Prepping for the county fair

Sometimes I think I get a bit overly enthusiastic when presented with a new opportunity to do something. Last year I submitted a modest five items to the county fair; this year it is approaching ten. Is that too much? I don't know how many of my fellow spinners, knitters, and weavers are going to join in the fun, so I'd rather there be *something* to display rather than nothing.

A partial pile of projects

Knitting: I finished the Habitation throw! Separate post to follow.
Spinning: All the Shetland yarn that has been spun and 3-plied is now also labeled; I record length, weight, how spun, how plied, etc. There is more yarn to ply, including some heftier singles I spun a while ago.
Weaving: Today I warped the large frame loom, but am still contemplating just what I am going to weave on it. Something with soumak.

And that was the week that was. The landscaping is 100% complete, so now I can focus on other things, like fiber.

And a bit more organized

It's been a busy week, so not much fiber work happened. My primary focus has been on updated landscape, which you can read about here. Now that the yard is all pretty, I can't stop looking at it. This motivated me to rearrange the den a bit so that I can see most of the backyard and birdfeeders from my recliner.

I have a 24" Ashford rigid heddle loom in the den, along with a Joy 2 spinning wheel. Both of those were shifted over, once I made some room by moving the vertical wire shelving from its corner and making it horizontal. The shelf space is now doubled.

From last week's Art in the Park, I brought home a lidded container woven from sweetgrass and plastic, which now holds afghans. I was tired of leaving them draped over the back of furniture where the cats would bed down, covering them with fur and snagging them with claws.


Knitting: I am nearing the finish line for the Habitation throw! It should be completed this week.

The spinning guild had it's annual picnic last Tuesday. We don't conduct much business at the picnic, but Parks and Rec sent two emissaries to discuss the Fiber Festival. They want to eliminate the spring version and combine it with the Fall Festival. About 300 people a day went through the Fiber Fest this year; the Fall Festival attracts over 6000. So it doesn't make much sense to put a lot of effort into the former when the latter would not only raise our profile in the community, but also provide the vendors with an audience in the mood to buy. (Both guilds I belong to not only demonstrate their craft, but also sell items to raise money.) I contacted the weaving guild about this information. Parks and Rec wants to test out the change *this* September, so we don't have much time to prepare.

A little more organized

In my last post, I bemoaned my lack of organization regarding fiber and everything associated with it. However, I was able to easily locate the silk scarves and art tissue. That was because all of the aborted craft projects my granddaughter started are in one place. That is the secret - put everything in one place. And I started to do that.

One of the double closets in my bedroom is now the roving and commercial yarn stash, and it is FULL. It's rather shocking, as I have enough fiber to last me the rest of my life - and yet I buy more! A cupboard in the "studio" contains all my handspun, and the closet in the same room contains all the fiber I've dyed. There is more organizing to do, especially regarding little tools, but this is a great start.

Knitting: I actually feel like I am in the homestretch regarding the Habitation throw. It's knit on the bias, and the decreasing rows are getting shorter and shorter.
Spinning: I finished 3-plying all the Shetland. There is still a bit of roving left, so I have been trying to spin very thin singles with the plan of 2-plying it, then joining the plied yarn into "bundles" for tapestry weaving. We'll see how that works out.
Weaving: I advanced a bit on the skyline tapestry on the pocket loom.

The Three Rivers Festival started this weekend. The one event I always attend is called Art in the Park. My observation from today's visit was there are a lot of new vendors, which is exciting. I made a few purchases, like this weaving. It is three coaster-sized works done on the same warp. This will be a good example to take to the tapestry workshop in August.
July is also the month for the Allen County Fair. I'm gathering candidates for my entries. Last year I didn't have much competition, but hopefully some of my fiber friends will join in the fun.

Disorganized

I discovered late in life that I suffer from ADHD. Although not officially diagnosed, I found that learning how ADHD differs in females and males provided some enlightenment about how I live my life. For one thing, I've always struggled with tasks that I find "boring". For another, the more I structure my time, the better I do. For example, I hate housework, but to keep myself from living in squalor, I "schedule" cleaning days. Hey, it works for me.

I wish I could be a bit more structured keeping track of my fiber and what I am working on. This blog helps. Ravelry helps. But sometimes I can't find a particular yarn, tool, book, and it drives me a little bonkers. Periodically, I rearrange things, but so far it hasn't helped a lot. If anyone has any helpful tips to pass along, please leave them in the comments!

Dyeing: My granddaughter and I dyed some silk scarves using art tissue. This is such a fun and easy craft, even she didn't get bored with it. And the fact I was able to locate the scarves and art tissue was a minor miracle.

Knitting: I've been mentally calculating how long it is going to take me to finish the Habitation throw. Too long. But I knit a few rows every day. Slow and steady wins the race.
Spinning: I have filled three bobbins with singles of Shetland, am now in the tedious part of plying. I fill a bobbin, let it rest, then wind it onto a niddy noddy. Wash, rinse, repeat. This will take a while.
Weaving: I've had this idea about weaving a skyline, as either a scarf (using clasped weft) or a tapestry. To test this idea, I started a sample on my pocket loom, weaving sideways.

Back

Front

I have an ulterior motive for starting a small tapestry: the Super Saturday on tapestry I inadvertantly volunteered to help with. I need to brush up on tapestry techniques before then. I'm also wondering if the others leading this workshop do things the same way I do, and how we are going to resolve our differences when it comes to teaching newbies. This is definitely outside my comfort zone!