Living a Few Months in Mere Days

Do you have those times in your life when you've been so active and you're processing so much new information that you feel you have lived months in mere days? That's how the last days have been for me. I'm sure I will miss jotting something down in this blog and I KNOW I've missed capturing images from some of my experiences.

Thursday evening - I flew from Phoenix to Portland with a couple of fiber buddies and arrived late in the evening. We made our way to Eugene, OR and arrived at approximately 3am in the morning (Friday). We had to be up for class early in the morning on Friday. Needless to say, I didn't really want to pull out the camera and start clicking away.

Friday - I spent most of the day in class with Paula Shull learning how to spin cotton. I could have taken pictures of all of the cotton Paula gave us to try out, but I would have at least 50 pictures. We spun everything from the cotton off the bowl to Israeli cotton. Ms. Shull was a real delight and a bit of tease... meaning that she would pass out the most luscious stuff and you'd ask her about it and she'd say, "well, I don't think you can get this anymore". I understood why she wanted us to know about the stuff that is unavailable... who knows when we'll come across it? Overall, the class was a blast, but I'm not sure cotton is for me. One of the ladies in class that seemed to have the most success with it used a long-draw technique. I will definitely be looking into working on my long-draw, seems to be the answer for a lot. In the evening, we were mostly exhausted so we went to sleep and prepared for the weekend ahead of us. Of course, we did some shopping and this was the first day of goodies between the four of us.

Saturday - We got up nice and early and I started my morning off with a class called "Natural Dyeing with Mushrooms". This class really was 2 in 1. I learned that there are all kinds of crazy-ass mushrooms here in the Northwest. I could probably tell you details about a half of dozen of them now. I won't, though, since it's irrelevant to us in the Southwest; I'm 100% positive there is no way Whole Foods is going to carry them. I also found out that there are "mushroom hunters" in the Northwest and you need a license as to not "over-pick"... think "over-fish". I also learned the basics of natural dyeing, which is really the information I wanted.

Mushrooms:

Phaeolus-

This is a pot of Dermocybe Semisangineus-

Dyepots:

No wonder we get mistaken for witches...

I wish I had taken a picture of my two scarves, but I will have to take pictures later. I don't think they look like they were dyed with mushrooms...

I took "Spinning with Cashmere" later in the afternoon. Here's a photo... yep, looks like your run-of-the-mill spinning class.

Saturday evening, Barbara and I checked out the Spinner's Lead. This is a super cool fashion show of folks and their fiber animals. Basically, they circle around a pen with their animal in a garment that was made from that animal's fiber. So cool!

We checked out some of the animals too. I have lots of pictures, but I thought I'd just share a few:

I love how (in the photo below) his little eyes look possessed....

This was one big-ass sheep:

This was a one-week old baby. He was hopping around all over the place. Barbara and I could have watched him for hours on end.

My favorite type of sheep, Blue Face Leicester. I couldn't get a great photo, but notice how unusual their heads are... almost Roman looking. They don't have fur on their heads or legs.

Sunday - I had class all day with Judith Mackenzie. She is THE Yoda of spinning. I can't really describe her any other way. She is amazing and I was fortunate to take two classes with her, "Spinning Primitive Breeds" and "Spinning Angora". She began the first class by laying out a variety of fleeces on the floor. She must have had at least 30 with her. Apparently, she has hundreds more...

I spent most of my time in both classes just writing things down, but for the first time in life, I tried to spin worsted, woolen and semi-woolen. It was a very educational experience and I will try to practice the three different types in the future.

Spinning up some angora:

I had an incredible time at Black Sheep Gathering. I met a lot of new fiber friends and got to spend some time with my familiar fiber friends. I hope to go again next year. I still need to take pictures of my loot. I walked away with three spindles; 2 Spindlewood spindles and 1 Ken Ledbetter spindle. Mr. Ledbetter is from Tucson, Arizona and I believe TYF is planning on carrying his spindles.

Monday - We headed back to Portland and Ben flew in. I said goodbye to my fiber friends (which felt really strange) and hello to my husband. We didn't do a whole lot on Monday, but I visited a short time with my friends, Angela and Piper. Piper was intrigued by the idea of spinning silk on a drop spindle and I was soon convinced to make a silk web in a tree in her backyard.

Tuesday - Ben and I visited the Portland Japanese Garden first. Of course, we were enamoured with all of the green. Only people from Phoenix, Arizona take pictures of moss and green.

Ben and I, overlooking Portland.

Some more pictures of us... I had to stop and spin, of course.

My new love... one of my Spindlewoods.

Then, we headed across the street to the Portland Rose Garden. I have never seen so many beautiful roses. They were large, almost the size of a head of cabbage. I took so many pictures, but here are a few.

We finished our day with a tram ride. We went one way, but decided we didn't need to go the other way. Both Ben and I are not keen on heights, but I'm glad we overcame our fears and did it.




Ben is still resting and that's just fine with me. I'd be happy to just sit, knit and spin.

Fiber Outings

June is THE month for fiber outings!!!

Last Sunday, June 6th, the Ravelry group "Arizona Spinners" decided to take a road trip to Flagstaff for the wool festival at the Pioneer Museum. What a blast!!! We thought we were getting out of the heat, but that was hardly the case. It was nearly 100 degrees up there!


The wool festival had a variety of local vendors and, obviously, there was fiber. lucsiousgracious said that she didn't leave any for us by the time Sunday rolled around, but we still managed to get our hands on plenty of goodness. We got to meet a few very cute alpaca babies.



There were demonstrations like sheep shearing and herding, which you don't see everyday in Phoenix. Below is a picture of a churro sheep getting sheared and a dog herding ducks, which is similar to the way they heard sheep.



Michele from Purl in the Pines invited us to spin near her set up. It's the kind of friendliness that you come to expect from fiber people. Here's Michele's set up. Hope to cool off at some point during the summer and visit her shop.


After a little shopping, we found a nice shady spot and set up to spin. We drew a lot of attention. There weren't really any other groups set up spinning. They asked us to contact them prior to next year's festival and make arrangements to come and demonstrate. I, personally, was really hoping to connect with some Flagstaff spinners; maybe they know something we don't about spinning wool outside in 100-degree weather. Crazy Valley people!


We had about 8 people and I think a good time was had by all.

Yesterday, Saturday the 12th, we observed Worldwide Knit in Public Day. We met up at The Eggery in Phoenix and they were incredibly nice to us. The hostess even wore a WWKIP sticker. We had about 11 people for brunch and then 9 of us headed off to ride the light rail. We decided to just ride it to the end and then back. I had a great time and I think everyone else did too! Here's some photos:

Chris really is a rockstar, she's got the knitting to prove it.


Even babies got into the action. Klover is the official baby for WWKIP day.


I was so excited to take the train and the weather was perfect.


Riding around...




My all-time favorite picture of the day.


To top of all of the wonderful June fiber outings, I'm headed out to Black Sheep Gathering on Thursday and can't wait!

Do you read the Ravelry Funnies?

OMG! I had to share this. This came from a thread on Ravelry and is written by user "shishkani". It is in response to a thread called "Topics covered over and over". Happy LOLing!

" I think I can settle these once and for all, although I’ve skipped a few of the more nebulous ones. Even I can’t answer everything.

Which circular needles are the best?
Surprisingly enough, clover bamboo circulars. The cable join is strong enough that it won’t snap when you’re strangling someone, even if they manage to get a hand in there and it takes longer than usual.

Why is there a disagree button?
Because you’re wrong. No, you really are.

Can I take needles on a plane?
This is what the internet is for. In the US, yes. Anywhere else: google it.

Why do people love red heart?
It’s cheap and you can get it almost anywhere. And it’ll still be in one piece long after humans have destroyed themselves and left the planet a barren, desolate wasteland, covered in piles of red heart afghans. And the colors! Especially fiesta.

Why do people hate red heart?
It’s made out of brushed fiberglass insulation and really cheap toilet paper.

What about copyrights?
Don’t share the pattern, don’t sell the object, without asking the designer. Yes, copyrights are a good thing. No, you cannot copyright a design by mailing it to yourself.

How do I sell my knitting?
Sell easy production pieces for cheap, or sell amazing works of art for lots. There’s little middle ground.

Why waste your cash on cheapskate yarn?
Because I can roll in a huge pile of yarn that you could never afford from your hoity toity yarn shop!

Why buy gold-plated yarn?
Because I don’t get severe friction burn when I wear the stuff I make, and money makes the FO prettier. It really does.

Cat declawing: cruel, but very rarely, necessary.

Why do people friend me?
It could be because you’re awesome. So - are you?

Is it okay to friend someone I don’t know?
Only if they’re awesome.

Should I be afraid if someone I don’t know friends me?
If you are considering this, then yes. They might get you. Or raid your stash page and download all your yarn through the tubes.

What type of interchangeable needles are best:
Knitpicks Harmonies. The colors make the blood less visible, and the points are perfect for stabbin.

Continental vs English knitting:
Easy. Knit English if you’re English. Knit continental if you’re a continent.

Love/hate acrylic yarn:
Love. You just can’t get the same flame from wool, no matter how much gasoline you soak it in.

Noro:
Technicolor goat barf, sticks and all. Although how they get the goats to barf in such precise repeats of color is beyond me …

Why are there knots in skeins?
Because I put them there.

I need yarn to finish my project!
There’s a group for that. It isn’t magically located by crossposting on several of the big 6 boards at once, unless you count how helpful people will always pop up to inform someone of the group’s existence.

My (blank) is in a contest with (blank) vote for them!
No. Cheater.

My (creature) is the cutest!
No, they aren’t.

How do you block acrylic?
You don’t. Or, you torture it into submission and wear its lifeless corpse. It is a dichotomy.

This pattern is for DPNs, can I use magic loop?
Okay, fine. The only answer I could think of to this was mean to anyone who has really asked this question. So forget it.

Why does anyone make dishcloths:
Oh, only the people who actually wash their dishes make those.

Where do I get a pattern that is listed as being in a magazine:
The magazine. Next!

Where are the patterns:
This one’s pretty meta. And my snark reserves are running low.

How big will it be after blocking:
As big as you block it, but generally slightly larger than it is now.

How small will it be after felting:
Impossible to predict - it’s magic. Next you’ll be wanting to predict the weather.

Can I felt in a front loading machine:
I’ve felt a lot of machines in my day. You just have to ask politely first, some of them don’t go in for that kind of thing.

Why doesn’t my acrylic lace look like lace made out of wool?
Because wool is stickier than acrylic. Put a dab of glue on every stitch and then it’ll look right.

Why isn’t knitty out yet?
Because they stick to a strict schedule of always announced updates, fueled by all our subscriptions.

Ugh, okay, I’m done. For now. Come on, ask Shishkani another question.

ETA: Sorry. I’m trying to write my thesis (yeah right, really looks like it) and I might be going crazy."