Checking in

Each weekend I've been busy doing something and think briefly, I should update my blog. It's been a while and not everyone is on Facebook or Ravelry. But just as quickly it leaves my brain and before you know it another week has passed. Or my case, two months.

I've found as I've gotten older that unless I set out reminders for myself or stop and think for a minute beforehand what I must do I tend to flit from one thing to another at the cost of paying attention to other things that should be attended to. If I have things written down and go over them first thing in the morning I'm very good at getting them done. But if it's not on the list and I don't add it, it will be forgotten. Unfortunately, the blog writing has fallen into the category of not being put on the list. I will try to do better.

Things have changed a fair bit here at Chez Runamuck. I found a young cat that fit the household dynamic a month ago. His name is Fritz, is a year old, and has made friends with Sammy and Buster. Fritz isn't a lap cat but he is affectionate, a chatterbox, and has found all the toys in the short barrel tower. His favorite is a furry mouse that came in a gift pack I received from my Secret Santa last year. He carries it around in his mouth, plays with it on my bed, and has chewed the tail off of it. The other two weren't sure at first but Buster found him to be a fun playmate and Sammy has taken to him as a housemate. It's made life around here comical at times as the chasing goes on in the evening with either Fritz chasing Buster or vice versa.

In April I went to a fiber festival in Hood River. It was the first one for this particular group and they had a great turnout. There were some beautiful things there and I didn't come away empty-handed. One of the things I was looking for was purchasing a Schacht Matchless wheel on layaway. I had my Louet S10 for putting down as a down payment and wanted to pay off the remainder in installments. I found a buyer and the wheel is now being built. I was able to negotiate having the wheel available for my upcoming workshop at the end of June but I have to return it until it's completely paid off. I got the chance to work on someone else's Matchless while I was there and I was very pleased at how well it spun and fit me. So I'm anxious as ever to get it paid off and home!

May has been busy. I volunteered some time to demonstrate handspinning at the annual AgFest in Salem OR. That was fun showing how yarn is made from animal fiber. The kids were delightful to watch. Agent D and I took advantage of a beautiful Saturday to go to the Gorge and take pictures. The water from all the rainfall made the waterfalls spectacular.

One of the things I've been doing is preparing for a class on making toe up socks. I've knitted up sample socks with three different toes and heels to demonstrate different methods. In addition to those I finished a hat for Agent D and a baby sweater for one of the gals in the office who is expecting her first. There will be more baby sweaters coming: one for the grandson coming for one of my partners in crime in my unit, the others for sale to raise money for Outside In.

June promises to be a busy month. Between teaching, taking Judith MacKenzie's workshop at the end of the month, and my birthday, my challenge will be pacing myself so that I can get everything done. Summer's almost here which will mean hiding in my cool house.

Rhinebeck Day 1

Over the course of my exploration of textile arts I've learned about various events that occur over the year. Some events are local, some regional, and some have a national flavor. Some events have a cachet that attracts folks from all over the world. In my discussions with people from the diverse communities, some of the events have grown from quiet gatherings known by word of mouth to extravaganzas that are advertised in the various media focused on textile arts people. The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, known to the fiber community as Rhinebeck (for its location at Rhinebeck NY), has become one such event.

Rhinebeck, held at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, attracts hundreds if not thousands of people to it. When the prospect of being able to visit the booths of 267 vendors from all over the US is available for only the price of admission, people seize the opportunity. And who wouldn't when you have the chance to find something that is not easily found at your local shop? For others it's the opportunity to meet up with friends who share your passion. That was one of my reasons for my going to Rhinebeck this year. People I know online meet up there every year. There was also the chance to finally experience Rhinebeck, an event I had been warned would potentially overwhelm the senses with all of its treasures, and visit vendors that don't come to my neck of the woods with their wares.

My preparations prior to going to Rhinebeck paid off. I did my research, talked with friends who had been there before, and printed out the necessary things I knew would be needed for the event: a map and the list of vendors. The vendor list helped immensely because it not only told you who was going to be there but also where they were located amidst all the buildings of the fairgrounds. I planned to leave early to avoid the traffic as best as I could and get a decent parking spot that wasn't far from the gate. Getting there was easy from where I was staying, Saugerties, and the drive there was beautiful with the fall foliage in full display.

Once at the fairgrounds it was a case of looking for the vendors I wanted to visit early to get the best choice of items. Gnomespun and the Tsock Tsarina were going to be at Holiday Yarns and I knew that one would be popular. On the way I passed by Briar Rose Fibers and saw their booth overrun. When I arrived at Holiday Yarns it was empty of customers so I snagged up a beautiful teal braid of Dorset wool from Gnomespun and a claret colorway kit of the Tsock Tsarina's Vintage socks.

The next stop was to Golding Fiber Tools. If you've been reading this blog for a while you may remember on a previous trip to Vermont I visited Tom Golding's workshop at Saxtons River. The handspindle I came away with is a favorite of mine for heavier yarns and plying, but I was looking for one of lighter weight for spinning thinner singles. Sure enough by the time I got there his booth was crowded with people looking at his wares. It took patience for me to be able to see what he had, and he had some real beauties ranging from his simple RingSpindles of finished exotic woods to worked pieces done in antique metals and stones or painted discs set in wood. He's a true crafter and his spindles are known for their speed and precision. At first I thought I would have to settle for one that was close to the weight of my favorite Spindlewood, 1.5 oz., but then I saw after someone moved spindles done with laser etched wood whorls ringed in brass. They were done in a Celtic cross design that I'd seen on his website and considered getting. Three were left, two in somewhat darker woods and one in a golden brownish wood. I seized the golden one for it really stood out to me and found it was made of butternut with a walnut shaft. Here is the beauty that came home with me and have been spinning on since.

After that it was a case of trying to find my friends. I was to meet up with them around 9:30 but by the time I had made my purchases and went to where we would potentially meet up there was no sign of them. The crowds were getting thicker and thicker as time went on. I took a place on one of the benches in the concessions area, sitting next to a lady who was taking a break from making the rounds. She was knitting on a sock. I took out my knitting and worked on the shawl I had taken on the trip. We chatted a while, watched people with their beautiful and in some cases outlandish knits, and kept warm for while the sun was shining the wind was pretty fierce and cold.

By the time it was around 1 pm I decided I'd make my way to the place, Red Maple Sportswear, where I was to meet up with someone else. As a favor, I had brought with me a stitch counting bracelet that MonicaPDX had made for someone in one of the groups we are in on Ravelry. She had conveniently put the Ravelry name of the person. Foolish me had forgotten to bring my Ravelry pin so it was going to be a challenge to meet up with this person. I wasn't going to be meeting up with her until 2 but who knew when that person would show up, so I found a place where I wasn't in the way of the booth's patrons or in the aisle.

While I was there, I ran into a fellow knitter, Jeri, who wasn't in her customary blue but wearing her lovely creation Ingrid. She told me she saw the people I was looking for heading toward the booth slowly. At last I would see them! Sure enough, the crowd parted enough for me to be able to recognize Joe, Marilyn, and Carol, all making their way slowly through the madness to get to David and Mel's booth. I waited as they looked at the goods and watched as Marilyn slowly made her way through. As she started to leave the booth, I said, "You can't leave without talking to me." She looked at me blankly. When I told her who I was she let out a squeal of delight and hugged me. It was like two friends who hadn't seen each other in ages. Joe and Carol saw the commotion and came over to find out what was going on. Carol didn't know me but Joe did from our years of online correspondence. I suggested meeting outside the building where there was a place to sit and talk (I still had time to wait for my other meetup) and they agreed because it was truly insanely crowded in there.

Outside, I was able to give to Marilyn and Joe the swag I was carrying for them: dyed fiber and Tillamook cheese, as well as a package I was delivering for StitchJones. Unfortunately, Marilyn found that the Golding spindle she had purchased earlier had vanished. She was heartsick because it was a beautiful spindle, one of a kind, and when she went back to Mel and David's booth to see if it had fallen there there was no sign of it. The swag took the edge off the loss, but I felt for her. Chances of it turning up amidst that crowd were small. I talked with Marilyn and Joe for a short while, then Joe had to leave for a meeting with his Men's Knitting Retreat peeps. I needed to go back in to meet up with my Ravelry person. I got information for the diner where Marilyn and Carol were going to meet up with others for dinner, then headed back.

Back at Mel and David's booth, I resumed my post, holding up the bag with the Ravelry name displayed like a sign held by an airport driver. In that mayhem it was necessary. It worked because a young gal came by, looked at the bag, and said, "That's me!" The bracelet reached its recipient, I met a fellow Raveler, and my deeds were done. Tired from the crowds and the effort of getting around, I decided to head for my car and drive back to the motel. It was a good decision because the traffic was starting to build up with people leaving the event. I managed to make it back and get in a short nap before going out to dinner.

Finding the diner was interesting. I had taken my notebook computer with me so I was able to look up directions to the place. Before going back to the motel I had done a dry run to see if I could find the place. No luck. So armed with instructions I went on my merry way. I saw a sign saying "Diner" but it didn't have the name of the place I was looking for. I went in, hoping that perhaps I had been mistaken and had found the place. While I was looking around to see if my group was there, the proprietor came up and invited me to sit down and eat. I told him I was looking for the Olympic Diner. "This isn't the Olympic Diner but you want to eat here." I told him I was meeting people there. "Tell them to come here." I asked him if he knew where the Olympic Diner was. "No," and the attitude from him I was getting was more like forget your friends come and eat at my place, not helping out someone who looks lost and is trying to find a place. I left, feeling annoyed at the guy. I commend him for trying to drum up business because the place was pretty empty, but if someone's trying to get directions it's a lost cause.

I did find the diner at last and got to meet folks from the Knitting Retreat group as well as friends of Marilyn. As the evening progressed, we got sillier and sillier. Marilyn had gotten a call from someone who had found her spindle and wanted to get it back to her. By the end of the evening we were exhausted but happy and fed. A fun night with new friends.

Easy breathing

If you're a regular reader you know that I have asthma and have been going through treatments for a while. My allergist identified my triggers and started me on treatment including allergy shots a couple of years ago. However as time has gone by it seemed I'd improve to a certain extent then hit a plateau I couldn't get past. The treatments would be more intense and still no improvement. "There's something else going on," she said finally at the end of August. "I want you to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist to see if there's an obstruction in your airway."

So early last month, I went and saw an ENT to see if he could see anything. I was scoped down to my vocal cords and let me tell you having your sinuses numbed up feels weird. "There's nothing there I can see, " he said. "But there's definitely something going on because I can hear you very clearly and what I hear is wrong." So the next step was a CT scan. Bingo. There was an obstruction in my trachea, a web of tissue, that was narrowing my airway and making me sound like Darth Vader on a bad day. "Let's get you to the pulmonologist and see what we can do to take care of that." One visit to the pulmonologist later and I'm scheduled for a bronchoscopy and procedure to dilate my trachea.

The procedure was yesterday and I came home with a sore throat. But I can breathe!. I went to breakfast at my favorite neighborhood hangout and was able to talk to people as I walked through the door instead of waiting 5 minutes to get my breath. I walked home and the only things protesting were my legs from having to walk so far so fast. The pulmonologist said after the procedure was done that he was amazed I wasn't blue from lack of air because the hole I was breathing through was smaller than what was shown on the CT scan. I can only think that the muscles I built up from singing and used for breathing kept me oxygenated.

I am very thankful for my doctors, especially my allergist, for finding this and helping me. I don't feel old now.

OFFF

This last weekend I spent both days at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. Being ListMom for the Portland Spinnerati, I was there to promote the group and answer questions. I did some demo'ing of carding and combing fiber and spinning on a handspindle. Since I was going to be there both days I was careful not to wander around too much and conserve my energy but it was lots of fun being there. There were times when I was the only one in the booth as my friends went wandering about looking at the wares available but there were also times when the booth was packed with people as we were visited by various folks from the Portland Spinnerati and PDX Knitblogger groups. Stephen aka HizKnits was working at the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth this weekend so he'd stop by to take a break. Joan Schrouder stopped by on Saturday as well as Marta McCall. MonicaPDX and I giggled over fun things seen on the Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Group on Ravelry. Quiet moments were nice to share with Judy. Saturday turned out hot with the shade on the lawn covered with spinners. Sunday had rain in the morning (memories of camping!) but it stopped long enough in the afternoon to allow people to wander about the grounds. All in all a very good weekend.

This boy was very proud of himself as his owner led him around the grounds.

Hair o'the Mo. Stephen brought his own lunch but some of us indulged in lamb.

Pretties!

Captain Lambert meets a celebrity.

In living color!

One mitten down. One to go. The new modem's on its way. Keep your fingers crossed. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from events in the past few weeks.

Franklin Habit made it to Portland during OFFF weekend. He made a call out to his Dolores Devotees for help in arranging it and I was able to hook him up with Knit/Purl. He was quite delightful and very happy for my assistance in getting him to the City of Roses. It was my pleasure, Frank.

Judy "JMCO" Becker has adamantly said she would not learn how to spin. While my fellow spinsters are still trying to convince her to take up the craft, I've opted to take a different tack and lure her to my handspun. I spun up some Dicentra Designs merino silk into fingering weight yarn and gave her the yarn to play with. She came up with a stunning wrap that has garnered many compliments. You can read her full story of the wrap on her blog. Fabulous job Judy!

There was also Spin In Public Day in Hillsboro where we encountered rain but no one shied away from it. Not even the small fry. Baby Hazel and Mama Rachel were there with their February sweaters.

Then there was OFFF. The Spinnerati and Knitbloggers had tents on the main lawn but shade was a premium. By the end of the day we were huddled against one side of the two tents to keep from getting cooked. We had visitors from regulars like Tina Newton of Blue Moon Fiber Arts and Morgaine of Carolina Homespun to newcomers Frank Habit,

Rabbitch, and Oregon newcomers Condom Amulet Naomi with her "spinster" husband Ron and Sivia Harding (welcome!).

Another notable was this lovely lady who spun while she walked over 300 miles. This is the sweater she knitted from the yarn she spun.

Karen wore her lovely stashbuster shawl and fell in love with some mohair locks, but being the nonspinner she needed someone to spin them. I offered my services. [BEG]

Soon to come: SOAR! I looked over the requirements list for the classes I'm taking and figure I might as well pack the suitcase acquired earlier this summer with everything but the kitchen sink. In the meantime I'm preparing my arsenal because you don't know whether you may come across this.

Waiting

It's been interesting being without the computer at home. I knew I was attached to it but it took a good week to get used to not having it there. The cats are happy it's not working because they don't have to compete with the keyboard for my lap and the weather's getting chilly. A friend lent me hers but it's not being cooperative with my household set up, so I've decided to just wait until I find out for certain if my old laptop is recoverable. It's in the hands of a friend's husband, who's Dell certified, who will see if he can do anything with the old boy. The thing was built in 2001 and has held up very well. If I can get it to continue to work until next year, hopefully I can work out being able to get a new computer to replace it. I'm just glad I got the huge external hard drive for my backups; otherwise I would have been in a major world of hurt. In the meantime, there's my iPAQ and the library for checking my email. I only wish I could upload my pictures of me and Dolores playing strip parcheesi the beautiful Rubaiyat mittens I'm knitting from MiniMochi and black Cherry Tree Hill.

The move to my new office has worked out well for my allergies. I'm gradually improving. I'm getting over a small head cold that crept up on me Tuesday, hid on Wednesday, and pounced on me today. The coughing is just the cold, not my lungs trying to get air, which considering the week before is much better. The extra distance I have to walk for delivering reports and getting together with the rest of my work group has its benefits too. I'm hoping that by the end of the year I will be greatly improved.

In 4 weeks I'll be heading for Sunriver and the Spin-OFF Autumn Retreat! I looked over my badly battered finances and I'll be able to squeak out my share of the lodging and perhaps indulge in some goodies.

I did some indulgence during OFFF but not a lot: a pound of undyed Merino/ Rambouillet/ Targhee top; a couple of ounces of black silk; a project basket for next to my chair. Judy and I found another bump of the fiber I need for spinning the yarn she needs for completing her shawl at Dicentra Designs. Judy treated me to a couple bumps of fiber from the discount bin. Karen fell in love with some lovely magenta and dark blue mohair locks but she doesn't spin. I told her I would spin it up for her, so she purchased that and I'll be preparing those for spinning it up into fine yarn. I was fascinated with how Barbara was spinning up the silk bell she had brought with her, so was watching how she was working that. I'll have to see what I can find in my stash to stretch out the mohair locks. Silk? Hmmm.....

Hampered

Well, I received the new modem Friday and was hoping that by now I would be up and running back online. But it wasn't to be. The problem is not with the modem but with my old laptop's ethernet card. Reloading the driver and testing it didn't produce any results, so now until I can scrounge up another computer I'll be restricted on email responses for now. Your best bet to contact me is through Ravelry.com if you're a member or calling me.

OFFF was a lot of fun. The herd dog demos were held on the main lawn this year, so we had a fair number of folks by the booths for the PDX Knitbloggers and Portland Spinnerati. It appeared there were many more vendors this year with lots of good stuff available. The weather was perfect for it. When I get back online I'll be able to share the pictures I took of the event. We did have some notables swing by. It was great to get a chance to meet folks in the flesh.

Tonight is Franklin Habit's talk at Knit/Purl. I couldn't find my g-string for meeting up with Dolores later, but I did find something fancy.

I swear I will never touch my computer to fix it again.

Moving on

My weekend ahead is full of activity punctuated with moments of general calm and peaceful fiber production. Oregon Flock and Fiber is this weekend in Canby. I'm spending the majority of my time camped at the PDX Knitbloggers booth on the main lawn. I do have a couple of missions ahead that I must accomplish. One: get another 4 oz of Eowyn merino silk from Dicentra so that Judy can finish her shawl. Two: get the Celtic Bunny scarf pattern from Toots LeBlanc for Zarah so she doesn't give me dirty looks in the lunchroom at break. If things work out well and I'm able to sell a few orifice hooks I'll get some dinero to play with.

Today, I'm packing to move to another office while they remodel the current office. I'm hoping when I make a quick stop at the house my modem will be waiting for me. Later in the evening I'll be meeting up with buddies for dinner and visiting Bobbie while ToolMan's in the hospital for his surgery. Monday will be recovery day but will end with seeing Franklin at Knit/Purl. Word has it that Dolores insists that we do something special later on. Now where did I put that g-string?

Closer to connection

I'm closer to getting connected. I found the modem I want at a decent price. Unfortunately it will have to be shipped from out of state as it's not available locally. But I figure if I'm going to fork out for a decent modem I might as well upgrade to adding wireless and network capability. So Friday I'll put in my order and continue going without computer access at home. So far the contingency plan I have in place is working out and I'm not entirely out in the vacuum of weblessness.

News is though that the co op booth that was being planned for OFFF fell through (no room) so the orifice hooks that I made up will be for sale at the upcoming WorldWide Spin In Public Day being held at the Walker Cultural Arts Center this Saturday between 10 and 3. I will have them with me at OFFF as well. They're going for $20 and $25 apiece (price dependent on bead content). Proceeds will help fund my upcoming SOAR trip.

Shades of the 80's

Friends of mine have been scouring the thrift stores for sweaters to take apart for yarn. Some have been very good and one, Tiggywinkle Knits, has a blogpost on how to identify the right sweater for recycling. While going through my stash for some yarn for a scarf commission, I got the idea to do that with a sweater I've had for many years.

This sweater was one I found at Nordstrom Rack. When I first got it, it had huge sequins sewn onto the color panels. But there were three things going for it: it's angora/lambswool; it was my size; it cost ten bucks. Beautiful sweater, beautiful colors, but hotter than an oven. Consequentially I wore it maybe three times in the years I've had it. Dang, I want to wear it but I can't!

Well, I got the idea of recycling the yarn. The color as you can see has not faded. When I investigated how it was put together, it was thankfully done in panels with selvages, not sliced out of yardage. It's going to take some time to take it apart because of all the intarsia, but I'll end up with a rainbow assortment of fingering weight lambswool/angora yarn.

Last Week's Spinning

Remember my telling you about the yarn I was spinning Saturday but had no pictures? I have pictures of the singles now. I haven't done much spinning this week but it is coming along nicely.

Playing Hooky

One of the things I want to sell at OFFF are beaded orifice hooks. Some wheels have deep orifices so a long hook is sometimes necessary. Also there are few that are beaded instead of having a wood handle, so they would be a piece of jewelry for the wheel. I found colored wire heavy enough to hold its shape, but the problem I ran into was how to hold the beads onto the wire. The solution I came up with also aided in how the hook can be held to manipulate through the orifice.

At the point where the beaded handle begins on the wire, I made a loop in the wire. This is the point where you can pinch the hook to hold it while using it to fish through the single/yarn. The handle length is comfortable and at the end loop there's a dangle. I'm asking $20 for them and will be selling them at the PDX Knit Co-Op at OFFF.

BSG 2009

Saturday's jaunt to the annual Black Sheep Gathering was graced with perfect weather in my eyes: overcast but not rainy, warm but not too warm. The drive to Eugene went well and part of the way was reminiscent of road trips with my parents. Past Salem my public radio station, OPB, switches gradually from the FM station in Portland to the AM stations in Corvallis and Eugene, so the clear fidelity of KOPB 91.5 FM switched over to the fuzzy fidelity of KOAC 550 AM, complete with the buzzing when passing under high voltage power lines. So after a trip laced with the news and Car Talk, I arrived at the Lane County Fairgrounds.

The small brown sheep above are Babydolls. One farm brought one of their Jacob rams with the four horns. Interesting fleece, hey? The goats are Angoras and at the time I was there they were doing some judging. Two of the Angoras were tiny guys and their bleats were reminiscent of a cranky baby.

The marketplace was full of people looking for bargains and the unusual. I found all sorts of different fibers available including yak, bison, qiviut, casein, and maize. I came with a few items on my wishlist in addition to the task of picking up fleeces from Fantasy Fibers and talking with Nathan Lee of the WooLee Winder company about a winder for my Joy. It was tough not going through the bargain stacks of the vendors because the economic downturn has made vendors put discounts on items to bring in customers. By the time I reached StitchJones' tent to spend time spinning and drawing the curious to peruse her wares, I had found a number of goodies.

Snowy white angora bunny/Merino roving and Romeldale pindrafted roving.

Handdyed Corriedale roving

Handdyed Optim from Chameleon Colorworks

The Icelandic fleeces that I sent out to Fantasy Fibers.

The black Alpaca.

Merino top from StitchJones and the singles I spun while at her booth. The singles are tiny and drew a number of people to watch me spin on my Joy.

Spring progress

Today's going to be relatively quiet. The house will be open for airing and a few more dust rhinos will be rounded up. My chest crud is cleared up and the sunshine is giving me more oomph. Yesterday I went to the Aurora Colony Handspinners Guild's annual Fiber Faire with the intention of just picking up some fiber to spin up for a friend and going home to finish the QAL. I ended up staying with Susan and Gail at Susan's booth for Abstract Fibers and helping out when Susan or Gail needed to take a break. In the process I helped out various folks with questions, inspired people with the QAL and shared the pattern, guided spinners to Ravelry, and had a wonderful conversation with a lady who has been doing research on rare spinning wheels. I didn't take my camera unfortunately so I don't have pictures, but I did come home with goodies.A Romney fleece A lovely light spindle of madrona with a black walnut shaft Overdyed alpaca silk from Abstract Fiber and merino silk from Dicentra.

The biggest thing that came out of the gathering is that I finished the Queen Anne's Lace from MMario. This morning I got out my blocking boards and pinned the shawl out on the front porch. It's a giant flower of purple beauty. To give some perspective, the layout of the boards is 8 feet by 8 feet.