School's In!

I seldom mention my day job on this blog, but I can't help commenting on the students back for the fall.  I am happy to see our good students - fun people, hard workers - dedicated to what they love.  The class of student teachers are a fine group, ready to make their way in the classroom.  The student athletes look refreshed (except the football players who have been here a couple of weeks already) and ready to see their pals.  I have promised my students that I'd make it to at least one football game this year.  Last year it seemed that all the home games conflicted with dance or fiber.  I'll try harder this year.

The Anything Fiber Yard Sale was lots of fun on Saturday.  I sold lots of yarn (at bargain prices), a few books and a little bit of fiber and fabric.  Nobody got rich, but it was a good relocation of stash!  I bought a few dyes and a mohair fleece and I traded a couple of books. I also made contacts with local spinners and weavers, never a bad thing.  It poured rain most of the day and even though it was inside, that probably kept people away.  I will probably do it again next year and will be smarter about what I bring.

I did get a wee bit of dyeing done. This is African Sun, the full size version of my August Phat Fiber Sampler box contribution.   Since I will be a vendor at SAFF, I need to get yarn and fiber dyed up and ready to sell.  And as October looks slammed a month before it starts, I'll be dyeing almost daily until then.  Watch for the woman with the purple fingers - - Oh, that's all of us!

On the Fruit Farm

This is the time of year that this blog should be titled Smoky Mountain Gardens, although I'd had a good bit of fiber stuff going on.  But even my fiber is influenced by the plant world.  This is a roving I call delphiniums (Delphinia?) and was one of my Phat Fiber contributions.

Several years ago I had a friend who turned his suburban yard into something of an orchard, with fruit trees, grapes, strawberries and several other fruits.  I always admired his variation on the backyard vegie garden.  A few years ago I started on the same path.  My boyfriend like to dig holes and not only supported this idea but went a wee bit crazy with it.  It started innocently enough with a couple of elderberry bushes for a very practical reason:  they grow under black walnuts and they screen the neighbor's rather unsightly yard.  That set of neighbors have moved on, but the elderberries have filled in nicely and seem to like to spread.   Currently in bloom, look for elderberry cobblers and pies later this summer.

Do you like raspberries? I do.  So a couple of years ago the BF dug a trench and planted about a dozen red raspberry canes.  They are quite happy, even inside their 'cage.'  Last year we had a good crop - we even made 2 batches of preserves.  Yum!   

For a city lot, my yard a fairly big.  A house between my other (the Good Neighbor) neighbor burned down many years ago.  The then-owner of #95 bought the lot and for many years it was the 'hang out' yard for all the neighborhood kids.  A sloping lot, there is a ledge about 1/2 way down.  It is now the Blueberry bed.  About 6 plants with different varieties to stretch the season.  Because it is only their 2nd year, there was a good bit of domestic discord over whether the blossoms should be sacrificed to put energy into roots and leaves and branches.  In the end I persevered to allow a couple to bear fruit.  Science, after all.  And it is a banner year for blueberries in these parts, so I decided to tent the berries so the birds (and kids!) wouldn't get them all!  A couple have ripened and I gotta say, very tasty!

The newest kid on the lot is Miss Figgy - a brown turkey fig that we planted last fall, so this is her first summer. We hope to get a fall crop of figs.  So as not to bore you, my good readers, I'll just say that we also have grapes, rhubarb and a rogue stand of blackberries.   

I've been called a little fruity a time or two.  and I'm all for it!

Phat Fiber Time - Zinnias

It's Phat Fiber time again and I am a contributor to the May box.  The theme this month is 'Blossoms and Bark.' Since I'm in the throes of gardening, how could I resist.  But I must admit I didn't do spring flowers, I jumped ahead to the hot sunny season when the zinnias are in bloom.  I love their bright colors and simple shapes.  I have a hot and sunny bed by the street, so I give the walkers something to brighten their day.  Here is my interpretation of zinnias, as told by a squishy soft merino wool.

This is a full size roving, with more in the dyepot.  I also sampled a blue/purple/green colorway that I call 'Delphiniums' (delphinia?).  More of that is yet to be dyed.  I've been quite busy as the school year ended and I seem to have stopped dyeing. I had a good bit on hand, and I wasn't spinning it up myself,  sock-maniac that I've been lately.  But this week is something of a stay-cation and I'm getting caught up on things around the house - getting the garden in, painting and other home repairs.  Since this is the traditionally slow time for fiber, I like to get everything else done.

Ummmm, did I mention I started another pair of socks?  But they might be too small, so I think I may pull them out and re-knit them.  They have been a quick knit, and I think I'll like them better a bit bigger.

Fire: March Phat Fiber Preview

I'm getting ready to again participate in the Phat Fiber Sampler Box.  This is a group of fiber artist to contribute sample sizes of their work.  Jesse takes these samples, repackages them and sells the boxes once a month through her Etsy shop.  It creates quite a buzz amongst the fiberati.  I don't participate every month, but I do send in samples every other month or so.  Since the March theme is Elements:  Earth, Air, Fire and Water, this is just up my alley.

Fire is one of my regular colorways, so it was fun to create not just one set of samples, but two:  Hand dyed roving & mohair locks.  I actually planned on sending in Fire and Water, but as I was packing I realized that I had overdone the Fire, so I made the decision for myself.  The colors are great - I love the way the little 'bonbons' of roving are rather unique.  The mohair (from my new favorite local goats) are shiny and wonderful. I have had lots of fun dyeing mohair. It dyes differently than wool - slower and more intense.  I have it listed in my Etsy shop and I get wonderful feedback from my buyers.  So my Phat Fiber friends - Good luck and enjoy!