Stitches South; Dancing Everywhere

Stitches South is coming up soon in Atlanta.  Seems like almost everyone I know will be there.  Even though I won't be there, my knitting will be.  Friends & Fiberworks, one of the local fiber shops that I work with will be a vendor for the first time.  Now this shop has an excellent presence at SAFF, so a number of their followers are sure to find there way to the booth.  I developed 2 patterns that will debut at Stitches along with a number of other exclusive patterns by Asheville designers.

One pattern is a reworking of my Trailside pattern - in 2 versions and a smaller gauge.  Some people (mostly men) really like a ribbed brim that folds up.  Rather traditional, it keeps your ears extra warm.  But there is a 'hat head' factor, that some of us wish to avoid.  So I also wrote an alternate brim that people can push back and make the hat a bit puffy.  Both should be  good for both men and women and work well in solids, heathers and tweeds.  Both are one-skein patterns designed for Berroco Vintage Bulky, but will work just fine for any other yarns in that weight, like Lamb's Pride Bulky.

The other pattern is a garter stitch pattern meant to show off a wilder yarn.  I wrote this for Berroco's Borealis - a multicolored yarn that creates subtle stripes.  Now I will admit to my blog readers that it seems ridiculous to claim that this is a pattern, but at SAFF last year, people kept asking for it.  I told them how to make it, but over and over I heard, 'No, I'll never remember that.  I need the pattern.'  So I finally wrote it down.  in two sizes.  and tested it.  and printed it.  Now it is going to Stitches.  I'm sorry I will not be there for the acclaim or catcalls, and I imagine there will be both.  That is, if the Southerners aren't too polite for the catcalls.

I hope to make both these patterns available on Ravelry.  However since the yarn shops want to sell them, I can't make them free downloads.  They will be low priced however and I'll let my readers know when to expect them.  

Instead of hanging out with knitters at Stitches, I will be calling dances all around the area.  If it's Friday it must be an English dance in Greenville, SC.  Saturday takes me to Greensboro, NC for a contra dance with Ted Erhart and Dean Herington founding members of Footloose and Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops!  On Sunday I am back in Asheville for our regular English Country Dance.  I also called contra dances last Saturday and Monday.  If I had just that kind of ego, I'd declare myself on tour.  Instead, I'll just consider it being busy with dance calling.

A n Etsy Treasury: Rovings to Yearn For

My natural creamy roving made it into an Etsy Treasury yesterday, Rovings I Yearn For.   And all were quite... yearnable?  yearny? yearnarific?  OK really pretty - and I wanted to spin every one of them.    I did spin the creamy white last evening. It's my go-to white yarn that I make to sell in the local yarn shop and gallery and is a prime ingredient in my handspun handknit hats. And I am out of that very yarn!  I delivered 5 fresh skeins to Asheville Home Crafts a week or so back and have barely been back to the wheel.

The music and dance world has kept me quite busy lately.  After teaching an English Country Dance workshop at Feet Retreat  in late September and attending the SE Dance Leadership Conference the following weekend, I knit a few hats, but did not get much spun. Now, I love dancing to traditional music - almost as much as playing with fiber (or is it the other way around?).  So it's a tricky balance to keep all the balls in the air, particularly during my busy season at work, which is right now too.  This weekend is a return to fiber.  I'll be spinning and dyeing and knitting, oh my!

Do You Love Maps?

I do - and it appear my students do too.  Or at least they fake it well!  I've recently taught 2 undergraduate classes and 2 in-service teacher workshops based on historical maps.  I'm doing another one today to a self selected group of middle school teachers as one of the selections in a teacher workday.  Because maps work nicely across the curriculum, they are nicely flexible for teaching social studies, language arts, science, math, and plenty more.  I've got a couple of special ed teachers in my group today.  One teacher told me about an interesting learning disabled child who could become totally engaged with maps.

In the fiber world, I statrted processing a mohair fleece I purchased a month or so back and I'm very pleased with it.  I bought a faded red fleece (2nd clip kid) that is dyeing beautifully. The colors are deeper and more muted.  There are a number of black fibers in the fleece that are giving it a heathered look - quite lovely.

I spent last weekend at a contra dance weekend where I called a beginning English Country Dance workshop that went very well.  I also knit six hats for my local yarn shop and galleries.  I was hanging out with friends from the community where I lived several years ago - before I started spinning.  They were a bit surprised and fascinated how I had left my corporate life behind to become an academic (who, me?!) and fiber artist.  To be honest, I was quilting back then, but seldom in public - one of the reasons I switched to knitting. 

I'll be knitting in public this weekend too, at another dance-related event - this time I'll be a serious student of English Country Dance.  Perhaps I should knit something fancier?  Not likely, though I may just take the Mossy Cardi.  I finally looked closely at the pattern and where I am on the sweater.  Not too mind bending!

Autonumerology

Maybe I'm weird.  OK, I am a little weird.  It makes me happy when the numbers on my odometer line up.  My 1996 Toyota pickup, Truckito has quite a few miles on her. 233,866 as of this morning.  I like the rhythm and the repetition.  So I made a wish this morning - that I have a great weekend. 

Am I the only person who makes wishes on the odometer readings? Don't you love seeing the little numbers line up?  Do you know that the moon is roughly 238,900 miles from the earth?  Perhaps I should throw a little party for Truckito when she makes it that far.

I know it's not world peace or the end of hunger, but it's only an odometer wish.  I am going to a contradance weekend near Winston-Salem where I used to live.  I'll be teaching a beginning English Country dance workshop, so asking for a great weekend means...

• That the workshop goes well
• No traffic problems on the way.
• No knee blowouts or other dance related injuries
• No relationship breakdowns or other undue emotional distress
• I get in a nice hike

The weekend is in a beautiful setting, a 4-H camp in the foothills not far from Hanging Rock State Park.  The music should be wonderful with the Great Bear Trio and the Skytones.  Since I used to live there, I'll see lots of old friends.  I'm bringing knitting, but probably not my spinning wheel as there is more community space at this camp than at the last one. I'll be knitting hats, but I may bring the green cardi, even though it requires thinking.  Wish me luck!

Take Time for Color

The day job is keeping me busy, but I am finding time to dye a good bit; spin a little and knit a wee bit.  Fall has really kicked in with an increased workload.  My day job is developing and implementing professional development for teachers and all of a sudden my calendar is filling up.  The Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) is coming up,so that is keeping me busy too,  I'm not complaining,but it just seems that everything is happening at once. 

But one must take time to play, so for me that's spinning and knitting, contra dance and English Country dance and hiking.  These pictures are the Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) roving that I have been dyeing lately.  I've been dyeing lots of merino for the bast year or so, so it's fun to work with a new fiber.  It's not as fine as merino, but very springy and the roving has a lovey luster.  So far I've only spun up a sample, but I really like it's 'squishyness.'  I'm planning on spinning a bronze green hank of roving this weekend. 

I'll be attending Moon Dance, a contradance weekend in upstate South Carolina.  The music will be great, the company fine, but I am no longer the dance-aholic that I once was.  Last year my knee was in a brace (the 'too much fun' alarm had gone off earlier!) so I brought my wheel and spun to the music.  This year I hope to dance more, but need the fallback of my spinning and knitting to keep me busy and not feeling too out of it! 

By the way, I love my clothesline!  It was part of this year's home improvement plan.  The drying roving looks beautiful and dries fast, the towels are a wee bit scratchy, but the sheets smell great!

Another Inch

Exciting blog fodder:  Last night I knit about another inch or so on my Mossy Cardi.  I intend to do a bit more knitting over the weekend.  So exciting!  But in fact I hope to get to the 'divide for the armholes' part of the pattern.  Keep in mind that even though this sweater will eventually look somewhat like the Drops 103-1 jacket, it is constructed by knitting the body in one piece to the sleeve area, then dividing into a back and 2 fronts.  Make appropriate shaping until it's shoulder time.  It is a bit more complicated, what with trying to make both sides even and all.  Not too mention a bit of variation on stitch count between the 2 patterns.  But as I will be a house guest over the weekend and will be a passenger on the drive home, I foresee plenty of knitting time.

I'll be calling a contra dance this weekend in Cornelia, Georgia with one of my favorite bands, Steamshovel.  It's just 2 guys, but they are an amazing band.  Roger Gold of the Elftones is playing (mostly) guitar with David White on fiddle and banjo.  Should be lots of fun for those who want a bit of high energy dancing in North GA.  After that I have a little flurry of calling gigs around these hills.  So join me to dance and knit, though not necessarily at the same time!

New Natural Medley

I'm working on some new rovings and combos in my Etsy shop. Because natural colors do not have a specific 'dye lot,' the shades of natural rovings change.  I purchase my natural colors wholesale from an excellent supplier, but colors do change.  My recent 'Fawn' roving came in decidedly grey.  Very nice,spins up nicely - much better than I expected, but quite grey - not fawn at all.

At SAFF this year, I bought a little more than a pound of Oxford grey roving.  It is a Alpaca wool blend, but not the sweetest baby alpaca I have ever spun.  A lovely grey, but I am not reaching in to spin it.  Other fiber is calling me.

So it's now in a grab bag in the Etsy shop and at Locally Grown at the WNC Farmer's Market.

On the calling front, this is a 3 dance week!  I called the Old Farmer's Ball on Sunday afternoon for the Annual Meeting Members dance, I'll call the regular Thursday contra dance with the Avant Gardeners and Saturday night in Jonesborough, TN with a band that includes Cary Fridley.  Lucky, lucky me!

Being Thankful

As today is the American Thanksgiving holiday, I want to spend just a couple of minutes reflecting on gratitude. 

I grew up in a family that understood that it was important to be thankful for our blessings.  We were not wealthy - my parents were depression era, working class folks trying to get a better life for themselves and their daughters.  We didn't waste food nor money.  But we knew that we had a darn good life.  A warm home, good food, an education, people who love us. I thank my parents and sisters for the life that I have led.

This year is no exception.  Work has been gratifying; my creative work is exciting.  My house is still standing, though with rather interesting cracks in the walls.  My garden has been a delight; still giving me greens and herbs and flowers with promise of new beauty and sustenance in the future.  I am in love with an endlessly entertaining man.

Today I will take a walk, enjoying sunshine and nature in the UNCA Botanical Gardens.  I will dye and spin and knit, and prep fiber for my business. I will cook a bit and eat a wonderful dinner.  Later I will call the contradance at the Old Farmer's Ball in Swannanoa, NC sharing music and dance with my community.

I am happy, healthy and grateful for the life I lead. 

Post-Conference Wrap up

All in all, the AASLconference was a good one.  I didn't become a conference blogger, because I didn't want to carry my laptop the 4 blocks from the hotel to the Convention Center,  I went to a couple of session that I found engaging and enlightening.  I found some answers to my questions, about how to add elements of inquiry as I work with veteran teachers.  I also learned about some new resources for using images in my work.  Schmoozed the Washington crowd too.  Had yummy Thai food.

I also knitted 4 lovely hats, including a ribbed ski hat made from my newly hand spun yarn in a rich brown.  Still a bit of lanolin, it will get a nice bath before it goes to its future home, wherever that may be.  Perhaps it's time for an Etsy hat listing again.

This is the yarn that I spun at the Mars Hill Heritage Festival and it is much prettier than I expected.  The fleece has a good bit of grey, but it didn't really come through in the yarn.

Once home, I called a dance Saturday evening in Jonesborough, Tennessee with the Contra Cowboys.  About a year ago we worked together at their premiere gig, but we have not had the opportunity since.  They play fiddle tunes combined with a Texas swing style that some contra dancers don't like, but it certainly brings out my inner cowgirl.  I tried to pick dances that complemented their music.  Kind of fun!  I tried waltzing on my bum knee and I was not in pain later, and that's a good thing!

On Sunday I spent some quality time with my drum carder, making batts in sparkly blue grey and also sparkly hot pink.  I spun a good bit of the blue-grey, but haven't plied it yet.  I'll start spinning the pink this evening.

Remember that Great Things are About to Happen?  Tomorrow the solar hot water should go live!  Stay tuned...

You Dance; I'll Spin

My cranky knee has forced me to give up dancing and hiking for a bit while I let it heal itself.  Self-diagnosed as patella tendinitis (aka runner's knee), I've upped my dose of supplements that are good for joint health and backed off the exercise.  So what's a woman to do when face with a already-paid-for weekend of music, contradancing, good friends and a great location?  Take one's spinning wheel, of course!  I missed the contra dancing, but I knew that it would be impossible to 'dance light' with that fabulous band.  I want my knee to heal - I have to let it happen.


So while 250 of my closest friends danced to Elixir with Nils Fridland, plus Charlotte's Anam Cara with caller Barbara Groh, I hung out in the shade and spun yarn.  Lots of yarn!  I spun hand-dyed roving in my Etsy colorways of Beach Glass and Saturn as well as some hand-carded batts in deep blue with gold mohair and a sweet aqua.  I did some dark brown overdyed in loden and natural medium brown.  Of course I drew a crowd - people want to take a break from dancing, and spinners know that the wheel really draws people in.  Now I can re-stock the Locally Grown gallery at the WNC Farmers Market.

Coming up this weekend, spinning at the Mountain State Fair.  To get ready, I'm dyeing more merino roving this time in shades of reds and oranges, plus Smoky Mountain Fibers Bronze Green, always a good seller. It's also the Wool Breeds sheep and fleece show and I usually treat myself to a fleece at the fair.  I also entered some hats and yarn in the fair and am interested to see if I won a ribbon or two.  I'll see on Saturday and report back!  Look for me in the Heritage Walk area - if I'm not visiting the sheep barns!

Labor Day - When the Work is Fun!

When Labor Day consists of doing the creative and self-sustaining work that you love, it's more than labor.  It is the good work that makes us know that we are alive and contributing to the universe.

I didn't go to the college today, but I did respond to my student's concerns and questions.  I find that working on Labor Day goes against all that I was taught by my union-card carrying parents.  So I take a vacation day. 

I stopped by both my retail accounts today to say hello and check on my goodies - even chatted with a new needle felter.

I did a bit of drum carding - made some batts that I can't wait to spin.  Dyed roving too.

I spent some quality time in the garden, pulling weeds and tired tomatoes, planted collard greens for fall, harvested lots of green beans, tomatoes, eggplants and the entire potato crop - 7 volunteer spuds!  

After a small get together with friends, I'm off to host the Monday night contra dance.  No dancing on my bum knee, but I'll knit a Trailside hat and chat with friends.

Autumn Colors are all the Rage!

My colorway 'Mars' roving was selected to be in a lovely Etsy Treasury this week. I'm wearing a very pretty shirt this morning in a deep coral shade, so I match it pretty well too. I love the red/orange colors - to dye, to wear, in flowers, in my home. paired with olive or forest green, they are among my favorite combos.

School is back in session and I am glad. I love to see the students back on campus, reconnecting with one another, smiling happily, mostly glad to be back. All my sections look good, challenging in a good way. I have changed my course significantly and the evening session (a short semester that starts and ends early) is rising to the challenge. I am impressed with the work that they are doing - creating blogs as they do their research - and most were somewhat reluctant to get started.

Looking forward to the weekend, after 2 weekends of contra dancing at camps, I'll be calling a dance in the Chapel Hill area. Sadly, my left knee is giving me a spot of trouble, so I have to be gentle with it. Vitamin I helps too.

Back to School, but Take Time to Dance!

The return of the academic year is taking a bit of a toll on my fiber work. I teach in a small college & run a professional development program for teachers, so back to school is a busy time in my life. I am teaching 3 sections of my Educational Technology class & developing new workshops for area in-service teachers. My evening class has already begun & day classes start next week. One of the toughest things about classroom technology integration is that it is a changing field and I have to keep up. I am adding some new elements to my course, including a blogging requirement.

In addition, it's a busy season in the traditional music and dance world. Last weekend I went to Mentone, Alabama to party and dance with the Red Mountain White Trash & Notorious. Okay Alabama and August - how do those 2 concepts work together? Easy - afternoons are spent on the river. Delightful. I did a number on my knee - possibly patella tendonitis - so I knit at the dance hall, just gave myself a couple of waltzes after the Saturday night break.

This weekend is Splash Dance, an all volunteer dance weekend hosted by our local dance community, the Old Farmer's Ball. I am in charge of T shirts, sounds like a pretty simple job, except that people will screen their own shirts. Our budget is very tight, but I managed to scrounge a LOT of inexpensive shirts in a variety of colors. I'm hoping for a feeding frenzy of folks looking for just the right color in their size. Dances at this event are mostly contras but with a healthy smattering of squares, English and waltzes. Variety - I like that!

I'm a busy woman, but managing to squeeze in a bit of knitting, much of it while in the car. I haven't dyed much in the past week or so - life has been too darn hectic! I'll be happy to spin and dye again soon!

Dancing in Saxapaha

Just back from a delightful weekend of dance in the NC Triangle area. My friend Stephen built a house a few years ago with a large living room that is great for house concerts and small dance parties. He even had a sprung wooden dance floor installed. This weekend he hosted a small contra dance weekend for about 40 people. Notorious (Eden McAdam-Somer and Larry Unger) played and Nils Fridland called and played trombone. I had so much fun dancing and visiting with old friends and new.

Nils called a lot of squares, including a set of singing squares that he has been collecting and learning (and getting ready to publish with Ralph Sweet). There was an open mike session with Skylark, so I called a few too. Notorious was great as always and sat in with Skylark. At one point we had a six piece band including twin fiddles, piano, guitar, bodran and the trombone. Not bad for an intimate dance setting.

Great weather for the event with a sunny Saturday, cool evening and a bit of rain on Sunday morning to freshen every thing up nicely. I camped out on my truck which I had not done in some time. I spent time with some people who I had not seen since I moved away from the Piedmont. Other folks I have kept in touch with throughout that time - My English dance friends & people who travel up this way.

I kept my knitting simple, working on the 2nd sleeve of the Spicy Cardi - Got about 3 inches done. The kitting up I did last weekend is really paying off! I have knit about 4 hats with plenty more to come. I also dyed up a good bit of 'orphan' yarn in shades that should go nicely with the mohairs that didn't have good companions.

I have been dyeing sock yarns again, in my subtle shades line.So far I have taken most of them to Asheville HomeCrafts. They move nicely there. Today, I need to get my Phat Fiber box shipped to PF Central.

Photos removed due to copyright restrictions of the photographer.

Maya Angelou in Mars Hill

I was fortunate enough to hear Dr. Maya Angelou when she spoke at Mars Hill College last Thursday evening. She is a remarkable woman. In her 70's, she sang, told stories, read a few of her poems and spoke to the assembled students, faculty, staff and community members. Her theme was, 'be the rainbow in somebody's cloud.' The things that you do - big or small - can make a difference in people's lives, even if you are not fully aware of it at the time. I was touched and inspired and very glad that I took advantage.

I participated in the PhatFiber Sampler box for April. I sent in about 50 samples of hand dyed fiber as well as about 1/2 dozen patterns for the knitter's boxes. April's theme was 'green' - either color or earth-friendly so I dyed and made up packages of my colorway 'Bronze Green,' one of my best-selling colors. I got my contributor box yesterday, but my camera batteries were most dead, so I am not blogging about that. Perhaps tomorrow! Fine goodies

On the dance front, I called the contra dance at the Greensboro Grange on Saturday night with DotDotDash, one of my favorite regional bands. They gave me their new CD! I love that dance community. They are not a big dance (75 or so people that night) that was established by the late Gene Hubert and a group of friends (including me!) back in the late 80's or early 90's. Since I live in Asheville now, I don't get down there much, so I'm always pleasantly surprised how it has continued on with many of the sdame core group, but with new people all the time. Just a mile of so from Guilford College, a number of students are regular dancers there.

Last evening I had the rare good fortune to call with Cailen Campbell and the Gypsy Hicks - He was in fine form as usual. MJ was taping, so we should see a YouTube video before too long. The dance was very crowded, but the music was excellent and the energy high! My job was to keep the dances small (like 1 square foot per person!) but varied. I also wanted to keep thing simple enough so I could stop calling and people could hear Cailen and the other gypsies (or are they hicks?). Gave me a chance to knit - just a boyfriend hat, so not a lot of thinking involved!

Spring Break

Spring break has been great and I accomplished quite a bit; though not all that I intended. We'll start with the positives.

1. Dyed fiber - lots and lots of fiber! Roving for my Etsy shop, Bronze Green roving for the PhatFiber April box, fiber for my own spinning, sock yarn in blue and rose.

2. Delivered work to the B&M accounts, particularly Asheville Home Crafts, who have been selling handspun natural yarn, sock yarn and roving.

3. Knitted 7 hats - off season, I know, but it's time to build stock for next year. Two are new designs with my color change yarns.

4. Updated the SAFF website - or at least tried to. Since most of my work requires input from others, at least I think I know what I need to do.

5. Worked in the garden, cutting back perrennials, pruning and weeding the roses (mostly pulled the evil Bermuda grass), cutting the grass. I also monitored the progress of the sugar snap peas, onions, and kale as wellas the rhubarb, coming back strong.

6. Went to the Sun Assembly's English Dance Weekend, with was lovely. Robin Hayden was the leader while Atossa Kramer played piano and clarinet with the house band, Gollard Greene (is that a great name or what?!).

7. Called the Advanced Dance at River Falls with Curious George - excellent music, workable program, fine dancing. I called some tricky dances and lots of no-walk-thru contras with a very nice medley.

8. Graded projects & tests; posted grades for the ACCESS class.

9. Exercised - Walking daily including a lovely walk in the Botanical Gardens.

What I didn't get done...
1. My Taxes - not due yet, though I did sort the paperwork, so I'm ready.
2. Blog every day - oh well, too busy doing that writing about it.
3. Post hat pattern to Ravelry.
3. Clean the studio - though it's hard to clean when you are using it.

Coming up - Back to work - ready to finish out the semester; gotta get started on my summer vacation.

Next weekend - Playford Ball in Nasheville, TN!

Women are from Venus

Just a short post to announce the next planet, Venus - a very girly shade of orchid pink. Andromeda Shades are well on their way. The big box of Romney roving arrived today, so I am back in the interplanetary business.

Also new on the block, an olive shade I call Oregano - Semi solid sock yarn, perfect for Hedgerow and other stitch that look good in the more 'Subtle Shades.' I like this one a lot.

Last night's dance with Chicken Tractor was very cool - plus the fellows brought in an actual ready to lay chicken tractor, perfect for the new economy! The crowd was raucous, the band was hot, I didn't make any horrible mistakes - over all a fine evening. I treated it like an advanced dance. I started the evening about where I left off in Blacksburg on Saturday evening. Another one of those evenings where I know why I call dances. Big Fun!

Andromeda Shades: Mercury!

As I continue to grow my fiber business, I have been brainstorming to come up with new names for colorways and color families.

I have relied primarily on plants or descriptions based on the colors themselves: blueberry, marigold, bronze, etc. But as I continue to expand, I find I want to create series of color families. I engaged J in a brainstorming session a week or so back some overall families for both roving and yarns. One of us came up with the sky - I think the first thought was Celestial Shades, but although I like the alliteration, it was a bit to 'angelic.' That led to stars, planets, constellations and other heavenly bodies and eventually to Andromeda Shades.

I decided that Andromeda Shades would be a specific line of Romney rovings beginning with the planets. I've had 'Blue Planet' up for a week or two - I've already sold one and it was chosen for an Etsy Treasury with andEarth theme. Today I launched 'Mercury.' As I was brainstorming on the naming of the colors for each planets, some were very easy - Mars is the red planet - actually red-orange. Veus is pink, because of its 'female' connotation. Mercury made me think of the element - slinky, silver gray, but my first experiments were not pretty. The grey dye has a tendency to split into the dye colors that are combined to make them. but when I took the 'fawn' roving and over dyed it with purple and blue, I got the depth I was looking for. I posted it this morning. Venus and Mars are right behind; I did the first Saturn experiment yesterday - it's sort of a gold with plum. I think I like it, but I'll have to see it dry and photographed.

I am still thinking of a name for the family of 'semi-solid' sock yarns. Subtle Shades? Harmonious Hues? Contribute your ideas here!

Great weekend calling the excellent contradance in Blacksburg, VA. The band was long time friends Skylark out of Chapel Hill and we stayed at the home of Shawn and Matt; both terrific musicians and extremely cool people. I drove home in the snow (at least in Virginia) happy and remembering why I call dances. Tonight I'm calling at the Grey Eagle in Asheville with Chicken Tractor - Laurie Fisher's new band.

Dancing Complications

For many years I have been a contra dancer, dance caller and occasional English Country Dancer. I've also done a bit of Morris dance, Scottish Country dancing and I truly love to waltz. But age does take it's toll on the body, and for the last few years I have been experiencing pain in my right toes (particularly 'roast beef' and 'none'). It's painful not only after a few hours of dance, but also after hiking or strenuous walking.

Over the last 2 years, I have increasingly enjoyed English country dancing (ECD). It's easier on the body, less crowded and my fellow dancers are older. Contrary to many communities, contradance is quite a youth scene in the Asheville area. We have 3-4 dances per week and they are all packed in like sardines without oil. I love to contradance - don't get me wrong. I still volunteer with both the Old Farmer's Ball and the Monday night dance. I go, dance a few, then visit with friends (while knitting, of course) or go home. But I prefer a bit of room to dance with partners of my generation.

So since I finished grad school, I have gotten involved with the local English dance. I attended 2 ECD weekends last spring where I was the worst dancer at the events. Not to brag, but that means the dance quality was really, really good! Here I am dancing Handel With Care at the Sun Assembly's spring dance weekend in 2008. I'm in the black top with long skirt.



I have even started leading English dances, but still only have a repertoire of about 8 dances.

But back to the foot. I was just sick of hurting. After my hike in Georgia a few weeks ago, I noticed a definite swelling on my 2 affected toes as well as a burning on the ball of the foot, so I finally broke down and went to the podiatrist. I thought that going to the foot doctor was a sure sign of OLD AGE, but I prefer to think of it as staying younger. I don't intend to stop dancing, hiking, walking to town, living my life. Turns out I have an incredibly common Morton's Neuroma - a 'callous' on the nerve bundle that has an 'outlet' right at the base of the 2 toes. So after a week with a metatarsal pad to adjust my arch, and 2 shots of cortisone, and a week of babying my footie, I feel a bit better. Most importantly, I know what I have. I also have over-the-counter, somewhat customized orthotics. I have every intention of dancing at both the Sun Assembly and Nashville weekends, even if I have to pace myself between now and then.

What do I want to do? Walk wherever I want to go! Hike many miles! Dance forever!

Going Toe-Up

Socks are comfort knitting to me. I learned to make them early in my knitting days and have never counted the number of pairs that I have made - surely 25 pair or more. After my mother died, I knit many, many socks - no creative energy, but I needed to knit. The following Christmas, everybody got socks! I use a couple of recipes to make the socks I like to knit, relying on Ravely, Ann Budd's Book of Knitting Patterns and the Blueberry Waffle Sock [note that these are written for size 5 needles!) that I return to whenever I need to knit socks and don't really have a plan.

Having purchased a couple of skeins of a sportweight sock yarn on sale, I realized that the skein is a bit smaller than usual. I decided to make my socks toe-up even though I am a very serious devotee of the cuff-down method. But I don't like socks that are too short and I wasn't sure when I would run out of sock yarn, so toe-up, here we go.

OK - the toes are a bit pointy. They will flatten out. But like many of the faux Fair Isle patterns, the sock is endlessly enjoyable as I watch the patterns happen before my very eyes. I have been reading patterns as I get ready to take the next big step - the heels. I think I am going to use the ShortRow heel as in Leyburn. Lime and Violet even pointed me to a video that demos the 'newer, better' technique.

Dance news: the OFB gig went well. I called lots of fun dances including the medley I did not get to call on NewYear's Eve. I predict great things for Great Big Taters: fiddler Jane Rothfield, Hilarie Burhans of Hot Point fame on the banjo and Bernie Nau on the keyboards. Not a huge crowd by OFB standards, but most contradance groups would be impressed by the ehthusiasm if not the size of the crowd. Here is the link to the YouTube video of the New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball. Odd to hear one's disembodied voice.

The weekend: Spending quality time in the fiber room - dyeing, photographing packing fiber for both the Etsy shop and my Brick and Mortar accounts. I hope to get a bit of spinning done too. Oh, and grading quizzes and papers!