Here's Ms. Spider!!!

Please give Sadelle a big round of applause for getting the spider into the corner she's going to live in. THANK YOU, SADELLE! Also, MANY THANKS to ELIZABETH for her preliminary work.

Hope you like Ms. Spider! Sadelle's going to check out how she looks on her computer at home and see if adjustments need to be made. She looks GREAT on my computer, if I say so myself. Let us know what ya think, please. Note: The whole blog looks best in the Firefox browser - anything else (Internet Explorer, Opera, etc.) is kinda scary looking.

Ooh - And do notice that "Jenny's Current Workshop Offerings" and "Jenny's Published Ponderings" are now in "click" form on the sidebar. Now you won't have to go searching all over hell and back to find that information. Yeah!!

Ooh, Ooh - Also please do properly admire the new colorful buttons on the sidebar. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Lynn - Canadian Hand Spinner, Dyer, Knitter and Friend

I received an e-mail from my friend, Lynn, who was mentioned in the past posts:
On The Subject of Tubbies and Dyeing Blitz. Do note that I can now LINK within a post! Thank you Sadelle, Elizabeth & Kevin. Yes, it took the help of three of my friends to make this very basic html sink into my spider brain. I've finally got it! Woo hoo!!

Lynn sent me the photo of the handspun and knitted half-mitts that are modelled by the hands with the cool, green fingernail polish (Lynn's?). Here's the story that accompanies these mitts:

Lynn made the half-mitts for the Ontario Handspinning "challenge project" - also called the "baggie challenge". She was given a baggie with 2 colours of roving (wool), plus some black and white roving.
The challenge was to do some blending to get different shades and tints, spin it up and then make whatever one wanted to make with the yarn. Lynn's two colours were fuchsia and turquoise. She made a total of 5 colour combinations with these colours.

Lynn wrote, "I was thinking about making half-mitts and remembered about your pattern in Spin-Off (Summer '05 issue), which was just perfect." She goes on to say, "I had very little yarn left over, in fact had to fudge a bit on the second mitt with one of the colours as I was running out." Lynn's yarns were spun on her Mitzi wheel with a short, backward draw.

Lynn ended up giving the half-mitts she made to a very, dear friend of her's for her birthday. When the friend first saw them, she just loved and wanted to buy them. "I managed to stall her off 'til her birthday and she was very surprised," Lynn said.

I asked if Lynn would give a little background info on herself. She kindly obliged. She's been knitting for about 40 years ("...that is scary," she said) and spinning for 15 years. She presently lives near Midland, Ontario. I will add that I bet she's put in wonderful gardens, as when I saw her last at her previous home, her gardens were simply lovely.

Lynn is excited because she's just taken on a new job to be a historical interpreter at Sainte Marie Among The Hurons. It was a 17th century, Jesuit mission. There were no women there so that is why, as an interpreter, she will be dressed like a man - wearing the costume of a donne (which translated from French means "to give"). The donne she portrays would have come to the mission with the Jesuits as volunteer worker. In her new job, Lynn will be taking school groups on tour of the site. She'll wear a doublet, knee breeches, chemise, stockings, cape (when it's cold), a hat and black shoes. All of the clothes will be linen or wool. She'll demonstrate making corn husk dolls, planting seeds, using quill pens, making "okis" (which are clay, good luck heads), fire starting and other activities. Lynn said, "When I got this job, I thought about you, Jenny, and when you worked at Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto. At Black Creek, there was a fibre connection, but at the mission where I'm working, all the fabric came to them from France and nothing was produced at the mission (ie. no hand spinning, etc.)". Good luck to you, Lynn - wishing you the best in your new work endeavor.

On another note, Lynn has been making the most fabulous, handmade soap for many years now. She sells it at various festivals and events in Canada. If you'd like to get a list of her soap "scents" via e-mail, write her at: lstitch@vianet.ca

The other photo pictured, with the ring of handspun yarns, shows the half mitts that I originally made for my Summer '05 Spin-Off article, "Snazzy Solar-Brewed Half-Mitts." Details are, of course, in the article. Of interest, perhaps, is that the yarn was solar & natural dyed out back of The Green Mountain Spinnery where I worked at the time, in Putney, VT. The Spinnery's owners were most kind to put up with my dyeing shenanigans, which I tended before and after work & on break. I wonder if any other dyer out there has ventured to set up an outdoor "dye studio", so to speak, at work?

Over the years, folks have come up to me when I was vending at a festival or conference, and shown me their pieces made from their own handspun yarn using my published patterns or those patterns of whom I have collaborated with. To see where to find such patterns, go to Jenny's Published Ponderings. If anyone who has made a piece with one of these patterns & would like to send me good, clear photos (jpg format, please) and details about how you made them, plus a little bio info - please do so and I'd be glad to devote a post to your story. My e-mail is: spinningjenny57@hotmail.com Thank you!!

Meg and EZ's Knitting Camp

I'm really excited today because I've just joined the Zimmermaniacs! This is a team blog that focuses on the works of Elizabeth Zimmermann and her daughter, Meg Swansen. Please check out this fantastic blog at:
The Zimmermaniacs Thanks for letting me in, folks!!

By now, if you've read the last two posts on this blog, I doubt you have any questions about what camp my knitting allegiance is in. It's not that I'm not open to the ideas of those who make their garments in pieces and sew them up. On the contrary - I'm pretty much open to considering any technique. My grounding, however, is in circular knitting and it's the techniques within the framework of the circular camp that interest me the most. I'm drawn to the organic, fluid, nature of this style of knitting.

Back in 1988 I attended Meg and EZ's Knitting Camp for my first and only time. I have a feeling you may be quite impressed at what it took to pull this feat off. Here's the scenario: My second child had just turned one year's old - that was ol' Swab-The-Deck Alexander. We were living as dorm parents in Massachusetts at a high-priced college for young students who qualified to bypass much of their high school academic years and go right to getting credit for college courses. In exchange for Chris being the Director of Activities and a dorm parent (I, too, was a dorm parent, tho' unofficially - read that as unpaid), we received housing, food and a small salary. Let's just say dollars weren't overflowing.

I explained to Chris that EZ was getting up there in age and if I didn't go to Knitting Camp in Wisconsin NOW, I may never get the chance to see EZ at camp again. How true this proved to be, because I believe Meg took over completely right or soon after that particular camp. Chris no longer questioned my whole foray into the fiber arts at the point this discussion took place. I was already spinning for a few years and had long ago sold my art equipment from college in favor of knitting - never looking back. Chris and I agreed, with a slight amount of arm twisting on my part, that I would go to camp.

David, my oldest, was 8 and Alex, as I've mentioned, was 1. We needed child care in the form of my Ma.
Ma, who didn't totally understand my commitment to knitting at that time, hemmed and hawed but eventually made plans to fly from Detroit to Massachusetts in time to watch our boys. It was summer and it was hot and humid. We had no air conditioning and a few, pitiful fans. Ma, who hated to sweat, was not on her best behavior. There was migraine-making tension in the air for the spider. Lips were bleeding from biting them (probably both Ma's and mine) in order to avoid an argument. I seem to remember her asking why this was so damned important to me?.....

I had made my plane reservations well in advance. Chris drove me to the airport the day I was to depart. I began feeling rather giddy with the excitement of it all. The flight was fine. I arrived and went to a desk to inquire about a shuttle to take me to Marshfield, Wisconsin. The lady behind the desk looked puzzled. What shuttle was I thinking of? She said, "Ma'am, you're more than 100 miles from Marshfield - there is no shuttle." What? Where the hell was I? I was in Madison, Wisconsin - right where I had made my reservation to fly into. Holy shit!!! Now what? I cried and panicked, pulling papers out of my purse in a flurry. I found the sheet that held the names of those who were participating in Knitting Camp '88. Frantically, I scanned it 'til I came to someone who lived in Madison. At a pay phone I popped in some change and called. Tears were tumbling down my cheeks. A lady answered the phone on the other end.
I can't remember how I explained this horrendous dilemma I had found myself (and put myself) in, but I do remember her saying,"... to stay put, she'd be right over".

Who was this angel? Her name is Rae and she's pictured in the photo with Elizabeth, as she shows EZ the yoke sweater she's knitted and wearing. Rae, who I didn't know from Adam nor did she know me, came and picked up one, bedraggled, stray knitter at the airport and brought her home. By that time, my head was swollen with a pounding migraine. She kindly let me sleep on her couch until I was coherent enough for us to go out and get something to eat. I called Chris and tried to explain what had happened. My Ma got on the phone and said she was so damned hot she was going to melt. At least some things remained consistent in my life.

The next day, Rae drove us both to Marshfield for Knitting Camp '88. Things were looking sunnier all around! The rest of the days were a fast-forward of knitting and fun. I met folks like Betsy, Ellen Kay and Karen. They were wonderful to pal around with. Somewhere in those days I got another migraine - this time in the form of what I call the "Good Time Migraine." My pals put me to bed and filled me in on the hours I missed. Frickin migraines.

It was lovely meeting Meg and her daughter, Liesl, who helped and accompanied her. Somewhere I have a beautiful photo of Meg and I, that I used to keep on my bulletin board in my spinning room in Connecticut.
We moved from Connecticut to Canada and I've not seen that photo since. I think I gave a copy to Meg so I'll have to ask her about getting another copy made....

In the group shot photo, EZ is obviously up front and center. Meg is in the last row - rightish - and I'm in front of her. We were all wearing hats as that was our "homework" project whilst we attended camp.

In the other photo, EZ is pictured with two women. I'm afraid I don't know the women's names. I think, however, that the lady seated lived in Vermont at that time. Maybe some of you know these women, or are one of them, and can fill us in as to their/your identities.

I almost forgot to tell you about the flight home. We took off amidst a raging thunderstorm, with lightening crackling. I was in a little commuter airplane (the one I was supposed to book when I came in...) that took us out of Marshfield (or some town near to there) towards whatever major airport we booked a plane out of to go home. I was reading my hardcover, now personally signed by EZ, copy of "Knitters Almanac". Rain started to drip from the roof of the plane onto the page I was reading. To this day there is a smear in the print. I noticed the one stewardess we had had disappeared completely - not a good sign. The plane started to act funny, bolting up and down violently in the wind currents. I've never been more terrified or rocked about during a plane trip. It made for a very nauseated stomach. A lady, who sat across from me, looked concerned and said, "I'll pray for you dear". Did I look THAT scared?! I guess I must have. Geesh.

Thank you to all who made my Knitting Camp experience possible: Chris, Ma, David and Alex (for being good boys), Rae, Betsy, Ellen Kay, Karen, the lady who prayed for me and of course, EZ and Meg - for holding the most awesome and inspiring camp for thinking knitters that was ever created - and continues to this day....

Indian Corn Handspun Yarn & EZ

Leslie, good friend and confidant par excellence, typed this in the comment section of yesterday's post:

Leslie Markey said...

Hi Jenny,

So when was your first encounter with Elizabeth Zimmermann? A book, a newsletter, TV show? Even though I have been knitting for over 25 years, I only recently "met" Elizabeth. Do you remember my first comment about her at AF when you had the reading for KnitLit Two? I said, "She's a radical!" Since I have read her books and watched her videos and I love her!

You're in really, really great company, Leslie. I think we'd all be amazed by the numbers of knitters who have been influenced by EZ and her daughter, Meg Swansen. For me, it was life changing - and that's no exaggeration.

Back in the August posts, I did briefly touch upon my first encounter with the works of EZ, in a post entitled, "No Secrets (and a bit of history)". I can expound on this to answer your question, Leslie.

It's true, I saw the address for Schoolhouse Press, EZ and Meg's company, in a library book by Rachel Brown called, "The Weaving, Spinning, and Dyeing Book," Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1978. This is a neat book, in and of itself, and worth checking into - it's very 70's. EZ's address was listed right at the end of the "Suppliers: Yarns" appendix in the back. It said they sold: "Mainly knitting yarns. Nice Canadian wools; sheepsdown unspun; real Shetland in many colors; Icelandic."

I wrote to EZ in 1980-ish. She sent me a sheet with what was the most knitting books I had ever seen available. At that time, forget about finding knitting books in the average bookstore. And library holdings, at least in Detroit, were iffy at best. Even if you did find a book in the library available, it was often pretty unappealing. Oh, and let's add that knit shops in Detroit were non-existent - except for one I finally found in a suburb and that left me pretty cold, too - it seemed both snooty and dowdy at the same time.

Also in the letter from EZ was a card of their wool offerings. REAL WOOL in great colors! It was all very exciting. I pondered the offerings and pondered them some more. Finally, I picked a few books that looked good for getting my feet wet: Elizabeth's, "Knitting Without Tears" and "Mary Thomas's Knitting Book," by Mary Thomas. I also thought a subscription to EZ's newsletter, "Wool Gathering," was in order.

Chris and I had recently become parents with our first baby, David. Money was tight. Worse than tight. We lived in an upper flat in Hamtramck that was $125 a month, with an ancient space heater as our main heat source and a huge, pink, Cadillac of a stove to cook on. I asked Chris, who kept the checkbook balanced, if I could send for the books. He winced and said, "Geez Jen, it'll have to wait for next month." Disappointed, but understanding, I said, "Sure".

Next month came and I asked again. Same response. This was the set-up for the next 26 years of how Jenny was going to get the bucks to get the stuff she needed to knit, etc. It's amazing how resourceful one can be under a situation like this. For instance, when Dad slips you a five-er or ten-er, you put it under your underwear in a drawer. When birthday $ come in, you do the same. When you've made extra $ selling your handknit hats, under the panties it goes. It's amazing how it adds up when you don't share such loot. I've got a whole fiber arts library to prove it - someday I'll take photos and show you.

Now some of you may say this is dishonest. Perhaps. I call it knitting survival. I also call it damn smart. And to this day, I still practice it. Chris knows and sometimes squawks, but to no end. He asked for it and he knows it....Because after all, if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody else will be either. Now do note that I'm more or less reasonable in my spending. Except when - somewhere along the years of our marriage, Chris threw his hands up and said, "You pay the bills and keep the checkbook balanced". I did this for a few years and you can bet more books came in then than ever before. Eventually, the checkbook landed back in Chris's lap again. It was around the same time Chris said we were putting Fred's children (Fred being the made-up name for any UPS guy who came to our door) through college. Enough already.

So that's the long and short of it, Leslie and readers. I remember reading EZ saying something about that it was important for a knitter to have his/her own library of knitting books. I'm a "Do Bee" (again, see August posts for my Romper Room influence) if there ever was one on that count. Interestingly, it is very rare for me to buy knitting books now. I'm really not that interested in personally knitting the latest fads. I do occasionally buy a new dye book or fiber book, but I'm pretty discriminating about those, too, these days. As for magazines, the only ones I have a subscription to are Spin-Off and Handwoven - my brother, Bob, kindly renews these subscriptions each year around my birthday - It's coming up, Bob! I think it's neat that folks are all knitting the same pattern of socks or shawls from magazines and the like, but that's not at all where my interest lay. Instead, I work with my own handspun; if dyed - it's my dyeing; and if knitted, it's often my design or one that I truly admire - such as that by EZ or Meg or someone I've chosen to collaborate with. That's why THE BOOK I'm writing is based on the works of EZ and Meg.

As for the photos in this post, I've finished the Border Leicester lamb yarn (fiber photo in the past post, An Eat All the Icing Off the Cake Kind of Day .) Details will be in THE BOOK. I did use my Schacht "Matchless" wheel for the spinning. I used a supported, sliding, point-of-contact, long draw to spin the hand combed top into yarn. Hope you like my Indian corn yarn "wreath". I'll be knitting Meg's I-cord gloves and one of their hats with this wreath of yarn. The yellow and orange yarn shown is handspun, solar dyed, naturally dyed, merino/silk. A close-up can be seen in the past post, I'm Exhausted .

Have taken out & perused Nicky Epstein's embellishment books to see what "Doo-Dad Shit" - thank you Maureen for that eloquent title of my tasteful bling - I'll use for the project. And lastly, thank you Jenna, for the dried millet and Japanese lanterns that adorn my wreath. She gave them to me in celebration of the recent Autumn Equinox. Oh, and thank you trees, for your gloriously colored fallen leaves. I LOVE AUTUMN!

EZ's Bog Jacket & A Chinese Worker's Cap

Since I've begun this blog, I noticed that often on the day that I'm writing a post, I also decide what I'll write on the next day as well. It's that whole "episodic" thang that Ms. Spincerely has pointed out I often do. Occasionally however, a comment said by one of you has me hiccup and go in a different direction - at least for a moment. This is a good thing. I'm flexible and open to the wishes of the muses. Never a need for Ex-Lax in this household....

Today my attention veered due to a comment from "Jofran Who Can't Type But She Can Knit". Actually, Jofran thankfully comments regularly, which is MOST APPRECIATED by the spider. In this case, I think she signed her comment with, "Love, Jofran". That's all it took for me to go off on a tangent....

The friendship of Jofran and I goes back to the 70's when we both were attending the University of Detroit. I was, at first, commuting from my home in my green Duster - "the green bomb." It may have been the ugliest car on the road, but I can remember filling it with $5 back then and it was damn reliable. Plus, I don't ever remember having to pay car insurance or a car note, thanks to my Ma and Dad. Anyways, I got pissed at my Ma once and she got pissed at me and I went to see about living in the dorms at college. I was 18 then and confidently cocky. Ma said I was a pain in the ass and no doubt she was right. I never really lived at home after that. Jofran was the first person I met in the dorms and her room ended up being kitty corner to mine. She also was the first person who I told that my name was "Jenny". At that time I had thought that "Jeannine" was too formal a name. Plus, I wanted to piss my mother off again for some reason - there's a theme going here.... So, when Jofran asked my name, I blurted out, "Jenny"! Let's just stay it stuck. I'm ok with it still, tho' I often have to point out I'm not Jennifer, as the nickname usually refers to.

Jofran was also the first person who I met that said she had spun yarn on a spinning wheel. I was in appropriate awe. She was from Ohio and I thought maybe folks got away with doing this as a teenager and still remained cool in Ohio - 'cause Jofran was the queen of cool, I can tell ya. Jofran also was going to be and did become a Chemical Engineer. As her friend, this career of her's has always proved useful to me. For instance, if I need some knitting or dyeing math formula worked out - Jofran is the first (and only) call. She also was the one who warned me back in the 80's, when I first became interested in natural dyeing, NOT to touch chrome as a mordant with two ten-foot poles. She said chrome has a way of going directly through the skin and into your vital organs. This advice has served me well - all organs intact as far as I can tell.

Whenever Jofran did something back then I took notice. I still do. She was a trend setter of sorts and most definitely a free spirit - even if she did make written lists on what she needed to do each and every day & still does. I didn't follow her on that tip, but perhaps I should consider it to better my own organizatonal behavior. I did, however, go out and buy a Chinese worker's cap when I saw her's. It was the neatest thing in the universe. For some reason, I was driving with my Dad when we searched for the store Jofran had told us to pick the cap up in. The store was located in downtown Detroit. Dad was always saying when I was little that I constantly had him going on flying goose chases to find something "Jeannine" wanted that no one else wanted. I have a feeling he thought this applied in my cap search as well. Dad became a little worried when he saw all the Communist tabloids that filled up the store. We quickly tried on the caps for size, picked one, paid for it and skedaddled out of there.

These days my purchases based on Jofran's acquisitions are a little more tame. For instance, Jofran told the spider about the Baptisia in her yard. Jenny ordered one from "Pinetree Garden Seeds". Jofran told the spider about the Lady's Mantle in her yard. Jenny had Chris stop at a Brattleboro, VT plant center and bought one. You get the picture....

Jofran seemily has always knitted and perhaps never more prolifically than now. She's spinning again, too, on her ancient Ashford Traditional. Not surprisingly, her daughters, Frances and Elizabeth, are knitters in their own rights. Frances has also taken up spinning with gusto. Little son, Tommy and husband, Bob, reap the benefits of all this talent. Truly, ain't knitting, spinning and the rest of the fiber arts wonderful?!

Pictured with Jofran in her own Chinese worker's cap, is Ernestine. If you've read the earlier August posts of this blog, you'll have come across Ernestine mentioned in a most important way. Ernestine became my friend at Marygrove College, the consortium school we both went to in order to take our art major courses. She was actually the first person I ever said hello to when I went back to school & was still commuting. She looked nice, was nice and still is nice. Plus, she knows me like a book and never minced any words when she saw me straying down the wrong path of life, especially if this was with the wrong guy. Thank heaven for Ernestine or who knows where I'd have ended up.

I'll say this flat out: Ernestine was & is the better artist of the two of us. No one could draw like Ernestine.
She's a social worker now and Assistant Director of a shelter in Detroit. Ernestine said she does do some crochet, which is great. I think we need to get a pencil and some paper in her hand again 'cause the world has been missing out on her artistic talent for way too many years.

Lastly, you see pictured "Swab-The-Deck" Alex. He's wearing a hand-me-down from his brother, David, in the form of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Bog Jacket - as seen in, "Knitting Around". Note the natty horn buttons. The yarn is 100% wool from Schoolhouse Press. Both boys got mucho use from this jacket. And surely you've not missed Ma's hand-me-down Chinese worker's cap. Both boys wore that, too. I made them each take an oath that they wouldn't lose the bloody thing, 'cause I didn't want to have to go back to the shop to get another one.

Happy Blogiversary "Spinning Spider Jenny"!

Today marks the one month blogiversary of "Spinning Spider Jenny". Celebrating a one month anniversary makes me think of when I was a teenager and we made a big to-do over going with a guy for a month - flowers and out to dinner and everything... Well, one didn't ever know how long a romance was going to last in those early years. Let's hope this blog lasts longer than some of those relationships....

To celebrate this important day (to the spider, at least) I will give you a bonus food recipe. This was sent to me by none other than Lucy, of www.luluspetals.blogspot.com Lucy was the gal who prompted the spider to write a blog in the first place. I actually think that without her, there would be no "Spinning Spider Jenny." So thank you, Lucy, for giving me the final push to write all my crazy thoughts down. Here's one of Lucy's favorite recipes:

LULU’S ZUCCHINI SOUP

2 med. Potatoes-peeled, diced
4-5 med. Zucchini – peeled, diced
1 sm. Can tomato sauce
1 med. Onion, diced
1 tsp. chopped or crushed garlic
appox. 3-4 cups water
2 eggs (beaten)
s&p to taste / basil (fresh or dry)

Sauté onion & garlic in small amount of Oil. Add potatoes and approx. 3 cups water (This soup is best if it is not too soupy, so go easy on the water) Put in tomato sauce and s&p and basil
Add zucchini. Cook till tender. ( I like it better when it gets thickened by over cooking the veg’s. )
Toss in beaten eggs and stir well. Tastes best with a little grated cheese, yum!
This soup is Very Low points on Weight watchers. If you omit the potatoes and use only the egg whites its 0 points!
Thanks, Lucy! I know folks are going to love this recipe!!

Pictured are my two boys - David in the tiger outfit, and Alexander in the Tomten, when they were little.
There are millions (yes, I think millions or at least there should be...) of Elizabeth Zimmermann fans in the world and all of the knitwear in these photos are from her patterns. Also, all is garter stitch with I-cord trim. None is handspun, tho' I was spinning a few years before Alexander was born. Soon after these outfits were made, I never used commercial yarn again.

David's tiger outfit, perfect for Halloween (my absolute FAVORITE holiday), is made out of rot-gut Red Heart yarn, probably bought from the long defunct "Kresge's" dime store in Detroit. I loved that stuff. Really. It was cheap and colorful. OK, the hand left something to be desired, but when $ were tight, you could still knit. The first time I fell in love with knitting as a kid in the 60's was when I saw my friend, Noreen, and her mother knit matching purple, variegated ponchos. They were the coolest things I ever saw. And they were out of Red Heart. The very first sweater I ever knit in my early 20's was a baby sweater for David out of Red Heart. Am still looking for that photo - it's somewhere - and when I find it I'll surely post it - I need to organize my avalanche of photos....

The tiger outfit begins with the Katmandu hat/bonnet in EZ's, "Wool Gathering," #20, 1979. The little peaks replicate a cat's ears perfectly. Ooh, can you imagine it in angora? Or how about something variegated in leopard colors? Or in black to honor panthers or any black cats, big or small? Such a hat is NOT just for children, that's for sure.

The tiger's vest is from EZ's, "Wool Gathering," # 22, 1980. It's garter stitch simplicity at its most elegant. She called it a "Reversible Garterstitch Jerkin". Tho' what's up with the stripes at the sides of my tiger version not matching up? Kind of crappy finishing on my part, if you ask me! Might just need to fix that.... I remember using this pattern to make my Ma a vest, but changed the garter stitch to a Barbara Walker pattern, "Grand Eyelet Lace," from her "A Treasury of Knitting Patterns." It looked nice on Ma, and she was a discerning fashion afficianado if there ever was one.

A piece of eye-cord, with a tassel at the end, made a proper tail for my tiger. Hey, speaking of tigers, how 'bout the fact that the Detroit Tigers are in the playoffs. Once a Detroit sports fan, always a Detroit sports fan. Can't wait for the Pistons & Red Wings to get in gear......

Alexander is sporting the ever-popular EZ "Tomten". I bet there's millions of Tomten's out there keeping young and old warm during fall, winter (& spring bordering on summer in VT.) This was knit out of unspun Icelandic that I had bought from Schoolhouse Press. The I-cord trim was from a kid mohair/silk blend yarn (can't remember the brand nor name of the yarn). A version of this photo had the distinction of being printed in a Knitters magazine issue in the 80's.

As you may have guessed, my boys (including Chris) grew up around knitting, yarn, fleece, wheels, spindles and all the paraphenalia that goes with it. They survived well under these circumstances. Made 'em better people, if you ask me. At least they aren't the ones who go to historic villages and ask what the spinner is sewing at her wheel. Hehehe.

Drunken Soldiers, A Pirate & Thelonious

In honor of the Yarn Harlot's recent delightful post on pirates and their lingo- I give you me very own pirate. This swarthy fellow, "Swab-The-Deck-Alex" (I wish he'd just clean his room occasionally) was a pirate back in the days he roamed the seas (umm, lake) of Ontario. A more gruesome bilge rat you'll not find. Aye, I'd say describing Swab-The-Deck's room as a bung hole would be on target most days.

Perched on the shoulder of the pirate's Ma, is none other than our cunning, talking parrot (umm, parakeet), Thelonious. Yes, Thelonious - of the Monk kind. Sadly, Thelonious didn't make it back to the States with us as he developed a liver disease and was lovingly buried at sea (umm, beneath the earth in our backyard on Sheppard Avenue in North York). But, had you met him in Toronto, you'd have heard him say, "Not your average bird," and even say his name clearly, among other things. Alas, birds that fly freely in one's home and two, black cats do not mix with ease...well, perhaps they do from the point of the felines....deliciously & easily....

In another recent Yarn Harlot post, I have been called a "Goddess". Dig that! In light of this, being a Goddess and all, I give you this blog's first food recipe offering. Take a look at my past post, "A Great Food & Fiber Idea" for information on why I'm doing this. Maureen, who read my diatribe on potatoes, reminded me in a comment that she loved the "Drunken Soldiers" she ate once at my home. Ol' Swab-The-Deck thinks they're pretty good, too. Beware matey: Don't even think about counting Weight Watcher points when shovelling these down "smartly". The recipe came out of one of those church fund-raiser cookbooks and is authored by Charlotte Bierwirth of Michigan. Here goes:

Drunken Soldier Potatoes

4 large baking potatoes (or more of the smaller type)
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
paprika, salt and pepper to taste

Scrub potatoes thoroughly, but do not peel. Cut crosswise into 1" slices and stagger them like drunken soldiers in slanted rows in a buttered, 9" X 13" baking dish - "sort of leaning on each other for moral support". Pour melted butter over potato slices, covering all exposed surfaces. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1-1/4 hours, until deep golden brown and somewhat crisp at the edges. Makes 8 servings (note: That depends on who is eating it...more like 3 servings in our household).
Enjoy - they'll shiver yer timbers, ya salty dogs!!

Commenting Woes

This weekend I've received a few e-mails from kind folks letting me know that their comments aren't going through on this blog. How frustrating - for you and for me! All I can say is, do keep trying. On Beta Blogger, it seems that the best route to get through is to click on "other" and type in your name and blogsite (if you have one.) Also, sometimes I think a comment doesn't go through when I'm fixing typos or generally working on a post. In that case, it pays to try putting your comment through again a bit later. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you to ALL who take the time to comment - it's very appreciated by the spider and makes things more fun all around.

One more thing: At least one person has e-mailed me that they aren't sure how to comment in the first place on a post. Just click the word comment at the bottom of the post itself. This will bring you to a pop-up window. Find the empty box and start typing what you'd like to say. Then fill in your information in the areas provided below the comment box and send it off.
Do refresh and check to see if it went through. I like to copy my comment when I write on other people's blogs just in case, so that if it didn't go through, I can just paste it and send it again. Keep trying!!

You Say Potato -- I Say Potaaaahto

This is my official potato post for the harvest season. Happy Autumn Equinox! Readers please note: There is a possibility that there will be at least one potato post each year that I write this blog.

I have been called a "Potato Head." Subtitles include "French Fry Freak" and others. I adore the potato knishes found in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and I fondly remember my Grandma Proehl's German potato pancakes. Mashed potatoes with butter, salt and pepper are considered a meal in and of itself in my household. When folks talk longingly about Rhinebeck, anticipating all the fiber fun and frolic, I enthusiastically proclaim, "They sell damn good fries, too!" The general rule is this: If I'm dieting at the time of Rhinebeck, it's officially on hold the minute I walk through those gates.

I am a gardener. I wasn't raised a gardener nor did I have early gardening mentors growing up. My Ma once grew tomatoes but the most horrendous, HUGE, green worms attacked them and she never attempted it again. Where did those worms come from for goodness sakes? We lived in Detroit!! All concrete and smog. Did the worms take a bus from rural mid-Michigan and decide to live on the east side of Detroit?

Given that questionable background, you should see me now when I'm chatting with other gardeners these days. If a particular botanical topic is being discussed, I nonchalantly toss my head and say, "Oh, I don't do that." Or I might say, "Absolutely - that works for me too..." As if I know what the hell I'm doing.

The truth is, I've been gardening about as long as we've lived in our present home. As of August, this amounts to 4 years. Now as is my usual practice when I love something, I dove in head first - in this case, into the dirt. I could tell this was going to be a long-term love affair. Chris was skeptical, but he was WRONG. Wrong, I tell ya.

When my brother, Bob, gave me birthday and Christmas $ one year, I sent for as much seed growing paraphenalia as I could afford. There's nothing quite like growing baby seedlings - the little sweeties! Just as I love the journey towards making something in the fiberarts, so is it with me when growing plants. It didn't take long for me to understand why gardeners eagerly await the onslaught of seed catalogs to arrive in the mailbox. I've joined them in wild daydreaming of my garden plots yet to be, at just the point when the VT snow & ice is becoming about as irritating as a wart on the bottom of one's foot.

To set the stage for this year's potato story I need to tell you that I am fortunate to have two, amazing & dear gardener friends. Both are famous. One has written many books on gardening and more (we'll call her Gardener #1). The other is the head gardener for a world renowned gardener & illustrator (we'll call her Gardener #2).

Last year I informed Chris that I wanted to grow potatoes. He replied that we can buy a bag of potatoes any time I like. Thanks. I informed Chris that I wanted to make raised beds for my potatoes. I naturally didn't tell him how much they cost from the "Gardener's Supply" catalog. I went ahead and ordered some of their neat, black plastic ones that would warm up quickly in the sun and produce gobs of potatoes or anything else I wanted to grow in them. I informed Chris that we needed dirt and manure. Now do note that Chris has never bought nor handled manure anytime in his 48 years. "How much?," he asked. "Lots," I replied. This was the beginning of the serious "Chris and Jenny Dirt & Manure Discussions" - which brings me to Chris' groaning laments that we could feed potatoes to all of Ireland with the monies we have spent on dirt and manure.

So last year I consulted with Gardener #1 on how to go about growing potatoes. She patiently wrote to me detailed, sound advice that would make even me - newbie potato grower - have an overflowing harvest. I excitedly sent for Yukon Gold potato seeds. I love their buttery goodness, don't you? I followed directions to the letter and waited. All would have been wonderful except for one little detail. At that time I was still prone to being an overwaterer. Not just a taddy bit of an overwaterer, either. A big-dog overwaterer. My potato plants didn't look too good all that summer - "sickly" would have been a kind way to describe them. When harvest time came, I dug up enough potatoes for one pot of soup. Good thing Ireland didn't have me in charge of the potato crops in the years prior to the famine, or holy hell would have broken loose alot earlier. It was a particularly good pot of soup, though - topped off with homegrown chives.

This year I consulted again with Gardener #1 and vowed to her that I would sin no more as an overwaterer.
We decided the Katahdin potato seeds would be a good choice this time 'round. Things were looking good, as the potato seeds sprouted little plants. Sometime around then, I made a decision that turned out to be rather bizarre on the gardening front, or so I'm guessing. When it was time for me to transfer my woad seedlings (a dyeplant grown for blue) into the ground, I was running out of room and decided to put them in the middle of the potato plants. Who knows what made me do this?! When Gardener #1 didn't respond to my questions about my actions, I knew it wasn't something being done by any other gardener on this planet. I could see Gardener #1 shaking her head in pity over my ridiculousness. Gardener #2 was worried about possible toxicity by growing woad with a root vegetable that I was definitely planning on eating. Woad was an invasive pest weed out west, but from my reading didn't seem to pose any toxicity problems, thankfully. It was good to check that out, though. Funny I didn't think of this myself before I planted the woad with the potatoes, dye safety advocate that I am....

This brings me to the photos above. One shows the potato plants, only a few days ago, as they were dieing down, ready for harvesting. The second shows the beds after I dug the potatoes and pulled out their respective plants. What's left is the woad. The moral of this story is, woad doesn't grow well with potatoes. Don't do it, just in case you're tempted. Good thing I'm not running a woad industry, either. And please don't ask me about the pumpkin vine you see growing in one of the photos....looks like we'll be buying our pumpkins this year, Chris.

The picture with me shows this year's potato harvest. OK, I know - it's not exactly huge already. But it's better than last year. And, what do you think I'm holding the potatoes in? Why, it's the new cat litter box that Chris wouldn't let me put next to the kitchen table. Just knew it would have a good use. If you haven't already, do check my earlier post, "Of Cat Pee, Urine Vats And Other Potentially Nasty Things" for more on cat litter boxes.

Tangled Up In Blue

And I was standing on the side of the road
rain falling on my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I've paid some dues
getting through
Tangled up in blue

Tangled Up In Blue - Bob Dylan

The indigo urine vat dyed, blue beret (pictured front and back), is based on the brown one (also pictured), that I received as a gift way back in the early 80's from Beverly Royce. Beverly, now passed away for several years, was a spinner and knitter who wrote, "Notes on Double Knitting." Other excellent articles can be found authored by her in out-of-print issues of Spin-Off.

I had ordered the book from Beverly when it was still in a self-published, monograph form. It was reprinted by Schoolhouse Press in 1994. I never got to meet Beverly personally, who was born in Arkansas in 1918 - but none-the-less, she sent me this precious gift. I look at it as a testament that the vast majority of fiber folks are incredible human beings and the nicest people one could find anywhere. It's also
a tribute to handspun yarn, for the brown beret she gifted to me, is made with her own handspun wool and mohair. I have steadily worn this brown beret every single winter, all of these years, and it looks as if it was made yesterday. I am so at one with this hat and even "known" by wearing it, that once a friend, who was distressed that our family was moving out of the area, asked if I would make her a hat in the same color and style, out of my handspun. I did and I know she treasures it.

Beverly included a note she wrote to me on the back of a postcard with my gift. I keep it on the front of my dye refrigerator in my studio. It says:

Dear Jeannine,
This is made from the Tam O'Shanter pattern in my "Notebook", but it must be termed "Beret". Make 10 or 12 more rounds after the last increase round, instead of the 8 that the pattern says. Then use I-cord bind-off instead of ribbing.
I used to live in Michigan! The enclosed needs an occasional light brushing to be "well groomed".
Yours, Beverly Royce

Now here's an interesting tidbit regarding the knitting of the indigo urine dyed beret. I always meant to devour all the words in Beverly's book, but that time has never happened...yet. Therefore, my beret is not made with her methods. Instead, mine is made with double pointed needles and begins at the middle of the crown. I used the "Circular Medallion (Target)" in "Mary Thomas's book of Knitting Patterns,"by of course, Mary Thomas. When it seemed big enough to cover my head, I worked about 1 3/4 " and then decreased around regularly on the next few rounds until it fit comfortably on my head. I, too, used an I-cord bind-off, making sure it wasn't too tight or too loose. The beret was blocked on a wooden tam blocker I bought years ago when I was making hats for sale. I don't make hats for sale anymore. Time for that came - time for that went....

The blue, main color on the beret came from my Alexander's pee - the "young boy" in the previous post, who provided the necessary ingredient for the indigo urine vat. The handspun yarn was spun sometime in the 80's on a spindle. I used to go with Chris and the boys when they would practice baseball and spindle spin the hours away. The wool came from a vendor who told me it was "Melonvine". If I remember correctly, the sheep who grew it were being considered for labelling as a new breed. I don't know if that ever happened, however. The color pattern is mostly from the same wool, dyed with lichens in a Karen Casselman class. The pattern was just something I doodled out on graph paper, trying to make it more or less thistle-like. The beret was knit whilst we lived in Toronto in the 90's.

The photo of Chris and I (with me sporting Beverly's brown beret), was taken in Washington D.C. We were visiting D.C. because our oldest son, David, a violinist and at that time a teenager, was going to be playing a gig at the Kennedy Center in an orchestra under the direction of Lucas Foss. Alexander, who was all of 9 years old, took the photo of us. It's one of my favorites and I keep it tacked on a cork board in my studio.

A Canadian Indigo Urine Vat Story

I'll bet there's no other place in blogland with a title to a post like this. I'll just bet'cha. The photo with me in costume, hanging around the pots, was taken at Black Creek Pioneer Village. I used to sometimes have food cooking going inside "First House" (or dyeing, but NEVER at the same time in the same place for safety reasons) and have dyepots outside to tend as well. I can tell you that my biceps were never in such good shape as when I had to lift antique iron, copper and brass pots full of dye liquor.

The other photo shows what I'd set up prior to going to work at the Village. As mentioned previously, I wasn't content with just going to work and dyeing there. My interest in natural dyeing was overflowing and I had to figure a way to do MORE. This is my first solar panel, made from cardboard and aluminum foil, set on the front porch of our flat on Sheppard Avenue in North York, Ontario. I need to digress for a minute because the following is worth noting. For the ENTIRE three years of our stay in that flat, a subway was being built in our front yard and everyone else's yard on the adjoining streets. No joke. Of course the landlord never told us this, because at the time we signed the lease, there were only a few barriers up and the digging hadn't begun. Picture & hear my dishes rattling as the jackhammers did there thing. Imagine the dust and filth. We found out really quickly why the rent for our 2-bedroom flat was under $1000 a month - no fools in their right mind would have rented that place! But the truth is - I loved Canada & still do. And besides, a wonderful, black walnut tree graced the rather ample backyard at that address. I remember once calling my boys to their bedroom window to see what had to be 10 raccoons sitting in the tree's branches.

On the days I had to work at the Village - my schedule being a 4 day on, 2 day off rotating one - I would wake up early and check what the weather would be like. My panel, if hit with major rain, would get mushy and it would take a few days to dry it out. It was under a tiny roof that covered our tiny porch, but if the rain was driving horizontally, a bloody mess was what I'd come home to. If all was a go, I'd go out in my robe and see what weed was growing out back - that is, if I hadn't anything already taking up space in our freezer or refrigerator from some previous dyeplant outing. Since it was early and I may or may not have had coffee in me, I remember more than once cutting a hole in my robe as I was cutting the plant. I'm lucky I have any fingers left. Then I'd set up my painted, black, glass jars with water and plant - arranging them in the clear garbage bag, securing all in the solar panel and angling the panel so that it got optimum light throughout the day. Sometimes I'd put yarn/fiber, that had been premordanted, right in with the plant. Other times I'd remove the plant once the plant's color was infused into the water as dye, and then add fiber/yarn. See "Sun Kissed Dyeing," Spin-Off, Summer '05 for complete instructions.

Anyways, this went on for about three million samples (or so it seemed) and I was blissfully happy. I'd check plant books to make sure I wasn't poisoning myself by simply handling a plant (yeah right, what about the innocent buttercup that caused welts to form on my hands...didn't we used to put this under each other's chins to see who liked butter? Were we bloody nuts?) and my dye experience grew by leaps and bounds.

Oh right, I was going to tell you a urine vat story. I've told this to classes before, and once, a student who was taking another of my offerings asked me to tell the "Urine Story" to the present company she was in.
Apparently it was a hit. Here goes:

Chris and I locked ourselves out of our Toronto flat one bright day. The landlord's son, who lived above us, was no where to be found. On either side of us were businesses. We knew the landlord lived not too far away, but we needed a phone directory and phone to call him. We went next door to the travel agency.
We told the ladies behind the desks our dilemma. No problem, here's the phone book. One lady, smiling, said, "I've been meaning to ask you guys something." Chris started getting a little uneasy, wondering probably what the hell we've done now. She said, "Are you brewing beer or something on your side porch?" Chris shot a glance so fast at me, making it clear I was NOT to tell the truth, as I'm known to do when it involves pee, at all costs. You see, we had this side porch that the folks at the travel agency could see from their second story window. Now this was the time I was asking my Alexander, then a "young boy", to pee into the glass jar out on the porch. Legend had it, I had read, that the pee of young boys is unsurpassed for indigo dyeing. I had a young boy who was peeing regularly, so naturally I wanted to check out this theory. I'm not sure it was worth it in the end tho' due to all the pissing and moaning from him that I had to endure. Anyways, he deposited his urine in the jar regularly and I was waiting for it to fill and get good and rank. 'course I covered it to keep out the bugs and all. Anyways, THAT was what the lady thought was beer. Chris answered her saying, "Oh we regularly experiment with apple cider and such...." Yeah, that's it. She wasn't convinced but kept quiet. We said thank you & retrieved a second set of keys from the landlord, but on the way home Chris said, "See, we're going to frickin get thrown out of the country..."

My recipe for that particular urine vat is from Ida Grae's, "Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants."(1974, republished by Robin & Russ, Oregon, 1991). I used the one titled, "Indigo, Blue Pot". The interesting addition to Pam's recipe (otherwise mine was pretty much the same) was that it called for feeding the vat pitted and chopped up dates. This was oddly fun - that gives you my idea of a good time... It got the whole bacteria thing going, which, in addition to the ammonia present in the rank urine, reduces the indigo into a form that is useable. Let me point you in the direction of checking out the Jim Liles' book, "The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing" or any others on indigo you can find to learn more about the chemical side of what's needed. When the vat is ready, it looks greenish-yellow. If it's more blue, then it's not ready yet and in my case, I fed it more dates. If it's too yellow, some oxygen needs to get in there - paddling with a spoon (long-handled for obvious reasons!) works. Remember, the vat liquid needs to look greenish-yellow! When you put your fiber/yarn in the vat, keep it below the surface. You don't want to add oxygen at this point, so move the fiber/yarn gently about in the liquid, insuring adequate take-up throughout. When removing the fiber/yarn from the vat, again do so carefully so as not to add oxygen in the form of bubbles or drips from what you're removing. I hung my skeins and fiber out on the one evergreen the subway workers didn't jackhammer out, so it could aerate and turn from green to the most beautiful blue you can imagine. If you want a darker blue, more dips and aerations are necessary. One more tip I can give you. If I dip for a set amount of minutes or hours, I aerate for the same amount of time before I dip again. Maybe I'll find someone to take a photo of me in the tam I knit from that indigo urine vat dyed yarn. If so, I'll post it tomorrow.

A Great Food & Fiber Idea!!

I've just come in from the exciting and much anticipated job of digging potatoes from my patch.
More on them later (some folks already knew the potato post was coming...scary, eh?) Anyways, I was thinking about potato soup and potato pancakes and such when that big, bright, lightbulb above my brain flashed on.

Now I've written quite a bit for Spin-Off magazine and have shared some of my work with its readers. As you can imagine, not everything is accepted by them, no matter how good. They have their reasons and I understand and respect that. One idea I threw past them was on compiling favorite FOOD recipes (thank you Bev in TN - it wasn't clear) of the "Spinning, Knitting, Dyeing, etc. Goddesses." Yes, these are the fiber artists who write, teach and administer in the fiber arts world. Whilst Spin-Off didn't bite, so to speak, the spider did. Hey wait -- I'm the bloody spider and I write the blog. Sooo, what do you think? Do you like it? I'll compile the recipes and post them now and again. Someday, maybe I can put the whole lot in a book or something. Now I NEED you to comment on this to make sure it's a good idea. I MEAN ALL OF YOU - lurkers, included.

I don't think Spin-Off would let me write about potatoes. Perhaps I wouldn't blame them. Good thing the spider likes that idea, too.

Pam's Indigo Urine Vat

When I began writing this blog, which unbelievably was less than a month ago, I sent mass e-mails out to friends, past spinning/dyeing students and other folks whose fibery paths have crossed with mine at sometime or another. Not only did some check out my blog and happily continue to, but an added benefit was getting reacquainted with many or in the following case, meeting some for the first time. Pam Hutley found me through a post I put up about my blog on the Yahoo Groups Natural Dye List. I've been a member of this very active list for quite awhile, but generally just lurk occasionally and perhaps print a copy of a particularly good post for my personal, natural dye files. Let's just say I'm making up for my lack of participation by writing this blog, eh?

Pam lives on the east coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. She says, "If you look on a good map, look for Mackay, about halfway between Cairns and Brisbane. I live about half hour SW of Mackay, in a rural area called Homebush. My family has lived here about 18 years, so we are still newcomers!" Says the spider, "Geesh, I can relate to that, Pam. In Vermont, you have to have been here for at least 5+ generations before they consider you not to be a flatlander."

Pam goes on to say, "I lived on a cattle station (ranch) and worked outdoors always - riding, working cattle, fencing, etc. Then we had a family, and there I was, the stunned house bound mother! I have always knitted from about age 6, but by the time child #2 came along, I felt I needed a little extending." And extend she did, as Pam became a spinner, weft faced weaver and designer of tapestries, saddle blankets & rugs, and a natural dyer. She says, "I spin and natural dye all my weft yarns, and spin the warp for my tapestries. And I am still a crazy knitter, of lots of things but especially socks. I just love 'em! I actually teach workshops and even have bookings for next year....I am still amazed." Note to self: Need to find out what workshops Pam teaches and where!! Hmm....wonder how much it costs to go to Australia? Hmmmmmm...wonder if Pam would like to teach in the States?

Regarding natural dyeing, Pam wrote, "...I began exploring natural dyeing with eucalypts and flowers from my garden, etc. I am growing weld (well, I have one plant that survived last summer's terrible heat wave!), Indigofera tinctorium (waiting for it to flower to begin harvesting/dyeing), and I have successfully grown madder till a swarm of grasshoppers ate it one year! My pride and joy though is my urine/indigo vat....Oh how I wish I had tried this years ago! I get great results for so little effort."

Pam has graciously agreed to let me post her indigo urine vat recipe. Thank you - from all of us! So rev up your printers, here goes:
Indigo Urine Vat

I saved about 3 gallons of pee and added the indigo which I get from a weaver in my state who has connections to India. I buy several natural dyes from her but mainly indigo and madder root. She also sells alum in lump form. Note to self: Find out who that vendor is.

I add about an ounce of the cake indigo into the vat, wrapped in a bit of old stocking.
Each day I rub the indigo to dissolve it. Then there is the wait for the reduction...here is where it all becomes more personal (as if playing with your own pee isn't personal enough!) By this I mean it depends on the climate as to how your vat reacts...how long it takes to reduce, etc. I found last summer, in the terrible humidity, the vat went "flat" and had no vigour at all. It is happier in the mild winters here, but then if we had an almost frosty morning, the vat seemed unhappy again! Sure seems to be a temperamental bugger, but the results are so worth any little hiccups! If there is still plenty of dye in the vat, I have had to sprinkle a little Rit colour remover on the surface, to liven it again. I would love not to have to do this, but have the vat remain true all through the process. Maybe that never happens.

After removing the yarn/fiber from the vat (I leave my yarn in for between 12-24 hours) place the yarn in about 2 gallons of water with about 1 cup vinegar. This gives a lovely, even, oxidizing result. The vinegar removes any bits of residual indigo and, of course, is the natural acid balance to the ammonia/alkaline urine. I leave the yarn in this mix for about 12 hours - no reason for this except I usually forget about it!

When completely rinsed and dried, the yarns are so soft and pliable; no trace of the sometimes rough feel you can get from and indigo/caustic vat. There is a bit of odour, but this disappears when aired for a few days.

Pam finishes her e-mail to me with, "I am a newcomer to the vat - only been doing this since last Christmas. My references are Jim Liles' book, "The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing" - specifically his "Old Sig Vat", and Susanne Grosjean from Maine, who is on the Natural Dye List and has had a urine vat going for years I think. If you go to the archives of the list and type in "urine vat" or even Susanne's name, you should find the previous discussions."

If you have any questions for Pam, do ask them here as she's a regular reader of this blog and I have a feeling won't mind talking about her urine vat whatsoever! Do check the comment section regularly.
Look for more on indigo urine vats soon. You had a feeling that would be the case, didn'tcha?

My Early Natural Dyeing Adventures & Brighid's Dyers

Please let me draw your attention to the photo above. I was perusing my snapshots and came across it in one of my two "favorites" albums. It's a photograph of an actual painting. Yes, that's me in costume - Canadian pioneer costuming to be exact. Whilst living in Toronto I had the good fortune to have a full-time, seasonal job at Black Creek Pioneer Village. I was a historical interpreter and split my time between spinning and natural dyeing in First House and the Weaver's Shop, cranking out rag rugs for sale. "First House," which is what is pictured, is named so because it was built & remains on its original site by Daniel and Elizabeth Stong in 1816. They were a Pennsylvania Dutch couple whose loyalties were with Great Britain, thus becoming pioneers in the wilderness of Canada. I'll bet just about every Canadian who lives in Toronto or its suburbs has visited Black Creek on a school visit - not to mention the scores of visitors from around the world. It was a job I'll never forget. It also made me ashamed for how little we were taught in the U.S. schools about Canadian history and how much I had to read and digest to properly perform my duties as a Canadian historical interpreter.

The photo was painted by Mrs. Claire Sinclair. She made it in the 90's as one of a series of 12 pioneer paintings in celebration of the millennium. Her hope is to have them made into a calendar, Christmas cards and/or posters for schools or universities, demonstrating the rich, early history of Canada and its people. As for the originals, she'd like to sell them as a complete set of 12 to an interested individual, group, corporation or museum, etc. However, she did have produced an incredibly high quality, giclee series which replicates the paintings digitally. Knowing that some of you collect knitting & fiber arts prints, you may be pleased to know she is willing to sell these giclees separately. Claire is going to send me copies of the other 11 paintings, so occasionally you may see them on this blog. If you're interested in the above giclee or any of the others, please call her at (416) 781-8588. She's a lovely woman and I know you'll enjoy the chat.

I chose the above photo for this post because it made me think of my various escapades having to do with natural dyeing. I really became a natural dyer in Canada, tho' I dabbled for several years prior. At the Village, with several dyepots brewing, I used to talk how the pioneers would have most likely had a "blue pot" going. That pot wouldn't have been blueberries I can tell ya - it would have been pee and indigo, since imported dyestuffs were available and coveted.

At the Village, I worked out a deal where I would buy the Border Leicester yarn, that I spun from the Village's sheep, for myself, rather giving it to the General Store on the premises to sell to customers. While it wasn't always the best quality handspun yarn to work with - given that my attention was given to talking Canadian history to umpteen visitors of various ages, with them often speaking a multitude of languages & coming from diverse backgrounds - it was still my handspun and therefore great to use for dye samples. The dye samples from my three years in Canada make up the main core of my early natural dyeing experiments, as seen by many who flip through the big binders I bring to classes I teach.

This same time period of my life was when I had the joy of discovering plants in general (I'm from Detroit. I didn't learn about plants as a kid. Really.). I have Norma and Marion, also historical interpreters, to thank for beginning this important education. Norma, who worked across from me in "Second House" - the second house the Stong's built and also on the original site - used to call in her distinctive, sometimes screechy voice, "Jenny, I've brought some dead flowers for you to make your dyes." I loved Norma. We used to share tea and fudge in the late afternoons when it was near to closing and things had died down visitor-wise at the Village. As for Marion, I could bring her any weed or plant and she'd put me on the right track to identifying it and tell a little story about it to boot. To this day I'm putting in plants in my yard that remind me of them.

Now it wasn't enough to just be dyeing at work. It seemed a crime and a shame that I couldn't set something up at home while I was gone. But what about the heat source? You can't just turn something on or plug it in and go away to work (well, except for a crock pot but I didn't think about that then). Enter solar dyeing. I liked the idea that it was a heat source that was free, convenient and easy to harness. I remembered a Spin-Off magazine that caught my attention big time. It was the Summer '93 issue. I wrote about it's importance to me in the Spin-Off Summer '05 issue, in an article called, "Sun Kissed Dyeing." If you've been reading this blog from the start, you'll know that I do alot of solar dyeing. And the neat thing is there are others who are interested in it to. They're none other than "Brighid's Dyers."

"Brighid's Dyers" was a group of dyers who experimented with solar dyeing for 1 year + and shared their work in the "Sun Kissed Dyeing" article mentioned above. We chose Brighid because she was a Goddess who was born with fire coming out of her head and looked after various artists and craftspeople. We figured, with the whole fire motif going, she wouldn't mind looking after us, too. D. Sage, in the comment section of an earlier post, asked if wood-fire dyers would be welcome in "Brighid's Dyers"? Yes, in fact any dyer or dyer wanna-be is welcome, tho' most of us do some form of solar dyeing during the summer season. Some of us get together periodically in Southern Vermont and then there's the annual autumn pot-luck at my house. This year's is taking place sometime in November and I'll post the date when it's firm. It's fun to share what we've dyed over the summer season at such an event. "Brighid's Dyers" webpage lives at Hemlock Haven Llama Farm, home of none other than Elizabeth! Do go to:
www.home.svcable.net/llamas/solardyeing.html

Of Cat Pee, Urine Vats And Other Potentially Nasty Things

I have to begin, before I forget, that when I was just in NYC, I saw a rat the size of a dachshund. Seriously, it took my breath away. David and I were coming home from the Harlot's event and the big fella (or lady?) was scampering (no, rats that size do not scamper, they rush or charge or something) in a quartered off area of the subway. Both of our jaws dropped open in utter awe. Thought you'd want to know. No, I will not be doing any animal tribute in the form of a hand spun, hand dyed and hand knitted piece in honor of this siting.

As mentioned in one of my NYC posts yesterday, I met a gal named Julie at the Harlot's event.
Julie and I got to talking about our cats. What I'm going to tell you next is actually under a fibery heading because it seems so many of us have cats. Now I don't mean to exclude the dog folks (I love dogs, too, but Chris will have none of it) or the pet-less knitters, spinners, etc.
But I'm feeling a need to share my good fortune with others, as I did to Julie, and it all has to do with cat pee.

One of the worse offenses that a cat can commit in its home is to urinate outside of the litter box. The cat's unhappy and the family is damn unhappy over this kind of behavior. Well, our Al was the culprit in our home. But he didn't pee on the carpet or bed, which is awful, I admit- he chose to pee on top of our kitchen cupboards, so that when it dripped down, it waterfalled all over our dishes and such. Can I just interject here that this was beyond disgusting?!

Chris is iffy about Al in our home in the first place. In fact, sometime I'll tell you the story about how Al first came to live with us. Anyways, Chris' feelings run a tightrope between dislike and kind-of dislike. Not so when Al was peeing on our plates. Things started getting dangerous for Al's health and I knew I had to do something.

What did I do? Why, spend $ we didn't have, of course. Enter the "Cat Detective." Interestingly, her name is Julie, too. Her job is to help poor sods like us. Her fee is $75, which is reasonable since it potentially will save a cat's life. What did she recommend? Why, we needed to spend more $ we didn't have.

Since I doubt I'll be taking away any of the Cat Detective's business by giving you the scoop (hee, hee), I'm going to spell it all out. Here's hoping this helps all furry felines and their families.

First, a cat doesn't pee outside of the litter box for no reason. Second, you can't reason with a cat in English. Third, cat's do not understand physical reprimands of any type and loud yelling will only make matters worse. Not that I did any of this stuff - well, I did try to bribe him in English...

Here's the lowdown:
1) Throw away litter boxes & replace with new ones. Well, actually I cleaned them because they might be useful for solar dyeing in the future. Sometimes cats don't like the smell imbedded in the scratched plastic of old litter boxes.
2) Be sure you have one litter box for each cat. It's recommended that you then have an extra box over and above. The C.D. thought a box in the kitchen might be good. We bought it, but Chris made odd facial jestures at the thought of a litter box near our kitchen table.
3) Clean all traces of pee. Don't use your regular cleaners which may have ammonia in them and be attractive to pee on, in and of themselves. Get yourselves some "Nature's Miracle" from the pet store. This stuff apparently has enzyme removers that attacks the pee on contact. It comes in a spray bottle and jug form. Get both.
4) If your cat has urinated on the carpet, pull it up and treat the pad & flooring or you'll be just spinning your wheels (hee, hee) and spending alot of money on "Nature's Miracle".
5) Put foil down where your cat is going. They don't like it.
6) If you take away something from a cat, replace it with something else. For instance, Al was peeing on our cupboards, which was up near the ceiling. We took that perch away from him and got a "Stairway to Heaven." Thank goodness for Maureen who figured out how to properly install the thing or Al would have been sitting on the leaning tower of Aloysius.
7) Get "Cat Attract" litter. In VT, a bag of this stuff costs $22. If you can't afford this, consider selling your favorite yarn/fiber in your stash to raise the cash. It's worth it.
8) Buy the Feliway infuser and spray and most importantly, use as directed. This has in it a pheremone that replicates the cat's happy glands in its face. Cats don't want to pee on anything so happy.
9) Go to your health food store and check out the Bach Flower Remedies. Chances are they have a pet leaflet for free. If not, do a search for the remedies and look up the info on pet use.
I would sell my spindles if I needed to raise the bucks for this product. Really. Al gets drops in his food from 5 different flower remedies. Chloe gets them, too, since they eat from the same dish. No side affects, except good ones, for either of them.
12) Your cat may actually be trying to protect the house. In our case, the C.D. had us put up paper over our sliding door area. Oh, Chris loved that one I can tell ya. His comment, given in a sort of low growling voice, was, "Are we having fun yet?" Anyways, Al was trying to protect our house from stray cats, racoons and chipmunks going on our deck. He seems less obsessive about it with the paper up.
11) Keep trying to figure out all the possible reasons why your cat is doing this obnoxious thing. In some cases, it has to do with an illness. That's a hard one, so check with your vet for more help. In our case, Chris is the winner for figuring out that Al pissed on the top of the cupboards because they were under our attic where mice sometimes congregated. Again, that whole "protect the house" policy of his. We ended up putting empty coffee cans up there so he couldn't even consider getting by them. Plus, they have the added advantage of being so incredibly attractive.
12) Finally, have patience. Be prepared for a few set-backs. And stop calling your cat names, like "Pisspot." Good luck.

So, what's the photo about? It's a combination of Romney fleece plus CVM, spindle-spun yarn - all dyed in my fave - an indigo urine vat! More on that tomorrow. Yes Ms. Spincerely, this is going the route of being episodic again. Stay tuned.

Knittin' and Spinnin' in NYC

I returned from my NYC weekend in the early hours of today. I had a really great time, full of many ups and, thankfully, only a few downers.

My oldest son, David, picked me up at Penn Station after my afternoon's travel on "The Vermonter" train. Here's the scenario: Penn Station and all of its temporary & transient inhabitants is chaotic with a capital C. The spider does not own a cell phone. The son of the spider does, but probably didn't bring it and the spider doesn't know the # by heart anyways. (Note that I'm about to go from third person to first - just warning ya!) I quickly realize the train has come in on a different track than last time, making me question, "Where the hell am I?" - of course, blaring this out loud. I do not see hide nor hare of my son. I walk one way, then trace back and walk the other, dragging my 31 year old Samsonite, fake leather, luggage - knowing I'll never see him nor any of my family ever again in this lifetime. I ask, or rather say, to a guy with an Amtrak hat, figuring he was official (or some weirdo playing train conductor), "The Vermonter doesn't always come in on the same track." "No," he says. I, turning red, say, "Is there an area where it generally comes in?" Pitifully, he says, "Try taking that elevator." 'course I have asked and said ridiculous things so how can I expect anything reasonable in return. I take, what might be the trip to no return as it looked like a freight elevator at best. On exiting, I find myself again talking out loud and saying, "He is never going to bloody be able to find me." Just then, David's right in front of me saying, "Hi Mama!" We kiss and I leave without no one, except the guy in the Amtrak hat, knowing the better.....

Now here I should backtrack and say I almost wasn't able to take the train to NYC at all. I found myself discussing the following with perfect strangers, who are not strangers any longer, waiting for the Yarn Harlot to entertain all of us fiber folks at the Barnes and Noble in "The Slope" area of Brooklyn. When I woke up the morning I was to leave I had what could have turned out to be a "Three Day Sucker Migraine." For those who suffer from migraines, this will probably need no explanation. For others, this means a migraine that takes one out of the happy scheme of life for at least three days. How did I beat this vicious enemy? I had one Imitrex left and got it down as quickly as possible. I don't like to take such heavy-duty medicine except in an emergency. I quickly evaluated that this was what Detroiters would call "a big-dog emergency." It was Imitrex or no NYC. Then, I've thankfully got that guy named Chris who knows just how to work out the offending muscles in my back, shoulders, neck and head. This helped to rid me of whatever was all knotted up & making my veins throb as if someone was wielding a sledgehammer directly to my brain. I'll spare you the whole throwing up part and move on to dressing, checking if I had my spinning basket, complete with takli and fiber, and driving to Brattleboro to catch the train.

Let's now move on to the important stuff - the Harlot's event. Everyone who gathered to the spot it was all to take place soon found we would be having a tad of a wait. Stephanie was caught on or near the Manhattan Bridge and unfortunately no praying from the knitters was going to break her loose earlier than the cosmos had planned. This span of time did have its plusses in that the folks waiting all got to know each other better.

First I'll tell you about Valerie and Regina. Valerie is pictured above in the red, plaid dress and black sweater, holding a purse. Valerie came from work, I think, and sadly had no knitting to occupy her time. That's ok - I talked her head off and did my best to amuse.

Regina(pronounced with a hard g), in the overalls and yellow t-shirt, was knitting a baby sack. Do note that both Valerie and Regina are each expecting their first child. These are children sure to be clothed in nothing but the best knitwear and will be welcomed among our kind as prospective knitters in their own right. 'course we'll wait until after they are born to tell these lucky children that they can expect all this good fortune.

That's Cassandra in red, holding a piece of coveted, cochineal & solar dyed cotton/silk fiber she found on the floor. This fiber, dyed by the spider herself, fell out of her spinning basket when she pulled out her camera to photograph Cassie. Cassie has a blog that you'll be sure to want to check out. (Once again, I apologize for not being able to link directly on my post yet. Any help, especially from those who use Blogger in Beta, would be most welcome. HELP ME FOLKS, PLEASE!) OK, here's Cassie's blog: www.cassiana.typepad.com/too_much_wool

So, where's the "spinnin" in NYC at the Harlot's event? Well, there was me spinning on a takli, but I find it hard to take a photo of myself when I'm the one shooting. There was a woman up front with a wooden, high whorl. She was spinning what looked to me to be grey wool, but I may never know for sure because I didn't get a chance to chat with her. Otherwise, there were scores of knitters. Knitting rocks in NYC, that's for sure.

More Happy Knitters & Spinners in NYC

Pictured in the black tank top and beautiful, red, knitted shawl is Kate, holding a partially knitted and very snazzy sock. Kate has her own blog, too. Kate's blog is: www.aastrikke.blogspot.com Kate and I realized we shared the same malady - migraines. She, too, had her Imitrex fix that very morning. I don't know about Kate but I call many of my bouts, "Good Time Migraines." They come on just as I'm enjoying myself or anticipating a fun and fibery event. Thankfully, they come on with MUCH less frequency when I practice my pro-active arsenal of self-helps: Bach Flower Remedies, Jin Shin Jyustu, walking and stretching, using a Neti pot, and vitamins (especially the B's and magnesium.) I admit, I've slacked on a few of these self-helps and it bit me in the butt.

Behind Kate is a gal I met briefly at the Spin Out in NYC, held this summer. Her name is Jen and she's sporting a pretty, knitted, pink shawl a friend made for her. Jen is knitting on a scarf she was trying to make long enough to wear at the Knit Out at Union Square the following day. Jen is also a blogger - her blog has an emphasis on cooking/baking, tho' there's a link to her knitting as well. It is: www.bakerina.com

The other photo is of Julie, in the green t-shirt, knitting on the "Jaywalker" sock, designed by Grumperina (another blogger I'm told). This sock and its pattern is featured in Magknits, an online knitting magazine that I wasn't familiar with until Julie hipped me to it. The site can be found at: www.magknits.com Not surprisingly, Julie, too, has a blog. Julie's blog demonstrates her political views and special take on life. For a good read, you can find it at: www.eviljulie.com FYI, she seems anything but evil. She had nail color in a gorgeous blue that, if she just bound off her sock without a toe, would be a lovely fashion statement - should she wish to wear these socks with her toes peeking out.

Next to Julie is Rose, in the deep purple t-shirt. She was happily knitting in the round on circular's - a woman after my own heart. For the life of me I can't remember exactly what she was knitting. That'll teach me to jot down everything, even tho' I swear to myself that I'll remember every detail.

Once Stephanie, the Yarn Harlot, was released from her prison of traffic gridlock, she entertained us with gusto, as we knew she would. I don't need to give her site. You all know it!
Thank you, Ms. Harlot, for a wonderful evening of knitterly chuckles.

Ah, that I could have just gone to bed after such fun. But no, David, who accompanied me, and I saved dinner for after the event. We cheerily walked 7th Avenue and decided on a nice cafe that had alot of vegetarian options he liked. I ordered a grilled, chicken sandwich and fries (not surprising at all to friends who know I am a french fried potato freak.) The fries, by the way, were excellent. Though starved, I couldn't seem to start the second half of my sandwich. Good thing, or I might be dead right now. This is unfortunately not an exaggeration - well, at least not much. Suffice to say that I was food poisoned - most likely from bad mayonnaise. I did not sleep one minute that night and got to know David's bathroom with intimacy. I thanked him profusely the next day for having a clean bathroom floor.

This turn of events did not bode well for our outing to the Knit Out, held the day after at Union Square. Determined to do everything I planned on this NYC trip, I downed three, stiff cups of decaf chai. I'll skip explaining the whole throw-uppy thing again and proceed to the event. Picture if you will, a sea of knitters in 82-ish degree weather, with the sun blazing and little shade relief. Plus, alot of us, including myself and my son, were dressed for fall. Needless to say, I didn't last long.

I did, however, happily get to see my new friend, Regina (pronounced with a soft g), and meet her two, darling children. Her son wondered why I wore an insect (pin) on my top. Regina explained that spiders are spinners, which is what Jenny was, and he seemed satisfied. Regina got a kick that David was doing a little, light reading amongst the knitting frenzy - Dostoevsky, no less. Say, I just realized I now know two Regina's. This Regina is not the same one as in the first post (pictured above) about NYC. Hey, I went to Regina (also pronounced with a soft g) High School, as well. It's a definite Regina thang for me.

I also said a hello to the Harlot, again. She's amazing, to say the least. Her schedule & how she manages it boggles the mind.

Lastly, I met Amy Singer, of Knitty magazine. That was neat and she was nice. I admit, I'm really new to reading this online magazine, tho' I was pictured in Cara's (www.januaryone.com) article on the Spin-Out she organized, featured in the Summer '06 Knitty issue. I like Knitty and particularly enjoy the articles in their Knittyspin section.

Soon after meeting Amy, I told David we were either going to have to leave or I was going to faint. He calculated that I hadn't slept something like 30-40 hours by that time. On our way back to the subway station, I bought a hot pretzel with lots of salt from a street vendor. The vendor spoke a combination of some Slavic language mixed with English. After three sentences, the only thing I understood was $2. Seemed a bargain for something that would soak up all the icky juices still brewing in my very, sore stomach.

That night, my Chris came to pick me up after playing a gig in New Haven. I stuck my seat back as far as it would go and the trip is but a dream. Today, life seems alot rosier and I was thankful I got to go to NYC!! Hot damn!!!

A Handspun Silk Scarf: Grouse-Inspired

A past spinning/dyeing student, now friend and much appreciated confidant, suggested I present a "teaser" photo of how I used the silk and silk blended skeins posted a few days ago. 'course you'll not get the pattern nor the spinning and dyeing how-to's (in totality) here. For that, you'll have to wait for THE BOOK. You'll get to see the scarf in person if you're going to SOAR '06, as I plan to put it into the gallery. Otherwise, consider taking or booking my "Silken Class," as they did at Peters Valley in NJ (How's that for unabashed advertising and promotion?! - I didn't even blink an eye when I typed it!)

What you're viewing is very near and dear to my heart. It began with an encounter and evolving relationship with a grouse. Yes, a wild bird. So deeply did this, albeit brief, communication with a bird from the forest affect me, I had to write about it and did. For that, I refer you to the book, "KnitLit the Third," edited by Linda Roghaar and Molly Wolf, Three Rivers Press, NY, 2005. The story I wrote is entitled, "Eye of the Grouse." Also, you may like to go to the Knitlit website. Now while I've learned, thanks to Elizabeth,Tamara and Lucy, how to link within the comment section - I have yet to figure out how to do in on a post or sidebar in Beta Blogger. So, the website to go to is: www.knitlit.com

This scarf took me a full year (plus) to create. In fact, I think friends were starting to worry about my sanity due to how long it was taking me to make a bloody scarf. It is handspun, solar and natural dyed, handknitted and blinged. Now heaven help me if the rest of the projects for THE BOOK take as long. I doubt they will and here's why. Grouse HAD to be right. Not just a little "right"; dead on right. It HAD to represent my special relationship with a bird, who Native Americans say represents "change" if one is blessed by such an encounter.

And change did occur in my life - both very, very good and very, very bad. The bad, to this day, haunts my dreams because it meant the loss of my long-time, dearest girlfriend. There is NOTHING like losing someone through misunderstandings - at least not to me.

The very good is represented by leaving my dayjob behind, teaching "out" alot more, continued writing and presently, this blog itself. Thank you, for all who are reading it. If this means YOU, please consider coming out of lurkdom and commenting!! It's the only way I know you're out there.

FYI, I'll be heading to NYC tomorrow (Friday), via "The Vermonter" train. This is a joyfilled trip.
1) I get to see and stay with our oldest son, David, who lives in Brooklyn.
2) I am planning to be in the Harlot's audience at Barnes and Noble in Brooklyn on Saturday evening.
3) I am planning on attending my first "Knit Out" in Union Square on Sunday.

Many woo-hoos for all of the above. I will be wearing one of my signature spider pins, so if you're a reader of this blog, let's meet! That said, no blog posts will be happening until Monday or Tuesday of next week.
Until then, hope to see you in NYC. Y'all come back now, hear?!

Dyeing Blitz

Here's the results of a dyeing extravaganza that took place in less than 24 hours. Monica, Lynn and I, pictured in the post below needed to fulfill some synthetic dye requirements for an Ontario spinning program we were involved in. Most participants chose to do this all in a class with an instructor. Since we all had some dyeing chops, we were given permission to do it as a three-some.

It began early one morning when Lynn and I arrived at Monica's home, the setting for our dye deeds. It ended in the wee hours of the next day. By the end, we were all so blurry eyed, from checking the dye formulas to that tad of alcohol we consumed (outside of the dye area, mind you - we, OF COURSE, followed all safety precautions (ie. masks, gloves, good ventilation, etc.), tho' we did have to do this in Monica's kitchen, which wouldn't have been our choice if we had another to choose...)

The photo with the variety of colours shows how we dyed both fleece and yarn for a 12-step colour wheel. Note that my name already was going to be mud because I chose to dye my yarn that was handspun and for some reason "THEY" didn't recommend this. For bloody sakes, I had been using only my handspun for years by that point and couldn't give a hoot how the dye looked on commercial yarn. No worries, me - the troublemaker - left that program soon after and vowed to be self-disciplined enough to learn on my own or via workshops of "MY" choosing. Geesh.

The other photo demonstrates our handiwork at dyeing for a 10 step gradation of one colour - a nice exercise to do as a dyer at least once in one's life.

That day was priceless. Not only for the comradery shared, but also for the binder of a fleece and yarn colour wheel, not to mention a fleece and yarn colour gradation that I've been sharing in classes I've taught over the years. Cheers, Monica and Lynn! Here's to good friends.

On The Subject of Tubbies

Yesterday, I was still feeling a bit icky, with one of those "gunky" types of coughs. Time for a "tubbie." Now, I've always been more of a bath taker rather than joining the ranks of all you shower folks. It got me thinking about alot of things, interestingly, all tied to the fiber world.

Whilst living in Toronto, Ontario, of the great country of Canada, I met these two friends in fiber & more (shown on either side of me.) Lynn is wearing the fuchsia sweatshirt and Monica is in the teal sweatshirt. I met them both at a Wendy Bateman spinning class up in Haliburton, Ontario and am happy to say we've been buddies since. Here we're pictured in a dorm room during the time we were attending one of the annual Ontario Handspinning Seminars. There's a good chance we may have just come from another room where wine was flowing....

Now it was Monica who gave the true meaning to what a tubbie was. She doesn't just take a bath, as I had. Her's was something much more pampering...candles, low light, no interruptions, nice soap, etc. Surely others have figured this out as being a way to get oneself ready to take on the cares of the world and smell nice, too. Me? I needed Monica to point out how to go about it.

First, and perhaps most importantly, no more buying of rot-gut soap from the supermarket. No more "cheapest that's available" soap! Now I choose my soap from the many vendors that sell it in enticing fragrances at the various sheep and wool fests and fiber conferences. Did you ever notice how many booths sell that kind of stuff - bath fizzies and all? I'm telling ya, obviously, OTHERS have found out about the proper way to take a tubbie prior to me.

As for the luscious goop that goes into the bathwater, making it all sudsy and inviting - I go to our Brattleboro Food Co-op for that. They have every fragrance a tubbie afficianado could ask for...from patchouli, that any post-hippy could appreciate, to ylang-ylang, that'll make you feel you have blossoms floating right in the water.

Next, I set up my ceramic diffuser for holding my essential oil(s) of choice. Since I was trying to put my cold behind me, I chose exhilarating eucalyptus. That opened my nostrils good and proper. But if I was over excited, peaceful lavender would be my choice. Uplifting lemon's an excellent pick if feeling a tad blue. You get the picture....your only limited by the bucks you have in your pocket. The diffuser also does one other job - it sets the "mood," since it's operated by lighting a tea- candle. All that's left to do is turn down or off the overhead lights in the bathroom and slip into bliss.

Oh, as for no interruptions - for me, that means no cats, no kids and no phone calls. Chris, on the other hand, is welcome if he'd like....

Silk, Silk Blends & THE BOOK

I've been getting e-mails asking me where all this puni-making is leading to. Yarn? A project? Pictured is the yarn that I spun of silk and silk blends. It is, from the outside 12:00 position, going clockwise, from outside to inside:
Cream: 100% Tussah silk; undyed
Beige: 55% silk/ 45% camel down; dyed with black walnut hulls
"Mouse" brown: 55% silk/ 45% yak down; dyed with black walnut hulls + iron tea.
Steel blue-grey: 100% Bombyx mori silk; dyed with logwood and black walnut hulls + iron tea.
Pinky-coral-beige: 85% silk/15% cashmere; dyed with chopped madder roots
Rust: 100% Bombyx mori silk; dyed with chopped madder roots

All the dyed yarn above was solar dyed and was solar premordanted with alum. All of the yarn is plain vanilla, 2-plied. I made punis for the Beige and for the "Mouse" brown. Otherwise, I spun from the end of the top.

This is yarn that has gone into a project that will be the first chapter of THE BOOK. I've been using this blog, among other reasons, to flesh out ideas for the book. Bet most who've been reading the blog didn't know this. Now you know. Writing this kind of journal helps put my thoughts in order and, if you enjoy my meanderings, that's all the better. I figured folks will still want to buy the book because it'll have everything in one place, with more photos and tidbits, and it'll be edited (a big, huge plus!) Am I right? Say yes, please!!

So what IS this book going to be about? It'll touch on all my main LOVES in the fiber arts. The projects are chosen from the works of Elizabeth Zimmermann and her daughter, Meg Swansen. There's ALOT to choose from, so that's really fun. The projects will all be handspun, naturally dyed and all will be with "my take." What I mean by that is, I'll put my eccentric, creative stamp on the pieces with embellishments and use of a variety of fibers. Considering EZ and Meg primarily use(d) wool, this will be interesting, indeed.

The book will be published by Schoolhouse Press. When will it be available? I'll answer that with - I'm slow. I'm a ponderer and simply can't work fast. All my friends know this and roll their eyes about it. Maureen, especially. Plus, all this spinning, dyeing, knitting and bling takes time. Sooo, I'm hoping two years from now. I've been into it about a year already. Meg is giving lots of leeway with the time - thank goodness. For now, I've tentatively titled the book, "Round Trip." If you've gone back to read the early August '06 posts about why I do what I do, you'll understand the reason for such a title. I figured "trip" was the right word, because folks can take more than one trip in a lifetime and offshoots of this main trip are sure to come (well, with a little luck and a prayer, that is...)

Another reason for this blog is that folks have been asking for a place to go to to find out where I'm teaching, what I teach, and what I've already written. For upcoming classes, you've perhaps noticed that they're always at the top of the blog. I've got several '07 entries that I'll put up soon. If you're interested in what I teach - you'll find out where to find it at the sidebar. Hopefully soon I'll figure out how to link this so you won't have to go traipsing through the August archives to find it. Same thing with my published work.

Thanks for coming along with me on this blog journey thus far. I'm having a blast & hope you're enjoying it, too. Don't be shy! Comment when you can - it makes it all the more fun & lively. I love answering questions, so do pose them if you like.

3rd Annual Southern Vermont Fiber Event

An e-mail was sent to me from Jenna with this notice:

The Third Annual Southern Vermont (Fall ) Fleece and Fiber Event
At the American Legion, 32 Linden St., Brattleboro, VT
Saturday, Nov.18th, 10am to 3pm.

Located next to the Brattleboro Library. It's an easy walk from downtown and there's plenty of parking. This is a well lit, warm, and smoke free environment. A local charity will have hot drinks and snacks for sale.

$25.00 for a vendor's table, ( 8’x4’). We have 25 spots for this great space on a first come basis, so contact a.s.a.p. to reserve your table.

We want to spread the energy of the fun of fiber. If you have fiber animals, or you spin, knit, crochet, quilt, dye fibers, have roving, top, or yarn - This is the event for you!
If you take photos of / make prints / jewelry / T-shirts or pottery with images of sheep, llamas, alpacas, goats, bunnies or other fiber critters - Come show your art!

Please do contact Jenna at 802-896-6194 or
Kathleen at 802-896-6013 or maybellefarm@hotmail.com for more info.

More on Punis

See below, "Making Punis," first. Sorry, I have to remember to work backwards when I post more than once on said date or Blogger will put the first post up below the second.

3)Once the fibers are wrapped around the stick, lift the stick with fibers, and roll it towards you, on top of the tines. Do this as many times as needed, starting at the edge of the carder and rolling towards the handle, until the puni's fibers are "shored up" and smooth (less sticky-outy). Some folks like to twist the end of the puni stick at this point, whilst holding the fibers on the stick, in order to make a firmer puni. I generally do not do this. Try it if you like.

4)A finished puni with the stick pulled out. Admire it. Put it in a basket and make some more. Spin from the end of each puni, as you would with any rolag. Consider trying one of the long draws, as the fibers are so short.

Making Punis

September 11th. Whenever a significant event occurs in the world, people tend to remember what they were doing at the exact time it happened or when they found out. This seems to be particularly true if the event is horrific.

I was working as a yarn finisher for the Green Mountain Spinnery, in Putney, VT when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center. We had the radio on, but the various yarn-producing machines were rumbling and we were doing our respective jobs at them. When the first plane hit and it was announced over the airwaves, Maureen and I looked at each other. I said something like, "This doesn't sound like an accident." Next thing you knew, the scouring guy from out back yelled that something terrible was happening. We stopped our work and listened as lives were being changed and lost, forever.

As a fiber arts teacher, I have met several people in my various classes who have been personally hurt or affected by the 9/11 events. I can only imagine your feelings as this day approaches each year. May you somehow find peace and solace in your lives as these years move forward.

I have posted photos of puni making, since some questions have arisen after the last post of "Chloe and Punis". In these photos today, the fiber is a blend of tussah silk and camel down. Again, the silk had been cut short in order to get closer to the length of the camel down. One question that arose was about me cutting the silk (ie. when do I do it?, etc.) I have no problem cutting fibers for combing or carding if needed. However, in this case, the blends for both the silk/camel down, now pictured, and the earlier post of silk/yak down, were purchased as "already blended top" and the silk was cut prior to blending at the mill. They did this because it's easier to keep the various fibers blended, especially during the combing process, if they are of the same or similar length.

So why punis in the first place? After I had dyed the short, silk blended tops, I found they were not easy to spin from the end. Fibers were glumping together, even with a tad of predrafting and opening up of the fibers to get air around them. This made it difficult to get a consistent, smooth, yarn - which is what I wanted for the project at hand. Often I aim first for spinning from the end of silk because it demonstrates the maximum luster, keeping the fibers at their most parallel. If this is difficult, I may consider spinning from the fold. The fibers, in this case, seemed rather short for that technique and although it could be done, wouldn't have been my first choice. So instead, I opted for recarding. The fibers, as mentioned are very short - oh, by the way, how do I know they're short? Because I pulled several from the end of the top and checked! Punis are nothing other than rolags, made with short fibers and rolled tightly on a puni stick. This preparation makes it easy to spin the short fibers, even if they're slippery. If your fibers are longer, but you still want to handcard, skip the puni stick and card for regular rolags.

You can buy cotton punis already made from spinning vendors. They get them from India, and are prepared as such because of the ease in which the cotton fibers spin from them. When Chris toured and played gigs in India, he brought me back a paper bundle full of cotton punis. Nice!

A puni stick is a smallish-diametered dowel, sanded smooth and finished with wax or wood polish, if you like. It's optimally made to be as long as the long, lower, horizontal edge of your handcards.

I often get asked, what are my favorite carders? Hands down, with no room for arguments, I favor the Louet cotton carders for almost all of my carding work, wool and otherwise. One spinning instructor friend said, "There are Louet cotton cards, and then there are all the rest." Why, because the teeth are broken in from the beginning and their flexibility allow for ease of transferring fibers from one carder to the other. The only fiber I wouldn't card on the Louet cotton carders would be a very coarse wool or fiber. For that, I may use one of the other pairs of coarse-teethed carders I earlier bought and are now gathering dust. Or I'd prepare the coarse fibers by combing them or with some other technique.

Note that I have also, in the past, purchased a silk/camel down preparation where the silk was much longer than the camel down. Interestingly, this would be a case where I wouldn't generally find puni making necessary. If spun from the end, you have be careful not to hold the fiber with a deathgrip, because if you do, the longer fibers will pull out first, leaving you holding a clump of short fibers in your fist. I like to teach folks to hold the fiber as you would a baby bird. The little bird needs to be held with just enough firmness that it won't hurt itself and fall to the floor, but enough lightness so you don't squeeze the little thing to death. Therefore, students learn not to "kill the baby bird." If the fibers can't be drafted together out of your hand, the blend as yarn, won't be intact.

Back to actual puni making: I've divided puni making into two posts with two photos each. I did this because when I try to send more than two photos through Blogger Beta, it gets clogged up and won't upload. What you see in this post is:

1)The silk blend fibers are being dragged down the carder evenly, moving across the horizontal, lower edge of the carder. Note how short the fibers are. Note that we're not putting on tons of fiber at a time. To do this hold the carder handle firmly with one hand, resting it on your lap, and with the other hand drag fibers from the silk blend so that they catch the tines at the carder's edge. The fibers will make a fringe off the edge of the carder.

1a) (no photo) Brush the fibers with your carders in the typical way you like to make a rolag. Because the fibers are so short, consider keeping them near the straight edge, rather than migrating all over the card. Transfer (doff) the fibers from one carder to the other. In a later post, I'll demonstrate how I like to make a regular rolag and will include more detailed info then. I'm figuring that if you are thinking about making punis, you probably have done a tad of handcarding already - so card away in your usual manner. Consider keeping the carders more or less low and on your lap. "Air carding", which is holding the cards well off your lap and into the air in front of you, is tiring and if practiced alot could make you one of those folks who say they hate carding (thank you, Leslie!) Card as much as you need in order to open up any clumpy bits and separate the fibers from each other.

2)A puni stick is used to roll the fibers off of the carder and onto the stick. I like to point the carder handle towards my stomach - that way I can roll towards me easily due to the way the tines are bending. Place the puni stick on the fringe of the fibers. With your fingers, bring the fibers so they are laying up and against the stick, all the way across it. Holding the stick and fiber with both hands, start to roll the stick towards you, catching the fibers in the roll & onto the stick as you go. You'll be rolling right on the surface of the carder.

Chloe and Punis

I have learned alot today. When I Googled the word, "punis," as in more than one puni, I came up with: www.urbandictionary.com
When one types in "punis" on that site, one gets a very different version of what hand spinners know to be a puni. Holey moley is it different!! Try it and see. I would give you the link to click on but, despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to figure out how to do it yet. Thanks Elizabeth, for trying to educate me in basic html - but I think I either need to work with you in person or break down and get a book along the lines of "Html for Dummies." Maybe both.

But first, let me introduce you to our other black feline, Chloe - also known as "The Chlo" or "Chlo-girl." She's about nine now and comes from the prestigious line of "Brattleboro Vermont Railroad Cats." Actually, she's more of a church cat and here's why.

When we came down from Canada poking about for where we may want to live, we actually saw her and her brother playing in the twilight and drinking yucky, puddle water next to a church on Main Street. Her mum was close by and they skittered away just as I was saying to Chris, "Oooh look, Oh Chris, Oh, could we...?" I think you can picture Chris' steely-eyed face as he looked back at me. Understandable, as we didn't even have a place to live yet, not to mention we'd never had a cat before. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, Chris never even had ANY animal growing up. Poor, pitiful situation if you ask me...

Fast forward a few days and we've just put $ down on our Brattleboro loft. Yes, it was a real, old-style, SOHO kind of loft - all brick and three levels high - real artsy-fartsy. Originally it was an electric building - (ha, that may be a handy excuse for my questionable actions that I can use someday....) Plus, it had the distinguishing quality of being right next to the railroad tracks, just off the Connecticut River. Picture, if you will, and hear the 2am-ish train going by every night, sounding like it was right in bed with us. Actually, we got used to it and once we left, I rather missed it. But we never got used to the rent. Here we were, fresh from Toronto, and when we signed up for the loft, thought, "Hey, this isn't too bad of rent per month." Yeah right, by Toronto standards it wasn't. How about two folks with two kids, both presently jobless, and pretty sure we'd only find mediocre jobs (how true that was!), with one of us needing LOTS of time to write the dissertation that needed to be finished for a Ph.D that was begun in Toronto?! Great....woo-hoo...whoopee.

Fast forward again and now we've just come back with the truck of all our belongings from Canada. How come the three million boxes of fleece, fiber-books-by-the-ton and fiber equipment seem rather obnoxious at this point? We settle in among the boxes and throw down mattresses to sleep for the night. All is well until something scurries by. "A mouse," I scream. OK, something told me this was the right time for dramatics. I jumped on a chair and flailed around. Everyone was appropriately startled. I point directly at Chris and said, "We NEED a cat if we're going to live by this bloody river!" Then I proceeded to rant & curse, interspersing it with pleas to Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Chris said, "OK, already." I jumped up and said, "Aha - I heard that!"

Fast forward about a week. Time to go to the Humane Society. Mind you, it took 18 years of marriage, sans cat, to get to this point. LOTS of hemming and hawing from Chris. It was absolutely ridiculous. We enter the cat room. I actually had hoped to get an older cat because I thought a kitten's rambunctiousness would sent Chris over the edge. But those sad, mature cats, of which I pray all have found homes, did nothing to draw Chris over to my side. Then, I spotted three kittens in a cage. I don't exactly know why but I figured we'd go with a female (to begin with...hee,hee) Two of the kittens were black and the other calico. We were told the calico needed more handling before they could let her go, so I asked if one of the black kittens was female? The attendant said, "Sure, they're brother and sister." Out they came, happy as clams, tumbling and playing together. I picked the girl up and she began to purr on my chest. That was it - decision made. Chris said, "Now, now..." - coupled by the famous last words, "Let's think about it." "Bullshit," I whispered. 'course, I would have LOVED to take both the brother and sister, but even I knew when not to rock the boat.

Fast forward a few minutes as we're told we MUST get permission from our landlord first. I frantically called him, but no answer. Chris was busy interjecting every doubt he could come up with between the minutes that passed. I said, "Put a note on her cage, as it's just a matter of hours." It turned out to be a few days before we got a "Yes," from the landlord. Then, the day we were supposed to get her, Chris got a gig (he's a musician and hey, no complaints - we needed the $) We only had one car so what was I to do? Call a cab, of course! Yes, I went out and got Chloe (named by our youngest, Alexander) and brought her home in a perforated box. The cabdriver got a kick out of the whole thing. The rest is history. A blissfully, wonderful history of Chloe sharing her life with us (and Al, but you know about him a bit already from an earlier post.) To this day, I wish we could have brought Chloe's brother home, too. Hope he's a happy boy -much loved & living somewhere nice. Oh, by the way, how do we know Chloe is the same kitten we saw by the church? Why, we were told some kind soul brought she and her brother in to the shelter. They were found huddled up near a basement window of the same church. Fate, I tell ya!

As for the punis, of the hand spinning type (check that website listed at the beginning, please, for a shocker!), they're carded from a tussah silk and yak down blend. The top, the commercial preparation it was orginally bought as, was solar dyed with black walnut hulls + iron tea. The silk was cut to be only a tad longer than the down, so ALL the fibers were extremely short. Once dyed, it was hard to spin from the end of the top - even tho' I predrafted and opened the fiber up a bit. Enter the puni stick and handcards. More details on that in a later post...don'tcha think this one is long enough already??? Thanks for reading!

After I finished this post, Alexander, our 19 year old son, and his girlfriend, Courtney, came in and I told them about the "new" definition of puni and punis that I found. They both laughed hysterically. Alex said,
"Ma, you are SO 70's." Courtney said I would have known the newer definition if I was a "South Park" watcher. That, is one thing I am not. They left the room laughing like hyenas. This was one of those times I could feel myself aging (degrading...) by the minute.

Soysilk Shawlette

Many thanks for all your kind wishes via blog comments and e-mail for getting better - just a late summer cold - but a drag, nonetheless. I can breathe again, definitely putting me on the road to recovery. What would we do without good ol' Vicks to slather on, eh? Geesh, I had a girlfriend when I was little who used to eat the stuff. I drew the line before that....

Some of you said you would have made me soup to speed the process along? How sweet is that?! Thank you most sincerely. Know that a few days ago I had made some homemade potato and leek soup. I'm not much of a cook, but I do enjoy a good soup now and again. However, what do you think I made myself last night? No, not a heat-up of THAT soup, but a milky version of Campbell's, "Old Fashioned Tomato and Rice." Yes, I needed my Ma last night and I'm afraid she left this earth quite awhile ago now. She used to make it with milk and no water. I make it with about 2/3 can of milk, for a slightly richer version. Armed with some saltines, how could one not get better? Yes, I know. Some of you are saying, "Add up the sodium, Jenny." This was one of those days I preferred not to. High blood pressure be damned!

The photo attached to this post is of a shawlette that was featured in the Spring '04 issue of Spin-Off. I had this other photo of it so thought I'd resurrect the piece for the blog. This particular photo, especially the way it was shot - looking for all intents and purposes like a "wall hanging", reminds me of a story by Elizabeth Zimmermann in my favorite book in the world, "Knitter's Almanac." Seriously, I can think of no other book that I needed to read & absorb, as I did this one. Anyways, the particular story it reminds me of had to do with EZ getting two of her knitted ponchos juried in "...the annual Designer-Craftsmen Show at the University...," in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Am not exactly sure of the date of this said exhibit, but "Knitter's Almanac" was published in 1974. EZ goes on to say how she found her ponchos "...in some very high class company indeed." She then became delighted when one had been SOLD! She goes on to say her feelings about how knitting at that time was often equated with dowdy pieces or childish attempts. As I mentioned in the earlier posts of this blog, I wouldn't have been caught dead knitting in the 70's as a teenager. For the most part, it was for that very same reason - who wants to be associated with THAT when you're 16?! But then EZ said something quite miraculous to me and her other readers. Why can't knitting that has been excellently designed and executed be in the same company as other textile works? WHY NOT, INDEED?!!!!

The year we're in now is 2006. Right? Knitting is everywhere and being done by everybody. It's hip. It's cool. It's whatever word folks are using in 2006 to say it's the cat's meow. It's in a place that it should be - high up on a pedestal, but attainable by all. Knitting is happy. Folks young and old are happy knitting.

As a fiber artist who's been doing this a long, long, time, I submitted my portfolio to a state arts council, aiming to be a juried artist for that council. My work was rejected because the three judges felt my pieces didn't portray a "voice." They said I performed well "technically," but alas, no voice. How would any of you reading this - whether you're a knitter, spinner, dyer, weaver, whatever - feel if you were told your work had no voice? I personally feel if a knitter simply changes the bloody color of what was represented in a pattern, he/she is portraying his/her own voice...tho' you may not win any awards for doing so, you are making the piece more personal. Voice can also be revealed when we change this or that in a pattern, as many of us often do. It's my belief that my handspun yarn as is exhibits my voice loudly. It stand by itself and I can tell it was mine if unmarked in a virtual sea of handspun skeins. How about when one designs the yarn, spins the yarn, dyes the yarn, designs a pattern, knits the pattern - as I had done for everything submitted? Voice?

I was told I could appeal. Then I realized what I must continue to do...not fight this battle of arts vs crafts & all that goes with it, which has been talked about 'til the cows don't even want to come home. What I needed to do was go back to work to simply please myself. If other people like what I do, cool. If not, they can look elsewhere. And that is what I've done. Consider taking what judges say - both good and bad - with a grain of salt. Same goes for teachers, including me. Be your own judge. Please yourself.

As for the shawlette, it's made out of Soysilk. It dyed quite nicely with natural dyes. It was both handpainted and immersion dyed. Oh, I remember I learned that Soysilk and Saxon blue do not mix well together - the Soysilk kind of shreds and dissolves. Saxon blue? That's a form of indigo that's been mixed with sulphuric acid and isn't easy to find nowadays since Louet stopped making and selling it. Had to do some fast spinning when my fiber/yarn got mucked up! Yes, there's bling on the shawlette, tho' the beads are kinda hard to see on this photo. For the record, I like Soysilk. If you haven't tried spinning it yet, consider giving it a go.

Scour That Fleece

Am sitting here typing in my white, flannel jammies that feature sledding moose, woodchopping beavers and snowshoeing bears. Obviously, this is not garb that says, "Come get me," to Chris. No problem - Chris is off teaching because the new semester has kicked in. However, I'm feeling quite sorry for myself because I was all revved to go to my local spinning guild tonight, the River Spinners in Brattleboro, VT and I came down with a damn cold. I haven't had one of these for years, but this one's complete with sore throat, chills, congestion and general icky-ness. Oh well, concentrating on fiber stuff takes my mind off my woes.

After posting what I dry my fiber/yarn on, figured you may like to see one way I wash the fleece. The technique falls somewhere between "down and dirty" and "complete control". Get yourselves one of those perforated bins at your handy dollar store. The best kind have perforations in the bottom, too. This allows for efficient water flow.

Next, you need a few yards of tulle. This is the nylon netting often used by brides for veils and such. Don't get the absolute finest they sell because water won't go through it too easily. Instead, get the cheap, middle-of-the-road, tulle. I get white tulle because I don't trust the dye job in cheap nylon. Cut the tulle into pieces that will fit in the bottom of the bin. I usually cut them a tad larger because the netting shrinks with repeated hot water baths, which is exactly what you'll be subjecting it to. For this version of scouring fleece, you'll only need two pieces of tulle - one for the bottom and one for the top. When, in a later post, I describe scouring keeping lock formation, you'll need several pieces more of tulle.

Remove a chunk of fleece from the rest that you want to scour. Place a piece of the tulle in the bottom of the bin. Put the fleece on top of that in the bin. Note how much fleece I used in the photo - it mounds above the bin's rim at the top. Put another piece of tulle over the mound of fleece.

Next, cut four pieces of string. They will go under the bin, through the side perforation slots and up over the mound of fleece covered with tulle. Two of the strings must be cut longer to make the trip, due to the rectagular nature of the bin. Secure the ties with bows.

I like to scour in my sink right in the kitchen. I do not have a septic system, but if you do, you really don't want all that grease to go down the drain...it'll mess your system up. In that case, consider scouring in tubs instead, where you can dump the greasy water on gravel. One of those Terry's tubs, described previously for solar mordanting/dying, would be great to hold your perforated bin and fleece. Anyways, I'm blessed with a double sink, which is handy because you can put the bin of fleece in the other side to drain when you're filling the first sink with rinse water, etc.

To scour, put the stopper in the drain (yah, Jenny - we figured that out ourselves). Fill with the hottest tap water you can to about the 3/4 level (depends on height of your perforated bin). If your bin doesn't exactly fit into the bottom of the sink, don't worry about it - you will still be able to push the fleece down into the water if you fill ithe sink high enough with water. Wear gloves because it's bloody hot. Put your favorite washing detergent/soap in. Please note that pure soap will form little, white, tacky globules on your fleece if your water is very hard. These don't wash out well, so consider a detergent instead. I actually like dish detergent like Dawn, or Joy, or whatever. The less bells and whistles in the detergent, the better - tho' something that says it cuts grease is good. Also Orvus Paste or Shaklee Basic H is nice. How much detergent? If it's of the dish washing variety, about 3 to 4 good squirts will do. For Orvus or Shaklee, about 3 TBS per load of fleece. You want the water to "feel" kind of slimy.

You can actually avoid getting your hands wet at all because you have a handy-dandy, old-fashioned, potato masher that you will use to gently push the fleece down into the water with. So, put your bin into the water and do just that! Sometimes, to keep the heat up, I put a black garbage bag over the whole thing.

Let your soaking fleece sit for 1 hour. No putzing around with it, please. Come back and remove the bin of fleece. Let it drain and use the potato masher to gently aid the effort. Remove the greasy water and fill with rinse water of the same temperature as the cooled, scour bath. Put a glug of vinegar in the first rinse water. When to do this, if at all, seems to be controversial with "THEM." I've always put it in the first rinse because 1.) It cuts the suds and makes for less rinsing and 2.) it helps neutralize the ph of the more alkaline detergent.

Repeat the whole rinsing routine (sans the vinegar for the rest of the rinses), until the water is clear, with no more suds or muck apparent. For the final drainage, push the water out of the fleece with your masher and let it drain until no water trickles out.

Remove the fleece from the bin, fluff it out gently a bit and put it somewhere to dry!

Important Notice

Spider says, "You're welcome to lurk if you like, but to comment is way cool." Thank you!

Drying Rack Lowdown

Leslie, who comments regularly on this blog, saw how I dry fiber and yarn in a small amount of space. I noticed her eyes twinkle as she was taking the set-up in. It occurred to me that perhaps others would appreciate these photos of what she saw.

Pictured is a wooden, clothes drying rack available from most hardware stores...well, at least hardware stores in Vermont, where drying mittens, hats, jackets, etc. is a high art during the brutal winters. Tho' I sometimes hang dyed and dripping roving or top from the horizontal dowels, shown is another efficient way to dry fleece, fiber of all forms, and of course, yarn.

The trays are your average, garden variety. Yes, the ones you get when you buy flats or six-packs of plants. These are great because they have perforations on their flat bottoms and allow air to circulate. An old, folded, towel (Chris would argue they're not always old - well, after this use, they become old) is placed in the bottom of each tray to aid in absorption. The trays also eliminate the possibility of any yarn or top stretching, especially when it's wet, because everything will be supported nicely.

Pictured is some lively, Jacob's fleece, drying in the trays. This particular Jacob's fleece is from a wether with, alas, no name except the #162. Sad, eh? He (It?) resides (probably he's pushing up daisies by now!) at "Crafts at Bluffton," in Decorah, Iowa. He was 90% black. I bought his fleece many years ago (late 80's?), but stored it in closed paper bags in a paper box in my studio. In this case, I didn't scour him right away - as you can see. Perhaps this is contrary practice to what "THEY" sometimes write about - that is, the fleece degrades over time, so use it asap, yahdah, yahdah... Well, perhaps it does, but in my spiderly opinion, it doesn't usually degrade enough to cause major problems or even to be noticeable....if you store it well. This may be good news for the fleece junkies who can't pass up a bargain and certainly can't get to scouring all that loot right away. But given all that, it IS safer, especially if your storage practices are iffy, to scour sooner rather than much later . One reason would be because moths and critters seem to think the dirt and grease is a gourmet treat. Speaking of degrading, it occurred to me that that's what I'm doing over the years, too....hmmm.

'course, in use, the obvious thing would be to change the towels if they're wet. Also, "flipping the fleece" will make all dry that much more quickly. I should mention that my dryer is set next to the heater in the studio, which undoubtedly helps the process along.

One more tidbit: I've been space deprived for such fleece/yarn/fiber drying endeavors for most of my marriage. Chris would say our family has been space deprived because of the same endeavor - same thing, difference of opinions... Anyways, this leads one to be creative. For that, forget the drying rack and use just the trays w/ towels. These can be stacked, if you don't try to dry so much fiber in each and keep them flattish, with one stacked on top of the other, criss-crossed, all the way to the bloody ceiling if you like. Neat?

Chris and Jenny

Here we're pictured in our backyard on Sheppard Ave. in North York, Ontario, Canada (North York became part of Toronto whilst we were there). Wanted you to see Chris as he looked for most of our marriage. Please don't say it even tho' you may be thinking it....you know, he looks "just like Yanni!" I can't even begin tell you how this came to be a nightmare for us. But I'll try....

I remember a student at Wesleyan University, where I worked in CT, said to me, "Hey, did you know that Yanni has a house a few blocks away?" She was NOT joking. I replied, "Is that so....?" Bloody hell.

Or how about the three million times folks pointed at us and murmered, "It's Yanni," beneath their breaths. When he was going with Linda Evans, of "Dallas" fame, I think they thought he was cheating on her with me. Seriously, I would get scowled at. How frickin weird is that?!

OK, for the record, Yanni happens to look like Chris Bakriges, not the other way around. And if I'm the judge as to who is the better pianist and composer, who do you think I'd choose? I'd put money on it that so would you.

Solar Dyed Silk

Thought I'd follow up the solar mordanting post with one on solar dyeing silk. The bottom photo shows pre-mordanted, tussah, silk top that has had natural dye extracts (mixed with water) poured onto the silk in a rainbow fashion (random). When you do this in Terry's tub, it's important to pour on enough to saturate what you want (ie. sometimes you want to leave some of the silk without dye - interestingly, it can make for "sparkle" when you spin it up). To saturate the dye into the silk, gently push the dye into the top with your gloved fingers. This way you'll know it has penetrated the top, inside and out. Afterwards, put on the plexiglass cover, c-clamp it down, put your rocks on the plexiglass to hold down the corners, and set in the sun. On a very hot, sunny day, the dyeing can be achieved in 1-3 days. If you're going away (ie. vacation, etc.) you can leave it longer. Silk doesn't like to be overdone, however, no more than a baked cake does. Use your discretion. You can do a Terry's tub in this same way with wool fleece, yarn or other protein fibers. You can also use chemical dyes that require heat. However, in that case, you wouldn't need to pre-mordant and instead, you'd follow the chemical dye package requirements. Once dyed - rinse, rinse, rinse, etc. Dry well. Note that the dried, silk top looks like something the cat dragged in. It's ugly and looks hopeless. This is why we pre-drafted all of the silk and silk blend tops prior to selling any of it (when I co-owned my natural dye business). To say that this huge amount of pre-drafting was ruining my hands would be an understatement!

Which brings me to the top photo of balls of pre-drafted, tussah, silk top. These are some of the colors that participants of the "Silken Class" at SOAR '06 will have to choose from to spin for their small, silk scarf. It'll be fun to see how all the scarves turn out. Once folks finish them, they can opt to send me a photo of the scarf and I'll post each photo on this blog.

Chris

Thought that some readers may like to see this Chris guy who shares his life with me. Here he's pictured at Mo' Jazz Cafe in Wilmington, VT. Chris, my husband of 26 years & running, is an ethnomusicologist, jazz pianist, composer and the love of my life. He has put up with sheep's fleece in the kitchen sink, going to knit shops and fiber festivals ad nauseum, silk fibers floating up his nose in the car as he drives "Ms. Jenny" (she has to predraft all that dyed, silk top, ya know...he gets kinda pissed by this...), horrid smells coming from buckets in Jenny's studio (hey, Y.O.U., also known as Your Own Urine, stinks after awhile), and much, much more. AND he puts up with "my" two cats. This was a guy who never grew up with animals. It took him 18 years to allow our Chloe into the house and that's a story in and of itself. And if all that wasn't enough, he's always been a fantastic Dad to our two guys. What more can a gal ask for?

A funny, true, fact is that I call him "Handsome," not as an adjective, but more as a pronoun. I've been calling him that for as many years as I've known him. Anyways, you can imagine how he feels when I call him that, out loud, in the stores and shops, where others can here. For me, it's just natural, as that is what I call him. He, on the other hand, gives me the evil eye if someone is within hearing distance. Oh well - he IS bloody handsome, if I say so myself.

Solar Mordanting

Here in southern VT we've had either heavy cloud cover, pouring rain or a steady drizzle for a few weeks - not to mention a definite "nip" in the air. The leaves in our adjoining forest have responded with early color change and the hummingbirds are packing their bags to go south - can't blame them! So much for the ubiquitous, Labor Day picnic. This photo was taken when the sun was still shining in all it's glory this summer. Since I've spoken about solar dyeing in this blog, thought you may like to see these four, recent, "Terry's Tub," set-ups. The two tubs in the foreground hold 2lbs each of tussah silk top. The fiber is being premordanted with alum and a cream of tartar assist. This is the fiber that the 15 participants who have signed up for my "Silken Spinning" class at SOAR '06 will use for their small scarf projects, once I dye it (look for in a later post). Of the tubs behind, one has chopped madder root and the other has black walnut hulls. These last two sat outside all last winter: froze, thawed, froze, etc. These fermenting dyes have been used before by me and will be used for future projects as well.

"Terry's Tub" is just one of several solar set-ups I use. It was developed by Terry Collard of NH. It's concept is blissfully simple. Basically, get yourselves a cement mixing tub from the hardware store. These are black plastic and can be often found in different sizes. Have the hardware store folks cut a piece of plexiglass that will cover the top of the tub. Pick out four c-clamps that will hold the top to the tub. Four, medium-sized rocks keep the corners down nicely. The way it works is that the sun goes through the clear top into the black tub, which holds the heat well. Neat and easy!!

If you want to mordant, like I did, mix the mordant in a jar, in a dye box, and pour it into about a 1" of water that you put in the bottom of the tub. This water should be the same temp as the last rinse water after scouring your fiber. Mix well. Squeeze out excess rinse water from your fiber. Lay it in the bottom of the tub, carefully spreading it out over the bottom. Keep in mind, that in order for the sun to heat up the tub, you can't have a ton of water in there. That said, depending on the amount of fiber you're mordanting, you do want it covered with water. Therefore, if you need more water, carefully push the fiber from one side and pour more in the tub (keep the water temp consistent). It's best not to pour right onto the fiber itself. For two lbs of silk, I may end up with 2 or 3" of water at most. Gently push down on the fiber to insure the take up of the mordant throughout the entirety of the fiber, inside and out. Pop your plexiglass lid on and secure with c-clamps and rocks. Put in the spot that gets the most sun all day. No need to babysit and "watch the pot" (er...tub). Also, isn't it refreshing when one can tap an energy source and NOT get charged?

I often get asked how long I let fiber mordant/dye in the sun. This depends, as you can imagine, on what kind of sun and heat are present. For mordanting, I often let it go longer since I want to insure a proper job. Wishy-washy mordanting means wishy-washy dyeing. That means, at the height of the summer, I'll let it mordant 3 days or so. If I was dyeing under the same conditions, it might be a day or two. If it gets cloudy and colder, I may mordant a few weeks. In fact, I have some merino/silk top that's out there mordanting and has been doing so for just prior to our VT inclement weather. I'll wait for 3 good sunny days of mordanting (Indian summer has to come sometime, doesn't it?!) before I remove the fiber.

Mold can sometimes be a problem if the fiber has been sitting without sun for too long. Black and red mold is dangerous, I'm told. Do wear a mask and gloves when you scoop any mold off. Otherwise, mold doesn't bother me too much & I just remove it from the top when it does occur. Keeping the fiber below the water level cuts down on mold, so weigh it with plates on top of the fiber if you like (remember NOT to use those plates for anything else - never for eating again, please!)

Once mordanted, I remove the fiber and rinse it in clear water several times. I have large, mesh bags - the kind you find athletes use to tote equipment around in - that I put the squeezed fiber in. These bags go into the spin cycle (no water squirting out of the machine) of my washing machine and the remaining rinse water is spun out.

In a later post I'll photograph what I dry my fiber in & on. I didn't realize it was snazzy until Leslie visited and liked it alot. Maybe you will, too.

'course you can replace any of the "fiber" words above for "yarn," if that's what you're mordanting. Again, more on the actual dyeing later. For more info in the meantime, do check out the Summer '05 issue of "Spin-Off".

Up Close And Personal

Every silk spider scarf needs some bling and copper spiders - don'tcha think? Oh what fun I had with embellishment!

The spiders were handcast in copper from an internet company called, "Silver Enchantments." Do go to www.silverenchantments.com for some very neat jewelry for all persuasions, not just spider aficionados.
The beads were picked out at our local beadshop, "Beadniks," in Brattleboro (about 25 miles away from me, but if you live in VT, you better be prepared for a journey to find what you want.) The beads are Austrian crystals, if I remember correctly.

Yes, the spiders and web do tend to catch a bit. Once on, however, they seem to behave themselves nicely, as good spiders ought to.

Crocheted Spider Scarf Collaboration

There's a nice story attached to this silk scarf. Beth-Ann Vogt of CT had been a customer of "The Copper Moth," a natural dye business of mostly silk and silk blends catering to handspinners, that I co-owned. Beth-Ann had once bought some indigo dyed silk top from us and after crocheting a scarf out of her resulting handspun, found that it faded quite alot. There were several reasons for this, but one of the main one's was that it was a lighter blue (less dips) to begin with and obviously not as stable as it should have been. Driver control must have had something to do with it! After all, indigo dyeing is an art in and of itself and I'm no master (of anything!). I offered to dye the finished scarf again, and once done, popped it in the mail to her.

Lo' and behold, awhile later, I received a package from her. Knowing my penchant for spiders, she had crocheted her own handspun, tussah silk, yarn into a spiderific scarf for me. (Note: Beth-Ann e-mailed me after she saw this post and said she really did not know I loved spiders. This falls in the eerily interesting category if you ask me....,) She wrote a note that said something like, "This is for you. Dye it as you like." It was absolutely one of the nicest things ever given to me and by a very sweet lady, indeed.

I mulled over the dyeing possibilities. This mulling lasted several months. Last summer I had one of those blessed, shine your light on me, light-bulb moments. The result is a scarf that's solar dyed, naturally dyed, immersion dyed, tie-dyed and handpainted. The dyes used were cochineal, fustic and instant indigo. Spin-Off is interested in it for a future issue, so more details will be forthcoming once it gets written up for them.

Thank you, Beth-Ann. This is a scarf I will be very proud to wear.

Maggie's Farm

OK, brace yourselves. Friends knew it would be only a matter of time before the first quote occurred. I'm afraid the time has come. The following is quite an appropriate first entry. Regarding the photo showing me production dyeing - it, too, was featured in the course selection 2006 catalog of Peters Valley.

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
Well, I wake up in the morning
Fold my hands and pray for rain
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin' me insane
It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
-Bob Dylan, "Maggie's Farm"

There, I feel better. But I better warn everyone, I just may get the urge to quote occasionally. If you're not a Dylan fan, please just ignore (these non-pc lapses of judgement).

Bob's poetic lyrics make me think about the English course I had in college where the professor asked me to leave the classroom. I seem to remember the prof was deciphering some bit of poetry and apparently my eyes rolled in disgust at the flowery-ness of it all. Dylan does NOT write flowery lyrics, in case you didn't know. Anyways, that was back when I wore my sarcastic gene, which I inherited from my Ma, on my shirtsleeve. Chris said it wasn't one of my better qualities so I had better find some other outlet of expression. Hey, that was about the time I began to knit again......good advice, indeed.

Details, Details....

A zoom in shot of the doo-dad shit. I remember having a hard time getting the silk yarn back up through the beads in order to secure it. This forced me to, instead, make a small knot at each end of the fringe. Worried by the lack of security, I put a drop of tacky glue on each knot. Did the trick! This photo has the added distinction of being featured in the 2006 course selection booklet published by Peters Valley. Nice!

Elizabeth kindly suggested that I let you all know that a spirited discourse of a fibery, question and answer type is taking place in the Comments section below each post. Take a look and do give us your comments, as well.
Thank you Elizabeth! All suggestions that help make this blog better are most welcome.

FYI, commenter, "Jenny in Jersey," otherwise known as Virginia Hinchman & her Icelandic sheep, will be at "Scanfest" on Sept 3, demonstrating a variety of fiber arts. This looks to be a fantastic Scandinavian festival in New Jersey. Do go to www.scanfest.org for more info.

Jazzy Blue Beaded Handspun Socks

Here's a pair of knitted socks that I often display when I'm teaching. More than once folks have asked for the pattern, but alas, nothing formal in writing exists. I started the fiber prep and spinning in Connecticut and finished the socks in Canada. I had never put beads on anything prior. Now I'm "bling" addicted. Or as Maureen says, "What doo-dad shit are you putting on now?"

The main yarn was spun from Corriedale fleece that was custom-dyed, in the fleece, by Melda Montgomery, past owner of "Woodland Woolworks". In Connecticut, I didn't have much of a dye set-up yet, so I asked Melda to dye the wool and silk to my specification. She used Lanaset dyes.

I carded the wool on my Patrick Green drumcarder, using the 320 drum on slow speed. The wool was spun lightly fingered (didn't pinch all the bloody air out) on my Schacht, using a semi-worsted technique, and two-plied from a tensioned lazy kate.

Melda also custom-dyed some Tussah silk sliver. I spun it worsted on the Schacht and Navajo 3-plied it.

I cast-on, with 1.75 mm needles, using a knotted, twisted loop cast-on, holding the silk and wool yarn together. This was followed by a frilled cast-on. Both of these cast-on's are in Montse Stanley's, "The Handknitters Handbook". It's a favorite resource of mine for knitting technique, mainly because one can understand what the hell she's describing (try that with some of the other technique books!).

I worked a k1,p1 rib for the cuff and launched (pardon me..) into the "Parachute" lace pattern in Barbara Walker's, "Charted Knitting Designs". The gauge is 10.5 sts = 1", over stockinette, using just the wool. The heel, using the silk and wool held together, was knitted in "Pinstripes", in "The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches - Volume 2". The heel is of the flap variety. A round toe design was knitted, also in silk and wool, as seen in Nancy Bush's, "Folk Socks".

For the bling in the cuff, I backstitched using three strands of silk and left enough length to strand Japanese oil slick beads onto the fringe.

I remember the spinning for these socks as being grand fun. The Corriedale is full of life; bouncy and yet strong enough if treated with care and knit on smallish needles. From a knitting perspective, there are alot of textures going on. The frill and lace stitch is feminine, but not overly cutesy. The silk will surely add longevity to the heel and toe (and a bit of elegance, too...I hope!)

Now here's something to chew on. I entered these handspun socks and another handspun pair into a contest that was happening through a major, U.S., knitting magazine, juried by a well-known spinner AND a well-known knitter (both of whom I respected alot). I remember waiting with baited breath to see if either had won anything. Not only did they NOT win any of the major prizes, they didn't even get an honorable mention. BUT, a few year's later I entered both in separate, other, contests. The socks written about here won "Best in Handspinning" in freaking Tasmania, for heaven's sakes. The other pair of socks were chosen as one of 29 pieces to tour the country and to be featured in a book. This was due to the socks being a winning entry in Interweave Press',"Save the Sheep" contest. The moral: If YOU believe in your work and your pieces, don't give up! Judges are human, full of everything that goes with that statement. Get out there and enter your piece(s) again! But don't forget to do your homework and document, because at the very least, all your hard work could be disqualified for lack of information and not following the contest's rules. Amen, sistas & brothas!