Taking time to pause

There is a spot on my kitchen table, where the vase sits. I fill the vase each week, with flowers from my garden. For the past few weeks, the vase has been filled with roses. Yesterday, when I went out to cut flowers for the week, there were no more roses to fill the vase with. I was reminded of the quote about taking time to smell the roses, because however trite that quote may be, there is truth to it.

We are at that time. That time, that we should pause and notice the time. Hal Borland said it this way:

"We are at the time of the longest daylight, earliest sunrise and latest sunset, which will continue with only a few seconds of change for another week. Time, if we would only pause and let it flow over us, for a little while partakes of the deliberation that is the mark of summer in almost everything except human affairs."



"The berries ripen in their own time. The bees replenish the hive. Clover comes to sweet blossom, then to seed. Daisies whiten the roadsides."



"Fireflies sparkle in the evenings. Time flows like the brooks that must have leisured through Eden when summer blessed a young and innocent Earth."

And so I notice that the roses in my vase have been replaced with black-eyed susans, and hollyhocks, purple coneflowers, and monarda. Time flows on.

Some of my hours have been filled with making a couple of distaves for a friend.



I wove the bands for distaves on the double hole tapeloom.



I modified an old rigid heddle frame and it worked out well for those times that I don't wish to use a band lock. The pattern for the bands came from the book about Norwegian Band Weaving.

technique

Another example of in-hand spindle spinning without having to use a half-hitch at the top of the spindle. This is how I've been spinning these days.
When spinning off the point, it isn't necessary to make a half-hitch at the beginning and end of each make.
I take joy in noticing the amount of fiber on the distaves. Oh those optimistic Romanians!

The video has another example of in-hand spinning, near the end. I've not attempted to try my hands at this method, something more to learn.

making more

Tying on to the previous warp, I wove a few more small towels with the Gebrochene Twill draft.



I changed the weft color three times.



There is still hemming to be done before they are completely finished. These are 100% cotton and should be nice and absorbent. Hemming and hawing with the idea of winding one more warp with my handspun linen, and weaving the weft with the handspun hemp in the same twill pattern. We'll see.



The wood-thrush and the eastern phoebe have arrived, with the snow buntings still hanging around. Outside, there have been repairs being made to the "grow house". Inside, seeds are germinating. And the seasons turn again.

"I have said that there was great pleasure in watching the ways in which different plants come through the ground, and February and March are the months in which that can best be seen."
- Henry N. Ellacombe

Broken Twill

I've been working on weaving Gebrochene (translated from German to mean "broken") Twill.



Present day weavers may recognize this as M's and W's. This draft was available to me from the book, "The Best of Weavers- Twill Thrills"- on loan from my friend, Judy. (thanks! Judy).



I wove this cloth on a 4 shaft loom. There were 275 ends of cotton - KnitPicks Curio - from my friend Brigitte (thanks! Brigitte).



The weave structure has a long and interesting history (some similar examples dating to circa 1500s). The complex draft requires breaks and reversals--lots of patience for dressing the loom, but the results when weaving are very satisfying! Tromp as Writ! I had help figuring out the drawdown from my friends Greta and Elaine (thanks! Greta--thanks! Elaine).

As you can see, it was a group effort..and I'm grateful for all of the help!

January 2013 and 2016 phenological events

12th Cooper's Hawk

15th snow on the way

21st opossum hunts

28th single digits with slight thaw

phenological events

January 2016

5th first freeze

11th eagles & hawks

13th 1 inch snow

contrasts

The weather was crisp and clear this morning. The river water catches the sun and it shines like moonlight against the silhouettes of the trees.



We had a scant amount of snow fall overnight.



...and today the winds have caught up with us. On my way to the henhouse, I grab my earflap hat that I knit from handspun Icelandic Sheeps wool. As I slip it on my head, I think of how many years ago I made the hat, and how it has worn so well. It seems to get better with age.



The sky is bright blue, without clouds at the moment. The wind will bring them, soon enough. I walk past the old tree and wonder if some critter is asleep..curled up in one of those cozy holes in the trunk. I used to think owls slept in there. If I were an owl, I would inhabit that tree.



Glancing up in the other direction, I notice the eagle. Probably looking for breakfast. I tell him to move along, and go fish the river for his breakfast...leave my chickens alone!



Back inside the cabin, I stoke the coal-fire in the woodstove. It will be a good day to stay inside and finish up some projects...



...or maybe start a new one!

hens breath

The first freezing temperatures have arrived.  As I open the henhouse door, I admire the frosty patterns of hens breath on the glass.

Do you see vines and leaves?

or maybe...feathers?

My Golden Lace Wyandotte hen finds a good spot in the sun and sits down to warm her feet in her fluffy down feathers.

Last springs pullets produce an egg-stravaganza!  All are now laying, delivering a farmers daily dozen (or is it a bakers dozen?)

september 2015 phenological notes

7th harvesting sweet corn

9th morning glory blooms

20th warblers passing thru

How to slow down

One of my favorite poems comes to mind as I harvest the carrots.



How to Slow Down, find a little bit of land somewhere and plant a carrot seed. Now sit down and watch it grow. When it is fully grown pull it up and eat it. – Stephen Gaskin



I grew Nantes and Danvers on the far side of the garden this year. This is the first time I've ever planted carrots as a spring crop to harvest in the fall. One long row produced about a half bushel and yielded about 12 pints. And then some. for eating fresh.

I planted another row as a fall crop that is now well underway, and should be ready to harvest by Thanksgiving.



Meanwhile, there is some weaving under way. I'm experimenting with some Afghan Hound singles that I spun from distaff to spindle. I am using the spindle as a shuttle and have not finished the yarn, rather, just started weaving straight away with it!



I realize I may regret this decision, but sometimes you just have to take your chances.

phenological events August 2015

2nd harvesting green beans
4th planting wintercrops
17th digging taters
22nd 2 spike bucks
29th red tail hawks

returning

It has been a long time since I've seen so many honeybees on the corn tassels! Today, they were here in large numbers!



Standing nearby, I could hear the humming of their wings.



I could see the little puffs of pollen falling from the Staminate flowers down to the silk (stigma).



I could see their corbicula or pollen baskets... and thought of the bees returning to their hives with the pollen from my corn.



Welcome back, bees!

a winter weavers window

This winter, there are attempts being made to achieve the goal of weaving with my handspun linen. Samples have been woven on a 4 harness table top loom that sits in a somewhat south/west facing window. The light is at its best in the mid to late afternoon, and the room is situated on the second floor, above the woodstove. The cabin has the old "gravity feed" vents in the floor, and the warmth radiates upwards. It is a pleasent place to be during these very cold days.



From my vantage point, I see the slope of the snow covered road.



If I look through the trees, I can see the river winding its way through the valley.



There is the old maple that has been severely trimmed this past fall. It holds a bird feeder, and late in the day, the turkeys come down off the mountain to eat the seeds that the smaller birds have dropped. Turkeys are normally very shy, and it is hard to get close to them. They do not notice me looking down on them from above. It is remarkable how much their behavior is like the chickens we keep. Or maybe it is the other way around.



The warp that I have dressed the loom with, is made from commercially spun cotton. Pulling one or more strands through the dent will allow me to decide what sett I will use for the final piece. I used a handmade mini-triangle loom for a raddle, but I'm not so sure it was the best idea.



The heddles are threaded for plain or tabby weave. I must remember to take notes about what I think works well, and what does not. Surprisingly, the weave structure that happened due to a threading error, is a favorite. I am learning and enjoying the process.



My inspiration comes from these towels (shown above), work of my Grandmother's and Great Grandmother's.



As you can see, there is still much for me to learn. The weft for the samples is my handspun linen singles. The singles were spun with Z twist.



Next, I plan to try the handspun hemp singles for warp. I don't mind telling you that I feel a bit daunted by the idea.

Double Flyer Spinning Wheel & Wetting the Line

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to make a video of how to wet the line while spinning on the Double Flyer Wheel.

With both hands busy, it is a little tricky to take time to dip, and smooth the line while spinning!

But it can be done! Occasionally, you can hold back both lines with one hand and use the other hand to dip.

If you had asked me, several years ago, if this move was possible, I would have answered, NO! But practice has proved me wrong...it isn't impossible, it is tricky to get the timing just right.

In the video, I have dressed the distaff with some hemp that I purchased at the Endless Mountain Fiber Festival. I was told it comes from Romania. It is very nice quality, and comes in a roving type of package.

We won't talk about the weather. There has been a lot of snow shoveling going on, and there is still more to come. Temps are dipping down into the sub zero zone. And February is a good time to sit by the fire and spin. And weave!

almost

The first frost has yet to arrive. The last of the summer sun is savored.



Short walks and long shadows.



Ghost bugs are there, and then not.



Green peppers change to orange.



and beans to seed.



Potatoes are dug and moved from one underground storage to another.



...black walnuts, generously given by a friend, await the hammer.



the rafter of turkeys grow larger by the days.



and september projects are finished in october.



it is time for bonfires and almost the beginning of november!