Returning to Normal

At least I hope so. After a summer of teaching a summer school class that moved at breakneck speed, teaching a number of brand new Professional Development workshops, helping a friend get her business up and running, it looks like a welcome mildly relaxing period. Of course for me, this means doing the financials for the grant, creating next year's budget and getting ready to teach my class (3 sections) while gearing up for the fall fiber season.

It occurs to me that the Mars Hill Heritage Festival is only 6 weeks away. Though it's just a one-day fair, I still have to do it! That means knitting hats, spinning yarns, making fiber bundles for spinners and felt makers and just showing up with all my goods and chattels ready to sell. So I need to set realistic goals to be ready. On top of the new fiber put ups in the Grove Arcade shop (4 ounce fiber 'wheels' suitable for spinning), my spinning at Locally Grown has cut into my stash of dyed fibers, so I need to ramp up the dyeing, the lone crock pot is just not quite keeping up with demand. The Etsy shop is hard to keep stocked as well. Although I have neglected it in favor of the day job of late, I need to get back to daily posting.

Fall 2008 Goals:

• Knit 5 hats per week.
• Develop freebie pattern as hangtag for Locally Grown yarns
• Dye 2 crock pots per day + 4 big pots of fiber weekly
  
• Dye 6-8 skeins of sock yarn per week
• Make 4-6 felted pins per week
• Spin 300 yards per week (1/2 natural; 1/2 dyed)
• Weekly deliveries to Asheville HomeCrafts
• Bi-weekly deliveries to Locally Grown
• Spin at Locally Grown every week or so
  
• Post to Etsy shop at least 5 times per week(try for daily)
  
• Update SAFF site weekly.

Now I realize that there is a serious lack of fun in this plan. So let this be a warning to me and everyone around: Fun will happen! It will just be covered in fiber! There are dances to be called, gardens to be tended, classes to be taught (wait, that's not always fun!), but it's fall fiber season!

Lots of fun the past few weekends, calling dances in Blacksburg, visiting friends in North Georgia,and just generally enjoying summer - not too hot, just summery!

Summertime - and the Living is Great!

I love summer for so many reasons: home grown tomatoes, fresh flowers, fruits, vegies and herbs, a different vibe at the college, long evenings on the porch, the list goes on.

This morning I was watering the garden and admiring the flowers and vegetables that are coming along. The tiny yellow cherry tomatoes have volunteered in spades and are starting to ripen. The Brandywine tomatoes and other heritage varieties are taking their time, but I can start eating all the little yellow ones that I want. The volunteer squash have turned out to be butternut (yeah!) and the herbs are in their glory- I need to keep them deadheaded almost every day. The heavy mulch has turned out to be a very good thing, keeping weeds down and easy to pull. And, yes, the baby butternut is sitting on a cushion of fleece, both hand dyed and natural! It is so slow to break down in the compost bin, but it does make an excellent mulch - and it's a good way to get rid on the fleece I will NEVER use. I don't think it's just the economy, I have always been drawn to growing food. My friend Beth at An Urban Plot is working toward creating a CSA in her urban yard. That is beyond my goals, but I hope to add a bed each summer that will expand my growing area and result in less grass to cut. I am properly jealous of her rainwater catchment system and hope to start my own in the coming months. City water is an expensive way to go.

Last evening I picked about 2 quarts of blackberries and raspberries at my sweetie's place. But for the rather precarious footing and arms that were not 8 feet long, I would have picked many more. Yum!!

The summer crock pot dyeing continues in force, in both hot and cool colors. I've been spinning up color change yarns at Locally Grown on the weekends. Sally, Kathryn and random little kids are arranging the order of batts to be spun, coming up with color combos that I would not select. I find them surprising and exciting. I can't wait to start knitting them up. Between Locally Grown and the Etsy shop, the fiber business has been quite busy.

Carding Jacob in its Many Colors

OK, I'll get off the diet kick (125 1/2 lbs! thank you very much!). After all this is Smoky Mountain FIBERS!

I spent much of last Friday carding wool for spinning. I have a lovely Strauch's Finest drum carder (in cherry!) that has been languishing of late. I purchased a beautiful Jacob fleece at last year's SAFF and it's been a bit lonely too. So I finally got them together for a play date. Perfect Spot Maeve, meet Otto!

After picking the fleece, I separated it into white, dark brown and mixed fiber. For those of you who don't know, Jacob sheep are spotted. The colors can be black, brown or 'lilac' combined with white or cream. The sheep also have lots of horns - up to 6. you can learn more about them at the Jacob breeders' page, but suffice it to say, they have extremely cool fleece. Some is a bit 'kempy' but not Maeve or last year's special friend, Sienna. This is Maeve, but her brown fleece is much darker than that picture shows.

So once I carded the 3 basic colors, I made some interim blends. Last evening I started spinning the darkest of the bunch. I plan to spin finer that usual - about a worsted weight - in a number of colors and a few color change yarns, maybe a random blend or two. My actual plan is to knit 7 different hats from the same fleece. Why seven? Just a good number! I hope to enter a couple of hats in the NC Mountain State Fair and in SAFF and see how I do. I am mostly interested in just seeing how I can take these yarns in the same color family and create a number of truly beautiful pieces.

I have also been dyeing bright colors to reinvent the color change yarns that were so much fun to make last year. I'm working my way around the color wheel and may take Otto to Locally Grown Fine Arts at the WNC Farmer's Market this weekend. Enough just sitting and spinning - I'll card a bit too. It will keep me moving around!

Destashing continues on the Etsy site and at Locally Grown.

By Jove, It's Working!

South Beach, that is. After 2 weeks in my lamented carb-less existence, I have lost 6 pounds! Though I have suffered loudly and proudly - I swear I am worse than an ex-smoker - my clothes are certainly fitting a bit looser. This is what keeps people on diets - just that little bit of positive reinforcement. I was considering what to take for my snack tonight for my evening class break, but now I know it will be a cheese stick and a few nuts. This is huge!

Weight: 127 pounds
Breakfast: 1 Egg, chicken bits, Romaine leaves
Lunch: More chicken; diet yogurt (but with fruit - Phase 2 rocks)
Dinner:The cheese stick?

I spent another Saturday at the Farmers Market - It was quite a yarn-y, felt-y day. I spun a good bit too, spinning up a lovely white Shetland lamb and oatmeal roving. Later I hit the plying head, but with only 2 bobbins available, I will have to ply daily to keep up with my spinning.

Color change yarn has been selling. I need to 1. make more yarn and 2. write a pattern to boost sales. I think that pattern/yarn kits should sell nicely at the market. I started writing the pattern for the 'boyfriend hat.' Unfortunately, another Etsy seller has taken that name, so I think I'll call it the 'Guy hat' for my internet customers.

South Beach Continues...

Day 4 - Still on the diet; still okay with it. and I feel great! My Sweetie and a friend on Rosedale told me they went through feeling 'weird' and my sweetie felt quite deprived that he had to pass on a beer with his friends. I am just fine. I may be eating a bit more than I should, but since it's all legal foods, I'm not all that concerned.

Weight: Unknown - the Scale at B&J's said 128, but J confirmed that it's a few pounds light. The college health center is closed; so I will remain weightless.
Breakfast: bacon (quite lean) and egg over easy
Lunch: leftover chicken from yesterday, dollop of cottage cheese; cut up raw veggies
Last evening's treat: Breyers CarbSmart fudge bar Yum!!. Not sure how legal it is, but darn - it was good!

Actual knitting content: Sage Green hat about 3/4 done during staff meeting. Still managed to take notes, contribute to the discussion and make my presentation. When in doubt, see Franklin's article about the value of knitting! You are my hero!

Biggest accomplishment of the week so far: finally got onto the SAFF site to update it! Yeah!!

Work is calling. Deadline looms.

South Beach Day 1

No, I am not in Miami. Yes, I am on the South Beach diet. Although I have sworn many a time that I'll never go on those ridiculous high fat diets that don't let you eat an APPLE, for crying out loud, I guess I am face up to my carb addiction. If I lose 7-10 pounds, I'll be okay with that too.

I love carbs - cookies, candy, fruit, chocolate, beer. Then there is pasta, rice, corn on the cob. I will say that I never eat fast food -ok hardly ever - and I prefer brown rice and whole grain bread and I've only had one donut since Dunkin' Donuts opened and it made me feel really, really guilty. Still, I just love carbohydrates - cereal and fruit for breakfast, cookies after lunch, a yummy starch at dinner. Maybe a wee desert later. Sugar or honey in my tea. You get the picture.

So after about 20 grueling minutes of graduate-level research I selected the South Beach diet. I truth I found the book in a 'free' box at a yard sale, but I did read the fly leaf and a couple of the random case studies that pepper the book. The good doctor makes sense, so I am out of the sugar shack.

Beginning weight: 133 lbs (as of last Wednesday)
Breakfast: an egg, ham bits, romaine lettuce.
Lunch: sardines, cottage cheese, romaine lettuce.
Dinner (planned): Turkey slices, steamed spinach, asparagus.

Exercise units: several - yesterday 4 hour hike on Roan Mountain; today 2 walks across campus to run errands, one carrying heavy boxes to post office.

Actual fiber content: smokymountainfibers.etsy.com has had a good little run lately, thanks to my good customers. Note to self: get better at predicting shipping to Canada. Knit in the car while traveling to the Roan yesterday, sweet hat. This evening I'll be sitting the gate at the Grey Eagle dance, so more knitting time. I've been crock pot dyeing and spinning too.

Summer Knitting - and Dancing

For some people this means shells or other strappy summer tops - fun to wear RIGHT NOW. For others, it means socks - easy to pick up and put down, not a lot of heavy sweater parts to drag around. They also fit nicely in the travel knitting and strategic present reverse categories. I have done all that (though I have not made a cute little cotton top in a few years). but I'm knitting hats! Wool and mohair, cozy winter hats in 90+ degree weather!

In the past couple years I got way behind in my hat knitting and I don't want that to happen next winter. Work knitting: felt hats. I have a lot of reading to do to get ready for workshops that I am going to teach - so, knit and read! At home: Windy City hats and handspun hats. It's a good time of year for spinning too - then I'll have lots of yarn for knitting and for sale.

I've also gone back to making baskets. They are a nice thing to make on the screen porch - a bit wet, so a bit cool. I made a number of garlic baskets for sale at the Farmer's Market shop - sold one the very first day! I made a larger basket too - still a bit of work to get back up the learning curve. I think I need to loosen up my weaving, hard to tuck in the spokes!

On the dance front, the OFB's dance hall, Bryson Gym on the campus of Warren Wilson College recently suffered a ceiling collapse. Luckily no one was in the building at the time, but it is currently closed to the college and the greater community, including the Old Farmer's Ball and Summer Soiree. But, intrepid dancers that we are, the dance has moved to the outdoor pavilion. I called the week after the collapse with the Plum Creek String Band from Oberlin, Ohio. Band was great, dancers had lots of energy, but it was very crowded and the floor has an interesting 'bias.' We knitters know what that looks like - the dance lines curved decidedly stage left! It will be an interesting season until the building issues are resolved. These photos were taken by Dennis, one of our dancers - here is his web page. You'll find photos of the Bryson Gym interior here.