A question for lace knitters

I haven't tried any serious lace knitting since the Rowan shawl I did
about a year and a half ago.  I've wanted to, I just haven't found the
right kind of time (for me) to sit and concentrate like that.

Then...the current issue of Interweave Knits arrived and finally I found one I have determined to do:  The Fountain Pen Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence.  The repetition of the same pattern appeals to me right now, and I have a stash of lace weight yarn from Aracaunia I'd like to use up. 

My question for those of you with lots of lace experience:  will it matter if I use a yarn that was, in theory, designed for sock knitters?  Meaning it is a blend of wool and nylon...not machine washable...but the blend concerns me.  Over lunch the other day, as several of us were debating this, we wondered whether that would be a problem in blocking out and maintaining the newly blocked size after knitting.

Kay, are you out there?  You helped me so much with the Rowan shawl, maybe you have the answer to this.  Or anyone else?  I'd be so appreciative.

Thanks!

(P.S.  Photo courtesy of Interweave Press.com.)

Oscars

I go to a theater to see a movie when it's released perhaps once or twice a decade, preferring the quiet of my own home to people answering their cell phones or digging through popcorn barrels as though their lives depended on it (I mean REALLY...).  As a result of my disdain for sharing this experience with the public, I often don't see movies until they've been around for quite a while.

But then...there's Oscar night.  I watch no matter what I have or haven't seen.  I admit to liking all the red carpet stuff, the movie clips, the entertainment, and when the cameras pan the audience and I get to see that my favorite actors are starting to look a little long in the tooth like I am.  Time spares no one, unless you're Joan Rivers and you've had so much surgery your face no longer moves when you talk...but that's another story.

So tonight, I'll be rooting for...well...I haven't seen any of them, so I'll just be there vicariously, and hoping Hugh Jackman does a better job of being emcee than some of the others who weren't so hot.

What does this have to do with fiber?  Nada.  However...I'll be spinning up a big ole bag of grey wool while I'm watching...and maybe I'll even have a bowl of popcorn.

Back to work

After a great week in Dallas with my buddy Kay, Monte and I hit the dye pots again this past Monday and have been hard at it all week.  Tomorrow we hope to get everything tagged and photographed...then it's up to moi to spend one of my "days off" this weekend to get some of them in our Etsy shop. 

We laughed so hard this week doing these, I hope they will impart some of this joy to the spinner or felter who buys them.

Here is a sampling of what we've done...


and we're dyeing for a new series we've planned and will announce that this coming week.  We're pretty excited about it!

Martie

PS  Lost the battle of the bulge in Dallas.  Who knew how many wonderful restaurants there are?  And how could I pass up the ice cream and brownies Holly brought over one night?  Yes, friends....I'm weak....but life is short.

The face of the enemy

I did so well last year.  I lost 31 lbs. (yes, that 1 lb. IS VERY important to note).  Kept it off, even after climbing on that slippery slope called indulgence.  Then September hit, and my weeks in CA under all the stress, and then October, with the shop closing...well, you know where this is headed.  So here I am now, up half that much, fighting my way back down.

Ladies and gentlemen, here it is...the face of the enemy.

I'm hanging out with my friend Kay this week in the big state of Dallas.  Yesterday we hit Central Market, which is like food heaven right here on earth.  I bravely walked the isles of chocolates, pastries, fresh baked breads, and cheeses, before I found my section and took this photos.  Enough said.

Oops...

This past week was a great week.  Work: 4 days with Monte (always lots of good laughs), 1 day by myself, to make batts for the long overdue Etsy update.  Good workout at Pilates yesterday, great lunch at Maverick Cafe next door to shop.

Mercury went out of retrograde yesterday...always a huge help.

Husband unit went to work this morning so I can be alone...also good.

Sun is shining, dishes are done, laundry is started. 

Now, to photograph this week's booty for uploading to Etsy.

OOOPPPPSSSSSSSSS...

Extra camera battery and charger are still in CA, battery in camera dead.  I remember the day I plugged the charger and battery into the wall socket in our little kitchen, and thought to myself, gee Martie, if you're not careful, you'll forget this. 

Go buy another, you say?  Well our only photo supply store is closed on Saturday...how smart is that.

So...no update until later this week.  Guess that means I have more time to wash wool.

Am I a Luddite at heart?

Some days I feel really smug about the things I've learned about my computer these last few years.  While I'm not as computer friendly as many, at least now I can find my way around and do some other things I would never have dreamed I'd be doing six years ago (pre-Taos Sunflower).  Then, just when I'm patting myself on the back for all that I've learned, I remember the down side:  it's eating up my days...big time.

Now I know I'm not the only person who has noticed this.  I remember those long, technology free days, weaving, spinning, hiking.  Most of all, I remember writing letters by hand, often hundreds a year.  I miss that terribly.  I remember when the last of my friends who would hand write letters with me caved in and I would write and she'd respond by e-mail.  Somehow it just took the fun out of it.

This little video came my way a few days ago, and I thought I'd share it.  I think it's a great illustration of what I'm mumbling about here.

Download Technology1

The gift of a friend

Last week, as I was busily whining about how busy my week was getting in San Diego, unbeknownst to me, my dear friend Vadan was in the process of living her last days here in Taos.  Saturday evening, as I was packing, I got an e-mail message from her family to come and see her one last time...but there I was, 1,000 miles away.  I don't need to tell you how that felt.

I met Vadan around 1995, when we both hung out weaving in Denise Miller's studio here in Taos.  We spent days weaving and talking, or sometimes dyeing our yarns in natural dyes under Denise's expert supervision.  Those were peaceful days.  I was pretty new to Taos and had few friends.  Vadan was the kind of person who took you right in like you were part of her family.  There were so many similarities between her and the sister I lost to breast cancer, it was almost erie.  Over time, I decided secretly that maybe she had been sent to me to help me make up for the years I had missed with Vicki.  They were so much alike...always the happiest person in the room, making everyone feel welcome and included.

Sadly, there were more similarities than I wanted.  Shortly after getting to know her, Vadan was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Hers is a long story, a hard fought battle over many ups and downs.  It later resurfaced in other parts of her body, and at one point about 5 years ago, in a condition where I'm guessing many would have just let go, she fought it down once again. 

Through those years, we shared lots of great times together.  Long breakfasts with other friends, chatting over knitting projects.  Planning for and sharing our annual booth at Wool Festival was a fun time for us...she always brought the antiques and golden boughs of aspens to decorate our booth.  She never once complained about her health...in fact, seldom mentioning it unless you asked.  She had a will of iron, a smile that never stopped, and as our friend Nancy wrote today, she always had an open shine that existed on her face...before and after the cancer events. Her eyes were always clear and glistening with living.  This was a woman with a very full life and no time for self pity.

I learned so much from Vadan, and will hold those lessons in my heart as my own life continues.  Not by her words so much as by her example.  She was a tireless volunteer in our community, and spent these last years lovingly teaching the fiber classes at our local Waldorf school.  She never had a bad word to say...in fact, she just didn't have time for that.  She had an inner peace and sense of priorities that I have always envied.  No petty thoughts in her world...she knew, better than many of us, that life was just too short.  She lived an open, honest, happy and caring life.  She left behind two wonderful adult children and a husband who deserves a medal for his dedication, love and support throughout her illness. 

So today, a small group of us said good bye in a private chapel near their home.  It was an amazing experience.  The chapel was filled with adults and many of her students from the Waldorf school.  The singing was amazing, as though there were angels there.  A drum beat softly at the beginning, followed by a silent Tibetan blessing ceremony.  Prayers of all sorts were offered up, including a native American prayer to the four directions.  The love in the room was palpable.  I felt honored to be there, honored to have been part of her life.  She is my hero.

Oh...one last thing.  As we were driving east across Arizona Monday morning, I was captured by some clouds that were outside my window just before the sun made her ascent.  I was thinking I had never seen clouds quite like that before, and that I should take a photo (as best I could with my iPhone).  After taking my picture and staring at them so some more, I suddenly saw the shapes of angels flying north and eastward.  Think of me what you will...but I saw them.   I wondered, at the time, if they were headed to Vadan...can you see them, too?