My recent spinning.
My recent dyeing.
I usually take the inspiration photo first, and try to recreate the colors in the fiber. This time, it was reversed. I noticed the colors of this grass on my walk down the driveway to get the mail. It reminded me of the colors I've been dyeing and spinning.
Unless my eye saw it first, and my subconscious made me dye those colors?
I was living in Bonn, Germany at the time, doing my junior year abroad. In 1986, Bonn was the federal capital city for Germany, so there was an American embassy. The American church there, set up for embassy etc employees, invited the American students studying at the Uni to come to the church the Sunday before Thanksgiving, for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Each embassy family sponsored a student. So that was lovely, sitting down to a nice Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings, with a family.
The university in Bonn had several student cafeterias set up around the city, usually located near a University building or student housing. The main one had three levels, set up on three floors, three different lines. Soup only was on the top floor, lighter entree on the middle, and bigger/full meal entree on the lowest floor.
Thanksgiving Day found me at the cafeteria, judging my options. Soup was always the lowest cost option, so I headed up the stairs for my bowl of soup, feeling rather sorry for myself. Thanksgiving Day, and here I was going to have a measly bowl of soup. Can you hear the sound of tiny violins?
Can I tell you? That bowl of soup was the best soup I've ever had. As a matter of fact, that meal ranks right up there on my top 5 meals ever.(In no particular order, chicken curry in a little restaurant in Pacific Grove, CA, veg curry in a vegetarian restaurant in Mendocino, CA, the whole meal with tomato/pumpkin chutney at Taj restaurant in Ventura, CA, and tortellini carbonara at a dive restaurant somewhere in Italy. Whatever town where the Eurail pass ferry to Greece leaves from. ETA: Brindisi! I remembered just after I hit publish.) Yes, 23 years later, and I still remember that bowl of potato/sausage/green bean soup.
A shawl for a friend.
The shawl stick is just a maple twig that I scraped the bark off of and sanded smooth.
Drum roll please. The winner is...Leslie. Leslie, contact me at annie at maplecorners daht cahm to choose your color!
The outside braids were created after I dyed the inside one. I noticed there was a lot of dye in the water after I created the color I wanted for the inside one, so I just threw more roving on top of the one that was done. It soaked up the excess dye just fine, and I ended up with another colorway and clear water for the next dye adventure.
Last night, the dog was rearranging herself on the couch, circling as dogs do. I heard paper crinkling. There was no paper there that I could see. ??? Investigating further, I discovered that my couch has a feature I never knew about. There is a flap at the back, attached to the bottom by hook & loop tape. Patting the back of the couch, I could feel something in there. When I released the flap at the bottom, an amazing amount of stuff cascaded down. In addition to the items pictured above, there were several envelopes and papers, and a rather alarming amount of dog hair and other ickies.
I have been looking for that wood weaving tool for over a year. I suspected that Mom had gotten a hold of it, and despaired of ever finding it again. I'm happy to have it back, like a little gift from Mom, reminding me of her.
I am thrilled to hear that at least one person went to a Memory Screening as the result of the last post. I am even happier that the result was good.
In honor of Alzheimer's Awareness Month, I've been dyeing purples. Purple with blue, purple with pink, purple with gray, you get the idea.
Now to the good stuff. Giveaway details. The winner will choose one of the braids above. I am willing to spin it, and weave it on the peg loom into a scarf/shawl. A spinner might just want the fiber, a knitter or weaver might want just the yarn. Again, winner's choice.
To enter, just leave a comment, that's it. If you want to, make a donation to the Alzheimer's Association. It's not a requirement, just an idea. Or, write your Congressperson. Help spread the word about Alzheimer's and post about the giveaway, (leave a link in the comments), and I'll enter you twice.
I'll do the random number generator Saturday night, so be sure to get your comment in by then!
Did you know that November is Alzheimer's Awareness Month? Stay tuned this week for more information, including a giveaway.
In the mean time, Tuesday is National Memory Screening Day. Check out this link to find out where you can go for a free memory screening. If you're over 60, or if you've ever wondered, will you go, or take/encourage your parents to go? Please? If not for yourself, for me, in memory of Mom? (One month today.) Please?
If you blog, are on Twitter or Facebook, could you help spread the word about National Memory Screening Day?
I was taking clothes down from the line as the sun set the other day, when I was struck by this view.
Man-made in the foreground mirroring nature in the background.
We have been enjoying a string of gorgeous, abnormally warm fall days here in SE MN. I've been taking the opportunity to rake leaves and clean out the barn. There is still more to do, but I took having numb hands as a hint to take a break.
Leslie asked why I find corn creepy. I suppose it is because for the first two years Mom was with me,(pre-fence and gate)it was my greatest fear that Mom would wander off and get lost in the corn field. Maybe if you've never experienced it, it is hard to understand how tall it is. Once you get a few feet into a cornfield, you completely disappear. You, the person in the corn, can't see anything but corn all around. Now, imagine you had AD.
The creepy corn I mentioned was also in reference to some previous posts. This search should bring them up.
I had let the animals out to eat the lawn when this lone little deer showed up on the other side of the fence. I guess it thought it had found some new, oddly colored friends. It hung out there for a good part of the afternoon.
My cousin didn't want to overwinter her laying hens this year, so I gladly took some. I was down to two hens, and now am up to 12!
Last night was the first night I could get all of them to go into the coop. Two of them would go in the building, but not into the secure coop area. I told them they were taking their lives in their own hands, and warned them about the raccoons, but they wouldn't listen to me. I got sick of chasing them. They roosted on the rafters, so they made it ok.
They were able to harvest the corn this weekend, so at last I'm safe from the creepy corn.
