Camel's Hump

I can't explain why, but from a very young age, I have been assailed with a listless heart - as if I am ever searching for something unknown. I have found nature soothes my listlessness in a way that nothing else can. For me, the experience of being outside can be likened to something spiritual - almost meditative. While many people say they need inspiration, I feel a constant bombardment of inspiration. My inspiration is exhausting because there is not enough time for me to realize all the creative visions I have running through my mind. Hiking calms me. It completely settles the constant existential questions that gnaw at me which nothing else can quell. Like the continuous need to create, I also have an ever present need to submerge myself in the natural world - to be where I can see the direct work of God around me. I can't look at the world and deny the evidence of something much bigger than myself. Something awe inspiring. Something great. It is here that I can somehow feel the affirmation of God's goodness.

Camel's Hump, VT

And so this last weekend, John and I took the kids to Camel's Hump in VT. There we spend 2 days camping and hiking in the Green Mountains. The trip was three fold. In addition to meeting my need to find peace outside, I also got to spend some much needed time with my family. Thirdly, John and I hope to introduce the world to our children so they learn some of the magic of seeing things grow, of studying the unknown, in understanding that nature can be a place for them to retreat. I hope to impart to them a bit of David Brower's belief that "there is no science and no art of greater importance than that which teaches seeing, which builds sensitivity and respect for the natural world, a world that 'has visibly been recreated in the night'."

We camped in a delightful campground where our campsite was secluded and had an incredible view of the lake. We let the kids explore the woods around us all afternoon and took them down to the shore where they shed their clothes and got in a little bit of BVD swimming. We wrapped up the evening with brats and s'mores. We hit the Burrow's trail up Camel's Hump nice and early and were able to summit. Seth did famously, hiking 99% of the way up - a feat for a 3.5 yr old. And both were sports given the chilly wind. There was still snow near the summit.

At the Burrow's trail head

On the summit of Camel's Hump

I have always been interested in woodland flowers, and was able to get some decent pictures that I will put in my To-Be-Felted folder. Cora found a fabulous Jack-in-the-pulpit that was all green. I had never seen one without purple on it - maybe this is a more rare species. It was quite beautiful, and Seth and Cora looked at it for a long time. We were also fortunate to see some trout lilies, red and painted trilliums, blood root, solomon's seal, ferns, downy yellow violets, forget-me-nots and countless others.

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Trout lily

Red trillium

Painted trillium

Ferns

Skirting a Fleece

This last weekend, I had the opportunity to skirt and pick through some Jacob fleece that a neighbor said I could split with her if I helped with the processing! Major score! (Thanks Deb!) Jacob sheep have a medium-fine fleece with no outer coat and are usually spotted. They are also unusual in that they have two sets of horns - one set arching from the top of the head, and the other swirling around their ears. All sorts of romantic stories trace this particular breed back to the Biblical flock of Jacob when he worked for his father-in-law (Genesis 30). Other stories trace the breed back to a flock which was washed ashore from a ship wreck during the reign of Elizabeth I and the attempted attack on the Spanish Armada. Though I don't know the validity of these stories, most modern flocks are traced back to England, where they have been established for many centuries. You can learn more about Jacob sheep on the breeders website: http://www.jsba.org/.

Kathleen H. Peters skirting a fleece

Here I am, skirting and picking away! The three fleeces I am working on with my neighbor were given to us for free by a woman who inherited them when she bought a house. Unfortunately they were kept in wood chips, so there was plenty of picking to go. The color variations on these sheep were incredible. Deb and I decided to process the wool all together and we are thinking the roving will come back a nice heathery color. I thought it would be more brown, but Deb thinks it will be more gray. We'll see! Such suspense! Regardless, I do love wool!

Color Study - Dyeing to Felt

Something about color really challenges me. It seems I am constantly felting things up and then they mute down to something dull and drab. Or worse, I use wool from an unreliable source and the dye isn't fast - leaving me with a bunch of wool to compost. When it comes to color, I get a picture in my mind and when it comes out in felt (or paint, or quilting, or whatever) it all looks so different than I imagined. One half of me likes the surprise. The other half hates the lack of control. So I invested in some dye and have been dying up wool to study. Felting white squares with colored dots has proven their immediate fastness, though I am still investigating light fastness. However, since spinning is easier for me to do than felting while my children are awake, I have started my true color study there.

These are the first two batches of wool I started with. Because I like a little more depth than a straight color, each of them were rainbow dyed. The red roving was cherry, scarlet and mulberry and I decided to spin it up. It was pretty bright so I thought I'd tone it down by plying it with undyed dark brown romney wool. I thought they looked beautiful together:

When plied into yarn they are hideous. Absolutely hideous - likened to a chocolate raspberry candy cane! Much too stark for my liking. After a few yards I stopped and dyed a new batch of roving in the same red shades to try plying. It came out a bit darker, but I plied them together and got a tolerable red tweed. It was still a bit more tweedy than I would have liked, but tolerable.

I learned two things: 1. I like more subtle combinations in yarn than strong tweeds, and 2. I surmise that when felting, the more stark contrast should make my picture stand out more, giving a more bold impression. Determining that I like more subtle changes for yarn, I switched to purples and blues, inspired by a quilt from a color theory book. When they dyed up they weren't completely what I was looking for, but the subtle changes in color are much more appealing to me and made a beautiful yarn. I still have a long way to go before I figure out the whole color thing.

TWISTED Fiber Show was a flying success!

I made the Connecticut Valley Spectator as a featured artist! http://tsv.live.mediaspanonline.com/Entertainment/Story/090403-kmc-fibershow

Now, the TWISTED show has come and gone, and was a flying success! Cardigan Mountain Art Association held the show this last weekend in an effort to inspire and educated people in fiber crafts and uses of natural fibers - a concept inspired by the United Nations' declaration of 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fibers. Over 400 pieces of fiber artwork were exhibited, covering rug hooking, braiding and weaving, quilting, basketry, felting, spinning, lace making, crochette, knitting, weaving and dressmaking. I was grateful for everyones participation and excitement. I owe special thanks to Gary Hamel of Orange, NH, Jane Darling of Canaan, NH and Rainie Kelly, of Canaan, NH. Without their help, I never would have been able to make the show happen. The event started with an invitation only opening that was attended by about 100 people.

All day Saturday and Sunday I demonstrated felting and was excited to see how many people were interested in learning more about my craft. The show not only served as an education for the public. Because there were so many invited artists, TWISTED served as a network for the local fiber artists to get to know each other and learn more about each others work. Approximately 250 people attended the show.

Several people mentioned they were interested in signing up for classes - so stay tuned! I will be teaching a felting class sometime in late June or early July. Please email me if you are interested in attending! mhfiber@gmail.com

Little Peggy Spinning Wheel

I finished my spinning bench just in time to use with my Little Peggy! The bench is made of some clear pine that I had left over from a bookcase I made a while back. I was very excited about the bench because it was put together completely with joinery and pegs, which means there are no nails used at all. The pegs took the stain darker than the pine, making them a design element to be noticed.

The spinning wheel was made in the mid 1900s and I purchased it from a woman in New Zealand. After waiting two weeks for it to clear customs, I received the package. My children thought it was delightful to get something so big in the mail. And I was frantic to getting my spinning itchy fingers on it.

After spinning on it continuously for two weeks, I highly recommend it. It has a double drive band, or you can use scotch tension. It has both options. I have discovered that I like the double drive band better. That leaves my scotch tension available to use on my lazy kate so that my plying bobbins are under tension, giving a nice even ply. I really like that the Little Peggy has it all right in front of you, nice and compactly. The wheel is very balanced and provides an even tension and pull on the fiber - it makes me wonder how I used to spin on my Ashford at all! I also like that the orifice is centered over the wheel so that my body can remain relaxed and square. That prevents me from getting overly tired, and saves my shoulders from getting a crick.

With a new wheel on hand, I figured I had better start to spin up some of the luxury fibers I had laying around, waiting until my skills where good enough to make some high quality yarn. I started with a tweed: one strand is white merino and the other is a mix of beautiful icelandic wool and alpaca that I got at Maple View Icelandics Farm. The icelandic and alpaca were left in their natural colors. I really like the natural colors of this and am happy to have found a nice combination for a "male" knit! The second skein is a white on white ply. One strand is merino and the other is silk. The silk strands gives this skien a soft sheen and will make a dressy knit.

Spinning silk was very challenging for me. Because the fiber is so soft and smooth, it just pulled out of my hands like butter. I found myself rethreading my wheel often. The finished product is delightful soft, however. Over all, my first luxury encounter was enjoyable, even if I am partial to wool.

Pysanky Eggs

When you are not able to do as much fiber as you would like to due to health issues, one must resort to other activities. Me? Pysanky eggs. I have become crazed and have found myself making pysanky eggs like mad this year. I am looking forward to Easter in a way that I have never quite before. While most people are rejoicing the resurrection, I have recently found solace in the idea that God has suffered just like we do. Somehow I am comforted by the fact that God experienced the loss of a child. For me, He has become more relatable, somehow. The pysanky eggs have all sorts of spiritual symbolism which I have found interesting. And so I have spent hours decorating eggs in a (sometimes feeble) attempt to stay focused on goodness. Here are some of the eggs that have been created by my children and me:

Having so many eggs when you have a 20 mo. daughter and a 3 yr. old son poses a problem. You don't want to just leave them in a bowl on the table where they will be grabbed by grubby little fingers. I was forced to build an egg shelf. Luckily there was some scrap pine laying down in the basement just waiting to be transformed, painted "whale" (because we had some left over from other projects) and hung on the wall. It nicely displays and protects at the same time. Very convenient!

TWISTED

The Cardigan Mountain Art Association presents TWISTED: A Celebration of Traditional Fiber Crafts and Their Modern Turns!

May 2 and 3 from 10:00 to 4:00 at the historic Canaan St. Meeting House, in Canaan, NH.

As I have mentioned in my blog before, the United Nations has declared 2009 to be the International Year of Natural Fibers. Their hope is to raise awareness and stimulate demand for natural fibres, to promote the efficiency and sustainability of the natural fibres industries, to encourage appropriate policy responses from governments to the problems faced by natural fibre industries, and to foster an effective and enduring international partnership among the various natural fibres industries. In honor of that, I am organizing a fiber show with CMAA!

It is going to be a fantastic celebration including fiber exhibits and professional demonstrators. The show will highlight the history of local mills and traditional crafts, and will be wrapped up with modern artists and their fiber work. Craft exhibits will include knitting, weaving, felting, spinning, quilting, rug hooking and braiding, basketry, and local fibers.

Some notable art pieces include:
- a civil war quilt (in excellent condition)
- works done by a weaving and dying cooperative in Indonesia
- basketry made with local fibers

More information will be posted on the events page at a later date! I am looking forward to seeing you all there!

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A Shawl of Homespun

I have been working on making a shawl all the way from fleece for some time now, and have finally finished. The fleece came from a beautiful Coopworth sheep and was purchased at Hodgepodge Handicrafts in Newport, NH. I purchased it in its natural colors of silver, cream and charcoal. After carding the wool on a drum carder, I then used a single treadle Ashford Traveler spinning wheel to a 2-ply yarn. (In the pictures below, the fleece and yarn are shown in a beautiful egg basket made by Jane Darling at Firefly's Farm.)

Cleaned Coopworth Balls of homespun

After several attempts at using patterns that didn't meet my approval, I finally settled on an original design in which I knit from the top center and expanded out into a large triangle. Two lace stripes run vertical down the spine and the bottom is bordered with a simple lace before it is cast off. I received a beautiful maple through-hole for a shawl pin from Josh Trought of D-Acres. The pinning stick is made of ash and was whittled by Merrill Snell. I love the shawl pin as much as the shawl, and I felt they really complimented one another. Here is the finished product with me squinting into the sun!

Kathleen H. Peters in her shawl of homespun

Back view of homespun shawl

I learned two very important points from this creation. The first is that blocking a finished knit item does, truly, make a world of difference. Before the shawl was blocked, the lace edge was very wavy and indistinct. Blocking the shawl really give it an exquisite finished look.

The second thing I learned was that my children really do pay attention to what I do when I work with fiber. While trying on the shawl for the first time, moments after casting off, my daughter came running to me with her beloved "special" blanket. I wish you all could have seen her eyes when she realized I had an extra shawl pin! It was pure delight! How I wish she wasn't growing so fast!

Kathleen H. Peters with her daughter, trying on the shawl for the first time.

The Season of Knitting

Many of you are probably wondering where on earth I have gone off to! Well, that is simple! I haven't been felting at all! I have been over in Clark, SD visiting in-laws for Christmas. And then, my husband and I spent the last week replumbing our house since the pipes burst while we were gone. Luckily, there was no flooding - but I will spare you the non-fiber details.

So what do you do when you are a fiber nut who can't transport her felting from NH to SD? You knit! This year my whole family needed hats. My daughter, is already on her 3rd hat this year. The first one (which I loved) was crocheted out of homespun and was left on the T in Boston. The second had ear flaps - and she was traumatized any timed she saw it. Imagine, an 18 mo. old who is already fashion crazed! The third hat - and hopefully last - looks splendid on her. It is made of Noro and really brings out the blue of her eyes while still matching her orange coat. Leave it to Noro to get a tasteful color scheme for that challenge! My son has a nice simple brown hat. It frames his face nicely with a rolled brim, and looks great on him when his cheeks are all ruddy from the cold! Last but not least - my husband finally has something I made for him that he wears! For years he has been telling me not to bother, he just isn't a "sweater kind of a guy"! But his head circumference is very, very large - which makes buying a good looking hat challenging. He could wear a bright orange hunting hat to work. However, he found that my hat suited that purpose a bit better. Again, Noro saved the day. It is spiced up with stripes, yet remained completely masculine.

Cora's hat Seth's hat Cora's, Seth's and John's hats

So how about a hat for me? I have been wearing the same hat for five or six years now. And I am sad about the idea of retiring it. But I did buy some yarn for a new hat and matching scarf. They will be knit in my knitting class - starting tomorrow.

Kathleen H. Peters in her favorite hat