Approaching the last corner

Bear cubs a few years ago

Progress on the antique rug has been steady and good; I am approaching the final corner.

I most especially love hooking out on the deck. It's so peaceful and beautiful with bird song, squirrel antics, and chipmunk visits. The Humming Bird feeder currently sits on the rail of the deck and every now and then the hum of approaching wings, beating rapidly, hails the arrival of an iridescent fascination.

After the Lilacs wrapped up their stint of perfuming the yard, the Mock Orange took over, and heady it is. In the evening, the posh fragrance of a scented Daylily brings high, heavenly delight. It would be an expensive parfum if bottled.

It all makes for the perfect 'work' environment, though work is not really an apt description of the task. Hooking, after the initial period of discovery and practice, is a most pleasant endeavor. Like all other crafts that are repetitive in nature: needlepoint, hand sewing, knitting, etc. I experience a period of struggle(?) at the outset of taking it in hand. It seems impossibly slow, how in the world will I ever finish an entire rug!? Then a period of tedium might follow. But with perseverance (this is key) little discoveries are made that make the execution flow. The glitchy-ness subsides and a relaxing confidence is born. It doesn't take long thereafter for a sense of Zen to settle in. But the key is to persevere through the discouragement.

I'm feeling very good about the way the rug is revealing itself. It is just the look I love, 'cottage core' as they say these days; rustic, unashamed hand work. Love it!

Other than the rug, I've been finishing the processing of the Wensleydale fleece. Left to right: Scoured and picked, scoured but unpicked (center), and the plastic bag contains a bit of unscoured raw fleece.

 

Tour de Fleece starts next week and although I haven't given it much thought this year, I may make the spinning of this fleece a project for the month. 

 

 

A Visit to The Newbury School of Weaving

Earlier this year I signed up for a day-long workshop at The Newbury School of Weaving in Newbury, VT. The class I enrolled in is called "Introduction to the Great Wheel" and my class was held Saturday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. It was a fabulous experience.

Now, I have spun on my great wheel before, learning from videos (mostly) and articles and books. Although I can make yarn this way, I have always felt that having a real-life teacher would go a long way to filling in gaps and answering questions. I was right.

Newbury is just over the border in VT, less than 30 miles northwest of here. It's a very pretty town and the school occupies an old church on the common.

The drive up was beautiful, skirting the west side of Mount Moosilauke and the sometimes rugged looking terrain to the northwest of it. It was covered with a fresh coat of snow from the night before! I took this picture of Moosilauke some years ago, in the winter time, not far from my house: 

Stepping into the Newbury School was like time traveling. The sights, the sounds, the smells, all of it. A large cavernous space just beyond the entry vestibule is filled to capacity with counterbalanced barn looms. I have never seen so many humongous looms in one room before. A veritable forest of looms and accoutrements. At the far end of the room were 3 or 4 rows of spinning wheels of all shapes and sizes. A large work table separates the wheels from the looms.

Some of the looms had works in progress on them. The makings of warmth-providing blankets of wool that had been processed, spun, and woven there. What a joy. Here and there, bits of woven cloth, and shelves full of cones of yarn add splashes of color to the ambience. But wood, old patinated wood, predominates this large gathering place of antique weaving machinery. Heaven.

The class was everything I had hoped for and was very well structured. After a morning chit-chat to introduce ourselves and talk about our spinning, we were given some pencil roving to spin according to the demonstration our instructor had provided. This was a brilliant way to learn the movements of spinning on the great wheel. We learned how to wind off onto a reel and keep track of yardage.

When we returned from lunch, it was time to pick some scoured wool. We sat in a ring, encircling a large galvanized tub into which we tossed our fresh picked locks. This was conversation time. It felt like days gone by when people would get together to tackle a time-consuming task. Our lovely conversation touched on the historical aspects of spinning and weaving techniques, and quite a range of other making-related topics. It is an atmosphere from which one drinks deeply of the joy of life.

We were then given cards--cotton cards, much to my surprise! No. 10 cotton cards, and they worked fabulously. As soon as I got home Saturday evening, I found a pair on eBay and ordered them immediately. Then we approached the wheels again with our newly carded rolls and revisited our spinning moves only this time drafting out with the left hand.

At the end of the day I felt very satisfied with all that I had experienced and learned. The holes in my knowledge were filled in, new knowledge obtained, and confidence built.

Here is the 120 yds of highly energized singles I made during class, waiting to be bathed in hot water:

(Footnote. Progress on the rug was good last week as the weather was suitable for working on it outside.)