Foothills Folly

I actually put some effort into the framing this week; what in the world got into me! I got the four pieces that needed the finicky gold fillet on the mats done; the mirror that didn’t quite fit the frame (with the help of a razor blade, it did); the little poster; the re-do that had a gold fleck in it; and then, as usual, H (my worker and wood man), came through with great results and got the maple frames done for JJ (think johns and famous) and the other person getting maple, and the floater frames and the ones I worked on. Plus whatever else we did.

And we gabbed with the artists who come in; we talked politics and listened to the republican senator from Oklahoma on c-span put down global warming (bah humbug to him). We had a typical work week; never got the trash to the transfer station; the UPS fellow came late and talked long–(but we still miss Joe!); and we tried to decipher exactly how David Hockney painted these: landscapes that are where H wants to go with his paintings; me, I am headed backward in mine to the end of the 19th century!

Here is one of my paintings; of the lake behind my home; far enough away so that I can’t see it, but occasionally I see the mist rising from it.

H patiently listened to me gab about sheep, wool, and Rhinebeck; I really tried to understand what he and David Hockney are trying to do with color, I really did.

This is my backyard view, this afternoon. A storm around us; overcast; but still so much green for the last bit of October. (I need to trim some of these shrubs so as to not lose my view of the mountain; but I have to do it on a weekend cause they aren’t really on my property.)

I have tried to get rid of the sumac in my yard, but here it is:

The red and the bit of yellow resemble, in a far-reaching way, the roving we used in the spinning workshop at Rhinebeck on Friday. Margaret Heathman was our leader, and she was soooo encouraging. We were given dyed roving to spin and ply five ways:

On the left is a strip of the roving; on the right it is plied with a red; the ones in the middle are single plied, plied from the inside and the outside of a center pull ball, two strands hopefully spun in a similar thickness and length and plied together, and some that is Navaho plied. That was the name of the workshop: one painted roving prepared five ways.

I was happy to be shown Navaho plying, and did some more at home but I still need a lot of practice, actually I s**k at it. But the relaxed day of spinning and plying was perfect for honing my hardly existent skills on the wheel; I hope they have spinning classes next year!

I am just now looking for a hat pattern to knit, using these yarns. A rolled brim one, I think.

I returned today, armed with some more cash, but resisted these oh-so-clever wheels, by The Merlin Tree, so easy to carry, so durable, so cute! I didn’t take his card, but Saturday he remarked how he had the least expensive wheels at the festival, and just down the aisle in building A were the most expensive!

This wheel is made by Tom Golding, I hope I have the name right (I think I do now as Lunassa recognized herself spinning and helped me out here, thanks!)– so lovely it belongs in a museum! I didn’t try it; too unsure of my abilities to recognize greatness, or even appreciate it. But what a wheel!

This next wheel was in with the The Merlin Tree’s Hitchhiker’s; an antique made in Connecticut, my state, but as I looked at the old wheels here and there around the festival, I realize I don’t have the patience for the old and somewhat archaic. A good lesson for me to learn!

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I actually got to the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival early-ish, so the crowds were not yet thick and impenetrable:

(This was  Ellen’s 1/2 pint farm.)

I watched some judging; they all looked good to me. I am a novice at identifying animals, but these were goats:

The 12 noon gathering was fun; here is our Ravelry leader, Jess, oohing and aahing at a baby. Bloggers tried to find squares; and we all pretty much blocked traffic.

As I left that little knoll, I saw Stephanie’s sweater, and had to be a bit dorky and put my camera in her face. She was off to get some wool. Which is what I did, though I restrained myself from buying a fleece, and loaded up with various rovings, natural and dyed,

from various types of sheep and other fibery creatures. I had a blast, in my quiet old-timer’s way, and am headed back tomorrow. This was the very thinned out crowd heading home, with me right behind them:

I really really like the patterns of Jane Thornley, of Nova Scotia. They are almost freeform, and allow one to choose yarns and colorways and be a bit adventurous. She sees patterns of colors and textures in nature and is able to translate them into knitted fabric. I am enraptured by them. I am working on the Medici Coat, only I hope to make it a vest. This is the first 6 inches or so:

And here I have added more rows; neat how my Harmony cable cord matches!

I hope to have this done, with collar, for Rhinebeck. Should be doable. I ordered a heap of yarns from EBay to work on this; some have not yet arrived, but the lichen Colinette Giotto from England arrived so I began and am liking it, although I think wearing it I will look like a piece of upholstered furniture!

I am going to be a participant, a square even, both days– and I don’t even know how to get the image in my sidebar. What kind of a blogger is that? The link is here.

Look for me, I’ll look for you.

I visited this local alpaca farm on Sunday; a lovely tranquil spot with delightful animals, yarn, knitted goods, a sculpture show, and fiber. Here are two lovelys:

And these fellas were enjoying the warm day:

I’ve known the owner a bit for many years, but never visited before. She also spins, but is new at it, and the woman I bought my wheel from was coming to demo that afternoon — tho I couldn’t stay. I still have some lessons due me, but I haven’t learned enough yet to know what I need to know!

I did buy two bags of washed alpaca:

This silvery gray, and one a more natural color that didn’t photograph well. She has lots of unwashed fleece, which at some point I’ll see about, but I bought the two bags I got. It was her open house day, after all.

My next adventure was collecting pokeweed berries for dyeing some of the roving I have:

I had gotten a quart’s worth from my own yard, and found a terrific source by driving around. A long stretch at the edge of a mowed meadow, no fence. So I scavanged a bucket’s worth. Tonight I’ll get the dyepot bubbling!