wool, it happens when you least expect it

While I was visiting my family in Virginia (in between teaching and book signing adventures), my nephew's nursery school had a sheep shearing program. This wasn't entirely a surprise...

In fact, probably when my mom started this nursery school in 1970, she hoped it would always have events like this as part of the program. My mom (now retired) went on to many other things professionally, but she is incredibly proud that all her children and now, her grandchild, are at this special preschool.

A few months ago, I got an email from one of the teachers, asking me to make suggestions about a sheep shearing program. I replied with lots of ideas...and then I forgot about it. After all, it's not like I lived nearby!

It just worked out that the day of the shearing, I was in town. (no advanced planning...) My dad took me out to run an errand and suggested we just drop by. The sheep being shorn were lovely clean Icelandic sheep, part of a small "boutique" flock. I wanted to support the efforts of the shepherd, who worked hard to introduce small children to the joys of a sheep haircut or two. So, when my father pointed out this milk chocolate Icelandic fleece as his favorite, well, I bought it.

As the afternoon went by, my father became more definite about his plans. Now this fleece would be yarn that I'll spin up for my mom to knit a vest or cardigan for him. My mom said "worsted weight, please!" and my dad said, "Oh, and you can maybe give her the yarn when she visits Winnipeg in December!" Oh, right...it's a spinning order now! No problem! Yes sir! (Insert big smile here for the man who drove me to all those spinning lessons at age 12...that deserves instant service, right?!)

The fleece arrived in Winnipeg in a box (with a few other kinds of wool, but that's another story) and as soon as our heat worked again, I gave the fleece a quick wash. Now it's upstairs in my office, and I've started spinning the first bobbin. Never mind the enormous stash that I moved here this summer...this wool is butting in line as per my dad's request! We'll see what I can find time to get done by early December!
It seems like the perfect milk chocolate wool to feature with Halloween candy leftovers, doesn't it?!

been a while

Well, it's been a while since I posted, and it's been a while since I've given you a "moving in" update. You'd think, "gee, well, they've been in Winnipeg since mid to late July, it should be done by now, right?" Well, it turns out that 3 months isn't quite as much time as we need...the house still needs some fixes and we need to get cracking on putting block heaters in our cars. Winter is coming! However, we're plugging along and every day things get a little more organized in our lives.

First, I'll point out that the professor spent nearly all day in the 3rd floor bathroom. He was doing plumbing fixes, and they appear to have worked. (fingers crossed!) This bathroom is functional, but, as seen from the doorway, it is small and under the eaves. The sink is to the left of the door. The toilet is to the right. The bathroom cabinet is now attached. The toilet appears not to cycle endlessly now. The clawfoot bathtub is now tilted properly so it drains and the bath tap seems to work better. This is a major achievement and I wish I could pay him what a plumber might earn for all this!

Several people have asked us what things look like now that the first floor of the house is set up. Well, here's the dining room, complete with weekend newspapers. We've definitely settled in here!

Our piano was badly damaged in the move to Winnipeg. (Things get damaged when you move, it's a fact of life. Buy moving insurance!) The front legs were broken off and there were some big scratches on it. It was a mess...and my parents bought this piano when I was six, it was important that it be fixed. It took months for the moving company to settle the claim. Then a very competent furniture restorer fixed it for us. It will be tuned in December, I've already set that up.
This photo is shot at about the doorway of our livingroom, the piano, bench, Canadian Production Wheel and other stuff is to the right of the doorway. About the 2 lone boxes under the bench--one is labelled "Knick knacks" and we obviously don't need that stuff urgently! The other box has sheet music in it and I need to figure out where that will go.

To the left of the doorway, we've set up the rest of the living room. The coffee table has about 4 different knitting projects on it; I've got a bit of startitis. (The fifth project is in my office.) Statistics? One is a commisssioned design, two are other people's patterns, and two are sock designs in varying stages of first sock completion. Schacht spinning wheel is in that left corner there, and Harry the dog was just passing through. The fireplace is not currently usable, but fixing that is on the "longterm" list. You can't see all the bookshelves in the living room in these photos, but rest assured, for the most part, they are now full of books.

From the living room, you can walk into the kitchen, which is fully in operation at this point. We had a guest over for dinner Friday night, and all went very smoothly. I made homemade challah, a beef tagine/stew with potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, ras el-hanout spice and a bit of fruit chutney and soy sauce to give it kick. Then a big salad and homemade chocolate raspberry mousse for dessert.

I left all the clutter in place--those who have been our houses in other places can recognize our stuff. :) Click on any of the photos to make them bigger! (I think I hid all the really messy bits...at least, I hope so.)


The kitchen leads back into the dining room. Note Harry the dog, modelling the kitchen for you. His food bowl is near there and it is getting close to dinner time. Dogs think if they can just get you into the right room, dinner magically happens... Harry, I promise, it will happen soon!

Thanks for coming on a tour of our first floor! Welcome!

Last night, we had only a few trick or treaters, although Halloween appears to be a big holiday here. The professor answered the door to a crowd of 10 at once (every kid on our block) with their parents. The neighbor parents came along and said thank you to us for moving in.

It's so nice to be welcomed home!

big time quirkiness

I can't predict which designs will be popular. However, there are some things I sort of "fall for." I'm not in love with every design I do. Some are useful or creative but maybe wouldn't fit me personally or work in my household. That's ok! Designing allows my imagination to explore things that might not be my thing but they work well for others.

For instance...when I was a kid, I fell in love with the notion of Bermuda Bags. I loved that you could take off one cover, button on a new cover, and --wow--a whole new bag without having to take your stuff out of the actual hand bag! That seemed great and very matchy-matchy. When I found a new retro equivalent of these bags, I thought it would be super to design bag covers. I loved doing it...and the Pin Check Bermuda Bag in Knit Green is one of my favorites.

That said, I didn't use a purse consistently until I had to. Pockets also work fine and I like purses with long straps. I put them across my body like a messenger bag, and that leaves my hands free to hold dogs' leashes, grocery bags, knitting, etc. So, while the Bermuda Bag is still in my possession, at least for now, it's part of my trunk show and not part of my wardrobe.

Another "favorite" of mine is the Zafu cushion in the book. I loved designing and knitting this. Sourcing Navajo-Churro rug yarn was hard to do. That's because this rug wool from rare breed Navajo-Churro sheep is prized by the famous Southwest rug weavers and it's hard to find outside of New Mexico. However, I found some here and creating the project itself was a joy. The sample is too large for me to carry around to show off. I'd like to show it off in my home instead. I just haven't figured out yet where it will go so that it will be well appreciated by humans. (my dogs have been eyeing it; if I don't want it to be a dog bed, it needs to be placed carefully!)

All this is a weird preface. Yesterday, I checked the Amazon ratings and discovered Knit Green had made it to #55 on the "Knitting" list! Fiber Gathering hovered around #59, and although it's been much lower on the list in the past, it was a good moment. Like I said, I have no idea what will be popular, and for an hour or two there, well, my work looked popular! (that's compared to the day before, when the numbers were no where near so good and someone called my book "mediocre" in a review)

This book writing thing has been a big learning experience. I sometimes feel discouraged about having such public commentary all the time. It can be upsetting...and I can't figure why some people enjoy saying recreationally critical things about other people's professional work. (it's just not something I'd do if I could avoid it, it's part of the "when you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all..." school of thought.) Constructive criticism, ok, I get that, but otherwise? just not my thing.

On the other hand, I was at a dinner for the Manitoba Crafts Museum earlier this week and a kind person I'd never seen before said, "Joanne! Joanne!" because she read my blog, seen my photo and wanted to meet me. She invited me to a weaving guild event. I felt, very briefly, like a movie star. :)

In coping with this, most of the time I feel relatively quirky about it all. That's obviously the reaction I get when I tell non-knitters what my books are about. ("Weird!" is their reaction.) Sometimes, when a kind person pops a nice review up on Amazon, I'm very proud and grateful. I want to write those folks thank you notes! Mostly, though, I'm just a regular person, and this sudden launch into the knitworld's "public" has been bewildering. I can never predict which designs will be popular. I also could never have known what this would be like. It's nice to know the world keeps offering me new and challenging experiences.
I only hope my quirkiness rises to the occasion. :)

In the meanwhile, there's been a hiatus on the designing front. I'm blinking a bit, trying to find my place in a new city, and figure out who I want to "be" now. Plus, I have all this backlog of designs to finally talk about. A year ago, I was knitting the zafu and math mobile in Kentucky. (scroll down to the end of the post to see those "in progress" photos) Now I'm in Winnipeg and the book is done! Who knows what next year will bring?

Newsflash

We have heat again as of about 8pm tonight.

I feel as if my brain has just been turned back on. 45F (around 8C) is not cold outside. It is pretty darn cold inside, though. I became a not-nice person who alternately baked a lot (corn bread, whole wheat bread, apple pie, fudge brownie pie and stew, all since Thursday) and became dumb with cold and fatigue. Outside felt warm. Inside felt too cold to do anything of much use. Hopefully I'll be twice as productive now that the heat is working. I'll need to be, since it cost us several thousand dollars to fix!

Regular blog posting may commence again soon. In the meanwhile, check out this great review of Knit Green (scroll down, it's the second book reviewed.) I also got to speak with Guido Stein of the It's a Purl, Man podcast. I think he'll be posting that interview later this week.

I am off to enjoy sleeping in a warm house. It's amazing how this is such a novelty, but after over a week without heat? Well, it's a novelty!

hunkering down

Pretty much every animal I saw at Rhinebeck was bedded down in straw, huddled up with a friend or just chewing his cud. This llama was definitely cuddled up, too. That's because the weather was cold, damp and raw.

I know how they feel.

Our wonderful old house has offered us a lot of surprises since we've moved in. The newest quirk is that the pump on our hot water heat has broken. At least, that's what we think has happened. The professor called repair folks last Thursday. This is the "shoulder" season, in which having heat would be nice but it's not a necessity. The temperatures are between about 0C and 8C or somewhere between 32F and 46F, which means our pipes aren't freezing if the heat isn't on. Therefore, it's not an emergency and we can theoretically wait patiently until our repair appointment...which is tomorrow.

We have a couple of space heaters, and if we keep the door to our bedroom closed, and the heater is on, it can warm up nicely. Otherwise, well, leaving this room can be nippy, since the house is only a few degrees warmer than the outside temperatures. Eating? cold. Going to the bathroom? Like going to an outhouse. Downright chilly. I'm wearing my woolies. Today? A camisole, cashmere turtleneck and a wool shetland sweater. Jeans (not warm enough!), a pair of wool socks and my shearling slippers. I am wearing a hat at all times, too.

It's amazing how small my world has gotten in the last few days. I begin to see things that need to be done in the rest of the house, and I say--that can wait until the heat is on. I cook warming things but don't want to linger in the cold kitchen. I'm slow moving. Yesterday, I had a teaching commitment and the 2 hours I spent there were like having a small heat wave. Remember? I said to myself--this is what heat felt like.... (cause I think I've forgotten already!)

This has helped me connect to my ancestors in a few ways:
1) I never want to take off my clothes
2) I never want to bathe
3) I rush over to the warmth...and think about more ways to be warm
4) I do vigorous activity...to get warm
5) I move slowly
6) I enjoy huddling for warmth with dogs and the professor
7) I am already thinking about heat and spring.
(note: I do #1 and 2 even though I don't enjoy it!)

So, I will be back in touch with you in a while. In the meantime, please think warm thoughts in my direction! (That's in Winnipeg, north of North Dakota, West of Ontario, plumb in the middle of North America....)

Rhinebeck and back

The weather this year at Rhinebeck was cold and rainy. While I'm glad it wasn't snow, (which lingered in the weather reports...) it was still kind of raw outside. Here's a brief summary of my adventures.

I left Virginia with my mom on Saturday and I drove us up to visit some of my relatives. We had a fun early supper with yummy food and lots of in-laws in Westchester County. (my brother-in-law and his wife, her parents, my husband's aunt and uncle...it was a crowd!) Then in the dark, we made our way the last hour to a hotel near Poughkeepsie. While it was adequate, I can't soundly recommend the place we stayed, so it shall remain nameless...

Bright and early on Sunday, we made our way to Rhinebeck. While the leaves were bright, they weren't quite as stunning as I've seen in other years. My mom suggested that the fall leaves might look nicer if it weren't raining quite so hard. (a good point.)

I went straight over to the authors' book signing area and had a wonderful two hours there. It was so nice to hear that people were enjoying both of my books! I took photos before anyone arrived, so it isn't exactly representative of what it looked like. (Plus, I'm not in the photos!)

I did have to keep my signing pen in my pocket so that it would stay warm enough to work when folks wanted their books signed. As well, I wore a hat, scarf, coat, and even mittens for portions of the book signing..it was indoors, but the temperature was brisk! I also got a chance to visit with some other writers for a moment or two, which was fun.

Towards the end of my book signing time, my father-in-law came by to say hello. We had a family lunch together while listening to some young fiddlers perform. They were super!

After that, I had just an hour or two to wander around. I got to see my friend Annmarie at the Year of the Fleece exhibit. She was showing off the scarf that her elementary school students knit! She is a teacher, and her students learned to knit and made a scarf for this! She was so proud!

I also visited some of the animals, including the Leicester Longwool sheep. They were the featured breed at the festival this year, and I have admired the breed for years. Long ago, Colonial Williamsburg had one of the first flocks I knew of, and they kindly would sell me a pound or two to spin up. This is such a lustrous and beautifully strong wool..I still love it. Also, the sheep themselves are just peaceful souls...the area where they nestled in their bedding was a quiet respite in the midst of the fair's rainy hustle and bustle!

Towards 2:30 pm, it was time to head back, as it was a 6 hour drive to my parents' house in Virginia. My mother shared her shopping adventures with me as I drove back through the rainy afternoon and evening. It was a whirlwind trip.

Today, I'm pretty tired! I will be catching two planes back to Winnipeg tonight, and I'm looking forward to going home. I miss my dogs, my professor, and my own bed! That said, I hear our heat isn't working in Winnipeg, so I imagine things may be a bit nippy there until that is fixed...

If I missed you at Rhinebeck, I'm sorry! All in all, I think I was only there for 5 hours. Whew, what a weekend...

slithery topics

Travel always gives me lots of topics to write about. (glad you enjoyed the last post! It was kind of funny, wasn't it!)

On Monday morning, we had a big family breakfast. My uncle, my nephews, my brother and his wife, my parents, grandmother and I were all enjoying the last bits of french toast and fruit, coffee, tea and juice when my mom went downstairs. She stopped on the landing between the sets of steps to announce the S-N-A-K-E she saw downstairs.

My uncle (who had been sleeping downstairs, as I had) turned white. Nephews (nearly 4 and 1, were kept upstairs.) My brother rushed down -wearing sandals. I had on shoes, went out right past the snake, down the hall to the garage, got a shovel, and, well, there was a violent and premeditated snake death. I did it.

I also taught a knitting class on Monday afternoon, and said nothing about this, of course! No need for them to know I was a killer....

There's something of a debate about the snake variety, it could be a rat snake or even possibly a copperhead. We're unsure. I disposed of its remains before we could discuss the matter with my youngest brother, who actually took a herpetology class in college.

Anyhow, I'm keeping the shovel inside until I leave. My uncle got his bags and left for the airport a wee bit on the early side! My dad keeps suggesting I go downstairs first, turn on the lights, and scare the critters away. Apparently I am the brave daughter here!

So far, no more sightings...although I did learn that over at my nearly 4 year old nephew's house, they now do a monster check every night under the bed and in the closet, complete with help from their dog, before he's ready to go to sleep. Obviously, I am responsible for monster checks here at my parents' while I'm visiting! (Nephew asked about the shovel while over here and when I explained I needed it for the monsters, he totally understood.)

It's getting to the point in my visit home where I am missing my house, my dogs, and the professor. I realize now that my dogs' frequent snake adventures have trained me well for this. It's gross, I'm not enjoying it, but hey, somebody needs to have confidence with a shovel.

All this is to introduce another pattern from the book, Knick Knack Paddy Whack Dog Toys. My (snake killer) dogs love these toys, and since they carry the toys around in their mouths, it's good that the yarn is natural in color, organic, and they absorb no toxic dyes while slobbering on their toys. (I try to block out what they absorbed while killing snakes in the yard in Kentucky.)

Meanwhile, I heard from the professor that the pump that circulates hot water in our boiler system heat isn't working, up in Winnipeg. Better to get that fixed now than in January...but I'm feeling an odd relationship to the Yarn Harlot right now, as she is having her furnace replaced. (I hope we don't have to!) Perhaps it's all for the best that I'm protecting my family from snakes down here in the basement in Virginia at the moment.

Last slithery topic--I had a circular needle break at the join... Right after I knit the cable row on the beginning of a sweater with over 170 stitches on the needle. Those stitches popped off like a snake on the loose. Luckily, I was in the basement--right near my mother's needles. All stitches have now been rescued. Messy, but not fatal.

Oh, and I'm looking forward to Rhinebeck this weekend, I'll be all ready to sign books on Sunday from 10-12, although the weather report is calling for both rain and snow. Lovely. Guess I won't be missing either Winnipeg's weather OR my parents' basement this weekend! Happy slithery weekend to all...