A Day at the Demo

Yesterday I spent the day demonstrating spinning and weaving with the No Idle Hands group. Cleverly, I managed to forget to have someone take a picture of me! But here is the view from my loom. There were spinners, knitters, someone was making bobbin lace, another woman was grinding grain, a fellow was cutting and sewing a waistcoat and two ladies had their lucets in use. The gentle arts were well represented.

It was a very pretty day and I had a good time. I was a little overwhelmed with new people and was not the chattiest me, but I got out there and that is a start. I brought the table loom and worked on the little huck lace tea towels for a while and fielded lots of weaving questions. I often demonstrate spinning and know all the answers to the usual cadre of questions, but I do not have a weaving "patter" yet and was at a loss for words several times. It will get easier with practice, I am sure. My least favorite question is surely 'but it is so complicated, I will never understand'. I just want to shake them and say, but just look and listen and pay attention instead of saying I can't and you may surprise yourself!

Anne and I went on walkabout to see the rest of the fair and to visit with the other spinning group who was there. I got out the distaff, spindle and grey corriedale roving and we were quite a hit. I even knew one of the Riverside Spinners from a Riverspinners event several years ago. It is a small spinning world.

We were right next to the Gentlemen Adventurers (a sword-fighting group) and it was very interesting to see their gear and watch their demos and displays of weaponry and skills.

Set up was a little disorganized (I am not used to bringing a loom and had no idea how to lay out my space), but tear down was quick and worry free. We were home at a decent hour and barely sunburned at all.

Busy Weekend

I made it out to the Renaissance Faire yesterday. I stocked up on incense, bought a new pair of scissors, saw the Moonie Show:and generally had a good time. I saw the (new) queen in her court and out on walkies, Spun some yarn in the guildyard, ate a potato and got amazingly dusty. However, I was cute as a button and sunburn-free. I took the walking stick that I use as a distaff and got lots of attention. Few re-enactors use a distaff nowadays, so it creates interest with participants as well as the public. I also managed to get some spinning done while "on the move".

Friday I visited with some faire friends and discovered that I love dachshunds. They are in the running for the next dog I get (if any) after mine kick their buckets. That night I saw "As You Like It" at the Redlands bowl. It is enacted with a Wild West theme, and was loooooong. It made "Titus Andronicus" look much better in comparison. Next week "Leading Ladies" opens at Redlands Footlighters and I think I will waddle by and check it out.

Today I wound some warp to make a huck lace sampler and had the cockatiels out for walkies. Mustardseed really is just the sweetest thing ever. She has the sweet temper of her granddam Dante (my first cockatiel). The newest babies (3 months old now) are very much still in the sassy-pants stage, although clipping their wings last week has begun to change their outlook. Back to the weaving - I want to make a set of huck lace distowels, but think I will do the smart thing and work up a sampler of the different patterns to get accustomed to the concept. I am using "The Best of Weaver's: Huck Lace" as my guide. It has been in the library for a year and needs to earn its keep at some point! The warp is wound and the loom is in the other room calling to me. Now, if only I remember how to warp!

A Faire Day

I am off to the Renaissance Faire this morning with Anne and Celeste. I have my clothes, my spinning, a pass, money for parking and my tankard. Go team. It is a little overcast, but that should help keep the heat down. If it can keep the dust down too, more's the better, as I just had th car washed yesterday after its oil change.

This week has been full of friends & visiting - Thursday I went to yoga, then out to dinner & a play with friends. Yesterday was more friends visiting and another play. Today is faire all day and tomorrow is gardening. I am going to need a vacation to recover from my vacation!

A Dickens of a Day

Today was another fantastic day. Martha and I tackled some pancakes *and* some gardening in the morning. All things are better after pancakes and a brisk walk. The weeds were enjoying last week's fine weather and we had a good amount to pull up today. It is almost time to start thinking about spring garden design!

Afterward it was time to go back to the Dickens Festival. The first stop was to see my friends and make sure their hands were not idle! Iwas in time to hear Mr Wilde's lecture on "Art and Handicrafts" which was quite good. Taken from his lecture series in Phildelphia while he was on his American tour, he stressed to us the importance of beauty, good design and quality craftsmanship in everyday items.

I meandered around the fair a bit more, checked out the vendors and appreciated their wares (but none came home with me this year) and admired all the lovely gentlemen, ladies and fine Victorian dress.

I was late for Mr Dickens' talk, but just in time to speak with Ms Keller who presented the history of tea lecture yesterday. We had a lovely long chat about tea, England, the silk road, spinning and how rude it is for people to try and disturb Mr Dickens' lecture. No seating after it has begun!

Of course, I stayed for the tea lecture and it was another fine frolic. Things to remember: Isabella Beeton codified proper tea procedures in her book of household management; Anna Duchess of Bedford began the tradition of "afternoon tea" in home as habit for genteel ladies; the opium wars were about tea; the movement to ease the restrictive clothing of ladies began after a serving girl in a tea room had an "incident"; and it is a good idea to warm two pots when preparing tea - one to steep the tea and another to hold the finished tea without the leaves (pour from one to the other). What a simple idea!

The last item of the day was a production of Barnaby Rudge that was really not what I expected or very good. It was not helped by the hecklers in the first row. Naughty, naughty hecklers. They started to reenact a few scenes from the book when the authors of the show all made an appearance and shared some fine banter onstage.

(Far left, Poe. Center, Barnaby Rudge. To his right, Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens)

Mr Poe gave a recitation of "The Raven" which thrilled us and Mr Wilde made a witty observation on the state of Mr Rudge's intellect. I also learned that Mr Dickens' first published work was "The Pickwick Papers". Now I know.

After that, all that was left was to run into an old knitting friend and trade email addresses and then help the No Idle Hands pack up for the night. A quick stop to the bank to deposit money and to the store for milk & cat food rounded out the night. Just enough time left for a blog post, a bath and an early bedtime. I forgot to lock up two of the cockatiels this afternoon (thank goodness I closed the door against the cats) and now Mustardseed is snuggling up against my ear, asking for head scratches. A perfect day in every way!

Out and About

I have managed to get out an about this fall - yay! I went to the Las Vegas Renaissance Faire in October to work and found time to see the parrot show... Sadly there were no pionus but they do have an Eclectus. We descended upon the Sons of Norway and gave a demonstration on spinning... It was quite a good time & it felt good to get some wool between my fingers again. We met lots of knitters and I think I freaked out the guy who was asking a ton of questions by pointing out that he must be an engineer... which he was.

I made it down to Hermosa beach for a craft fair a couple weeks ago and enjoyed a nice warm hour on the beach with the seagulls and sand pipers. I was glad I went when the next weekend the weather turned cool and windy.

The Swing of Things

I have been quite the happy camper this week, even though I caught a cold and was laid out Monday and Tuesday. I was off work so was able to drink lots of Theraflu and sleep to my heart's content. Short days yesterday and today; I work Saturday but am looking forward to two more days off next week. The hours will surely get made up when month end arrives, but I love the time to rest and recharge now.

The baby cockatiels are growing steadily. Three of them have gotten their legbands put on, and it will only be a day or two before the littlest one is ready. All four have opened their eyes, and they love to sway and hiss in unison when I poke my hand into the nestbox. It was wonderful to see little Mustardseed grow up, but the Fearsome Foursome are a sight to behold - I can see the different stages of development and they are already showing their birdy-alities. I suspect they will all be visual grey "normals" - no indications of pied, pearl or cinnamon in the bunch.

Since I don't spend 2-3 hours a night on the phone with the Friend anymore, I have rekindled my netflix watching and my knitting hobby. Last night I stayed up way too late, but I knit maybe 4 inches on the foot of the second "Skye" sock. I finished the first of the brown "cafe mocha" socks over the weekend, but haven't cast on for the second yet. No second sock syndrome - just want to finish the blue ones. I am knitting from both ends of one skein so I use up every inch of the yarn, which makes for a big mess if the tangle-fairy comes, and I started these back when the kittens were little last spring, so it is high time they were off the needles and in the sock drawer.

I am planning on going to a renaissance faire in a couple weekends - very excited to feel the dust in my ... well, everywhere. I'll take my tent, some wool, some handcards and do a little spinning to earn my keep. I am pretty sure the pets can watch themselves for one day. I should put up the tent and make sure all the pieces are there.

House Arrest

I got up yesterday at 7 to the sounds of a sledgehammer on concrete. The neighbor is having her walkway replaced. This is fine. The concrete truck blocking me in my driveway until 2 was not so fine. While I waited to leave the house I pieced a whole slew of 9 patches for my quilt (and discovered I need to buy more fabric for the sashing) and listened to many people rant on NPR. I really like piecing squares and sewing straight lines. It goes so much faster than spinning and weaving! In the afternoon, the other neighbor took her turn blocking my car in, so I had to walk to the yoga studio to run an errand. The dogs made the trip with me and enjoyed it thoroughly.

I am also re-sleying the loom for a dimity pattern (in white). I finished another tea towel and realized I was totally ready to see what was on the cloth beam. 9 towels were edged, washed, dried and readied for sale on Thursday. Two are already off to a new home (Scott, I held yours back, not to worry). As there is still warp on the loom and I received my new Handwoven the other day, I am rethreading /resleying for something new - a pattern with texture in the warp pattern. It is a pain in the ass (PIA) but I suppose it is good practice for something.

Las Vegas Faire was fun, but I always forget how much damn work it is to work for 30 hours in 3 days, plus the 10 hour drive. The parrow show guy has motivated me to play with the birds more, I didn't pick up anything or anybody contagious, and I earned about half my rent money for next month. Wheee!

Knitting is lacadaisical: the halloween socks are my waiting-for-the-train knitting; the stripey socks (which have gone through about 20 name changes) are for knitting in the shop; the Preppy scarf is ambling along; MS4 is still on clue 4 (although I did work on it last night); Mirepoix is still on hold due to the sleeve issue. I haven't started many new things, but am not finishing anything very fast.

All in all, things are quiet here at the homestead and I am not feeling sad or lonely.

OMG I Got Out of the House

It is a beautiful day here today. I went to yoga this morning - Ashtanga - which leaves me happy, but sore and exhausted. I went to the grocery store and then made breakfast... mmmm. I haven't been cooking much lately (just throwing things together, mostly) and it felt good just to scramble up some eggs and toast some toast. Now I am at the coffee shop and listening to Jim Croce. I feel like I am 6 again.

Yesterday the angora rabbit got groomed and today it was the dog's turn (above). She did not shed out her entire winter coat and it started to mat when I wasn't looking. She was not excited about being perched on the washing machine, but I managed to get her somewhat brushed out.

Yesterday was also our monthy Riverspinners meeting / annual pool party, and it was a smashing success. There were new people and returning people, and I think everyone had a great time. There was knitting, spinning, crocheting and bobbin lace and Cheryl had a finished quilting project that was just lovely. There was quite a lot of splashing in the pool, and Julia showed me some synchronized swimming tips. I am constantly amazed at all the fun hobbies out there that I have no idea about.

In the evening I went out the coffee shop and saw a bluegrass concert - This Just In was the opening act and they were pretty darn good in a traditional way. Then the headline band came on - Cliff Wagner & the Old No. 7. They were amazing. Spectacular. Out of this world. I was so enthralled that I had to - get this - put down my knitting. It was fantastic. Go see them if you can.

To finish up, here is that picture of me in my Very Fine Hat* at the Renaissance Faire in Irwindale this past spring. I got to hold the owl. I was very, very still and very, very excited. Sorry about the glare on my glasses. I never remember to tip my head.

*Firefly pilot episode "Serenity". Apologies to Joss and Tim.

To Tide You Over...

Until I free the pictures from their purgatory, here is a quick synopsis of my Renaissance Weekend with Mr. Fixit. Friday- mad dash to finish laundry and dinner at Ruby's (mmmmm). Saturday - long drive up to Gilroy / Casa de Fruta, some knitting progress on the Saffron socks, an amazing amount of chatting about all things great and small, a fabulous time at the faire until closing, and passing out, exhausted, at 6:30. Sunday - part 2 of a fabulous time at the faire, a pleasant peasant lunch, and a long drive home, marred only by a headache so intense it made me cry. Advil came to my rescue and the last 1/3 of the trip was filled with chatting.


Tonight, I have a date with this:

Lucky me!

Some Days I'm the Bug...

I am drowning in the Sea of Urgent Proposals for Which I Have No Information today. The only bright spot is that I might get to drive one out to the client tomorrow, but the flip side of that is, will I get back in time to get my stuff together before we go out of town?

On a brighter note (literally), progress has resumed on the Saffron socks. I ripped out both heels yesterday and added a 1/2 inch of knitting to each foot. Then I reknit the heels and tried them on (cleverly, I knit one heel and tried IT on before I changed its mate) and they fit fine. Knitting on the leg, resuming the lace pattern, has commenced.

The RumRunner socks are my constant companion, as I am in the easy stockinette part still. I think I might get to turn the heel this weekend on sock #1. I even went back today and started a notecard so that I can make the second sock to match. It would be fabulous if I had enough yarn to make knee socks. How (Yarn) Piratey is that?

I am making plans for my upcoming craft projects. The autumn projects are Secret Gift #1, Secret Gift #2, finishing my bobbin lace moon, getting two finished cross stitch pictures framed (one for Halloween and one for Yule) and the ubiquitous woven rug. The winter projects are "Aud" (the gray sweater-only 1/3 of both sleeves, a collar, and the making up to finish), the bobbin lace fan, a fair isle sweater, and a secret weaving project for Yule gifts (2008), for which I want to spin the warp and the weft.

I am looking forward to Faire weekend with Mr. Fixit. He is new to Faire and I hope he is not too shocked. I can't wait to see my friends, eat a meat pie, drink some Guinness, sing some bawdy songs, watch the "Bold and Stupid Men", and all the other things that patrons get to do. Maybe the butter churn man will be there. Oh, and chocolate dipped strawberries.... mmmm.