FIBER & ME
By Donna Jo Copeland

Summertime---ain't it just grand? Haven't seen much of the easy living' and I'm sure the fish aren't about to jump up out of a cool lake to be steam baked in this "oven" we like to call Indiana Summertime. Whatever, I'll take it over winter anytime!

But it's a good time for spinning beneath my aged maple trees-stolen minutes from harried days. I sit on a wooden plank bench my dad made for my daughter's wedding here at the farm years back. An old rag rug-one of my first, woven nearly 30 years ago-is thrown on the ground. A nice place to set my spinning wheel and wiggle my bare toes. The bunnies romp in their playpens (only 6 now) and Ginger sits on guard.

Tink has been coming out in the evening and on cooler afternoons. She likes the bench too-a grand perch for "taking the air". Very regal. Mistress of the Manor. And she can supervise the spinning from there as well.

My spinning this summer has been spiced with adventure. I did so enjoy the 3 Learning Exchanges from HGA. The Fiber Identification was challenging-and gave me the opportunity to re-discover why I hate spinning cotton. I also worked with some very badly done alpaca roving, in fact I thought it was either buffalo or muskrat. But there were wonderful fibers too! Hemp, flax, soy silk to name a few. I admit I wasn't as caught up in spinning & tying perfect yarns as I was in investigating and enjoying. Then there was the Spin From Your Stash. What fun! The objective was to spin a designer yarn from fibers you have in closets, under beds and in the freezer. I found things I wasn't even sure of their critter of origin! For one of my yarns I took a large garbage bag and searched my hidey places, throwing whatever fibers I found into the bag. I had 12 different ones! Silk, 6 breeds of wool, angora, alpaca, flax (ahem, my own), some bits of gold lame thread, llama, and some Persian cat for good measure. I then blended it on my drum carder, one pass, and then spun it up. I plyed it from bobbins. It's a great yarn………..the silk added luster, the flax drape and the angora a halo. I kind of like that one. I experimented with others. Adding bits of thread, scraps of yarns, whatever I found. And I got sort of silly with some color. A great trip away from my "normal" spinning. This one the originators plan to continue!

For the Lord of the Rings Cloak……..I broke a few rules. I began with some greenish/grey roving I got from Peg Coffey-------wool/angora/?. I spun it up and then plyed it with some oatmeal Shetland/angora. And I spun up some grey Cotswold/angora. I threaded my loom in Rosepath, about 22 inches wide. Then I wove with a single of the Cotswold/angora in the same Rosepath. I wove about 3 yards, leaving long ends for fringe. After washing and line drying the fabric, I cut it in half. I think I cut about another 6 inches off the cut end to make a better fit. Then I sewed one cut end to the selvage of the other piece beginning at the fringe end. Did the same with the other. This made a sort of square on point with a neck opening. The fringe is on 2 ends, not all the way around. Kind of stylish, perhaps with a flair for Middle Earth. I like the feel…….great scrunchability, falls nicely. Ok so it's not a cloak, but its sort of…………

Boy its hot today! My ancient farmhouse doesn't have air conditioning (or a furnace for that matter). Just a couple of ceiling fans and a floor fan. And the bunnies have 2 box fans in the barn. Wiping the sweat off my brow has become as second nature to me as a cow swatting flies with her tail. I keep telling myself and the Persians to savor the heat as we shall surely relish the memory come January. In the meantime its hard to see to type up here in the attic!

Since I'm a creature of habit I have spent time this short summer working on State Fair entries-for the 36th year. I should be dipped and hung out to dry! Of course there aren't as many classes to enter as in years past so that cut out some of the craziness! Hell Week wasn't all that bad this year although early Sunday morning was a bear! I experimented with felting, fine threads, finishing techniques and dyes. Really had a lot of fun and learned one does not leave a pot of Queen Anne's Lace soaking in the sun for 3 days…..I forgot, ok?

My family is still working our way through my dad's declining health. We laugh, we cry, we savor moments. Little bits of gold threads for our tapestry. One special moment I want to share with you. One July Sunday morning I drove over to Greencastle to pick up some feed and decided one little 8 week old angora had to come home with me. She's a cross and I won't breed her, but I loved her color and she had the beginning of good wool. On the drive home, she sat beside me on the truck seat and we decided she liked the name Celeste. I stopped by Mom and Dads to pick up something and show her to them. I held her in my arms when I walked in the house. Dad was sitting in his recliner, Mom in the kitchen. She came in to see what I had. After a bit Celeste began to wiggle and Dad said to put her down on the floor for a bit. I looked at Mom, she looked at me and we both looked at Dad. (OK, you have to understand my dad is NOT a critter person. He has learned to tolerate my obsession.) He said to go ahead. So I did. Celeste nosed around a bit and then went over to Dad. Sniffed at his toes and nibbled a bit. Dad just laughed. She then stood up and put her paws on his knee. He bent down and talked to her. Celeste really seemed to like him. And Dad was really smiling. Mom was in shock…..so was I.

I wouldn't have traded that moment for anything.

Its late and I have a warp on a loom which needs to be woven off…….tonight if my eyes can stay open. Its cooler at night for weaving. And I like listening to the Night Symphony while I work.

Happy Fibering!