Friday, October 11, 2024

The "Ber"s


 The "Ber"s

the second month into the "ber"s

The eighth month that is really the tenth month

alas

September is usually a pretty slammed month for me, workwise, gardenwise, familywise and unwise that i have not gotten the hang of the cycle that I pretty much created for myself. Always the plans for... Next Time!

Mona, Marianne and Issis
The NCFolk Festival Makers Marketplace went well, in the new location with giant tents and great weather,  visit to Charleston and Folly Beach (I'd never been before). 


With so much going on for everyone, we are finally finishing up the Arts for Everybody collective mural with three other artists - Issis Kelly, Marianne DiNapoli-Mylet and Mona King.  The project began with a public participation program during the Arts for Everybody project, and putting together the various parts for a community health day assemblage piece. 

painted wool warp with alpaca weft
I have had a great time with the workshops and Piedmont Fiber Shed folks. The last workshop was held at Twin Birch and Teasel, a lovely fiber resource shop in Siler City, where we painted warps and yarns. We used Procion MX dyes on cotton and wool- I've woven off a couple of my sample warps. 

And here is OctoBer, with the temperatures chilling a bit (not enough to be mosquito free but I am the perpetual bait for those guys). Cool enough to spend some quality time in the shop weaving and dyeing and the occasional attempt at tidying up. 

cotton/linen hand-dyed mixed twills

I've gotten some different yarns to work with- I snagged some cotton/linen yarns from R&M Yarns over the summer and as much as i love the natural color of linen (and the wonderful grassy scent), I dyed some, too. I love the firm slinky drape of these fabrics and they'll only get better with age (just like linen and Me!)

alpaca/silk and merino/tencel twill (soft!)

I ordered some wooly stuff- a lovely alpaca/silk and a merino/tencel. They are so soft and warm. I've been twilling more, with a mix pattern on the baby wolf and a straight plaid on the Gilmore. I am keeping Fanny set up for some mix weave scarves.


Scarves

I love the rhythm of a scarf, how the color is a pop of interest with any ensemble, that i can wear it and a gazillion ways and take it off when the power surges arrive. I think scarves are one of the easiest accessories every to cross my path; they are versatile and affordable, traditional and sparkly!

My segue

I lived in the Western NC Mountains for several years, went to school in Haywood County and Cullowhee, on top of a mountain. It was such a beautiful time in my life and I met some wonderful folks. And goats and chickens and flowers- it's tough to hear the stories of damage from the hurricane Helene.  I am not a financially wealthy person and I'm hoping that my few contributions can help. That said, I have put these scarves from my website at a lower price with a commitment of 40% of each sale going to relief efforts- BeLovedAsheville and Community Foundation. I'm hoping I have some scarves that folks will like, I can share sales income with the folks that need some help for now. 

dahlia grown from seed

I plan to bring a basket of scarves to the next show, Keep it Local Oak Ridge on October 26 from 10-4. 


In such a chaotic time, it has been incredible to see how people still care and try to help out. 

Happy Autumn! I"m off to weave a bit on this cool morning before the mosquitoes warm up.