Olds College and Fibre Week Continued

The weather has turned extremely hot and muggy. We had a day of rain on Sunday but we need about three or four days of rain non stop to combat the terrible drought that we find ourselves in. The poor animals are suffering in this dreadful heat and I can't think of them without wondering how they survive with woolly coats on them. I expect the weather will not break for quite a while. This weekend is our annual Paddle For The Peace trip where hundred of boaters gather here in HH for a trip down the Peace River to protest the Site C damn. I am not sure that these trips actually do anything to turn off the great political powers that commit themselves to these mega projects but at least we celebrate the river while we still have it. Teapot and I are thinking we will make a two or three day trip of it and try to go all the way from our home down the river to the house of a friend who lives in Old Fort. We will be glad to do this trip again after two years of wanting to and not being able to find the time to do it.

Anyway I didn't get a chance to finish uploading all the pictures to my blog yesterday from my trip to Olds. So here I go again.....

My instructor was a man this year so I was quite taken with the idea that there are a few men out there who take my craft seriously.... here he is preparing to spin flax.....
Here he is again teaching us the art of spinning cotton on the Takli.....
On Tuesday evening we had a fashion show with all the hand made things of the participants of Fibre Week from the last year..... here is a lovely shawl that if I recall correctly was made with angora and wool blended...... isn't it lovely.....
This is my vest that I made with all the wool I dyed in level 3 with Madder..... it was quite a project and I worked on it the first three or four days I was at Fibre Week.... It's not the greatest shot but I will show you better pics later..... by the way that's not me modeling.... : )
This felted beret was beautiful.... but then I love owls and any kind of bird....

This felted shawl looked like a stained glass window.....


This funky yarn was knit into an interesting shawl..... I love the yarn but I'm afraid that I don't like open work like this too well.....

Another madder project from one of my class mates.... she had knit a scarf with all that madder dyed yarn..... and she spun hers too..... awesome.....
This shawl was a real piece of work .... I loved it and there were two other shawls using the same pattern but unfortunately my camera conked out and I didn't get pictures of them......


The lady who felted the beautiful beret with owl also felted this hat as a protest against global warming. It was really lovely.... but then polar bears are such spectacular animals.... what about the pine trees that are taking the onslaught of global warming with the increase in the pine beetle.... anyway don't get me started.... I could go on and on.... come and see my grass if you want an eye opener on global warming....

So my couch is covered in fibre and I am slowly sifting through the mess and putting away things as needs be. I did buy three new spindles, a Navajo (that's the one I traded for), a Takli for cotton and believe it or not I am getting on to that even though I have no thumb on my right hand.... and last of all I bought a beautiful Forrester which I am spinning silk on for embroidery. I bought a new pair of scissors with a wooden container.... and more fibre than I'll ever use..... well maybe not... I mean you have to stock up for the lean years you know.....!

So there you have it another year to wait before I can head off to Olds again.... it's a wonderful thing to look forward to and who knows I might even get to go to the Twist of Fate fall retreat. Meanwhile in a couple of weeks I will be hosting the HH summer dyeing retreat in just a few weeks .... if your interested in coming to that one you can contact me at mflsnich@telus.net....

I'm off to spin.... and languor in this horrible heat....

Olds and Sad News

It just seems like I never get a chance to get over one thing before I am on to the next. Upon arriving home I discovered that a good friend and mentor who is an octogenarian is not expected to live much longer. It has become incumbent on those who are her friends to help out until family can care for her or she is placed in palliative care. So no sooner than I come home from Olds than I have to turn off the brain from spinning and turn on the brain to home care. This friend has been a great chum in my spinning world for many years and we have spent many an autumn day stirring pots of woad on her front deck as we experiment with natural dyes. She and I have started a spinning group and demonstrated at Fall Fairs, have taken our craft to schools and traveled the Peace region for workshops on spinning and dyeing. It has been hard to watch her health unravel over the last two years in a struggle to combat Cancer. She will not survive it.... this I know, and so my partner in spinning and dyeing needs a friend right now. I will do what needs to be done and when her time here ends I will miss her companionship greatly as my experiments with colour and wool continue on.

Meanwhile it is hard to turn your mind from one thing (Olds) in an about face, and on to another thing (the care of a friend in her last days). But I will give it a try.

In the meantime, and as promised, here are some pictures.... some of the highlights of my trip to Olds College.

This is the Land Sciences building where all my classes are held.Another picture in front of the Land Sciences building....This is the Rose Garden in front of the Land Sciences building.This was taken just to the left of the Rose Garden in front of the Land Sciences Building. There is a Lili Garden here though the lilies were not in bloom yet.Lilacs were blooming a plenty.....Meanwhile, before I left for Olds I was working on a bag for a fellow who was trading a Navajo spindle with me.... this is it before it was finished. (I did finish it and it looked great with a blue cabled handle.)We hit the road on Thursday morning and we hit all kinds of weather on the way.... this was the sky just past Rocky Mountain House.... just above the trees there is a terrible look to the clouds..... I wasn't overly sure that we wouldn't get a tornado.... but we didn't.We stopped along the way and my traveling companion managed to have a few moments where she returned to her childhood.My first class was a dyeing cotton class.... this is raw cotton that is being dyed. A little blue....A little red.....
Then we washed some cotton rovings.....
And dyed them too.... here we are with our dyed rovings.....But of course the rovings needed to be washed..... so we washed... the instructor Joan Ruane is on the right....In the evenings there was no shortage of things to do.... socials... spin ins, and fashions shows....
I missed the social this year as I was determined to finish my Madder vest in time for the fashion show. But here we are in the next 3 pictures spinning away on drop spindles and spinning wheels in an attempt to finish a cashmere spider and web in just over three hours... we did it. Here's MW.... one of my class/room mates....
And JM who is a shepherd supreme.... and a lady who I bought some of my sheep from....
And then there is RG who I traveled with, roomed with, did my classes with....

Now Olds College is pretty particular, being an agricultural college, about picking things from their gardens.... it is basically frowned upon.... seriously....you can be thrown off campus for picking things or destroying things and so when we decided to make a spider web for the spin in and realized that we would need a branch.... well finding said branch was not for the faint of heart. So it was with trepidation on the day of the spin in, that saw two of our team climbing behind bushes while the other acted as a distraction from any that might see the breaking of a branch. What was funny was that just as the team member with the ability to extract the branch from said bush was climbing out back onto the walkway a car alarm started up for for a split moment she thought she had been caught red handed... thank heavens it was only someone's car alarm going off.... and the branch was put to good use holding our web and spider of cashmere that very night at the spin in. So here is our entry in the spin in..... we didn't win.... we didn't even place.... but I think the contest was stacked.... there were 81 students and 130 votes.....obviously some voted more than once..... (I'm just a little choked that we didn't win) but our spider was donated to the Cashmere Association to help with the promotion of their product.We have here a tapestry based on Van Gogh's wonderful painting done by my level 4 instructor... I thought about all the hours that went into this and the beautiful colours of all the hand spun and hand dyed and then hand woven threads and I stand in awe of his amazing work. He's definitely an artist.

Once Monday rolled around I began the level 4 class and right off the bat we were spinning fibre like bison, camel down, and cashmere. Our second day we were learning about reeling silk which you can see us doing in the next few pictures.....
I'm pooped as I have been uploading pictures all day.... so I will end here and carry on with some more pictures from my awesome trip to Olds.....

In the meantime think of me and maybe say a prayer for me as I try to help an old friend and mentor tomorrow morning.....

10 Days And Boy Am I Tired!

Yup... it's all over for another year..... waaaa! I do have to say that I am exhausted. It will be an early night tonight since I have been on the go since 4:30 a.m. I'm totally wiped since I've hardly slept the whole time I was away. But WOW.... what a 10 days it was. I didn't know my brain could hold so much information. Information overload is in full effect. I'm totally wiped.

There have been all kinds of things happening while I was away and as with any jam packed trip, I didn't leave with peace of mind. The first thing to happen to fowl up my nice trip was an emergency trip to the vet with our little Tootsie. We weren't sure what was up but he wouldn't let anyone touch him.... at all. So with very little to go on, we convinced a vet to have a look at him. At first we were worried about a blockage but when the vet said no we didn't know what to say. She poked a prodded and soon came up with the diagnosis that our wee dog had a bad back. Go figure.... fist me, then Teapot, and now the dog. However, this was no ordinary bad back. The wee guy had some paralysis in his hind quarters and only had a little felling back there. So a night at the vet's with xrays and the like were the order of the day. That all happened on the day I left. The worst thing was that it took all but $25 of the money I made off the jacket commission.... so Frankie receiveth and and Frankie giveth away. Then while I was away Nellie the freak sheep decided to have a surprise lamb. Yes... after two years of sterility she drops a lamb in the middle of the hottest weather. After the vet called Tootsie came home with liquid anti inflammatories to take for two weeks. He seems fine though a little subdued.
Daughter #2 won an awesome award for her contribution to the school in art, not to mention Academic Honours and Work Ethic Honours. Meanwhile Daughter #1 got Academics and Work Ethic Honours, and an award for participating in the Rick Hansen Paraplegic Awareness Campaign, Top student in Socials 8, Most Improved in Math 8, and a special recognition for greatest contribution in Science 8. I'm a very proud Momma. I wish I could have been there.

As for me and my trip?... well, I'm just too tired to write about it right now. Check back tomorrow, preferably later in the day, since I will be snoring peacefully in my awesomely comfortable bed till noon! At that time I will post lots of pictures and you will get to see what I have been up to.

While I've Been Otherwise Occupied

OK so we all know that I never thought I'd see the end of it..... I don't even want to mention ITS name..... but while I've been all consumed with that black thing, I've been pretty much flat out, non-stop, go go go! I have managed to spin enough fibre for the Level 4 required dye samples. I've managed to make food for two meals while I'm away. I've managed to make a felted spindle bag for a fellow who is making a Navajo spindle for me and I'm working on the Madder vest for the fashion show..... (so MB, you had better be prepared to model it....). These are all things I wanted done before I leave and I"M LEAVING TOMORROW!!!!!!!

I can't believe that a full year has blown by and I'm heading off for another year of the Master Spinner's Program at Olds College.... I'm looking forward to it. But meanwhile I'm trying to pack everything I will need for a week of living in an apartment with food (we cook our own), and uncomfortable beds (I bring a big foamy and a fan), and spinning courses and dyeing courses. I can't wait..... no I mean I really can't wait..... I'm going to go bonkers waiting for tomorrow.

In the last week we have brought home Daughter #1's horse, which is in the sheep paddock and meant moving around all the sheep. We have fenced a large portion of our land, which meant pounding in 100 fence posts and feeding the five thousand.... or at least in felt like the five thousand. We have prepared for children's sleepovers (Daughter #2) and prepped for final exams (Daughter #1), and gotten Teapot off on a camping trip with his school kids. So now it is my turn. I was up till midnight last night cooking and spinning and today I'm spinning, sewing, cooking and picking up kids from school at which time I will need to make sure the animals are fed and Jiggs is walked (or at least thrown the ball for a million times), and all the while I will be packing and implementing a week for moi. You'd think I was going to a spa..... ha.... but I will be in class all next week and it is still a vacation!

So first chicken stew for the slow cooker.... then I will ply my skeins.... and then I will sew on a handle for that spindle bag..... and then I will cut out the back of the vest. A day of work?.... yeah.... but at least it's not the big j.c.

Woo hoo.... I'm done...

You're going to be sick of hearing me say that....

Woo hoo... I'm done.... (gosh that sounds nice)!

Da da da da, da da da da da.... Drum Roll Please

Ta Da!!!!!
The big j.c. is now complete....

This is the jacket front.....

This is the jacket back.....
This is a hand painted antler button....
This is a bit of the collar detail.....
This is some of the sleeve detail....

I am so relieved to have it finally finished..... but I frankly think it looks awesome.... I am very happy with the results....

But I never want to see the thing again....


WOOO HOOOO I'm done!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I really haven't had a lot of time this week.... the Big j.c. is taking all of my time. I have the lining finished and shall fit it in today. Hubby is bringing home the Polyurethane today and I will give the buttons a coat of that which will have to dry overnight. I will sew them on tomorrow and then I'm done..... if all goes well! If not then I will finish tomorrow and Sunday... either way I'm going to be finished this weekend. That's why I haven't been writing here as much lately.... I just want to get the Big j.c. finished. I have also been spinning fibre for the dyeing portion of my level 4 course... that I do at night when I am too tired to work on the big j.c.

I won't write today either as I have to get back to it if I'm going to finish but I will post pictures when it is done.

Woo hoo.... I'm almost done......

Nostalgia

Daughter #2 and I have been having a grand old time watching movies and eating. We decided to buy orange crush and vanilla ice cream and make floats, and we also bought pretzels and chocolate chips. Pretzels dipped in melted chocolate chips with orange floats is yummy. (I do realize that this will not help me lose the 25 pounds left that I need to lose before I head off to Olds in two weeks but I don't think that is going to happen now anyway, and if moms and daughters can't have an over the top weekend while everyone else is off having fun, then life isn't worth living!) What I have noticed though is that Orange Crush floats don't taste as good as they used to when I was little. So what I'm wondering is, has the food changed in flavour or is it my taste buds that are becoming decrepit?

I remember growing up home in Newfoundland having ice cream floats that burst in your mouth with the most divine orangy flavour. When I was a little girl a part of the summer was going to visit my grandfather who lived in a little small outport in Newfoundland that was lucky enough to sport a sandy beach where swimming was actually possible and free of undertowes if one was brave enough to bare the frigid temperatures of the North Atlantic. Days were spent in glorious sunny splendour roasting your skin, fearless of the sun's damaging rays, building sand castles and diverting the brook that flowed down through the beach rocks cutting a meandering path through the soft sand. Or perhaps we would go gathering sea urchins that the gulls would drop along the cliffs above the beach. Occasionally we would brave the frigid cold water and the jelly fish for a swim or body surf in the waves that broke on the beach with ever ready persistence. It was a lovely way to spend the summer. In the memory of my very early years there was a snack bar in the parking lot that served the people who enjoyed the beach and there you could get any number of bars, chips, or pop, and of course my favorite was Orange Crush and Hostess plain chips, which as soon as you opened the bag, filled with sand and became gritty between your teeth. This did not deter us youngsters from munching because after an enthusiastic afternoon of play we would be so starved that we would have licked up the sand itself if it was flavoured. Part of our joy was the bottles in which the pop would come. Glass bottles were beautiful to behold.... and the chip bags were a paper covered in a tin foil which if you were like me and had bad teeth with fillings, would give you a delightful shiver up your spine if you happened to chomp down on a portion of the bag. By five in the evening when the beach was emptying of people my father would go to our car and return with the Coleman stove and a picnic basket full of food to be cooked on the rocks of the beach and we would have a pleasurable time wading in the seaweed while a supper of fish and potatoes with drawn butter would cook with mouth watering smells to encourage you to stay close in case your sibling made it to the pot first when my mother called that everything was ready. Around 8:30 p.m. when we were exhausted from the day's activities and dehydrated from an abundance of sunshine and sunburn we would pile into my father's car and drive the five miles with no seat belts to my grandparents house where I would have a cool but refreshing bath and wash all the sand that had managed to collect in the crotch of my swimsuit. Then in fresh babydoll pjs I'd crawl into a cozy bed and drift to sleep listening to the adults chatting amiably in the lower portion of the house. Next morning I would wake to the sound of crows cawing at dawn around 6 a.m. and begin the whole process again.

What happened to those times when flavours and smells and sights were so poignantly spectacular that you could never forget them no matter how hard you tried. Some people say that the flavours of food have deteriorated, but I think that as you get older things don't have the same profound impression on you. Still for two nights I have lay in bed and felt the cool breeze from my window and there is nothing as lovely as the sound of the leaves bristling in the evening breeze, a soft sound like the feel of a butterfly brushing your skin.

I wonder if when you die and your life passes before your eyes these are the memories you take with you into the next ..... place.

Not what you ate, but the flavour against your tongue. Not the fish that you caught but the sparkle of the light on the water. Not who you kissed but the touch of lips on your cheek. Not what you said but the whisper of breath against your ear. Not who you were with but the touch of their hand in yours. Not the ones you love but the feel of love swelling in your heart.

Like the mist of a damp path being evaporated before you on an evening walk, is nostagia. The memories of your life drift in and out of your consciousness. They are still there if you think about them.

In middle age I would like to have things leave an impression..... that will stay with me always.
It felt good last evening with my shoulder brushing against Daughter #2s as we watched our movies in the semi darkness of the living room while drinking our floats and munching on chocolate coated pretzels, even if they weren't as flavourful as when I was younger..... and even if it is not a long term memory for me maybe it will be one for her.