Where did the time go?
Oh wait I know. It went here.
The first shipment of the year always takes a fair bit of work and time. Especially if it you’re trying a brand new something brand that you’ve never ever done before (and you are down 1 production dyer). Needless to say we miss Anneli a whole bunch.
Prep, prep and hey how about some more prep. Three shows in January/February, two of them on the same weekend. We also did our usual seasonal colour change thing at this time as we always do.
Which all makes for a whole lot of yarn everywhere. Like everywhere we could find to put yarn, there was yarn. Rafters, piles of boxes in barn, barn is full so move to pod, pod is full so move to studio, studio is full so move to spare bedroom, bedroom is full so move to … hmmm?
We swore in more helper bees. Say hi to the lovely, ever so helpful Rhonda.
We think that the wool goddess sent Rhonda. She called said she wanted to help and has been a blessing .A kind and lovely blessing. (Everybody has to swear on the chicken before they are allowed in the dye barn.)
And… then there was what we lovingly (with a twitch or ten) refer to as hankyacolypse. Steph blogged her crazy good mittens out of I Mad Heart Ewe from silk mawatas (hankies) that we’d been working with and teaching about form our silk retreats. We even made our own mawatas. When I told Debra that we wiped out the supply of mawata she said (without skipping a beat) that is we thought she was making hankies from our stash of cocoons then we might need some sort of intervention. I agree with Debra. As the mawata maker of our team I have a serious appreciation for those whose job this is.
Thank you silk worm!! Thank you mawata makers!!
We are getting there.
I have been pretty smitten by both the silk mawata (hanky) and cap(bell) since I first set my dyer/knitter eyes on them. I ask you what is not to love? It’s the closest we’re all going to come to working with webs as we’re going to get and really it is just magical. I’m stopping now. (Heavy fiber infatuation.)
So then some of us were actually at the shows: Vogue LIVE, Stitches and Madrona. While the rest were at bmfa headquarters dyeing &shippimg away.
We had great fun saw old friends met some new ones and watched knitters do what they do best create a fabric whether it’s in stitches with yarn or in life with friends. Woolly friends.
One of my best moments was witnesses designer Anne Berk meet one of her knit heroines Joyce Williams. I know this feeling so well. Watching Ann tell Joyce about her colourwork technique was a moment I will remember.
Along with this one.
Do your socks match your sweater ? Not like these eh? I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Joyce Williams I think you are the bomb. Just the bomb!!
