by carmen | Sep 19, 2011 | Markets
Where to begin? Planning for the extra shows this year is making my brain hurt. I was considering doing a brain on wool update, but I can’t even manage that. I also can’t quantify my “busy” due to a fear of blood leaking out of my ears.
What I can say is that the markets are great, my pile of custom orders is ever growing and I am immensely behind (which is oddly making me a bit crabby). I want to get to a place where it gets easier somehow. That place never seems to materialize. I had a board meeting after the market so John had dinner with a friend and then I met him so we could have dinner with our other friends. It was almost like a vacation. Creekbread is amazing. Officially the best pizza I have ever eaten (also the best salad). —-Pemberton potatoes on a pizza and garlic from North Arm Farms—nothing better.
On another note. Hadiya is uber sick, so going to the studio to work is out of the question. I just don’t want to leave her side. The cancer has returned in a big way. She hasn’t figured it out yet, so that’s a good thing. She’s stuffing her little face, purring loudly, demanding petting and sleeping on my lap. It’s only a matter of time. John and I were hoping at least until Christmas, but it might not even be until the end of the week.
My booth at the market was full and my heart is full and I guess that’s all a crafty girl can ask for, right?
Feeling blassed (and just a little stressed)
by carmen | Sep 8, 2011 | Studio
Today I realized that I am 4 days into “panic busy”. I may have been cued by the feeling of nausea from staring at the pile of dyed fibre on the coffee table. Maybe it was the fact that I realized I have two shows this weekend and no fibre to sell. No–wait—-It’s the fact that I am already 5 hats behind today and I need to get to the studio asap.
Wah——I know there is beautiful dried fibre waiting for me to spin. I also miss Kristen and Joan who will both be there. So just suck it up, go and get the mojo back. I think I’ll card today. It usually helps me get my focus back and also works out a bit of stress.
Do not come anywhere near the studio unless you are okay with being saddled with weird odd jobs. I mean it.
by carmen | Sep 5, 2011 | Markets
Besides appreciating this view driving through Lion’s Bay on the way home, I can list the following:
- great weather
- vendors
- customers
- friends
- food
- petting other peoples dogs
- spending time with my honey
by carmen | Sep 2, 2011 | Uncategorized
……..I did not spend my day as planned. While I thought I might put my deadlines aside for a few days, I ended up spending the afternoon helping a friend with her deadline for a special project. It was also great to see that there are deadlines all around me and not all mine! That adventure went into early evening, I worked on a hat and fell asleep on the couch….the best laid plans…
Back to the world of making magic, or Once Upon a Green Screen….
I just have to say this once. Okay, possibly I’ve said it 500 times already. Robert Carlyle is an amazing actor. For the number of takes to get the scene down, he was perfection for each take.
There were several opportunities for me to adjust the props, speak with the actor and view the filming from over the director’s shoulder. One screen gave us the scene as we saw it staged and the other screen gave us the Disneyfied version with walls and books and staircases —–just amazing to see it all come together.
I think it took about three hours to film the scene and a lot of it was with me prepping the wheel and fibre fluffing. I can hardly wait to see this when it debuts in October and see how long the scene actually is and how much of it ends up on film.
My one heart stopping moment was on the 3rd take wherein the actor said and I quote “I like spinning”. Insert sexy Scottish accent here.
Life gets a little dull after this moment, I have no guarantees of future film work. However this is the 4th production I’ve worked on since moving out to BC, so who knows.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for the call, from the studio or from Robert Carlyle….sigh…
by carmen | Aug 31, 2011 | Special Projects
….a young girl wanted to knit some stuff. Then she wanted to spin some stuff. Then she wanted to teach others to spin and so the story goes. But the metaphor for spinning straw into gold takes on new meaning when you get to incorporate your love of fibre and see it translated on camera.
The full morning yesterday was spen
t in the prop warehouse. There were thousands of metres of flax to rewind. It didn’t stop me from being distracted by the millions of things that had nothing to do with why I was sitting in the prop warehouse. Swords, marionettes, musical instrument, containers and vessels of varying sizes—-it was dizzying to be surrounded by all of it.
The prop guys are amazing. Alchemists in their own right, I was watching them create out of nothing. It’s a tougher job than I could have ever imagined and they are superstars, really.
After all the consultations, I came face to face with the Great Wheel —repaired. She was a beauty for sure, modified to fit the screen needs but not my personal needs…..(which saved me the trouble of trying to figure out how I was going to fit it in the car after shooting was over for the day)
I found the most beautiful vintage spools to wrap the fibre around and stuck to that task. The rolags had already been done and the mountains of unprocessed fibre wouldn’t be necessary until the scene was ready
to shoot. I couldn’t get over how nicely the core spun prep turned out, but not a preparation I would ever recommend for spinning bast fibres. Hence Pearl’s gift of the goggles.
The wheel was spruced up and beautiful with a new whorl and drive band; cracks were filled and it was truly a work of art. The morning flew by. The film industry is always trying to feed you, but I really didn’t have much of an appetite and didn’t want to leave the prop room even for a minute. I did enjoy mega doses of caffeine which was in sympathy with the pace I was working at.
Then setting the stage was before lunch. The green screen is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Very little was on set except for the wheel and fibre and a table full of alchemist tools and potions. So I went to work, first the unprepped fibre mountain, and then the collection of rolags piled on top and arranged just so and then arranging the wheel and the fibre for the actor.
Then a walk through of the scene with the actors and suddenly everyone was gone…Lunch. OMG, cold grilled mushroom salad, steamed orange roughy and a rhubarb crisp –and more coffee. I’ll let you know how the afternoon went tomorrow. I still have a lot to process and I think a massage may be on the agenda.
by carmen | Aug 29, 2011 | Ramblings
I’m always busy. When people ask me how I’m doing or what’s going on I will usually answer “oh, same as always–busy”. I’ve now realized that I can’t always be “busy” and if I am there are certainly different levels of said – busy.
Normal Busy-
- house not clean
- behind on paperwork
- pile of hats to be finished
- major shows still at least two months away
Panic Busy (includes Normal Busy as well)
- deadline in danger of being missed (usually related to custom orders)
- something not getting done because of waiting for fibre (usually my fault because I waited too long to order it)
- realizing I am out of a certain style/type of hat/wool with no way to create it before a show
www.toonpool.com
Category One Busy(includes Normal Busy and Panic Busy)
- teaching 2-3 days per week in addition to other deadlines
- pile of half finished inventory exceeds 100
- out of bags or any kind of packaging, labels and hang tags and business cards down to one box
- less than 2 months to major shows
- possible night terrors
Def Com Busy(includes Category One Busy) and was named after something I think I saw in a Sylvester Stallone movie
- less than two weeks before major show
- business cards have not arrived (due to late ordering)
- several felted hats will now accidentally become children’s hats
- I start online shopping for bomb shelters
- I start creating lists and spreadsheets so that I can feel more organized
- there will be at least one crazy show dream
With the exception of the extra work for Once Upon a Time, I would qualify this as Normal Busy —Panic Busy doesn’t start until next week.
by carmen | Aug 23, 2011 | Ramblings
Especially if it gets to look like this little lovely. It took hours to core spin flax on to a thread. Why would I do this? Well, the smoke and mirrors that are filming have to hold up to sturdier stuff than a regular fibre. It gave me ample time to study the behavior of the fibre —-and unlike last night, make me want to spin more. It was coarse but still lighter than air and
created magical little whispies as it slid by my fingers. Just lovely. I thought it was wonderful that the honey colour of the fibre matched the finish on the Sonata and the bobbins and that how it all was so matchy and organic.
i pictured myself sans bonnet in an old farmhouse with a Great Wheel, finding time for myself and not at all feeling like the spinning was some chore to complete. Like “me time” but 1800’s style.
The reality was a rerun of last weekend’s episode of Torchwood and True Blood. I somehow managed to miss seeing segments of both of them.
The fibre wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t aiming for that. I wanted something a bit more rustic and was pleased with what I achieved. The full bobbin couldn’t have weighed more than 50 or 60 grams at most. I wrapped it in a little bag, nestled on top of all of the carded rolags and waited for the guys to come by and deliver it to the set. I kept a small bit back for my fibre scrapbook, a fly away hunk that wafted across the hardwood floor.
Who knows when I’ll have a chance to do something like this again. I appreciate the opportunity it gave me to work with non wools. It was a lovely experience.
I’ve left a small bit of the spun fibre trailing off the wheel and instead of packing it up like I usually do, I put the wheel beside the fireplace.
The cats are a bit miffed to have their place disturbed, but I thought it looked kind of cool, and we have the room, and well —I also managed to clean up the living room a bit.
I still seem to have flax eye and I didn’t put on goggles like I said I would. But that’s okay….today was an awesome day and now back to the more mundane tasks . Barring any complications, I’m not needed on set until next week. And my spinning mojo —a bit ramped up.
by carmen | Aug 22, 2011 | Ramblings
If ever there was a time that I needed this skill, now is that time. There are so many different things I am committed to right now, all equally important. I have classes to teach, inventory to make, production for the TV series and Farmer’s Markets to attend.
This week is involving a lot of back to back events and double bookings. Please don’t hate me if I end up having to move or cancel something. I’m juggling as quickly as I can.
My focus this week is to start to replenish the hand spun inventory. It never occurred to me that I would sell it all. I had spun what I calculated would last for the rest of the season…..This after I finish with my gigantic piles of flax.
I have to tell you my experience with flax was not a good one. Thank god the fairy tale turns it in to gold. I found my long draw harder to control and my finished fibre felt like binder twine. But hey, you can’t get more authentic than that.
I can hardly wait to attempt it on the Great Wheel. In the meantime, the Sonata is up to the task and treating it just fine. I was thinking that I also might get a pair of spinning goggles as I ended up with a serious case of flax eye. I am working on this post through scratchy wet eyeballs after letting Pearl first, then John dose me with crazy drops.
by carmen | Aug 19, 2011 | Spinning
When you update your CV, don’t be afraid to put down every weird little skill you have. This week, I will have the pleasure of updating my resume to include consulting on a television series.
The skill of spinning my own wool has given me the most flexibility in how I earn a living. I can spin the wool and knit it, I can spin it and sell it as it or I can teach others how to do it. Or in this case, assist in the diagnosis and repair of a great wheel. There is something about spinning that makes you want to conquer it. Like climbing a mountain, I want to spin on every wheel that was ever created. Spinning on a Walking Wheel or a Great Wheel is an amazing experience. Back to the job thing……
And now here I am behind the scenes of a tv series consulting on a fanciful “Grimm” fairytale from the early 1800’s.
I’ll have more details later next week. In the meantime wish me luck spinning straw into gold. (in more ways than one) Anyone have any flax to spare?
by carmen | Aug 18, 2011 | Ramblings
Out of yarn for my kids hats…..find some, dye some.
No yarns left in my stash. Card some, spin some.
Missing several sizes of hats. Knit some.
Not up to date on my updates. Blog some.
Easier than it sounds. The studio multi marathons have given me a chance to start catching up on this monumental to do list. As much as I love the most current story lines, it was hard to say good bye to David Tenant who was my favourite Dr. Who. I think it takes a few seasons to fall in love with a new Doctor, so I am hopeful I will get into the new guy.
My weekend markets are back in the groove, with the next few weekends finding me at Saturday and Sunday markets. It appears the weather will cooperate which makes all the difference. I am starting to produce inventory and sorting it by show. Three shows is a bit much and requires precise organization. Something I am not known for.
Today, I’m at home with the kitties doing finishing work. Tomorrow the yarn will be dry at the studio and I can roll around in the new colours of my new base yarn. Even chunkier than before, the first few hats have turned out pretty fabulous (if I say so myself).
Come visit me at a market and check them out yourself. What’s your favourite market?
