Faery Ring Fiasco!

First, the promised apple blossoms!

I had a rough weekend. Well, OK, the weather was positively stunning, and once I got off work Saturday afternoon there were some very good parts but then I had a serious knitting setback.

I have been knitting away for the past month or two on two sweaters that I hoped to have ready to show in my Peace Weavers booth at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I am quite confident that Kim will be completed in time.

My Faery Ring, however, is going in the wrong direction!


Here is what the back looked like on Saturday afternoon. I decided that I should add shoulder shaping and I sent the designer a message on ravelry about it on Friday. On Saturday I charted out the short rows and then went to check ravelry for a reply. I had no messages, so I had a look at the other six Faery Rings in progress, and on laureole's project notes I found a note that she discovered that there were 6 cables missing from the pattern for the back. She wrote the designer on March 26th, who confirmed the error.

What?!? I looked at the pattern photograph and then the pattern page listing the sequence of charts. Damn! (OK, that's not what I really said, but you get the idea.) There should have been 3 more cables on either side of the cable section of the back - less seed stitch, more cables. It looks much better with those extra cables.

And don't I wish I had known about this on March 26th?

Wait a minute - Why didn't I know about it on March 26th?
Why didn't the designer contact each of the ravelers knitting this project?
Why didn't she post a correction on the pattern page?
Why didn't she identify this free pattern from the beginning as
Has Not Been Test Knitted, Knitter Beware!

More bad words.
I sent a message to the designer, in which I tried to be polite but pissed.
I complained to my husband.
I complained to the Fiber Traditions list.
I felt a little better. I considered my options and the likely results.

1) Do nothing = be dissatisfied.
2) Frog the entire body to the beginning of the body cables = hang myself out of frustration, using the resulting yarn mess.
3) Frog just the back to the armhole decreases & then unravel the 16 stitches that should have been cabled = possible eventual satisfaction.

I slept on it and Sunday morning came up with:
4) Unravel the 16 stitches and re-knit them as cables = slow but steady redemption.

So that's what I did. Behold, a damn lot of frogging:


It's an ugly sight, I know. Shocking, really.

The next thing was to pick up the 16 stitches with a spare needle


And then I began working each row.



The trick is to work across the row with as normal tension as you can manage, given that you're knitting with a closed loop of yarn. And then, transfer each stitch from the left to the right needle, pulling firmly to equalize the tension across the row. I had more slack on the left side of the correction at first, but I worked at closing that gap and it got better.


Here is about half of one side done - this took two hours.

But here you can see what's left to do on this side. And then there is the other side, so the whole repair will take about 8 hours.

Damn.


On the bright side,more inventory has been arriving for MS&W. I got the Faroe Island wool in and it smells so sheepy! Primitive and beautiful. I'm trying to decide what kind of sample to knit. There are 3 weights of yarn in singles, 2 ply and 3 ply,

and there are 5 natural sheep colors.

I have two books of Faroe knitting -

a book of traditional shawls


and a book of colorwork patterns. And as I dig through my library I'm finding bits of information about Faroe knitting in other books.

But I don't really have time to play with this now. I will see what I have left after Maryland and plan some projects, like knitted felted slippers, a lace shawl and maybe a sweater.

Tomorrow - the puppets!

It's in the Mail

All kinds of things have been arriving at our house lately. Inventory for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, which is always very exciting. And the other day, I got a small packet from Latvia- with knitted chickens! A hen and a rooster. These were made by Ruuta's grandmother. You can see her with them on ravelry, here.

There are a lot of chickens around the place. My sister Annie & I have been sending them to each other for many years now. The new fowl will join the home flock for now, but may fly up to Vermont someday, if I can bear to part with them.

I'm also thinking about knitting some chickens - I got a pattern and some yarn at Webs when we were in Northampton last month.

And then Peace Fleece came out with a new kit - Chicken Egg Covers! Chickens are everywhere.

I got some cute tape measures and some Wool Pets needle felting kits that will be in my Peace Weavers booth at Maryland Sheep & Wool, and there will be lots of Peace Fleece yarn and hand dyed Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden yarns.

New for Peace Weavers this year, we will have some natural colored wool yarns from the Faroe Islands, and some of the beautiful Jojoland sock & lace weight yarns. I'll post photos of these when they arrive!

I am knitting as fast as I can, hoping to have two new sweater models to show - Perl Grey's Kim done in Fleece Artist River, an aran weight yarn of alpaca, silk & merino. I am in love with this wonderful bluey color, called Twlight. This sweater is coming along well, with only one more sleeve to finish and then maybe some added length at the hem.

I'm also working on a Faery Ring in Peace Fleece worsted in this gorgeous color, Sheplova Mushroom. The fronts are done and the back is very close to being finished, but then I've got 2 sleeves to knit and the hood! Hopefully I'll get some good knitting time in over the next two weekends.
I'm going to add some shoulder slope to the front & back shoulders with short rows, and I may fiddle with the sleeves, depending on how time flies.
Have a great weekend - we finally have some lovely warm & sunny weather here in Virginia, after weeks of chilly damp. We don't have a central heating in our house, so the transitional seasons can be chilly. If we're home in the evenings we will sometimes light a fire in the woodstove, but often we get home late and just jump into bed. It will be nice to open up the house, air it out and be warm, too!

p.s. The apple blossoms and coming!

Home again, home again!

Jiggety Jig!

I am back from North Caroline twice now since my last blog post. The photo above is the gap heading east towards Franklin, NC - it's always a beautiful view, but sometimes you get extra fog for high drama.

It's been really busy, and I will never schedule two Folk School classes 5 weeks apart again, I promise. My next classes there will be a Traditional Knitting Sampler in March 2010 and then Acadian Weaving in October 2010. A much better schedule!

So, we had a week of 18th century Household Textiles at the Campbell Folk School. It was a rather stressful class for the two instructors as you can see from our collapsed state in the photo below - Norman is actually smiling, believe it or not!

We really challenged these students - there were 12 different warps and they were all good sized warps. They all worked very hard and wove some lovely samples, as you can see.






Then, in February I taught a Saturday warping class in Berryville, and then a weekend of 18th c. Household Textiles for the Blue Ridge Spinners & Weavers Guild.



Why the long face? I was rethreading the drall warp - I had failed to give this student a vital detail about the threading sequence. Mea culpa, so I fixed it myself.

And then the first week of March a week of Modular Knitting at the Folk School - my lovely class, and their modules of knitting:






We made triangles on Monday, mitered squares on Tuesday, log cabin squares on Wednesday, bubble wrap on Thursday and entrelac on Friday. It was a full week, and to top it off I came down with a stomach flu on Monday night. But I sat as far away from my class as possible and they sent me off for lots of naps. We persevered and flourished.

But, boy oh boy am I glad to be home. My Acadian Weaving class scheduled for Webs at the end of March had to be cancelled - no students! But I may teach that one in Charlottesville sometime in the next few months. And that gives me more time to prepare my booth and contents for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

OK - gotta go buy a fish and go home to cook it for our supper.

We all need art!

I just have to share this video with everyone I know.

Enjoy!

Art

p.s. Can someone tell me how to drop a YouTube video in as an instant player?

Heading South

After a very busy two weeks, I am about to head south once again to the Campbell Folk School. I have had the pleasure of Norman Kennedy's company this week as a house guest, and tomorrow we will start our drive to the Folk School where we will be teaching a weaving class on 18th Century Household Textiles. It will be a lot of work and a lot of fun - many old friends are enrolled and I will get to meet two of Norman's friends from California who I have heard so much about. I'm looking forward to it.

I should come home with some nice new woven samples and a whole lot of photos to share with you!



Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

My review

This is the current CraftLit book, and I realized once I started listening that I read this in high school, and that it was probably the first 19th c. English literature I read. I was trying to think what it would be like to read this book as contemporary literature, without already having the iconic theme of Jekyll & Hyde firmly placed. Think of all the cartoons you saw as a kid...those blackbirds?


View all my reviews.

Saying Goodbye

We had to say goodbye to our dear corgi dog, Rupert this week. He was 14 years old, and had been with us for almost exactly 13 of them.

In 1996, we had already had corgis for some years and bred a few litters, and one day the local animal shelter called to say that they had a grown female corgi and asked if we might know who it belonged to. I drove over to have a look at the dog and discovered a half-grown male corgi, bouncy and cute as a button, and I knew from the moment I laid eyes on him that he was My Dog.

I asked the shelter folks if they had had a look under this dog, because it was clearly male. I said that he was 6 to 9 months old and wouldn't bother lifting his leg to pee until he got a little older. Being so close to the ground, he didn't really see the point! I told them we wanted him if no one came to claim him as a lost dog, and then we had to wait 3 weeks before they would release him.

.I went off to teach & then take a class at the Folk School - it was a very long two weeks to be away from my young family and I worried that someone would come & take my new dog while I was gone. The family visited him and when I returned from North Carolina he came home to stay. The girls named him Rupert after the English cartoon bear that wears the yellow checked trousers - their English grandmother had given them several annuals of Rupert cartoons.

Rupert was the best dog in the whole world. He loved to ride in the car, and wanted to go with me everywhere. I brought him to work with me and he made friends with all the Bluemont staff over the years and with everyone who came in the door. We walked around the Clarke County park for exercise, we walked around Leesburg to run errands, he once climbed all the way to the top of Old Rag mountain with Peter & me. He was always by my side if I was upset or ill, wanting to offer comfort in his doggie way.

But he lost his companion Wiley about a year ago, and he was up in years for a corgi. He was in good form until about 6 months ago when he started climbing the stairs like a slalom instead of bounding straight up. He lost the spring in his back legs - I had to give him a power assist boost to get into the car. The vet said he had bone spurs and an NSAID helped, but he lost his appetite at the beginning of December and we had to tempt him with all manner of food and feed him by hand.

I knew he was getting ready to leave us, and when he refused food of any kind, we watched him carefully for several days. On Tuesday he wanted to come in the car with me but had to be lifted in, and when I got to work he didn't want to get out of the car. I realized that it hurt him to be moved, and that the time had come. I carried him into the office and worked until evening, and then I took him to our vet.

At the vet's office, I stayed with him and talked to him as we waited, and after they gave him a sedative I told him that we loved him and wanted him to have a good journey. I said this for every member of our family - Peter loves you and he says goodbye, Lily Rose, Hannah, Ruby, and then every other person I could think of who was dear to him - Tex, Nathan, Jill, Sue. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and surely one of the most important.

We love you, Rupert. We miss you. You were loved by many people. The cats are pretending that they don't care, but I know for a fact that they miss you, too.

Where everything is new again

or, le plus que ca change, le plus que c'est le meme chose...

Which is to say, the more things change, the more the stay the same.

Here we are at the turn of the year, and I wanted to take the time to write a post about the year behind me and the year I'm looking forward to.

My life has been really busy for the last several months, between increased responsibilities at work and an active teaching schedule. I haven't been able to find much time for blogging, although I know that if I didn't look through my friend's activity on ravelry every day, that would probably add up to a lot of blog posts! But it's such a great treat, every day - all that new knitting to look at!

On the fiber, music & family scene, this is what 2008 held for me:

In January, I taught a weekend Beam Me Up Scotty warping class for the local Blue Ridge Spinners & Weavers Guild and then I was a student in a spinning class with Norman Kennedy & Martha Owen at the John C. Campbell Folk School

In February, I taught a District Checks & Tweeds class for Blue Ridge Guild, and was a student in a 1 day Spinning New Fibers with Patsy Zawistoski.

I returned to the Campbell Folk School in March to teach a Knit to Felt class and then in April Peter & I moved his Mum into the Health Center of her retirement community - and I did a lot of knitting on the 8 hour round trip, three weekends in a row.

This helped me prepare for the May Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

I spent a very hot but productive weekend of weaving in June at Bill Leinbach's studio in Lebanon, PA.

We were very busy with the Bluemont summer season and then in the fall I had three brand new classes to prepare for - in September I taught Tartan Weaving - Lap Robes at JCCFS

and I also organized & attended a 2 day Spinning for Shetland Lace Knitting class with Elizabeth Johnston & Martha Owen here in VA.

October brought the annual Waterford Fair, in nearby Waterford VA where I have been selling & demonstrating with the Waterford Weavers Guild since 1982 and singing & playing music since 1985. It's the annual entrance into autumn for me and generally a great weekend.

I also taught a new Tartan Weaving class at The Mannings in East Berlin PA that focuses on the evolution of tartan design through a dozen traditional tartan setts.

In November I was the guest instructor at Carodan Farm's KnitXperience in Syria VA - I sang a program of old songs about weaving, spinning & sheep on Friday evening and taught an Aran knitting class and a Shetland Lace class on Saturday. There are some nice photos from the retreat here.

December brought a much anticipated event - our oldest daughter Lily Rose graduated from Virginia Commonweath University! We surprised Lily by flying her two sisters down from their college in Massachusetts for the weekend. We had a great time celebrating together. And then just last night on December 31st, I performed at First Night Leesburg.

Preparing for First Night this year was really challenging. Bluemont actually runs two events on 12/31 - First Night Leesburg & First Night Warrenton. The fundraising was very challenging this year, and we weren't sure the Leesburg event could take place until enough money had been raised. This meant that the contracting was done very late and we put in some very long days, working late on Christmas eve and then right back at it on Boxing Day. I usually have at least some time to relax at home and visit with friends & family over the holidays, but this year we could spare very little time.

We took Christmas day off and spent it with my Mom, my stepMom and her husband, and we made a nice holiday for them, but our immediate family celebration had to wait until Sunday evening when we took a few hours to light the candles on our tree, sing together and open some gifts. It was a very special time as always, but really shoehorned in between work. To top it off, Ruby & Hannah both had their wisdom teeth removed on 12/22 and were pretty much out of it for 3 days. It was crazy.

But our First Nights came together as a result of all our hard work - Peter, Lily & I and our small but dedicated staff and a host of volunteers & performers. It was a very cold night with high winds, so the crowds were light last night, but those who braved the weather got to hear some wonderful performances. And I was very pleased with my own part in the performances. I gotta tell you, it's very challenging to find time to get ready to perform in the context of so much work, but this is my favorite performance venue of the year.

I got to sing in the St. James Episcopal sanctuary again this year, two sets with Sine Nomine - an a capella trio performing early European music from the 11th - 16th century; and one set on my own - singing unaccompanied ballads & songs from Ireland, Scotland & England. Singing in this sanctuary is like playing a fine instrument as so little effort produces such a lovely and full sound. It was a delight, and I was pleased to be in better voice for my 11pm solo set that I have been in year's past. I sang some of my favorite songs, and a group of songs that I have learned most recently. I had a small but attentive audience and those lovely acoustics - it was great.

A wonderful way to close the year.

So - 2009 has these events coming up:

January

18th c. Household Textiles, co-taught with Norman Kennedy at the JCC Folk School, Brasstown NC

February

18th c. Household Textiles for the Blue Ridge Guild here in VA- there is still room for 1 or 2 more students in this class! You can find the workshop registration form here.

March

Modular Knitting at JCC Folk School

Acadian Weaving at WEBS in Northampton, MA - I'm very excited to be teaching a class at WEBS for the first time!

April will be spent preparing for the May Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival - my booth is Peace Weavers, 3rd booth on the right hand wall in the big building, since 1990!

Also in May will be our daughter Hannah's college graduation.

In June I will be teaching 2 workshops for the Albemarle Weavers Guild in Charlottesville VA.

Once the Bluemont summer season is over, I will go to Colorado in September to teach a workshop for the Pikes Peak Weavers Guild in Colorado Springs. This will be my first time teaching west of Ohio, and was set up through one of the students in the last tartan class I taught at the JC Campbell Folk School. They haven't chosen the workshop topic yet.

That's a lot to look forward to, not to mention a new President and hopefully the slow beginning of turning this nation and the economy in a better direction. I enter into this new year with hope, and the anticipation of hard work and good times in a better balance.

I wish you all good health, stable finances and a strong creative flow - and good luck working on maintaining the balance!