Something to Say

I’ve been away from blog writing for some time now….too long!  And almost everyday I’m writing blog entries in my head, but not at the computer. 

But hasn’t it been a glorious summer!  Since I’m not a fan of hot weather, I have loved the lush, cool days with or without rain.

I am spending most of the August on board Pandora (where you can see our sailing adventures in Maine), with lots of knitting and spinning projects. Yesterday was a glorious day, part of an exciting weekend of open studios of members of the Maine Fiber Arts Association!  I only managed to visit four of the 80+ listings for this event, but I made really good choices!  I must make this annual event a priority in future!  I will post photos of that next!

Before arriving in Maine on Aug. 3rd, I spent a long weekend in Gettysburg, attending the biennial Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association Conference which was held at Gettysburg College.  It was an awesome weekend!  Attendees took one 2 1/2 day class from a stellar line up of choices:  Sharon Alderman, Inge Dam, Su Butler, Jason Collingwood (to name only a few).  I was so engrossed in my class that I neglected to take the photos I should have!  It was a terrific event, with late night shopping at The Mannings nearby and  Just Our Yarn, Serendipity Farm and Lunatic Fringe in the vendor hall (again, I’ve only named a few!).  There was a Saturday evening impromptu fashion show, the second annual one, where you just show up in your creation and walk the runway.  This unplanned, un-rehearsed event has worked very well and is a highlight of the weekend! I wish I’d taken a photo of Karen Donde’s wonderful ruana.  It defies words, so hopefully I’ll get a photo from a friend shortly and post it. 

 

 

 

Left: Students admiring Inge Dam’s work. Right: Susan Wilson displaying her crackle samples.

I took a class with Jason Collingwood on 3-end block weave and shaft switching which was completely enthralling to me!  I’m inspired by the freedom of design, the simplicity of the shaft switching technique, and Jason’s affable teaching style!  I hope to christen my Toika loom this fall with a rug!

One of Peter’s  design samples and one of Jason’s.

Jason demonstrating weft clasping.

 

 

 

 

The photos I didn’t take:  The vendor hall where several bags of corriedale fleece from Ruppert’s Farm sang enticingly to me (I brought that on board to spin!), the three friends of mine who shared my dorm suite and kept me up ‘til 2 am three nights in a row!…the open studio evening where we visited other classes and saw their work.  And I wish I had more photos of Jason teaching us, but I was busy writing notes and weaving samples!  Hopefully something very fruitful will come of that!