Guild Meeting Day

I signed up for an inkle weaving class today at our guild meeting. It won't be until the end of February, but I think it's time that I put my inkle loom to a better use than this, a glorified cone holder.

I have too many hobbies already, but our union meets on Monday because our county is broke and is offering early retirement incentives to reduce the outlay in payroll. We'll know on Tuesday what the union has agreed to and must sign an agreement by Friday if we're going to accept early retirement. Tuesdays feels like a month away.

I got this from Mim today - more Blue-faced Leicester. She said when she was dyeing it that she thought it looked like my colors. I traded her soap - love the barter economy. It was her turn to drive to the guild meeting so I got lots of knitting done. I'm using the BFL for hats - the Brewery emailed me that they need more inventory and I'm trying hard to knit "inventory." My little sales here and there go into a special savings account, and while they don't add up to a lot, they did just pay for a new LCD TV that Ian ordered online. It's being delivered on Tuesday.
Late this afternoon, Tom called to say that he had made strawberry margar-
itas. He and Carol had already had two, so if I wanted to walk up to the gate, he'd drive down and bring me one. That's what I call being neighborly.

Petting Charlie

Kiernan was most anxious that I would post pictures of him petting Charlie. Charlie isn't fond of most everyone and trust is hard earned. He was rescued from the wheel well of a truck, covered in grease and half starved. He may be little but he doesn't forget.

Kiernan always asks me if I've shared these pictures. He's very proud to be the only child that Charlie has presented himself to. That goes for adults too actually. I'd love to have one of those affectionate cats that everyone seems to have, but we don't. Charlie is a calicivirus carrier which means we can have no more cats. He seems to know this and bosses the dogs.

With apologies, this post is for Kiernan - he's so proud to be the only one to win over a scaredy cat.

And so

Maybe this isn't the crack of dawn, but the sun comes up from behind Porcupine Mountain and it hides the morning from us when the rest of our valley is already seeing day light.

Always, I am in awe of our skies. When it seems that everything is for sale, let me tell you that these skies are not. We live in Big Sky Country, dry skin, peeling cuticles and all. We're at 5,000 feet elevation, and the advantage is that we don't have ticks and fleas. I wouldn't trade it for all the unknown critters and insects in the world, thank you very much, Okay, some exceptions, like very big bugs including cochroaches are inserted here. This is a cockroach-free zone.
This is a skein from the Blue-Faced Leicester roving, and it appears to be in the need a dye bath tune up. I love working this fiber, and in answer to an earlier question it's spongey and soft. It feels like Merino, but has the sheen of a luster longwool. It's my second favorite to spin, after Shetland and that's what I'm spinning now.

Christmas Over

It seems to happen so quickly. The day after Thanks-
giving we cut a tree and decorated it. Six weeks have passed already and it's time to put everything away.
Everything gets boxed up for the next twelve months. I'll miss these guys, their creative faces - okay just eyes - and their beards made from mohair.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Oh wait. Too late? It all flew by so quickly, but isn't that what Santa does - fly over? Well, he certainly did here. Here's wishing that this year will deliver promised hopes.

Still Spinning

This is a pound of black Corriedale that I needed to spin up for another lab robe.



This is how much space it takes up as yarn. Part of my motive for weaving with handspun is to reduce my fleece stash. I can't start weaving this until I rainbow dye the grey yarn for the other color.

I bought this Blue-faced Leicester at the Guild Christmas party from Mim and have already spun one bobbin. I love BFL but the color is turning out to be a little too pink for my taste. I think it's going to see a dye pot. In fact, I do believe there's a dye day in my near future.

Movies

Ian and I went on a date today. The Campbell tradition is to go to the theater on New Years day and see a just released movie. It is a tradition that Neil kept but when he died, Ian didn't want to see his brother's tradition go by the wayside.

We weren't able to get annual leave this year to spend with our Southern California family, so Ian and I went to the theater on our own today a day late, since we worked yesterday. He researches all this and has the best of suggestions for movies - really. The only dog was last year - Sweeny Todd, the worst movie I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. Ian has redeemed himself with this movie. Slumdog Millionaire is awesome. I hate to be tortured by a wrenching story. This should have been wrenching and it wasn't and it even managed to have a happy ending. Um, it's got some Global Globe nominations, or something.

After the movie we went out to eat. Indian Garden - what did you expect? Um, did I mention that the cimamatography is killers and that I've downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes? You know what's totally cool? You can get your theater passes online, print them and just walk by the ticket booth. You get scanned right in. You knew that - my bad.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Charlie loves Buster's new dog bed.

Guest Room cum Weaving Studio

Our guests have gone and we aren't expecting any for a while. I have no excuses. I have owned this Nilus Artisat since last summer. Amy helped me find the rest for the arm that advances the warp when she was here for my birthday in October. Laura went over it with me when she was here at Thanksgiving.
I have only woven on Gilmore looms so everything feels different. As much as I love the ease of changing tie-ups, I dislike threading the heddles. They are thin wire things that tangle with each other and don't slide well. Gilmore looms have removable beams so you can get right at the heddles without having to reach over the beam. On the other hand, the loom has a great wide shed and nice action. I notice that it tensions nicely so will try a rag rug next.
I had hoped that the first project off the loom would be something I could give Ken. It's been six months since I agreed to weave something as closure for his loss of LeeAnn and her weaving life. I chose this llama that I had overdyed in the turkey roaster to weave in rosepath twill. Llama is more hairy than I realized and makes for some pretty sticky warp. I think it's probably going to be scratchy. I'm also going to run out of weft. Other than that, it's the perfect project.

The loom is very light weight but this arm that helps provide stability has fallen away because the screw stripped the hole. I'm not going to weave on it again until I get some liquid wood and get this secured. So I'm winding some warp for the Gilmore.

Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve was at our house. It was unusually warm and the roads were fine. In spite of all our weather worries, the conditions couldn't have been better. I love my family but my favorite part is watching my grandkids.

Christmas Day was another story. The power was out when I woke up, and as I have mentioned before, no power, no well pump, no flushee flushee. We missed our traditional Christmas Day dinner but son Josh graciously offered to eat my crab legs for me. We also missed three plus hours on the road in snowy conditions.
Ian dug out the garage and around the house. He also dug paths to the bird feeders. A lot of song birds winter over here. We feed them because we enjoy watching them. Color me selfish.
I took this from our bedroom window this morning. So many different kinds of birds, but my favorite of all are the quail. I love their call and silly little plumes. They run up and down the bank but because their little legs are buried in the snow, it looks as if they are skiing.
I was folding laundry on the bed this afternoon.- yes, on the day after Christmas. The tyranny of laundry knows no holidays. Suddenly I realized that there weren't any birds and went to the window to check it out. Nope,there weren't any birds and here's why. An American Kestral, also known as Sparrow Hawk, was sitting expectantly on top of a bird feeder. Sorry chump. My song birds are smarter than you are. Note the quail tracks on the bank. Run away, little quail. Run away.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

This is a family greeting from a Christmas Past, and I hope you'll take a moment for a holiday greeting as expressed by Lola here. Lola is the four-year-old daughter of a friend. I have watched this clip seven times, made all my co-workers watch it and after viewing it seven, did I mention seven times?, I'm still laughing. In the words of Lola, Merry Christmas every one.

A Mighty Wind

How hard did the wind blow during this last storm? Ian told me about finding a bird feeder in the brush and the top to our composter down by the well. We put this toy that our grandkids had outgrown in with the sheep so they could butt something besides the shed.

This is where the toy ended up after the wind storm was over. Gusts were predicted up to 50 mph and I don't know what kind of gust picks up a Tuff Stuff jungle gym and sends it over a shed and fence. I can tell you that it's hard to sleep through a wind storm because every time the power goes out, the telephone beeps to wake you up and let you know that the power just went out. Now that might not mean much to you, but when the power is out, the well doesn't pump and the toilet doesn't flush. That's what it means to me.
I wrapped the presents for our grandkids today. We have our family here for Christmas Eve. I treasure it more than any present - everyone goes their separate ways on Christmas Day. That gold wrapping paper with Christmas stockings is something Ian picked up. I wonder if it's supposed to be for vendors because the roll is enormous. Coming from someone who used to wrap presents in Sunday funnies, I will use the whole roll, even if it takes till 2011. I won't need to buy labels because everyone will be trained to know the paper.


And speaking of Grandkids, here's one. Every one of our grandkids loves to draw, so we have an art kit. I had to buy more watercolor paint pots after this visit.

Pogonip

Pogonip is a type of fog consisting of ice crystals suspended in the air. The name "pogonip" is an English adaptation of the Shoshone word meaning "cloud" ('payinappih')^[1]. Pogonip only forms under the right conditions, the humidity has to be near 100% as the air temperature drops to below 0°C, allowing ice crystals to form in the air. The ice crystals will then settle onto surfaces. (Wikipedia)

This is a weather condition specific to our area, hence the Shoshone name. (The Shoshone are the largest of Nevada's three Indian tribes, being Shoshone, Paiute and Washoe. Washoe is the name of our county.) This weather condition doesn't occur every year, but when it does, it's ethereal.

Remember flocked trees? We get our Christmas ornament-
ation from nature. If you click for big, you can see that the branches are covered with ice crystals that stand on their ends like iron filings on a magnet. It was -5 the night before when I dropped into our valley from the highway. That's just too cold. I guess pretty is a nice apology.
I've closed the gate and I'm off to work. Adios home-
stead.

BTW, I took those last bags from natural dyed wools to work to show Diane. Someone bought the yellow one but I think I have enough yarn to make another.

Natural Colored Bags

My friend Diane encour-
aged me to use the natural colored wool that I thought I should weave with to make some more bags instead. She has been an unbelievable customer and since she doesn't read my blog, I feel safe in saying that the silk scarf on needles is headed her way. But first I have two more Christmas commissions to finish. These bags are ugly in process and aren't very gratifying to knit because they look like malformed blobs.


I'm shaping them with deacces-
sioned library books and I already appreciate Diane's idea. She's a costume maker and quilter so has a wonderful eye for color. She suggested that make them deeper and I did. Charlie was looking at the birds in the bush outside but the flash caught his attention. He's so nosy, just like me.
The colors on this bag are madder on the bottom, the green is cotton-
wood over-dyed with indigo and the top is just rabbit brush. If I don't sell this bag, it's mine. I loaded it with all my stuff and it has a really a nice shape. I love the colors. Diane was right about making it deeper.
The colors on this bag are madder over grey Romney on the bottom, rabbit brush over indigo in the middle and madder over oatmeal fleece on the top. The beige is walnut which is also in the unseen base. Yup, the yarns are much better in bags than tapestry. I don't always take suggestions, because I've learned that it doesn't always pay off, but I'm so glad I did this time.
It was like this all morning. I finally called work and told them not to expect me. If you look carefully you can see a dark llama-shaped figure. They just hate this weather, dontcha know. I feel vindicated because it is still snowing - I'm not such a slacker after all. BTW, the term slacker appears in Lost Horizon by James Hilton, published in 1933. It meant the same thing then. We're not as edgy and original we thought.

The Unexpected

This week has been full of the unexpected. Some haven't been so good and some have been awesome. I've deliberated about whether to blog about the "other" side of unexpected, and am still thinking about it. We bloggers tend to write about our triumphs and joys. This bracelet was certainly one of the joys.

I facilitate our library's book club. It is part of my job and I get paid for doing it. It's also the favorite part of my job. I agonize over books to select, trying to find good books with enough library copies and I agonize over the questions and prep materials and I love every minute of it. The ladies who have formed themselves into this book club are awesome, smart and funny. One is blind and listens to books on tape, and what she contributes to the discussion from her memory is absolutely stunning. Last week they surprised me with this killer bracelet. I swear I only take it off to sleep. My bracelet is the top two rings and the titles are considered young adult, though To Kill a Mockingbird is still one my most favorite books.

Today began with the unexpected - a layer of ice on the road and a 30-mile drive at 40 mph. Mim and I made the most of it and got plenty of visiting in. We saw two roll-overs and the other two members from out here in the north forty saw four. I'll just go slow, thank you very much. We plodded on in Eleanor, my Forrester, and let the large testosterone, big-boy trucks do their thing, including roll over.

The Christmas Guild meeting was very poorly attended - that was unexpected, as this is the one meeting we all try to attend. I think the roads had a lot to do with it and I was very happy to see everyone who did come. I am so lucky to be a spinner because I would never have made these wonderful friends otherwise. The temp never rose up to freezing. A nice unexpected thing was a gift and handmade card from our outgoing president. She wanted to thank her board and I'm the newsletter editor. This appears to be a life appointment, but the gift certainly was, well, unexpected.
Amy provided the major unex-
pected event of the day. Our beautiful sign is completed and it simply is spectacular. Did you get the pun in the background color? She says it has five coats of spar varnish but it's going to be hard to hang that piece of artwork on the fence in the elements and I'm not doing it until it warms up to freezing.

What's under the Tree?

We cut a tree that is too tall. Our tree topper is our ceiling. I don't care because every ornament on here is a memory so it's beautiful to me. This year I put our Woof 'n Poofs around the bottom. We have a small collection and not much space for display. Since we don't have presents any more, I thought this was the right place for them.


Each Santa has a music box and Grandson Kiernan thinks it would be cool to wind and play them all at once. He's nine.

Ian's brother loved at and laughed at their faces. This is one of their typical lively expressions.
Wait a cotton-pickin' moment - what's with that Santa in the back - he's orange. Christmas is red. This is an unauthor-
ized Santa. Alert, alert. There is an unauthorized orange Santa lurking amongst the legitimate Woof n' Poof Santas.
Charlie takes exception - this is his house and these things are all intruders. He is the authorized one, all eight pounds of him. Poor little boy - this tree is all the outdoors he's going to get.

Repurposing Hand Spun Yarn

I showed Laura the sweater that I made from some yarn that we had dyed at her house when we both still lived in town, probably close to ten years ago. I knit it up in this jacket and because it was so uninteresting, I never wore it - not even once. It's lived in a drawer it's whole life.

I showed her my Sonnet sweater and told her that I had the same frustrations with it that Michelle had. It's the sweater that never stops growing. Laura started verbally redesigning and I started ripping the virgin jacket.
I don't want to lose this yarn. It's triple ply and it's probably Border Leicester, which was what I was spinning almost exclusively at that time. I remember that it was brown and the teal was leftover dye Laura had in a milk jug. The yarn wasn't taking up the dye, so Laura walked over with a partial bottle of vinegar and soused the dye pot. The yarn took up all the color. It's a yarn and it's a memory.

I reskeined the balls so I could wash the yarn and relax the kinks. The unfor-
tunate kink was that moths had visited the sweater and eaten through an area where it was folded. I'm going to have to weave in more ends than I had planned on. The damage was marginal, but it reminds me that I will always have to protect my yarn and fiber.
My yarn is prepared and ready to be knit - again. Laura's idea is to knit the body of the Sonnet sweater, but to make the neck smaller. I'm also going to take her suggestion and assemble the front and back, then pick up the sleeve stitches and knit them from the armholes down. My complaint with the Sonnet as written is that sleeves are huge, ginormous in fact. I think by knitting from the shoulder down I will be able to make them the size that I want - after Christmas.

My Webs Order Is Here!

This is my first real weaving order. I mean "real" in that I knew that I wanted 8/2 cotton and these colors which I think will make nice towels. I look forward to learning more about interlacements of warp and weft with different threadings and tie-ups. And Marie, those two cones of white are 8/4 rug warp. There is a rag rug on the horizon, distant though it may be.

Belly Dancing at TMCC

Here my daughter's students from her advanced belly dance class at Truckee Meadows Community College.