Last minute Gold, sorta like the Canadian Men’s Hockey team.  Himself apologizes (in true Canadian fashion) apparently the tie goal was his fault for watching the last 2 minutes of the game.  He patriotically took one for the team and turned off the game for the overtime period, allowing the win.

I finished my socks in time.  Photographic proof – Olympic Flame is still burning and completed socks are on my feet.  Cat Bordhi’s Sky Sockitecture master pattern using my Forest Analogy Fractal sock yarn.  Lots went wrong – broken spinning wheel, wrong fibre, broken knitting needle, do-overs on the first toe and second heel, but I plowed through it and now my feet are toasty.

I’m enjoying the closing ceremonies as I type.  Canadians have a special kind of national pride that allows us to make such fun of ourselves (with inflatable mounties, moose and beaver, no less) and not feel the least bit foolish.  We can even make a big oops into a “design feature” – l loved the opening with the fixing of the cauldron and Catriona Le May Doan getting to light the flame after all.  I hope the world has learned more about us.  At the very least they’ve figured out that we don’t live in igloos, but we know how to make snow when it counts (volunteers 1 Cypress Mountain weather 0).

Well, at least it’s well on the run.  The time off achieved what I needed, control over something, anything, in this case the common areas of the house – kitchen, dining, family room and the “pool room” where we can now actually play pool!  There are still a few hotspots, and a few of Thing Tall’s things are still under the pool table, but all in all I’m quite pleased with myself.  My friend Karin was very surprised and proud of me when she came for Jam Night.  The bedrooms, computer room, office and fibre space are a bit scary, but those I think I can cope with a bit at a time.  The concentrated time spent on this first chunk has given me a sense of accomplishment that will hopefully keep me going in small bites of time that won’t show quite so much progress for a while.

Thing Tall played for the entire session (more than can be said for his mother, who gave up on her guitar halfway through the first piece…).  He does really look like a bass player – he stands dead still with a very intent look on his face:

That’s his new (to him, he got it used) Epiphone Violin Bass.  He’ll be paying that off by helping to renovate the shop.  There are now almost 2 guitars per person in the house.  Thing Tall has 3 Basses, I have an old classical acoustic, Himself has 2 electric guitars and there’s a steel string acoustic originally bought for Thing Tall but which no one claims at the moment.

In Olympic news, I think my Olympic knitting is cursed.  I finished the yarn I was intending to use late on Saturday night, but it wasn’t right at all and there wasn’t enough.  Another program change to some Fractal yarn I had.  The sock itself went fairly well this week and I like Cat Bordhi’s “sockitecture”.  Then, yesterday I sat down to knit for a few minutes and found that I had broken the Harmony Knitpicks needle I was knitting with.  I really like the feel of these needles, but they keep breaking at the metal sleeve which attaches the wood needle to the cable.  I couldn’t find my Addi in the same size so I’m stuck using an old Aero needle, the cable is stiff which makes magic looping a tad less magic.  Despite that, by 3:30 this afternoon:

It’s bedtime now, but I’m done except the toe grafting.  Which means I’m half done at the halfway point of the games.  Which means I might just finish in time.

Yesterday I taught “Painting Roving for Predictable Yarns” at the Ottawa Valley Weaver’s and Spinner’s Resource Centre.  It’s a 1 day workshop in handpainting rovings that will spin into something other than mud or clown vomit.  My goal is to teach how to plan and execute a multicoloured roving that will spin into a beautiful yarn that can then be made into a beautiful finished object.  Yes plan, I know many artists think that’s a nasty word, but I’m not really an artist, I’m an artisan, meaning I have solid technical skills in my craft that allow me to create things that are both beautiful and functional.  Later this week I’ll post about why I think that planning is important, but for now, let me show the fun we had yesterday.

Things always start out neat and tidy…

After I got through all the information about the washfast acid dyes, equipment, etc and talked about the factors that influence how the finished yarns and objects will look the students started planning their rovings.  Each student had 4 60g skeins of roving to dye, it was up to them whether they made all different or some the same.  I had neglected to mention that planning for painting requires arithmetic…  Once we got that over with it was time to have fun with colours:

Measuring out the Dye Solutions

Putting the Dyes on the Fibre

Smooshing to Distribute the Dye

Painted and Ready for Heat

Microwaving to Set the Dye

NB:  this is an elderly “free to a good home” microwave I was lucky enough to find for the guild to use for dyeing.  It’s labelled “not for food”.  We have another one for lunches.

By the time everyone was finished painting and heat setting it was time to go home.  The rovings need to cool before rinsing so most of the students took theirs home to rinse and dry.  Hopefully they will bring them to the Guild meeting tomorrow night so I can take some pictures of the finished product.  We (that would include the intrepid instructor) learned quite a lot about colour mixing.  Not all the colours came out quite as planned.  There may be a little bit of overdyeing on some to get closer to what we were expecting. Many of the colours looked very, very different before and after heating.  We also learned that it is important to pay careful attention when mixing the painting solutions.  One student wondered why her lavender looked so very red.  It turned out we had forgotten to add the blue!!  Amazingly, it was an easy fix to add the right amount of blue to a little bit of water, then spread and smoosh it into the stripe that was supposed to be lavender.

It was a long day, but we all had fun.  I can’t wait to see what yarns result…  Stay tuned for follow up.

As much as I appreciate Canada Post’s patronage of Himself, I’m none too thrilled that they raised postal rates the day the stamp came out.  Having an Etsy store means shipping to customers, and that means fathoming Canada Post’s shipping rates.  The on-line rate calculator was most helpful as I tried different shapes – the rates are based on both volume and weight, so if you can reduce the volume you can reduce the shipping price. In the process I discovered that if you can make the item flat enough to fit in a large envelope such that it is less than 2cm thick you reduce the price considerably – like about 75%!

Roving compresses quite a bit without coming to harm, so I tried putting it in a ziplock bag and squeezing all the air out.  This made it quite flat and thin…but only for a little while.  At this point, I learned something new – zipper bags breathe.  This would be why things don’t keep in the freezer as well as I think they should and why, by the time I got to the post office the envelope no longer qualified as an “oversize letter”.  Back to the drawing board.

Thinking about it, I remembered seeing vacuum sealers at Costco.  Nana and I had considered buying one a while ago for improving storage in the freezer.  I stopped considering and went and bought one.  Thus, I present, flat packing for roving:

Roving to be shipped

Rovings in the Vacuum Bag

Flat as a Pancake

Well, at least flat enough to ship as an oversize letter once inserted into a large envelope.  The recipient reported that the roving arrived none the worse for its squashing.  I’m pleased because it allowed me to reduce the shipping rate a little bit.  The vacuum bag material costs more than zipper bags, but it’s worth it, both in reduced shipping cost and protection of the contents.  As an added bonus, food should keep better in the freezer now.

BTW if you are buying the vacuum sealer and/or vacuum bag rolls, the best price is definitely at Costco.

Thing Small went to Toronto over New Year’s to visit with my sister, Tina (of the comments), and my friend Christina (who will likely soon join in the comments).  As she is still too young to take the train unaccompanied she had to be fetched.  Usually this is a fairly boring prospect – several hours of driving the 416 and the 401.  However, this time, Jan and Christine (of the comments) agreed to come along for the ride.  They were bribed with the prospect of meeting Tina and Thing Small in Picton, a small town in Prince Edward County with many fine attractions to commend it to friends like mine.  Specifically, Waupoos Winery, The County Cider Company and Rose Haven Farm Store. Thus it was that we set off on the Saturday morning, brand new GPS in hand (the mount was in Himself’s car) on an “expotition”.

I had googled for directions, but as we passed Kingston, I thought there must be a better way to get to the winery and cidery so we asked our friendly GPS.  The GPS speaks in a calm, matter of fact, British accent which proved to be a “good thing”.  As we were following her directions it occurred to me that she was sending us via the Glenora Ferry and I began to wonder if it ran in the winter.  I also began to wonder how Jan was going to feel about the Ferry.  She’s none too fond of water and finds bridges a little nerve wracking.  I wisely kept my ponderings to myself until Jan saw the sign that said “Road Ends in 400m”.  She seemed to find this somewhat alarming.  And then the GPS piped up “Board Ferry in 350m”.  “Ferry, what ferry!?!” burst out of the back seat.  Luck was on my side this time, the ferry was waiting for us and the nice ferryman waved us on board before Jan had time to think about it.  A very nice dump truck pulled in behind us, effectively preventing escape.  Jan began to make dents in the backseat, Christine offered to hold her hand.  I, sensitive and caring friend that I am, began to take pictures.

Jan seemed rather surprised, pleasantly though, that we survived the 3 minute crossing.  Christine and I found the GPS’s depiction of the crossing quite hysterically funny as it showed the car floating across the water, Jan found it more discomfiting than funny until we were back on dry land.

The GPS, having got us this far, then rather let us down.  It sent us to the cidery from above rather than below, which would have put us on a “seasonal road, passenger cars not recommended”.  Even with Blizzak’s I didn’t think my little Golf would appreciate the attempt.  With a little “deja vu” navigating and some help from the GPS which kept “recalculating” as I ignored her instructions, we made it to Waupoos just as they opened.  I got some lovely wines 2 of which Himself, Nana and I enjoyed when I got home – 2006 Geisenheim (just off-dry white) and 2008 Pearl Noir (a blended red).  Regrettably, the Cidery was closed.  Onward then, to Picton and Rose Haven Farm Store – yarn, fibre and books, just the way we like it.  Linda has several brands not available in Ottawa stores, so we spent a good hour browsing about.  My stash, however is already out of control, so I wasn’t really in a buying mood.  In the end, I bought some local shetland wool sock yarn for Heidi and a Knitter’s magazine with an intarsia technique I hadn’t seen before.  We then met Thing Small, Tina and Christina for lunch and then browsed a small gift/decor store that we’d all noticed.  I got a wall hanging that says “courage is not the absence of fear or despair but the strength to conquer them”.  I have a feeling I’m going to need to remember that this year.

We then headed home, tired but pleased with our “expotition”.  Both Jan and Christine asked “can we do it again, huh, huh, please?”  There are more fibre places and many more wineries, two cheese factories, and lots of other neat places to recommend the County.  We’ll go back in the Spring or Summer, I think.

Just like jumping in the River in May (or even August now that I am old and wimpy) working up the courage to really do this was the worst part.  In the last while my dear friends, both old and new, have conspired to “enable” me to get on with it – if by “enable” you mean “got together to provide a hearty shove over the cliff”.  The Hilltop Fibre Worker was always just a small thing I did as I felt like it.  Now, it will have a place in my schedule.  Rats, that means I’ll have to stop <insert housekeeping chore of choice here>.

I spent some time dyeing fibre this past week, and quite a bit of time setting up the etsy shop.  Go take a peek , and tell me what you think.  Now I will also have to learn to do some bookkeeping – have to do that for Himself’s new project anyway.  I’ll also need to come up with new ways to keep records of the colourways so I can refer to them later.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I sold the first thing I listed in under 3 hours.

Thanks again for the encouragement, you know who you are and you are awesome.

P.S. If anyone complains of earworm caused by that title, know that I will know you to be, in Thing Tall’s words, “really old” (just like me).

Last year started out fairly ordinary.  It ended up anything but.  And, maybe for the first time, I’m quite okay with that.  I have awesome friends and really great family.  I mean, how many people have friends who will celebrate your birthday by helping you dig out and reorganize your fibrespace?  I did bribe them with cake and risotto, but I’m not sure it was necessary.  My friends have listened to me laugh, cry, rant, cajole, and even occasionally scold and they still return my calls.

Last year Himself worked in a fairly ordinary high tech job.  This year, he will quit that job, open and new business and go back to school all at the same time.  This is remarkably scary, but I have faith in him.  He has the determination, skill and energy to make it happen and I am proud of him for going for it.  I am going to learn to do bookkeeping. This gives me the willies, but I can do it (it may require much support from the above mentionned friends and the odd dram of single malt…).  We will live on just my income for a while, but I know we can do it if we work together.

Last year, my fibrework was solely for my own amusement.  I taught because I enjoy it a lot (also, every workshop earns me a trip to the Shawarma for garlic potatoes).  I sold the odd bit of fibre and other supplies.  I ended the year about even, with my fibre work paying for itself, but not more.  This year, my fibrework will try to add to our family’s income.  Friends have had a lot to do with that and continue to bless me with encouragement, advice and practical support.

Last year, my children grew in many ways.  Thing Tall became Thing Tall, growing at least 6 inches, but he’s grown in other ways, too.  He has stepped up to the challenge of High School with enthusiasm and effort and I am proud of him.  Others seem to be noticing it too, I am thankful for their support.  Thing Small moved from her small elementary school to Middle School.  She has made new friends and risen to new challenges and I’m proud of her.

My FIL’s favourite saying is “what goes around, comes around”.  I shall make sure that what I put out into the world is what I want back from it.  And so, I shall start this year as I mean to go on, grateful for my many blessings and willing to share them.

I mentioned in the fractal colourway post that some of my dyes are behaving strangely.  They are setting properly, it’s just that I can’t see the colour properly until they are cooked.  I thought I’d use them up on something that isn’t repeatable anyway.  I need fibre for spindle kits and yarn for the next Intro to Rigid Heddle weaving course, so I thought I’d have a dump and pray session.  Normally, I obsessively measure everything – “dump and pray” takes me rather out of my comfort zone, but it’s good for me, as I usually learn something.  I’m also learning to photograph as I go along, so I thought I’d share what happened:

Green pan before cooking

Green pan after cooking

Just a little different, eh?  The blue deigned to show up only after heating.  It’s lovely and I’m happy with it, it just wasn’t wysiwyg (those old enough will remember the joy of wysiwyg when it became a feature of WordStar – the youngins among you may not remember a time before “what you see is what you get”).

The same happened with the red in the purple pan:

Purple pan before cooking

Purple pan after cooking

A little note on method:

I put just enough warm water in the pans to cover the fibre.  In this case, there are 2 50g skeins of corridale roving and 2 113g skeins of Brigg’s and Little Regal yarn.  I put 5mL of citric acid crystal per 100g of fibre in the water and stir.  Then I add the fibre and let it soak while I fret over which dyes to use.  When I’ve psyched myself up I start dumping dye on the fibre in whatever pattern appeals to me.  I almost always only use 2 primary colours – that way I can’t end up with mud no matter what happens.  If I want a greyed colour I will add the 3rd primary in such a way that it blends thoroughly.  I poke at the fibre to make the colours mix together.  When I’m happy with what I’ve got I put the pans in the oven and turn it on to 325degF.  When it reaches temperature I turn it back to 210degF for about an hour.  Then I check to see that the dye has exhausted.  If it has I turn off the oven and leave everything to cool for as long as I can stand.  Just for you, I left them overnight this time so that I could take the “after” pictures.  Then I rinse with warm water and spin out in the washer.  My front loader works fine for this, I’m not sure where they got the bad rep.  The skeins look a little scary when they come out, but they are a lot drier.

I just find the tie point, sort things out there and then give the skein a good snap, whereupon it usually untangles nicely.

These will weave into really nice random plaids, interesting even in plain weave. I find the fibre also fluffs up nicely when given a spin dry, which means smoother drafting when spinning.

In other news Thing Small went to the allergist today.  She has had food and environmental allergies and asthma since she was little, all of which have been gradually lessening as she has grown.  We did a “milk challenge” today with milk baked into a muffin.  No reaction.  This will make her life SO much easier and I’ll worry a lot less.  She has never had a really severe reaction, but it’s always possible, so knowing that this is better is a big relief.  Also lots less hassle when she goes out.  She still can’t have cheese, yogurt and fluid milk, but, since she’s never had them anyway it’s not a big deal.  Maybe next time she’ll be able to tolerate those.  He also said he thinks the asthma is gone.  Small blessings sometimes feel big.  Quite the Christmas present.

Several of my friends have been pestering me to start blogging for quite some time now.  In particular, Christine, and Heather want to see me blog, but for different reasons.  Heather was kind enough to include my fibre in the December “Canadian Fibre Box”, but that meant finding a place on the web for people to find me in case they like it and want more.  The final straw was Heidi, who, almost immediately on meeting her, first asked “Do you have a blog?” and then said “Since you don’t, I will build one for you”.  All I have to do is teach Heidi how to play with fibre (and I would have done that anyway (shh, don’t tell her that)).

So, here I am and I feel I ought to introduce myself:

My name is Elizabeth and I am a fibre pusher.  Also an unrepentant fibre addict.  I knit, spin, dye, weave and generally make mischief with fibres.  I teach all these things at the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild.  I’m also a wife, mother of 2, an SLP (Speech/Language Pathologist), a choir member, a bread baker and a whole lot of other things you’ll no doubt hear about along the way.  Himself is currently an engineer, but is getting ready to make a big career change into a food related business.  At present the plan is to open a butcher shop, take the Grand Diplome at the Cordon Bleu and then open a restaurant.  Thing Tall, our 14 year old boy, is in grade 9.  He plays electric bass and video games, thankfully he has recently discovered the joy of snow shoveling for fun and profit.  Thing Small, our 11 year old girl, is in grade 6.  She is a social butterfly who loves being active.  Rags, our standard poodle, shares her time between our house and my parents’ (Nana and Grinch) house up the street.  A betta fish (Cookie) and a mystery snail (Speedi GonSnailez) round out the menagerie.

This blog will be about my adventures in fibre, food, family and friends.  This next year will be nothing if not eventful, thanks for coming along for the ride.