Imaginero

We watched a film in class today about an imaginero, an image maker, in the high plateau of Argentina.  In it, there were some very clear scenes of shearing, spinning, and weaving.  Shearing took place using a simple knife, with the sheep on the ground with legs tied.  The people must have very steady hands and confidence, as they shear exactly how we're told not to, pulling the wool up and stretching out the skin in a way that would easily lead to cuts, making it hard to discern where skin ends and wool begins.  This may have just been due to the particular part of shearing that made it into the final edit - we only saw her shear the less desirable belly wool, which most of us skirt out.  Maybe she does it differently along the back and sides?  We see Aurelia, wife of the imaginero, walking with the small flock of sheep and spinning using a bottom whorl spindle with a very long shaft.  She spins like the Navajo, drafting out a length and getting some twist into it, then tugging the half-spun yarn to distribute the twist and even out the diameter.  She spins and walks, but, when the sheep settle into a grazing spot, she crouches and supports the spindle on the ground to spin.  I was excited to see that she does what I do when I use a supported spindle - she makes a temporary mini cop near the tip, winds on up there for a while, then (I presume) unwinds and rewinds it onto the large cop at the bottom of the spindle.  Thus the long shaft.  The wool appears to be of marginal quality, similar to churro of some type, but perhaps leaning more toward a medium wool than a coarse wool.  The yarn is thick, maybe a worsted weight single, and she spins from something approximating roving.  My favorite part was the weaving.  Hermogenes, the imaginero, weaves on a loom that is tensioned like a backstrap loom, but with a hand-built frame and treadle system, making the actual motion of weaving resemble a standard modern floor loom.  The wooden parts are rough and lashed together - which is interesting, considering that we see lots of his handwork, and it is all very finished and intricate.  I believe that this loom, without a set tension system (no beams, minimal frame) would be easy to collapse and store, to set up in a variety of locations, or even to load on a donkey and transport if needed. 

Anyway, I highly recommend this film, if you can get it.  It is by Argentine director Jorge Preloran and pretty much just available through interlibrary loan.  I have it on order to watch again, primarily because the copy we had in class was poor quality, a film of a film, and Hermogenes' narration is translated into English dubbed over the original.  The one available on loan is in Spanish, which I'll enjoy more, and I did catch that the translation was wanting some of the nuance and intonation provided by the imaginero.

My Boy

"Ok, yeah, you're knitting, and that's very nice.  But you really need to understand that it's time to THROW THE BALL."

Fall in the Foothills

Being in the presence of great and ancient natural beauty is like being kicked in the gut by the greatest kung fu artist in the world. 

I was feeling low-energy and out of sorts yesterday, but it was a glorious autumn day, so Theo and I went for a drive out east, farther into the foothills.  I discovered that the road goes on for just ten miles or so before it starts to rapidly gain altitude. There is a pass with a ski area at the top, then you come to the shores of Odell Lake.  At just under 5000', and 5 miles wide, it feels like a sea at the very top of the world.  I've never been to any of the great Cascade lakes, although I've always wanted to see Crater Lake, and Waldo Lake is apparently just about the same distance from me as Odell, or a bit closer.  Anyway, the parks are all closed due to the government shutdown, so we just stopped at viewpoints along the way.  I was in no shape for hiking, so it all worked out.  We found one viewpoint that had easy access to the lakeshore, so Theo and I went down, and Theo had a little swim.  It was only about 70 degrees outside, and he doesn't want to swim too much unless it's really hot out, so he just dove in after sticks and had a grand time.  So did I - it's all about making the dog happy, right?

The weekend was otherwise devoted to scouring fleeces.  I've gotten through two 2.5 lb fleeces - one Icelandic and one Shetland from my favorite Shetland farm, Whistlestop Farm.  I did some carding, and listed some new batts and natural wool locks on Etsy.  I'm also working on spinning some sportweight sock yarn from Robin's fleece so that I may have a chance at actually knitting some warm socks by the time that it gets really cold.  I've been spinning on my favorite wheel, snuggled up with hot cocoa, sitting on my fancy couch in my little cottage while the rain drenches the forest.  Perfect!

I spun some samples of the two fleeces.  The Shetland has sound tips, unlike most tippy Shetlands I've processed, so I don't have to cut or pull off the tips before spinning.  I just pulled a fat lock into a rough approximation of top, and spun it up, tip and all.  It made a beautiful dark brown yarn with a subtle heathered effect due to the lighter tips, and it was nice and soft, very even and smooth, with decent elasticity, even though this isn't the crimpiest Shetland ever.  I also separated the tog and thel of the Icelandic and spun a nice sample of bright white laceweight thel yarn.  It was very pretty and decently soft, with good structure and a light halo.  There's basically no crimp to speak of, so it took a good amount of twist and had more drape and softness than elasticity.  I would be inclined to use this in a lace project if I'm separating the coats.  What I actually have in mind is a wild-looking felting project...


These fleeces represent part of a huge backlog of EVERYTHING in my life from the last year of near-constant debilitating illness and depression.  I have two more Shetlands, a Corriedale X lamb, a Rambouillet X Cheviot, a llama, and two Jacobs from the past year.  I kept accumulating with the idea that I would feel better and just plow right through them, sell half of each and spin the rest, but it took far longer than I could have imagined.  Now I really am plowing through them, and I'm glad to have them, even if I'm a bit intimidated by the prospect of pounds upon pounds of greasy wool calling out to be washed!  I've definitely gathered an impressive stash in the six years or so since I started spinning, and I'm always grateful for it, but it's kind of crazy for me to have so much when, up until now, I've had so little time to devote to using it.  I'm also a skilled but dreadfully slow knitter, and what I really need is to find a spinning student who is a skilled and astonishingly fast knitter who will trade knitting services for spinning instruction.  I need some socks!

If you hear of such a person, let me know...

October! The magic time!

October is my favorite month, my magic time, a time of settling into great change and of becoming more fully myself.  It's an amazingly gorgeous, perfect fall day in my valley.  I decided to take a slow day, and I drove to school in the afternoon (I had only one class at 2 PM due to my other prof having to go to a conference) so that Theo and I could have a slow, happy, productive day.  I still have much to do to get my things organized after moving the last load down - remember, I came home late, sick, in a typhoon, and with the first day of school starting the next morning!  Things have just had to sit until I have time.  We came into Eugene to get me to class, and then to pick up some bins for organizing my wool, which is simply EVERYWHERE right now, and I can't stand it!  We also took the time to get him out running around on the ridge, which is beyond beautiful with the autumn leaves and golden light of fall.  There's a pumpkin on the porch, and I fully intend on decorating for Halloween/All-souls/All-saints even if it's just me and the critters!  I have my own dead to honor, even if alone.

Last night I came home as the daylight was waning, and a big young buck was grazing in the lawn.  I'm always astonished by how large the deer are here, and yet how light.  He watched me pull in, then sprang up and bounded across the road, up the hill, and out of sight among the cedars.

Having Theo here with me is great, but my life feels completely different with my kitty, Celia, sleeping next to me.  Theo isn't very cuddly, but Cece is all love.  I don't feel lonely anymore.

School is great.  I didn't realize before how much folklore incorporates material culture, and that makes it even more relevant for my interests.  I'm wondering if I can get away with exploring culturally-specific breeds of domestic animals as folklore... I would love to do a folklore project on the Navajo Churro.  I'm also in an upper-level Spanish class, scared to death, but it's SO GOOD for me to be uncomfortable, so I can't complain!

The newly-repaired flyers for the Frank Fell/Mayville wheel and the little parlor wheel are great, and I've finally gotten a little bit of spinning done on those wheels.  Both are lovely, although I will always be partial to that Mayville wheel.  The wee sample yarn on the top photo was spun on the Vezina CPW and plied on the Fell.

All the fiber in this post is on Etsy, by the way.  Happy Spinning, and Happy October!

OFFF and a Typhoon

The best laid plans and all that...

My intention was to leave OFFF around noon, go back to the old house, pack another load, then speed off to the cottage with plenty of time to beat the worst of the storm.  Instead, I left at night and drove through the heart of it, with huge gusts threatening to blow me right off the road.

The reason for my lateness was so excellent, I can't possibly have any regrets.  I managed to get a spot in Diana Cason's workshop on rabbit health and medical emergencies.  What a great workshop!  I got at least double my $50 in information, and it was so great to be able to pick the brain of such a knowledgeable veteran of rabbit husbandry.  Diana is frank, intelligent, personable, and an all-around excellent teacher.

I'm stressing out a bit about how I will manage to build a new rabbitry on my non-existent budget.  The bun-buns are still in Portland, which bothers me more than a little.  I want to get them all set up so that I can be more aware of their daily health and well-being.  It feels terribly frustrating to still be in transition.  That is, it's frustrating and stressful, but I can't even believe how minute those emotions feel after the way I've felt for the past couple of years.  They're just blips at this point.

I had my first class today - nothing remarkable - just the intro session with no content.  I'm starting to realize that this life is real...

Finally, and most importantly, this morning I drove through a rainbow.  The road through the forest is elevated above a drained (dammed) river valley for a few miles, and there was that magic combination of rain and sunshine that births a rainbow.  The rainbow was in the river valley, below the level of the road except for a bit of the top of the arch, and I drove right through it!  I've never seen a rainbow from its own level before.  A few minutes later there was another one, but the trees broke it up before the road reached it.

If you live in most of this country, it's hard to internalize in a serious and personal way how precious and how endangered the American West really is.  The forest I live in is where the famous battle occurred between loggers and environmentalists over the Spotted Owl, but that is not a thing of the past.  I know activists today who do "forest work", and big trucks full of logs drive by my home several times an hour all day long.  I pass by a huge dam and the massive lake it creates, as well as the drained river valley, every time I drive to Eugene.  I don't understand how anyone can see this land and not want to protect it, and it DOES feel personal and serious to me.  It never did when I just saw photos or films of this place.  It was hard to believe that it was real and that it still exists alongside the modern human world.  But it IS here, so real.  How will we keep it?

Oregon Flock and Fiber

I went to OFFF today, and the weather was CRAZY!  The wind was something else, making it scary to drive, and the vendors had much trouble with their tents.  I tried to watch some of the sheep judging, and it was too hard to deal with the sideways blowing rain and all of the mulch from the ring blowing in my face. I love the wind, though, and it was still warm enough for a light sweater.

It seems that, despite my best intentions, I never get much spinning done at these festivals.  I mostly shopped for supplies for my Etsy shop, somehow stumbled into buying yet more raw wool (I just fell, and when I got back up there was all this wool - I don't know what happened!), and met lots of animals.  I don't think that I will ever get over my love for Shetland sheep.  Is there a more beautiful animal???  Maybe a fennec fox?  But seriously, they are the most beautiful sheep, with their tiny, delicate legs and wild, shaggy coats, and the massive curling horns on the rams.  Also, I've met many a Shetland ram who begs for chin skritches, and I indulged a couple of them who got so into it that they fell asleep in bliss.  Also also also, I know a lady who shears sheep, and she told me that her friend turned a little baby stroller into a shearing chair because the Shetlands were too adorably tiny to fit in a normal shearing chair AND she left the baby pink canopy on it.  Hello! So yeah, one of the great dreams of my life is to have a tiny flock of tiny Shetland sheep. And a livestock guardian dog, like a Great Pyrenees.  And...and...and....

Whew!

I bought three fleeces, all gorgeous, and all very different from one another:

First up is a grey and black stunner from Wolf Ridge Icelandics.  They are such nice folks!  I spent a chunk of time at their booth last year, and they remembered me.  They'll teach you how to crochet roving rugs if you ask.

This one is a Corriedale cross lamb from Critter Hollar Ranch in Yamhill, OR.  They were sharing a booth with Bide-a-wee Farm, who breeds the best Jacobs and some lovely Churros.  They're in Newberg.

Finally, here's the one I've been waiting for these last couple of months - the long-promised Rambouillet X Cheviot from Two Roans Ranch in Maupin, OR.  Corrine met me at the show and let me pick out a fleece.  I'm waiting with bated breath to find out if she'll be able to sell me the fleece off a churro ram she brought to the show - it's the color of rich caramel on the outside and deep mocha underneath, and long like you would not believe!  I wish I had taken a photo, but photos were limited by the extremely dark and cloudy sky.  It's hellish hard in the Pacific NW to take any photos in natural light from September through June!

(The parking lot fleece sale is tomorrow.  Hold me!)

All in all, it was a great day of petting sheep and bunnies, sticking my hands in good, raw fleece and taking in that sheepy smell, and dedicating my time to what I love among the rain and the dear, high wind.  More tomorrow when the festival wraps up.

More fibers at Gossamer

I have been working my tail off preparing fibers and stitch markers for the shop! Rose at Gossamer took everything I brought her, which is great, because I don't know when I'll be in Portland next.  The next round is all Etsy. For now, if you want to check out my work in person, visit Gossamer in Portland.  She has a large stock of batts, angora fiber, wool locks on small packs for felting or blending, stitch markers, and some hand-pulled striped merino silk roving.

The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is tomorrow and Sunday, and I will be picking up a fleece or two from Corrine at Two Roans Ranch similar to the one from Robin that I featured a while ago.  Photos to follow, I'm sure...