Is this the end of Winter?

This was the scene yesterday around noon - big, thick snow flakes driven in circles by the wind. None of it stuck, but the forecast is for more cold weather, so who knows if we will end up with some more of the white stuff on the ground. The peas in the greenhouse are an inch high, signalling Spring, despite the snow flurries.

I for one will be hoping that this is Winter's final gasp and vow not to complain when the lawn needs to be mowed so long as I can do it while dressed in only one layer with a ball cap on instead of a heavy wool toque.

Enough, Already!

Six inches of snow is plenty, IMHO. Sabu is thrilled, Old Dog not so much. The road is a mess. Rain is in the forecast, accompanied by high winds. Joy! March in Oregon is never boring!

Really?

Today's weather ran the full gamut from light rain to 70 MPH winds to sideways rain to total calm to 3" of snow with more falling heavily. Sure felt like Spring last week...

Signs of Spring!

Kale sprouts in the greenhouse

St. John's Wort coming back to life

Primrose in bloom

Hydrangea budding out

The Old Dog tries to be stoic. Notice the Other Dog in the background

Torturing dogs is legal on warm, Spring days!

Fiddling

It's been all fiddles, all the time around here lately. I actually did sew up a pair of wool pants that are as perfect as I could wish for, but my photographer is out of town so pictures will have to wait until he returns. Rest assured I haven't dropped off the face of the earth and fibery posts will resume shortly :-)

Romney Fleece in The Shop

Eight ounce and one pound lots of cold water washed colored Romney are up in The Shop!

Also for sale is three pounds of Coopworth fleece with an amazing 8"  - 10" staple - perfect for combing -

All of the fleece has been washed in cold water to preserve some of the lanolin. Stop by the shop  - surely there's something you can't live without :-)

New Kits in The Shop

A new selection of book mark kits is up in The Shop!

This batch features hand-dyed silk and wool yarns -

Of course, the kits can be mixed and matched if you would prefer a different yarn/pattern combo - just drop me a note at catmccall at gmail dot com.

Parking Violation

Do they not teach reading in California schools, or do only the dumb ones come Up North?

We've been having some brilliant, sunny days here on the Oregon coast, and the beaches are alive with waders and dog walkers. Most of them are not quite this rude, though. I hope they were ticketed...

Dyed Angora Fluff

Now available in The Shop!

Six colors available - Copenhagen Blue, Robin's Egg Blue, Maize, Bronze, Old Gold and Fuchsia. Get them while they last!

Shop Update

New bunny fluff is available in The Shop! I've listed the natural colors first (even a little bit of Mrs. Weasley, which I find very hard to part with) and will be listing the dyed fluff tomorrow.

The latest shearing produced some Seconds if you're interested in not-quite-prime fiber for a great price - $3.00 per ounce. Don't let the name fool you - it's only Seconds because it's not quite 3" long or it's not quite Perfectly White - it's all great fiber for spinning, dyeing, felting or blending.

Drop me a note at catmccall at gmail dot com if you would like to purchase directly.

What You Missed at the Spin-In

It was crazy! A day of happiness and sorrow in only a few short hours. Spinners and fibery vendors from all over Oregon attended this first Gathering of the New Year yesterday at the Newport Intermediate School -

Wool & Fiber Originals was privileged to share booth space with Laura Todd (blog-less as far as I know) who raises Shetland Sheep near Lincoln City and Connie of Spindlewood fame.

Here you can see Laura (on the left) and Janice unpacking spindles and setting up the display.

The dyed angora fluff was a popular item. Look for the left-overs to be posted in The Shop over the next few days along with cold-water-washed Romney in lovely shades of gray and brown. That's right, the last of the Romney has been washed, sorted and weighed into tidy calico bags for easy shipping and storage.

The fluff boxes have new tags with pictures of the bunnies - scoring many compliments as the day wore on.

Margaret K. from the Yaquina Guild was wearing an incredible handspun vest that she knit from "an older Knitter's pattern" -

My camera did not quite capture the shine or hue of the colored diamonds. Look for posts on the beginning of this project here on ye olde blog sometime in the near future.

In the WTF category (you know there's one at every Spin-In) I submit for your perusal this monstrosity -

It looked exactly like she picked up a bunch of seaweed strewn upon the beach and slung it carelessly around her shoulders. One expected it to drip as she drifted by. From a technical standpoint, this shawl/poncho is a marvel - it is quite difficult to make knitting look like it's falling apart on purpose - but, damn, it's ugly!

The room was positively packed with spinners with every type of wheel you can imagine, spinning away and yucking it up with friends old and new. There were 20 vendors selling something (except long circular needles, much to Yvonne's dismay) to tempt every spinner. The food was disappointing after all the favorable hype, but a fabulous time was had by all.

At the end of the day, the Guild members cleaned up, put the chairs away and headed off into the warm early evening sunshine, the Spin-In over for 2012.

Upon arriving home, tired but happy, two bunnies were discovered dead here at the Rockin' Red Rabbit Ranch. The day ended with a double funeral and much sadness at this unexpected tragedy. No cause of death could be discovered. Whitey and Molly Weasley will be missed. The other rabbits, with their usual aplomb, immediately started lobbying for extra treats, figuring that the volume would remain the same and each was entitled to more in light of fewer mouths to feed. Mercenaries, every one!

Dyeing Angora Fiber

Visit Amore d'Angora for a post on dyeing angora fiber.

See you at the Spin-In!

Newport Oregon Spin-In

and NwRSA Winter Board Meeting

Saturday February 4, 2012

Hosted by the Yaquina Fiber Arts Guild

Northwest Regional Spinners Association

Area 6060

9:00 - 4:00 at the Newport Intermediate School

825 NE 7th street

Newport, Oregon 97365

Admission $4.00

Sassafras Sue's from Toledo will be selling breakfast pastries and a choice of five sandwiches and two salads for lunch for $6.50. The food is rumored to be very good, but of course you could eat at any of Newport's restaurants if you don't mind taking a short drive.

Wool & Fiber Originals will be there* with a fresh batch of angora fluff, washed Romney and Coopworth wool for spinning and knitting patterns for sale. If there are any items in the Etsy Shop that you would like to see in person, drop me a note (catmccall at gmail dot com) and I'll bring them along.

Locally this event is regarded as the first Gathering of the year and is the perfect place to renew friendships, find new like-minded friends, admire a wide variety of spinning wheels and spend the day with people who understand the call of the wool.

See you there!

* Other venders will be there, too, ready to enable your wooly addiction.

Book Review - The Carpet Makers

I saw a review of The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach on a blog somewhere and recently reserved it at my local library. This is the first book by Eschbach to be translated into English from his native German. It is labeled Science Fiction, but it's not about futuristic mumbo-jumbo or unbelievable technology. Even if you don't like SF, you won't be disappointed with this little book.

From the flyleaf -

Since the time of prehistory, carpet makers have tied intricate knots to form carpets for the court of the Emperor. These carpets are made from the hair of wives and daughters; they are so detailed and fragile that each carpet maker finishes only one single carpet in his entire lifetime. This art has descended from father to son since the beginning of time itself. But one day the empire of the God Emperor vanishes, and strangers begin to arrive from the stars to follow the trace of the hair carpets. What these strangers discover is beyond all belief, more than anything they could ever have imagined...

The book is arranged in a series of short chapters that each tell a small part of the story of the hair carpets and how they came to be a venerated tradition. If you're looking for a book about weaving, you will be disappointed. If, however, you enjoy allegorical stories about power and how it corrupts, you are in for a treat.

The Whole Picture slowly comes together through the telling of inter-related stories that at first seem a bit random but soon coalesce into a vision that will resonate in your memory for a long time. I don't want to give away the ending, but if you finish the book and don't see a remarkable resemblance to affairs on our own world, you have missed the point.

I hope that more of Eschbach's books will be translated soon - he's a great story teller and I look forward to hearing much more.

A Bit of Snow...

Last night was cold. The scent of snow was in the air. This morning we woke to a dusting of the white stuff -

 The garden is covered, but the hardy kale and turnips don't seem to mind a bit. The poor artichoke is looking a bit sad, though.

 It soon melted off the trees in the back.

 There was very little vehicle traffic on the road, leaving the snow pristine. For awhile.

The view from the Boat Building Porch was cold with more snow/hail/rain falling every hour.

It's probably not around to stay. but pretty while it lasts...

New Header

Looking West from Lost Creek State Park, just down the road from the house. Back in October a surfer was attacked by a shark. There is nothing calm about the Oregon Coast! Here's a view looking Northwest -

We've had a very unusually dry Winter this year, but we're not complaining! Soft breezes, sunshine and clouds moving across the sky instead of hovering for weeks are just fine thankyouverymuch!

The last fresh tomato of the season

We ate the last of the fresh tomatoes on a quiche for dinner tonight -

The first tomato came out of the greenhouse on August 26. The last of the green tomatoes were harvested on November 1. A few were lost to mold and decay, but the remainder ripened on the counter to provide a delicious meal in the New Year. Not a bad season!

I've posted about no-crust quiche and it's suitability for a cold Winter night's repast - it's a dish well worth repeating, changing out the filling according to what's in the garden. Tonight it was spinach and Swiss chard, both of which are still producing outside with no protection in our Oregon Coast garden.

Happy New Year!

The old Singer just keeps going -

Even reinforcing the seams on this old sail for Doryman's latest project.

Here's wishing you have more time for your projects in 2012!

One down, Two to go!

The first rug is finished, if still on the loom. It looks much like it did in fabric form (on the left in the last post) which is just fine with me :-) It should make a sturdy rug that will stand up to years of use. The fabric is wool, the weft cotton and this rug will be for sale.

New Warp

The gray warp is on the loom and ready to go. I arsed it up a bit and had to sacrifice the last couple of feet to tangles. Live and learn. Three pieces of yardage have been cut into strips to begin the next set of rugs -

The piece on the far right is much more blue than the picture suggests. It's also maybe a bit too thin for the type of rug I envision, but it's all an experiment at this point and I'm sure to end up with a usable rug.


Where does one buy inexpensive rug warp? How about worsted-ish weight cotton for card weaving?