Ode to Greyfur:
There was a young kitten quite frail
Who had a magnificent tail;
The cat grew into it...
But wouldn’t you knew it,
It grew once again that great tail!
JDM (aka teenager)
Isn’t he cute? 9 pounds and growing.
Speaking of kittens, I spun up the last of the combings saved from my sweet Himalayan Mollis, plied it with some crimpy Cormo (for stretch and reduced warmth), then knit it into a ribbed collar so I can cuddle with her on cold days. I am not much of a knitter, so I was delighted that my first try fit. The blue-grey edge is tail fur.
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| The blue-grey edge is tail fur; the buttons are crocheted, Lithuanian method i.e. all fiber. |
In the early weeks of the year the humidity was near enough 60% in the studio that I finished Suzanne’s Lithuanian-style blouse on the 33 singles linen warp. She is pleased and I’m tickled to have been able to make my Bene Toika 24 behave sort of like a 20-shaft draw-loom.
We walk often along the shore of Thunder Bay and one day in early April after we thought the ice was gone for good, I had to giggle when I saw ice-fleece washing up on the sand. What would you think seeing this?
Before Easter, a small portion of my bushel of onion skins went to make egg-dye and then my fiber-friends practiced some sgraffito, Lithuanian-style.
All this worked around a linen-teaching trip to the Weavers Guild of Rochester, NY (probably my last out-of-state, as the stress of travel seems to excite the shingles virus). Still have a short program planned for the Traverse City guild only 2.5 hours away across the state, with one overnight.
Now my focus is turned to upholstery for the Victorian Settee that has been in the family for around 150 years. I’ve settled on a repp at 48 epi with the 20/2 high-twist wool/mohair. Here are some pillows covered in the samples to date.
Though not as traditional as the Fibonacci-stripe at far right, the shadowed-rust stripes second from the left excites me most, and I may just have to do it. My head is swimming with dye formulas - fortunately I keep pretty good records of the tests, and I have a tipple-beam balance for measurements. Working on the 3 pounds to scour and dye for the settee....and flowers to smell, young leaves to admire, kayaks to paddle and bikes to ride to the ice-cream store 6-miles away....... KRM 5-10-15
