Wake me when September comes.......

Well and truly here, and I am certainly awake. At one o'clock in the morning, when I have an AH day tomorrow. Damn.

Anyway, among the various thoughts that were flying around in my head - those that are repeatable, anyway - was that if I had to be awake, maybe the best thing to do would be to get up and actually so something. And this time, instead of spinning, I could write a blog post. Just by way of a change........

I have been spinning. I have been knitting. I have even been dyeing. I have also been having a stupid but fortunately relatively mild case of labyrinthitis, which not only made me feel very seedy for a few days, but meant we had to cancel a trip to Cornwall to visit DMIL, as well as a workshop down in the South West. Deeply annoying in so many ways. Still, it does seem to be over. I saw our gp today, and he said - seriously - well, there is a lot of it about. I didn't know there could be a lot of labyrinthitis about, but apparently there can. The only small good thing that has come out if it is that the medication I was given can also be used to prevent seasickness, so that is me all set for the ferry to Shetland next week. Next Week!!! Wow.

So, I have been doing stuff. Two knitting projects are going well. The silly long thin strip if knitting to go around my neck that isn't a scarf is nearly finished, although I may well ornament it with some beads. The silver grey alpaca and silk sweater has a back completed and the front nearly ditto. The yarn is lovely to knit, and works up - obviously - quite fast.

Spinning. I labour on with some silk. I would abandon it, but it is a splendid match for another yarn I have spun and I need the silk to do the project I have in mind. But it is a horrible prep. I am very disappointed in it. I am pretty sure that it came from a very well know, well regarded and expensive supplier, a dyed brick, but the quality of the silk is poor. If it were wool, I would describe it as neppy. I keep having to stop and remove slugs of short stapled bits that won't draft out properly, and because of the, I find I can't do a satisfactory extended draw which would be my preference, so it is proving quite hard on my hands. Ah, we'll, nearly done. The end result is going to be far from my best spinning, but I will finish it!



This is a lot better, though. It is a three ply yarn intended for socks spun from a dyed Shetland top. It had been in my stash for a while, and had got a bit disheveled, but still drafted ok and I really like the yarn. It is going to be a travel project.

Then, I suddenly felt inspired to dye the white Polwarth and silk that I finished quite a while back. I have about a kilo of Aran weight, plenty for an oversized probably cabled waistcoat. The colour is slightly more towards a raspberry red than the photo might appear.



I do hope that these photos work. Flickr has been totally revamped, and I find myself struggling with it. Perhaps not too surprising at one in the morning!

Once upon a time.........

There were two little spinners named Pete and Carol. They enjoyed their craft, enjoyed their monthly Guild meeting, enjoyed reading the odd book and especially reading the only spinning magazine, from America, called Spin-Off. (This is pace the Journal for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers, because - not just spinning, duh!)

And in the pages of this magazine, they read every year of a gathering somewhere in America called SOAR, when all those lucky American spinners got together to - well, spin!

Gradually, they became aware that people from other countries were allowed to go as well, and our two little spinners idly dreamed that maybe, one day, maybe.......

And then circumstances swirled together the way these things do, and all of a sudden, miraculously, the grand Trip of a Lifetime came about, and our two little spinners were off to Oregon for their one and only visit ever to SOAR. And the States, btw. (Followed by a drive down the coast to San Francisco and then back up again, after all if you are going all that way for just the one trip of a lifetime, you have to pack in as much as possible, don't you?

That was in 1994.

And this may sound really goofy, but it was a life-changing experience, for many, many reasons. Some years later, another first time attendee was heard to say that in going to SOAR, she had found her tribe. That is a pretty good way to describe it. You got to meet a grand bunch of people, many of whom became good friends. (One of the bonuses since those olden days is, if course, the Internet. Gradually, we could keep in touch both individually and through things like Ravelry forums for those long months outside the one week if the year when we actually met in person, making the friendships deeper.). You also got the opportunity to take great classes with great teachers, and to really extend your skills. Not to mention exposure to a huge range of tools and fibres, the like of which had not yet fetched up on our shores. (This again is something that changed with the development of the Internet.)

So now here we are in 2013, and P&C - here comes the great and presumably not totally unexpected confession - have been to SOAR no less than seventeen times. The trip of a lifetime became a standing joke with friends on both sides of the Atlantic. (We missed twice, once because of insurance difficulties after an illness, once because of a clash with an important family birthday. We have also been to the States on other visits, but that is another story.

This story takes us from our first meeting with upside down spindles to becoming teachers of top whorl spindling amongst other things; to getting in to selling some of those spindles and thence in to the wonderful world of Woolfest and other events; to so many good things that have flowed from that first visit as at the same time the fibre world has changed out of all recognition in this country. We have done so many things both personally and 'professionally' that just simply would not have happened if we had never gone to SOAR.

So here we are in 2013, and in a few weeks, we are off to Shetland for the first time ever, where we have been invited to teach two workshops. We only get back a few days before SOAR, so quite reasonably, we took the decision that this would be another year that we would miss. We had regrets; but after all, there was always next year.......

Except that there isn't. It has just been announced that 2013 is to be the last SOAR ever.

This is one of those things that manages to be both a complete shock and not what you might call unexpected. Changes have been creeping in over the last few years, as changes do. Change is often dreaded, but in many ways it should not be, it can be a very positive thing. But what is going to be lost here more than anything is the opportunity to connect with the tribe. Some folk we shall no doubt meet in the future, but others, most likely not, without the most convoluted effort. The will would be there, but the logistical ability, not. These people I shall miss tremendously.

The fibre world is flourishing and vibrant. There is no lack of opportunity for learning or simply gathering. But I shall miss SOAR and I shall miss my friends. I think we are allowed to mourn some changes a little bit.

Summer

We have had one. At times, over the last few weeks, it has been by my standards very hot indeed. As a consequence, normal service has been considerably interrupted. Often by sloth, sometimes by indulging in summery activities like having a day boat on a canal, or visits to gardens.

There was one extremely warm and enjoyable weekend when we had the regular annual weekend shindig at Alston Hall. I didn't do a class, though, just spun a lot and chatted even more.

Visits to the studio have been few and far between as well, unfortunately. We did try it once or twice, and found it.....steamy, and not conducive to much real work. So, overall, little blog fodder and a lot of absence!

Now, whilst summer is not over,and indeed the weather is really rather pleasant still, we are back in the studio and very pleased to be so. Oh, we have been spinning and knitting at home, but it is going to be very nice to be more focused, at least as much as we ever are. And with Woolfest over for another year, and no more batts in desperate need of being made, the DSM and I lugged the Schacht Baby Wolf out of the house, in to the car and eventually up the steep metal staircase to get it in to the studio. And as I write, he is working on completing warping up for the project that has been brewing for more years (and I am quite serious!) than I would ever dare confess to. Who knows where this will end!

I am returning to the spinning project I was already working on. There are many more in the pipeline, and when I am a bit more organised, I will hopefully get something about them here. Meanwhile, I will leave this with a photo of a recently completed small project spinning some Bluefaced Leicester roving that I picked up at The Wool Clip. Deliciously soft, and even though it was a tiny bit neppy, it spun up into a lovely soft and even yarn that is going to make a super scarf.

Yes, it is good to be back! Summer is lovely, but so is us doing the things we enjoy so much. There is quite a bit to recap on, if I ever get a Round Tuit. But for now, it is off home to make supper from some of the Veggies! Growing! In! The! Garden! Another benefit of a proper summer......

TA DA!

(Fingers crossed.....)

Look what has arrived, just in time to be packed up and taken off to Cumbria. I am being very, very restrained and not diving in to either. Just a little toe in the water, I am not that strong-minded. But we are hoping to have a few days R&R around the delicious madness that is Woolfest, and these are ideal reading material.

By being away for the next two weeks, we are missing the entire Arts Festival, which is a bit of a bummer. And all but one day of the two Open Studio weekends at Northlight. The DSM is down there as I write, starting to get it organised for public perusal. We shall be back for just the final Sunday, but better than nothing.

Whoops, interruption to take in another parcel, this time of our new business cards. Nearly forgot to order them, and being so much last minute had to pay for express, dammit. Still and all, they do look very nice.

Projects are all lined up - the scarf/shawlette, some extremely vibrant Jitterbug yarn for the next socks, a couple of spindles and the Sidekick is coming with me. Enough? I hope so, but if not, I can always find more at the show!

Plying as meditation

Summer may be over. The last couple of weeks have been gorgeous, and I took the decision to spend as much time as possible sitting out in it. Knitting did come with me, and a fair amount of sock was done,but not all that much else. The shawlette I had cast on in an Araucania multi did not please me, so it got frogged. The next incarnation is much better. I particularly like the neck edge, described as 'I-cord' - it isn't, quite,but slipping the last three stitches of the pearl row, then knitting as normal on the knit row makes a fair representation of and a nice firm edge.

I did manage a few trips in to the studio, but at least with a return to cooler and damper weather I am doing a bit better there. Hence the title. I have finished spinning the very fine pygora, which then needed plying with quite a bit of twist. Even with the Lendrum fast flyer, a slow job.

I often listen to audiobooks when spinning/plying, but for some reason this time I didn't. For one thing, it was pleasant to tune in to the hum of people working and chatting in the other studios around me. We have all the space we need to get on with our own thing, but every one is quietly friendly and there is non-distracting companiability (is that a word?). And then, I just kind of drifted off. I had to concentrate sufficiently on what I was doing to achieve enough plying twist, as consistently as possible, but otherwise, I wandered.

Don't ask me just what went through my mind, though! A certain amount of just how not-consistent my singles was (no doubt being over-critical of myself!). But mostly just good useful rolling thinking stuff. Do not knock it - very good for one.

Only a week before we go to Cockermouth, and two until Woolfest. For once, we are not down to the wire on stock, spindles arrived a coupe of weeks ago and fibre on Monday. Plus the DSM, courtesy of the studio, has a good array of batts carded. It will be interesting to see how those go.

To finish, some random photos. Cats, and the boy Toby, who is now three months, and growing like a good'un. Oh, and the pygora.

Phew!

I have just landed in the studio for the first time in a few days, and am treating myself to a rare latte. Life is conspiring to gift me a series of late nights and early mornings, plus plenty to do. I suppose I really shouldn't grumble!

We had a lovely weekend down in Bedfordshire teaching a spindle spinning workshop. We felt this went very well, and feedback has so far confirmed that at least some of the participants felt the same. They all worked very hard, and we crammed a lot in, but there was much chat, laughter and cake (excellent lemon drizzle) as well.

We had to stay two nights because of the distance, but our lovely hosts, who we did already know, treated us royally. Good food, just the right amount of wine, and lots of extremely varied chat.

How did I get to be so lucky, eh!

Now I need to buckle down to some work in the studio. The 'Pygora Project' needs working on and documenting as I go, as I intend to get an article out of it. Any knitting with hand spun is somewhat stalled, which is frustrating, so I must address that, too.

Knitting at home has seen me finish the afterthought heel Wollmeise socks. The Wollmeise was lovely to knit and looks great. The afterthought heel? Not so much. I am reinforced in my hatred of anything other than a top down sock (which admittedly this was) with some sort of proper, turned heel executed at the proper time. Old Fogey, or what!! So that is what I am now knitting, with some gorgeous Socks That Rock, another of my favourite sock yarns. A slightly thicker one, so I am already on to the foot, the instep decreased.

I tried knitting in public with it last night, but got some really funny looks, so as I was already quite a way out of my comfort zone gave up the attempt. There is a Working Men's Club just over the river from us, been there for all over 100 years, and struggling to survive on weekend passing trade and locals. Which we are, and via the neighbourhood Readers Group are now members and bar duty volunteers. H'mm. Not really sure about this. The people involved are great, no way a problem there. The building is grim. Or even Grimm. I don't like the beers. This needs thought....especially if I am not knitting!

The DSM is playing chess all weekend, which will leave me without the car, which makes it difficult to get to the studio. No matter, there are both projects and chores to keep me busy. The weather has just about warmed up enough for me to feel that I can more or less abandon boots and thick sweaters - in late May! - and swap to lighter gear.

Watch for snow storms........

And as there hasn't been one for ages, and I have nothing else for now - a gratuitous cat photo. (Sam.)

Studio

We have been spending quite a bit of time in the studio. (Well, duh!......that is what we got it for!). So far, so very good. We are both being quite productive, and it is great to be able to allow the time and space to begin to focus better.

I can't say that it is easy. Oh, enjoyable, very, but I am not used to either the discipline or the luxury.

This afternoon, we went to our first members' meeting. These are held, I think, four times a year, and there is an AGM as well. The studios operate as a Limited Company, hence the requirement for an AGM and for properly designated officers. Other than that, it works as a members' co-operative, about which I am very pleased. Just like the old days........

Everyone has assigned themselves to a role, or as in my case, been - thankfully - assigned. I would have volunteered for social media duties, I can tweet with the best of them if I have to, but that was grabbed. The DSM upped for keeping the website regularly updated - I was inveigled into sharing Health and Safety duties! Actually, I am perfectly happy with that, someone has to do it, after all.

We all of course share the cleaning, quite right too. There is to be a rota.

I am not mocking. There was amusement to be had from the meeting, with talk of such, and if providing cream teas at the Open Studio event coming up, and a few other very "committee" items. But actually, there was a lot of useful, sensible stuff under discussion in a very creative and orderly way. No problems there, then.

Well, actually there were. But they are mine, all mine. I am going to have to do a lot of work on myself to become totally comfortable sitting there with all those proper "artists". Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with considering myself a more than competent spinner in the first instance, and to have a fair bit of knowledge and expertise in various other areas of the fibre arts. I am also quite comfortable regarding myself as a good teacher.

But after that it all goes a bit pear-shaped. I am not an artist. My ability to produce objets of artistic merit is limited, to say the least. Oh, it has happened. But rather more by accident than design. So to be cheek by jowl with painters and ceramicists, and silversmiths and conceptual artists and mixed media interactive installation creators is......challenging.

And that is, I suppose, the point. To be challenged. Oh, to enjoy myself, and to keep myself occupied with things a bit more exciting than dusting. But I can do that behind my own closed doors. Out there, oh, much harder, but much more...well, more.

I could just fall flat on my face. Or I might not. Finding out which, if indeed either is going to e good.