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I’ve been away from blog writing for some time now….too long!  And almost everyday I’m writing blog entries in my head, but not at the computer. 

But hasn’t it been a glorious summer!  Since I’m not a fan of hot weather, I have loved the lush, cool days with or without rain.

I am spending most of the August on board Pandora (where you can see our sailing adventures in Maine), with lots of knitting and spinning projects. Yesterday was a glorious day, part of an exciting weekend of open studios of members of the Maine Fiber Arts Association!  I only managed to visit four of the 80+ listings for this event, but I made really good choices!  I must make this annual event a priority in future!  I will post photos of that next!

Before arriving in Maine on Aug. 3rd, I spent a long weekend in Gettysburg, attending the biennial Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association Conference which was held at Gettysburg College.  It was an awesome weekend!  Attendees took one 2 1/2 day class from a stellar line up of choices:  Sharon Alderman, Inge Dam, Su Butler, Jason Collingwood (to name only a few).  I was so engrossed in my class that I neglected to take the photos I should have!  It was a terrific event, with late night shopping at The Mannings nearby and  Just Our Yarn, Serendipity Farm and Lunatic Fringe in the vendor hall (again, I’ve only named a few!).  There was a Saturday evening impromptu fashion show, the second annual one, where you just show up in your creation and walk the runway.  This unplanned, un-rehearsed event has worked very well and is a highlight of the weekend! I wish I’d taken a photo of Karen Donde’s wonderful ruana.  It defies words, so hopefully I’ll get a photo from a friend shortly and post it. 

 

 

 

Left: Students admiring Inge Dam’s work. Right: Susan Wilson displaying her crackle samples.

I took a class with Jason Collingwood on 3-end block weave and shaft switching which was completely enthralling to me!  I’m inspired by the freedom of design, the simplicity of the shaft switching technique, and Jason’s affable teaching style!  I hope to christen my Toika loom this fall with a rug!

One of Peter’s  design samples and one of Jason’s.

Jason demonstrating weft clasping.

 

 

 

 

The photos I didn’t take:  The vendor hall where several bags of corriedale fleece from Ruppert’s Farm sang enticingly to me (I brought that on board to spin!), the three friends of mine who shared my dorm suite and kept me up ‘til 2 am three nights in a row!…the open studio evening where we visited other classes and saw their work.  And I wish I had more photos of Jason teaching us, but I was busy writing notes and weaving samples!  Hopefully something very fruitful will come of that!

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Gardening, sailing, knitting, weaving, beautiful weather!  I’ve even managed to spin a little.  It is a lovely summer!

Sailing on the Mystic River during the Wooden Boat Show.

 

 

 

Alpaca and fiber at the Casey Farm market in Kingston, RI

July 4th on board a friend’s boat for the fireworks.  We had our own bagpiper!  Next morning this little sparrow sang to use from our stern lifeline.

The Spring ‘09 GoddessKnits Mystery shawl blocked and finished!  I’m taking it to the MAFA (Mid-Atlantic Fiber Assoc) Conference later this month.

A window box at Mystic Seapot and my dream house and garden in Watch Hill, RI

My next lace project from Renaissance Dyes. A farm in RI where llamas are used as guard dogs for the flock.

Nappatree Beach in Watch Hill, RI

Fringed poppy in my garden at home…. a braid made for a friend…..and lastly, the slow but steady progress on my latest tapestry….

I’m off for another long weekend sailing in Rhode Island.  I hope to visit the alpaca farm I mentioned at the beginning and also, hopefully, a couple of RI weavers!  

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A soft Sunday morning in June with a cup of capuccino, my Goddessknits mystery shawl in progress, and lots of blooming shrubs, vines and trees in view from the porch!  Does it get any better than this?

 

 

I was trying to capture how dramatic the light was.  There were ominous dark clouds, left over from yesterday’s deluge, and the first brilliant rays on sun hitting the clematis and andromeda while the maple tree nearby was still in deep shade!

A short while later there were blue skies and bright sun!  It’s been a glorious day, and I spent it all outside knitting and weaving!

My lace shawl is not worth photographing yet…it just grows into a larger spongy amoeba until I can block it…

 

(I tried, unsuccessfully, to include the word “idol’ as well.  I’m sort of a language nut…can’t help myself)

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I haven’t been here for almost two weeks.  That sailing trip already seems like a distant memory (good thing!)….

Today the Wednesday Group had an opening reception for our current exhibition called “Tapestry: Ancient Art for Modern Times” at a gallery in Medford Leas, Medford, NJ. 

It was virtually a perfect event!  The gallery was a lovely venue for our work, the lecture hall was modern and comfortable, the crowd was positively large…how exciting for a tapestry exhibit!  Archie and Susan each gave a thoroughly compelling lecture, one on the history of tapestry worldwide and one on tapestry’s value today.

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Today started as lovely as any day you can imagine.  The sun rose in a clear sky, there was only a gentle breeze, and we left the river on an ebbing tide to sail to Mystic, where we will leave the boat for the next two weeks.

This odd combination of attached cottages was Katherine Hepburn’s summer place. It sits at the mouth of the Connecticut River.

 

Our sails were set ‘wing and wing’ for the trip east. Unlike last Friday, when there was not a single other boat on the water with us, today there were plenty of sail boats and power boats out to enjoy a beautiful weekend.  There was a flotilla of fluffy cumulus cloud vessels in the blue sky, and the water beneath us was almost the color of the Caribbean.

 

House on “Little Dumpling” Island in Fisher Island Sound.

 

 

 

 

            Entering the Mystic River.

Bob’s big chore on arriving in the Mystic River was to find the sunken lines on a friend’s mooring which we could then use until our return.  Bob got in the dinghy with his grappling hook and began dragging the mooring field near our friend’s usual spot.

Hours went by….Bob made a few phone calls to our friend in Florida who owns this mooring.  More hours went by.

 

Just before the sun sank behind the trees on shore, Bob finally had the mooring up in the dinghy….probably the worst mess I’ve ever seen.  There was still work to be done adding lines and a float, more work to be done cleaning the dinghy and  Bob.  We may have to throw away his clothes! It’s 8pm and we’ve had nothing to eat all day. Neither of us feels like going ashore for our last dinner as planned, and cooking at this hour will be Spartan at best.

  

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow will bring its own challenges as we struggle home with large duffle bags in a variety of transportation modes which will include a dinghy, two trains, and two cabs before we reach our car.  Is this the fun part?