Locally Grown Arts at the Farmers Market

About 2 years ago, a couple of friends of mine started a craft booth at the WNC Farmers Market. Because they mostly make jewelry, they needed other members of the crafts community to help stock their store. It is run as a coop and you are expected to work the booth regularly, so while I was still in grad school, I could not take on another project. But last winter, I joined in the fun. Although late in the game, it has been an interesting experience. The shop pays it's rent from consignment splits and the few purchased items that we sell, and it's not terribly profitable for anyone. I view my time there as studio time - I usually spin or needle felt. But it is a good outlet for yarns, roving, hats and cute little felted pins. Oddly enough, it's fun! Although I have long ago lost my joy in retail sales (if I ever had it), I like the 'everything here is locally made' ethos that makes the little shop special.

This weekend I spent some quality time in the garden, digging out a healthy crop of Bermuda grass. I also planted cilantro, basic, a couple of tomatoes, prepped a bed for chard, pruned the shrubs that are past blooming and weeded all around.

Meanwhile, the dye crock pot has been working all weekend, making blues and greens for the Felter's Paintboxes in my Etsy shop. I also plan to make 'all natural' multipacks - just deciding the size of the pack.

On Friday night, I called the Advanced Dance at River Falls with the amazing Cailen Campbell. Although not my finest hour, the high skill and energy of the dancers combined with great music made the dance lots of fun.

Sunday at LEAF

If you have ever been to the Lake Eden Arts Festival, you have probably experienced its magic of music, dance, the healing arts and the community that it creates over the 3 days in the spring and fall. Growing out of an earlier festival held at the same site for many years, it is a uniquely wonderful experience for a very diverse group of people.

Although a long-time contradancer, I find myself more drawn this time to different kinds of music: gospel, New Orleans funk and the pure singer-songwriter ethos of Nanci Griffith. Don't get me wrong - the dancing was great! With music by the Latter Day Lizards and the Great Bear Trio and calling by Cis Hinkle and Robert Cromartie, there was lots of room to dance on Sunday (though the earlier dances were tight). Plenty of high energy dancing, great music and interesting people who come from all over.

Big Sam's Funky Nation played the set list from my father's funeral - but in a much more lively and exciting way. It also demonstrates that dear old dad chose his religious music from Elvis albums - I'll Fly Away, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Amazing Grace. Third generation Charmaine Neville rocked the house too as she got off the stage and danced with the festival goers. She looked the part too - funky, fun, unglamorously beautiful.

But sitting in the 5th row for Nanci Griffith was pretty sweet too. Even with a bandaged right hand and aggravated voice (BBQ smoke blowing in from a nearby food vendor), she sang old favorites and a few cuts from her newest recording 'Ruby's Torch.' I always like her writing, choices, phrasing, and her amazing voice.

All in all, a very fine LEAF.

Obligatory Fiber Content: On Saturday, I staffed 'Locally Grown Arts', our farmer's market coop shop. Not terribly busy, but I got a good bit of spinning done, made a few stitch markers and knit a bit. I also knit most of a hat traveling to and from LEAF and while waiting for Nanci to come on. Next on the agenda, make up grab bags for the Etsy shop and the LYS. Staying ahead of the Etsy shop has been a bit of a struggle lately, what with the end of school, the DC trip and the rest of life. Gotta get on it!

Greetings from our Nation's Capitol!

I have a wonderful life.

In my professional work, I develop and implement Teacher Education workshops based on using primary sources in the classroom. I have been doing it for about 7 years after stumbling into a administrative support job that I considered not much more than an office temp gig. Turns out I love what I do, returned to grad school and began teaching undergraduate courses as well as the professional development workshops. The project had been funded by a Congressional earmark but is now funded directly by the Library of Congress.

One of the perks of this job is that I get to go to DC for meetings at the Library. This week, because there were a number of new project staff involved,they scheduled tours of a few different divisions, including maps and manuscripts. Extremely cool.

Because I have been to DC many different times,I have foregone most of the touristy things, although I did drop in on the new show at the National Gallery of Art, In the Forest of Fountainbleu. Lovely paintings. I love taking the Metro to get around! I feel like such a grownup, city slicker.

I have tried to make at least a part of this trip as a 'mini spa' vacation. We are staying up in Bethesda, Maryland. Although the Library staff was concerned that we were out in the burbs, the area is lovely and there are lots of restaurants. There are pretty neighborhoods behind the hotel, lovely landscaping - huge azaleas in full bloom. I have been taking long walks outdoors (about an hour each morning), crunching the abs in the hotel room and using the hotel exercise room for upper body work. I am eating light and healthy - at least most of the time. I really need to get in better shape and now is my opportunity to get started. Is fact, I hear the work out room calling me now!

Not much fiber today! A bit of sock knitting and the Etsy shop is doing fine without me! Selling a bit, but I'm not listing anything, so it's kind of in suspended animation.

On a sad note, Bunny FooFoo is no longer on the planet. He had (probably) a stroke over the weekend, all of a sudden couldn't walk or eat, so I had him put to sleep. He's in the garden now!

Knitting and Dyeing and Felt, Oh Boy!

And beading and teaching and dancing and more!

It's been a busy time at the world headquarters of Smoky Mountain Fibers. Between work deadlines, the regular end of the semester and a seriously kick ass month at the Etsy shop, I have been a busy little worker bee. But I haven't forgotten to have fun.

I led my first English Country Dance on Sunday. After nearly 20 years of calling contras, it was time to start leading English dances. Bob Dalsemer of the John C. Campbell Folk School was our scheduled leader, but allowed me to call one. Our budding English dance is very supportive to one another as we rebuild the dance in the Asheville area. It was so fun! Harder - different terminology, but great fun and good feedback. Yeah!!!

I've been dyeing some of my favorite colorways - red/purple and blue/green. I also sold my first felt flowers! Easy and sweet - with no 2 the same. At least so far... I have also been playing with beads to make stitch markers. Technique is still a bit shaky, but I'm getting better.

Dancing and Dyeing - and the day job!

Well, I've neglected this blog for entirely too long. Between Smoky Mountain Fibers, my day job, and my dance schedule, I'm afraid I have been neglectful and not only to this blog. I am a bit behind on a number of other things as well.

Work is busy and good, but developing and teaching a new undergraduate course is like being in grad school again, but you never get done with your papers. Maybe once the grades are in, I'll feel better. The it will be time to revamp the course for the summer session, but that won't be bad. My plan is to make a topical outline rather that chronological one, so that the syllabus doesn't change as much as the schedule does. A bit of work for tomorrow and some test questions to write for the final - that's about it for today.

Dancing has been lots of fun. I've been contradancing for about 25 years; calling for almost that long. But since I finished grad school, I have been English Country Dancing both in Asheville (in our fledgling group) and farther afield. I find the dancing much more challenging and I flat out love the music. So in addition to our alternate Sunday afternoons, I have been seeking out and attending English dances with well known leaders and musicians. In early March, I attended the Durham (NC) Sun Assembly's Spring DanceFest. Gene Murrow (New York) Taught afternoon workshops and led the evening dances with Mara Shea (of the Elftones) leading the band. It was quite wonderful, particularly because I was probably the least experienced dancer there.

On the weekend of March 28th, I attended the Nashville (TN) Playford Ball weekend with A Joyful Noise (Philly area) and Phillippe Callens over from Belgium. Again, I was inexperienced (though not the worst dancer in the hall!) but the music and dancing was wonderful and if I wasn't hooked before, I am now. And yes, I have started collecting dances to begin leading (calling in contra and square parlance). Pretty magical!

Smoky Mountain Fibers is sailing along. On top of the activity of the Etsy store, my LYS has given my dyed roving about double the shelf space and sales have really increased. They want sock yarn too, but I'm a wee tad behind on that (plus it keeps selling on Etsy before I get it to town - gotta love that!). The Coop at the WNC Farmer's Market wants more yarn and roving, so I think that the summer season will stay busy. I'll be tending both shops soon so I can encourage sales of my work while I earn a bit of extra cash! Not bad for off season.

You Can Tell a Dyer by the Purple Fingers

Careful as I can be, occasionally my gloves get hole in the fingers. So after a weekend of dyeing roving and sock yarn, the holes in the fingertip of my gloves have left me with 3 fingertips that are a lovely shade of red violet. I knew it was time for a bit of nail care.

On the other hand, my productive streak has kicked in with blues and greens that will be showing up in my Etsy shop. Happily everything came out beautiful and clear, so the 'Moody Blues' won't last forever.

I also started something I've wanted to do for a while: The Feltmaker's Paintbox - color-toned 'grab bags' that provide a range of colors. The first one is 'The Blues' - also in the shop. Greens are still in process with chartreuse still cooling in the dyepot.

My Sweetie and I started the garden this weekend by planting peas, radishes, beets and arugula. The overwintered greens were thinned (yum!) and the leeks and onions look good. Crocuses are blooming; daffs up but still only green.

The ColorJoy Waffle socks are coming along, with one sock completed, the other mid-gusset.

Dyeing in a Minor Key

Recently my dying work has taken on a darker tone. The bright, clear, vibrant colors have been replaced by shades that some might call murkier (?). Sounds so negative! I'm my usual energetic self - happy, feeling positive about life and love. Only a wee bit guilty about things I don't seem to get done - housework, early gardening chores, the bathroom floor. But this version of 'Plums and Berries' is definitely different.

As in my earlier post I talked about having all my creativity sucked into my work life and I wonder if that's not finding its way into my dyeing work as well. I like what I'm doing. It's just different. I am drying some killer blue/green/yellow roving that I dyed last evening, but it's not the clear colors I so often make. The greens are mossy, the yellow is bronze. That's the way hand dyeing is a lot of the time, so it's not scary!

In Sockworld, I finished the toes of the Knitpicks Parade and wore them to work today. I finished the first ColorJoy sock and started the second.

Plans for the weekend: Dye, spin, knit and build the quiz for Tuesday's class. Maybe read a book. Right now, I'm off to Sit 'n' Knit with the other sock!