This blog chronicles my work as a fiber artist: spinning, dyeing, knitting, designing, and felt making. I am also a gardener, contra dancer and caller, English Country Dancer and leader. I teach in a small college not too far from Asheville, North Carolina.
Western North Carolina is a leaf lookers paradise. I have a 20 minute commute - both ways every weekday - to look at the leaves, the flowers, the clouds, the snow - whatever. I love my drive - it gives me a chance to admire the beauty that I see around me every day. But I really like to get out of the car to see my environment with out a windshield between us.
On Saturday my sweetie and I took a little walk through Gorges State Park and onto Forest Service land to bag a lovely waterfall. Rainbow Falls is a 150 foot waterfall on the Horsepasture River in Jackson County, NC. It's about a 3 mile roundtrip hike and although rated strenuous, we rather disagreed. The trial to the base of the falls is not too well defined, so footing was a bit tricky. Both the bottom and the top of the Falls are quite lovely. The water was cold, but the sun was warm and only a bit breezy.
Always the negotiator, we took my car, but my sweetie drove so I could knit. Hats of course. 1.7 hats, bringing the November total to 8. A fine hike!
Is it true? Am I actually working out? I just did 2 loops around campus with my colleague, and I'm still sweating.
After the trip to Colorado where I walked and hiked each day and last weekend's walkabout, this weekend my sweetie and I went on a bit of a hike in Craggy Gardens, north east of Asheville. Even without the large elevation changes and western views, the Blue Ridge mountains are equally lovely. With friends from out of town, we drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to a lovely area. Instead of hiking to the balds with the CCC-built picnic shelter and views both of Asheville and other peaks, we hiked the rocky, shady side of the mountain. But still ample time to enjoy the subtle beauty of rocks and flowers in addition to the amazing views.
This has also been a time for dyeing. I'm not sure how it happened but when filling a big roving order for the LYS, I realized that I am very low on dyed roving. Very low. So in the past few days, I dyed about 8 green shades; 6 blue shades and hit the reds hard starting this morning. I think I need to dye morning and evening all week to be ready for the fall season. Thankfully we will not be traveling on Labor Day weekend, but will be happily home to dye and spin and garden and workout!
I did a good bit of yard work too. That's exercise, right? I don't feel any thinner. Perhaps it's too soon to tell.
I did not fall off the earth, though I was in something of an internet brown out. I just returned from a business trip to Denver with an additional hiking extension. Of course I knit through it all (except the business meeting!) coming back with 7 hats and a sock and a quarter. Disregarding my theory that socks are the supreme travel knitting, I took a good bit of hand spun and commercial yarns and knit a number of hats for warm heads all over western North Carolina while I was riding in the car through the Rockies as well as in the airports & airplanes.
While in Denver we visited friends and walked over to the Denver Botanic Gardens. They are having a year-long Henry Moore exhibit with big honking bronze sculptures all over the park. Late summer in Denver is beautiful and the Moores were nicely set among the plants and ponds and lawns. The deal is that you can see the work around the year, in every season. If I lived there, I would.
The trip was partly work for me, but my sweetie went with me. I had not been to the Rockies in a long time. We walked and walked and walked in the Rocky Mountain National Park. We saw big mountains and pretty lakes, darling chipmunks and cool birds. The mountains were really big and it was windy above the tree line. But the coolest thing was a little evening stroll - really, just a leg stretcher - I didn't want to get caught out after dark. As we crossed the Big Thompson River near the Cub Lake trailhead, we came upon a head of about 50 elk. Just hanging out, browsing, traveling fairly slowly. Rather unafraid of the humans - they were about 10 tards from us. The big guy had about a 5' antler spread - amazing. This is not our picture, it's from the NPS, but this would be the picture that we took.
Back in Denver, we visited the Denver Art Museum, another fine museum - well funded and nicely curated. My favorite piece was this delightful group of foxes. There are almost as many foxes invading the restaurant as there were elk. Lots of other fine art too - an amazing pre-Columbian collection, as well as western works (cowboys, Indians, buffalo, etc) that you would expect.
Everything about the trip was good. It makes me want to start hiking again here - the Blue Ridge Mountains are smaller and less dramatic, but no less beautiful. Being in nature is good for my soul, even if it means walking through the urban forest to the Asheville Botanical Gardens just about a mile from my home.
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!
I spent the past weekend in North Georgia with a number of friends. We had a number of reasons to gather and celebrate - our friend Charles retired from a job that had ceased being fun and our president W had long ago ceased being fun for the rest of us. So as Charles begins the next part of his life and all of America begins the next part of ours, it was a time to celebrate transitions.
Delicious food was cooked and eaten, friendly massages were given and received. We talked music and dance, peace and politics, beading and knitting - a fine way to spend the weekend with old and new friends. Charles and Bill and I set off on Sunday afternoon to hike Mount Yonah. Since the US Army wasn't using it to train the Rangers how to climb on its flat rock faces we had the place to ourselves. The earlier cold weather and snowfall left snow and ice behind, but the afternoon was warm and sunny - perfect for the spectacular views complete with Black Vultures riding the thermals.
I also finished the Bronze Berry socks that I had been knitting and gave them to Donna. She is a warm, generous and outgoing person and loved the socks. I immediately began a pair of toe-up socks in Socka Colori. They have a delightful pattern in the yarn. Since I seldom make toe-up socks, I have to think about what I am doing and follow a pattern. I'll post the progress on Ravelry.
Although I hated leaving the business for the weekend, both SmokyMountain fibers and the students seemed to have gotten along without me. But the 'to do' list is mounting and next weekend will be spent working at home dyeing, photographing, packing grab bags, grading papers and doing all those things that are calling my name. Gotta Go!
Coming Up: Calling the Old Farmers Ball on Thursday.
