got friends got gotland

A few months ago, my virtual friend, Catena Cathy, sent me a small package of a sampling of Gotland locks that she had been working with...a surprise in my postoffice box! They came from Riverbend Gotlands and were the first sample of Gotland locks that my hands had ever touched. With SO many different breeds of sheep in the world, it is always a thrill for me to sample something I can add to my breed notebook.

Hailing from the Swedish Island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, the Gotland breed (through artificial insemination) have been in the United States since 2003. I feel fortunate to have the chance to work with the samples. You may have noticed that the locks were from New Jersey and arrived by way of Colorado...pay no attention to that..suffice it to say that Catena has "ulterior designs" and I am more than happy to acquiesce.

Soon after I started to work with the locks, another virtual friend, gypsyspinner Jody, was kind enough to send me a sample of the Gotland Blend batts that she is working up with the fiber from Hubbertfarms. The samples are of special interest to me since I work with a good deal of Alpaca, and Jody has been working up her own blends of Gotland and Alpaca. Jody sent a note that explained that the batts had been hand prepared and the the Gotlands were 75% with the balance of Finn or Shetland..(other favorites of mine!)

Here is a close up photo of the basket I'm currently working with, it contains the steel gray, lustrous, full of curl and energy, soft and silky locks and beautifully prepared, ready to pick up and spin batts.

I got friends. I got gotland. I iz a happy spinster.

So ...at some point in time.. at a Hatton Friday-dyeday..I took handfuls of my locks and tossed them into different dyepots. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them..just wanted to experiment.

Over the last few weeks, I've been hand carding the dyed locks and spinning out the color. Such a pleasure to work with! I have been spinning long draw, letting some of the curls fluff out, making an irregular soft yarn, which I finally decided to Navajo or chain ply. I was doubtful that my singles had enough integrity to stand on their own, and I wanted to preserve the color runs...so the chain ply seemed like the right choice.

After that, I wound off onto the niddy-noddy and skeined almost 120 yards of a 3ply woolen yarn with 8-10 wpi...that I soused and thwacked to within an inch of its life.

I intend to spin up the remainder of the grey roving and locks that are still in the basket, so that I might have enough to do a color-work hat.

Many thanks, Cathy and Jody! I only wish we could meet IRL--but I am enjoying working with both of you through the blogosphere...for now...anyway...until the time comes that we can sit down and spin together..somewhere!

prediction confliction

It would seem that this woolly bear caterpillar is predicting a mild winter. "According to legend, the wider that the middle brown section is (or, the more brown segments there are), the milder the coming winter will be"

...but then...what about ALL THESE ACORNs that keep falling? ..Legend has it that if there is an abundance of acorns to harvest, it predicts a harsh winter. hum...I believe we have a prediction confliction at hand.

This Hickory Tussock moth caterpillar seems unaffected. What ever will be will be.

And I am spinning an autumn colorway...this is hand-dyed (jacquard acid dyes) Gotland locks..hand carded...spun long draw on the Canadian Production Wheel...

For those that keep track...here is the riverrim woolly bear in 2006...and here is another one from 2008 ...they are always fun to find!

solidago dye day

On Friday, we continued our natural dye experiments in Grace's kitchen.

There were four of us that shared the pots. We worked with onion skins and goldenrod with an alum mordant. We used different (breed) wool, cotton and silk for our fibers.

Several species of Solidago (goldenrod) may be used for natural dyes. My husband collected the plants for me, and I didn't take the time to identify them. There were a few round areas on the stems of some of the plants, which I recognize to be galls. These are made by a tiny fly that lays its eggs inside the stem of the plant. Folklore tells of people carrying these galls in their pockets to keep the rheumatism at bay...so I slipped a few in my pocket...just because.

Some recipes call specifically for only flowers to be used. There are also some recipes that call for the roots or leaves, depending on what color you wish to extract from the plant. In the interest of time, I simply cut the tops off the flowers. I did not crush or bruise the flowers, but stuffed them into the homemade "teabags" that Grace had put together, and set them in the turkey roaster with enough water to cover.

At one point, we took the remains of a previous dyepot, and the alum premordant bath, and dumped it into the turkey roaster. You may be thinking that we didn't follow the recipe very carefully, and you would be correct.

Some of the fun that comes out of dye day is "winging it". It is OK to wing it, as long as you don't ever expect to duplicate your results. Since natural dyes seem to vary from one year to the next (depending on the growing season) I don't expect to duplicate the results. There are some things that it is important to take into consideration...for instance the ratio between wool and alum. If you use too much alum, you wind up with "sticky" wool. I do enjoy color, but not at the expense of loosing the handle of the fiber.

Some of us double-dipped. ..or a goldenrod base with an over-dye of onion skins. I had premordanted (is that a word?) my wool and silk the day before. The wool I was using, Miss Ewenice, came from my TDF prize.

I warp-chained the roving and my silk, so that some areas would not absorb as much color as other areas. The wool and the silk were stuffed into panty-hose bags, so they would be full of bits of onion skins or goldenrod flowers.

The results, while similar, were unique. The most fun of dye day is seeing what comes out of the pot...depending on how long you let it simmer...or what you started with...those subtle nuances are always fun to see and make note of.

Making notes of results and testing samples are also part of the experiment for me.

I had to wait a few days for my wool and silk to dry before I could work with them...my fingers twitched to spin and knit up some samples to see what the yarn would look like, how it would behave etc.

The notes will be tucked away, along with ideas for intended projects to be made from the yarn. Work for another day....

For now...the results are sitting in my basket, for me to glance at as I walk past on my way to do other chores...

...a nice memory of an afternoon spent with friends and fiber.

walk with me wednesday on thursday

...grapes in the pot, a gift from a friend's vine ♥...

....and the water rises...again..from the rains of last night, and this morning....

.... favorite places cannot be accessed...they are underwater...

...the color begins, sassafras..always one of the first to show..brilliant! even on a cloudy day....

...a view...looking one way...

...and then ....the other.

...and there are always those things we are grateful for...yes?

measured amounts

Checking the chart for measured amounts of precipitation for the month of September, I notice that on average, my geographical location should receive about 4 inches. To date, the measured amount for the month of September, so far, is over 9 inches. I've come to the conclusion that so many rainy days in one month can lead to melancholy and mold.

The sun fights to break though and burn off the fog on those days that the rain isn't falling. When it shines, it brings color to my world! This past Friday, at the Hatton farm, I dyed a small amount of wool from Grace with onion skins that Greta shared with the group. The subtle orange and red flashed tones look so pretty with the sun shining on them. So pretty, I reached for the Ledbetter spindle...sample, sample, sample.

My Shetland Hurricane Mittens took the blue ribbon at the PA Endless Mountains Fiber Festival! The pattern is Ceangaltas Mittens by Robin Melanson.

Speaking with one of the judges, I was told that the decision to award the mittens with the blue ribbon was unanimous. The fact that they were handspun, woolen and fulled, coupled with the design and execution of the pattern, was what scored the most points. I must admit, that there were not many entries due to the weather and poor attendance this year, but I was happy to receive the ribbon anyway!

PA Endless Mountains Fiber Festival

Dear Texas,
It rained all night long...and most of today. Down river, at the convergence...the muddy waters flow over the ice breakers.
Everything feels wet. And Damp.
I wish I could send this weather to you.
your friend, Pennsylvania

Keeping my fingers crossed for better weather this weekend, at the Pennsylvania Fiber Festival in the Endless Mountains.
I've been working on this year's offerings:

Sterling Silver Orifice Hooks for your spinning wheel.

and Diz and Threadhooks for your fiber preparation....

Stitch-markers for your knitting projects...because everyone knows your yarn has to match your stitch-markers...

and don't forget something for your spindle!
These wrist distaffs are made from my handspun linen and hemp, embellished with polished stones.

I will be located in booth 27&28 (same as last year)with Fred and Grace Hatton's Antique Spinning Wheels.... you may find me demonstrating on the Great Wheel, or demonstrating Supported Spindle Spinning, or just spinning on one of the Antique Wheels that will be for sale. If you have the chance, come on out to the festival and be sure to stop by and say hello!

phenological notes August 2011

August 2011

2nd Sweet Corn Coming
3rd cicadas sing
8th fawns loose their spots
12th elderberries ripen
14th golden rod blooms
15th rose of sharon blooms
16th whitetail bucks in velvet
28th Hurricane Irene
30th caterpillar's march begins

hurricane mittens

Thanks for all of your good thoughts and wishes for safe keeping, we are fine and dry. The power went out (as expected), so we had a bit of inconvenience and gave the refrigerator a good clean out in the process. We are feeling very grateful for the fact that the trees on our property held on, and that the river didn't take out the bridge.

It is a bit ironic that I'm sending out a package of eight inch squares that my spin/knit group made for the Blankets of Birmingham Tornado victims. I think we will have to get busy and work up some more for the victims of Irene!

The force and power of nature is hard to reckon with ...the destruction is sometimes overwhelming, a reminder of just how fragile all life is. Soon after the storm, I found caterpillars coming out of hiding...

Amazing to think of these small creatures surviving all the wind and rain that Irene brought to the riverrim.

While the winds were whipping around outside, I worked on a pair of mittens. Almost finished, I'm tacking down the applied I-cord trim. The Endless Mountains Fiber Festival is having a mitten contest this year, so maybe I will enter these.

The pattern is from Robin Melanson's book, "Knitting New Mittens and Gloves". The yarn is my handspun Shetland, from my samples...Rita 2011.

buckets of rain

I've been reading a very old book that is full of the history of the little river that flows by my cabin. It is interesting to note, that the river has seen many changes over the years.

These changes are a result of man and environment, I think about the changes as I make my check list for the upcoming hurricane...and I find myself humming a Dylan tune..."Buckets of Rain". Irene is coming.

A powerful storm. Spinning. Around and around again. S-Twist. Counter-clockwise. Widdershins. She reminds me of the spiral galaxies as seen from the Hubble telescope.

It isn't as if I haven't seen hurricanes in these parts before. Hurricane Ivan has been the worst to come to the riverrim..hum...that storm had an "I" name too.

Many folks have been evacuated from their homes for this storm. So far, we have not had a call. So, the list is checked, and doubled checked. I'm thinking we may not sleep upstairs tonight, and crossing my fingers that the big oak tree next to the cabin will keep its feet firmly planted in the ground. Hoping tomorrow that the bridge will hold and that the water won't get too high!

And that I'll be back in time for my blogiversary ;-) Stay safe....see ya after the storm!

walk with me wednesday-adjust

We haven't walked together for a time.

It is late summer, the early mornings are foggy and the air is thick with mist, the dew collects on grass..and petals...so fragile.

There isn't much to say today. There are, however, so many, many things to think about. So the walk is a prayerful one. A meditation.

A private moment. Shared.

The fawns are loosing their spots, and the bucks are showing their velvet.

and there are changes, to notice, and accept. deliberate as they are...and startling at the moment...a reminder that it is time to adjust.

a crofters life

The National Library of Scotland and the Scottish Screen Archives have a wonderful collection of films about the Shetland Isles. Back in the 1930s, Jenny Brown made several films about the Crofters. One of which is called "In Sheep's Clothing".

This film depicts (silent) scenes of the men and women herding the Shetland Sheep, they can be seen gathering and then "rooing" sheep. There are also shots of the carding and spinning of wool and the women knitting to make jumpers and shawls.

You will have to go directly to the website to view the films, here is a link for you to get there:

http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=1129

Related films can be easily searched. I watched several. There is one that shows the washing and blocking of the finished shawls. I was amazed to see how vigorously the delicate shawls were washed and wrung before placing sticks in the ground on the open field for the blocking of the shawl. Very different from today with our blocking wires and mats and pins!

flax article

About a year ago, Anne (otherwise known as bunnyspinner on Ravelry and Twitter) contacted me about writing an article on bast fibers for Ennea Collective e-Magazine. Anne is co editor of Ennea Collective, a terrific online resource for handspinning, knitting and weaving patterns and articles. Anyway, I happily agreed to write an article for the magazine...(spinning flax is my favorite thing to do, talk and write about!).

It hardly seems like a year has passed, and the article is now live --in the summer 2011 New Issue!

Meanwhile, ..with early August and late summer arriving, there is the feeling that the summer months are beginning to slip away. The nights are cooler, and without the sounds of fans and air conditioning, there are the insect songs. The crickets and the frogs chorus tell me to enjoy what is left of the summer. It is only a matter of weeks before it will be time to think of first frosts, they warn! With September comes the Endless Mountains Fiber Festival..and I have to get down to business if I'm going to have any offerings ready for the table...(I've been making some small flax wicking pots and diz and thread hooks, as well as the buttons that I always have for sale.) When I think about it, maybe the frogs and the crickets are telling me to get busy ;-)