Novelty yarns

Many many moons ago, I was playing around with some yarn.  This yarn was some of the many many many partial cones and mixed lots that I bought for pennies on the dollar from the woman who sold me my loom. 

I pulled out a turquoise wool, a black wool, and a fine loopy variegated bright colored acrylic novelty yarn and wound a warp.  I held the intention of using what I had rather than buying more to add to the shelves upon shelves of yarn!  I also had the vague intention of "using up" a cone or three.  I barely made a dent on any of them with this warp for a single scarf.

I beamed the warp. And then the warp sat.  And sat.  And sat.  Until a few weeks ago, when I sat down and wove it off; it had to go... to make way for wrap warps!  The weft is a black cotton that I also had on hand. 

I'm pretty happy with it, all things considered.  The many many moons through which this warp (and my loom!) sat neglected and cold also served to allow my hands to forget the rhythms of weaving.  Of how the shuttle flies, of tension and speed.  My mind still knew, of course.  But my hands had forgotten.  And so the selvedges on the first half of the scarf are truly abominable.  I didn't take a picture (its my blog, and I can curate if I want to!) but they are wretched.  By the end of the scarf, my hands had remembered.  My beat became increasingly even and consistent, my selvedges cleared themselves of loops. 

And so, all things considered, I'm really quite grateful to this scarf.  For remembering my the rhythms of the loom. 

Blue!

The Tanana Valley State Fair came to town recently.  Longer ago than I'd meant to let this post languish!  Husband and I went and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves: deep fried zucchini and elephant ears are my annual treats at the Fair; we listened to live music by dear friends and incredibly talented musicians (Milk & Honey: shoutout!); and we brought home a prism to hang in a window and make rainbows across the house.  This is also an annual tradition.  By the time this baby is a teenager our windows are going to be ridiculously sparkly. 

AND.... drumroll please......

Ribbons at the State Fair

We admired the ribbons I won!

I think my very favorite part of the Fair is looking at all the entries in the different divisions: Livestock, Native Arts, and all the fiber related divisions are my favorites. 4-H projects are pretty fun to look at too.

After a few years of intending to enter my work and never quite getting around to actually doing so, I was really proud of myself this year for getting my butt into gear this year and getting over to the Fairgrounds on entry day. 

My scarf (blue and white shadowweave in an original design) won a second place ribbon for Handwoven Scarves.

Shadow weave scarf in cotton

I also submitted a set of table linens that I made for a dear friend as a wedding gift.  They went to Fiji for their honeymoon, so I designed the set with tropical colors.  It was a really fun project to work with, I was able to play with the structure: there's plainweave, a couple point twills, and waffle weave in the set - all from the same warp.  And I think the final product has a pretty cool effect, using these really traditional structures in a really traditional product (what's more traditional than a wedding trousseau!?!) but with bright fun modern colors!

Apparently the judges agreed with me!  'Cause the napkins got a Blue ribbon! 

Table linens in cottolin

The process overall was really fun.  Seeing my work displayed, getting comments from a couple of community members who had seen it, and also when I went to pick up my pieces after the fair was over, I got the feedback sheets from the judges.  There was some really valuable and constructive criticism from other experienced weavers.  I think I appreciated that part the most!  I will definitely be entering things next summer!

Salmon Blessings

Darlin'Man and dipnet

Every year we go down to Chitina on the Copper River and dipnet for salmon.  Its exhausting.  And a whole lot of fun.  The Copper River is a great wide roiling band of silty water power that cuts through the wild.  And every year the salmon return, swimming somehow upstream against a current that will tow a man under in moments.  The Darlin'Man along with our good friend Maple of Maple&Me made the long trek down and back in just under 48 hours whilst, conforming to traditional gender roles, we womenfolk stayed home.  Hanging off the side of a shale cliff just isn't quite the best idea for a 16 month old and this pregnant lady gracefully bowed out of the prospect.  Then we all pitched in to process the fish.  Even the littlest one, who was a champ wiping down everything in reach with her own paper towel!  

Filleting

We do our best to waste as little as possible: fish are filleted, then scraped for canning, then carcasses are boiled down for chowder stock or frozen to feed chickens. 

They are a precious natural resource we are so fortunate to have access to, but more even than that they are sacred. We are what we eat. Literally. Foodstuffs are the building blocks of the body. Analysis of your tissues will turn up genetic markers that speak to your diet.  Yoga calls the physical form the anamayakosha , the food body. 

When approached with reverence, the relationship between eater and eaten is a sacred one.  I feel and I honor this connection with the plants in my garden, with the chickens and moose and caribou that come to our freezer.  But for me this sacred relationship is most tender, most intimate with salmon.  Before each trip to Chitina I spend some time in meditation, I journey to the spirits of the salmon, and I renew my gratitude. My love. I feel a kinship with them.  They also happen to be one of the best sources of nutrition on this planet!  

Fillets

And let me assure you, fresh never-frozen copper river red salmon is incredible.  Grilled with just a hint of lemon or salt and pepper.  Divine.