A View from Sierra County

June UFO Resurrection

I know you thought you would be coming to see this Saturday's mountain sky, but that will have to wait for tomorrow and be dubbed "Sunday Sky" as this is the last day of June, and I am skidding a post in with my UFO Resurrection for this month, my sorely neglected Seraphim.

 

Now, why, you might ask, am I picking a heavy woolen shawl, grown to need only its last 40 rows, as one of my summer UFOs to attack?  Well, you see I am feeling just a tad bit guily.  Not something you hear around these parts much, eh? 

It's just that next Sunday, just a few hours more than a week from now, I will be getting together with a group of spinners at Anna's, and the yarn for this project is from HER sheep.  It should be done and show-off worthy, but it's not.  I set it aside near the beginning of 2007, distracted by the Hidcote Garden KAL and haven't managed to finish either!  I made some progress this week, but when each row has over 200 stitches, it is slow going.  The lovely, long feathers of chart two are almost done, leaving the shorter (but longer-rowed even still) chart three and edging chart left to complete the shawl. 

Oh, and I am running out of yarn.  There won't be enough of the charcoal two-ply laceweight Anna had spun from her carefully-coated Coopworth flock.  It is really more like a fingering weight, but no matter what it is called, I am running low.  Maybe even almost on fumes.  Hmmm.  I had asked her to hold another skein for me (they are large skeins and that would finish me up) but that was months ago.  She probably gave up on me by now and sold it off to someone else.  I could beg for the same weight in any of the natural colors her sheep produce and make a lovely edging effect.  If I am lucky.  If she isn't out.

It looks like I will be showing up with an almost-finished shawl and a dangling end, unless I give up sleep and work and spin up the silvery roving I have from the same flock and try to create a similar yarn.  Except that I can't spin that fine, at least not to date.  I am trying to remain mellow and take it one row at a time... this is a lovely, heavy winter shawl that would end up draped over my chair or wrapped around me a lot.  A solution is just beyond my field of vision.

Friday Update

Just a few notes summarizing the state of the world here at Slate Range Camp:

House and Garden --- holding together, in spite of DH's absence for fire duties.  Donkeys got new hay, squash grew another foot, tomatoes are forming up and the weather has been very temperate.  I did have to cut the dogs' morning walk a bit short to fit in more chore time while he is away.  I don't think I am very good at living alone; my eating habits suffer and I probably spend too long online.

Work --- I am loving it.  Now more than three months into my new job, I am finally starting to hit my stride.  It wasn't easy coming in to replace someone who was beloved, and in part for her leadership by doing (it all) for everyone.  I am more into personal responsibility.  Things are evening out, but I just realized that working is cutting into my summer fun.  I spent the past ten years avoiding full-time employment during the summer months, primarily because I was a high school teacher and then only employed part-time last summer.  Eight of those summers I had the great, good fortune to run outings for an outdoor program for youths, getting me hiking, kayaking and swimming three days a week... I woke up the past two days really missing that life and wishing I hadn't allowed myself to get sucked into not having two days off together this summer.

Blogging --- not so good.  I noticed that I am down to about two posts a week from roughly five posts a week a year ago.  I am also way behind in my reading.  I wish I could keep up with all of you.

Reading --- summer means beach reading, which means mysteries to me.  I just whizzed through another one of Mary Dahiem's Bed and Breakfast mysteries and will have to get to a used book store for replenishment.

Knitting --- I am crawling along on three main projects at once, the Spring Things shawl (nearing the end of the main body chart), my Lutea tank top (untouched so far this week but finally divided at the armholes), and my newest sock, Angel's Rest, a Fiber Trends pattern.  I seemed to have even less knitting time than usual this week, but perhaps that is because I spent quite a bit on spinning (see below).  I really should pull out my Seraphim shawl and see if I can manage to finish it before July 8th, when we are getting together members of the Foothill Fibers Guild and the Carson Sierra Spinners and Weavers out at Anna Harvey's ranch in the Sierra Valley.  I would love to be able to show her the shawl, which is knitted in wool from her sheep.  Hmm, think I just decided on my June UFO Resurrection project...

Spinning --- I have been spinning this lovely green stuff... it is a blend including some of Eunice (Kary's FinnX sheep), some Tussah silk and some emerald flash angelina, and is so fun to spin.

The fiber just slides through my fingers and into yarn, and the color is a delight to the eyes.  I hope to finish up the other batt over the weekend and even get back around to adding another square or two for my Larger Than Life bag soon.

Tahoe Fire ---- For those of you wondering, things have settled a bit, yesterday was a good day on the fire and DH even was 'on the gate' when the Governator and entourage came to the fire camp yesterday.  Today there were winds again, so it's not over yet.  Keep a place in your hearts and prayers for those many residents of South Lake Tahoe who have lost their homes.  Though this is a resort area and there has been much made of the million-dollar vacation homes threatened, many of those affected are working people who sustain the economy and only had that one home.

Weekend plans --- a pedicure and grocery shopping today, work at the yarn store tomorrow, and maybe something fun like a high country hike for Sunday.  There will be an open-air movie night at the elementary school across the road from me on Saturday and I hope to go over and lobby for them showing either An Inconvenient Truth or a movie about Cuba after peak oil.

Hope you have a great weekend planned!

Smoke But No Fire

First, if you have been seeing this headline all day, I want you to know that I am ok... unfortunately, Lake Tahoe is far enough for me to be safe from the fire raging at the south end of the lake, but not so far that the fire hasn't touched the lives of people I know.  My stepson has been working that fire since Saturday.  His photo had appeared in the local Saturday 'interest' section, as he rappelled from his team's helicopter while his supervisor spotted for him and the pilot hovered - a coincidence that a photo taken during a practice session should be printed just as they went off to work hard in an intense situation.  DH left this evening to report to an assignment at the fire camp, located at the famous Heavenly Valley Resort.  And two friends I talked with over the course of the day had relatives who lost their homes... please keep right on praying!  I was so touched when Sallee called me to check... my knitblogging friends all are such loving and caring people.  From her side of the continent, I am very, very close!

I actually had a very pleasant weekend, and churned out a quickie finished object.. a skinny summer cotton scarf to wear while working at the yarn shop, made in Filo & Fili India yarn, found on sale at a tiny shop a few months back.

This pattern is a simple drop-stitch, made by K1, yo two loops, K1, yo etc., then dropping the YOs the next row.  The crisp, shiny, bulky weight cotton worked up in a few hours on just ten stitches.

I also found a sock pattern for my Wooly Wonka Harvest yarn; it is a pattern that my Sock Kit Swap pal Kat (whose blog has gone missing), gave me last year called "Angel's Rest" from Fiber Trends and is a perfect two-row ripple pattern.. just lacy enough and fancy enough to show off the lovely yarn while being easy enough to please me, especially the ripply, curling top edging.  No need to go hurting my feelings by reminding me that patience is a virtue:) 

I have only a little bit on the needles, but just getting that far made me happy again, so I did a lot of gardening Sunday, cleaned off the porch (and I am talking a big porch here, going almost completely around the house), and even spun a little bit, first plying up the last of my mauve thrums from Spinderella and then spinning some lovely pale green batts sent to me by Kary, from "Eunice", a FinnX.  Her nice wool is mixed with some handpainted Tussah silk and emerald flash angelina, and was a soothing balm to spin.  Pictures tomorrow....

The only catastrophe around here was one poor ceramic gnome, brutalized by a fierce raccoon while valiantly performing his duty as fish gaurd early Saturday morning... I awoke to the crash caused when the raccoon knocked him over attempting to get at the fish, and rushed out the french doors from our bedroom in time to hear/see the bugger scurry over the fence.  The fish were fine, thanks to the sacrifice of our watchman, and their stout netting, and the newly renamed 'Lazarus' has been glued back together by DH and will return to his duties once we fill him with something like epoxy to weight him and protect him better.

His hands are designed to hold a fishing pole, but it is really a disguise; he has never tried to snag any of the baby koi, and is pleased to sit on the edge of the pond, soaking up the sun and pretending to fish...

Well, it has been a long and chaotic Monday, one of those days where you wish that whatever the planetary alignment is, they would just hurry up and move on, so I am off to bed, hoping that tomorrow will be a better day!

Friday Sunset Instead

I am in a bit of a funk tonight.  I wanted to start a new pair of socks for Summer of Socks and had the perfect sunset color, Wooly Wonka yarn in the Harvest colorway.  I had a lacy pattern that I thought would work, cast on in the early evening, sitting on my lovely back porch and enjoying summer.  I breezed through the first few rib rows, then ground to a halt.  The pattern was too fussy for my liking (or maybe I should say for my hands' liking).  It took way too long to trial that first fancy row and I thought to myself "These socks wouldn't get finished this summer!"  I was a bit disgusted and chided myself about my attitude.  I was more than a bit depressed; my hands have been getting much better but this just wasn't going to help.  Was I ever going to be able to return to making socks?

As the time approached to stop knitting and make food (we had yummy BBQed lamb ribs... dry spicy rub in case you are curious), I threw the whole mess down and thought I would cast about for another pattern.  I do want to join the fun!

Still in a state of rebellion after dinner, I decided that this awesome view shouldn't  have to wait till it was officially Saturday evening...

The glow of the setting sun reminded me that tomorrow is another day.  Hopefully one in which I start a friendly-to-knit pair of socks!

You might also have noticed that I added the Tour De Fleece button to my sidebar on the right... yup, I'm signing on for the non-race.  I have been a TDF fan for years, even as cycling goes through the latest doping crises... I love the enduring quality of this event, and will be enjoying some daily spinning time next month.  That one's an easy KAL.  I haven't even selected a knitting project of Spun Stitches and was about to start something this afternoon, but heck, what about all those other objects on the needles?  I feel a little too scattered... maybe it is from spending all that time in the air.  Happy Summer Weekend, everyone.

Solstice Sky

I know, I know... it's not Saturday yet.  But today IS the Summer Solstice, an important day in my calendar and the longest one of the year, and this dawn summer sky is just the right photo for the occasion.

This special moment each year, when the sun pulls both us and our plants the most, allows us to expand into our potential and to live it through the summer months, learning from expansion.  The task is to grow while remaining grounded, to expand knowing that contraction is also a part of the natural rhythm of things, and to avoid becoming too airy from soaring to the heights of the sky (an example is forgetting to put on sun protection and getting sunburned, coming too close to the sun). 

It is also the start of the season of swimming, hiking, eating outside, creating an outdoor sitting and knitting room, gardening, savoring the late evening sky, and many other seasonal pursuits.  Living in the mountains has allowed me to say "I love summer best", because growing up in the Sacramento Valley, that just wasn't the case.  The summer heat is intense there, good for tomatoes, but wilting for people.  Many times, it doesn't even cool down at night!  High country nights, on the other hand, often require a jacket or a campfire.

One of the summer activities I am most looking forward to is the Spin In combining members of my Foothill Fibers Guild with the Carson Valley guild, and meeting on July 8th at Anna Harvey's ranch in the Sierra Valley, one of the largest high mountain valleys in the continental U.S.  We all have Sharon to thank for organizing this day long event.  I have quite a bit of material to work with, and doubt that I will run out over the course of the day, but would be able to get some of Anna's fine Coopworth roving if needed.  I also have some lovely pale green puffs from Kary that will probably be spindle-spun.  One is from "Eunice" a Finn cross sheep and the other is a handpainted Tussah silk with some Emerald Flash angelina (these I promise to photograph in good light this weekend in order to do them justice).  Spindle spinning on the porch in summer is a favorite and relaxing activity.

I am setting up a spinning retreat for a few friends at our Forest City house in August... in the meantime though, I am not sure I will be able to fit much spinning in.  I have been busy taking care of our rental business and working at the yarn shop, along with my regular job.  Most of the time the rental business does not demand much, but we have been through a three week spate of shifts and changes, interviewing new people and getting places ready.  I am grateful for the help these rentals give my mortgage payments, but still find these periods fraught with anxiety, as we hope to be making the right choices on limited information.  Soon, though, this task will be settled for another little while and I can get back to my knitting.

I have three main projects going, none of which photograph well.  I just finished the fourth Manos square, a diagonal lace.

This horrid photo doesn't do justice to the yarn or the stitch pattern, merely gives you a blurry and vague idea.  The squares are coming along quickly, though this one took twice as long as the others, requiring a bit more concentration so that my diagonal line would continue smoothly in the correct direction.  I have two lighter colors selected, and they will be used for the openwork patterns so that the lacy effects show up strongly.  The brick red and forest green will both be more useful in showing off the rib variations; I started the fifth square, a checkerboard pattern, last night in brick.

My Lutea Lace-Shoulder Shell continues to grow, often providing the mindless knitting needed when at a function out in public.  It's just too bad that the low light   of evening tonight was my only chance to snap a picture for you!  Not that there is all that much to see, just a foot-long tube of stockinette at this point!  The really pretty part will be the lacework at the shoulder top/cap sleeve thingie.  I am looking forward both to the knitting of that part and the wearing soon... I really should stop working on those Manos squares and get this done and wear it while the summer blossoms forth!  Oh, and it really is a much nicer, clearer citron than the dingy color in this photo!  I will try and get a nice photo this weekend, even though it will still be boring.

My third project is more interesting to knit, but still not very photogenic.  It is a lacy blob, the Spring Things shawl, that I am just loving and looking forward to wearing, perhaps in time to attend Shakespeare up at Lake Tahoe later this summer.

I am really not as dispirited about my knitting as this post sounds.  I work on at least one or two out of the three every day.  It is just that the coming of the sun has pulled me to start far more than I have finished, and none of these lovely projects look that good in print!  Soon, dear readers, soon, there will be something more dramatic to share with you. 

Summer's pull also keeps me outside and in the garden or with the animals, away from the computer.  I miss my connections with many of you, though.  It is hard to keep up with all of my cyberfriends, and if you don't hear from me, it is not that I have forgotten you.  I will be outside somewhere, wishing you could be there sharing the beauty with me.

I did spend some time working on Ravelry last weekend, beginning to archive my projects over the past few years.  It gave me a great sense of accomplishment; I made a wider range of projects than I realized before looking at them as a whole, and I also realized that I give away as much as I keep.  Sometimes, it is good to take stock.

If you haven't received an invite yet, or don't know what the fuss is about or if Ravelry is for you, I want to encourage you... I am amazed at what three people working only a few hours a day, after their regular full-time jobs, have been able to build in a few months of hard effort.  I think it was worth the two months' wait from when I asked to join until I received notice... there is a lot to appeal to me about what the team has created so far. 

They are attempting to create a MySpace-type of networking center that is also a personal reference tool for fiberistas (us).  I can see a lot of value in this, and probably could have been paying better attention and had my photos all neatly uploaded to my Flickr site and been ready to get more into my Ravelry notebook. 

Why did I decide to participate?  Well, I won't be giving up blogging, but I do see this as an opportunity to create an online scrapbook/work notebook out of all the random photos and notes I have been keeping in recent years.  I am a random-abstract who needs help with organizing.  I also like to learn new techie bits and pieces and to stretch my brain.  The learning curve is there, but it's not that tough.  Then there's the fact that it is easy to see someone elses' work 'at a glance', which is very cool.  I have so many creative friends!  Before you make up your mind, go and take a look.

Summer Saturday Sky

Next Thursday will mark the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year.  This sky shot is in honor of the upcoming event

In the foreground is one of my favorite summer shrubs... the butterfly bush.  I have this lilac one and another with cream flowers, but have seen them in several shades of pinks and reds... all are highly attractive to butterflies and to hummingbirds.  They are prolific growers and thrive in the hot heat of our summers.

As we get close to the sun's high point of the year, all things in the garden are growing non-stop, as seen by these garden photos.

Lovely pink wave petunias grace four large terra cotta pots on the front porch of the 'stately manse' here at the old camp... our house was built in 1852, by a young man who prospered when he came to California at age 22 during the gold rush... not from mining gold, but from establishing the town's bank and Wells Fargo office.  Yup, stage coaches probably drove right through my yard!  Our house was built from local lumber in a style knows as Carpenter Gothic, probably from plans drawn up back East.  On the two front corners, we have stacked three pots in descending sizes, which contain trailing perennials and provide a focal point that can be seen from the end of the drive.  I think I got this idea from a Martha Stewart Living magazine several years ago.  Before you get too star-struck, keep in mind that our version of 'stately' is the Shabby Chic one!

The raised beds in the inner backyard are even lusher, as evidenced by these four squash plants.  The small amount of the bed that looks empty contains several asparagus plants, hoping to establish themselves this year.

This smaller raised bed contains four different heirloom tomatoes, more than enough for us to enjoy... they should start producing in about a month.  They are being encouraged along by companion plantings of purple basil and alyssum, which is supposed to attract hoverflies that will chomp up any aphids that attempt to attack.  Our climate has no rainfall between June and October and is hot enough that everything is heavily mulched.

One plant that loves our Mediterranean-style climate is the tomatillo.. it is often more disease-resistant than tomatoes and very tasty for salsa.

  I only found one a month ago when I was gathering up my tomato plants, and it already has a fruit ripening on it.. they grow with a papery husk around them, and sprawl in much the same way as their relatives.

It is not all gardening around Camp, as Saturdays are when I work at Fibers.  Today was a very busy day for us; owner Allison is leaving for three weeks to teach Feldenkrais in Germany, so she held classes for the three different Manos Club groups we currently have... the first ("old") group is up to their 10th square out of 12, the middle one is on their 4th and the brand new one is just getting started.  She taught them a much easier version of crochet cast on than I have seen anyone else do... I will have to get photos next time.  It revised my opinion of this method, which I had always considered too fussy... the plus of course is that you can undo your cast-on, just like unzipping the dog food bag, to free up the stitches and knit the opposite direction.  She suggested that if you weren't sure you had enough yarn for the sweater you were yearning to make, you could start just below the underarms, work up for back, front, collar, sleeves, etc., then 'unzip' those body stitches and work downwards, making any necessary accomodations in length, different color, special border, etc., to make sure you had enough yarn... pretty neat, huh?!

I also started work on my Ravelry site Thursday and Friday evenings; if I had been watching the site, I probably would have known that I could have already been putting together my Flickr collection.  Do I have to admit that I haven't really figured it all out yet?  Those of you who know how swamped I have been learning my two new jobs (though I am almost over the crest with the learning curve for both), might be wondering why I am willing to take on yet another computer project, especially one that could suck up so much time.  Well, being such a visual person, this appears to be the best way to keep a project notebook!  I have an altered book that I have been trying to add photos of projects to, together with yarn samples.  How is that working for me, you ask?  Not so much...  I do have all of these project photos already on my computer, and it hasn't been too difficult uploading them to Flickr.  Now, I need to get project notes on my Ravelry page, and I will have a permanent (if there really is such a thing) record!  I won't beg you to go and check out my site yet as Ravelry hasn't even picked up my blog posts yet, and I am still trying to figure out how to link my photos to project listings.  My stash?  I only have photos of some of my spinning yet, and probably won't get to other stash for some time.  It's great fun, though.

Have a wonderful summer weekend!

It's Easy Being Green

I just love the way that phrase rings, even though I know it is NOT that easy, especially for industry and the auto trade... however, being green is undergoing a wave of attention, mainly thanks to Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, catching so much attention in the past year.  Therefore, it was no surprise to see Vogue's Knit1 put out a Green Issue this spring-into-summer (though they did something similar last year, to be fair to them).  There is a lot of good information about the wide range of "other fibers" to knit with now available, including soy, corn, bamboo, and nettles, as well as information about why using organic cotton is different than the other cotton yarns available.  There are fun ideas for using up scraps and stash, including the classic Budweiser Hat that you used to see offered for sale at flea markets across the West.  There are even some useable patterns, including several different totes to help you replace store grocery sacks.

I had been reading their Green Issue the past few days and feeling all warm and fuzzy when I saw Carole's version of the Green meme going around posted yesterday, and decided to make my own list...

1. I do recycle, including glass, plastic, most cans and most paper.

2. I re-circulate many of the books and magazines I purchase, finding them other readers to keep them in circulation.  Bookcrossing is one of my favorite ways to do this.

3.  We grow some of our own food every year, as well as shop locally, reducing the distance our food travels and the fuel consumed to get it to us.  We also eat organic as much as possible, at home and at the Headstart program where I work.

4.  I do most of our grocery shopping through our local co-op, which also makes a point of using as many local sources as possible.  All of our members are extremely proud to have helped support the construction of a green-certified (LEED), brand new store which opened just after Memorial Day.  You can read about it here.

5.  We converted to compact flourescents with the help of our utility years ago.

6.  We installed an on-demand propane hot water heater about four years ago; it heats as you go, consuming far less fuel than a tank full of hot water growing cold and needing to be re-warmed whether you are there or not.

7.  We have routed the grey water (coming from our sinks, showers, and washers, as opposed to 'black water' from toilets) to ornamentals rather than the waste system.

8.  We mulch and use drip irrigating to conserve water in our hot, Mediterranean-type climate.

9.  I introduced using cloth napkins at our early Headstart program when I started as Site Supervisor in March; this is a simple way to recycle cloth napkins purchased from thrift shops and estate sales while saving trees.  We have been doing this in our family for over 25 years, mostly without buying them new.

10.  We buy many things we need second-hand; it is pretty easy here in the US to live well from the cast-offs of others.  Just so's ya know, I always buy new underwear and shoes.

11.  We installed lots of insulation in our 1852 home and chose not to install air conditioning, though we do use fans and a swamp cooler once the temps get into the 90s... we have ceiling fans in almost every room downstairs and use them summer and winter to make the most of the conditions.

12.  I choose not to live the lifestyle of a frequent flier; traveling by plane uses an immense amount of fuel resources and there really isn't any way to get around that.  I look forward to a few horizon-expanding journeys each year and consider taking the train as an alternative first.

13.  As far as knitting goes, I have boldly re-purposed failed projects, am a proud member of the UFO Resurrection (wouldn' that make a great name for a punk band or new church movement?!), and scour thrift stores for other peoples' yarn rejects.

14.  Wool is a renewable resource and I use it lovingly.  Spinning gives me the chance to link more directly to local wool suppliers and to reduce the amount of chemical processing involved in the yarns I choose.  I continue to explore natural dyes.

15.  I am working on a knitted hat from recycled cotton and have used recycled sari silk yarn as well.  I am looking forward to trying bamboo and soy, as well as the development of other fibers.

All of this fails to make up entirely for the fact that my rural lifestyle means I cannot access public transportation.  Nor do I make enough money annually to be an early adopter of a hybrid electric vehicle.  I am hoping to be able to get one within the next five years, though.

Just in case you think I have given up entirely on producing a knitting blog, I do want to share the one object I have completed since May 1st that isn't square!

This bright pink scarf is a variation of the Montego Bay Scarf in this summer's Interweave Knits... mine is done in On Line's Linie 136.  This was a quickie to make and cool enough to wear this summer on all but the hottest days (it is microfiber; probably not too green, but a Christmas gift I am putting to good purpose).

I am hoping to get another Manos square done and divide my Lutea shell at the armholes this weekend.  The temps are hitting the triple digits today and tomorrow in California; hope you stay cool wherever you are!

Still In Love

June 11th marks thirteen years of marriage for us, and I gotta say... he is still the one!

While this isn't the best photo I have, it captures the smile that won my heart and exemplifies the spirit that makes Glenn special.

He never worries.  Well, almost never.  He is generally cheerful and not easily ruffled.  He is a very pleasant companion, but also can do all kinds of useful and amazing stuff.  Like talk peoples' ears off... at least that is the story around our family.

It takes more than that to make a lasting marriage though.  He was brave enough to decide to risk his contented life as a single dad of a teen-age son to wed a woman on the verge of middle age with three children, the youngest only seven.  He then allowed and sometimes even encouraged me to follow my own dreams and passions, standing by me when I returned to college to finish my BA and get my MA at age 42.  That might have been easier than building fences when I said I wanted burros, only to bring home four, one who turned out to be pregnant.  Assteroid, only a few days old in the above photo, is now three.  He has tolerated me collecting a big yarn stash, taking up spinning, even becoming too busy blogging sometimes to chat when he got home from work.  I have been very fortunate to maintain a strong identity of my own while living with a loving husband.

We never had children together, but didn't lament it much, as we were too busy raising four together!  He has always loved children; Glenn and his niece run through the fountain together.

He would like to have lots of grandchildren living right around the corner, though his only one to this point lives in Texas.  We are hoping to live long and healthy lives and see that change....

He is good at all kinds of things that I can't do and I appreciate the variety that this gives to our lives.  He can build a house and play a banjo.

He knows more about history than most people I know and was an anthropology major.  He still deeply respects cultural diversity and is a fair person.

This is not a "special" anniversary, but I had been admiring the squares that people coming to the Manos club at our yarn shop were making and decided to make him a blanket of his very own as a gift. I have been trying to work on squares in secret, so

he wouldn't find out, but it was much harder to get anything done... so, I decided to tell him that it will be ready for him, soon... I picked colors that he would like and that would blend well with a covered-up hubbie napping in his recliner in the family room.

The textures and colors of this yarn are wonderful and he is astute enough to appreciate that the yarn is produced by a womens' cooperative begun in 1968.  The project is proceeding quickly and he should be able to enjoy his new blankie later this summer.  In the meantime, we will be enjoying a dinner out together later this week!  Love you, honey:)

Tie Dye Tales

I had mentioned last week that my Headstart center does an annual tie-dye marathon at the end of each school year in order to present each child with a shirt and other gifts at the closing preschool celebration.  I had thought of tie-dye as something that developed in the 1960s and faded in the 1970s, but many of my young parents are passing along to the 3rd or 4th generation of tie-dye wearers a much-advanced and improved-upon dye process and product.

First, there is the fact that many of the dyes have improved significantly in the intervening thirty years.  While Sara is the dye expert I turn to for fibery advice, I discovered that our Family Advocate, Stormy, was an old hand at the skills needed to dye cotton textiles with sufficient depth of color.  First, she made sure that we ordered lots of all-cotton items sewn with cotton thread from Dharma Trading Company, so that the colors would dye evenly.

On the appointed day, she set up plastic buckets to pre-soak the items in a soda ash solution.  This allows for better dye penetration.  Prior to pre-soaking, we got busy creating dye-resist areas, either by wrapping and binding with various sizes of rubber bands, or painting on a resist solution that is more fluid than the traditional beeswax used in Javanese batik, but a bit less "blocking".  One mother painted glorious animal designs with the resist fluid for her children.  The resist liquid, available from Dharma, works best on clean, dry textiles and needs to dry again before dye is applied, but all of our other items were soaked for twenty minutes and dye was applied wet.  While staff and parents dyed items for the youngest children (and I dyed 12 hankies to use for napkins), the preschoolers got to each take a turn with assistance and paint their own.

This photo captured one of the little hands at work, applying pre-mixed color with a fine-tipped squeeze bottle.  The dyes are Dharma's generic version of Procion-type, cold water dyes, which also work very well on yarns.

We had five colors to choose from - yellow, green, purple, red, and marine blue, though some adults did a little mixing to extend the shades.  Since my co-caregiver and I wear hospital-style smocks while providing direct infant care twelve hours a week, we dyed some white cotton smocks we had ordered with diluted colors to achieve a harmonious, pastel effect (well, at least we tried... they turned out paler and softer than anything else!).

This photo shows two works in progress.

After the item was sufficiently colored, each was double-wrapped in plastic wrap and set aside to "work" for 48 hours.  The plastic wrap contained each masterpiece to avoid cross-contamination and a lot of browns... as well as to keep dye from oozing out.

This is one of about four buckets of completed items created over several days; I spent a full day with one group and another afternoon several of our staff worked for hours to dye 36 small lightweight canvas backpacks so that each child would receive one at our party last Thursday.  I also wrapped and dyed a cut-velvet silk/rayon scarf for myself, and a batch of unidentified yarn I had in the stash for many years... it appears from the results that the yarn was a mohair wrapped around a synthetic core.  I took the yarn home to steam in my yarn canner.

As you can see, even wearing plastic gloves didn't completely save our hands; we were working outside in one of our playgrounds and I ended up with feet that looked worse, as I inadvertantly would step into a puddle left behind...

The rinsing process is long and tedious; each item must be rinsed to flush the dye out, which two staff members did outside using the garden hose, then batches were thrown into the washer with Synthropol, from Dharma, which arrests the dye process and "sets" the fabric to prevent further bleeding.  I used a strong vinegar solution at home on the silk/rayon scarf and the yarn.

The results were pretty spectacular... many items had a crisp deliniation of color, while these backpacks, which we had banded into stripes and painted as rainbows, were more subtle owing to the coarser weave of the cotton canvas fabric.  The kids were delighted to receive their bags full of sunscreen and water toys.

My napkins were far more distinct and "traditional", if such a word can be applied to tie dye.  Each one came out different, with a variety of color combos, some more clear to color and others more blended in tones.  My oldest toddler girl was so delighted with these that she made herself and I headscarves to tie on and wear around the first morning they were finished.

I now have a dozen napkins to use together with the various ones I had brought from home and collected at thrift shops in the past few months; no paper for us!

We were all especially pleased with how the childrens' shirts came out - bright and colorful and something that the preschoolers were proud to hold up and say "I did it myself".

The school year ended last Friday for the 3-5 year olds and now summer will unfold more slowly for the few staff and children remaining on our infant-toddler side.  I will be happy to wait until next year to tie dye again but was pretty excited by the way my yarn turned out.

Lots of my favorite shades of spring green!  As you can see, there is a lighter core, which I suspect is some kind of nylon blend, that didn't take up the color, but it adds to the character... though not much softened up this fairly harsh yarn.  I will try making some winter hats for kids with it next fall.

Here is a close-up detail of my scarf... I was trying for a more gradual blend from yellow through coral to red, however the thin silk blend fabric took up the dye much more rapidly than I expected.  Oh well... the colors are beautiful and so is the velvet leaf design.

This weekend it was back to normal knitting for me, though, with progress on my Lutea Lace Shoulder Shell (only a few more inches to dividing for the armholes), working on the quickie summer scarf I mentioned in the last post AND starting on a surprise anniversary gift for DH.  I also managed to master the mattress stitch while piecing together a sample for the yarn shop (I had never bothered with it before, considering it too fussy, but it does make an elegant invisible seam).  Meanwhile, the burros began kicking up dust as things dry out around here, and the potato and tomato plants seemed to gain several inches each day, while the fish in the pond got an umbrella to shade them from the hot sun.  I promise there will be more pictures as summer begins to appear here in the Sierras.

The Other Side of the Counter

Tuesday night the small group of seven Yarnistas (employees) of Fibers finally had a chance to get together for dinner and a general session of discussing how its going trying to successfully run a small yarn shop in downtown Grass Valley while one of the two long-term principals is undergoing chemotherapy.  The shop's owner, Allison, treated us all to a fabulous home-cooked meal with lots of fresh ingredients and sent each of us home with a four-cup measuring cup full of cherries from her trees - a true symbol that summer is almost upon us.

It was wonderful to see Karyn, who has been with the shop almost since the very beginning, but had to stop working suddenly when she underwent emergency (and life-saving) surgery back in January.  It was a bit disconcerting to see her with no hair, but then she was her usual lively self and that was quickly forgotten.  The timing for our meeting was also to give her company and support on a "good day" as she had a treatment the next day and still has one to go.  She is just awesome, willing to share so many tips from the shop as well as cancer survivor success advice, and I am looking forward to her fully regaining her health and coming to work.  My neighbor Sara, who has worked at the shop for about a year and a half now and is the Crochet Queen, summed it up by saying it was just much more fun to work with Karyn.

Allison and Karyn had so many stories to tell that I thought I would share some of what it is like to be on the other side of the yarn shop counter with you.  First off, I am still learning the computerized register, which not only rings up your purchase, but keeps track of our inventory, making it much easier to telll what is selling and what is not, as well as to place orders to restock well-loved yarns.  That is why I am slow in ringing up a purchase; I am practicing the fine art of being careful.  We also want to protect people from credit card theft so I have to make sure and check your ID (please don't feel insulted), run the credit card and sort the invoices.  Then, there's tallying at the end of the day... not too difficult, unless I made a mistake along the way... and not something you stash enhancers are likely to get too concerned about.

I also want to be familiar with the stock at hand, so I can help you make your choices.  Fibers has made a commitment to carry the full line of Manos hand-dyed yarns, and they hang very decoratively along one wall.  Our shop is in the old town business district, where the buildings are old, the stores are narrow, and the lighting a challenge.  We try our best to make the displays attractive and offer a comfy couch and chairs in the front of the shop for sitting and knitting, as well as another table in the middle, which allows more than one group to gather.  I have been teaching at one while Allison's Project Manos Club gathers at another end of the shop. 

It is a friendly place, but we also recognize that sometimes we can become your second home, and may need to gently remind you that we have to clean, vacuum, restock shelves, etc., and cannot always sit to chat and knit ourselves while the shop is open.  We are there to empower the creatress in you, but also to assure the success of the yarn store, so that it can continue to keep its doors open, serving our community.  One stellar moment for me in my first month was to see an older woman come in, turning her head in amazement at the displays of yarn and telling me that she had always had to "go down below" (as we call traveling to the Sacramento Valley) to get yarns of such quality and was delighted to see there was a shop in our own community.

We discussed that, while it is hard to have to admit that not all people in the fiber world are honest, we must be on the lookout for shoplifters... it has happened on several occasions in the handful of years the store has been open.  The long-term Yarnistas warned us three newbies about certain people, struggled over descriptions, sighed and suggested that since I always have my camera with me, maybe I would want to try and snap photos of suspicious people... but we recognized that this problem can't be solved easily. There are general profiles of shoplifters, but that doesn't mean any one of us will be able to size up people correctly every time, be in three places at once, or gaurd the store against a new offense.  We sighed, those drinking wine poured a little more, and we wished people would refrain from stealing.

We also talked about how best to help people strengthen their skills, move to new projects, and get over their fears.  The statement "Sheesh, it's not rocket science; it's only knitting!" got a round of giggles, but Allison, with her strong background in Feldenkrais work, also pointed out that for some people, learning to knit is a much bigger success than for others.  The store's policy is to empower the crafter to try new things, to show them but also step back and let them see for themselves, from winding their own skeins all the way through to finishing seams.  We agreed that it is better to teach a (wo)man to fish than to give her (him) a fish.

A thorny subject was how to ensure the success of a small, local shop that has to compete with the cut-rate prices offered through the Internet.  We agreed that being able to take classes, secure help with your project, touch, feel and compare colors before you buy, and have a friendly knitting space were all qualities that set us apart from shopping online.  That said, Allison acknowledged that Internet sales and credit card fees on store sales both cut into the narrow operating margin, and that she carefully reviews the store's statistics each month to assure that we are open the right days and hours, therefore not losing money to slow days. 

Summer is not a productive season for the yarn industry, and we are hoping that offering a sock knitting class on Friday nights in June and July will add visibility and draw in new customers.  The Grass Valley downtown merchants' association has a weekly Farmer's Market on Thursdays (which actually hurts the storefront merchants more than helps, since parking is more restricted) and also wants to have shopkeepers stay open late on Friday nights, when restaurants offer live music and the climate is balmy for strolling through the lovely downtown streets... we won't know if this strategy helps or hurts business until the fall.

While working at a yarn shop may have seemed like a dream job, it also involves a lot more than helping people pick out yarns, or offering instruction.  My shifts always go by quickly, but I really only have the luxury of working for Fibers because I have another, better-paying job.  I also have to resist the temptation to cart home armloads of yarn and start even more projects.  I decided that my May UFO Resurrection would become a FO to wear to work during the warm season and then place on display next to the Rowan Calmer... the pattern is in the latest issue of Interweave Knits and will be available for a few years if anyone is interested.  Since I made a substitution myself, and am skilled at that, I will be able to help others choose a different yarn than the pattern calls for; the Rowan Calmer is a lovely, fast-knitting yarn that has been very kind to my hands.  I can't believe that I didn't finish a single project in May, but this top is already almost half finished! 

Substituting doesn't always work; fellow Yarnista Gail and I searched through the silk selection, looking for a substitute for Handmaiden Sea Silk, which is used for a quick summer scarf in the same issue.  However, our shop cannot get on the list to receive this yarn yet, as sales have already outstripped production.  I should have done a web search, for then I would have known it is classified as a laceweight!  I swatched up some Denim Silk, from Berroco, which I really liked, but it is a worsted weight and has been discontinued. I will still use it for the Brioche bolero shown in Lace Style, since that is such a wonderful book and will likely stay in print a long time.  I imagine that designers face similar challenges in selecting a yarn to be featured in a book or magazine; by the time something comes to print, the yarn may already be unavailable.  As you can see, the considerations on the register side of the yarn counter aren't always identical to those on the customer's side, but it really is still  all about the yarn!  I decided to take on this venture to help assure that there will continue to BE a local yarn shop in my community, with a strong community and charity knitting focus, a place to touch the yarn before buying and to share my passion for fibers with others, no matter which side of the counter I am on.

I don't intend for my entire knitting life to become all about the samples, though.  My Spring Things Shawl is coming along nicely (although, for some reason I keep wanting to rename it "Spring Thrills", Susan), I plan to spin something for Spun Stitches over the next few weeks (though I haven't focused long enough to decide just what yet), and I am looking forward to the next package from Anne's Wooly Wonka Fiber Club.  I also picked up this very cute little tote for holding summer projects today:

Don't you just love the brilliant purple and the great Chinese fabric?

It is the right size for a little pink scarf I am making, a modification of the Montego Bay scarf I couldn't make up in Sea Silk, since wearing hand knits to work is another important part of working in a yarn shop... gotta be confidence-inspiring!

Tomorrow, while I am having fun being a Yarnista, I hope you will be having a wonderful early summer weekend.