Summer is over, ready for autumn!

28.09.2021 This year has been a blur.  We managed to get some camping in and one of the first was Cascade River State Park in Lutsen, MN, where the water looks like root beer.  It's so beautiful there and I particularly love the hiking trails.  Gus did great coming down the "ladder" stairs.  Our first day hiking was beautifully sunny, but I have to say I really enjoyed the second day of hiking in the fog.  

Since then, we added a few more pins to our MN state park map including Scenic, Whitewater, Split Rock Creek and Blue Mounds.  There was also a trip to Ohio using Harvest Host sites along the way including an aviation museum, and a heritage museum in Iowa, two wineries and a farm in Illinois and a farm and private property in Ohio.    We recently returned from the Camp-Inn Campout in Wisconsin and it was nice to see familiar faces and meet some new folks.  

There was and is lots of fiberwork happening with spindle spinning more colors to use in tapestry weavings, a dive into the Shetland yarn stash for this year's Wool Week hat designed by Wilma Malcolmson. 

I went back to plein air painting briefly, but the cool weather did not last long and the bugs came out early this year.  We have had a hot and dry summer.  Lately, there has been some much-needed rain with cooler temperatures and shorter days.  We have a day or so of warmer weather and then it will once again be cool.  I am ready for sweater weather.  Bring on autumn!🍁

Cascade Falls

The "Ladder"

Spinning little skeins

For little tapestries.  Perfect projects for deck time under the umbrella.

Wool Week 2021 hat.  My color way was inspired by my favorite outfit,
blue jeans and a white tee.

Houndstooth fabric on the home loom, Buttercup

Knitting a Strange Brew cardigan.  As of this writing, I still have to cut the steek,
finish the bands and block...buttons.  Must choose the perfect buttons. 

Springtime plein air painting in progress.  

Fiber Friday

Since we added Gus to the family my home work has been spotty.  Because he likes all things fiber,  I have to be mindful of where I leave my knitting and such.  When he arrived (I didn't have much time to puppy-proof the house) and after the mitten incident, I tossed the tempting things into my room or the extra bedroom.  I was in the process of reorganizing and the extra stuff I tossed in the room only exacerbated the already messy workroom.  Now I am back at it, cleaning and sorting yarn for knitting and yarns that can be used for weaving.  The art materials have always been well-organized.  I can easily find what I need and the paint boxes are set up for oil painting and acrylic painting on grab-and-go plein air painting days.  Fiber, on the other hand just seems to explode because it is bulky and fluffy in its unspun state.  Once it is spun into yarn it is easier to store.   With this being spring shearing, and Shepherd's Harvest Festival (Mother's Day weekend) the temptation to acquire more fleece is ever-present.  It is humorous, or not, that I was a project-to-project knitter with only leftover yarn in my stash until I learned  how to spin over twenty years ago.

Last weekend was productive starting with Saturday spin in at Anoka Fiber Works.
On Sunday, I found a small bag of colorful wool batts from Ewespun Fiber Mill
and began to spin them for a future project.  The green wool has silk noil nubbles, which I just love.
 It was nice to spin at home with Gus napping in the same room.  

We had our first plein air session last Thursday at the Round Barn in Andover.  It was not rainy, but chilly and windy in the morning.  I was painting with acrylic this time and I much prefer oils for outdoor painting because of the long drying time.  I managed to get a sketch of the barn and will have to work on it at home because my hands were cold and fingers were getting stiff. 

After the painting session, we had a tour of the Farmstead, a senior living facility next door,  to get inspiration for murals we will soon be painting.  

Morning

Early afternoon

The Round Barn's owner has a pet goat, Delilah.
 She is a cute little goat and wears a diaper when she is in the shop.
They have to watch her closely because (being a goat) she love to eat
anything and everything.  

Stash

Welcome 2019!🌲 There’s no stopping the march of time and the changes that come with it.  The highlights of the year was joining the Plein Air Club through the RumRiver Art Center in Anoka.  Returning to painting was gratifying and the group of artists led by Paul are generous and supportive of each other.  Each person has their unique painting style, yet we learn from each other.  I paint primarily with oils (water soluble, for convenience) and recently tried out acrylics, which I used many years ago and did not care for.

My easel is on the far left.  This was our last outdoor session in October.  It was very cold, but a glorious day with beautiful color and light where the Rum and Mississippi rivers meet.

Painting with fiber on the community felting project at Anoka Fiber Works

I enjoyed successful projects with the Gansey sweater and the handwoven tunic particularly satisfying. 

It is great when a plan comes together!

I snapped a photo of my pieces before taking them to the art center.  Sunup Over Castle Rock Lake, cotton and acrylic; Rustic Scarf, recycled sari silk and linen; and Handspun Vest, wool and wool blend.  The landscape was from a photo I took on our last camp out.  Mist was coming across the lake from the opposite shore.

The Rum River Handweavers had a show at the Rumriver Art Center in Anoka for the month of November.  We were the first show in the new gallery, and very successful.  We look forward to future shows!  

Last, but not least, we added our newest family member, Gus.  He came to us through Ruff Start Rescue .  He is a very smart and affectionate boy and although we have not had a puppy for 18 years and have been dogless since 2012, we are enjoying his company.  Since Jim is retired, he has a buddy to keep him busy when I am not around.  

Gus and Moosie.  The rug has since been removed temporarily, as Gus seems to love wool...this is a challenge for me...we will survive the puppy stage because Jim and Gus are attending puppy kindergarten.
Both of them are doing well in school.

Life at puppy level.

Catching up, round 3

Just a few short months ago I was enjoying a plain air painting session at an apple orchard north of Anoka.  I belong to the Plain Air Club through the Rumriver Art Center.  It is the same group that painted outdoors last winter when it was 16-degrees Fahrenheit.  We have a nice time together.  If the weather is inclement, we will paint in the studio.  I have my photos from painting sessions and travels for reference when I work inside.  On this day I was using the water soluble oils, although since that time I have been giving acrylics another try.  The  quick drying time works well for layering color, although I still prefer the buttery texture and feel of painting with oils.

A beautiful, early fall day for painting outdoors!

Between painting sessions, I planned a project for Jim.  Using colors of the Grey Wolf (NYLT) patch, I designed a scarf, and wove it on the Cricket loom.  The super wash wool is warm, soft, and easy care.  I like the design and want to try other color combinations.  The length is perfect for going around the neck twice with plenty of scarf to keep the chest warm.

 Fall progressed quickly.  It was very rainy and the leaves took longer to turn, but there were pockets of beautiful fall color to enjoy.

   A finished project (just last week) is the handwoven tunic.  It began as a jumper, but after fulling the fabric, I could not place the pattern pieces for the short length.  After sleeping on other ideas for a few days, I decided to make a tunic.  My inspiration came from the recent exhibit of Gudrun Sjödén's clothing at the Swedish Institute in Minneapolis.  The wool tunic is a great alternative to wearing a sweater.  I shortened the short version of the pattern by about 3-inches and then added a piece on the side to smooth out the flare to the hem. I was able to lay the pattern, cut out the four pieces, and have leftover fabric.  The facings are lightweight linen and I used a Hong Kong finish on the inside.  The buttons are decorative, as I did not want to fiddle with buttonholes.  For ease of wearing, I added a snap and sewed the top button to the top layer, and then sewed the bottom buttons through all the layers.  The buttons came from a vendor at Shepherd's Harvest Festival and were waiting for the perfect project.  I believe this was the perfect project.  At this time there is no pocket as originally planned, but I can add it later.  

McCall's pattern from the 1990s, Harrisville Designs Shetland wool for warp and weft.

Winter is fast approaching.  The leaves are down, the geese are flying south, and the neighborhood turkeys are everywhere.  It was very cold recently and I bundled up for my daily walks.  The turkey prints were on the sidewalk beside the field and it looks as though they were deciding which way to go.  

Flock

I have been busy knitting on two pullover sweaters, a Gansey and a Lett Lopi.  Mary, Kathryn, and I had been talking at length about Ganseys and we decided to knit in the old way using yarn we had in our stashes, the percentage system, and elements of the traditional garments.  Kathryn finished her sweater, Mary is working on the front and back neckline shaping, and I started the underarm gussets and texture stitches.  In the meantime, when I have to stop and make decisions, the Lopi sweater came to the front of the WIP line.  The pattern is Apríl by Berglind Sveinsdóttir and the yarn is Lett Lopi.  I finally made it to the colorwork section at the yoke.  I chose to have longer floats on the back side of the knitting because the catch was showing on the front side because of the purl rows on the sheep bodies.  The floats will lightly felt together with wearing and washing.  It is one of the characteristics of Lopi yarn that I love.  Sadly, the shop where I bought the yarn is closing and the shops carrying Lopi are few and far between.  

Happy little sheep

The Gansey pullover is at a point where I need to make a decision about what texture stitch/es to put on the top section and then the sleeves to the elbows.  This project is inspired by the Gansey sweater in Knitting in the Old Way (1985 edition) by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts.  It is fun to knit with a general plan (sketches, stitch dictionaries, travel photos, measurements, etc).   The split hem is in garter stitch and the "seams" on either side are two purl stitches, which split apart as the underarm gusset is knitted. 

Decisions to make at the underarm gusset.

A couple of weeks ago the plein air painting group was where the Rum and Mississippi Rivers meet at a local park.  I found a shady spot beside a large tree and painted a willow tree trunk.  

A lovely spot and beautiful day to paint en plein air.

Sockinasock, weaving for a hat, and the Art Crawl

Sock knitting, something I do not typically knit, although I love handknit socks.  Jim even likes his handknit socks (which reminds me...he needs a new pair).  As a one-at-a-time sock knitter with double point needles it is easy to fall into second sock syndrome.  Knitting two socks at a time is the logical thing to do, but I am not a fan of the magic loop  method.  Over the years I have run across the technique of knitting two socks at the same time (double knitting) and the time has come to give it a go.
28.03.16 I used some sock yarn I dyed last year in the sock blank dye class and cast on 64 stitches for my usual plain vanilla socks.  At this time I decided to err on the side of caution and work the ribbing and join the socks for the stockinette stitching.  It took three tries, but I managed to join them and then commence to double knit.  My right hand is throwing English style for purling the outside sock and my left hand is picking continental style for knitting the inside sock.  It is easier to see the stitches and I check now and then to make sure the socks are separate.  So far, so good.

The outside sock cuff is flipped up to reveal the inside sock.  Right now it is fun, but we shall see how I feel when I come to the heel...

The next weaving project is on the loom for Weaving Wednesday at Anoka Fiber Works.  Last week I warped the loom with a variegated Trekking sock yarn and some pale gray Regia with flecks of color.  Weaving the weft with both yarns is coming out a nice windowpane check.

Pretty colors for spring.

The North Artists Studio Crawl is this weekend.  The note cards are printed and I had a limited run of another design in the process of printing.  I am happy Kathryn asked me to be one of her guests.  Robert (Rob) and I are new to the Art Crawl and it should be a fun time.  We will be at Anoka Fiber Works. Some of the vendors will also be there doing demos.  

This little fellow visited AFW one Saturday and was happily sitting on a pillow being admired by all.  He was the perfect subject for a very small painting.
Oil on canvas board, 4" x 2.75"