The Cashmere Kid

Slots and Holes

2012-01-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

It's out. The new DVD. It is a very weird experience to have a such a thing exist. You hope, beyond belief, that weavers find it useful. I watched it with my hands over my eyes, peeking out from between my fingers. These are the thoughts that went though my head: Ouch, did I really say that? Humm, time to think about going back to pilates. Ah, man I could have done that better, etc. . .

It was a snowy day when we filmed. Perched precariously over my power line--from a blizzard just a week before--was a large limb that I prayed would not come crashing down and cut off power to the house.

Toward the end of the shoot the power company came by to take down the limb. "You can't" I said fearing the chain saws would be heard in the background, "we're filming." The dreadlocked guy said to me, "filming what?" I can only imagine what he was thinking we were doing in my living room, so I quickly said, "a weaving video." He looked skeptical, but came back an hour later when we were done. I thought of him when we decided to call the DVD "Slots and Holes" which is so very easy to mistype. . .

So, welcome to my living room and I hope you find some useful tips here. I'm sure I said something stupid for which I'm very, very sorry.

In Training

2011-11-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

Prepping for a shoot is like training for a race. The more suffering you do ahead of time the less you hurt on race day. So I reminded myself when I was knee deep in weaving before the shoot of Warping Made Easy in my living room. Not only did I need great cloth, but I also have to clean my house! At one point I had four looms going at once.

But, it was Interweave and it was Linda Ligon and she had my back. Despite a snowstorm the day went off pretty well. I'm not sure what the final edit will look like, but I trust the editors. I can already think of one boneheaded comment I made that will hopefully make it to the cutting room floor or where ever those digital bits go when they die. Interweave doesn't do blooper reels. Now, just like after a race, I find myself longing for the excuse to do all that training.

My New View

2011-10-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

The View From My Desk

I've made it a week into my new life as a freelancer. My routine looks like this: up at 6am to flop on the floor (what my step-father calls all forms of stretching); feed all the hungry mouths; in my seat by 7:30 to tend to clients wishes; off to exercise outside at 1pm; into the studio by 2:30pm to do what needs to be done out there; feed hungry mouths again in the evening, including mine; back to the studio or computer to finish out the evening.

In between, I meet various people for various meetings--so and so for coffee networking, a Skype chat, a loooong email exchange with the server administrator. It's not so bad really. I feared I would feel cooped up or that I would get restless, but with Facebook there is plenty of water cooler chatter and the extra fresh air is doing my back a world of good. And there is nothing better to get you past a particular bout of stuckness than consulting with a goat. (Zeus is not speaking to me though, after a particularly rough pedicure on his part.) Check back in a week or so, but for now all systems look good.

Staying Home With The Kids

2011-09-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

I've heard about every kind of story there is for how one went about starting a business. It seems for most part it was the most obvious choice at the time. How could he/she not start a business? Mine started with a back ache that became a full blown pain in the arse. Commuting two hours a day was not an option any longer and moving seemed not quite right. What is a yarnie to do? I've became the accidental freelancer under the name Verve Consulting--beautiful website coming soon in the meantime I have a shell propped up at lizgipson.com.

Following my bliss I've gone back to school to get a professional certificate in "new media production" a term for all digital production including video and audio editing, website building, and general manipulation of anything that works on bits and bytes. I'm jobbing myself out as a content marketer largely helping out my friend Leanne at the Wool Wide Web. (If you don't know about her business and you run a yarn business, you should--it sparkles). What is content marketing you say? It is creating useful information that people want that is associated with something they need to make that information even more useful. I'm also teaching, creating patterns, and doing a few publishing projects. It's fun, it's scary, and sometimes it even seems silly (it can be so hard to take oneself seriously sometimes). Still, it seems like the thing to do. Zeus thinks it's marvelous.

Practicing Independence

2011-07-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

Due to technical difficulties I've been unable to access my blog for the past few months. It might be time to move on from freeware.

Speaking of free I'm out of hay. My supplier for the past two years has sold his property and I'm out trolling for a new field. In the meantime, the goats are making due with the leavings from this seasons massive tree trimming from the two huge populars and one mighty oak that shade the property. Not only do the goats get a week's worth of meals, but I get the branches chipped and shredded. Who says there is no free lunch?

And bear with me here a bit as I reminisce. As I was hauling branches I thought of the time when my dad and I were clearing a bank to make way for a pig pen (don't get me started on pigs). He was enthusiastically talking about the founding fathers and how practicing independence was as simple as clearing brush for a hog pen. Being fourteen I wasn't quite as enamored of the idea as he was, but I have to say now I get it. Chop wood, carry water, vote your conscience, and be informed. That is independence.

It's What's On the Inside That Counts

2011-04-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

Since I threw my back, I've been spending a lot of time with my pillows. My stepmother sewed the cases for me last Christmas. As I was admiring the design of the material and wonderful inset details, she hollered, "look on the inside, look on the inside!" At first I was baffled as to what I was supposed to be looking at, but I got a clue when she said, "the seams, the seams!" I forgot she got a serger.

Last fall after acquiring the serger she called to ask if any of my friends had one--she knew better than to ask for my advice directly as I stitch, but don't sew. She had been digging through her closet trying to figure out the rules for how to serge knit vs woven fabric. Her sewing books were not really clear on this point. It was a pretty clever way to go about getting an answer--snooping in one's own closet.

I got an answer from the ladies I work with and translated it back as if it were greek. As a reward I got hand-sewn pillow cases that I can linger over, because I'm not going anywhere fast these days.

The Lore of the Lair

2011-03-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

Cindy Lair is . . . now I find myself stuck. How do you describe all that is Cindy? She is a carpenter, artist, horsewoman, community organizer, and a basset hound lover. She is a loyal friend and a fabulous co-worker. She is very much her own person so when you think of how to celebrate the release of her new video Know Your Wheel we headed to the Dark Horse. Among baskets of burgers and chicken wings we toasted Cindy on finally letting us all in on her vast knowledge of how the spinning wheel works. Neddie even convinced the DJ to put the video up on the big screen. I'm surprised the lighters didn't come out when she started talking about drive wheels. (Cindy shares the spotlight with Alden Amos, a fellow who knows a thing or two about wheels.)

There is something very special about having your voice out in the world. I hope you will take the time to listen to hers. It will be worth your time.

The Houston Hotshots

2011-03-14T08:32:00.001-07:00

A conversation with Tracy Kaestner of the Lone Star Loom Room at Convergence led to plot that will allow the Contemporary Guild of Houston to spread out throughout the city and beyond to trick unknowing yarnies into weaving. Using the Cricket at a gateway drug, I spent one day giving six brave souls a crash course in how to teach weaving on the Cricket loom. Giovanna Imperia was kind enough to let us use her her studio. If you are not familiar with her yarns you should be. I came home with a few treasures. I am so excited to see what happens next!

The Houston Hotshots from left to right: Julie, D'Anne, Charlene, Deedee and Rose. Not pictured is Penny.

For The Love of The Craft

2011-02-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

spinweave.org

New World Order

2011-02-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

This morning I tip-toed out to the barn to see if Bella was allowed to sleep inside. Temperatures dropped dramatically last night and the goats were surely in the barn. It has been a mild winter and they prefer to sleep in the open if conditions allow.

Lo and behold Diva and Bella were in the atrium outside the barn and Faith was in the barn in Diva's spot. Zeus was of course on his normal top step, sung as a bug in a rug.

I read this two ways. Either Diva is so pestilent that she had to sleep in an inferior spot to keep an eye on Bella and make sure she was not getting above herself or Faith kicked Diva from her place. If Faith is becoming more dominant then this would explain why Diva has been so mean towards Bella lately. Poor Diva may be losing the top spot, which of course still means nothing but suffering for Bella.

Oh the drama of it all. I keep telling myself--do not interfere. You are not a goat. It sure is hard though not to want to meddle. It takes a big person to admit this, but last week I chased Diva all over the pasture, butting her with my head because I was just so mad that she was picking on Bella. It changed nothing.

Escapade with the Escalade

2011-01-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

During the winter the goats activity level is pretty low. The idea behind the gift of an remote controlled car for the goats was to get the goats to exercise. It was only this weekend that it thawed out enough from our first real winter storm that the giftee could give the regimen a go.

In the end, the experiment caused more mental stimulation than physical. The toy car lacked the torque of the real thing to navigate the terrain of the pasture causing it to totter along at a pace the goats could easily out run. At times it was hard to tell who was running from whom. I think perhaps that the apple lob is a better form of exercise for the caprines.

The Superspinner's Sidekick

2011-01-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

I think of the SOAR where the staff dressed up at spinning superheros for halloween, as we ready the debut of Schacht's newest spinning wheel, the Sidekick. (I was Mighty Kate in a team that included the Catcher--she got your spindle before it it the ground--WebWoman, and the Untagler.)

The Sidekick is a loyal friend to the Superspinner in all of us. Just as Robin always had Batman's back, the Sidekivck will have yours. We certainly hope you enjoy it as much as Barry and the brain trust at Schacht had making it.

The Wonders of Wool

2010-12-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Standing on the floor of the yurt on Christmas Eve staring down through the cracks in the floor at the snowy ground, I was beginning to doubt my choice. Least you think this was completely insane the yurt did have electricity--just no insulation. Without the electric blanket we brought along we would have been sleeping in the bath house (so yes we had hot showers, too). What really got me through four nights was my wool sweater.

This particular sweater has gotten me through many a cold night. While attending a year of college in New Zealand, I traded my roommate my commercial J-Crew sweater for her handspun, handknit turtleneck sweater. We both thought we got the better end of the deal. I was particularly proud of my choice as I bedded down each night after a day of skiing thankful for the thermal dynamics of the worlds most versatile fiber.

Watch Your Holly

2010-12-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

Goats would just as soon eat the holly as deck with it--although it would give them an awful stomach ache. In saying this I'm perpetuating the goat's bad rap. If you sit and watch a goat browse as much as I do, you will see that they take just the choice parts of the plant then move on. It is when they are not allowed to move on--say by keeping them in a confined area for long periods of time-- that they tend to decimate the landscape. Hence Heidi's job was to roam with the goats. (The original name of the book was Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning.) Roaming with the goats is not in the playbook for me right now, but I can run around the pen with a garland of goat-safe greens trailing after me and give them some exercise.

Raising Heddles

2010-12-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a “day.” Still you have to show up and not let the world get to you. Grabbing the phone I put on my game face and cheerfully asked how I could be of service. I was greeted by a seventy-year-old RVing Texan who had an inkle loom and wondered if I could help him. He had this book called Weaving Made Easy and wondered if there was a book as good as that for the inkle loom. You can imagine my surprise and delight. Gifts like this don’t come around that often. I copped to who I was and told him that Helene Bress’ book Inkle Weaving was just what he needed. He was delighted as he had never spoken to an author before. He said to me in the best southern drawl, “I just love sitting by the fire and raising them heddles.” I could not agree more.

Off To Their Places

2010-12-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

It has been over a year and a half since I have been able to work with the goats properly. As a commuter I don't have as much daylight hours to consistently put the goats through their paces. I used to spend fifteen minutes each evening getting them to mind their manners. My biggest accomplishment besides getting Zeus to stop crowding me a the gate, was to place train them--a typical dog training exercise. They would only get their treats if they were in their "place."

For the past year I have given them their evening treats at the fence watching their manners deteriorate. Tonight I decided to go into the pasture and see if they would remember their places. Then did! All it took was one command and they were off. I'm so amazed at their memory and intelligence. What good goats. Now if I could just get Diva to stop picking on Bella...... (The drawing of the galloping goat by the way is by my young friend Hannah Rose Moore.)

Paid to Spin

2010-11-09T09:04:00.001-08:00

Before a wheel goes on its merry way from the Schacht favorty to a new owner we take it out for a spin. Each wheel is tested for functionality and polish. Is the flyer functioning properly Maiden adjusted correctly?Treadling smooth? Is the wheel nice to the touch? These are just a few of the things we look for in a good performing wheel.

All wheels need a few hours of spin time to break in. We certainly don't put in amount of time at each wheel, but it is an enjoyable part of my day to face a row of Ladybug, Matchless, or the occasional Schacht Reeves, gather fiber in my hands, and take them for a test drive.

Making Yarn From Scratch

2010-10-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I did a segment on Morning Living about spinning yarns. I like to both make yarns from scratch and tell stories (I used to like to also go to the gym and spin, but that got old).

While in Otavalo, in the north of Ecuador, my friend Liz Good and I visited Miguel Andrango, a kind and generous host. He showed us his method for preparing fiber and spinning yarn. He used a double carding technique that was new to me. We were able to ask him somewhat informed questions with our feeble language skills which delighted him. Here is a video of Miguel spinning on a traditional Ecuadorian walking wheel, posted by Liz on Interweave's You Tube channel.

My conversation with the morning hosts, got me to thinking again about how to answer the questions, why make yarn from scratch? Why devote the time and summon the patience to make something you can buy? For some it is time spent, but for me it is time invested. The time at my wheel creates a cocoon from the daily hassles of the world. It is a language that Miguel and I share. Though both of us earn a living from our craft, we also make a life.

Ecuadorian Traffic Jam

2010-10-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

It has been five weeks since I returned from Ecuador. For me, the four days I spent in the Eduadorian central highlands were the highlight of the trip. It was reminisant of the time I spent working on a weaving project on the Navajo reservation back in the nineties. Although I could barely communicate verbally with the locals, we shared the common language of livestock.

While hiking down from Lake Quilotoa, I noticed a man ahead of us carrying a trumpet and being followed closely by his dogs. Periodically he would put the trumpet to his lips and blow. It wasn't long before we were overtaken by a herd of compact highland sheep complete with their two token goats. His wife brought up the rear and often scampered up imposing hillsides with her baby tied to her back to bring in the stragglers.

Subsistance living is not to be taken lightly. Given the political unrest in the country and the state of the Ecuadorian economy the inhabitants of the region were doing pretty well for themselves. I think of them when I'm driving to work each day and I envy them their commute.

Before We Get To Ecuador...

2010-09-25T12:01:00.001-07:00

America's past time may be baseball, but lately, my mine is climbing the apple tree in the goat pasture and lobbing the fruit to the goats below. There isn't much that is more amusing than watching a goat try and tackle an apple. They have to gnaw at it until they have moved it to their back chompers where then can chew it into smaller pieces. I've just come in from a satisfying bought of apple lobbing and will get back to organizing my photos from Ecuador.

Upside Down and Backwards

2010-09-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

Progress is rarely linear no matter what your circumstances. With threading, I'd venture to say that it is never linear.

The thing about threading jack loom is you usually have to take in consideration the pivot anchors. This is where the jack mechanism attaches to the harness. The heddles from one side can't cross to the other. This means that you end up threading half the yarns left to right and the other half right to left.

If you are threading from the back it helps to turn the draft upside down so that you are looking at the threading sequence with the "top" as the bottom (nonweavers just nod your head and smile.) For someone, such as myself, who tends to space out on a regular basis this is a challenge to stay present to your surrounding. I'm also slightly dyslexic.

Just to keep it interesting, I like to pick structures that are sure to accentuate the difficulties I've outlined above, such as shadow weave where light and dark threads alternate, so there is no chance that I can develop a rhythm. Measure twice cut once and keep plenty of repair heddles handy is my motto.

I think I've got this particular structure finally threaded correctly. Soon I will be weaving at which point I'm sure to discover that my sett is wrong. Onward ho!

Seeing The Goat Through The Weeds

2010-08-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

I should be writing 300 measly words of copy that I owe an editor, but instead I've lallygagged on the internet, mopped the kitchen floor, went to the gym to lift (makes typing a challenge), and gave the cat an hour lap while calling my mom. All these things that needed to be done, but not necessarily in this order of priority.

Yesterday, when I could have banged out the copy first thing, I instead did my annual attack on the cottonwood suckers in my front yard, weeded the flower beds, weed whacked, and mowed. (I let Bella take care of the kidding pen that was overgrown with suckers. You can see her here--just barely.) Then I rewrote an old essay that has nothing to do with anything and that I think I'm going to submit to someone sometime. I ran errands stocking the fridge for a group of friends coming over during the week, visited with the neighbor, and napped on the couch while watching sitcoms. Still no copy in site. Maybe after I blog . . . but then my arms are pretty tired.

Oh, and by the way Convergence was memorable as always, mostly because of the people. That is what I SHOULD be writing about. Sigh.

On Making

2010-07-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

One of the great pleasures of working the Maker Faire was to a) meet the Makers, those crazy zany folks who hack technology to suit their own fun-making purposes and to b) meet the maker of the Maker Faire and Make magazine Dale Doughtery. Here is an interview that I did with Dale after the Faire on the make movement, craftsmanship, and his loom. You can also see photos from the Aspen Mini Maker Faire on flicker.

We Interrupt This Coop Building To Bring You...

2010-07-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

BIG IDEAS!

I was lucky enough to crash the Aspen Ideas Festival while in town for the Aspen Mini Maker Faire. Schacht will be hosting a booth making rag cuffs tomorrow at the plaza so stop on by.

Despite rising at 4 a.m. to drive to Aspen while singing two-part harmony with Denise, Schacht's new customer service guru I arrived at the Festival ready to play. I'm working my way through the Promise of Play track where some great minds are looking at at play as a state of mind.

Kevin Carroll spoke of the power of the playground to change lives. His own incredible story of personal transformation from playing with a red rubber ball to becoming a international advocate and author about play was an entertaining, inspiring, and joy-filled experience. Really what is not to like about the son of addicts joining the army, learning five languages, joining the NBA as a trainer, working for the Serb 2008 Olimyic team, then being recruited by Nike and ESPN to do whatever he wants to do to help kids play. You just sit and listen.

Dale Dougherty the founder of Make magazine and Maker Faire has both a profound and utterly child-like enthusiasm for encouraging us to mess with technology--whether that be a resister or a loom (which he owns by the way). His talk focused on how the Maker mentality can allow kids to move from being directed to being self-directed. Think encouraging the young by pairing them with the young at heart to make flame throwing scooters and functional yet beautiful hamster coffee tables. (Apparently all the boys wanted to work alone and make things that were dangerous. The girls wanted to work together and make things that were useful.)

That was the end of the play sessions. The latent economist in me decided to stick around--along with Alan Greenspan who was in the audience--for a panel discussion on how to fix the deficit problem from the likes of David Stockman former Republican congressman, Clive Crook senior editor at The Atlantic, Grover Norquist President of Americans for Tax Reform, David Walker former US Controller, and P.J. O'Rorke political satirist, journalist, and writer. After watching them duke it out quite wittily for an hour the bottom line is we have to raise taxes and cut spending. We are still in trouble folks.

Onto the Faire!

Wabi Sabi With Kraut On The Side

2010-07-04T04:24:00.000-07:00

My life is very wabi sabi. Sort of the anti-engineers approach to life. Don't get me wrong, I have great respect for engineers, however the way I often make things happen is not really by planning. I tell everyone I know I'm gong to do said thing and then I have to make it happen, because I can't be one of those people who says stuff and then doesn't get it done. I also have a high need for form to follow function, a perfectionist tendency from my German heritage. I can't just throw things together. They have to be right. So as project chicken coop gets underway I borrow a line from Scrapple: it isn't the vision I have a problem with it is the reality.

The vision: A mobile coop to help with bug control in the pasture and provide a few eggs.
Breed: Silkies for their disposition and entertainment value.
Approach: Find plans on internet and forward to step-father for upcoming visit.
Progress: Family arrives, step-father gets to work while mom and I act as entourage.
Roadblock #1: Won't a flat roof encourage the goats to jump on it?
Solution: Steeped roof.
Progress: Two days cogitating in between eating, napping, recreating, visiting, and general layaboutness. Then host party and have friends bring tools and advise.
Current Status: Materials gathering. Stay tuned.

Show Time!

2010-06-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

I dig trade shows. First they are full of my kind of people--those who spend practically 24/7 thinking about yarn. It is their vocation and recreation all rolled into one. (This can be both good and bad, but I tend not to dwell on the bad.) Secondly, the impact you can have is great. To teach teachers means that you can reach an exponential number of new and developing weavers. Shown here are the garments and sampler we had in our booth from Jane Patrick's upcoming book, The Weaver's Idea Book.

The students in my classes were so eager to learn the design power of the rigid heddle loom and the humble pick-up stick. It was a pleasure to lead the way, but I felt like I hardly earned my keep. Once I showed them how it was done they worked in earnest for six hours with nary a peep! The shorter class was more interactive and we had a lively dialogue about how to teach effectively.

The show itself kept us in our booth most of the time. I didn't get to venture out much because that little Cricket loom was just too darn popular. It is a good time to be a weaver.

Spring Cleaning

2010-05-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

The goats aren't the only thing that get shorn around here in the spring. Zoe receives a lion trim every year right after Mother's Day. (Some people start planting, I start dehairing.) She is quite fond of her new do even though the process is loathsome to her.

The goats also sport sleeker looks. Diva was the last hold out--she simply did not want to lose her downy locks until the last possible minute. I admit I let her coat get pretty trashed before it was brushed out. Sometimes perfection is not the point.

Crickets On The Move

2010-05-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

When driving down the road in Wyoming, you may occasionally see a sign that reads, "Crickets on Highway, Slick Roads." In the West, we are in the middle of a six to seven year cycle of particularly high cricket population.

Dozens of Crickets are on the move from Colorado to Ohio. Shown here are Cricket Looms warped and ready to ship for Schacht's sponsored class at TNNA: More Than Plainweave: Textures and Patterns on the Rigid Heddle Loom. During the workshop, I will teach students the art of using a pick-up stick and creating hand-manipulated weaves. They will also get a sneak preview of Jane Patrick's new book The Weaver's Idea Book. This book picks up where Weaving Made Easy leaves off. We will have selected projects from Jane's book in our booth. See you there.

Not Everyone Can Arrive By Bubble

2010-04-25T14:26:00.001-07:00

My favorite line from Wicked occurs when Glinda and Elphaba are having an argument. Glinda is making fun of Elphaba's appearance. Elphaba fights back by screaming, "Not everyone can arrive by bubble!" (At that particular performance the actresses crack themselves up and fight for composure. That was memorable, too.)

I've had bubbles on the brain since then. I can't draw so when I try and make a visual statement I usually do so with circles, squares, or other uniform shapes. I've been working on a series of bubble burn-outs by weaving with yarn composed of cotton with a polyester core. Using color-and-weave and shadow weave to create a landscape I burn out bubbles to float above the cloth.

It is all I want to do lately, but that darn living room isn't going to finish painting itself.

To Live Is To Craft

2010-04-15T04:18:00.000-07:00

Crafting is a radical* act. History tells us that to craft is to project your culture onto cloth, paper, pottery, wood, and the like. I recently went to hear Raisa Garieeva speak at Colorado State University. Raisa is an Uzbek business leader, who serves as director of the Aid to Artisans project in Uzbekistan. Nothing I could say here could do justice to her wit, humor, and grace.

I hate to admit it, but I had to drag myself to the lecture and ensuing sale as I was enjoying sitting in a local coffee shop plotting a trip with a friend and thought to myself, "Why do I need to go hear one more craft lecture?"

When Russian invaded the area that is now Uzbekistan in the 1920s, they stamped out craft. Practicing it was a crime and weavers were jailed for the act. Today, the Uzbek people produce a wide array of craft work from beautiful embroideries (suzani), weaving, block printing, crochet, braiding, natural dyeing (photo example stolen from CSU's website), and pottery. Many individuals and co-ops have built up successful businesses selling their work domestically and abroad.

Nearly a decade ago, I went to Poland to teach a business seminar of sorts. At the time, I was running a nonprofit organization. The people in the workshop were incredulous that I was being paid to help people. The idea of starting a business selling crafts was a distant dream, but the urge to do so was strong. Still they had no Etsy, no craft fairs, no guild meetings, no Ravelry, no magazines, no trade shows, no network of independent retailers, no shining examples, and no books to read on the subject ("Start Your Own Craft Business: Ten Easy Steps" nope, nada, zilch).

The fact that we Americans have access to credit--believe you me we do compared to some folks, even as a college student in New Zealand I had more access to credit than my fellow Kiwis (don't get me started about using credit responsibly). We have channels of distribution and even tax and municipal codes that, yes, can be helpful. This adds up to a lot of relative economic freedom, even in times like these.

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*Word Nerd Alert: the first definition of "radical" in Websters is, "of or going to the root of origin."

cashmEARed

2010-03-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

It has officially happened--Zeus digs affection. Although I suspect he is motivated by the fact that he itches. His cashmere is ready to molt and he is aiding it in every way possible including begging for ear rubs.

I previously mentioned that Zeus lumbering towards you can be alarming. You can never really be sure of his motives. He has, however, learned--I think--that throwing his weight around is not a way to make friends nor get your cashmere-loaded ears scratched.

His requests are not limited to me. While I was off in a failed attempt to see the petroglyphs of Crack Cave during the Spring Equinox--we instead had a rocking good time in the pool at the Pueblo Y--the goat sitter said that Zeus asked him for an ear rub. And, as I write this Zeus is standing at the gate looking forlornly at the back door. Goat guilt is just the worst.

Hibernation is Over!

2010-03-12T18:09:00.001-08:00

Diva spent most of the winter in the old Swedish sauna that has been converted into the goat's shelter. Each winter morning, before the sun peaked out over the eastern horizon, I go out to feed the goats. Diva sticks her head out of the sauna, give me a morning "blaaaa," and I shove hay on the bottom step so she could have her breakfast in bed. This keeps her in the sauna and out of the way.

Well that ship has sailed. Spring has sprung and now Diva launches out of bed each morning and commands that every pile of hay is her pile. Mine! Mine! Mine! She commands with guttural cries that inform each goat that surely the hay they are coveting is not intended for their breakfast.

There is one slight flaw with her plan. She can't really cover every pile and still eat so while she is busy chasing everyone away, they actually get to eat more than she does. After realizing the inherent problem with her behavior--yet again--she picks a pile and tucks into her breakfast. So much drama that early in the morning ensures that nap time is soon to follow.

Herd Politics

2010-02-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Sigh. I'm not there yet. My first handspun cashmere is off the loom and the results are not exactly what I was going for. The yarn didn't bloom as much as I hoped and the sett is still not right. (Yes, I sampled and sampled and sampled). I'm going to have to use a different spinning technique and give it another go.

Warning, I'm going to get flowery. Ok, here it goes. I can feel the herd is manifesting itself in the cloth. Faith's was there when I turned their fiber into yarn--she loves a good rub down. Bella's quiet strength was evident as not a single thread gave way under the tension of the loom. Zeus's goofy little looks show in the quirky character of the weave structure. Diva's proud strut is evident in the luxurious hand of the cloth.

A life lived with home-grown fiber is a pretty good life, and in the end pretty good cloth. And, I can do better.

What The Cat Sees

2010-02-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

Keeping the goats entertained is essential to their (and my) happiness. I'm not home much during daylight hours to "work" them i.e. make them do stuff they don't particularly want to do like let me pass through the gate first or sit still while I scratch their ears. Alarmingly, Zeus has decided lately that he wants to get his head scratched. This is both good and bad. Good because Zeus has before this time been standoffish. Bad because a Zeus "lumber" can send you sprawling into the mud and then there are those horns.

I have taken to letting them out into my yard when I'm in the studio so they can romp around. This time of year there is nothing that can't be eaten by a goat and in fact they make the landscape more tidy. I took this photo from the cat door off the back porch. Zoe thinks I've lost my mind to let these hoofed things out in our yard, but then she doesn't have a high tolerance for change. Such is life among the hoofed, pawed, and flat footed creatures.

One I Forgot

2010-01-27T12:25:00.001-08:00

I forgot to mention my favorite knitting find at TNNA. Designer Cid Hanscrom created a line of knitted balloon animals for Skacel. They are knitted in the round using sock yarn. Hanscrom uses strategic increases and decreases as well as the pattering in the yarn to create long tubes that can be twisted into creatures the same way that one would make balloon animals. Although I'm sure these are all made with size tiny needles you could simply pick a bigger yarn and create larger creatures that wouldn't take as long, however the scale of these animals are quite charming. Read Hanscrom's blog to find out where the patterns are available.

Bright Shiny Things From The Show

2010-01-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

TNNA Long Beach 2010. I was descending an escalator and a knitter said to her friend, "this really is the ticket to have isn't it." Well I'm not really sure if it is or it isn't. It seems that way to a yarnie. If I'm at a cocktail party hosted by a cycling friend then nothing could seem more tedious than playing with yarn--despite the fact that they sit on the ass for hours and pedal, a seemingly repetitive endeavor to me.

Anyway I digress. I was so attracted to the bling this time around. This has nothing to do with trends. It is just what I liked. The green girl has decided that she likes shiny things. Shown here are a selection of shiny yarns from Berroco. I'm imagining and trendy v-shaped vest with a woven body and knitted cowl from that sock yarn. And a tubular weave necklace with the other yarns or maybe a warped faced skinning scarf.

Highlight from the show: Catching up with Clara Parks of Knitters Review and author of the Knitter's Book of Wool. Cara is a pioneer in online media and has been bringing us yarn reviews for over a decade. Norah Gauhan's new designs were inspiring and oh, so wearable. Having Amy King of Spunky Eclectic crash in my room for a night. She flew in for two days to work the SWA booth and tape a segment on KDTV showing how to make art yarn on the new Ladybug Bulky Flyer Plyer. Giving the Ravelry and hearty fist bump for officially recognizing weaving as a craft group. The positive response to Jane's new book, The Weaver's Idea Book and little looms in general.

Now onto playing with that shiny stuff.

Warped

2010-01-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

Holidays: Done.
Cashmere: Spun.
Loom: Warped.
Draft: Not Figured out yet.
Goats: Annoyed by perma snow.
House: Cold.
Cat: Heat seeking missile.
Skis: Out of the cellar, in use.
Life: Progressing.

Never Despair

2009-12-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

A postcard from Africa used to sit on my shelf. It showed a bus crammed beyond capacity with people, chickens, bags of produce, luggage--and one might speculate optimism. The sign on the bus reads, "never despair."

Attempting to create a snack for the Schacht factory elves, I set about making syrup for pistachio saffron popcorn. After adding the last ingredient, the syrup suddenly crystallized. Eeek! None of the skills I honed as a pastry chef could save it.

I'm a weaver; I'm used to setbacks. I thought on my feet and tried to turn the sugary mess into cookie bars. That didn't work either. I cleaned up the kitchen and was about to throw in the towel and head for the studio when I thought, "NO," I will not be defeated.

You know that feeling when a project is just not working out and it seems you have wasted all that yarn and time? When you feel like you will never make anything worthwhile again? The best thing in my experience is to just get back on that horse and ride. With new determination, I booted up the internet and searched for recipes that didn't involve syrup. The results are a bowl each of cinnamon sugar, sweet curry, and barbecue popcorn. Never despair, good things are around the corner.

I Know Clever

2009-12-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

It is the time of year when craft fairs pop up like tinsel on the holiday tree. There is none I like better than Holiday Handmade sponsored by Fancy Tiger, an independent sewing and knitting shop in Denver. In a glorious old church my friends and I roamed through three rooms of adornments of every fibery kind and booth upon booth of garment, candle, jewelry, and print makers' wares. Every item from the s'more brownie (graham cracker crust brownie topped with toasted marshmallows) to the shoe broaches were refreshingly clever and well made.

I crossed off most of the folks on my list and put my birthday money to good use by bringing home a new dress created by Christina Patzman of Darling Ruth. As I said to my friend in the car on the way home, "I may not always be exceedingly clever, but I sure know clever when I see it."

Goat Guilt

2009-11-21T05:10:00.000-08:00

I feel I've covered this subject before, but here I go again. I've got goat guilt. My poor sweet Bella is picked on by all three of her pen mates--even Faith! She is much like Ferdinand the bull, she doesn't like to fight.
Headbutting is what is required if you don't want to be picked on and Bella is just not into it. Now that winter is upon us and there is less browsing to do and the goats get more aggressive around feed time. This means that every time I go to visit Bella gets picked on. Even if I don't have food, because face it human equals chow.
Don't get me wrong she is scrappy, she burrows in between the bullies to get her share. It's just that they give her a mighty thwack and she scurries away and waits for another opportunity to duck in and the "thwack" it happens again.
I keep a squirt bottle handy so the aggressor--usually Zeus get a zap of water and then he will let her feed, but then Diva sees what is happening and after feed is over she tears after Bella because she didn't earn her place in the feed line. I usually don't advocate violence, but I do wish that Bella would just fight back!
She also gets an inferior place in the barn at night. Right at the edge of the door. The others are holed up in the inner sanctum and Bella is relegated to the outer foyer to keep watch. Sometimes Faith keeps her company, but more often then not she is by herself. (She does get to the fence first for vegetable scraps that I bring out after dinner.) I have no idea if this is by choice, but I think not. When I go out at night she tries to duck in the interior with the rest of her herd and she is chased out. I am thinking very seriously about putting a goat cam on her so that I can see what her day is like when I am not around. You think I'm kidding.

Fixed!

2009-11-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

Madelyn is a genius! It was a matter of tie up. After a few tries she helped me figure out how to get the lace floats from the twill threading. I'm not sure I've really get the mechanics of it, but I'm so relieved to be over that hump. I'll think about the why of it later.

Weaving is such a humbling craft. As a seasoned weaver, you learn to love the planning and warping phase of cloth-making because until you throw that first pick it is always going to turn out exactly as you imagined. Once you start weaving then all the false assumptions come to light. Such a metaphor for life.

Onward!

Why We Sample

2009-11-15T11:50:00.001-08:00

This pattern in no way resembles the one I selected in Strickler for my handspun (see October 25's post). THIS is why we sample even if we resist it every step of the way. If I had put my handspun on directly I would be one unhappy camper.

I've called in the loom doctor (Madelyn) to help me figure out what the heck is going on. As a former editor it is sickening to find errors such as these in a book that you know was painstakingly gone through with the greatest of care. It also makes me feel a bit like a dolt because I didn't see this coming. Weaving is not an instant gratification endeavor, however the pursuit of the perfect interaction of yarn and pattern is worth the trip to oh, shit land.

Samplers

2009-11-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

Try as I might I can't seem to make myself sample. I know I'm not alone. The point in the decorative crafts is to make useful things, right? So when I sample it always has to be something. Currently I'm trying to decide on a new color for my living room so I'm trudging off the hardware store and bringing back small test-sized cans of paint. Instead of slapping the color on the wall to see if I like it I'm painting abstract images to test the color. This involves getting out painters tape, sketching, and applying the paint with care.

In the studio I'm going through the same process with putting a dummy warp on the loom to prepare for my precious handspun cashmere. Although the warp is just to sample and to mitigate loom waste I'm still designing a scarf sized piece with colors that are ridiculous. It will probably end up being my favorite scarf ever and the abstract paintings will stay even when I have finally selected the wall colors. We just can't fight our nature and if truth be told we probably shouldn't even try.

Use What You Got

2009-11-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

The recent Colorado blizzard brought down a foot of snow along with plethora of leaves and large tree limbs. After dragging limb after limb into the goat's pen, I finally got smart and let them out of their enclosure into the backyard to let them do the work for me. Who needs a rake when you have goats?
Diva took advantage of the open garage door and had a look around. She is feeling spunky after receiving a pedicure the day before. A goat pedicure involves chasing Diva (or one of the others) around the pasture until I can catch her, halter her, and then tie her to the fence. There I can use my body weight to keep her in place while I go to work on her feet. Diva usually proceeds to lay down and tuck her feet underneath her body--her mama (whose name was Liz by the way) didn't raise no dummy. After all that drama is over she prances around the pasture very pleased with her new nail job. She must have gotten word that spiffy nails are the hottest accessory of the season. (Really nails are an accessory, what the heck is wrong with a scarf?) Diva set out to belly up to the bar with her new look or in this case the ski waxing bench.

Cashmere Worthy

2009-10-25T07:11:00.001-07:00

As I'm spinning endless yards of cashmere--and not just any cashmere, my own homegrown--I ponder cashsmere-worthy projects. This is when I usually turn to Ann Sutton and Diane Sheehand's book Ideas in Weaving. No matter how many times I thumb through this book I always find new ways to look at cloth.
During my latest thumbing, I found a tripleweave scarf that has the hand and texture that I would look for in a generous shawl-width scarf. I can just feel it snug around my neck--the go-to accessory for my everyday life.
Although my shaft availability won't create this scarf exactly and my handspun won't hold up to the rigor of tripleweave without sizing, I at least had a vision that sent me digging through Carol Strickler's 8-shaft pattern book. There I found a sample woven by one of our best regional cloth designers, Yvonne Stahl. It is perfect. The little lace windows will add lightness to the cloth and the textured twill will show off the yarns handspun qualities. As I spin my next bobbin full of cashmere I can dream of a specific structure and ready my loom for its next task (can you say dummy warp?).

I'm Here To Spend Time With You

2009-10-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

My new job requires that I leave the house at 6:30am. This means the goats get feed in the dark. Poor Zeus got poked in the eye one early morning when I was reaching to scratch his ear and missed.
Each weekday after work, I dash out the back door to get a bit of daylight time with the goats. The goats always make a mad dash for the fence when they seem me coming, but their enthusiasm diminishes if I don't have food.
On weekends I go out into the pasture several times a day to sit in a chair and sun myself. Most of the time the goats ignore me. Faith might come by for a scratch or Diva will rub her horns on the back of the chair--it's not a bad back rub actually. Zeus will saunter by and try to make me to get up. Sometimes I do before I realize what he is up to and I sit back down defiantly.
I think that spending time in the pasture at non feeding times is important. I'm not really sure why except that I want to maintain some sort of relationship with them. When I putter in the studio I can see that they do just fine on their own spending their time grazing and resting with the occasional frolic or power play thrown in. Even though they do just fine without my company, my life is much improved by theirs.

Imagination + Perspiration = One Giant Ass Spindle

2009-10-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

As the saying goes, "when the cat is away the mice will play." In this case, the mice were instructed by the cat to play at will. The mighty brain trust of the Schacht Spindle woodworkers were challenged by Jane Patrick to make a giant replica of the first spindle produced by Barry Schacht and his brother Dan for Greentree Ranch. The spindle was presented to Barry at the end of a friendly roast by his family, friends, employees, and business partners on October 8.
It was a Schacht kind of affair. The wood barn was cleared out, a pig was roasted (a gift from the accountant, who only needed a wee bit of help to load it in the truck), the keg was tapped, lights were hung from a drive wheel hung in the center of the barn, and friends from far and near were invited to celebrate forty years of making tools for spinners and weavers.
Oh, and the show opening. Displayed in the Schacht showroom and office are the works of spinners and weavers themselves. If you are in the neighborhood stop by. The show will be up until December 1.

Let's Give Them Something to Blog About

2009-10-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Happy National Spinning and Weaving Week! In my community of Loveland, Colorado, Interweave and The Northern Colorado Weavers guild teamed up to sponsor Homespun, Handwoven, Hometown: The Downtown Scarf Project. Loveland is well-known for its public arts programs especially the large quantity of bronze statues that decorate the town. In fact, Loveland is home to more bronze foundries than any other community in the United States.

To highlight another sector of our art's community--handweavers and spinners--we weavers and spinners adorned the statues in Downtown Loveland, home to Interweave, with scarves that will be donated to homeless families. Additionally, on Friday, October 9th a new set of one-of-a-kind scarves will adorn the statues. The public will have an opportunity to bid for them via silent auction. If you happen to be around stop by and bid high! (Me, I have to help with Schacht Dealer Days--such a tough life I lead.) All proceeds will go to the Angel House that supports homeless families in our community. For those of us that derive such pleasure of home crafted goods, it is hard to think of not having a home in which to practice our craft. Our hearts and cloth go out to them.

Click here to see a slide show of the first round of scarves.

Reflection

2009-09-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Two decades ago Amy Clarke Moore and I met at the Colorado State University fibers department--she was pursuing an MFA and I was minoring in fiberarts. We were both in that giddy stage of young fiber love. Making yarn and cloth was so enthralling. It was hard to imagine that anyone would not find the pursuit of this knowledge their life's work.

Today, Amy's thesis walls are in my barn and I hope someday soon to turn them into a chicken coop. Being able to contribute to Amy's latest book All New Homespun Handknit speaks to me of the value of friendship wrought by fiber. Yesterday, Amy and her family welcomed a new baby girl into the world who will no doubt be swaddled in handmade lovelies from all corners of the fiber network. Welcome to the world baby girl.

Pictured is the Happy Headband I made from--what else--handspun cashmere. What I love most about this photo is the reflections in the model's eyes. You will have to buy the book to see the outline of Ann Merrow the book's editor as well as the rest of the photo shoot crew--Joe Coca, Ann Swanson, and Connie Poole. It delights me to no end that part of the village it takes to make a book is reflected in this small orb.

It's Here! It's Here!

2009-09-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

The cashmere is here! Last night, I was delighted to come home to find a box of fluff on my front stoop. Two pounds of dirty cashmere went off to Still River Mill and back came one pound of gorgeous roving in a lovely shade of gray, confirming that I made the right decision to mix my colors. It is lovely in its natural state and it will dye beautifully. I sat on the back porch last night sipping a Guinness--that stuff packs a punch--spinning and watching the goats play with the next door neighbor's grand kids. First I tried short draw, then a modified long draw, and then long draw. My first project involves weaving so I settled for short draw. It makes a sturdy fine yarn, but does mash out some of the life of the fibers. I'll spin a short sample and see how it behaves after plying and washing. I'll have enough to create a lofty yarn for knitting. Ah, fluffer's delight.

I Sold Out

2009-09-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

In 2002, I sold my 1982 electric Gibson guitar to buy five rigid heddle looms. I wanted to teach and this was the only way I could raise the cash to get looms. I knew that if I wanted to reach new weavers that I would need to provide the looms.
At that time I was in graduate school studying adult education while working my day job as assistant editor of Handwoven and Spin-Off. I was writting curriculum for teaching weaving, but I had yet to actually do it. My first class was held at our local recreation center in the daycare room. Five students and I were crammed into a room of miniatures. Two-foot high chairs were tucked under four-foot tables. I used a finger painting easel to balance the warping board and wrote with crayons to show how to calculate warp length. It was very rabbit holish.
I suppose that teaching is a similar kind of performance to playing music. You have to engage your audience, show them a good time, and leave them with something to chew on. Still, now that I have more time on my hands I sure do miss that guitar, but I wouldn't trade it for one minute of classroom time. I'll have to make do with my acustic guitar as I reaquante myself with the fret board and daydream about where cloth and music meet.

Making Goods

2009-09-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

During my working life, I have labored in the restaurant business, nonprofit sector, and publishing. Now it is time to give manufacturing a go. I've recently joined the ranks of the Schacht Spindle Company. Having spent the last eight years, eight months, and twenty-eight days chasing down deadlines, I now get to spend my time chasing down orders.

What my careers have in common is making stuff. The exception being nonprofits. In the nonprofit world, you do good but the others you make goods. Each job involves something you can hold in your hands whether it is a pie, a magazine, or a loom. I've found that I'm happiest when I can touch the results of my labors. It isn't the product that makes it worth it really. It seems so cliche to say, but it is process of making the product that makes me happy. And as I've said before we tend to stick with things that make us happy.

A healthy business is built on relationships. Each loom made is a result of the community that being a weaver fosters, the shop or teacher that creates a new weaver who needs that loom, and the care and customer support it takes to build the actual tool with which to weave. When I hold a piece of cloth that I made in my hands, it means so much more to me than my accomplishments. It is the summation of all of my experiences up to that point and the promise of more to come.

The Forgotten Goat

2009-08-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

"You have three goats right?" "Let's see, Diva, Zeus, Bella and, umm, what is the other one's name?"

It seems ironic that two egos and a victim get remembered but the steadfast get left behind. Faith is an extraordinary goat. She is intelligent and sweet; doesn't bully but certainly stands up for her self. She is the first to learn a command and the last to be petty or greedy.

When I sit in the field in the evening, she is the one that will stand quietly by and visit. I love these times. I can learn a lot from this goat and believe you me, I'm working on it.

Breakthroughs

2009-08-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

It may not seem like much, but the other week Zeus let me scratch his rump. Since then we have graduated to full on back, ear, and chin scratches. Before now he would eat from my hand--of course we are talking about food here (you can see he has no shortage of it from his big round belly). No affection was tolerated.

Zeus wasn't handled much as a youngster. Wethers tend to be companion animals. They are thrown in with whomever needs company--an ornery breeding male, a pregnant female, ladies with no mates. You would think this would make him more adaptable, but he got passed around so much that the only human contact he got on a regular basis was feeding or moving time. As the breeder said this was a missed opportunity 'cause he is a swell guy.

Years ago I showed up on the doorsteps of Switzerland Alpacas to announce I wanted to work for them for free. They graciously gave me a job handling the babies. I thought they were just giving me someting to do, but now I see it was a real job. I got the babies accustomed to the human interaction by playing with them, halter traning, loading them in and out of the trailer, and other general handling. When later I was the (paid) weekend barn girl I could see that these animals were more well-adjusted with human interaction--less wild and definitely less stressed. They are after all a domesticated animal. It is no use in pretending that they are still wild. Domestication whether a dog or a goat takes daily work.

So it may not seem like much that I can scratch my goat’s butt, but it is immensely satisfying to me.

A Handmade Gift

2009-08-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

The goats recently received their first handmade gift. One of my office mates' mother lives in Wyoming. At nearly eighty she hand sickled her ditch. The resulting hay was intended for her horse, but sadly the horse croaked--a term I think the giftee would endorse--after eating too much green feed produced by our rich, wet summer. Not wanting to waste her hay, my connect (said office mate) delivered these lovely hand tied bundles to the goats who gleefully gobbled them down. I'm not sure they appreciated the craftsmanship as much as I did.

Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control

2009-07-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

There will be no donuts today. That's what the sign read on the automatic door at Safeway. It's just funning to think about. For one, you want to know what the circumstances were. Did the donut truck get a flat? Is the donut maker sick? Did a machine break?

Then you want to know if the demand for donuts is so great that the sign has to go on the front door and stay there until 6:30 pm when I arrived in search of lemons. Just as my seventh grade math teacher used to say, "You don't know do ya, it kinda makes you wonder, huh." Just something new to think about while I weave.

More Leftovers

2009-07-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

I made twenty-three projects to turn in with the first draft of Weaving Made Easy. Eleven made it in the book as is. Six had to be reworked or rewoven (either in different colors or different shapes--the techniques stayed the same). Of the six that didn't make it in five were worthy of other uses and one was definitely what I consider a "draft"--it needs improvement. I let the book people pick the final seventeen that made it into the book. Most of the pieces that didn't involved some sort of construction that would eat up pages. Along with aesthetics, space is usually the main consideration when laying out a book or magazine. Our mantra: how much value can we give the reader in the space allotment given to us. Many of the projects that didn't make it into Weaving Made Easy are put to other uses such as the Pocket Scarf that is part of Handwoven's free scarf of the month pattern series. I'm currently working on editing the Tunic Scarf modeled here by my office mate Liz Good. It has been advantageous to have spare projects laying around. They never linger long.

Ripening Fruit

2009-07-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Before I blogged about fiber I blogged about food. (One of my favorite memories of the late, great Barbara Albright was a story she told me at SOAR. She called her agent and told him that she had found a writing track that paid less than food. He said there wasn't such a thing. She said yes there is--knitting.) Anyway I digress, yesterday we had the faculty from the acupuncture school where my husband teaches over for dinner. Dessert was a beautiful peach crisp. It turns out that in order to get the peaches to ripen at the appropriate rate--the fringe was too cold the house was too hot--the cook turned on the air conditioner and kept the house at seventy for THREE days. She had to wear her coat in the house because it was so cold. Now that is potluck professionalism.

Weed Wackers

2009-07-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

It is mid-July and Colorado is still green. The rain keeps coming--big afternoon thunderstorms that send all creatures running for cover. It is so green in fact that the goats can't keep up with it. Or rather, I won't let them keep up with it. To much green feed gives them big round bellies as their little stomach microorganisms have an orgy on the abundance of nutrition. The goats are restricted to only one small part of the pasture at a time. When they get moved to a new patch it is party time! Bella is nearly belly high in weeds, just the way she likes it.

Sounding The Alarm!

2009-06-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

When a goat is in trouble you will know it. Twice now Diva has sounded the alarm when one of her fellow hollow-horned ruminants are in trouble. The first time was when Zeus had a small stick wedged in his hoof. I came home to the most incredible guttural cries from Diva. I thought she was in trouble, but she led me right to Zeus and I took care of the problem. Yesterday, Jim herd a similar racket. Bella got her horns stuck in the fence. Although Bella was making her own racket, Diva was right there with her. Maybe she was telling Bella to pipe down, but still--not bad for a goat who claims to love no one but herself.

Back and Forth

2009-06-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

Barely back from the Outer Banks, I packed my bags again and headed to The National Needlearts Association (TNNA) for the annual meeting of the Spinning and Weaving Association. A trade show largely designed for the crafts of knitting, crochet, and needlepoint, the TNNA show floor has increasingly given way to spinning wheels, looms, fibers, and weaving yarns. There are also more classes for retail owners on subject.

This time frame was perhaps not the best time to deviate from my normal, portable crafty fare. While I have a wheel that is easy to take on the go--allowing me to spin most of the warp and weft for my next project while I was on the road--my floor loom likes to stay right where it is. Still, I'll have to get 'er done. Deadlines wait for no woman.

Mixed Media

2009-06-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

(Warning: Memory Lane approaching.) When I was a kid we used to travel to the Outer Banks of North Carolina regularly. My memories are of living on the beach, walking to the pier to play video games and hang over the pier's railing, and eating lots of seafood. There were not a lot of amenities on the islands then, but it was not like back in dad's day when there were no amenities. Today there is every amenities one could want--yoga classes, kite boarding, Wal-Mart, full service everything.
My family are are beach dwelling readers--except for my sister Rose who only tolerates the fact that every other member of the family thinks that getting sticky and having sand in your suit is really fun. My husband on the other hand is so not so good at sitting still. We did our share of dwelling, but also found ourselves piling into the car to see what we could see. We saw the last vestiges of the wild horses of Ocracoke; climbed the Hatteras Lighthouse; delighted in the rag weaving workshop of Endless Possiblities (Handwoven wrote a story about one of thier founders years ago); found a favorite bookstore from twenty years ago; and scoped out the Elizabethan Gardens on Roanoke Island, home of the Lost Colony and all things Elizabeth. Pictured here is a statue of Virgina Dare the first English born child in North America. I'm not sure this is at all what she looked like. She disappeared along with the rest of the colony long before she would have reached this age. I loved the artists depiction of rope in stone. The drape of the netting and twist of the yarn was perfection. There was much we left unexplored, but we have our list for the next gathering of Gipsons on the barrier islands.

Goats at the Beach

2009-06-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

Shortly after arriving at the Outer Banks for a family vacation, I cracked the spine of Margaret Hathaway's book, The Year of the Goat. (Borrowed the image from Amazon, if that isn't obvious.) It is the story of the author's and her then boyfriend, now husband's journey to explore the goat dairies of the United States. I look forward to reading about how their explorations unfold between walks on the beach, family dinners, and lots of staring into space. Let the vacation begin!

Handmade Nation

2009-05-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday some friends and I trotted off to the Denver premiere of Handmade Nation. I met the film makers in 2007 at the Maker Faire when they were trying to drum up funding for thier project. It is so satisfing to see a good idea actually happen. Unfortunately, the handheld camera work made me feel like I was back on a fishing boat in the South Seas. I had to close my eyes fifteen minutes into the film to keep from getting seasick. I would listen to tantilizing descriptions of craftiness and want to watch, but I could only peek at the images once in a while before I had to clamp my eyes shut again. If the movie comes to your area definately check it out. Even if you have to keep your eyes shut the entire show, it's worth it.

P.S. The Maker Faire is this weekend! Click here to listen to a audio travelogue I did from the show in 2007. The Spinning and Weaving Association will be giving away FREE (paper) looms in the Needlearts Stitch Zone booth #261 or click here to get yours now.

A Killer of Weavers

2009-05-19T05:14:00.000-07:00

Whoa, Sunday just slipped right by me. I spent part of my weekend demonstrating rigid heddle weaving at Lambspun one of my LSWS. They were having their biennial Wonderland sale "more fun than a fairy tale." They brought in alpaca's, a fabulous guitarist, a spinner (who made a Mad Hatter shaped cake--her day job), a tapestry weaver, and Maggie Sefton a writer of mysteries loosly based on the Lambspun community. In two of her books, Maggie killed off a weaver. We had a good laugh about that. She swears it isn't personal it just happened. She has also killed a librarian so clearly she is going for the innocent, not to sterotype librarians (or weavers for that matter).

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

My husband insists that I display material attitudes towards the goats. I insist that don't. I feel that I am more of a benefactor, a kindly helper. The goats certainly don't think of me as their mother. I'm sure they don't mistake me for a goat at all. Still, he signed me up for a 9k Mother's Day run, because he thinks of me as the mother of his goats, which is sweet. (I didn't exactly think "sweet" while I was shuffling along getting passed by jogging strollers). I'll have to think of what I'll get him for Father's day. A goat hair tie? Maybe I'll have Bella step in some molding cement and let him hang a hoof print in his office or Faith could bring him flowers from the garden. Of course the flowers would be eaten rather than picked. More likely I'll sign him up for some grueling athletic event. I'll say home and weave.

Going Green

2009-05-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

With a lot of help from friends and members, I organized the Spinning and Weaving Association's booth at the Green Festival in Denver this past weekend. The attendees were mesmerized by the concept that bamboo and soy can be spun into yarn using a simple tool made from recycled CDs, warped on a loom (oh so that is how it works), and woven into cloth using cut up strips of plastic newspaper sleeves. It really has been a long time since I have seen the sheer expression of wonderment on a passerby's face as you show them how yarn and cloth are made. Just take a look at these onlookers faces as my friend Whitney shows them how it is done.

Goat Extravaganza

2009-04-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

When you own goats you get to do things like stop at Starbucks and ask for direction to Island Grove Park and subsequently get laughed at when you say you are going to a Goat Extravaganza. But at said Extravaganza, you can learn how to make a goat pee (hold his or her nose), see your goats friends and relatives (Diva's brother Retro, is a dead ringer for her), speak to goat owners who are newer than you are and sound like you know something (I use a dog brush to comb my goats), and of course simply admire lots and lots of goats!

It never ceases to amaze me that people who raise fiber animals don't use their fiber. Granted the fiber goat isle was half the size of the dairy, meat, and newly popular pygmy breed isle, but still. How can you have a cashmere goat and not want to do something with that fiber? Next year I'm going with a spindle and sidle up to a breerder or two and show them what they are missing.

I Got Nothing

2009-04-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow my book group arrives. We read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which for some reason I have been resisting. I finally assigned it after I was given it as a gift from my dad and stepmother. Why I've been resisting it I don't know. Probably because I don't like being told things I already know. However, I found the book very affirming of how I live my life and of how I was raised to appreciate local food (and fiber) traditions.

I am, however, NOT A GARDENER. I like animals thank you very much, but plants and I have a shaky relationship. That is why my husband and I are founding members of Cresset Community Farm a local CSA that give us veggies July-March. April is a dismal month in our household to try and serve local. We usually succumb during the months of April and May to eating what we can find at the local grocery or healthfood store. It reminds us why we love the farm and how horribly, horribly wrong and apple can be made to be. All I have in my kitchen that is local is a pound of lamb stew meat bought in October and a jar of Dikon pickles--one of only six jars that I put up in August. We might just have to settle for eating lamb and pickles while drinking local beer. Maybe we will spin cashmere and focus on Slow Yarn instead of Slow Food.

PS: Ursula came through! I went to the farm Sunday night and gathered potatoes, carrots, onions, lacto-fermented veggies, just made chicken stock (stepped over beheaded chicken to get it--it really doesn't get any fresher then that) farmers cheese, and eggs. Menu: Lamb Stew, fermented veggies with grated apple, and custard pie.

Dining In

2009-04-12T06:00:00.001-07:00

When it is cold and snowy Diva gets her "breakfast in bed," meaning I take her hay into the sauna/goat barn where she can eat out of everyone's way. When it's nice outside, everyone gets their hay in the open air. Diva prances from pile to pile making guttural vocalizations to tell the others that that pile, and that pile, and that pile are hers. Lately she has taken to dining in. She simply lays on the pile she wants and starts eating.
Just behind her you can see the third wooden spool that Zeus has destroyed. It simply can't take the abuse that he doles out. We blocked off this sector of the field to let the grass grow, but somehow Zeus gets in there. I think he jumps that fence behind Diva which is about a foot shorter than all the others. I have yet to catch him actually do it. I bet it is a sight!

Goat With Half a Coat

2009-04-10T06:42:00.001-07:00

Fluffville

2009-04-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

The harvesting season has begun! Faith is showing off her cashmere-free neck. Brushing is beginning to return her to her normal tan coat. No more silvery halo. Her fiber is unbelievably soft, but has no crimp. None. I've never seen cashmere so long in the absence of curl. Her color is fawn which contrasts nicely with Zeus's chocolate brown. The color though won't much matter when I get the fluff back from the mill. I'm sending all four fleeces off in one big batch to be washed, dehaired, and carded into roving by someone else. One winter of picking guard hair was enough to convince me to let someone else have the fun.
I am feeling a wee bit guilty about grabbing the fiber as we are still in blizzard season and they still might need their cashmere coats. For now, I'm just brushing their necks and legs as that cashmere is falling out in clumps. I'll leave them their body fluff for now.

Coming Home

2009-03-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Having logged a few miles visiting family (lots of poker and eating), stopping by at the Virginia Festival of the Book (where I visited with my first weaving teacher, the indomitable Cindy Laly who reminded me of the "trippy warp" she put on the big loom in the seventies for the juvenile unit they opened at the hospital for the kids who were using the new drugs) and then onto taping Season 3 of KDTV. I got home just in time for the annual spring blizzard. Unable to even go the twelve blocks to work I stayed home and tended goats. I was treated to sight of what appeared to be Diva and Bella giving each other little kisses on their heads. It turned out they were eating grass seed from between each others horns, but still it was as close to affection as I've ever seen between those two. It's good to be home!

Fiber Express

2009-03-15T16:23:00.001-07:00

The studio is suffering form another pending deadline. Tomorrow I have to be out the door with my loom and wheel in tow for another taping of Knitting Daily TV. What I forget I'll have to just make do without. I guess it could be worse, I could be demonstrating brick laying. That would have to be done on location. One wouldn't really be expected to haul the bricks, maybe just a trowel. I did ship four boxes, one causing a call from the Rico in the mail room asking me why the heck I was shipping twigs and leaves. "To dye with of course." He wished me safe travels.

PS. Zeus peed!

Watching Goats Pee

2009-03-08T13:14:00.001-07:00

I'm keeping a very close eye on my whether today. I haven't seen him pee in days. This morning it looked like, er, he was straining a bit. This is a bad sign in a boy goat. It can be an indication of urinary calculi a condition where stones form in the urethra and prevent urination. It is a very serious condition in a goat. It is usually caused by a diet lacking roughage or that is too rich.

I've had these scares before. The immense relief I get when I see my goat pee is probably not understood by others. My vet told me I would start doing celebrating every time I saw him pee. My office mate is used to the announcement that "today my goat peed." I am anxiously waiting for the moment when I can do so again.

In My Mind's Eye

2009-03-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Everything will turn out peachy, but then reality strikes. I've been weaving for twenty odd years and still I have to do a lot of "sketching" to get what I want. I am now on my third cashmere Bronson lace scarf with no end in sight. Each one leads me to a more perfect vision of what I'm looking for--a short lacy scarf that takes full advantage of luxury fiber. But, here is the real kicker. I'm on a deadline. I have committed this scarf for publication and I have to deliver by next week. It always seem so easy and fun when I say, "sure I can do that." Then the pressure sets in when I realize that how I thought it would work won't. Every once in awhile I can simply "make it so." But this is not one of those times. Weaving is a journey not a destination and this week I'm on one heck of a ride.

There's Weaving in Them Hills

2009-02-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

After a day of skiing, my husband and I roamed the streets of Laramie, Wyoming. We stopped in a bead shop (very beady), a knitting shop (very classy), natural food store (impressivly stocked), and finally deposited ourselves in a coffee shop (for renigades and nonconformists). While I was happily settled with a cup of tea and some knitting, my husband went in search of a newsstand. He came running back excitidly waving his arms and said, "there's weaving here!" I shoved my knitting in my bag mid row and launched myself out the door.

For decades Jeny and Mike Stoesz have run their eclectic storefront as a combination camera store and weavery. They have newly introduced the "green room" that included weaving from Crossnore School, wind turbines, and squirrl whirls (you have to see them to understand). After mentioning the magic word "Handwoven", Mike got Jeny on the phone and ten minutes later I was at her front door. Pictured here is a undulating twill shawl in silk and buffalo. Jeny and a group of friends gather the down from the plains during molting season then they carefully pick it clean and send it off to be made into yarn. A relatively new weaver (less than ten years), Jeny's passion fills her studio and flows into her basement where she has stashed a ton of yarn (she was being literal). With a hand of buffalo tucked in my bag, my husband collected me for the spaghetti supper and I scampered off into the night feeling immensely satisfied to meet another weaver.

Be Mine

2009-02-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

Mill Happy

2009-02-09T07:08:00.000-08:00

I've had the pleasure of visiting another mill this weekend. LoneSome Stone is located in Granby, Colorado, in the Frasier Valley. We spend a lot of weekends poking around the valley during ski season, but I only recently learned about this amazing little mill. Operated by Linda and Marv Dewey, LoneSome Stone, is an Alpaca ranch, yarn store, and mill. Linda, a handspinner, turned mill operator when she couldn't find a mill to process her Alpaca to her liking. Marv and Linda hired a textile consultant to purchase and set up the equipment. Their operations is quite impressive. The mill operates on a worsted system and they also handpaint their own line of yarns. I just have to get through the current sock yarn scarf (pictured) from my last mill trip (Brown Sheep) before I can experiment with this new yarn. The May/June issue of Handwoven will feature artisan yarns such as LomeSome Stone's line.

I Don't Speak Goat Yet

2009-02-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

The day after my first experience with animal training, I went into the paddock as usual to feed the goats. Diva came up and leaned against me. I gushed about it all week thinking that she was trying to make up to me. She was telling me she wasn't such a bad goat after all and that she wanted to do right. That was until last night when a neighbor dropped by with his husky. He told me that individual members of the pack lean on other members to try and get them to move. If they can move them then this proves their superiority. That goat was trying to manipulate me!

Transformation

2009-01-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, an animal behaviorist and a dog trainer came to visit the goats. These weren't just any trainers either--they were nationally known specialists. I was lucky enough to have them visit because of a chance ski with a friend who used to own a dog training business and knew these folks. I told her about my goat issues and she thought that maybe these folks could help. Well they did! Within a half hour they had me interacting with the goats in an entirely different way. I have now been working with the goats twice a day using some simple training techniques--walking into them instead of pushing them down, rewarding only good behavior, placing my body between the goat I want to interact with and the ones I don't, getting them to go to "place" to get treats.

It is amazing the difference a little body language can make. But it turns out I probably didn't need a specialist. They respond to pretty routine training methods. I am afraid I disappointed the trainers by not having more issues. It was a cake walk for them! Diva pouted after they left. She knew her number was up.

Fluff Lust

2009-01-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

Some people listen with great interst about the trials and tribulations of my goats. Others roll thier eyes and think I've gone over the deep end. Chaulk it up to fluff lust, but I just think having goats is the best thing ever. Everyday is a new adventure. Today, for instance, Faith got out becaue my husband didn't lock the gate. I was working in the studio and in walked Faith. How great is that? The breeder I got my goats from once found a goat in thier bed when they got home. The dog taught her how to use the dog door. And, if having just the sheer love of goats isn't wonderful enough they give me chasmere. Which is as wonderful on the goat as it is on the needles.

Snow Day

2009-01-12T17:54:00.001-08:00

We woke to a fresh blanket of snow. As dawn was breaking, I tip toed out to the barn to see what sleeping arrangements were for the night. Faith was the only one visible with her head peeking out from the chicken coop. She scampered out and Bella soon followed. Zeus scuttled from the barn looking for breakfast. I shoveled first and then lay out the hay. Diva emerged only after the hay was on the ground. After eating heir morning hay I brought them a few vegetable scraps and they headed back to sleep.

When I came home this evening, I could follow their tracks around the yard to see where they meandered during the day. It wasn't far. I could tell someone leaped on the balance beam and someone else hopped up on a spool, but they soon tired and headed back to the barn. They watched me following their tracks through the snow. Bella half-heartily followed me out a ways and then headed back to the coop. Such is the life of a goat on a snowy day.

Who me?

2009-01-04T07:51:00.000-08:00

Miss sweetness and light is at it again. Since Diva and the others won't let Bella in the barn most nights we got a pet igloo and put it just outside the barn door so that Bella could still be near her herd and have shelter when it snows. Bella will use the winterized chicken coop if necessary, but it is away from her mates. When it is really cold Zeus and Diva won't even let Faith in the barn--scarce resources and all--and Faith will join Bella in the coop and keep her company. Anyway, we went to work on the fence and the next thing I knew Diva was curled up in the igloo.

As one site says, "Think of goats as dogs without the need to please." In our ongoing attempt at contented goats--and what that looks like exactly we can't be sure--we have now divide the main pasture in half and poured a concrete slab for the new barn. We can move the herd around and give sections of the pasture a rest and/or divide the herd and give Bella a rest. We are hoping that if we can put Bella in with Faith for a few days at a time, Faith might teach Bella how to stand up for herself.

During our holiday visit to family in Michigan I picked through most of Diva's fluff that was harvested last spring (now here is a question if you eat antelope chili in Michigan from an animal shot 100 miles from your house in Wyoming can you still consider it "local food"?). While I'm picking I think about Diva's seemingly rude behavior and think, "now there is a contented goat."

Snow Bunny

2008-12-23T05:47:00.000-08:00

I missed my Sunday blogging due to the start of ski season. I'm not racing this year, er, a little too much weaving and not enough training. My husband, however, is a man with a mission. It is hard to go along to the races, see people you know, sit on the sidelines, and watch the others suffer. It the chatter about the suffering after the race that is the real fun. "My wax/clothes/conditioning/skis are all wrong." I skied both the courses that he raced--one in Steamboat Springs and the other at a guest ranch outside of Kremmling. At the guest ranch, you where in danger of running into the llamas Kanga and Roo who liked to meander across the tracks to be where the action is. I do love to ski and I did get to do plenty of that as well as soak in Strawberry hot springs. I also made this little snow bunny from Cute Dolls by Aranzi Aronzo. I met her at The Maker Faire last year. I love her work. This bunny was made with leftover fabric from a skirt in the Jan/Feb 09 issue of Handwoven. Snow bunny is leaning on a set of pillows I bought from the Living with Beauty show in Colorado Springs this summer made by Alice Schlien, of network drafting fame.

Vision vs. Realiy

2008-12-14T08:33:00.000-08:00

As with all projects, fiber or otherwise, the vision is always greater than the reality. We know as fiberists that we use our learned experience working with our chosen materials to inform our new ventures. Setbacks are to be expected as our journey is not a linear one. Sigh, and so it goes with building a fence. Unfortunately, I have limited experience with fencing other than breaking my nose when I was 21 because I was too lazy to get off the horse while tighening the barbed wire, and being my dad's lacky trying in vain to fence pigs. I have always been a laborer and not the visionary.

My husband is just along for the ride. He is pretty used to my less than thought out visions. This is what we refer to as "domestic bliss" as in "oh we were working on the fence this weekend, what domestic bliss." I'm fortunate to have friends that are the willing to pitch in, too. Amy, Kelly and Hannah came up last weekend to help move Amy's thesis walls into our barn and lay the rest of the fence posts. I was suffering from a staph infection in my left index finger, and I was pretty much incapacitated. Shown here is Bella as she stays out of Diva's way while watching Kelly and Jim working on the fence off camera. They love construction.

The fence is of course just the first step. There is burying the electrical to run the hot water heater to keep their drinking water from freezing, and construtcing the new manger. Amy and I want it to be art, which is pretty involved. Jim and Kelly vote for the pratical. I think I might do both. Afterall the point is to keep Bella safe, so I think a temporary prefab shed is in order. That doesn't mean come sprintime I can't do something more aesthetically pleasing.

The Dividing Line

2008-12-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of dividing the pasture--grumpy goats on one side (Diva and Zeus) and sweet goats on the other (Faith and Bella). Diva's aggression toward Bella is escalating to such a point that Bella's safety is threatened. In the meantime, Diva is getting daily Bach Holly Flower Essence that "encourages a more generous nature when you feel jealous, envious, vengeful, or suspicious." My friend Amy just happened to have a set of spare walls left over from her masters thesis with which we will build a safe house. Life with goats is nor for the faint of heart.

Knitting Across Three States

2008-11-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

We just got back from traveling 1,600 miles through Nebraska (to visit Brown Sheep), Wyoming (in search of snow), and Idaho (we just dipped into Idaho to get over a pass and then dipped back into Wyoming where we finally found enough snow to ski on). The hours in the car were easily spent with a new knitting project in my lap. (Honey, did you see that bald eagle? No, I was knitting.) I forget how slow knitting is. With weaving you throw a shuttle and voila you have a row. With knitting you have to build a row stitch by stitch. It probably doesn't help that I like to knit with size 2 needle or smaller. My new project is shrug that didn't make it into Weaving Made Easy. I'm reviving it by adding a knitted body. It is nice to get it out of the UFO pile--even though it was considered finished at one time--and onto my needles.

Book Launch

2008-11-23T06:27:00.000-08:00

We launched Weaving Made Easy yesterday at the LYS, complete with a bottle of champagne. Typical of my photo journalism skills I remembered to take only a few photos. Here are Liz Good (my officemate) and Polly and Shawn Havins former students. The only glitch was the warehouse gave me a box of the wrong books, so I ran down the street and grabbed every copy of WME I could find and sold them.
The coolest thing that happended was I lined up a trip on Tuesday to go to Brown Sheep. I've alwasy wanted to see thier operation and one of thier designers stopped by and invited me to go on Tuesday. Road trip!

How Cloth Is Made

2008-11-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

This short film is for a video editing class. The assignment was to do all the edits "in camera." This meant shooting in sequence, not filming multiple takes in various ways and then editing them together later. My office mate Liz Good, agreed to act the part of spinner and weaver. All it took was a gin and tonic the day of the filming. (This is pretty much an Interweave affair with a borrowed camera from Liz Mrofka, Handwoven's designer and an original soundtrack by Mark Dobroth, the bead team's production coordinator.)

Besides trying to beat a pending rainstorm, brushing Bella turned out to be the biggest challenge. I gave the other goats hay so they wouldn't try and micromanage. Bella didn't liked being brushed while she ate, and if you think about it would you want to eat spaghetti and get a massage at the same time?

So, with out further ado, heeer's how cloth is made.

Leavings

2008-11-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

One book later, I finally cleaned the studio. Here are the leavings from twenty-five projects--seventeen made it into the book. I carefully save all the yarn bits from samplings, loom waste, partial skeins, weft bits, too short to use. You never know when you are going to need to match a color, fix an error, or need to scan a bit of yarn from a project. It all gets "filed" in a special rubbish bin. (I admit, there were also a few chocolate wrappers amongst the mix.) Now that the book is beyond tweaking I can purge my files and move on to the next big studio adventure--the holidays.

Dribble

2008-11-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

The other day, a friend said she wants a rigid heddle loom so she can weave a scarf for every day of the year. I like that idea. You could stitch in a number on the corner of each scarf so you would know what scarf to say wear on the 266th day or the 137th day.

Her desire did make me feel better about the fact that this holiday season everyone is getting a scarf. I thought that everyone on my list had already been given at least a dozen scarves already, but when I stopped to think about it I realized that I rarely give scarves because I think I've already given, too many.

My best ever scarf presentation was to my brother-in-law (husband's sister's husband). I wove him a simple broken twill tweedy scarf out of Jaggerspun wool silk. The pattern was straight out of Design Collection 19. I have never seen anyone so excited about a scarf in all my days. He was thrilled. Most people appreciate a handmade gift, but very few actually looked stunned. I'll have to ponder on what to make him next.

Back to the loom!

What's in a Name?

2008-10-26T09:15:00.001-07:00

My herd queen's name is Diva. She was named so because the breeder thought she looked like she is wearing lipstick. Well, they could have just as easily named her for her personality. Her mother, Liz, was the herd queen until she died. Diva was too young to take over and was usurped by Sophie.

I'm not sure it was the smartest thing I've ever done to bring home the despoiled heir apparent and Sophie's youngest daughter, Bella, to form a new herd. Bella is a very good-natured goat despite the fact that she is constantly being bothered by Diva. Goats use power plays such as making a sitting goat get up or making he or she move from their spot in the pasture, and they butt. They rear up on their hind legs first just barely missing the other as they come down. That's a warning. Then they make sure they connect heads with a mighty, thwack, if the challenger didn't take a hike.

But hear this--I am lead goat. Diva may be the queen, but it is Zeus that I have to remind that I am the boss. He is our only male and is a very big boy. I don't know if you are like me, but when in Rome, well I act like a Roman. I adopt patterns of speech and local customs without really knowing I'm doing it. I have to remind myself when I'm with them in the field that I am not a goat. I know that sounds silly, but I want to play with them by bounding on the balance beam and climbing their rock mound. But, I can't let them think I'm an actual goat. I have to command their respect.

Zeus challenged me the other day by rearing up and dancing backwards. I grabbed him by his impressive horns and made him kneel. I may not be a Diva, but I'm not putting up with any funny business, even if he is named after the supreme ruler of the gods.

Trust

2008-10-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons that I am totally satisfied with weaving on a rigid heddle loom is that I've never had the urge for speed. I am happy throwing the shuttle, placing the weft at the appropriate angle, laying down the shuttle, beating the weft into place, and then picking up the shuttle to throw it again. A production weaver would never stand for this. It's too inefficient.

Yesterday I had the odd hour to spare, so I sat at my floor loom and decided to tackle the skill of throwing the shuttle with one hand, catching it in the other, and then throwing the beater with the now free hand. I was surprised that it went pretty smoothly. Granted one side was loser than the other, but the selvedges are fairly tidy. I can see that with a few more hours I'll get the hang of it.

I'm not sure why I haven't had the courage to trust that the weft will end up where it needs to go without my hand guiding it into place. That throwing the shuttle with one hand and catching it with the other with no further fussing was going to turn out OK. I have these moments all the time when something I thought would be hard turns out to be really easy. There are, however, years of build up to that "easy." I suppose that is truism behind the adages, "when the time is right."

Indigo Madders

2008-10-12T08:09:00.001-07:00

About two months ago, I put together an indigo pot for the folks at work. It was interesting to see what went into the pot--wooden beads, t-shirts, handspun and commercial yarn, fabric--and then what came out. I also put together a pot of madder that I grew many years ago. Madder does quite well in the dry clay soil of Colorado. I used a portable hot water heater intended for use in dairy barns, to keep the pot at a constant temperature. If madder gets much above 170 degrees it goes brown. The madder I grew wasn't quite the right species to produce the infamous madder red, but rather produced a nice mellow earthy red.

We didn't get anywhere near exhausting the pots. Last weekend my neighbor came by bursting with questions about natural dyeing. I was able to share the pots with him. Dye pots and knowledge are like sourdough--you just keep passing them forward.

Gotta have Faith

2008-10-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

I have the goats befuddled. I am preparing for my directorial debut for my video editing class. Although Bella is most likely to be the only featured goat because she is still in down, they all want to be part of the act. Pictured here is Faith. She has come a long way from her shy beginnings. At first, the only way we could pet her was when she was in the sauna where she and the other goats escape the heat--er, the sauna is unused just by the goats. There she was trapped and would stand rigid as a board while we gave her a good scratch. Over time she let us pet her in the field, but she still held rigid. Now she loves to have her ears scratched. Faith has the softest guard hair of the four goats so she is the one you most want to pet when she is out of down. Anyway on with the show!

Starting Over

2008-09-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

Starting a new blog feels like starting a new exercise routine or trying to improve ones diet or learning to play the cello. Will it work? Will I keep it up? Will it really make a difference in my life? Will it interfere or enhance my relationships?

Attempting anything new is a giant leap of faith. We fiber people though are process oriented right? The product matters, but only secondarily to the act of making stuff with yarn. Goals are what we have to keep us moving forward. If "discipline is remember what you want, " a quote that I've kept by me for many years, but whose source I've lost, then I want weave and tend goats--along with all the other joys and duties of life. I think writing about these things keeps me focused on the remembering. Here I go.