Beardsley Sanford double flyer spinning

A long time ago, Beardsley Sanford (1790-1868) made this spinning wheel, and signed it. This past weekend at the PA Endless Mountains Fiber Festival, I had a chance to spin flax on it. What a challenge! What fun!

Fred Hatton restored this wheel to working condition, and did a beautiful job. The wheel is gorgeous. The first time I tried spinning on it, I was having trouble drawing the flax down.

Another spinner and friend of mine, Freda, had come by to see if we could get it going. I told her that I was having trouble dressing the distaff, and just at that moment, Pam Mawhiney from the Home Textile Tool Museum had stopped by Grace and Fred's Antique Spinning Wheel Booth to drop off some brochures. Freda asked her if she would help us out. Within a few moments she had the flax dressed on the distaff. Freda gave it go first.

These are Freda's hands....

Freda gave me some good pointers. She has spun more flax that I have...and she showed me how to spin it wet. Grace gave us a little water cup that she quickly made out of the bottom portion of a water bottle. It is shown sitting in the middle of the table on the wheel. I think it looks like a little crystal bowl!

Freda and I spun for a little while, side by side, "Gossip Wheel" style. We spun our flax wet, dipping our hands in the water from time to time to smooth down the loose ends of the flax before we wound onto the bobbins. We both agreed that it was fun, but most likely, not what the wheel was truly made for.

This wheel was made to spin flax with both hands at the same time- by one person. One hand for each flyer. Oh my!

These are my hands...

Thanks to Grace and Fred, and Pam and Freda...I was able to get it going, but I spun the flax dry.

I admit it took some concentration, no "zoning out" for this wheel. It is a mystery to me how one would be able to spin and wet the flax on this wheel. Any suggestions? Any documentation? Oh, if only they could talk!

As a post script to this entry.. Grace made a video of me spinning on the wheel. You can see that there is very little time for hands to dip into a water pot!

phenological events August 2008

phenological events

August 2008

1st - Blackberry ripen
2nd - Broccoli ready
4th - Pull peas/plant lettuce
6th - Corn ripens
12th - first red tomato
15th - blueberries ripen
18th - harvest string beans
20th - begin pulling flax

pennsylvania endless mountains fiber festival

The PAEM fiber festival is next weekend, and I have been busy working on buttons that I will be offering for sale. I will be working with Fred and Grace Hatton in their booth (27) with the Antique Spinning Wheels that Fred has beautifully restored to fully functioning wheels. Pictured below is one of my favorite wheels...

.... a signed Shaker wheel that was made in Alfred, ME. It is signed SR AL. If it looks familiar to you it is because it looks exactly like the one in Pennington & Taylor's book! You should go over to Grace's blog and take a look at some of the other wheels that will be at the festival....I'll wait...

Making buttons and working with wood is a lot like making yarn and working with wool. You take a raw material and keep refining it until it is something functional...it is the process that is enjoyable...and time consuming. The end result is something unique that cannot compare to machine made products. Hand made products have so much more character.

I also made a few shawl pins and diz (what is the plural for diz anyway?). I am looking forward to the festival. If you find yourself in the Endless Mountain Region of Pennsylvania next weekend...stop by and say hello. I'd love to meet you!

oh, and before I forget...this last photo is for Cathy. She sent me a piece of Osage Orange wood...a bit of a branch. I think these buttons would go perfectly with the Morning Surf Vest she just made. The sequence shows the steps the wood goes through before it can be turned into a finished button.

walk with me wed...don't tread on me

crotalus horricus...light phase...although the tail is always black. Some say the number of buttons on the rattle indicates the age of the snake...others say it only indicates the number of times that the snake has shed his skin. If you don't want to see any more of this snake, I'd turn back if I were you.

A few weeks ago, we encountered a rattle snake in our path. We didn't kill it. It is unlawful, in this state, to catch, kill or possess a rattler, no matter how obtained. Turns out, someone driving on the road either didn't know this, or didn't care. This snake was dead when I found him.

The triangular shaped head is one way to identify a venomous snake.....

...vertical pupils are another way. You can hardly see the pits near the nostrils, but that would be yet another indication. This snake was heading in the direction of the river. Some say, that when it becomes hot and dry, the snakes come down off the mountain looking for water. Some say this is a myth.

Some tell me that a rattle snake's territory is usually a range that encompasses about a mile from it's den. This snake was within a mile of our cabin. Some folks say that mature males can travel up to six miles when searching for a female. And some have said that a snake cut into pieces can come back to life if you put it back together before the sun goes down...

Cria Alpaca Shawl-ette

I have finished making the Cria Shawl-ette!
Violette's blanket is a pleasure to work with.

It continues to be difficult to photograph, as it changes color and texture depending on the light that surrounds it.

Some project notes:

3 different wheels were used in the construction of this yarn, which resulted in a wpi of anywhere between 16 and 20 wpi.

Woven on the triangle loom with a simple tabby weave structure and approx. 1/4" sett. The finished piece was fulled to a semi-felted, semi-open weave cloth. It measures 51" across the top, 37" on the sides, and 20" from the nape of the neck down to the point in the back.

It can be worn around the neck like a scarf, or with points in front with your favorite shawl pin closure. The pin in this photograph is my favorite!

This piece was commissioned by Finca Alta Vista and will be offered for sale through Paco Fino. If you are interested in purchasing the shawl-ette, please contact me by email, or inquire through the Paco Fino webpage.

in and out of the bean patch

DH- "hey cyn, where are you?"

ME- "down here...working the bean patch"

DH- "you're still down there? what is taking you so long?"

The answer was simple...there has been a bountiful harvest of beans this year. I only planted 2 rows--honest!!

I've been spending most of my time in the bean patch picking...When I'm not there I can be found in the kitchen, packing them.

Some were packed for the freezer. Some were packed for the shelf (thanks to Judy and Rita, for the use of the pressure canner!) I have over 18 quarts and 6 pints on the shelf. Once it is on the shelf it does not use up any more energy (as compared with the freezer). Broccoli and peas go into the freezer. Tomatoes and beans go onto the shelves...along with the berries and grapes. August is a busy time. A rush to get all the home grown goodness packed away for the winter months.

We didn't get a vacation this year. I look at my beanstalk and dream about "climbing away from it all".

Maybe I'll find the goose that lays those golden eggs...."

my point of view

As a handspinner, I like to think that I know exactly how much yarn I will need to complete a project.

flicking the cria

Some of the fun of being a handspinner comes from the idea that if you run out of yarn for a project you simply walk over to the wheel and spin up a little more.... (providing you have enough left over from the original fiber source).
It is a bit of a heedless or laissez-faire attitude, I know, a bad habit some would say.

spinning off the point

So it was that I needed to return to the wheel and spin up just a little bit more to complete the border of the shawl I have been working on.

I "guestimated" that I only needed a few more yards...simple enough...

one handed draft

...but the wool was flowing like water through my fingers, I was enjoying the process...and I filled more of the cop than intended...

elliptical cop

And now I have "leftovers"..

Sometimes I get lost in the process...and forget about the details....

fruit and the loom

The catbird and his friends have been having a party in my blackberry bushes. Mind you, I don't begrudge the birds taking their share, however, the scale is tipping in their favor, and I am not getting my fair share. They are bold now, scolding me when I go out to pick...defending their territory! Is it not enough that I have already sacrificed at least half of the red currants?! If I had the resources, I would enclose the bushes in poultry wire!

The crabapples are ready now, best pick before the birds can get to them. This is the first time this tree has given me apples. I am delighted with the size and taste of them. What a lovely Crabapple variety! The tree didn't bear more than about two dozen apples, so I will make a crabapple/blackberry jam. Crabapples contain lots of pectin, they are great for turning into jam and jelly...and glaze.

What's that? you would like to taste one? ok, I will shine one up for you...here ya go...tastes just like the crabapples I ate as a child.

In fiber news...the loom is full of cria...and I am working up a border on the needles. It is challenging to photograph the softness of this fiber...

I am loving the feel of working with it..light and soft as air! A cold front moved in yesterday, bringing with it some of the biggest hail stones I've ever seen! Made me want to pop this shawl off the loom and snuggle into it...

walk with me wednesday, ready or not

Sixty-four days ago, my corn looked like this....

Remember how I was telling you that I had to cover the seeds with clay pots so the chipmunks wouldn't eat the germinating kernels? Remember how I was wondering if it was worth it?
Today, it looks like this...

There are few things that I wait on the edge of my seat for...ripening corn is one of those things. For the first month, I wait and watch, as the leaves get bigger...

and then the second month...I wait and watch as the tassels (the male flowers) grow, and the pollen hangs...

...and I wait for the wind to carry it...amazed at how each strand of silk (the female flowers) represents a kernel of corn. Sometimes, we walk throught the corn and shake the stalk...just in case the wind forgets..And it is good to plant the corn in blocks. Corn pollen is heavy...sometimes it doesn't go very far.

I wait and wait..for the kernels to be ready. I've grown corn many years, the waiting can drive you crazy. You can tell it is getting ready because the silk at the top starts to look dark and dry. When I cannot wait any more, I pull down a husk and peak at it. What do you think? Ready?....or not....

gracias

or many thanks to Wanda for selecting the riverrim blog
to be one of the Arte y pico award recipients!

Rules: 1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribuites to the blogger community, no matter of language. 2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone. 3) Each award-winning, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the ward itself. 4) Award-winning and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y pico“blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award. 5) To show these rules.

....so I award these 5:

Artis Anne (have you seen her new shop items?)
Elizabeth (who has been doing cable repair)
Cathy (who is filling her notebook)
Lisa (who is growing amazing flower gardens)
Sue (who has finished another lovely shawl)
Leigh (who is having fun with bar codes)
...and I think I just named 6, so I had better stop now...so many blogs...so little time! Enjoy the linkage!

when wheels collide

I have been enjoying some cria from Finca Alta Vista. Meet Violette. Here are some samples that I spun up from the blanket...

spinning cria is a dream!
I'm flicking the locks...

spinning a worsted single on the Ashford Traddy...fine and tight....my work station and assistants seen in the background....

...I am also spinning a lofty woolen single on the Great Wheel...

plying them together in a rather boucle sort of way...on the Quebec Wheel...

and finishing the yarn by fulling and thwacking it to within an inch of it's life on the side of the bathtub.....

...resulting in an amazzzzingly soft and fuzzy...

handspun that wants to be woven on the triloom....at least that is what I think it told me...

phenological events July 2008

phenological events

July 2008

1st - Gypsy moth males appear
9th - Japanese beetles arrive
10th - Female Gypsy moth lays eggs
Day Lilies blooming
14th - harvesting snow peas and broccoli
16th - string beans set blossom
20th - squash sets blossom
22nd - Black bear spotted
28th - green frogs start singing in evenings
29th - Crabapples ripen

walk with me wednesday, the path

Stargazer Lily

I have no photograph to show you of the large rattlesnake that was in the path. It was at least a yard long. It was fat. And it was on it's way to the river. The image of it is in my memory.

My walking partner suggested we kill it. I disagreed. It was in our path. When something is in your path, you must decide what to do. Do you remove it? (if you can...) Do you choose another path, go around it? (if you can....)Do you stand there, indecisive, and allow it to deal with you?

Life hands you some pretty difficult choices along the path...in my mind, it is all about how you choose to deal with what is in your path.

Skipper

Rattlesnakes are protected around here. Besides the fact that I wouldn't go against the laws of the land, rattlesnakes have their place in the universe. Not wanting to upset the balance of the universe, I wanted to leave well enough alone.

Years ago, my walking partner and I came across another rattlesnake in our path. It shot venom at us...from six feet away. We did kill that one...rattlesnakes were not protected in those days.

Yesterday, the rattlesnake that was in our path, slithered away and into the weeds, on his own path...down to river. I figure, we are even now.

linum usitatissimum

It was a very good day, when I walked out into my garden and saw this...

My flax is beginning to flower. This year I am growing "Marylin" seed that I purchased from the Landis Valley Farm Museum. It is a Dutch variety. 100 days. Flax should be sown on the 100th day of the year, and harvested on the 200th. I was late getting mine in, so it will be late getting it out. I am relieved to finally see it begin to bloom. It has such a delicate flower...unassuming ....yet gorgeous in it's own right.

I planted my flax over by the corn patch this year. I sowed it thick, to avoid side branching. I am happy with the progress it is making...and hopeful about the harvest and processing.

I've grown flax before, but have not been successful with the retting process. A few years ago, I purchased a variety called "Veralin" from the Mannings Handweaving School, in Adams County Pennsylvania. Veralin is a variety from the Netherlands, and was bred in 1999 from the parents Torshok and Lidia (which I think are Russian varieties). It grew to maturity for harvest, but was very fragile, and did not ret well at all. It was good for fire tinder.

The seed I am raising this year, is far from the cultivar that my great grandmother grew. Commercial breeding of flax started around the end of the 19th century, it is being bred for the end user, and there are many legislative barriers in place surrounding the distribution.

There is one other variety that I have not tried, and it is available from Richters seed company. It goes by the name of Evelin, and I think it is a Dutch variety. If anyone has any other variety available ...or information as to where it can be purchased...please leave a comment or contact me in a private email. I would love to try an old variety if it were available. All the seed that is for sale these days is treated. An heirloom fiber flax seed would be very valuable.