Meanderings of a Mermaid

 The time is just racing by and things are going well at the lake. Some renovations and spring cleaning happened and we've had family visiting. That's a glorious thing. I will be getting back to my crafts soon. One of the things I am trying to learn are a few different pick up band weaving techniques. This one is called horizontal stripe pick up.  Also I need to get back to his exploration of Leno lace.  This is probably the simplest form, called 1x1. I have a lot to learn about Leno lace.  And here is my basic evening knitting project. It will be a scarf for BS. It is merino sock yarn and the stitch is called Hunter's Stitch. Athe some point this crazy heat has to break, right? This sunrise happened a week ago. I have edited the photo to intensify the colour. But not by much. What a palette,eh? 

 Well on the eve of leaving for Home North I am reflecting on some differences between the two homelands. Where we live in Ontario there is possible more water than there is land. We live in the thick boreal forest, very much a wilderness area. And not too far east of us is Lake Superior, the largest lake in the world. Did you know that a lunar tide can be measured on this lake? Where we live in Texas has some small towns everywhere. And it is a livestock producing agricultural area. There are a few rivers in the region. Of particular interest is a comparison of the size of Texas and Ontario. In terms of area: Texas is 268,820 sq miles or 696,241 sq km. Ontario has Texas beat easily with 415,598 sq miles or 1.08 million sq km. Sigi loved both homes as we do too. A bouquet of gratitude for the differences between the two places and that they provide such good homes for us. 

Picking the time to go north is a tough one when you are a snowbird. We have no family, no schedules, and just one deadline. The latter is imposed by government and applies to visitors. And so we have to consider weather for the drive and weather for the last few kilometres in to camp. I am so eager to get there and find the tranquility and beauty my soul needs. Talk to you in a few days.

How can it still be winter? There was no snow this time around and winter was very mild. And except for last week, no rain either. So much for El Nino. Wildflowers are carpeting the land. But I have been keeping busy with my crafts and my teaching.  The new window is installed at the Fibernaculum. This is a renovated cistern building. I am now using it for fiber preparation and dyeing. The window frame and trim is painted. There are even pretty curtains on the inside. A good thrift store find were these heavy duty curtains. The stack of fleeces has piled up higher in the Fibernaculum,  Oh boy. I could be busy a long time here. Underway is a blue baby blanket. I am using acrylics to make a simple patchwork style blanket. I like how the very easy cable looks like links in a chain. This is a portion of the last fabric that came off Gintaras, my large loom in The Mermaid Lounge. It is an eight shaft twill. I used a thin black cotton warp that caus...

 I am delighted to introduce the newest wheel in my studio. This is a Spin-well.  Made in Sifton, Manitoba, Canada, the wheels were first made in the 1930s and continued to be made for some years.  There are three original bobbins plus the clamp on lazy kate plus an orifice hook. You can see the metal flyer. I think even this drive band is original. I cleaned up the wheel and bobbins with Murphy's Oil Soap today and the wheel spins very well indeed. The name is apt. The wide treadle is very comfortable and I can work it with either foot or with both. There is a very soft "ka-chunk" as the axle makes a revolution. The original owner was Ruth Pierce of Blessing, Texas. I know that she was a spinner and a weaver. At an estate sale in Fredericksburg, TX  af few years back I purchased a whole lot of the things from her weaving studio. At that time I did not need any more wheels. On that day, a friend of mine, M.S. purchased this wheel. Yesterday ...

The old cistern building is a very solid stone structure with one door and one window opening. It no longer has a tank on top of the roof but we go up there to drink beer and gaze at the Back Forty. I have just used the space to store extra bicycles and camping gear and such. It was time to regain that as useful space. I am converting it to a fibre preparation workshop. I gave it the name Fibernaculum . This week I read a comment on Ravelry where the poster said something about "fibernating". I thought that was an excellent expression and well describes what I do all winter. Fibernate = Hibernate. Then I was thinking about a name for my new workspace. Because the place an animal holes up for hibernation is called a hibernaculum, I am calling my space the Fibernaculum.  So, inside and to the right is the main storage area. Some totes contain fiber dyeing supplies. Other totes contain fleeces or even fibre ready for blending.  On the left side I put togeth...

 First I need to show you what has taken up a lot of my time this winter. I have completely painted the kitchen and installed new flooring. I also covered the counter and island top in a specialty paint product. I also sewed new curtains for the window and the large pantry cupboard. How do you like the hit of pink at the backsplash? It's nice to have the kitchen freshened up and looking pretty.  Here is a cowl project underway. Knitting. It is designed by Yumiko Alexander and is in the book Rustic Modern Knits. The rest of the length is a variety of other textural stitches. The self-striping yarn is what really caught my eye.  And this elegant beauty is a cashmere cowl I am designing as I go. It has glass beads added in periodically. I have to be careful not to apply too many beads or the weight will pull down the cowl fabric. And here I am showing the crocheted join that I devised for a ruana I am making. I am nearly done with the joining and now will b...