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Booyah! I’m finished! Hemmed and mounted before 11 pm today!
Well, there is a flaw I must fix, but that must wait ‘til tomorrow. It would have been better to fix it before mounting, but I was too tired to see it. On the left side, in the first long branch of leaves behind the boat, the sky dips down too low into where the water should be. (Don’t tell anyone, but I’m going to needle weave it to fix it.)
Must sleep now…
zzzzzz……
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Time flies. My historic tapestry reinterpretation should be delivered next Wednesday, officially five days from now. I’m not done weaving, but I’m close. Unfortunately, weaving is not the only thing left to do. It has to be hemmed and mounted. Mounting involves stretching heavy linen on stretcher frames that I have not yet bought. Meanwhile, I am hosting an instructor at my house for a guild workshop. Do you think she’ll mind if I just weave? No chance of that!
There is progress on the Hudson River piece also, which is not ‘due’ until July 1. I will take it on board next week for a little weaving on the water….. a little plein aire weaving.
This week Jennifer introduced me to TED (Technology Entertainment Design) which has free videos of lectures on many subjects. Being a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love, I particularly enjoyed this lecture she gave on creativity. And as an aging classics student who never gets to talk about the ancient world, I was thrilled to hear Ms. Gilbert talk about creative genius!
I never posted this last week. Now I am just about finished with the historic piece! I think there is about 2 more hours of weaving, then I hope it will be hemmed and mounted in another 24 hours!
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Doesn’t that sound like a loaded question? And I guess it is. If there weren’t so much on my to-do list I’d be driving to Connecticut this afternoon to see this documentary on women in the arts.
With regret, I have decided my time is better spent staying home to work on my tapestries and some other unfinished business. Ah, well…. I have left my name on the website on a list for future DVD sales. Hope it won’t be too long! My interest is piqued!
If you want to check out if you can see this film locally or get on the list for possible DVD go here! Aha! Planned DVD release for November, 2009!
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What better way to spend Mother’s Day than visiting a garden? Actually we visited a garden on Saturday as part of the Garden Conservancy’s list for Open Days. It gave me just the inspiration I needed to get down to work in my own garden. 
There will be another Open Day in June at a different house. I hope to visit then as well! This garden was in deep shade until two years ago when a large tree fell and destroyed almost everything. Now the gardener has completely redone the garden with more sun loving plants. It’s a beautiful oasis in an otherwise pleasant, but unmemorable suburban neighborhood!
My own gardens are giving me a lot of pleasure this year, the second year in a row when I feel there is not much work to do. There is an old saying that if you are happy with your gardens, it’s probably time to move! In my case, I hope to enjoy this satisfied feeling for a few more years before having to start over!
My work for this week includes finishing the historic reinterpretation tapestry (you can bet I’ll take photos when I celebrate the cutting off!), attempting madder dyeing again with my next batch of roots (from Hillcreek Fiber Studio), and spinning more corrie on my little Golding spindle. A great way to spend a week, right?
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Every year the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival shows me a different aspect of all the people who contribute to my obsession with fiber, spinning, dyeing, weaving and knitting. One year I only took photos of crowds. I was completely appalled that the festival was so crowded that you couldn’t easily walk through the pathways between the barns, much less get into the barns and booths….
This year the word ‘devoted’ kept running through my mind. We the spectators were willing to schlep through mud and muck (of course the shepherds are always willing to do that!), willing to be patient in the face of huge crowds, willing to be inspired by the devotion of our heroes who raise the animals, clean and process the fibers, dye the amazing colorways, and create such finished works of beauty that we’ll spend the last of our savings on handwoven, hand felted, hand knitted and hand spun items. The whole festival was a feast of inspiration that stemmed from devotion to a calling.
I am in awe of the shepherds, processors, dyers, designers, and artists who laid their wares before us. I spent a lot of money that I can’t really afford, but if it helps the economy of fiber farmers and fiber artists to continue their devotion then it’s entirely worthwhile!
Here’s a taste:
Sheep
Husband and wife busily grooming their Border Leicester before going into the ring.
First place Corriedale with proud teenage owner sitting nearby. The mother told me that her two teenage sons are entirely responsible for the care of this champion sheep!
My new Golding spindle lying cozily on a pillow of hand-painted Corriedale top from Misty Mountain.
