A good friend is like a quilt wrapped around your heart.

It has been far too long since I had seen my girlfriend, Maryanne. I've tried to lure her into Westside Wednesday, but she keeps insisting on bringing quilt blocks and refusing to hold yarn.
It was very fortunate that I ran across an ad for a quilt show put on by Northwest Quilters Guild at Multnomah University; it was the perfect opportunity for us to get together! She picked me up bright and early Saturday morning, and after an obligatory stop at Starbucks for coffee, we hit the road.

After winding our way across town and paying our entry fees, this masterpiece was the first thing you laid eyes on. This entire quilt is made up of tiny square that are reverse appliqued.














Not regular applique, mind you, but reverse applique! Now, in regular applique, the blue design is cut out and applied to the top of the background fabric. This is reversed, so the blue fabric is behind the background, and then the background is cut away to reveal the blue. Click to make it bigger and see for yourself.


















Then the squares were put together to make the top, the border applied using the same reverse applique technique, and then it was quilted together with the batting and the backing. The real killer here is that this was all done by one person by hand. As in no sewing machine. No wonder it was front and center, showing off its blue ribbon!

And in case blue wasn't your color, there was a similar one in red!


















Not all the quilts were traditional; some were very modern. This one is a technique, which Maryanne informs me, is bargello. Maryanne says the fabric is cut into strip and sewn into panels, which are then cut crosswise into varying widths and shifted up and down to make these patterns that appear three-dimensional.


















This one stopped Maryanne dead in her tracks. She loves deep, rich, jewel-tone colors; I think it was the deep blue and purple that reached out and grabbed her.


















Some of the quilts looked like they started out all traditional and well-behaved, then took a left turn and went all contemporary at the last minute. Like this one.


















There were also some antique quilts being shown. Like this Hawaiian one from 1932. The two-color Hawaiian quilts always remind me of papercutting designs common in so many parts of the world.


















Looking at this one up close, the close pattern of quilting reminded me of a labyrinth. Can you just imagine how long it took to quilt this by hand?














Some quilts looks more like paintings. This one was made up of thin strips pieced together horizontally.


















This one looked very Asian at first glance.


















But none of the fabrics were an Asian print. There were musical notes, starfish, polka dots, batiks, stripes, even cow print! But no Asian prints!














This one was a ribbon winner, too. The information label on this one said she had designed this quilt in honor of her 40th wedding anniversary. All the squares, except for two, were traditional patterns which held special meaning for her and her husband. The other two had silhouettes of their children and the date of their marriage. Oh, and the label also said she finished it just in time for their 50th anniversary!


















And there were other quilts made to honor someone. Like this little one for Frank Lloyd Wright. I'm thinking this one could be done in knitting; stockinette blocks bordered with black and joined as they're worked. Maybe a project for next winter. . . .


















And this one was labeled "Happy Birthday, Charlie" in honor of Charles Darwin. You can't see it very well in the photo, but there are things hidden in the quilting: snails, tadpoles, ferns, peoples faces, etc.


















The one that took my breath away was this one. Maryanne asked what it was that I found so stunning, and I'm not sure I can describe it. It's the rich, saturated colors; the random/not random piecing; the curves that cut through, yet join all the blocks; the way it has a border on two sides and not the others. It's the balance and total of it all. It reminds me of Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, and Gee's Bend.















It almost makes me want to start quilting. Almost.

One step forward, two steps backwards

Remember the driving cap I knitted for ToolMan? And how I was going to re-write the pattern? I had knit sibs at Westside Wednesday volunteer to test knit for me, and a couple of family members said they'd like to have one (one even called to give his head measurement), so I had no lack of victims models on which to try different sizes. All I had to do was write the pattern.

Since I want to eventually publish this pattern, I wanted to use a mass-produced yarn available at a "Big Box" craft store. ToolMan went with me, reluctantly, because I wanted a male opinion on color and texture. (FYI - It's not a good idea to take someone who's color blind with you to shop for yarn; go ahead, ask me how I know that.) I immediately ruled out anything not 100% wool, which pretty much limited the choices to either Lion Brand or Patons. Given the choices at this particular Big Box, I bought a skein of Patons Classic Wool in "cognac heather" with which to knit the prototype which would eventually go to the BIL who phoned in his measurement.

I swatched, measured, frogged, changed needle size, re-swatched, and remeasured, ad infinitum, until I got a fairly dense fabric that would hold it's shape without needing a lot of interfacing. Then, I cast on and started knitting the top of the cap; all the while taking careful notes and measurements, and marking important places with stitch markers. When the top was done, I started knitting the side piece - the one that goes around the head. When I had knitted approximately 1/3 of the side piece, I looked at the ball of yarn left and realized I as going to run seriously short.
















Back to the Big Box for more yarn. Sure, they'll have it, it's only been a week, right? Wrong. The bin for this color is not only empty; it has ANOTHER COLOR listed on the tag. Crap. Of to another branch of Big Box, where I find the same thing. What's that saying about the definition of insanity?

I seriously started to buy two more balls of Patons in another color and start all over before ToolMan shoved this under my nose.
















It fits the bill perfectly: 100% wool, tweed, fairly stiff feel, twice as much yardage a skein of Patons, less expensive than Patons, plus it's lanolinized to withstand the damp. I'll frog out the Patons and stash it for use later and start all over on the hat. Stay tuned to find out if I can get the same gauge or if I have to redo all the math.

Since the driving cap project requires so much note taking and measuring, it's really not a project suitable for commuting. I've been on a real run of the small scarf/cowl/shawls lately, which incidentally has been great for stash busting. A few weeks ago someone at Westside Wednesday was de-stashing and I acquired a single skein of fingering weight yarn from The Unique Sheep in a colorway called "Precious Metals." I have a weakness for single skeins; somehow, I think they all need to come live at my house. I like Faroese style shawls because they stay on so well because of the shaping, but they usually start at the bottom and work up - not really the best plan when you only have one skein. And my luck getting a second skein to finish a project wasn't proving to be all that great. Instead, I cast on for a Reading Shawl from Sheep Geek.















This really isn't as yellow as it looks in the picture; the camera didn't really pick up the silver, gray, and pale greens in this yarn. I don't usually wear yellow, but this looks so spring-like and sun-shiny that I just couldn't resist it.

I also started spinning the second bobbin of a 50/50 merino/silk roving that I bought from Lisa Souza at OFFF last fall. It's so soft and pretty that I want to get every inch possible out of it, so I'm spinning it very thin and aiming for a laceweight 2-ply when I'm done.
















No, it's not white; there really is some color there. See:
















It's a colorway called "Mother of Pearl", which is exactly what it looks like both in the roving and on the bobbin. I can hardly wait until it's done!

Supposedly, I knit and spin.

I haven't actually shown you any knitting or spinning production in almost 3 weeks, so I thought it was time to cough up some pictures to prove that I really do still do those things.

I finished the Storm Cloud Shawlette by ever green knits in Schaefer "Martha." I love this pattern! It's based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi Shawl, except this one is slightly more than a half-circle, making it very easy to wear. I start wrapping with one end behind my neck, then across the front, around back, across the front again, and the second end over my shoulder. One of ToolMan's shawl pins keeps it in place beautifully.




















And the back is as pretty as the front.




















Perfect size for spring, just enough to keep the chill off. And the color is really nice, soft blues and greens; I wore it for St. Patrick's. The Schaefer yarn was very splitty to work with, but is very soft and has a lovely bloom in the finished project. It's a blend of wool, cashmere, and angora - definitely hand wash, although the label said it was one of the children's yarns. I don't know any moms of babies or small children who have time to hand wash and block a baby sweater, let alone any who would spend $40 per skein for the yarn to knit children's' wear! And when will yarn companies learn that anyone who's knitting for babies or children probably wants a superwash for everyday items? OK, rant over.

I spun up some of the small fiber samples from Abstract Fiber that have been accumulating in the stash. From left to right, they are: Mood Ring, Shady Glade, and Sunset.



Susan's fiber is wonderful to spin, and her colorways are beautiful. I particularly liked the "Sunset" colorway (red's always been my favorite color); I had 3 samples of that one, so it might become a cowl to add to my little collection.

And I finished up the Pygora blend from Mt. Hood Fibers (Go look at Deb's website, she's got the cutest little goaties on there!)and plied it with singles from silk hankies in "Aztec Sun" that I got from Crown Mountain Fibers last year at OFFF.



I am particularly happy with this; it's soft, bouncy, and the combination of shine from the silk and halo of the Pygora is just beautiful! I don't know what I'll make out of this; for now, I'm perfectly happy admiring it like sculpture on the table next to my chair.

I finally started washing the fleece from Greener Pastures Farm. This is the first time I've every scoured and processed my own fleece, and frankly, I'm not sure I'll ever do it again. It's time consuming and dirty, but I am learning a lot about what to look for when I shop for fleece.

From browsing blogs about fleece washing, I know this one isn't particularly dirty or heavy in lanolin, but I was startled when I put the first two lingerie bags in the water and this immediately happened:



Holy cow, or rather, sheep! Just look at all the dirt and lanolin coming out! I used the hottest water I could get out of the tap; we don't have children in the house, so our hot water heater is set up high enough to steam right out of the faucet. And a generous squeeze of lemon dish detergent swirled through the filled wash tub so as not to make any suds.

I've had to store the raw fleece in my stash room behind two closed doors to keep Andy Rooney out of it. But when I started washing it, I seriously underestimated the smell of greasy wool in steaming hot water; he's practically wild by the time it's time to take it out of the soapy water. I didn't want the lanolin and dirt to settle back on the fibers, so I only let it soak about 45 minutes.



I used a couple of forks to snag the lingerie bags and plop them in the other side of the sink to drain while I emptied the nasty water and filled up the wash tub with hot water for a rinse.

A ten minute soak in hot rinse water showed that it was pretty clean, but a second rinse wouldn't hurt.



After draining and another ten minutes in the second soak, and the water's clear. Time to drain and dry.



I let the lingerie bags drain in the sink for about 15 minutes while I laid out some old towels on the guest bed and set up an oscillating fan.



I spread the wet fleece bundles out to dry and Inspector 37 put on his stamp of approval. I'm not sure why this picture came out so "contrasty"; I tried every setting possible, but there must be something about the contract between the black and gray fleece and the light colors in the guestroom that causes this effect.

And the fiber must be clean enough, because by the time it was dry Andy Rooney had no interest it. I'm storing it in a large shopping bag until I have time to card or comb it.



This is only about 1/3 of the fleece in the plastic bag that needs to be processed, so I'll have lots to play with. And how glad am I that I only bought 1/2 of a fleece!

Things that do not go together . . .

Kids, white carpet, and playdough.

Swimsuit season, South Beach diet, and the local doughnut shop.

Teenagers, beer, and a drivers license.

Movie stars, paparazzi, and the right to privacy.

Alpaca fleece, my stash, and fleas.

I'm Rather Sheepish . . .

about telling you where we went yesterday, that is. (You know you can click on the pics to enlarge.)



Some of the PDX Knit Bloggers and Portland Spinnerati went on a little field trip yesterday.

We went to meet Rhonda and Jon at their Greener Pastures Farm in Camas, Washington.

I went to have fun; ToolMan agreed to play "paparazzi" for me, since I would be too busy to deal with the camera.



Did I mention they have sheep there?

Cascade Farmstead sheep to be exact.

And just why did we choose yesterday for our field trip?

Because yesterday was the day Eddie was coming to shear sheep, that's why!



There was a section of fencing put over a couple of sawhorses which we all stood around while Eddie got set up.

We watched while he sheared the first sheep.

It was amazing how the sheep let Eddie move them around, turn them, over, and straddle them while he sheared.

As soon as the fleece was off, somebody grabbed it and flung it up on top of the section of fencing.

Then it was our turn to get to work, skirting the fleece, which is the process of picking off matted sections, pulling off the dung tags, getting out as much vegetable matter as possible, and shaking out the second cuts.

While we were picking, somebody would call out, "This one's mine!" and the fleece would be rolled up, and put into a bag. Ronda (that's her in the red coat) had made a card for each sheep with the ear tag number, name, birth date, fleece color, and any other important information. The name of whoever was buying that fleece was written on the card and put in the bag for later identification.

Then we watched and waited while Eddie finish up the next sheep.

When he was done, we went to work on the next fleece.

Rinse, repeat.

Duffy was just a little too happy with the fleece she picked out. (She has some great pictures of the day over on her blog, by the way.)

Then, it was back to work on the next fleece.

Kathleen told us about watching a sheep shearing and going to the Ashford store during her trip to New Zealand last year.

And pretty soon another fleece was ready to be skirted.

Eddie started on one side of the sheep, working from the neck down, throwing the fleece upside down over the sheep.

Then he flips the sheep over, head down, to release the fleece.

Yes, that pink part of the sheep you see there is just what you're afraid it is . . .

Back to work!

I think Kathleen and Tami were having a minor disagreement over who was getting the next fleece . . .

The last one was the one everybody was waiting for; it was a blue ribbon winner at OFFF last fall.

A fleece so black, you couldn't photograph it.

Even flash didn't help.

I think Tami would have wrestled to the ground anyone who tried to take this out of her hands.

Finally, the last sheep was sheared and the last fleece skirted while Eddie packed up to go to the next farm.

I want to wash and process the fleece myself, so I didn't want a whole one. Thankfully, Pam agreed to split this lovely black and gray one with me.

After the last fleece was bagged, it was time to clean up. Some people took the yucky bits which had been thrown and fallen under the fencing to use for mulch.

Then it was time to hand out the fleeces and pay Rhonda so she could pay Eddie. Microeconomics, live and in person. Or maybe it's "trickle down" economics.

The sheep, though no worse for their experience, were not all that happy to be loosing their
fleeces.

In fact, they looked downright skinny without all that fiber on them.

The spinners, however, were more than happy to be taking those fleeces home.

While we were packing up to leave Greener Pastures, a lady from a neighboring farm, where Eddie had been earlier, came bringing some shetland fleeces and alpaca fleeces from her farm. No pictures of her, but I did buy some of her white alpaca to blend with some brown that I have in my stash.

Needless to say, both bags had to be inspected immediately upon entry into the house.

The alpaca passed inspection pretty quickly.

The sheep fleece apparently needed a more through going over; Andy Rooney tried to take it out of the bag and roll in it, but when I wouldn't let him, he settled for rubbing his head through it and trying to paw it.

Now, I just need to get these washed and processed. Hmmm, I think I'd better Google "washing fleece" for starters . . . .