Catching Up

Hello Dear Friends: the long silence does not mean that I have floated away like so many unfortunate Canadians due to flooding. I am here, just busy being a crafty hermit.
First off, I have a new wheel! Yes. And no, I do not need another wheel. That's not the point. It is a tool, and like most tools, there are specialty ones. And that's what this is.

This is a Canadian Production Wheel, probably made by Mr. L.S. Laurence of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, between 1830-1850. Isn't it lovely? This wheel has a grand 30.5" diameter wheel and is designed to spin a very thin wool, very fast, hence the "production" name. I cleaned and conditioned the wood, made two temporary pegs and put leather shims in at the axle, and it spins like a dream. My resulting singles are very fine indeed.

The only fibre I have here in any quantity is a neppy Polwarth. It spins up nicely on this wheel but has lumps. There are way too many nepps to stop and remove them. This fibre was bought decades ago when I intended to learn how to spindle spin. Today I would not buy this poor preparation. oh well. I will use it up.

What else is new? guess what? I am finally a published author! YES!!! Dance the Happy Dance with me.

Do I look proud or what?

The cover. Not what I expected or was shown in the past, but there it is.

Please rush to your Chapters store, Amazon, etc. and buy it! You will make me rich beyond my imaginings. Right. It truly feels wonderful to have this out there and is another thing to tick off my life's To Do list.

Back to the studio...

 

 Traditional Lithuanian socks, in non-traditional colours. I love these socks but I may have to frame them, since I live pretty much sock-free now as a Snowbird.

Here is a pretty cowl neck with sequins. It is being blocked out here. I should slip over the shoulders for a particularly warm feeling.

 

This is a rectangular shawl that coverts to a shrug that converts to a cardigan that .....

 

Since this photo was taken the edging around the outside of this poncho is on. The ends are all sewn in as well. I simply have to decide on a neck treatment and do it. It's been to hot to think about this for awhile.

 

And to help with fighting the heat, we've built a small deck on the old road bed down by the lake. The first visitor was this little fella, who may be a Grey Tree Frog.

He is not very grey on top, but then I've learned that this is a frog that changes colour to blend in with its environment. Very cool.

Live, learn , laugh.... this is what I am up to.