Sock blank

B.’s uncle lives way out in the country, well out of coverage range for my wireless provider, and doesn’t have Internet access, so I’ve only been able to access the Web on my iPhone during our trips into town. As a result I’m woefully behind on reading email, so if you’ve sent me anything recently, I probably won’t answer until I get back. (I have downloaded WordPress for the iPhone and will try posting this from the iPhone tomorrow once I get into coverage range again.)

I have, however, not been idle. Today we visited two fellow weavers and the Folk Art Center, which had all sorts of beautiful crafts and textiles. Alas, no photos allowed, so I can only tell you to go visit, if you’re in the area. Lots of neat stuff.

I’ve also been keeping busy in our “down” time, working on some bobbin lace samples and on a pair of socks. The socks are pretty neat – I dyed up a sock blank before I left with a stripe of bright fuchsia at the top, followed by a gradual fade from turquoise to fuchsia at the bottom. I’m going to try posting one of the photos at the end of the post, but the colors are badly off – it’s actually bright fuchsia and deep turquoise, jewel tones.

The bobbin lace, though, is where I’ve been spending most of my time. It’s been a real challenge to figure out even a very simple pattern but I’m gradually getting the hang of the terminology and learning how to “read” the lay of the bobbins and how to disentangle my mistakes. It’s slow work and not very photogenic yet but I am making progress.

Tomorrow I’m going off to see Alice Schlein! Can’t wait to meet her and check out her studio.