included JoAnn Bachelder, Christine Grimm, Russ Mason, Anita Mayer, and Robin Spady. Great workshops with beautiful work created by everyone who participated. I do hope that next year will be a blow-out--it will be the Golden Anniversary celebration for Michigan League of Handweavers! Alice, it would be fantastic if you could be there with us.

So good to be able to spend some time with you when on my way home. Take care!
Nancy

Wednesday Morning...Very Early

2008-08-07T17:09:00.004-04:00

Hi Alice!

This is what what greeted me on the bulletin board by the phone when I got home really late Tuesday night/really early Wednesday morning. I won the "Clerk-ship". The Primary Election was critical since everyone ran as a Democratic candidate this time. I got an 'A'.
Now I have my work cut out for me.

Time to rest.
Nancy

Eve of Election

2008-08-04T20:45:00.006-04:00

Alice, it's that Eve of Destruction song that keeps going through my head tonight...really it's the Eve of Election. I told Scott at dinnertime that it feels like I have been working steadily, a little bit every day, on a term paper, and after a lengthy accumulation of days, there is enough to turn in tomorrow. It will be on time. I could very well get an A. I'll let you know.

I finished the color warp/gamp on Friday morning. I had hoped to stitch it in every spot that needs to be finished for samples over the weekend. It just didn't happen. Maybe Wednesday. I finished it off by doing a plain weave with 1/3 twill stripes at either end as a runner for Suzy to put on their table. Because it was plain weave and I put my feet only on two treadles, I was able to weave approximately 16.5 inches in 30 minutes! Whew! I was cruisin'!!! It was fun to see how fast I could go. The samples,on the other hand, were complicated enough that I eventually put colored dots on the treadles to keep track of which ones to depress in which order.

Off to bed with me. I must be up at 4.

Sova gott!
Nancy

Did a Little Bit....

2008-07-28T07:11:00.004-04:00

Good Morning Alice!
Yesterday was filled with lots of 'To Do's' and I did get to Lois's studio to pick up some more colors which she generously shared for the short term, so I have other colors to try with this color gamp. Sadly, I was clearly in a rush when threading and there are a few faux paus w/ the color mixes. I also recall that my head felt like a rock (read: I was coming down w/ a cold back in early May) the day we were measuring warp, and clearly I didn't count threads in the color mix sections very well. The next time I do something like this, I will be fastidious!

So...I wove a little too late into the night, and oh! such fun to try different combinations.

Are there already little signs that Autumn is coming (even though the temperatures feel like summer)?

Later,
Nancy

ps I received a letter from my cousin on Thursday (the one who is undergoing chemo and who got the sox w/the heart on the sole). It was so good to hear from him! He's doing pretty well with the chemo.

Ready to Weave!

2008-07-26T21:41:00.004-04:00

But, Alice, I was only able to weave about an inch. I had forgotten to wind off one of the many colors in the warp. 16 people in the class to make samples for (including me). Tomorrow I will go retrieve the color I need from Lois.

Tomorrow I will once again go door to door to get out the vote for the August 5th Primary. Doug & I walked for about 4 hours again today, and with the temperature at almost 90, it does take its toll. Still, I am enjoying every minute of it!

Yours until I can show you something,
Nancy

Summer Colors

2008-07-24T21:43:00.009-04:00

Alice...the end of July is coming fast, and I have a warp to finish threading, denting, and to weave. 'Tis the color warp that I created in Lois Bryant's Marvelous, Magical Color for Weavers. This is a workshop that Lois taught to the Warped Wo/men study group in the Guild. It was marvelous, marvelous, marvelous! We studied luminosity, reflectivity, transparency, and irridescence, and Lois's lecture and photos were magical illustrations of these phenomena.

I will be taking the 'Shimmering Silks' workshop with Heather Winslow at the Michigan League of Handweavers workshops, scheduled for early August, so 'tis time to get this beautiful warp going and off so that I can be ready for the next learning. And finally, Sarah Saulson will be giving her painted warp workshop two weeks after that for the Warped Wo/men study group.

Scott and I stopped at Greenfield Village on our way back from Dearborn this afternoon...the jacquard loom is in full operation! Richard Jeryan has worked over the past three years to bring it back to life. He is now weaving on it...using a pattern that was woven at Greenfield Village early in its history, though (rightly so) he has changed the year in the edge border. Richard is excited about having weavers come to the Village for workshops, lectures, study. He will be lecturing at the Historic Weaving Conference in Clayton next Spring. Exciting stuff. Alice, he would love to meet you and have you come to the Weaving shop at Greenfield Village!

More later. I really must get the warp threaded and dented and ready to weave.

Lovely summer days....
Nancy

A VERY Good Day

2008-07-16T23:18:00.010-04:00

Dear Alice,

Imagine that everything goes just as you had hoped in a day.... Today was one of those days! Today I was endorsed by the local newspaper for the office I am seeking with the very capable, remarkable Team for Scio.
Photo by Dr. Irwin Martin
Four of our Team members were also endorsed by the Home Builders Association. Today was the first day of the Art Fair...I worked the Fiberarts Guild's booth from 3-9:30, and today was the first day that I sold one of my favorite pieces, the shawl that I wrote about in my June 10th postcard.

Less than three weeks to go until the August 5th Primary, the day that will tell the tale! Miles of walking door-to-door, and I am really enjoying meeting and talking with our neighbors and the residents of Scio, for whom I have been working (on the Planning Commission and Board of Review) for years.

I am really too tired at this hour, and can hardly remember what I was saying/doing, so will end this note here and plan to write again soon.

Kramar,
Nancy

Summer Pleasures

2008-07-14T21:39:00.016-04:00

Alpine strawberries

Summertime frolics

Friends Playing

Balloonflowers

Chris Craft rides

Lake Ann sunrises

Summer Grilling

Art Fairs

Hummingbirds

Emergence

2008-07-08T22:00:00.007-04:00

Alice,

The lawn area, in fact...almost every surface, was covered with the dried skins of the dragonfly nymphs. I was lucky enough to catch one just as it emerged. Can you see how tiny its wings are when working his way out?

And later, a fully realized dragonfly glistening in the sun. I love looking at their eyes. Can you imagine gazing at the world from their perspective?

Love to you in this 97th year!
Nancy

Happy Belated 97th Birthday, Alice!

2008-07-07T21:12:00.008-04:00

July 5th came and went quickly, Alice. Did my Birch postcard arrive in time? I hope you had a wonderful birthday and this coming year will be a little kinder to you. The last one has been a doozy (to use your words), hasn't it? I am wondering if you have had a chance to do a little weaving on that beautiful red warp you showed the Chicks when we were there last.

I am back at home where the looms are, so am looking forward to getting back to finishing off some fabric.

The Loon chicks were still at the lake and they grew so fast whilst we were there this week. They stayed in the vicinity of our cottage most of the time since the week of July 4 is often a busy one with lots of boaters, jet-skiers, and fishermen/women, so we had front row seats every day.

More to come....
nancy

More Fast Weekends!

2008-06-23T21:40:00.008-04:00

Dear Alice,

This weekend was another blur. Two weekends ago we enjoyed another few days at the cottage--lots more work accomplished, and meals on the patio where we enjoyed seeing the loons again. This time, the whole family came by!

And what a treat it was! I had never seen baby loons (for I fear that the snapping turtles have always seen them before I do!) So this was a real treat! One year when I was at the Weaving History Conference I picked up a little loon knick-knack for Scott with the babies on the back of the mother. They obliged us on Saturday, and Scott was able to get a photo since his camera has better zoom capabilities.

The day we were to leave, I knew that I still had to get the rest of my tomatoes in the ground, and I also knew that we were to expect thunderstorms most of the day. I lucked out when I arose at 5:45 for this is what the sky held for me: I put on my garden clogs post haste and got every last one in the ground before the rain came down. While we were at Lake Ann, the thunderstorms rolled through every day. Still, it was beautiful.

The long ride up and back allowed for some serious sock-knitting since Stewart was along and shared driving. So, I finished the short Tyrolean socks. After weaving in the last end and trying them both on to see how they looked, I discovered yet another mistake...one that I am still agonizing over, but alas! I swore to not rip a whole sock. You'll never see it in the Finished! photo, and I am not telling on myself.

They are lovely. The yarn is awfully soft, so I shall be curious to see how they hold up for Mom, though she has a tendency to not wear her hand-knitted socks because they are too pretty, and I think she doesn't want to wear them out. I have decided that if she receives 7 pair in one year, she may just get over keeping them in her drawer.

I also finished sock #1 of the coriolis socks during the weekend. One must arise very early every day to do that when there are so many projects not knitting-related to be done. Stewart was a big, big help to us there.

Ah, yes. What is the flower with the Tyrolean socks? 'Tis my Crambe cordifolia. I started it many years ago from seed (after sticker shock when looking at the nursery catalog). This year it had two stalks of blossoms arise from the soil.

I will stop for now, There is much, much more to report, so you can expect another card soon!

Have you been weaving this past week?
Nancy

Whew!

2008-06-10T17:32:00.008-04:00

Dear Alice,

Gosh, it was good to spend some time with you on Sunday! We Chicks loved hearing more of your weaving exploits. Wasn't it a great lunch that Mary, Ellen and Pat put together at the last minute? Potato Salad really says that summer is here!

When I got back on Sunday afternoon I asked Scott and Stew to make dinner; I really had to weave to finish off the shawl fabric if I wanted to enter it for jurying for the Guild's Art Fair booth. I did finish up the weaving Sunday evening, then glued another wooden dowel, since it looks like I may have about 1 more yard of weave-able warp. It was so horribly humid Saturday and Sunday that I used the hair dryer to dry the glue quickly. I still had beads to string onto the fringe before I could wet-finish the shawl. Saturday I had planned ahead enough that I picked up some beads at Findings, but I really didn't know how many I was going to need (of course I didn't have enough!) In fact, I couldn't even finish one end! Ahhh...what time do they open?

Monday was a busy day with meetings and setting up for the week, so I did finally finish fringe at 4 p.m., fulled the piece more than I had planned, and then mangled until it was time to leave for the guild's meeting of all the sellers. Puh! It was still damp.

The fabric is heavier than I anticipated, Alice. I knew as I hurried that I should have made notes about how long I agitated the samples and what temperature water. The fabric feels luxurious and really nice; it is just heavier than I wanted. Haste makes waste.

Lessons. Lessons. Lessons.

'Tis as you say. One lifetime isn't enough to try all the things that weaving has to show us.

Thanks for all your lessons,
Nancy

Textures

2008-06-05T18:51:00.001-04:00

Dear Alice,

Oftentimes I don't take a walk through our "little boring woods" at Lake Ann and therein lies part of the problem. A change in thinking is needed. Following are several of the lovely things I saw last weekend, scenes that inspire textural ideas in weaving, color ideas in knitting.

Please click on the photos for an enlarged view, and especially so you can actually see the Loon in the last photo!

How are those naps going?
Nancy

Portable Projects

2008-06-04T21:14:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,

What did you do when on the road and couldn't take your loom along? Drawdowns, I'll bet. I prefer to keep the fingers moving, so usually it is a sock-knitting project I take along. Interweave Knits had THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SOCKS in the Fall '07 issue, the Tyrolean Socks, by Ann Budd. I had to have them! So, whilst in San Antonio, I made my fiber-fix stop at the Yarn Barn of San Antonio, bought a couple of skeins of what I mistakenly thought was wool, and began the long process of knitting these beauties. Have I said before that I am not a "lace-knitting-person"? Jaaaa, well, I am not a cable person either. The Tyrolean Socks became socks with only a 6.5 inch cuff when I had to frog them at least four (yes, four times on the last sock!!!) I had to do it. I had almost reconciled in my mind that I could fudge it. How could I not, when the piece of paper that caught my eye, underneath the chart (which was constantly being lifted out of the little plastic sleeve as I moved the place holder up), said (and I quote):

"4. Correct Your Mistakes If you discover an error in your knitting, rip it out and knit again. Rudolfs Blaumanis (1863-1908), a Latvian classical author, wrote a play entitled, "The Prodigal Son". The erring son regrets his worthless life and laments:
Why cannot one do with a spoiled life the same as with a spoiled mitten--rip it
out and start again from the beginning.
"SO. . . RIP! It is a soul purifying experience wwhich never takes as much time or trouble as you've imagined it will. If you succumb to the temptation to ignore a mistake, you may well need to give the mittens away so that the mistake does not haunt you. Or you may find yourself "confessing" to every viewer who would otherwise be in total awe of your talents." This is from Lizbeth Upitis's book Latvian Mittens. How could I go on after reading that? R-I-P!!!

These will become pair #2 of the seven I wish to give to Mom this year. Her birthday came and went last month; she says she doesn't need anything nor want anything and if you give her something, you have to come clear out a space for whatever it is. I think you can never have too many hand-knitted socks. Surely she has room in her drawer for useful clothing?

Here's the other portable project. When I first saw the Coriolis sock in Cat Bordhi's new book New Pathways for Sock Knitters last December, I could not get it out of my mind. I had to knit this sock! It is the most beautiful architecture of a sock that I have ever seen. I did my duty and knit the baby-size sock after I gifted myself and bought the book (remember the little blue ones?) Now I am fully engaged and this is a pair that will fit Mom, too. Even more in the experimenting department...these are knit with a bamboo yarn. A summer sock. Perhaps my friends in warmer climes can stand a pair of bamboo socks?

Last week I saw a photo that was so fun! An a capella group of young men at the University of Illinois, The Other Guys, were photographed for their performance in California this past winter. Every gentleman was dressed up in sport jacket, seated on a low wall with one leg resting crossed at the knee and their socks were exposed: EVERY SOCK ON EVERY GUY WAS DIFFERENT! I mean EVERY sock!!! Now there's an idea....

Alice, there are just not enough hours in every day.

Loved the rain,
Nancy

Michigan's Answer to Texas's Bluebonnets

2008-05-29T16:11:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,

The lupines that I planted several years ago in a dry, sandy spot near the mailbox are alive with color. Oh, it makes me happy to see something that can survive that difficult corner! The Tall Yellow Coneflower will shine in late July, and the Little Bluestem is coming along, too.

Scott and I saw the last few blooms of the Texas Bluebonnets at the end of April and they were lovely. We have our own version here in Michigan, and they love our sandy soils. One Memorial Day weekend as we made our way north, they were resplendent in the sandy woodlands, and I resolved to try them here. They are a success--they are spreading by seed.

The colors in this photo remind me of the almost four yards of "It's Spring Alice!" that is slowly winding on the cloth beam. It will feel so good to have that piece behind me. Six shuttles. Whatever was I thinking???

We'll talk soon,
Nancy

Cheap Cat Toys

2008-05-29T14:59:00.000-04:00

Why is it that cats love to park themselves in the sunshine and on the least likely "cat toy" ever conceived by man?

Meet Frizbie, Suzy's 15-year-old kitty, who is dozing on a narrow cardboard box filled with more cardboard into which one is supposed to pour catnip. It makes him wild when the catnip is fresh. Today, it is not a bad spot, since the sunshine made it the most desirable perch in the entire house.

What Frizbie wants to know is why, why oh why, doesn't his mom get him treats like the Three Ginger Cats' Mom?

Catching Up

2008-05-23T21:32:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,

You have probably figured out by now that my absence is due to overbooking.

So here's the sequence of events since the week in San Antonio:

Weekend of May 3, Marvelous, Magical Color Workshop thru AAFG by Lois Bryant

Here's Lois with one of the many beautiful pieces she shared with us in the workshop that weekend.

We were to study colors taken from photos taken from magazines, calendars, our own collection or any source of inspiration. Here you see the colors I was playing with. The blues/greens/yellows are now a warp on my Little Alice.

Weekend of May 10, Opening the Cottage and a Good Walk in the Woods

Of course there is a lot of work to do to open the cottage for the season, but first one must take a walk in the woods to hunt morels. Even though it was the Mushroom Festival in Mesick, MI, we were skunked. It was just too cold. We did have a wonderful time walking the hilly woods, and the dogs had a blast together!

Weekend of May 17, Weaving History Conference at the Handweaving Museum, Clayton, NY.
...a lovely photo of Ruth Holroyd by Mary U. Ruth's presentation, the first of the weekend's programs, received a standing ovation by the group.

and this weekend--Steve's Birthday!

along with preparation of our 'float' for the Dexter Memorial Day Parade on Monday, and the beginning of door to door campaigning. It is also time to get tomatoes in the garden. More to come.

Sleep well!
Nancy

Silence is Golden

2008-05-07T22:47:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,
It has been several days since you last heard from me...it is not that I haven't been thinking of you. Sometimes Life gets in the way. I did at least get one letter written to Suzy, and a postcard off to Roger from San Antonio. His socks are finished (last week in San Antonio). DH has modeled them for me since I fear they would hang sloppily from my own feet. The decision to have a heart on one or both soles was made unconsciously, since I forgot to pack the red yarn to knit the heart on sole #2.

No matter. I think it is more fun to have just one heart appearing when propping one's feet up for a rest.

But, otherwise, don't they look really conservative?

So what has been happening in this Golden Silence (aside from the fact that I have rarely had any truly Golden Silence in the past thirteen days)? First we went to San Antonio to watch Suzy graduate from her USAF Basic Training. A tearful reunion, since we all missed her tremendously....

She had Town Passes Friday afternoon and Saturday all day, so we enjoyed the Riverwalk and Mexican food, Fiesta and loud music everywhere. Saturday we all took in the boat ride, and yes, more Mexican food! For us Michiganders it was a tough two days of adjustment to the heat at 86 degrees. Hot food will cool you down, right?

After siblings and spouses flew back home, Scott and I stayed for more days of Botanical Gardens, The Lady Bird Johnson National Wildflower Center, more gardens, and sightseeing. I'll send along photos of the others as soon as they are developed. For now I will stop...many more things to do and I don't want to bore you with the details.

I hope all is well,
Nancy

Siftings

2008-04-22T21:41:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,
April has been flying by. The weather has changed so quickly to gorgeous, every type of spring flower comes up one day and blooms the next, and there are just a lot of different things going on. First there was the Jason Collingwood
workshop scheduled for the first weekend. The next week was election inspector training, then an informational meeting on the next phase of Jackson Road,

Spinners' Flock (Amy Singer and Jillian Moreno were there!),

and of course—tax time. Last week was filled with meetings every evening. The Fiberarts guild Spring Fashion show/luncheon/sale was Saturday, and the jacket that Rebecca & I worked on together was on the runway. Sadly, the photo I quickly snapped came out awfully blurry, though Karen did a lovely job of modeling the jacket.

And today I went to the last of the Waterman Alumnae luncheons for the 2007-08 season; today's speaker was Tom Gjelten, correspondent for NPR, and author of a new book on Cuba, due out in September.

I have finished sock #1 of the R S Fair Isle socks. Sock #2 only lacks the foot and toe, something that could be done during a flight to Texas later this week. I put a heart on the sole of #1 and am wondering if only one heart makes sense. I don't know if I should put one on the sole of sock #2 yet or not....

I had a ball of yarn for each sock, and that little bit next to the sock is all I had left from ball number one. Let's hope I get through sock #2!

Siftings? Let's just say that there have been many, many ingredients being funneled and sifted through my experience this month with more yet to come!

Let's talk soon,
Nancy

Spring Has Sprung

2008-04-20T20:50:00.001-04:00

...and now you know why I have been so quiet. It has been a very busy week, and when I can, I spend my time outside making up for the winter that has passed quietly away.

Little Heathens

2008-04-13T14:13:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,
I finished reading Little Heathens, Hard times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression about a week ago, and Mildred Kalish's memories fit so closely with my own (having grown up on a dairy farm in the 50's) that I still carry its words with me every day. Mildred was of my parents' generation. I couldn't pass this book up; my dad on occasion would call my siblings and I and our many cousins 'little heathens'.

Little pieces of my childhood have fallen away over the years, and when another piece goes, there is a heaviness of heart. It was a week ago that the aunts' hay barn burned. I knew exactly which barn and where (as there were several on my grandfather's farm). My father followed in my grandfather's footsteps and became a dairy farmer, though at some point when I asked him, he said he wanted to build bridges. Interestingly, there were probably several generations of dairy farmers, since records show that my G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G grandfather sold butter to his next door neighbor, Thomas Jefferson.

That is me in the 'baby tender' while my mother and father did the milking by hand in 1950, probably outside, since it was clearly summer, and too stiflingly hot in the barn.

Mildred Kalish's memories brought back many memories for me. Life on the farm holds many lessons for life...skills that our suburban children never have the opportunity to learn in this very different world.

Weaver's Bag o' Tricks

2008-04-12T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hi Alice!

It would have helped if I had actually gone back to your book. It was so long since I glued a dowel to the warp that I had forgotten how to do it, but thought I knew how to do it. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing....

So, sampling done, I decided that I really needed to glue the warp this time so as to not lose any more warp to experiments.

I accomplished this the other night (with a few ties and rubber bands) it dried overnight, and I was able to cut off the samples the next morning to wet finish, spin out and then mangle.

More fun things to look at, none of the critics totally agreeing, but at this point, I need to get weaving. So, the dowel with the glued warp is tied to the rod and I am ready to go back to the loom! No muss, no fuss!

Are you enjoying the April Showers? I saw Bloodroot yesterday!

Be well, Nancy

Day 3, Shaft Shifters

2008-04-07T18:15:00.000-04:00

Hi again, Alice!

This was the final day of the Jason Collingwood 3-end Block Weaves Workshop. What a lot of information we all took in! Jason is a really organized teacher...I think some of us were on design-possibilities-overload. It was (every bit of it) inspiring, challenging, and made us think "what if...."

Since it was the last day, too, Jason demonstrated several ways of creating "weft protectors" with different knots. Now, if I were a sailor or a Scout I would have known most of them, but I am neither. Maybe I need a book of knots?

And...the last day was devoted to shifting shafts and the technique to do that. What a cool idea!

At lunchtime Jason showed us a power-point presentation of photos from his very ancient village, photos of his looms, and photos of his father, Peter, as well as the senior Collingwood's macro-gauze pieces.

This whole workshop has inspired me to actually try my hand at a decent-sized rug for the cottage, and ideally a nice runner for the hall at the bedrooms. For now, though, I need to get back to finishing my samples!

I hope you are enjoying the warmer temperatures. It has been wonderful to go without a heavy coat!

Hugs, Nancy

Day 2, Dances with Looms

2008-04-06T20:50:00.000-04:00

Hi Alice,
It has been a couple of days of direct tie-up, though Ellen and I knew we had extra treadles and extra hooks and could do a little faster footwork. ;)

Today was again another intense day, as always is the case with Jason Collingwood. What a lot of information he put before us...and some hours to catch up to what we hadn't tried yesterday, as well as trying out new things today! This afternoon we got to clasped wefts, a fun technique that is a great one to know for your weaving repertoire.

I have been working with red & green—colors that I want to see used at LA, so it is not really a Christmas weaving, it is cottage weaving.

And, do I look a little burned-out? Mary has asked me to help with all the things she does when putting on a workshop for the guild! It really is fun, and there is a lot to do! I think I needed some dark chocolate just then.

One more day...tomorrow we start "shifting shafts". And then we shall be on our own again to continue to experiment and keep trying new things. As you have said, weaving can keep you young!

I hope your spirits are up,
Nancy

Workshop, Day 1, Jason Collingwood

2008-04-05T19:01:00.000-04:00

Hi Alice,
This was the first day of the Jason Collingwood 3-end Block Weave Workshop. Goodness the day went fast! It was wonderful to have a bit of a refresher (he taught the Plain Weave Rug workshop exactly a year ago for our guild, which I took) so many of the beginning techniques were the same, though he threw in the bits about tying the ends which are NOT in hedddles to one heddle or the other, and then the floating warp threads being tied to heddles as well.

There was a lot to take in, and great demonstrations, as well as each of us weaving our chosen colors.

We learned twining, both with linen and a two color decorative twined border, as well as the four strand sennit braid (hope I have that right! and just now I am too tired to go look it up!) A few photos of Day One for your pleasure.

Weaving in ends of the twining

Four strand square sennit

Second Sock Syndrome

2008-03-31T20:06:00.000-04:00

...or this is how I overcame Second Sock Syndrome. Have two sets of matching needles: start the second sock right after finishing most of the cuff of sock #1. This helps me tremendously since I often have too many other projects going at the same time, and it is easy to lose (or rather, fail to take along) the instructions if doing a new-to-me sock (like the time I finished a picayune rib at Christmastime and I was in Minnesota, not Michigan. The book with the Vickel braid, which was the next detail, was at home.)

These are coming along pretty quickly, given that I started them on Easter Sunday. Both cuffs are now done, and the rest is mindless rib 'til I get to the heel, and this pattern is firmly ensconced in my mind. It has become a take-a-long, or something to knit whilst watching tv.

Sampling

2008-03-31T17:25:00.000-04:00

Alice,
Since the weekend has passed I have made significant progress on the 'It's spring Alice!' warp, and begun sampling. I have put 9 yards of warp on the loom with plans to be able to use at least 1 yard for sampling. Yesterday I tried several of the wefts that I had planned, cut it off, wet-finished my piece and looked, evaluated, and looked some more. I asked DH for his critique. I phoned Mary U and asked for hers. We looked at the sample piece in different lights, close-up and at a distance, hanging and flat. I think in the end we all agreed on the same one for the proposed jacket (I badly need something that says 'Spring' and yet is still warm enough when Spring is slow to come).

However, Mary and I also thought that the bit with a black cotton warp was also interesting and potentially stunning as a fabric. I had only used the black to even up the warp bundles that were tied on, and to help me see if there were any threading mistakes. Ah, happenstance! The black weft has the potential to become a shawl with a different sett, and we thought that it would kick it up a notch to have a beautiful, heavier weft accent throughout.

So! as soon as I have put the linen warp on Little Alice (the Macomber) I will try more samples. I'm going to use a very nice black wool that was in the stash (from your stash, Alice, and I will try a dark green wool, too.) Before I do that, though, there are a couple of areas that need to have the warp threads mixed up a bit more, and now is the time to fix that. This fabric measures 24 inches wide after shrinkage, and there would be only one way to lay pattern pieces out, so I don't need any stray stripe-y looking areas lurking there. Here is the full sample piece...with a photo of the Chanel jacket that was the inspiration.

Too Pretty To Complain

2008-03-28T11:18:00.000-04:00

Hammamelis vernalis (Spring Witchhazel)

Late yesterday brought us a change from a cold Spring rain to a mix of rain and snow, and to many lovely scenes this morning. It is, indeed, too pretty to complain, and I know it will soon warm and melt away, and once again the Snowdrops will be revealed.

28 March

2008-03-28T10:46:00.000-04:00

If you see this young woman today, wish her a Happy Birthday! More than likely, she will not be at this corner. When she and her dear husband had traveled to Virginia last summer, and I discovered on a map where she was, I told her she was too close to this point to not visit it—then she could say she had been there! Julie and I (of course, all my siblings and double cousins!) are direct-line descendents of Col. John Catlett, who came to Virginia in the 1650's. A few years ago Patrick, a long-time friend who is now working in Virginia, sent me a photo of this intersection and suggested that I come to visit before it is all gone...developed...lost.

Happy Birthday, Julie! and now you can see that the "top secret project" for the past month has been posted under 25 March.

Jumping for Joy!

2008-03-25T19:03:00.001-04:00

Yippeeee! Alice! I can finally start the colorful, happy sox that I promised myself, oh, about a month ago, to create for my cousin. I finished up the top secret project early Sunday morning, so Sunday afternoon I was able to cast on the R. S. Fair Isle sox. They got the royal treatment with a two color braid at the top, and the top 5 inches or so of the cuff will be a Fair Isle pattern from the sleeves of an Annabelle Fox sweater I knitted a few years ago. It was such fun that I tried it on a pair of sox that eventually Courtney received for her birthday one year.

It is hard to put down because I love to see the colors coming together. Here is the pattern and how I set up the yarns:

Monday, I was a little under-the-weather, but I could sit and knit, so I made a bit of progress. The silky knit is the base, background color, and below the cuff of his trousers, all should look conservative and staid. (Though I am thinking about putting hearts on the soles...should I?)

...and, oh. Whose knitting chair is this anyway?

Birthday Sox!

2008-03-25T18:28:00.000-04:00

Whew, Alice! I finished just before my drop dead date! Sunday morning at 4:30 I was wont for sleep, and I knew if I got up and knitted for a bit that before long I would have to go back to bed. I did it! Finished up sock no. 2, so that they were ready for washing and blocking on Easter Sunday (Julie will be pleased that they have the Lord's Prayer knitted into many, many of the stitches).

These started more than a year ago when Julie sent to me a couple of black fleeces from the shearing floor where they helped with shearing in Nebraska. I went through the bags and...well, much of it became compost. I sent her a lovely thank-you note and a sample of the Shetland I had been spinning...it, too, was filled with vegetable matter, but, darn! a much nicer fleece...one worth spinning! Not long after, a package showed up again at the doorstep and lo! this is what it held (photographed after washing)!
This beautiful fleece came from friends of hers, Cory's Lincoln Longwools in Montana, and honestly, it was so beautiful, glossy, and loopy, that it made me think it was an angora fleece (mohair)! The finally-(and yes, finely) spun yarn acts in much the same way as mohair. There is no stretch, it has a halo, and the strong, long fiber length will definitely hold up well as sox. After much rumination, I decided that sox were one of the best uses for it. That, or a nice pair of outer mittens, a hat that has a soft yarn lining band at the forehead, or woven into a scrumptious coat fabric. There is MORE! I used only approx. 300 yards on sz. US#2 needles.

The Fourniers' book, In Sheep's Clothing, a Handspinner's Guide to Wool says about Lincoln wool: "Commercial uses are upholstery and wig making. Its luster and relatively soft handle for a strong wool make it very desirable for blending with mohair to create a yarn with less than 100 percent mohair but with the same or similar characteristics."

The pattern is Vining Lace from the Socks-Socks-Socks book from XRX Books. A lace knitter I am not. This yarn begged to be lace, however, in that I had spun it so fine I would have had to create a pair of sox on sz.#0 needles, and I knew they wouldn't be completed until 2009 were that the case. Ah, lace! says I.

I am happy to be moving on to the happy, colorful sox planned for my dear cousin! Usually by the time I finish knitting a pair of socks that have a lacey pattern, I am finally familiar enough that I think I could do another pair. That is not happening for some time now. ;)

Stewart popped them in the post for me yesterday. Now we shall see if they arrive in South Dakota by the 28th day of March!

Hope you are hanging in there!
Your Chick

Snails?

2008-03-18T21:46:00.000-04:00

Hi Alice!

About a week ago I was able to pick up my weaving/hanging after the Power Center Show where the AAFG selects several works to hang in the lobby of the Power Center for the month of February every year. I don't know that this is 'art', but I sure had fun playing and weaving! I had been itching to do something with Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) ever since I came back from our visit to Sweden in 2004, when we had the opportunity to visit Säterglantan. I watched intently as a woman who was in the weaving class sat stripping the leaves from the straw that she was planning to weave with. In the school's shop there were mats constructed with birch branches. What an inspiring visit!

Back to Michigan. Here is a detail showing the snails that were collected along the shore at Lake Ann. All scrubbed and with a small hole drilled into the spiral in order to attach it in the fringe.

What I found most interesting was that the stems of the Big Bluestem are not hollow at all, and therefore, I think they would hold up really well as a mat at the door. We shall see as I find more time to experiment more with this beautiful, Tall Prairie grass.

For now, though, I am focused on getting the "It's Spring Alice!" warp on the loom...I hope to be weaving yardage by this weekend. And after that, I need to dress the little Macomber with linen for Jason Collingwood's workshop the first weekend of April.

For now, I hope you are getting out as the days warm to get a bit of sunshine. Be well! Nancy

Harbingers Returning

2008-03-15T16:30:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,

Yesterday at lunchtime I was outside bidding my two sons goodbye on their drive to NYC when, once again, I heard that odd call. This time I looked up quickly and saw seven of these beauties, the Sandhill Cranes, in flight headed west! What a sight! The tulips on the south side of the house are up, and today I was able to lift the gardeners' quilt to check on the lettuce planted last Fall. It is still there, protected from the deer, and ready to have a head start (especially considering that on the north side of the quilt there is still a fair amount of snow-turned-to-ice.) The Robins can be heard singing their hearts out early in the morning, too. Lovely.

Quick Temperature Gauge

2008-03-12T16:46:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,

It has been much too cold for March mornings, methinks, and to avoid going out to check the thermometer on the patio, a quick look out the window will tell if we need to bundle up. The Rhododendron's leaves will be curled tight, drooping, and very, very dark if it is in the 20's or lower.

I am waiting for mornings when our friend Rhodie looks more like this (taken when the temperature actually reached the low 40's yesterday!)

So, there you have it! I think you have a Rhododendron in your garden—do you not?
Nancy

More Signs

2008-03-12T16:11:00.000-04:00

Dear Alice,

At lunchtime today when I walked out to the mailbox, I heard a Sandhill Crane overhead! That has got to be a good sign that Spring is really going to come this year. They gather by the thousands at Phyllis Haehnle Preserve near Jackson every autumn as they wend their way southward. I missed seeing him/her/them since I didn't look up fast enough. I only thought "what is that weird bird call...Oh! yes!" and then it/they were gone. The Haehnle website has an interest fact page all about the cranes.

It has already been a week since I last posted. I have felt pulled in too many directions, and really haven't accomplished anything (much). However, I did finish spinning and plying the Moody Blues yarn that is for my cousin's colorful sox. Isn't it the best?
Contrast that (yes, a little color lesson on complementaries!) with the Clivia that has been blooming it's heart out! I have several plants that I split from the mother three years ago, so we get a blast of this beauty when we walk through the sunroom, and another snippet of color when we are in the dining room. The one in the dining room is starting to send up another stalk of blossoms (and is promised to my friend Ginny for her new sunroom when she has recovered a little more).

Much to do...I am still working on the Top Secret project, I have things to finish up before Sunday when the Fiberarts Guild has a jurying session for the upcoming Fiber Feast in April. Saturday is the Dexter Pioneer Arts Fair, and I promised to help by demonstrating at Mary U's booth (if I can get there before the end of the day, since I am also scheduled to do my civic duty that day as well, as a Board of Review member).

I hope you are doing well. Thinking of you daily,
Nancy

There is Hope

2008-03-05T21:29:00.000-05:00

Hi Alice,
There is hope that Spring will truly come. This is enough to pick one's spirits up significantly! Hamamelis vernalis...cut from the back garden on Sunday afternoon, late. By dinnertime with all the children, the little buds had expanded significantly. Today, sitting in the south-facing window it was especially fragrant. I love how the fragile, little strap-like petals can put out such a delightful perfume, and many folks will never ever see them. Delightful!

I visited with Charles at Forma this afternoon and bought another cone of 'Seabreeze' rayon. So! must rush off to finish the last 75 threads.

Thinking of you,
Nancy

Poll Results

2008-03-03T20:48:00.000-05:00

Dear Alice,
It appears that everyone is tired of the monochromatic days at the end of winter and happy, colorful sox are badly needed...by all of us! There was only one vote for regular, plain socks. (Have you ever wondered about me using "sox" and socks" interchangeably? I once saw "sox" written and thought "Bah! That's silly! Everyone knows that socks is spelled s-o-c-k-s and some retailer has bungled the spelling!" I was wrong. 'Tis actually in the dictionary, s-o-x, that is.)

So! Happy, Colorful socks it is!

Mary U voted with roving. She brought the most beautiful mixed blue wool roving on Saturday to spin up a yarn for the sox. It has been fun to spin because it is such a beautiful, beautiful blend! Liz (from whom Mary got it) called it 'Moody Blues'; it would be great with denim!

Typing is slow. I am minus one finger for this today, and it will be better soon.

On the weaving front, I have 75 more threads to measure out, but cannot go forward until I get more yarn from Forma. The seafoam rayon ran out...which I rather expected since I used it so many times in the thread order. The first 300 threads:

We had a tremendous melt today, but never fear, there was more snow falling as I drove home tonight from a meeting. ...and another winter storm warning for tomorrow night!

I have only about 8400 more stitches on the top secret knitting project to finish and I will be done early!

1 March

2008-03-01T15:19:00.000-05:00

In like a lion

Ah, March, March, March...
She flirts with April, then,
rushes back into February's
tumultuous arms, until
the celestial, maternal sage
can convince her fickle heart
otherwise.

—Charles William Lowell

29 February 2008...Poll

2008-02-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

Lest you ask where's the photo for today...look at the previous post. More of the same, only add at least 6 more inches of the white stuff.

So! We have an extra day this year! Surely there is something special to be done today. I can't think of anything, particularly, so please help me with this question.

One of my dear cousins has started chemotherapy this week. The plan is to make a pair of wool socks for him a.s.a.p. and here is my dilemma. I have a beautiful silky wool, charcoal grey for the main foot part, and I was thinking I would do something more "happy" for the legging part. The other day I had settled upon 8 other colors for a fair isle pattern with a nice red & gold braid at the very beginning. All these beautiful colors would naturally be covered by trousers, until you sit down and the colors appear.

OK, so he's a guy. Would he prefer plain, no frills socks so just bite the bullet and do a regular, ribbed pair? Or should I make the happy pair?

Spring Snow

2008-02-27T19:35:00.000-05:00

Oh, JOY! Today was my first visit to our new tea shop in town...TeaHaus! I was looking for 1001 Nights, the type my sis sent from Wichita, but alas! it was not to be. I came home with 'Arabian Nights' and tested it right away. Green and black tea/sunflower/jasmine/rose blend. Very nice, and a rather wonderful selection teas. It reminded me much of my first favorite tea shoppe House of Tea in Philadelphia.

We have once again gotten another lovely dump of snow, (photo at 7 a.m. yesterday)
but this is nothing like the up-north snow. The Leland Report
indicates that Leland, MI has had 124 inches total so far this season! DH and I can attest to that, since we worked hard to remove layer upon layer of snow, packed, melted, and heavy, from the boats.

It is about time that I report here on some progress with weaving projects. I contemplated the mint green Border Leicester/Mohair blend for several days when I hit upon using a color combination similar to those in a table cloth that I have enjoyed for years. Here is the initial wrapping:

Left to right the yarns are a natural wool boucle to be used in the weft, silk (Treenway Silks) from the stash, a teal wool from the stash, periwinkle rayon chenille, another little variegated cotton/nylon boucle originally from the Yarn Barn, a beautiful pale mint rayon (I'll call it seafoam), and the last is the handspun BL/mohair blend. I plan to use the natural bouclè and the mohair blend in the weft. Doesn't that look like SPRING?!!

So! here are the first 100 threads on the warping board. If I'm good, I will go finish up measuring out the remaining 275 yet tonight and start dressing the loom tomorrow.

Spring is coming. I know it. Yesterday's snowstorm smelled like spring. The cardinals are calling their mates every morning. More evidence (the clivias started blooming while we were away!):

And March comes on Saturday!

Postcard from LA

2008-02-25T19:45:00.000-05:00

Dear Alice,

Just returned from Lake Ann (here's Saturday morning's sunrise shot) so there are few photos of weaving or knitting, though there has been a bit of progress on those fronts. The current knitting project is top secret, so instead I will show you the socks I knitted several years ago that always get worn on the LA Winter Adventure. This year, however, they were wet much of the time. The snow was impossibly deep, and my boots were impossibly short. We experienced more snow there than we have in all of our 22 years of winter trips to the cottage. It is a wonderful get-away, and though our winter trip does not take us to the land of sunshine and shorts, this trip always restores my soul, and I find a way to make it through the rest of winter.

Chelsea had a blast!

Now that I am back I will try to get more photos of the warp to fill you in.

Also, I did finish spinning the second 25 gms. of buffalo down last week before we left. Remarkably, it was 210 yards, whereas the first 25 gms. measured 208 yards. What a pleasant surprise!

'Til tomorrow,
Nancy

p.s. Mom's Valentine socks arrived on Valentine's day!

More Wool Sox!

2008-02-19T19:41:00.001-05:00

Dear Alice,

First I overslept this morning (though it was a good morning for that!) I had really wanted to finish this pair of socks since DH and I are going to LA this weekend, and I will need layers of wool! After all the little morning chores to be done, and preparation of my tea to steep, I got busy, persevered, and finished the last 2.5 inches of Nancy Bush's Spey Valley socks from Knitting on the Road.

I started these last August on the deck at the edge of Ann Lake.
The decorative rib at the top was the fun part. From there on, it was mindless, but also nit-picky, since I had to keep track of the fact that I continued the rib all the way down to the toe. On sock #2 I had a bit of ripping to do since I picked it up after several months (and knitting other socks) and began knitting merrily on my way to the heel. Imagine my shock when I went to show someone sock #1 and found that the darn rib was still going! Sigh. Mary has taught me that ripping is a good thing.

They are a lovely taupe color, and when you look at the yarn in sunlight, it is filled with reds and blues and yellows, a beautiful warm, glowing mix. The yarn is Patons Kroy, 85% washable wool, 15% nylon, 262 yards/240 metres. Fawn is the color; it may have been discontinued years ago. I want to see how they hold up, especially since I went through the heels on two pairs of socks this month. It may be time to take care of Nancy's feet for a change. ;)

It is very hard to see the interesting rib at the top, and then the Vickel braid (that might be better in a contrasting color in order to appreciate it fully). Nonetheless, here they are so that you will truly believe I have finished yet another UFO.

I started putting yarns on spools this afternoon for the next weaving project, a fabric for a spring jacket. One step at a time.

I hope your basement has been cleared of the flooding. Keep your spirits up!

Nancy

February Visit

2008-02-18T20:55:00.001-05:00

Dear Alice,

Oh, it was so good to see you today and have at least a short visit! It was a shame that ALL your Chicks couldn't be there, but Pat couldn't get away (work can sure get in the way) and it was so very nice to visit with Lois, too.

I was able to share a lot about the amazing color workshop the guild held over the weekend with Lois Bryant as our workshop leader/presenter. Her color exercises, power-point presentations and the music were wonderful. She was so organized! The exercises were fun, informative, and it was really neat to see everyone's solutions. It was also a really good time of the year to have the workshop! It was foggy grey (actually rainy/icy) on Sunday morning but everyone found a way to get there safely, and we carried on with Magical, Marvelous Color. I wish I had remembered to take the camera so that you could see the yarn wrappings that everyone came up with. Inspiring!

Rebecca stopped by this evening to pick up some beads that she is going to use on her jacket that will be featured at her Open Studio this weekend. The beaded band is something we talked a lot about last spring when we were working on ideas for the handwoven fabric jacket. I can't wait to see the end result!

I asked her to have some dinner with us, one of those quick, pantry concoctions that was really perfect for mid-February. We had a bit of leftover salmon, some grape tomatoes (the only kind with any flavor in February), pesto from the freezer, and pasta, and fresh sourdough bread that Scott & I collaborated on today, since I had to leave the bread dough in his care whilst the Chicks visited with you today. Voilà! something colorful to beat the wintry blast that has returned again this evening.

After we left you and Lois, we took a fuzz detour on the way home and stopped at the Spinning Loft in Howell, and then went on to Liz Cowdery's farm. Beth, at the Spinning Loft, has done a wonderful job of bringing in lots of beautiful fleeces, processed rovings, and luscious yarns to tempt those of us with already overflowing stashes (I think they should really be called IRA's because the stash continues to grow in value, and once properly aged, it is marvelous to rediscover something so lovely). And Liz is a master at combining color with her dyed rovings that she creates from her Romney wool and mohair! She showed us many different wool breeds and blends from the animals that are on the farm. I know we will see something beautiful come from Mary's expert spinning (BTW, she did very well at the Fleece Fair this past weekend!)

OK. I know you have been waiting to see the photo from our little visit. Here we are! Thanks so much for allowing us to stop in today. Be well until next time!

Många kramar (many hugs),
Nancy

Race to the Finish for Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T11:13:00.001-05:00

Dear Alice,

I did it! The New England Sock, morphed, was finished up Monday evening, washed, blocked and dried, ready to pop into the mail on Tuesday. Mom may not actually get them until tomorrow, since 400 miles can translate into 3 or 4 days by post, but a letter to Sweden can be delivered in the same amount of time. Go figure!

Here are the yum-deli-icious socks!

Now it is on to other projects!

Happy Valentine's Day to all, with love,
Nancy

From Ewe to You!

2008-02-13T22:38:00.001-05:00

Dear Alice,

Mary did a fabulous job this evening with her part in the three part presentation that was given this evening at the downtown library! Sadly, my photo of her with her handspun sweater, and her handspun, handwoven jacket (by Rebecca), and all the beautiful skeins turned out a little fuzzy in the low light.

Linda Koeppel, of Cape House Farm, was first to tell us about raising sheep and their needs and what a joy it has been since she and Bill first started their flock 18 years ago. (Linda was the creator of the Border Leicester/Mohair mint green blend that is posted Jan. 30th in this blog.) Neil Kentner filled us in on the different breeds he raises, his expertise in wool judging, and the Conservancy for Livestock breeds.
Here's Neil with some of his Jacob wool. He also raises Wensleydales.

It was a really good program, and it was great to see a good turn-out despite the temperatures. Do you think anyone noticed that at least one audience member was knitting a sock with handspun?

Jean was there...she's going to take a look at the brake on my little Macomber soon. It keeps slipping, and before I put anything else on it I want to have this nipped in the bud.

Sov gott!
Nancy

Spuds

2008-02-12T10:35:00.001-05:00

Dear Alice,

Did you know that it is the International Year of the Potato? I love potatoes...and while complaints of how many times we had them in a week (when the children were small and budgets stretched thin) still ring in my ears, I love it when potatoes are on the menu! Imagine my surprise and delight when this morning I discover that Ted Kooser, former poet laureate of the US, has this gem in his little book, Valentines!

A New Potato

This is just one of the leathery eggs

the scuffed-up, dirty turtle of the moon

buried early in spring, her eyes like stars

fixed on the future, and, inside its red skin,

whiteness, like all of the moons to come,

and marvelous, buttered with light.

This, shared with the World in the CS Monitor today.

Last spring I had high hopes with the blue potatoes I planted, but was Oh! so disappointed when the squirrels, too, thought they made a lovely dinner. I lost almost half my seedling potatoes to them. A dry, droughty summer made for a final crop that was almost what I planted in number. So, I have left the potato growing to those whose focus is not fiber of the fuzzy kind, but instead pays more attention to his crops in the field.

We bought 100 pounds of potatoes at the Traverse City Farmers' Market at the end of the season. 20 lbs. of blues, 10 lbs of a nice white for smashed potatoes, 20 lbs of red-skinned, and 50 lbs of Idaho bakers. Oh! and 10 lbs of Yukon Golds. As I recall, Mr. Westmaas threw in the whites for mashing for us to test. I must put potatoes on the menu for tonight!

Snow again, but at least it has warmed up to a balmy 14°F!

I'll be checking with you later today to see how the appointment with the doctor went.

Stay warm!
Nancy

Time for Hunkerin' Down

2008-02-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

Dear Alice, and all my dear friends...T, Ellen, Mary U, Mari-Ann, Pat, Mary R, Mary S, many others, and family, too!

What a wintry blast we experienced yesterday! We survived it, though. It was a good day for working with yarn (preferably on one's lap). That, however, did not work out. Instead I had a really wonderful "lap warmer" for about an hour in the afternoon, one who didn't feel the best this week. Since the fox fur cuffs that I found in an antique shop in the UP a couple of years ago have been left out to consider what they want to become, Stewart decided they would make a good hat. One is too small for an adult hat, no matter what your head size, but they do make a pretty good-looking Eskimo hat for a sweet grandson, the best lap warmer in the world!

'Til the next time,
Nancy

Spinning, spinning, spinning

2008-02-07T17:57:00.001-05:00

Dear Alice,

It really is time to get those warp threads chosen for the two projects I have in mind; it is so easy to dream of what they might be while I spin. I'm still working at the 15 minutes per day goal, and here is the first 25 gms. of Buffalo down! Fini! You can also see the second 25 gms., so maybe within a week I will have it all spun, washed and set! The last time I spun up 50 gms. of Buffalo down, I wove two beautiful men's scarves. I am very tempted to do exactly the same warp combination. Since I have good records, the warp would be easy to duplicate. Scarf #1 had entirely buffalo weft, scarf #2 had a mix, since it was a shadow weave. It could have been cashmere the way it felt. Yummy! I'll keep you posted on what I decide to do. In the meantime, here is the photo of the singles still on the bobbin, with the 25 gms. remaining behind. I should mention that this lovely, downey fuzz came from Wild Rose Fibres, in Canada. Wild Rose Fibres was my source a few years ago, so when an email arrived saying that they had more Buffalo Down in stock, I couldn't resist. The dollar was much better back then. Excellent service!

Sock #1 for Mom's Valentine's day present is finished, washed, and being blocked! I have about 4 more inches to go on sock #2. Here's #1!

That's all for now.

Nancy

p.s. No, the sun never did shine today. :(

The Cold, Grey Days of February

2008-02-06T22:02:00.000-05:00

Dear Alice,

It snowed again today, a sloppy, icy, rainy, messy snow until late this afternoon, when it changed to a beautiful, more wintery snow. So tomorrow, if the sun shows her face and the sky is blue:

We could use a bit of sun.

Making Progress

2008-02-02T17:10:00.001-05:00

Dear Alice,

So nice to talk with you today, however briefly!

It occurs to me that today is Ground Hog's Day, meaning February 2nd, meaning only 12 days left until Valentine's Day! Since it was very clear that I was not going to finish those New England lace sox in Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road for Mom before Christmas, Valentine's Day became the new goal. I need to get knitting like a speed demon! especially if they need to be washed, blocked and dried before they go off in snail mail. Fortunately, they are both now beyond the picayune, lacey diamonds that march down the front of the leg. All that is left is mindless knitting, so I can do it in front of the tv, on the road, early in the morning, maybe even in church. No not in church. This was my first go at using the tiny cable needle by KA. It takes a little "getting used to" since it is only 9 inches long, and it worked well for this project since there were YO stitches, many little markers, and the fact that I was using a yarn that was really spun for weaving (no stretch at all). Ah yes, a little cashmere for pampering my dear mom's feet! Here they are from a couple of weeks ago. From here on out they will be on my favorite Bryspun plastic #2US ndls.

Earlier in January I could not stop myself from thinking about Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters, so sought out her book and it followed me home. I am totally smitten with the Coriolis sock! Of course, I did have to start with her tutorials for baby socks (no problem...there are little people in my life!). Carson got the first pair, and Caiden got my favorite Coriolis pair. I knit these with a Lion Brand merino/cashmere yarn that was found a year ago on sale. They are yummy!

No weaving, you say, Alice? There are lots of ideas dancing in my head. It is a weekend and I tend to write many, many more things on my 'to do' list than I ever accomplish. There was a new idea today as I read through Russell Groff's May, 1966 issue of Warp & Weft newsletter today at lunchtime. (Yes, I did spin for 20 minutes today. Buffalo down is in the works.) It would be so very cool if it could actually materialize before the fashion show in April this year (but of course one needs to have it ready for jurying in March.) That is a stretch!

'Tis pizza/movie night. I had best get going if I want to make that Shermane Fouchè skirt yet this weekend!

Be well!
Nancy

ps. Last night would have been the first time to visit the exhibition of fiber art pieces at the Power Center. Maybe the husband will indulge me and go this evening. I put the Big Bluestem/Birch bark piece in. I'll try to get a photo of it in situ for you.

A Weekend of Learning

2008-01-30T20:53:00.000-05:00

Dear Alice,
I have missed several days of writing, so just wanted to let you know that my weekend went ever-so-fast! I participated in Shermane Fouchè's "Draping on a Mannequin" workshop put on by our Fiberarts Guild. Intense. Fun. I have so much more to learn by experience. Here's a photo of the bias skirt that was draped to create a pattern at the very end of the last day.

Three Bags Full....

2008-01-30T20:29:00.001-05:00

and I definitely have more! Today I finished spinning the last of 1 pound of Border Leicester/Mohair blend that I bought from a fellow spinner almost a year ago. Yeaaaaa!!! 1370 yards! In January our regular columnist of "Rovings in Spinlandia" suggested to the Spinners' Flock that if we were to set a goal of spinning 2 ounces a day, we could have spun over 45 pounds in a year! Imagine! Knowing that I would be lucky to spin an ounce a day, I committed to spinning for at least 15 minutes every day at lunchtime. A pound is finished. OK, so I didn't spin the whole pound this year. But things are looking up. It is good meditation time. What will I do with this beautiful color?

Happy Birthday min bäst väninna!

2008-01-21T10:23:00.000-05:00

Dear Alice,
A little more history.... This is where the postcard idea started. In 1987 the first letters started cruising across the Atlantic between two women with young children who were interested in quilting . Mari-Ann had placed an ad in Quilting Newsletter Magazine requesting a "pin pal". "How cool, I thought! Someone from Sweden. I shall give this a try!" Two women with young children, careers, homes, and hobbies wont for more time, always. I think it was when Scott and I visited Mari-Ann and Janne on our very first trip to Sweden that we agreed to send each other post cards if we traveled more than 6 Swedish miles from home. A quick way to keep in touch, beautiful photos, and we could manage that! Over twenty years and many, many postcards, we have become the best of friends.

So today is dedicated to min bäst vän, Mari-Ann, who is only 29 today!!!

Happy Födelsedag, min vän!
Nancy

Frigid Days, Fine Selvedges

2008-01-20T21:12:00.000-05:00

Dear Alice,
I have had several people ask about a close-up photo of the fabric for the jacket. You remember that I had gotten that beautiful eggshell reeled silk from you, that then I plied two together on the spinning wheel. Ohhhhh, a long time involved in that. Sometimes when I think of the time put into weaving that fabric I wonder how I EVER could sell that jacket! So here is the close up of the remaining largest piece. It had such a fine selvedge! That is the cord that I made from four threads of the silk and two of the cash/wool plied together.

This week I decided that I had better get a photo of my orchid that has been blooming since before Christmas before she loses all of her blossoms. A little fuzzy, but you can see how much joy she has given us. It has been so beautiful!

Flowers always lift the spirit, especially on these brisk days! It is only 9°F right now.

Hope this finds you well!

Dear Alice,

2008-01-17T22:07:00.002-05:00

For a long time I have contemplated blogging,
so tonight begins a journey into the world of
streamofconsciousness writing, telling you of
my journeys, with postcards from the fringes...
while spinning and weaving on my tour through life.

Here is the Hen (Alice) with her Chicks--Pat, Ellen, me, and Mary at The Wishbone Restaurant in Chicago.