Gardening, Spinning, Beading, and Estes

A little bit about my garden:

Same bed in the back yard--2006,2007 and 2008. This bed is a challenge because it is in a very shady spot in the back yard. Ground covers work best in it.


2008 Iris--in the bed in the back yard and on the north side of the house.

I'm a flower gardener (ie--I don't grow a vegetable garden)--We moved into this house 3 years ago (literally a day before Hannah was born--not on purpose, mind you--anyway--that's another long story). So the first summer we were here we didn't work on the yard at all, in fact it wasn't until later in the summer that we discovered that we had a huge thistle plantation on the side of the house that we hadn't noticed at all. They went to seed. We're still digging up thistles on that side of the house--though they are under control now.
I'm working on putting in drought tolerant plants (this is Colorado, after all) that bloom at different times of the summer so that there is always something blooming. The great thing about my garden this year is that it is pretty much taking care of itself. I can't tell you how much I adore Iris. And my Iris this year were spectacular. Now the lilies are getting ready to bloom. Last year the first blossom opened on my birthday--we'll see if that happens again!

Hannah's sweater
I'm working on Hannah's sweater with the hope of finishing it this Autumn. I had spun up more yarn, but it is too thin . I tried knitting it up and it would distort the sweater eventually--not right away--but by the time I made enough squares the top half of the sweater would be shorter, way shorter. So I purchased more BFL dyed top from Chameleon Colorworks (though they didn't have the same colorway (!)--originally I had purchased Autumn, but now they stock October--it has less acid green in it and more pink. I think that I'll be able to make it work. I still have some of the original Autumn left so I can transition to the new colorway.

Here are two bumps of October over the portion of the sweater that is knitted with Autumn. Next to it all the bumps I have--the one on top is a silk/Merino blend in the Autumn colorway--which I wasn't planning on using for this project because it is a different fiber content.
Then the bump on the right is the Autumn, the bumps in the center and on the left are October. The ball of yarn in the top left hand corner is the too thin yarn that I'll have to use for something else.
Beading



I'm nearly done with Hannah in Helen's Hands. I think it will happen this week. It is headed to a good home. I've enjoyed the time I've spent with it. It is hard for me to put into words what it means--I guess that's why it is visual. This photo that my sister took captures the essence of amazing strength in people who appear fragile, the powerful connection between generations, the cycles of life.




Estes Park Wool Market
Hannah and I went together--she was great.



I love the mountain setting combined with sheep, llamas, alpacas, goats, rabbits, and mountains of fiber! We had a great time.

I've been tagged

Clearly--this is intended to get me to post. It has been a while. Sorry! Things have been happening--just at too fast a pace for me to post about them.

Progress is being made on Hannah in Helen's Hands as I'm now calling the piece (what do you think of the title, Mary?) I've actually made more progress since this photo was taken over a week ago and think that I might be able to finish it this holiday weekend while camping in the mountains with six other family members. We'll see!

Spring has sprung full force--my tulips are almost all done, the iris are blooming! It seems so early for Iris--but maybe that is because I'm in shock that it is May at all, and not only that--but the end of May.


I did a bunch of silk spinning in April--to work on the Printed Silk Cardigan from the Spring 2008 issue of Knits by Connie Chang. It is still in progress. And I'm still working on my Dad's cardigan (which I also plan on working on while tootling around in the mountains this weekend).

I attended the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival May 2-5--very fun, of course. I came home with wool. Wool, wonderful wool! But haven't had a chance to spin much. I'm planning on taking my spinning wheel and fiber with me camping this weekend.


Okay--the meme tag. I've never done one of these before. Diane tagged me. Of course, hers is entirely captivating--what with her past history studying Old German and Old Norse--who knew?

1. What was I doing ten years ago?
Ten years ago was 1998--I had been working at Interweave Press as an Editorial Assistant for nearly 9 months. I lived in a small apartment in Fort Collins, Colorado just 1/2 block north of the Public Library and around the corner from Joe Coca's photo studio. I was recovering from the Fort Collins flood. I drove down to Denver nearly every weekend to spend time with my family and stay with my Grandma Helen. I went with her on her morning walks around City Park. I lived on a modest budget--$10 a week for groceries. It was that spring that I embarked on a bead embroidery project for Beadwork magazine that changed the course of my art work. Soon, I'd receive news that I was going to be an Aunt--also a life altering event.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

1. Shower.
2. Get Hannah ready for Miss Tina's.
3. Take Hannah to Miss Tina's.
4. Arrive at Interweave and figure out how I'm going to attend two meetings that occur at the same time.
5. Work on author payments, comp copy notes, read 35 essays, edit the spinner's connection, figure out Felt photography, select items for handspun gallery.

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Mmmm. Snacks. I love shortbread, but I have to exercise extreme willpower to stay away from sugar in most forms--drat. It's for my own good. Really.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

This one really isn't fair. It is a trick question. First of all, I don't really want to be a billionaire. While it would be nice not to have to worry about money--I think it would come with a lot of additional stress. Stress that I can't even imagine (that's what I'm telling myself anyway). I would put the majority of the money in trust funds that would fund several charities that would truly help people in meaningful ways--alleviate hunger, sickness, right wrongs, provide education, fund artisans and writers who wouldn't otherwise have a chance to share their gifts. I would give each of my family members enough money so that they could pay off their mortgage and travel as they wished. I would make sure my nieces and nephews had enough socked away so that they could all go to college if they wished. I would pay off our mortgage and do a bit of remodeling (put in a hot tub, build Kelly the garage of his dreams). I would become a full time mom and a part time artist. I would travel occasionally. I might start an artist community like the one in Balboa Park in San Diego--but within walking distance of my house. Learn lampworking. Garden. Take my daughter and nieces and nephews swimming.

5. Places I have lived:

Boulder, Colorado.

Cairo, Egypt.

Rastanura, Saudi Arabia.

Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Denver, Colorado.

Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

San Jose, Costa Rica.

Boruca, Costa Rica.

Fort Collins, Colorado.

Loveland, Colorado.

Lakewood, Colorado.

5. People I want to know more about:

Mary and Jenny.

Yarn Harlot in Denver, again!

I was way in the way back (#211 or some such). I could barely see Stephanie over the crowd, but it didn't matter--I had a great time. Hannah and Kelly came, too. I didn't get to participate in the line that formed hours before she arrived this time--we had too much to do and had to take our chances getting seats.

Can't tell it is Stephanie? Here--I've zoomed in.

Stephanie's talk was just perfect--she knows how to take universal truths (they don't have to be about knitting, but that they are makes them resonate with me even more) and frame them in a way that is both funny and poignant. She has great timing and an amazing wit. Her books are really good, too. I'm savoring this one. I've just read the jacket cover and the first page.
Sadly, Kelly didn't get to hear Stephanie talk because Hannah was too squirmy (sorry everyone around us). The Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch was prepared (mostly) for the crowd--but I liked it better last year in the Lodo location because we had a room to ourselves (remember how we stomped when she came in last year--that was great). This year there were lots of people in the store milling around who weren't there to listen to Stephanie. I wanted to shush them, but that would have been rich coming from the woman with the rambunctious toddler and the obnoxiously loud laugh.

Someone in my comments asked about the sweater Hannah was wearing. Here she is in it (this is a photo from last year--I think she likes this sweater so much, she's trying to eat it). Carol Rhoades made her this sweater before Hannah was born. This is what Carol says about the sweater:
I am glad Hannah can still wear the sweater. It was an easy one to knit. I mostly followed the pattern in Elsebeth Lavold’s Designer’s Choice Book Six: The Take Five Collection. It should still available at yarn stores or KFI. I also used Elsebeth’s Silky Wool yarn which is a wonderful yarn.

Stepping into a book

Having read the Harry Potter series continuously since each book came out in a constant revolving cycle (such as finish the series, start over)--so many times that I've lost count, I've started to think about the little modifications I'd make to my personal possessions if I could do a little bit of magic. I'm very enamored with the concept of the undetectable extension charm that Hermione puts on her small beaded handbag. With the charm, her small purse is able to hold a cargo of supplies--a tent with its own undetectable extension charm on it, clothing, books, a large painting.
This concept could be applied to my crafting supplies in such a way that I could have everything at my fingertips and never have to sort through bins in the basement again. Or maybe a trunk like the one Mad-eye Moody has with the seven locks that are lined up--each time you insert the key into one of the lock and open the lid a different inside is revealed. I would apply this idea to a room--each room would contain different things--my knitting/spinning supplies, my beading supplies, my art making supplies... the list goes on and on.
And then there is the room of requirement. Wouldn't that be handy. It could be a play room one instant, and then later a reading room, or a large dining room to accommodate my whole family easily, and maybe it could contain the prefect's bathroom with that amazing pool size tub and seven faucets each with a different bubble bath. Hannah would love that. Gosh--with a room of requirement, you'd only need a small house.
And I'd love to learn all the household charms--like how to make the dishes wash themselves, and the laundry fold itself, and get the vegetables chopping and cooking. But I'd still do my knitting and spinning by hand.

Here's a bit of spinning--Tencel and Merino from Bonkers Handmade Originals, spun 2-ply on my Lendrum DT--for baby booties, I think.



I'm starting to feel better after the car accident--more myself. I'll start shopping for a new (old) car soon. The tulips that Hannah and I planted in the fall are starting to come up and in the back yard by the compost we have grape hyacinths that are blooming! Amazing. Of course, we'll get more snow this weekend (this is Colorado, after all)--but still--it is spring!

I call it my exciting morning

Exciting in a not good way. I was headed to the second half of the Spin-Off photo shoot for the Summer issue Thursday morning. I had awoken at 4:30 am and edited three articles before I even showered. I was feeling productive and organized. My Dad came over to watch Hannah and then take her to Miss Tina's once she woke up. We had a good chat of shoes and ships and ceiling wax and cabbages and kings while I made my lunch and organized Hannah's things. I was on the road by 7:30 am--plenty of time to make it to the photo shoot by 9 am in Fort Collins.
Then, just 5 minutes from my house as I was headed north on Wadsworth, a truck came out of no where and was suddenly in my path. There was no time to stop, no room to stop, actually. I think I had time to put my foot on the break and try to stop, but that's it. I was in the right lane, the left lane was backed up and I guess someone in the left lane waved this guy across. The police officer called it the wave of death. We were fortunate that in this case it wasn't the cause of death, but I could see how it could be. I never even saw him in the south bound lane waiting to turn across traffic--there were too many cars blocking the view. I assume he didn't see me or he wouldn't have turned.
My car plowed into his truck between the wheels and Kelly estimates that the force of the crash moved both vehicles about 8 feet. The driver of the truck didn't seemed to be injured. He was polite and concerned about me. My little blue Subaru was smashed up so badly on the right side that the bumper (or where the bumper used to be) is nearly in contact with the right wheel. My injuries are from the airbag--but I'm glad it was there. My neck looks like I rode down a gravel path on it. Feels like it, too. The firefighters on the scene were concerned about where the airbag hit me--the angle (because of my short stature, I think)--so they wanted to err on the side of caution and have me checked out in the ER. I hurt enough to agree with them--so I had a little trip to the ER in an ambulance with a neck brace and on the back board. All the internal stuff checked out okay and I was released a few hours later. I called Kelly as soon as I found my phone and he got there as they were taking me away in the ambulance. He retrieved my things out of the car (including the wheel that I was taking to the photo shoot to loan to Stefanie) and my Harry Potter CDs. He went home to tell my Dad what was going on. Dad took Hannah to Miss Tina's and then joined us at the hospital, where we ran into the surgeon who had performed my appendectomy nearly 3 years ago. Small world. Needless to say, I didn't make it to the photo shoot. I took Friday off, too, and slept.
I'm feeling better. I felt well enough to dye with indigo this weekend. I did some beading, some spinning, some knitting.

Hannah was concerned when she first saw me. "You have an accident, mama? Dat's a bummer. You need a band aid? I go get my doctor's kit. You feel better?" She gave me numerous shots and took my temperature until she was satisfied that I was okay.

I'm thankful that Hannah wasn't with me, I'm thankful for seat belts, for having both hands on the wheel, for airbags. I'm thankful for police officers, EMT, and firefighters who were on the scene with in seconds. I'm thankful for professional and cheerful ER staff who were attentive and thorough. I'm thankful for Kelly who was by my side as quickly as he could be. I'm thankful for my family who called and came to see for themselves that I was okay. I'm thankful for friends expressed concern and who offered to help out. Nothing like an exciting day to help illustrate how lucky I am.

Mobiles and a book party

I received a note from my friend Jan Carson asking me to help her spread the word about an event going on at her studio in Fort Collins, Colorado at the end of March. The press release is below. Jan and I shared an art studio at Colorado State University as we were each working on our MFA in Fibers. After graduation, Jan started an amazing business of handmade paper mobiles. I have one hanging over Hannah's changing table (a wedding gift from another friend who worked for Jan for a bit)--it delights us all. Here's a small image copied from Jan's website to give you an idea of what they look like.

ARTISTS GAIN VALUABLE CAREER ADVICE AT BOOK PARTY

FORT COLLINS GALLERY HOSTS AUTHOR

Fort Collins, Colorado, March 1, 2008—Author Alyson B. Stanfield, an internationally recognized art-marketing consultant, will kick off her nationwide studio tour and book signing for I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion in Fort Collins, Colorado, at Moon-Lily Art Studio & Gift Gallery, 4032 S. College Avenue, Suite 7, on Wednesday, March 26^th, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Ms. Stanfield has helped thousands of artists develop their careers through her online classes, publications, workshops, and free weekly Art Marketing Action newsletter—all available at ArtBizCoach.com. She used the self-promotion tools she describes in the book to launch her art-marketing consulting business and Web site in 2002. Prior to that, she counseled artists informally throughout her ten years as an art museum curator and educator in the Midwest.

I’d Rather Be in the Studio! teaches any artist—sculptor, painter, metalsmith, glass artist, fiber artist, or woodworker--how to take advantage of traditional self-promotion techniques, as well as how to expand their reach into Internet marketing. For each book sold at this event, Ms. Stanfield has pledged to give ten dollars to Fort Collin’s community arts organization, Arts Alive.

Moon-Lily Art Studio & Gift Gallery is owned by artist Jan R. Carson. Her wholesale production art studio, established in 1999, expanded in August 2007 to include a retail gallery of fine craft artwork by Ms. Carson and others. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. More information is available at http://www.moonlilymobiles.com

For more information on the author and the book, please visit http://www.idratherbeinthestudio.com/mediaroom

Tiny steps

Here's a bit of beauty to start off the day. The amaryllis our wonderful neighbors gave us is blooming. Here it has two blossoms, but now it has six. It is in the living room by my spinning area. I love sitting here in the afternoon (on my lunch break on days when I work at home) in the sun, spinning and listening to the news on NPR. Right now, I'm spinning more for a second attempt on the scarf for Kelly. The good news is that the first attempt can become an-already-ready Christmas scarf for someone petite. Whoo hoo!

Beading is happening. Slowly, but surely. Hannah and I can play and spin, play and weave, play and cook, play and fold laundry, play and wash dishes, play and wrap presents, but playing and beading doesn't seem to work. She just wants to take little pinches of beads and spread them around the house--and she's not satisfied with just one little pinch--no. She wants to take pinches of beads for the duration of the time that I have my beads out. It just isn't working very well. I know it is just a phase. So for now, beading must occur while Hannah is asleep. I have had some long meetings at work where I was able to get in a couple consecutive hours of beading--so that has helped. But, I don't think I'm going to meet my March 1st deadline (sorry Mary!).


Debbie at work received this beautiful(!) Australian Merino handdyed fiber (100 g) about 10 years ago from an appreciative customer and finally decided that she wasn't going to learn how to spin it. So she let me spin it for her--oh--it was fun. Mmmm. Like butter. I spun a thick and thin yarn for texture.
Now I have to take it to work and give it to her. I've been delaying. ...

Valentine's Day Scarf

I finished Kelly's scarf before Valentine's Day. It just took a weekend to weave. The weaving was really fun--I loved watching the colors transform from spun thread into woven cloth. The only problem is that it seems a little short--what do you think? I have enough fiber to spin more, so I may do that and try again.
I mis-measured. I was about 10 inches off. I had to go back and go through my motions again to see how I did it, but it is clear that I did it. At first I thought the yarn was so stretchy that it lost 10 inches when I pulled it off the warping board, but no--it was me.

Weighing in

Kelly's dad rescued this gram scale from a building that was scheduled for demolition--apparently they were just going to leave things in the building when the razed it. Imagine!
Oh, what good use I can put it to! At first it didn't work, but I had plugged it into an extension cord and I've noticed in our old house that some appliances are happier if they are plugged into the wall directly--like my scanner for instance. It worked for the scale, too. We're working on rewiring the house (when I say we, I really mean Kelly and his dad)--so eventually we'll have more reliable electricity.
So, I weighed my bobbins and determined that the bobbin that I thought needed more singles, actually was heavier. Of course, it may not weigh the same as the empty bobbin that I used as the zero. But I did learn that I had divided up the fiber pretty evenly just eyeballing it.
I wrote the weight of the empty bobbin on it and am looking forward to emptying the rest of my bobbins so that I can weigh them. Oh, the simple joys!
And this scale will be so great when I'm making beading kits.

So here are the stats on the yarn I've spun for Kelly's scarf so far:

Started with 247.2 grams of Andretti fine wool from dudleyspinner.etsy.com.
Spun one small sample of 40 yards at the photo shoot (singles 38 wpi, plied 25 wpi, 6 tpi, 9.4 g).
Split the remaining fiber into 2 sections.

First section: 117.9 grams
First singles bobbin: 35.6 g (fiber only)
Second singles bobbin: 41.3 g (fiber only)
Fiber remaining to spin from first section: 41 g.

Second section: 119.9 g.

Spun on my Lendrum DT at 10:1 ratio.

Beading is happening, too--but at a slower rate because of another weekend of illness--this time a respiratory infection with a high fever. Fortunately (so far) Kelly and I didn't get it, but poor little Hannah was miserable and so none of us slept much. I find I can spin on little sleep, but not bead. I think it has to do with blurry eyes. Hannah's getting better--her cough still sounds bad--but she's happier and has slept three nights in a row which is pure heaven.

My dad's birthday is this Sunday--but despite making a lot of progress on his sweater, I don't think it will be done. I am getting close, though. I just have the Left front to finish and I have a third of it done. Knitting is something that I can do while snuggling a sick kiddo.
Of course, I have to sew the sweater together--we'll see how that goes!
I hope you all are staying healthy and warm.

Happy New Year--18 days into it!

Happy New Year! I hope it has been a good start of the year for you. I was going to post a happy new year post earlier, but Hannah got the stomach flu, and then I did. Kelly, bless him, didn't get it, which was good because he was able to take care of his two limp-rag babies. We're better now, but it did take the stuffing out of us!

I've been doing a bit of spinning. It started at the photoshoot for the Spring issue--I needed to do some step out shots for an article on plying and so broke out some painted top that I bought from Dudley spinner on etsy. I've been spinning a little on it each morning as I wait for my chai to heat up and I listen to the news on NPR. What a nice way to start the day.

I think I may weave a scarf for Kelly with this yarn, though he has scoffed at the idea. He doesn't really wear woolens. But maybe a nice thin scarf to go with his new black coat would help win him over.


I think there is enough fiber to weave him a scarf and knit me a pair of socks.














I sold a bead embroidery kit on etsy and that gave me the funds to buy more fiber. I bought this lovely BFL roving, handpainted by Dragon Fibers on etsy (can you see the trend here?). It's dyed in a Frankenstein colorway. I can't wait to see how it spins up. But I'm sure it will be a while before I can get to it.

I've been making progress on my Dad's sweater--as Hannah winds down for the day, she wants to snuggle--so we sit together as I knit before I take her upstairs to read books and get ready for bed. It's a nice time. She has a circular needle and some yarn that she works on while I'm knitting--some day it will be real knitting.
In a meeting at work yesterday I finished the body to Hannah's sweater. Now I have to figure out how to add the arms. This is more yarn for Hannah's sweater (the orange yarn).
In another meeting at work I made progress on the second beaded scarf--the first one looks like a snowflake after I left it within Hannah's reach with the scissors.
And I've been working on a beaded piece--a commission for a friend. It is a very special piece--from the photograph my sister Julia took of my Grandma Helen holding Hannah shortly after Hannah was released from the hospital after she was born 6 weeks early due to my rupturing appendix. In the photo, Hannah is still on oxygen. Mary and I started talking about this piece before Grandma died in October. I needed some time before I was able to start it and Mary has been very understanding.

I love that I'm collaborating on this piece with my sister who is an amazing photographer. The time that I spend on it feels like time spent with all these people that I love.

Grandma Helen really didn't like that Hannah had to be on oxygen (which is very common in Colorado for premies because of our high altitude) and here she is shaking her finger and saying how she couldn't wait until Hannah was free of the tubes. When I see this photo I can almost hear her talking.

Winter wonderland

It snowed on Christmas morning! All was peaceful, beautiful. We had a good holiday. Hannah was a delight as always. She's been busy with her toys--feeding her dolls, changing their diapers, putting them to bed. I've been knitting on my Dad's sweater--made very enjoyable by a Christmas gift--Knitwits interchangeable needles! It's amazing the progress I've made with these new needles. I guess I just needed a little bit of color to look at while I was knitting--didn't need to be in the yarn, in the needles will do!
I've also done a little bit of spinning on my Loop batts and plied the yarn this morning. I think I'll make some fingerless gloves for cold morning typing--but I'm not going to cast on until I've finished my Dad's sweater.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Helen!

We celebrated Grandma Helen’s 95^th yesterday with a big meal at our house. I went through her old cook books and found recipes to make a meal—(and with a nod to my good friend Liz) this was the menu:

Beef Stroganoff from the Cowbelles cookbook (c. 1957)

Butter Layer Rolls (Grandma Helen’s recipe)

Wild Rice (given to us by Uncle Andy last Christmas)

Carrots Supreme (my great aunt Lucille Clarke’s recipe)

Green Beans (weight watchers recipe, c. 2007)

Salad

Julia made rum balls, tried to make Grandma's almond sugar cookies, but I sent her the wrong recipe (I found the right one later), and brought a gi-normous coconut cake.

It was all very good. We had 20 guests—so it maxed out all of our pots, pans, dishes, etc and was a great and chaotic time with several spilled glasses of water (one of wine), one bloody nose (16-month-old William who slipped and fell and hit his face square on the floor, but was up running around again soon), lots of laughter, and some tears.