Fibers at Gossamer!

It was a big day.  I decided that while I was in Portland, I should check in with an LYS, Gossamer.  It's an adorable shop, with lots of dyed fiber and felt sheets, yarn, and wee sweet sundries by local artists. If you're into felting or if you need Waldorf supplies, this is your spot.  I had spoken with the proprietor in the past about consignment. I finally brought her some fiber and stitch markers, and she loved them! I do so much of my creative work in a vacuum, so it's amazing for me to get some positive feedback.  So the next time you're on E. Burnside in Portland, pop into Gossamer. You're practically guaranteed to find something irresistible in there.

The down side to this is that the Etsy shop is a bit sparse now, and I need to dye some wool before I can stock up again.  It will be a solid week before new batts are in the shop.

The other great news of the day is that I heard from the wheel guy, and my flyers are on their way! The upright German parlor wheel and the Frank Fell wheels will be ready to use! That leaves only two wheels needing parts - both great wheels in need of spindles. The Fell wheel is one of my favorites, so I'm especially excited to have him back in spinning condition.

I'm spending the evening working on the old house. I'm nursing a nasty headache from chemical exposure (spray wall texture - NASTY!)  It's amazing how much I've transformed this house, and how much work remains...

Bunny Drama Resolved

When I went home to Westfir, I had to bring a bunny with me to recover from a bad fight with another bunny.  I had just shorn him (with little concern for his appearance or dignity), and he had no protection from the rabbit who beat him up.  It happened so quickly, and all I could do was deal with the aftermath.  I brought his best bunny friend with him to keep his spirits up, and they're both doing so well.

This photo was right after the fight, and you can see that he's looking a little bit loopy.  He's back to himself now, bouncing around and munching on everything.

The Trestle and the Pool

I pretty much lost my entire summer to illness and to being overwhelmed with work and school, and I got to Westfir with only a few days left of it.  Autumn is my season, but summer is good for taking the dog out to play and for swimming in the river.  We went up on the ridge on Monday, and found a beautiful trail into the woods.

We found another spot with access to the river just a short hike up the ridge and down through the woods.  It’s stunningly beautiful, the water absolutely clear and very still, due to the presence of a great downed tree and many rocks that slow down the flow and create a shallow pool in that part of the river.  It may be man-made, because there are some ruins of an unidentifiable structure on the shore.  Theo, of course, had a grand time.

Yesterday, the fall blew in with force.  I woke to the first drops of a rain storm that lasted until the late afternoon, and last night it was cold enough that I had to turn on the heat for 20 minutes.  I run hot, so it doesn't take much to warm me.  The sunset was amazing, pink fire in the west as the mist draped itself across the eastern foothills, even drifting deep into the valley.  I spent the morning making things and photographing them - my total for the last few days was 4 batts and 17 sets of stitch markers.

I drove into Eugene in the afternoon to buy supplies and use some WiFi to complete a major shop update. I’m rather proud of myself for getting so much done, although nothing has sold and I worry a bit about getting a small cash flow to keep dog food coming in.  I’ll be putting up flyers in Eugene and Oakridge for spinning and knitting lessons, so hopefully I can get a couple of students.

Eugene is a sweet city.  I can’t speak for the culture with authority while I’m so new to it, but people have been very kind, with the endearing Northwestern habit of actually making eye contact and smiling – that was very hard for this East Coast girl to get used to at first, although I love it now.  So far, I think that I will like it much more than Portland.  There are lots of strange and appealing little businesses, and the food is better.  Getting out of town is easy, and the forest is Right There.  We went to the dog park, and it was pretty posh, with three kiddie pools for wading and a smaller, separately-fenced park for tiny dogs.  On the way into town, I stopped for hay at a feed store right off the highway in Pleasant Hill, and it was by far the best quality and cheapest hay I've bought.  Granted, it is that time of year, but the hay in Portland isn't nearly as nice.  This stuff was probably harvested just down the way; no reason to truck it all the way to the city.

The houseplants are nearly all settled in, and all but 2 spinning wheels are here, so this place is really feeling like home.  I have to go back to Portland today to finish up things at the old house and do some renovations in exchange for not paying August rent.  It’s hard for me to leave this place.

Robin Batts are in the shop

Remember Robin, the extra-lofty Rambouillet x Cheviot? Her batts are in the shop.  I'm lucky to fit two ounces of her wool on the carder at once, it's SO fluffy and doesn't compact at all!

Battttttts!

From the Fancy Kitty Big Tom - so much fun!  One has sold, but the rest are in the Etsy shop.

D. Willson Great Wheel

About a month ago, I scored an amazing great wheel at a vintage shop.  It had no spinning head and was missing a chunk of its axle bearing.  I haggled pretty hard for it, because it had some serious faults and because I REALLY loved the tensioning system, and I didn't have much money to spend.

When I got it home, I "fixed" the broken axle bearing with some polymer clay.  It worked so well!  The clay shrunk when baked, and I installed it while it was still hot, and it expanded just a bit as it cooled and filled the space beautifully.  I used a bit of wheat paste to glue it in a completely reversible way. (The schmutz on the hub in the photo is wheat paste that I later wiped up.  I also intentionally got a bright white clay to contrast with the existing bearing to make it easy to spot and remove someday when I get a real bearing installed.)

I love my (now former) neighbor:

"Do you have a spoonful of wheat flour?" "Yes... but it's really old and maybe inedible." "That's okay, I need it to make some adhesive to fix my new spinning wheel." "Oh, okay then, I'll go get it for you."

...most natural thing in the world, don't you think?

Anyway, the wheel is incredible.  The maker stamped it 13 times at the front of the table, all the bits are beautifully (but not elaborately) turned, the wheel rim is true and has a groove (Oh how I have wanted a grooved great wheel!) and it spins so beautifully!

I demonstrated at Art in the Pearl on Labor Day.  Last year I brought the Vezina CPW, and this time I brought the great wheel.  As last year, the wheel drew a huge crowd, and I got some good spinning done and evangelized to a few aspiring spinners about the goodness of saving these grand old ladies from becoming weathered porch decorations.  It was a fine end to my time in Portland.

Time to talk... time for everything

Well, it has finally happened.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me.  I turned 33 (finally!  the magic age!) and I moved (most of the way) into my dream location in the middle of the forest outside of Eugene.  Somehow, with complete trust in the All, I sent my wishes out into the world, threw my trust and efforts behind them, and they manifested in ways that I could have never dreamed.  I pointed to a tiny town on the map, and that town is now my home.  I wished (without hope!) to have gardens, to live alone, to have space to spin and weave, to be able to bring all of my animals (6 rabbits, 6 chickens, and my dog and cat) - all of these things have happened.

My words here will likely be many, but sporadic and in waves, because I get no Internet and barely any phone reception in my isolated forest home.  However, I will have so much more to talk about!  I've only spent 4 days there so far, but I've had so many Adventures!

My town has 260 residents.  It's a former logging town in the middle of the Willamette National Forest.  I've never been able to leave Portland very often since I moved there in 2006, so I had no idea that Oregon was the site of a renaissance in covered bridge building, and many of those bridges survive.  One of them is a five-minute walk from my house.

On the other side of the bridge, several riverside trails begin.  There are bats everywhere at night, and a snake scooted across our path as we walked, and I had to restrain my dog from chasing it!  

Theo got to swim in the river.  He likes to bite the water as he swims, and he finds splashing absolutely maddening.  This was maybe the third time I ever saw him swim.  It was over 90 outside, so he needed no encouragement to jump right in!

We spend yesterday morning spinning on the deck (cormo on a CPW - the perfect combination), listening to the cries of a hawk in the distance, and enjoying the wind that sweeps through the valley.

A great wheel has found its home at the front of the house, with lots of natural light and a forest view.

And here are the views from my bedroom and from the sewing/weaving/wool processing room (yeah!):

There's a creek running behind the house, with forest beyond, and the entire front yard is full of vegetable beds and fruit trees. The surrounding trees are a good mix of deciduous trees and conifers, so we should get some fall color.

At this point, I'm still too breathless to write well.  More soon?