A foot down
Three weeks ago I had foot surgery to resolve a pinched nerve that had been bothering me for over a year (from right before my New Orleans trip). Three weeks later, I am wearing a "normal" shoe and walking with a limp as it continues to heal -- but it is already better than before the surgery.
I had planned to knit and craft away when my foot was up and I was healing. I had also planned to attack some design work for a project I had hoped to have had a signed contract on. No such luck. There have been lots of professional ups and downs these past few weeks. But, as I continue to wait on one big project, I had a few other teaching venues open up.
The first is this Thursday at Schnabeltier. Schnabeltier is a local artisan wine and cheese shop which opened October 2014. All the cheese starts are from Europe, and all the other ingredients are local. I've toured the back of the shop and seen the cheese vats, wine vats, and cheese aging rooms. It's fascinating! They have had a few Wine and Canvas nights and asked me to come in and teach a knit and wine night. I've ordered wonderful cotton yarn from Knit Picks, and we're Getting Dishie with a Sip and Knit at Schnabeltiers. Give them a call at 574-224-3373 to register.
I came home early from the Spinning Retreat because of a bad winter storm that was moving into the area. It seems we have had a "bad winter storm" about every weekend this calendar year! But I was able to complete and ply a project and begin another I brought with me. It proved to be a harder spin, so I switched to a lovely Romney/alpaca/angora blend fiber I swapped with a wonderful spinner and fiber lady, Peggy. Then, I learned long draw (quickly and incompletely), and proceeded to spin about 7 oz. of this lovely fiber while practicing it. It was a wonderful fiber to do long draw on, and, working on it after I got home a day early, I completed three skeins of a two-ply yarn. The only thing I wasn't satisfied with was my method of adding a ply when one gave out. Now, I have to figure out what to knit with the yarn.
At the retreat, I sat next to Sister Nancy whom I had met before at a Sit and Spin at MoonTree Studios. She was a great deal of fun to get to know better. I forced her and my friend Rosemary to learn spindling (and, I think they both liked it more then they thought they would). By the time I vamoosed, I was in discussion with Nancy about having an Art Exhibition at MoonTree, and teaching three classes. I am excited that I will display my work in that gorgeous facility! Thankfully, it is still two years away (January - March 2017), so I can work on items to post for sale. Most of what I produce now are prototypes for knitted and crocheted patterns and not saleable.