Weaving Weekend Part 3- Yarn!

Though the retreat was officially a *weaving weekend*, as Connie points out, on her blog, there were lots of spinners along for the ride. There were also crocheters, and I'm sorry that I didn't get a shot of Melissa's crocheted Gnome, but if you go to Connie's link above, and look at the slideshow, you'll spot it.

In addition to weavers, spinners, knitters, crocheters, eaters, and laughers, there were also dyers. Kelly announced in advance that she was going to be doing some organic dyeing, and that anyone who brought 4 ozs of mordanted yarn, or unspun fiber, could join in the fun.

A mordant is an organic chemical treatment that prepares the yarn for dyeing. Different mordants produce different colors with the same dye. Some are benign and easily obtained (such as alum and cream of tartar, which I would have used), suitable for indoor dyeing. Some are less so (natural and organic do not automatically equal safe or non-toxic), like chrome and tin. By noon on Saturday, Kelly decided that it was just too windy to dye outside, and it was unsafe to use her preferred mordant/dye inside, so she went with a milder dye to simmer on the stove.

I didn't have time to pre-mordant my yarn last week, but ever hopeful, I brought some handspun along, just in case.

This is Romney- natural white, and natural gray.

Kelly let me soak my skeins in her mordant solution (yay Kelly!) while the first batches of yarn were in the dyepots.

On the left is cochineal. Cochineal is a teeny little desert-dwelling bug that makes a lovely red color. You need about a bazillion bugs to get any usable dye (technically: 70,000 per pound). On the right is Osage Orange, which produces a yellow-to-orange dye, depending on the fiber, mordant, and the strength of the dye itself, which is made from wood chips and sawdust.

The first yarns out of the dyepots were vivid red and yellow. Oh so beautiful!

Since my yarns were part of the second batch, some of the color had been exhausted already (soaked up by the first yarns- subsequent dye batches are always lighter than the first ones. It's an excellent way to get coordinating shades with your yarn). Personally, I'm thrilled with my watermelon colors (you don't have to look very far in most of my books to see that watermelon colorways have always appealed to me). And I'm fascinated that the Osage Orange dye came out a beautiful green over the silver gray Romney yarn. I have plenty of undyed white Romney handspun, and I do believe that I'll be knitting myself a pair of watermelon socks from these yarns.

I did some spinning too- I finished up two bits of roving that I had on hand, and emptied out all of  my bobbins, which is an unusual state for them. On the left, is some merino from Twisted Fiber Arts, in the Valkyrie colorway. I haven't measured it out, but there is plenty enough for gloves and a hat. On the right is just a bit of something, that I Navajo 3-plied. I don't remember where it came from, but it's pretty.

In fact, my output for the entire weekend came out well. On the far right is some natural cotton. On top of all of them is the mitten I knit for the mitered square class.

I didn't take nearly enough pictures last weekend- you can multiply my yarns by about 20, in all different colors and fibers, and imagine the beauty. It was a wonderful weekend, and I'll be going back next year.

Tonight, I'll see if I can figure out how to tell the Legless Chicken story without naming names...

Weaving Weekend Part 2- What we did

I taught two classes in the bunkhouse day room on Saturday-

one on knitting mitered squares (this is Laura, Kelly, Connie and Ruth), and another class of Tips and Tricks (I forgot to take a pic). As always, my classes were filled to the brim with genius students. I was especially pleased with the Mitered Square class, because this was the debut of that workshop, and it went very well (the one minor glitch was easily remedied- just a shift in the size of the mitered square sample to be knit to two four-square pieces, to be sewn together later. That gives everyone time to work the entire progression, and the fast knitters can repeat the set for practice).

But Friday and Saturday evenings were all for play- and boy did I play.

The spinning circle set itself up almost immediately, and during every waking hour (except when we were eating, and sometimes even then- it is possible to spin and eat at the same time- spinners have Mad Skillz, lemmee tellya), spinners made glorious yarns. I counted at least six different styles of wheel,

including this Ettrick Wind Wheel that Marie brought and demoed.

It may not be obvious in the first shot that the treadle just sort of hangs there, on that loop, steadied by its own weight and the pressure of the spinner's foot. It gently sways back and forth as it's being treadled. It's a hypnotic wheel, and Marie says that it takes a bit of getting used to. I loved looking at it, but did not consider trading in my Ashford Joy.

Kelly brought along some fiber, fleece and yarn to sell from her shop. It was all very tempting, but I brought along my own wool, and a whole bag of cotton sliver to spin (and the Yarn/Fiber Buying  Moratorium is still in effect).

Connie brought her loom. She's making table runners, and I do not want a weaving loom. Nope. I. do. not. want. one.

Marie brought a triangle loom, and worked on a shawl throughout the weekend. I. do. not. want. this. loom. either.

We laughed and learned and enjoyed the company of folks who don't look at you funny when you say that you love the smell of raw fleece.

I wish I could tell you the story of the legless pet chicken (named, I kid you not, Peg. Peggy Eileen. seriously), but Peg's owner doesn't want the whole world to know that she carts a hen around with her on overnight trips.

I can tell you about the yarn we made, and the yarn we dyed. I'll do that tomorrow.

Weaving Weekend Part 1- Where we were

The last time I slept in a bunkhouse was when I was 8 years old, and I spent a week at Camp Kiloqua (and omigod- I just googled, looking for a link to maybe an old newspaper article or something, only to discover that not only is Camp Kiloqua still in business, but it looks just the same! Give me a minute while I scroll through some pictures and get all nostalgic... okay I'm back now). So, where was I? Oh yeah... sleeping in a bunkhouse...

I'm thinking that the insides of bunkhouses look just about the same now, as they did, lo these 50 (yikes, I'm sorry I did that math) years ago. Richmond Lake Youth Camp has three huge bunkhouses (which sleep about 90 total, if you use the upper bunks, though I would sleep on the floor first). The beds are as comfy as plastic coated foam pieces on rock-hard springs can be (not a complaint- just an observation). Interesting fact: going to sleep on the lower bunk of a narrow campground bed, in a dormitory with 20 other women, made me feel like I was 8 again. Waking up in one made me certain that I was 130.

My little corner of the bunkhouse was quite homey, what with using the upper bunk as a clothes rack. I had a desk, though since there was no Internet access (and in many places, no phone reception), I didn't do anything with it but spread my stuff out even further.

I didn't take a picture of the bathroom, which was pretty primitive. It was clean, and there was hot and cold running water.. but all you really need to know is that I took a shower on Saturday morning after my run (and before my classes), but on Sunday, I decided to wait until I got home.

In between the two first floor dorms, on one end, was a nice day room with a fireplace (which we did not use, though we surely could have). It also had the furnace- a huge one, very close to my bed. A very loud, furnace that kicked on multiple times during the night (which was A Good Thing, believe me- it got down below freezing each night). I do believe that next year, I'll choose a bed that is closer to the bathroom.

The outside of the bunkhouse is utilitarian and functional...

and a vast improvement over the old bunkhouses. I will choose dark, communal showers over sleeping in one of these things any time.

Though the camp is at a lovely, small lake, I didn't get down to the water, owing to the nasty weather. It rained and stormed (thunder and lightning, though mostly in the distance) on Friday, it was briefly nice in the morning on Saturday, and then by Saturday evening, we had sleet, and 40mph steady winds, which lasted through the night and past my drive home on Sunday. But I did run on Saturday  morning, and saw some pretty trees

and nice trails

and evidence that the lilacs know which month it is, even if the sun doesn't.

The lodge, where we ate and laughed and hung out and had our spinning circle, is a lovely old stone building (with absolutely no phone reception inside- we all periodically trekked out into the nastiness to connect with the outer world).

Inside the lodge is lovely too- with a huge working fireplace, lots of room, plenty of chairs and a fully stocked kitchen. And food? Well, if you've ever been to a Pot Luck with Midwestern women, you know that we didn't lack for pass-around dishes, or fruit, or salads, or breads, or dessert. Or coffee. Connie made cinnamon rolls for Sunday breakfast. From scratch! Lots of food, enough to feed many more than we had, though we made a good run at devouring it all. And wine too...

The kitchen was stocked with a hodge-podge of pans and dishes and cutlery- enough to put together our meals with ease, though the lack of some pieces and the excess of others was puzzling. The camp must have gotten caught in the Great Tong Shortage of '03, and vowed never again, because there was an entire drawer filled with more long-tongs than would be needed by your average mid-sized town.

The grounds were lovely, the bunkhouse was rustic in just the right way (picturesque without being actually Pioneer), and spending a weekend immersed in fibery pursuits with like-minded new and old friends was exactly what I needed.

Tomorrow: What we did!

Help One-Another Weaving Weekend XII- April 29-30, May 1

The Prairie Fiber Arts Guild has sponsored the Help One-Another Weaving Weekend for twelve years. This will be my first time attending, and I'll be teaching two classes on Saturday April 30 (Knitting Mitered Square Cuffs, and Little Tips and Knitting Tricks). The rest of the time, I'm going to play, and maybe learn a bit about weaving, not that I have time or room for another obsession...

This is what the Weaving Weekend Handout says:
The purpose of the Weaving Weekend is to “Help one-another” with weaving or other fiber projects. Bring your questions, UFO’s and join a fiber friendly group. Please note that we have added an extra night/day to this event after many requests from you all last year. The location is the Richmond LakeYouth Camp near Aberdeen, SD. Check it out on the web at http://www.richmondyouthcamp.com/


We will have a large lodge for our gatherings and a dorm type building for sleeping. Single beds are available – bring your own bedding, sleeping bag and towels, etc. The lodge has a great kitchen with stoves, refrigerators, and table service. There is heat in all of the buildings; bathrooms with showers and outside there are numerous trails along the lake to explore.


The cost is $40.00 to cover the two nights of lodging, Saturday meals and Sunday morning continental breakfast. We would still ask that you bring a dish for Friday evening and a beverage or dessert to share sometime over the weekend.


Kathleen Taylor will be offering 2 knitting classes on Saturday. The description and cost of the classes is listed on the registration below. We will also have a pot of some exotic natural dye cooking (outside) so everyone may bring a 2-4 ounce skein of washed and mordanted wool yarn for the kettle (or 2-4 ounces of washed/mordanted locks in a cheese cloth bag).


There is plenty of room for wheels, baskets of projects, drum carders, table looms, and floor looms. There is always interest in warping looms so if someone has such a project to share please do. Marie will have 3 sizes of triangle looms for any one to try. Bring your own yarn and a crochet hook size G or H if you want to try this technique.

Tentative Agenda:


Friday April 29: 4pm to 6:30 ------------- Registration, settle in and set up project circle


6:30 pm-------------------Potluck supper, everyone brings a dish to share


8:00 pm till??-------------Visit, show and tell, get acquainted or reacquainted


12:00am-------------------a midnight walk at Lee’s circle, if weather permits!





Saturday April 30 7:00am to 8:00am-------Breakfast


9:00 to 12 noon---------Project, class, visit, or explore the camp


12:00 to 1:30pm--------Lunch with potluck leftovers


1:30pm-------------------Continue with class, projects, visit and help one-another,


4:30 pm------------------Take a break, walk the grounds,


6:00 pm------------------Supper


7:30 pm till--------------Visit, Work on projects, Movie,





Sunday May 1 8:00am--------------------Continental Breakfast,


9:00am to 11:00---------Visit, projects, evaluate and farewells.
____
Me again: I am excited to be a part of this long-running retreat. Here's the registration sheet- click, save, print, fill out, send to Marie by April 8. I hope to see some of you there!!! e-mail me if you want the entire weekend DOC.X download (with directions to the camp).