by carmen | Jul 5, 2011 | Personal, Studio
And the script is as follows:
John: Well, I’m calling like you asked. It’s 6pm, are you ready to come home yet?
Me: Well Monica just got here a little while ago and Kristen and I are really working the dyes.
John: Okay, should I call you again at 7?
Me: No, I’m definitely thinking I need to be here until 8:30, and then we’ll be home before 9 and I can still make dinner.
John: Okay, see you at 8:30.
Brief musical interlude…maybe the soundtrack from Buffy Season 6. Phone rings at 8:20.
John: So, I’m leaving the house now to come and get you, right?
Me: Actually I think 9:15 would definitely be better. Monica’s almost done the hat and we have one more round of dyeing to finish.
John: I’ll come now and start loading the car and maybe go for a walk around the neighbourhood, but we are leaving at 9:15.
Me: Absolutely.
Brief interlude in which much laughing, knitting, spinning and dyeing occur. John returns at 9:15
John: So I’ll just hang out with you guys until you are ready to go?
Me: That would be great. Thanks honey, we’re just getting so much done.
Actual time leaving the studio 10:20pm. Dinner at 11:00. In bed by 2:00 (working on a lace shawl).
by carmen | Jun 28, 2011 | Events, Knitting & Crochet, Personal, Spinning
….something must be wrong. Oh, doomsayer me. I am less than 30 days from Filberg, behind in inventory, postal strike deeply delayed my fibre shipments, I have two too full classes to teach and a bunch of fibre at the studio to be rinsed (thanks Kristen) and somehow things are still pretty awesome.
I have spun my 355 yarns and knit them before they got photographed. I’ve been such a fibre slut lately (greedily knitting my own stuff) but that has to stop or I will have no hand spun for the kits. Yes, they will finally be released for Filberg and the Edmonton Folk Festival.
Please forgive me if you have been following the yarn updates —sorely lacking as of late—-I will be back in the saddle as I will no longer be knitting them myself.
As my friends will confirm, I am usually a big freak this close to the large shows. Not this time. I have great friends, helpers, partners, companions that keep me working and loving every minute of the work.
On another note altogether, Hadiya is recovering from the surgery, better than recovering. She’s already off the pain meds and is reverting back to being her usual snarky pain the butt. I couldn’t ask for better. Knit outside if you can, the weather is amazing here in Vancouver today.
by carmen | Jun 21, 2011 | Dyeing, Personal
When Kristen and I dye together, I feel a bit more adventurous. It makes me consider colours outside of my normal colour pallate . Not that I am shy about colour, but it’s easy to fall into a rut of the familiar.
Since most of the hand spun is used in my own designs, I’m also thinking of the finished product when creating colours. Here are a few pretties from the weekend.
I still haven’t managed to take photos of the new inventory. I’m making it a goal this week as well as
- Finishing dyeing the shetland (lace shawls anyone?)
- Catching up on my 355 posts
- Uploading the new hat pattern to Ravelry
- Choosing packaging for the kits
- Digging out another bag of inventory to label…Are you reading this Kim?
- Taking a stab at the back bedroom redo. I still need some studio space at home. Sorry John.
I’ll be off the grid for a few days. Hadiya is having surgery and I need to spend some time snuggling with my girl while she is recovering.
by carmen | Jun 3, 2011 | Personal
It’s been a long time since I’ve updated my brain on yarn.
That is all.
by carmen | May 15, 2011 | Personal, Weaving
A child “weaves” a phentex pot holder on a plastic loom. Pretty presents that definitely surpass the dreaded melted beer bottle ashtray. But then knitting needles replace the plastic loom. So becomes the gift of scarves full of dropped stitches. Then crafting goes on a hiatus. For glory, for grades or for boys.
Into the 20’s crafting is more about what we can do. Invincible, I could do anything. But once each one of those mountains is climbed, I exhausted the passion and looked for something new. When do you put the brakes on? When does the passion take hold of you and grip you so tightly that the excitement doesn’t even allow you to catch a breath.
For me, it is weaving my first piece of cloth. I feel connected to the ancients. Part of something as strong as all the threads together. Life in tapestry. I am indebted for the inspiration, women that walked before me and beside me and the ones that will come after me.
by carmen | May 4, 2011 | Personal, Studio
Mad dash and special guests at the studio today….something to pull me out of my paperwork stupor.
Something I have been trying to avoid for a long time now. Don’t get me wrong…it’s not for a lack of respect or interest in the craft. I am simply afraid of finding something else in the textile arena to love. Saori weaving is a beautiful style of free form weaving and we have an amazing instructor right here in BC. After having Terri at the studio for a brief time, I could feel myself doing a secret fibre dance. I was not alone, hmmm Kristen? Yep, a workshop is definitely in our not too distant future.
While I am coming down from my fibre high, I am nestled snuggly back at home with with my new yarn Madelinetosh in the Parchment colourway doing some swatching….I know…This fibre is too beautiful to just carelessly knit away on….Sheryl from Any Spun Thread is having an amazing sale right now. Check it out here…
Busy, busy day at the studio tomorrow. Lots of drop ins before my last free form crochet class at Birkeland. It was a terrific class to teach and my students, well, they made beautiful things.
I’ll leave you today with a yarn and kitty picture. Sorry, but sometimes Asia is so damn adorable.
