What would you take in your caravan if you were pulling up roots and hitting the road?
Bob would love it if I could manage to fit all my fiber dreams for the fall and winter (and early spring) into these two bins. It’s harder than I thought it would be.
On my list:
Non-negotiable:
1. Alice Starmore “Mary Tudor” supplies (in basket so colors will stay organized)
2. Vivan Hoxbro “Ann Jacket” supplies
3. Nadita’s “Soo Feminine” supplies
4. Vivian Hoxbro “Zig Zag” wrap supplies (more than 75% done I’m happy to discover!)
5. Einstein Coat supplies, ready to start sleeves
6. Bergere du France wrap, with its 3 cones of Zephyr
7. Partially finished circular shawl by Liz Lovick with notebook of instructions
8. Revontuli shawl supplies
9. “Wingspan” shawl supplies
10. Evelyn Clark “Flower Basket Shawl” supplies
11. skeins for 6 pairs of socks, some already in progress
12. All my knitting needles
It appears that I might not be cut out for the gypsy life. Perhaps I am too much of a home body, nesting in all my wooly, silky, fibery material possessions. How can I cull this list?…because I know it will not all fit in my two bins. And I haven’t even started to list the spinning projects!
1. Electric spinner (at least this does not need to fit in the bin!)
2. Drop spindles
3. corriedale hand painted roving
4. Mohair hand dyed roving
5. Ginger red alpaca batt
Lastly, for those times when neither knitting or spinning seem to fill the bill, I thought I’d bring along one or two embroidery projects. This is my solution for not taking any weaving with me. Meanwhile, I have not even done any embroidery in about a decade. I do realize this seems a bit manic on my part…. the fear of not having just the thing to occupy my textile obsession. At least embroidery takes up so little room.
This is an Evelyn Clark shawl design called “Flower Basket” that was first seen in Interweave Knits, Fall 2004. I’m using Mini Mochi in colorway “Seaview” that is so much subtler than the colors shown here. The colors are soft blues and aquas on pale sand, just like a summer day at the beach! I wanted to finish this shawl before we leave so I could block it at home. (It is for a friend who has spent her life on the water.) No such luck! I will be trying to block on our bunk on the boat, without the benefit of my blocking wires!
Departure date: Tomorrow!
