FiberJoy

Thanks for clicking the link to this blog. Sorry to make you go the long way around to get to my current blog Fiberjoy at Wordpress where I moved after getting tired of Blogger losing or rearranging things just as I was ready to hit the publish post button.

Blogger has decided to force people to be signed up with Google/Blogger in order to leave comments on other Blogger site. Is this coercion or what? Or maybe fear since so many people are abandoning Blogger for more intuitive blog hosts?

I would love for you to click once more and come visit.

Or visit our business website: Jenkins Woodworking to see all the fabulous fiber arts tools Ed makes.

Hairpin Lace Wrap Finished Dec 6th

Change of Scenery

I'm shifting over to WordPress. The lack of the ability to reply directly to non-reply comments without causing people to return to my blog to see my answer has driven me to move to WordPress. I've read that pictures don't make the transfer so will leave this blog here.

For the most part I will be posting here. Please don't forget to bookmark my new blog, or change your bookmarks. Thanks!

If this works smoothly enough I'd like to move The Weekend Whirls over there also to facilitate better interaction between posters/commentators. Please let me know what you think.

Labels: Moving

Tour de Fleece Day 5

So far I'm spinning away on Tour de Fleece 2007. The weekend of demonstrating/teaching at the Park got me off to a great start. Though I must admit, I flagged a bit Monday and yesterday, just a bit of spindling was accomplished.

Today was the spinning guild's day at the Mission Mills Museum. In spite of temps reaching almost 100 degrees, our spot under a huge spreading oak next to the Jason Lee House, built in 1841 - the oldest frame house still standing in the Northwest, stayed relatively cool with a breeze keeping us comfortable. The 5 hours + flew past. I took some pictures but need to wait until we get our broadband connection working again. I'm using a turtle paced dial-up.

It's been a frustrating bone of contention for the past 30 hours with no help from the provider until he returns home on Friday. Until we get our connection reestablished I will be on very limited internet time so please bear with my lack of personal emails.

Labels: Spinning, Tour de Fleece

Spinning at the Falls

I spent a wonderful weekend at the Silver Falls State Park showing and teaching spinning. The two days flew by with people streaming in and out of the log cabin.
Path to the Log Cabin. Umm, the Salmon berries are ripe.

A peek at South Falls

South Falls - 177ft. Click for a bigger picture, do you see the people?

Here are just a few of the many people who spun some yarn. After about the third person I developed a pretty comprehensive method to where a person was able to spin their yard of roving in just a few minutes.

I set up the Louet Victoria to the side of the huge fireplace where the dutch oven biscuits were constantly cooking. The two women must have made almost 500 biscuits on Saturday. Each batch devoured as soon it was served. Hand-shaken butter and fresh strawberry/raspberry jam completed the goodness.

Though I didn't have time for much personal spinning, I was able to spinning the second ounce of the corriedale green roving. I'd been spinning fine and quite evenly until spinning at the cabin where my concentration was what it needed to be. This picture was before I began spinning the second ounce at the cabin. Unfortunately that ounce turned out thicker and more uneven. For the first time I tried chain plying. I wish I hadn't. If I'd plyed it back on itself it would have been much better. Now I'm not sure what to do with the 117 yards of the 3ply. (It's still drying.)

The mystery project: Thanks for the guesses so far. It's not a baby blanket, shawl or a scarf, but it will be worn. I'll post another hint next post.

For those of you who asked about the Marion berries, they are a type of blackberry developed at Oregon State University. From Wiki: "Marion (marketed as marionberry) is the most important cultivar and is from a cross between Chehalem and Olallie (commonly called olallieberry) berries. It is said to "capture the best attributes of both berries and yields an aromatic bouquet and an intense blackberry flavor" [1]. Olallie in turn is a cross between loganberry and youngberry. "Marion", "Chehalem" and "Olallie" are just three of the many trailing blackberry cultivars developed by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) blackberry breeding program at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Trailing blackberries are vigorous, crown forming, require a trellis for support, and are less cold hardy than the erect or semi-erect blackberries. In addition to the Pacific Northwest of the USA, these types do well in similar climates such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Chile, and the Mediterranean countries."

They are big and juicy with a delicious tart sweetness perfect for eating out of hand, pies, or jam. They are a huge commercial crop in this area.

Labels: Marionberries, Silver Falls State Park, Spinning

Minding the Yarn Shop

We're off on the Tour de Fleece 2007which begins today. I got in good shape yesterday by spinning half an hour last evening. (sadly I can't get the button to load properly on the sidebar)

Arriving at The Purl District yarn store yesterday the long knit scarf was still draped across the entrance. No one was around. The store is one of four spacing the huge open space of one of the older buildings in Silverton. The main doors were open and lights on. Other stores were bustling with activity but not the yarn shop. Another spinner had already gotten an iced latte from Not Yo Mama's Coffee shop upstairs so I headed up for mine. The flower shop keeper took down the scarf barrier and told us to go ahead and sit at the table. A group of four eventually gathered knitting and spinning. Still no shop keeper. Shortly after 10 a buyer came in with some questions. She wanted to make her first pair of socks. I talked with her, showed her the sock yarns, talked about her knitting experience then got out the sock pattern notebook and found a basic pattern for her. I accepted a check. First sale of the day. After she left I looked around the cash register for a worker/phone list then called the person scheduled for the morning. No answer. Called the owner. No answer, left a message. Called the worker scheduled for the afternoon. She'd was busy showing a buyer her angora rabbits but she'd try to be in by noon!

I didn't get a lot of spinning or knitting done with the occasional interruptions by shoppers. One traveling family came in. The daughter wanted to buy a kit. The ones we found didn't have the right color combinations. A lost sale. Another woman wanted to know what pattern and material a display sweater was made from. I could guess a cashmere blend but had no idea of pattern. Another lost sale. :-(

Another picture of the mystery project being made from my handspun multicolored merino. Guesses are welcome. There might even be a prize for the person who guesses correctly both questions: what will it be? what's the process?

I'm off for a day of demonstrating spinning at the Silver Falls State Park. I'm excited about this new experience.