Monday, May 7, 2012

More Dabbling

It's been a week or so of more of this and that.   Missed my Wednesday night class two weeks ago because of heavy rains and was cranky all week.  Communing with fellow fiber freaks seems to recharge my internal batteries and I get pretty surly when I don't make it.

My class is part of the quickly dwindling adult education programs in California.  It's not cheap - we currently pay $75 per 12 week session (11 weeks after the district declared a week off without pay for the staff) but I don't mind the fee.  I kinda like the idea that adults who choose to take classes of any type should pay for them rather than depending on their neighbors to subsidize their choices.  (OK, climbing off the soapbox now.)  We meet at the Charter Oak Center - a defunct elementary school that I think is used only for a preschool and some adult ed classes.  Our assigned area is what used to be the cafeteria/assembly room and kitchen.  Which is great because you can get an awful lot of looms and supplies in this space. 


At the front of this room is a stage equipped with tables and chairs where we have brief meetings, show and shares, and mini-classes.  Through the doors at the end of the room is the kitchen, where we have even more looms, storage, and tools like warping boards and bobbin winders.   Not a lot of room for my spinning circle but we make do.   Although it's called a "class" - this is really more of a studio workship.  Everybody works at their own pace and their own projects.  Our teachers, who really know their stuff, are available to answer questions and provide guidance.   In my first quarter, I worked at a loom, but I really prefer the chatty spinning circle to the solitary loom.  If you get a chance to take a class like this, do it now.  I'm afraid that, even paying full freight these classes are not going to be around much longer.

The Moonlight Mohair stole is progressing quite rapidly.  Still having to remind myself to relax the right hand, but I'm gaining speed and the stole is already 50 inches long.


Now I'm debating about whether or not I like the finished product.  I like the design -- under all the mohair fuzz you can see the furrows created by the K2P2 pattern.  And when it's draped, the furrows stretch out and  it looks quite lacy.  But I'm not so sure I like the overall color - the mohair tends to dominate and since it is mostly a greenish color, it needs fairly bright light to not look like a big fuzzy green thing.  Love the color close up and with good lighting though.

IEHG West met at my house last Saturday.  Pretty disappointing turnout - there were only four of us.  But we had a few relaxing hours of working on our individual projects and chatting anyway.  One of the group asked me what I was going to make with the yarn I've been spinning.  Huh?  You're supposed to make something with it?  In my mind it's all about the process and the zen of spinning.  Someday this yarn is going to tell me what it wants to be.  Until then, I'm just enjoying.

Still plodding away with studio cleanup.  With the IEHG meeting looming, I finally forced myself to put away the Christmas stuff that had taken over my dining room (long story - decided to downsize the holiday decorations and thought the dining room would be the perfect place to sort through stuff).  Got that all done and tackled the cartons that we moved from my outrageously expensive storage space to my back porch three months ago.   More work to do, but the back of the van is full of stuff to go to Goodwill and we can actually walk from one end of the porch to the other now. 

Have you noticed that the older you get, the less important the stuff you spent years acquiring becomes?

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