No one expects the Vortex of Chaos. It's ice on the sidewalk three days before Christmas, the driver who knocks the door off your SUV, the surgery that dims your voice, the cancer treatments that leave your brain muddled for months. But like the accretion ring surrounding a black hole, the Vortex of Chaos is also the neon sign that says you're still in business, that you haven't given up, that you're not willing to take it lying down.
Chaos is Life.
Gryphon had some left so I ordered another one. It is Eidos in Apophenai.
Remember when I was all excited about the Russian join? In the Orenburg class, Galina said to tie a knot in the lace yarns when joining a new ball, and then knit the tails into the lace. I, of course, wanted to know, "What about the Russian join?" She said, "I wish I hadn't told anyone about this. It got all over the Internet. It is not good for lace."
However, it did work fine for my project, which is in a fine sock weight rather than laceweight. There is nothing to see yet. I have about ten rows of edging left. Then you can see it.
Sue went nuts over Eugene. OK, we both liked it, but Sue wants to move there. Why?
Tie Dye. (And coffee.)
The Saturday Farmer's Market in Eugene has been going on since 1970, and some things never change.
I was really interested in this musical instrument, a home-made kora, also heard accompanying the dancer. The ancestor of the banjo, the kora is a harp-like instrument that comes from Mali in Africa.
If you go to Eugene, there are lots of good places to eat around the university. Just drive down Willamette or Agate to find Prince Pückler's ice cream, the Agate Bistro, Beppe and Gianni's Trattoria, the Midtown Cafe, and Newman's Fish Company.
You have to buy some spinning fiber and a spindle on which to spin it, right? OK, I know, it looked prettier rolled up, before I messed with it.
Of course I ended up getting a Greensleeves spindle I could have bought here in Utah. The fiber is a silk and cashmere blend but I forget which booth had it.
And then you take a class and you have to get something to practice on.
Galina provided materials for our class, but you can get a luxury fiber sampler (top of photo) from Herndon Creek Farm.
This can get dangerous.
In the bags: Pygora from Peppermint Pastures Pygora goats; cashmere (left) and camel top from Herndon Creek Farm.
Note: It's not all for me. I had to get something for my daughter who speaks Russian and spins and would like to take Galina's class if she had a chance.
Even going out to the car is dangerous, when you run across the felted items from Kurghistan.
This booth was in Salt Lake last year at the Great Basin Fiber Festival, but I didn't get anything then.
Galina recommended the Kurghi booth to us in class. She said that the prices were very good, and she had called Russia to check. She told us that the Kurghistanis are great experts on felt: "Felted hats! Felted boots! Felted houses! You know, yurt!" Pronounced "yoooert." It is much better with the Russian accent.
Tomorrow: Eugene
*Some skeins got away because I dropped them off at Laurel's before getting home. I should have taken photos in the hotel room.
I was really excited to get into Galina Khmeleva's Orenburg lace spinning class. Galina is one of the people who have been instrumental in making the West aware of Orenburg lace, and in bringing the techniques to the United States.
We learned preparation as well as spinning.
This is a supported spindle technique, and I was not good at it. I like to draft with my right hand, but my left hand is too uncoordinated to spin the spindle consistently. I've never had trouble with cotton, but cotton just kinds of drafts itself. I am here to tell you that cashmere doesn't.
In class I tried drafting left-handed, but it wasn't way successful. I will practice both ways and see what turns out to work better for me. I was able to learn how to dribble left-handed when I played basketball. How hard can it be?
While I was in the spinning class, Sue made a super felted bag. I am sorry I didn't get a picture of it. Sue and I took one class together, a mitten design class from JC Briar. I forgot my camera that day so I have no pictures of that either. It was valuable because JC gave us some rules of thumb (haha) to use when making a mitten from scratch, such as how much ease to use and so forth.
Sue's main class in Eugene was not at the Gathering, but was a weaving class she took at the Eugene Textile Center for several hours each on Friday and Saturday, with the finishing on Monday. The topic was collapse weave. Since I am not a weaver, I don't know all the possibilities. However, what Sue did in this class was to combine different fibers that wash differently and use their characteristics to create the look she wanted.
This scarf was warped with two types of wool. One was a standard merino, the other a type of merino called "pony wool" which shrinks more than the regular wool. The weft is silk, which does not shrink when washed.
The finished scarf was about 90" long. The second scarf was done in silk and wool.
Susie, the owner of the Textile Center, then put the scarfs into the washer with a towel for friction, hot water, and a little Synthrapol. After five minutes we were starting to see the pattern begin to appear.
At this point it took only a few minutes more agitation to achieve the effect Sue wanted.
