Catching up and finding time

   The past two and a half weeks were completely devoted to the construction of the costumes for Big Love.  We opened the play on Tuesday, so now, after catching up on laundry and vacuuming and such, I have time to start, well, everything else.
  This weekend is going to be devoted to nothing and everything.  I have sap to boil into syrup, but nary a whole day to do it.  So , Saturday I will get the outdoor fire started early - 7 a.m. or so, and get some of it boiled down, before heading out to a dinner engagement with my husband.  My youngest is sick at home today, or I would have started it today.  I may cheat a little and start some of it on the stove - this can be tricky, because the sap requires so much evaporation, you can literally steam the wall paper off the walls if you boil it all inside. Hmm... maybe I should set  it up in the dining room and get rid of the nasty "old lady" floral wall paper in the process!
    I have to get the process of packing going for my daughter.  Her class is heading to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park for Spring Break - well that is if the government is still open then - if it is not, I guess they will be sitting around in hotel rooms in Utah and Arizona. She needs lots of things she has outgrown since last year, like a swim suit, water shoes and the like.
    I am behind schedule, but some of the "start indoors" seeds are finally getting planted today.  Spring is definitely on the way as the snow is gone except in the lingering plowed piles in certain parking lots, and the daffodils have buds ready to burst.
    Hoping all of you are well and enjoying the warmth that is slowly creeping into our weather.

Hopeful...

I take hope in nature. Spring is coming!

Saw this and thought I'd share

http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/splash

Last year, 250,000 people in America went barefoot for one entire day to raise awareness for the millions of children around the world who have no choice but to walk without shoes. This year, will you join them?


The idea is to raise awareness.  Also Tom's will donate shoes to needy children for every pair purchased. Sounds worth doing, no?
   It is cold here in NY in April, but I will try. 

Catch Up - Autistic License, Big Love, and Family

   What a crazy month March is turning into!!   Last night we did a staged reading of Autistic License by Stacey Dinner-Levin. It went really well and we had a really good talk-back session afterwards.  Thanks to Chloe Jean for making it work.  I played the role of "Mom" and it was - well, not fun - but a great experience.

   Sunday my eldest turned 15 years old! Egads!  When did that happen???

   Friday, Mom came up to see the kids and see the reading.  It is the first time she has been here for more than a quick turn in a long while.

   Still collecting sap.  I hope to do the boil on Sunday - I have plenty of sap - not so sure if there is enough wood for the fire.

   Working on the costumes design for Big Love by Charles Mee which we open in about two weeks.  I am up to my elbows in white sating and taffeta.  And tuxedos.  And dinner jackets...

   Doing the props and costume design for a performance art piece with Eric Gansworth. That goes up the end of April, so we are in production on that already.

   I know Easter is in here somewhere, and Spring break, when my daughter is heading on a class trip to the Grand Canyon and other points West.  When May rolls around, I plan to collapse for a day, maybe two.

Experiments in Photography

  Give a five year old  a camera and see what you get.  The perspective is so different from an adults - both mentally and physically.  Here are some examples from my son.

a Christmas tree

The fish tank and the tail of Great White, our algae eater, who is easily spooked and too quick to photograph

The neighbor's house as seen in a car reflection

the racers

leaves are very important to him

the underside of the neighbor's porch

the essentials of summer, a water glass, bare toes and a sword

Fibers of all kinds and snow

    For my friend, Faith, who wanted to see the fractured black spun up - here is a quick picture or two. .    

I am not sure what to ply it with.  Since I was just playing with the dyes, I did not do a large amount, so plying it together might yield enough for a hat, if I am lucky. However, plying it together might make it muddy, as there is not real pattern to the dyed areas as there would be if I had painted it.  I was thinking of plying it with a  grey so the colours stand out without looking garish.  Any suggestions would be welcome.
    My daughter cut her hair today.  She had never cut it before, except for a few trims of split ends.  I have before and after shots.  Do you know, it was not until after we were home that I thought I should grab a bit and see if I could spin it!  Most of it was donated to Locks of Love, so there wasn't too much
to grab.

Before

After

After the curling iron!

   On another note, winter decided to assure us that she is not gone yet by dropping about two feet of snow on us overnight.   We were thinking maybe the darn groundhog was right, and then, Wham! 

The bluejay taking off

The woodpeckers are thrilled with the suet

Even the crows are fluffed up for warmth

He looks much younger with the snow burying him!

After a long day playing,  no one wants to walk all the way up the hill. This is why big sisters are the best!

Some fiber work

   I have actually been doing some work with the wheel and the needles - I just never post.   I recently began some socks with a stretch yarn by Patons - Stretch Socks -  that I am really enjoying.  It is easy to use and knits up fairly quickly.

 I started working on them in the car on the way down to Ocean City last week.  This was a miracle in itself, as I usually get carsick if I try to knit in the car.  I always have Dramamine in my bag, but that makes me fall asleep.  The answer seems to be Seabands - I knew they existed, but only recently found them. They are bracelets which have a small bead that pushes into your pressure points on your wrists and helps relive/prevent the nausea. Yeah!
   I have also been dyeing and spinning some Corriedale rovings.  I have been playing with Wilton dyes - the gel type. They are a lot of fun because most of the colours fracture. The pure pigments stay pure - the Red red I used stayed, well, red.  Others like brown and black break into the dye components mixed to get that secondary/tertiary colour.  You get a very freeform, and sometimes unexpected, result, but all had been beautiful.

   To start the process I fill the crock pot about 3/4 full with water and a couple good "glugs" of white vinegar.  I then put the roving in - soak it  for anywhere from twenty minutes to 3 hours - depending on how busy I am that day or what else I get distracted by.  I then scoop a blob of gel dye out and dissolve it in a small jar with hot water in it.   I  pour the  dissolved dye into the  pot, gently moving some of the wool around with a knife/chopstick so some dye goes towards the bottom of the crockpot.

This is black dye fracturing

 Then turn the heat onto low and gently heat until the water/vinegar is clear meaning all the dye has been taken up by the wool.

 After that, some folks turn off the heat and let the wool cool before rinsing. I am not that patient.  I scoop the hot wool out and rinse the wool.  No dye runs out, but it minimizes the vinegar smell.  Hang it to dry and then spin or felt as you wish.

The results of a good sized blob of black dye.  For lighter/softer results, use less dye.

The red Red cam out pure, but irregular, so I poured yellow over the finished product and let that cook in as well - I love the results.

Brown fractures with orange and greens

The resulting coloured  wools spin up beautifully. I am really enjoying this and can't wait to start knitting up some of it.  I really like the brown, since burnt sienna is one of my favorite browns and this has a fair amount of that in the final product.

   The nice thing about this process is it is a safe way to introduce children to the fun of dyeing - the food grade dyes are not going to hurt anything (but their clothes - wear smocks!) and they have the excitement of seeing the coloured break into the base colours.