Daryl's Blog

1 Hashbrown

2 Scrambled Eggs with melted American Cheese served on Pepperidge Farm Fish shaped Deli-thins

8 ounces of fruit smoothie (plain yogurt/1 banana/half an apple/pomegranate juice/frozen blueberries, raspberries, and dark cherries)

I’ve made the above breakfast for my high school age daughter every school day I have not been on the road for more than two years now.  It is a routine I can do with my eyes closed.  I wake up at 6:20am, hit the snooze button twice, wander down to the kitchen with the dog hot on my trail.  I put food in his bowl, change his water, empty the dishwasher, and start on my daughter’s breakfast.  A couple of years ago, her grades were slipping, and she was starting to stay up too late to be able to get up and function for school in the morning, and we came to an agreement.  If I got up and made her breakfast, she had to get up and eat it.  If I threw it away just once, then I wouldn’t do it again.  She never missed.  And her grades came back up to where they should be and all was well.

This morning was my last breakfast.  She has finished school.  Tomorrow is graduation practice, but she doesn’t have to be at school by 7:15am.  Graduation is Friday.  I volunteered to help with the senior send-off breakfast, but it is not the same thing.  So today I’m sort of sad, my last breakfast for her in this context.  My morning ritual that got her motivated to get up and start the day well, is finished.  I’ll have to find a new ritual to get me up and out of bed in the morning.

Meanwhile, there isn’t very much exciting happening in the studio at the moment, I’ve spent the last three days printing and binding monographs to ship up to Midwest Conference.  I loathe this job, I’ve tried to get some of the extraneous bodies that reside in my house to help, but alas, no one else likes this job either.  But the monographs generate additional income, and they are pretty important when I’m giving a three hour technical lecture and no one wants to take notes for that length of time.  They are printed right off the PowerPoint presentation so students have all the information right in front of them.  It makes my job so much easier and I can stay focused and on track.

I love conferences.  I rarely attend one just for my own benefit, I’m usually teaching as many time slots as they can assign me, after all this is my job, but conferences, unlike when I teach for a guild, are full of bytes of knowledge flying all around the hotel/college campus, especially when everyone eats together in dining halls.  I sometimes sit with friends I know I can be comfortable with, who don’t expect me to “be on stage”, and sometimes I sit with complete strangers, and sometimes I find a table full of other teachers.  Some I know well, some I’ve never met.  Since all kinds of fiber techniques are represented, the table conversation can be fascinating.

I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time Janis Thompson, who was teaching spinning/knitting classes at ANWG a couple weeks ago. Instant adore.  We sat next to each other at the table, and I listened to her chatting about how students don’t know how to use the various settings on their wheel, and how to move their drivebands to smaller whorls.  I was following the conversation but mentioned that I didn’t have those options, I have the traditional Ashford spinning wheel I bought in kit form from New Zealand in 1974.  It’s a basic wheel, with no frills, and I adore it and I think I can do anything I want with it but truth be told, I sort of spin everything the same thickness and twist.

Someone else suggested that it was time to dump my wheel and buy something new.  Someone else said she did let her Ashford Traditional go and was really really sorry.  I hear that sentiment a lot about sewing machines.  You can just imagine…

Janis turned to me and asked why I didn’t just get a new flyer?  I said in shock,  “I can buy a new flyer for my Ashford Traditional from 1974?”  Janis assured me I could, it had three positions, and I would be amazed at what it could do.  It came in the mail yesterday and I immediately installed it.  I haven’t tried the other whorls (and I’m not even sure that’s the proper word) but I know I have options now that I didn’t have before…  Knowledge is a wonderful thing…

I finally broke down and bought my own marudai.  That’s a Japanese Braiding stand.  Shirley Berlin, my favorite braid vendor from Canada was at the ANWG conference and had some beautiful marudais, so I don’t have to borrow one from my guild members anymore.  I even had the weights and a band in progress, just no marudai.  Though I always teach braiding on a foam disk, the motions and “dance” on a marudai are beautiful and gentle, and I’m glad to have my own.

 

I found out from Pat Sparks, a wonderful felter and one of the teachers at the ANWG conference, that no one uses fiberglass screening for felting anymore, too dangerous to be rubbing fiberglass.  Duh…  Everyone now uses the olive drab mosquito netting.  That arrived a couple days ago.  Knowledge is a wonderful thing especially when fiberglass isn’t…

Last week I took my daughter to UMass Amherst for her freshman orientation.  I sat in a conference hall for two days listening to lectures designed to educate parents on what to expect for their children, what they are getting for their money,  and let them know of all the resources available.  I did what any self respecting fiber enthusiast did, I sat and knit a sock while watching all the presentations…  Knowledge is a wonderful thing especially when you can knit a sock and listen at the same time…

 

While I was at UMass, I skipped out after dinner one of the nights and headed down to Northhampton to WEBS, just 10 miles down the road.  I clocked it.  They were open late on Thursday night.  It was great to just wander the aisles, and see what I never think to look for online.  I found a package of Wensleydale sliver, that’s the sheep breed Pat Sparks uses to make her lace felt, and I found some cool sock yarn, since I’m almost half way on the second sock I’ve been knitting.  And I found buried in a cubby, the treadle hooks for Leclerc looms, that are almost identical to the ones found on my Tools of the Trade looms from the 1970-80’s.  Who knew?  The 36″ 8 shaft TOTT loom I acquired last year was missing two of the hooks.  They rigged something up, but it wasn’t the same.  I bought a package of 10, and now I have extra.  Knowledge is great when you find out loom parts are available…

And lastly, my lovely almost high school graduate Brianna came skipping downstairs last night, (she was suppose to be cramming for an AP English final exam), and proudly showed all of us her latest handwork.  She found a crochet pattern online for Pi.  Yep, that Pi.  3.142   OK, so I want to know what makes a person think, gee, I’ll Google to see if there are any crochet patterns for Pi.  Well she found one and she crocheted one up, and stuffed it with fiber fill and had a Pi soft sculpture.  I am so going to miss this amazing child in the fall, I’m going to miss getting up early and starting my day with her, I’m going to miss making her smoothies, and I’m going to miss her zany handwork, soft sculptures, duct tape projects, and her zest for life as she goes off in search of her own knowledge.

Stay tuned…

I’m back, reluctantly…

And what a re-entry it was. Between malfunctioning ponds, waterfalls dug up by the dog, shot bearings on the pool pump, sprung springs on the garage door, and 95 degree temperatures, with no airconditioning (which I refuse to start up, flushing drain lines etc, since I’m leaving again in a couple of hours to take Brianna to UWebs, UMass for freshman orientation) it has been a hell of a week. And it is only Wednesday…

I want to be back in Oregon…

My new  band weaving buddy John Mullarkey and I have had a running dialogue about self publishing books, he has in fact published a terrific tome on Card Weaving patterns through LULU.com.  This opens up all kinds of potential opportunities, more things for me to dive into, but he graciously provided this quote for me, in reference to my whining about my overwhelming reentry midnight on Sunday night…

“The blanket of fiber we wrap ourselves in is so comfortable, and it is so cold outside…”

Other than the fact that the thermometer will hit 97 today, I think that is a record for mid-June, I loved the quote and am wishing for some studio time to play with all my new fiber inspiration from the ANWG conference.

Meanwhile…

Spending lots of time partying in the lounges after hours at the conference, sitting in airports, and hunkered down on airplanes in coast to coast flights, I managed to knit a tank top for the cruel days of summer.  This is Noro Lily Yarn, cotton and silk, and I’m using a free pattern from Berroco.  All I have to do is finish one armhole band, and sew everything together.

The dishtowel exchange at the Jockey Hollow Guild last Wednesday night, where Brianna’s sheep towels were a hit, netted some excellent towels between the two of us.  The assignment was to create dishtowels using complementary colors.  This was a terrific exchange, my only regret is we only have one sheep towel between the two of us, so I know if I want one of my own forever and ever, I’ll have to weave one for myself.  🙁

 

And finally, I did manage to undo the three yard seam, fortunately I’m an excellent speed ripper, and I reset the front/collar pieces on the un-named coat/dress and got the whole thing back on the dressform.  I’m really happy with the garment so far.  All it needs is hidden button closures, a lining, and lots and lots of handwork, which I’m not doing until the air conditioning is on and I can stand holding a 10 pound wool garment in my lap.

 

Nameless No More…  I’ve come up with a name for my coat/dress.  I’ve been sitting on this photo from our trip to New Mexico just before the Albuquerque Convergence last July.  We saw amazing sunsets on that trip, and this one has haunted me, and I think wants to be part of my garment, so I’m going to give my nameless coat/dress a formal title, Albuquerque Sunset.  I’m hoping to finish it up to take to the Midwest conference  in two weeks, my fingers will be flying all next week, as I sew,  garden, clean up, prepare the house/yard, and get everything ready for Brianna’s high school graduation on the 17th.

I need that blanket that John described…  In spite of the heat, it is cold outside…

I would wager a guess that this has been the most relaxed and rested conference I’ve ever attended.  And oddly enough, second only to Convergence last summer in Albuquerque, I’ve taught more here than I’ve ever taught in one week straight, social events in the evening, three meals a day talking with everyone I’ve ever met from the Pacific Northwest and I feel like a new person.  Go figure.

I can’t explain, maybe it is Oregon.  Maybe it is the cool rainy weather, great for sleeping at night, maybe it is the food, plenty of water, walking all around campus. Maybe it is the online yoga classes I do every morning in my dorm room.  Maybe it is the friendship, though I typically have wonderful experiences with students, other instructors, and old friends when I travel.  Maybe it is the campus here at Willamette.  The lush gardens, with the mill stream cutting right through the campus just pull at me everywhere I go.  I stop and smell the roses.  I stop and bask in the sun when it comes out for a brief moment. I stop and watch the ducks.  I stop and watch a rainbow that stretches across the sky in a complete 180 degree arc. I just stop.  Maybe I need to reexamine my life back in NJ.

I’ve had some great experiences at conferences, which is sort of awkward, no one should have this much fun when they are working, but I do.  This one goes up to the top of all time greats.  The students have been so supportive and fantastic, and the conference staff so accomodating, and willing to do whatever it takes, I’ve loved working with them.  The fashion show was tonight, and it was beautiful, a decorated stage, professional narrator, and some really spectacular garments.  The professional models were clearly having a blast.

At the fashion show dessert reception afterwards, I ran into one of my students from a workshop a couple of years ago at an ANWG conference, I believe Tacoma.  The students were making a pieced vest, and I usually don’t get to see the vests completely finished, but to my absolute delight, Eva pulled me aside to show me her gorgeous vest, now finished, and glowed with pride when she showed me some of the sewing details she placed inside.  It is a lovely vest, suits her well, and I challenged her to do another project by the next conference.

I hit the conference vendors briefly last night, and buckled at the knees when I walked by the Bluster Bay booth.  There was the most glorious low profile shuttle, from Bloodwood, calling at me, whatever could I do but plunk down the $40. for the shuttle and some quills?  Imagine my surprise when I discovered no sales tax in Oregon. Some of the locals explained that though Oregon doesn’t have a sales tax they do have an income tax.  Well damn, NJ has an income tax, sales tax, the worst property tax in the country, a lottery, Atlantic City, and they are still bankrupt.

One of the other instructors and I went exploring around the campus and came upon this hidden garden full of the most amazing contrasts in color/texture/shape and plants I’ve never seen before.  I took lots of ph0tos.  Be inspired.

And this afternoon I got a rare treat, I actually took a seminar, with Pat Sparks, a wonderful felter and all around excellent person.  I’ve known Pat for a long time, and she was giving a hands on 2 1/2 hour seminar in making lace felt greeting cards with Wensleydale locks (this being a breed of sheep in case you were wondering).

I had a blast just sitting in a pile of cool bits of stuff, rubbing wool with olive oil soap, and making little “paintings” with  interesting yarn and shiny things, all held together with these airy paper thin layers of wiggly wool.

Walking home tonight from the fashion show, the cloudless sky shone luminous with a color blue I’ve rarely seen on the east coast.  The sliver of a moon was just rising over the trees.  Or the cafeteria actually.  For tonight, all is well…  (And I hear they have hot water again in the dorm showers… )

Stay tuned…

I’m in Oregon.  Lovely beautiful Oregon, the only other state in the United States besides New Jersey where you can’t pump your own gas.  Usually before I leave for a teaching venue, I’m more concerned with leaving everything in order in the house, giving the kids their marching orders, getting what I need packed, and making sure everything that has been shipped ahead has arrived.  A tall order to be sure.  I don’t usually pay much attention to where I’m actually going, I’ll find out when I get there.

So I knew I was teaching at a conference in Willamette University, that was somewhere near Salem, which was an hour ride (I knew not in which direction) from Portland airport, because the shuttle I booked was taking me there.  Willamette University is in the Willamette Valley.  Yes, that Willamette Valley, as in Pinot Noir wine Willamette Valley.  🙂

This has got to be one of the most gorgeous campuses I’ve ever been to, there is a mill stream that runs right through the center, with landscaping that would take your breath away.  Ducks and benches, and spectacular rhododendrons and azaleas, all at their peak.  The weather is cool, rainy, typical Oregon, which makes for great sleeping weather, hunkered down under a pile of blankets.  I’m glad I have a suitcase full of winter coats and jackets.  All handwoven of course.

The three day pre-conference class is over, and I loved this class.  I had a great group, very mixed levels, students who’ve never sewn a garment in their life, and students who were professional designers.  All were great sports, and enthusiastic, and very very appreciative.

The food is edible, and of course, I’m in a college cafeteria, and that means cling peaches (my secret passion) at every meal.  Lots of home grown local farmer produce, great salads at every meal, and some great dining company.  I have lots of friends when I travel to conferences, and it is always a treat to spend meaningful time with them.

And John Mullarkey, who is teaching tablet weaving and I (I am teaching Inkle Loom weaving) are starting a friendly rivalry, we are thinking of something along the line of a “Battle of the Bands” (as in tablet woven vs inkle woven bands…)  (Our dinner conversations go something like, “I can’t imagine why you would do all that Pick-up weaving”, to which I respond, “I can’t imagine why you would spend your time spinning cards around to get the patterns you want…”)

OK, I did buy a set of palm size card weaving tablets.  Stay tuned…

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The night before I left, I was all packed and had a couple of hours and I thought if I worked really really hard, I could finish the collar/front section of the coat/dress I’ve been working on, so I could grab a photo and share it with you, dear readers, while I was on the road.  The front/collar seam is something like three yards long.  In my defense, there was a lot of distraction in the studio, one of my son’s friends came up to see everything and hang out, and Brianna was of course furiously weaving her sheep dishtowels.

I put the entire collar on backwards.

I have no pictures.

I have to return home and rip out a three yard seam and reset the collar.

I am miffed…

But…

As I checked in Sunday afternoon at the conference, Brianna started a series of texts that ended with, “how do I wash the towels, do I use detergent, and what dryer temperature should I use?”  There were a couple of photos thrown in, of her rows of sheep, which will be cut into samples for the guild exchange, and one where she got the wild idea of reversing the black and white shuttles and creating Ninja sheep…

I love my daughter…

This afternoon as I was packing up from the three day workshop, I got a message from her, “Cake mom?  Really?”

I scratched my head, I hadn’t a clue what she was talking about, until I did a quick calculation on the time change and realized she was actually at the guild meeting and remembered they had planned a going away party cake for her the last meeting.  I had previously arranged for a photo of her, which they wanted to put on the cake.

I asked if she took a photo, apparently she didn’t think of it until after they cut into it, but this popped up in my text box.

She has been so much fun for our weaving guild, and I’m so grateful they did this for her, thanks to all who made it happen and I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to celebrate…

According to my son, the pool is now open, all is well, and my hanging flower baskets are still alive thanks to the rain that came in today.

Three more days of classes and I start the trek home.

Stay tuned…

 

First, I have to say that this was the coolest birthday I’ve ever had.  As much as I grumble at social networking sites, I have to say, it was a blast putting my feet up on my desk, knitting a tank top, and watching all the birthday wishes pop up between Facebook and my blog.  It was like being at your own party and doing none of the work.

Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to wish me a Happy Birthday, both on Facebook and on my blog,  it really meant a lot to me, and I appreciated each and every message.  Know that they were read and treasured.

I’ve left a few threads hanging so to speak, and I need to tidy up loose ends before I head out on the road again.

First, my dishtowels.  I finished them, six in all, I’ll swap three at the guild exchange, and keep three for myself.  For all my griping about not ever having woven a dishtowel in my lengthy career as a weaver, I sort of enjoyed the exercise and am pretty proud of the way they turned out.  I’ll let you know what I get back in return when I return from Oregon and the ANWG conference next week.  Brianna will have to exchange the towels for me since I can’t make the guild meeting.

Speaking of Brianna, this is the time when I smile and say,” shoulda not left this ’till the last minute, just saying…”.  She would then roll her eyes and exclaim, “MOTH-ER…”  Truth is, she did wait until the last minute, the towels are due in one week, she was threaded by last week, had to deal with some crossed threads, and then got sidetracked by a major high school event she got sucked into at the last minute taking up every night last week into the weekend.  Monday morning she woke up really sick.  She has been out of school for three days, and only today crawled out of bed to fix the cross threads and fix the tie-up (you can’t weave plain weave on a five hundred pound loom lifting six of eight shafts when the treadles are all the way on the left of the 45″ loom).  I explained how to  put the plain weave treadles (which is 95% of the towel) in the middle to get the best leverage of the treadle.  After a lot of fiddling, she was finally weaving.

 

OMG!  These are truly adorable, and I’m sooooo disappointed I won’t have one for me.  She only put on enough warp for five towels, forgetting she has to weave 15 samples.  So there will only be four towels, three get traded and I get none…  🙁  The challenge here was to use complementary colors, she loved purple, so the border thread had to be yellow, and of course the sheep are black and white. )

In case you want to weave these towels yourself (which I may have to do…) they are from Best of Handwoven Top Ten Towels on Eight Shafts.  It is an eBook which in itself is pretty much fun.

 

 

 

And my coat/dress, still without a name, is chugging along.  It is 85 degrees in the studio today and hard to touch wool.  I’m sweating all over my keyboard.  Regardless, I’m going to have to put this project on hold for a bit, since I spent the day prepping and packing, I teach all day tomorrow at an elementary school in Morris County, my yearly appearance, where I talk about fiber to all the second grade classes.  I adore these kids, and it is so much fun to share what I do with them.  So I had to pack a loom, a spinning wheel, wash some fleece, etc.  Friday I have to take care of all the bills, balance checkbooks, and take care of the stack of paperwork on my desk, and Saturday I pack.  I’ll try to fit in a few hours on the unnamed coat/dress before I leave Sunday for Oregon and the ANWG conference.

Meanwhile, here are the photos I have so far, this is a pretty in your face piece, should look great on a runway, and I have to say one of the most challenging things I’ve ever sewn.  The underarm gusset was laborious but came out fantastic, and I like the juxtaposition of the grainlines from the front/back to the side insets.  Since they are one with the sleeve, the stripes had to be going in the opposite direction.  It is all coming out swimmingly well, and it fits like a glove.  So far…  The front panels/collar section still have to be added, and some kind of button closure, it is hidden on the pattern but I’m thinking I might want it to show.

Stay tuned…