What a Summer

I can't believe how quickly this Summer has just flown by.  There were even very few unbearable days.  And this is Virginia!  So I can't blame the heat on my lethargy.  I tried my best to get into the studio (or update this blog), but a good book, or our spartan garden or the couch seemed to continually call my name.  While Greg has worked like a dog every day both at work and still healing from his January knee injury (thank goodness for physical therapy he is now doing stairs again!) I have been busy trying to heal my heart.  You see, I lost my dear Dad to lung cancer in May.  For some people heart break raises a need to sink into clay, or paint, or paper or whatever creative outlet does the trick.  I have now, unfortunately, discovered that my creativity abandons me all together.

(My Dad working at the archaeological field school in Popham, Maine)

But.  Life continues to swirl and race around me.  Our old dog Layla nudges me to take her for her short walk every morning...(and she sheds like crazy so vacuuming has to happen) the farmers market calls me to buy all the luscious greens and veggies of summer (so healthier cooking is happening) and finally the tears are less and the paralysis has given way to a push to get stocked up for my two big Fall shows.

So despite the lack of posting I have slowly begun weaving again.

And getting my hands dirty in clay.

Two weekend shows in a row, where I sell quite a few pots requires a lot of preparation.  So the shelves are full of  pots in all stages.  And just yesterday was my last "wet day" of work.  All I have left to do is draw and fire.  And maybe warp another loom to squeeze in one more project?

If you are near by....Shenandoah Fiber Festival is September 27 and 28 in Berryville, VA.  Fall Fiber Festival (which includes the not to be missed opportunity to see competitive sheep dog trials) is the following weekend near Orange VA October 4 and 5.

Stop by and say hi!

Nurse, Potter, Weaver, Baker....

I am determined to not skip a month on this blog...so here is what I have been up to.

Greg slipped on the ice 2 weeks ago which resulted in a broken knee and wrist.  No weight bearing for at least 6 weeks so my nursing chores have been the priority.

But January is also the annual Empty Bowl event for Empower House.  In the past I have managed 100 but this year with life, 26 will have to do.

Then of course it wouldn't be winter without a little of the white stuff.  We only have 2 or 3 inches but the cold reminds me of my high school years in Iowa.  Poor Layla loves the snow but the cold is just too much for her.  I have had to carry her in two mornings when her knees gave out.  She will be 13 next month! Once it warms up she will be moving much better.

Cold weather means COOKIES.

And of course with a laid up husband, weaving in the same room is the best option.

I have pottery orders to fill.  I am hoping that next week once Greg and I have a rythmn set I can go out back to the studio for 1-2 hour sessions.  Maybe a baby monitor is the answer?

Stay warm everyone!

Here comes the heat!!

Lots of fiber and clay happening down here in Virginia.  Despite the rising temperatures... (it was bound to happen eventually right?)

Remember the haul from Maryland Sheep and Wool?   Many of you fell in love with the two twists on the far left....

Now they are a 3 ply (Navajo plied...meaning there is some color separation...) light worsted yarn!  A three ply this thin is pretty good for me.  (That's a nickle for scale.)

Meanwhile my friend Lynette is working on items for her show in August.  I spin wool for her sculptures...and this 8 oz will become a beehive.  The colors are perfect!  We were excited to find it at Maryland.

My latest blanket.....

And I had an exciting visitor.  No pictures of course but Hannah McAndrew was in town!  She was on the long journey home to Scotland after her show with the St Croix Valley Potters in Minnesota.  She was very interested in a blanket so we made a swap.

This plate is BIG, 15 inches across and much more golden than it looks in this picture.  I love it!  And I know Hannah will enjoy her wool throw in chilly Scotland. Thanks so much Hannah!

And I have finally found my groove again in the clay studio.  It was slow going at first.  Even though I have been throwing pots for over 7 years I still often struggle with some of the basics.  I am so thankful when it starts to flow again.

I am working on getting a kiln load dry and ready to bisque in the next 2 weeks.  All those little bowls on the top two shelves of the drying rack have to be in Vermont before the end of the month!

I am SO GLAD that my little AC unit seems to be working ok in my studio.  Not nearly as efficient as the split system I had in my studio in Charlottesville.  I should have taken it with us since the buyers are simply using the space as a garage.  It is definitely cooler then the 90 degree air outside but the humidity still seems high.  Drying is going slow...

So potting, weaving, spinning and sweating on those morning walks with Layla.

She LOVES her air conditioning.

Reality

There was a question on Facebook this week about seconds. What do you do with your seconds?

So I've had a very busy two months. There was some weaving.

My latest wool blanket


 I was working hard to build up inventory for a new fiber festival in Virginia this month (Powhatan Festival of Fiber).  I took advantage of an opportunity to move from my old studio at LibertyTown

(here my loom is already missing...)

 to a bigger and brighter space that I will share with my painter friend Carol Phifer.

Of course.  It was also FINALLY time to move into our new old house!  So the Saturday before the house move I decided to throw out my back. 

 I have finally learned the lesson of Asking for Help.  Artist friends helped with the studio, neighbors helped move items we didn't want the movers to take, the UMW girls rugby club (Rent a Rugger) helped move my pottery studio gear from the shed behind our rental and my buddy  Beth (Artist in Residence Extraordinaire) and her fantastic significant other helped me move my kiln.

After a full day of movers loading the truck, then unloading the truck we were left with this.

and this

We are getting there.  But slowly as I am still being careful with The Back.

Medicine helps.

Which brings us back to the discussion concerning seconds.  During all this moving and rearranging I had a kiln load of pots turn out less then good.  Sellable?  Maybe. But not a good representation of my work for a new show.  Seconds? I struggled with the idea of selling some at the LibertyTown artist yard sale in two weeks....but I finally decided that I was not happy with them and did not want them in circulation.  No matter that many people might not see the flaws.

So out came the hammer.

And it felt good.  No regrets.  (The best sign that it was the right choice.)

And since there is no time to recreate that load and my back is still healing I had to make the decision to pull out of the April show.

I will spend the next weeks setting up my home studio, organizing the home weaving space and working to have the few problems in the new place fixed.

And icing.

It's all good.

Even if that little clay box can hold half a kiln load of pots.

Snow!

We finally had a little snow last night.  IF my shovel and broom weren't packed away somewhere it would be easy to clear walks and the car. But a MOP had to suffice....

(If you look closely you can see it leaning next to the door.)

Killer Bunny is our snow gauge.  (He's about 2 feet high.)

Tracey's talk of weaving pushed me to get to the studio and work on my latest wool blanket.  I work in stages to save my back.  It is nice to finish all the warping one day, so that you can walk in and just start weaving the next.....very satisfying.

It's going pretty quickly with this simple pattern.  I will probably be painting at the house but hope to finish  this over the weekend.  Greg is driving to Florida for a week of "work" so I will have only Layla to give me a schedule!

More Weaving Going On....

More weaving.

I've put aside my wool, and pulled out my cotolin. I've woven with this often for kitchen towels and love the feel and drape. So why not baby blankets?

At the bottom you can see the hot pink/purple one is finished, and I am working one in teal.

I am really enjoying weaving with a two color warp.  This time alternating pastel pink and yellow.

The result with the more saturated teal (and the purple/pink) is very subtle.

The last stripe....there is one on each end.  Only 8 more inches and I can cut these off the loom and start on the next thing!

Weaving Away with Clay on My Mind

Now that we are relatively settled in our small rental (I can't call it TINY since that is a whole different kind of house!) I have realized pretty quickly that for us to manage to exist in our small cluttered with boxes space I need to get out as much as possible! The good thing is that means time spent walking Layla along the river (all the Canadian Goose families are so fun to watch!) and many hours at my weaving studio at LibertyTown.

You may have heard that the show for the month of May is the annual Patron Show.  Fantastic work is donated, however number of pieces that that is (I think 51 this year...) that many $150 tickets are sold.  At the end of the month all ticket holders come for the Big Drawing.  When you ticket number is called you choose your own piece to take home!  This year tickets sold out in TWO DAYS.  Below is the blanket that I donated to the show.

My next project is another wool blanket. You may (or maybe not!) have noticed that the blanket for the show has a dark brown back.  This effect is created by the type of twill weave I used.  It also creates a somewhat heavier fabric. (For those of you in the know, a 3/1 twill creates a warp faced side, thats the colors in this example, and a weft faced side, that is the brown side.)  My next project is a more balanced twill that allows for both sides to be similar.

The warp, the yarn set up on the loom first, is an alternating cocoa brown and deep earthy red.

Nearly finished.....

....at the end....

To finish the piece I twist the fringe (that takes about 2 hours worth of Bones on TV.....) and run it through one hot wash/cold rinse cycle in my washing machine.  Last is to trim any loose ends.

I'm really happy with this one.

The colors are not quite true.  The yellowish color (the weft in this case) is actually more of a lemongrass green.....)

So now the weather has turned warmer for good I think.  So I am putting my wool away and pulling out the cotton and cotolin (50% cotton, 50% linen).

I have two blue baby blankets in stock.....Now I think I'll work with some light weight baby blankets with girls in mind!

BUT I have plans to start making pots in the LibertyTown pottery school space....so stay tuned!!