Home for the Holidays

Vavstuga Tree

Happy Holidays Blog Fellows,

I am pleased to report that I and my lovely new woven goods are once again located in South Dakota. I apologize for the lapse between blog entries. But, as you have heard before, the Internet connection was not always my friend when I had time to blog. A couple of my favorite followers wanted a blog-style end to my journey, so I am home obliging.

I had a whirlwind of a final five weeks. Three classes came and went from Vavstuga, and I was given time to weave many projects. On my last day we had a celebration of all the items I wove over the past six months. Each was representative of some technique or use of materials that I had not experienced prior to my Vavstuga apprenticeship.

At the final Vavstuga celebration of the year, there was a wonderful soup and salad lunch made by Becky and Susan, complete with fresh baked bread. Past apprentice friends, Mary and Sarah were able to join us for a terrific holiday party. The meal was finalized with a cake made to commemorate one of my most stunning items, the wool smalandsvav mounted on a fleece. Creative and delicious.

Gary flew out to Hartford, Conn. on Friday, the 14th. He and I headed east Saturday afternoon, amassing over $90 in tollway fees. I won't miss that feature of east coast travel. This trip was a little different from our relaxed summer vacation ride east. This time we hustled across the 2,200 miles of blacktop, and saw only interesting sites visible from I-90 or its adjacent gas stations.

We were pleased to get to stay with my brother John and his family for a night in Brookings, SD. The timing was perfect for a quick look at his new "big green machine" and dinner with the family.

We headed through the worst snow of the trip toward home between Sioux Falls and Chamberlain. By the time we reached Wall, it was dry earth and blue sky. We made a quick stop to check on Tom and Georgia in Rapid City. Then, pointed south to home, where a fun greeting awaited me as I drove through town.

Tilly at two days old.

In a couple of days, we will be on the road once again to see the newest addition to the Slagel clan; Matilda "Tilly" Jeanne. I can't wait to experience the "new baby" smell and hear her call me "Grandma"!

Becky and Susan with Nordic Mittens

A great thank you goes out to my Massachusetts  friends and mentors, Susan and Becky, for all that they shared with me over the past six months. I am sure to hear their voices in my head as I work through the many projects I have planned.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

A "Falls" Thanksgiving-

A November evening.

Happy November Blogfellows,

So sorry that it has been three weeks since the last post. It has been so busy here at Vavstuga. We survived the hurricane/flood scare unscathed in Shelburne Falls. Several of the students who have been here since have told stories of house fires, downed trees and weeks without power. The past few weeks my thoughts have often been on those who are still recovering from a 24 hour storm.

Additionally, two back-to-back weeks of classes have left me exhausted but inspired by the many beautiful projects that people created while here and eager to learn and weave more during my final month.



Here, we are all busy threading for an upcoming class while the current class is weaving away in the next room. Becky really got a kick out of this threading station built for three. She's all about productivity! My kind of woman.


I am trying to have as many finished projects as possible upon my return.These pillows are an example of how I used some some samples from the drawloom experience. A local seamstress took my work and some Scandinavian decor pictures I provided and turned them into functional pieces.

Rosepath is a new technique for me. I have several ideas for items I would like to make in the upcoming year using this technique. This green and gold piece will hopefully become a back strap for band weaving.

My current project is a 150 cm wide overshot table cloth with over 2000 32/2 cotton threads (that's smaller than dental floss for you non-weavers). I have made about six inches of progress in two days. I really hope to have a breakthrough today while the building is quiet and peaceful. I am confident this expanse of warp will become an heirloom tablecloth and I have three more days to prove it :)

It's not all work here at Vavstuga. Becky and one of her fellow bandsmen entertained weavers at the end of a long week with an impromptu music set. Hopefully, it won't be the last of her music I hear this month.

Happy Thanksgiving !

Storm's a Brewin'

Golden behind the house

Hello Blogfellows,

I am afraid I have little new in the way of textiles to show this week as all of my  Rep projects, except for the two pieces I shared last edition, are still on the looms at the studio. However, I thought I'd better drop a line in case it is a while before I can send out another entry. This little town is positioned to get a terrific a storm over the next 48 hours. Hurricane Sandy is slated to hit only about two hours southeast of us and we are expecting a fast eight inches of rain from the north. Our local emergency management team has issued a 'state of emergency' for the area and we are not to drive cars in town today, school's canceled etc..... Power outage seems to be a given, it will just be a matter of length of time. Current estimates range from two days to two weeks. I have accumulated all the suggested items to withstand the power outage and I am up on a hill outside of the flood zone. Unfortunately, Vavstuga is right on the river, so we will be closely watching the water levels the next couple of days and hope there is not the devastating repeat of the flood that hit a little over a year ago.

Going-

Going-

Gone - almost

Since I have no textiles, I thought I'd throw out this set of pictures of one of my favorite tree's fall transformation from the last week. I would guess it is indicative of how all the trees will look once the coming winds and rain have their way.

No better spot for this job!

Here is the view  from the threading project I worked on for a couple of days last week. What a terrific spot to get to work. I wish I had a loom out here in the dining room. The threading is for a lovely 8/2 cotton tablecloth that will be a project for a class later this year. It's a 100 cm, so a bit larger than normal.

This little guy flew into the studio when the door got left open for a couple of minutes. I guess he felt all the warmth and magic coming from within and thought he'd like to join us. The yellow sign on the shop across the river reads, "Gifts of Nature". How fitting.

Have a wonderful end to October and keep the east coast in your thoughts this week. Our neighbors are in for a rough ride.

October in New England

The street where I am living

Greetings Blog Fellows,

Happy Fall from New England. I'm sorry it's been so long between posts, but my computer doesn't always want to connect to the Internet when I have time to compose.

16/1 linen table cloth in 10 shaft satin

It has been a wonderful few weeks here, aside from a bit of a lingering cold. A class has come and gone and while they were here for Basics, I had the fantastic opportunity of weaving a 16/1, 2300 end, linen tablecloth. It is still on the loom, so I'll try to remember to show it when finished. I think it is a true heirloom piece. If not an heirloom, it offered a lot of learning experience and I don't think I cried once.

A side trip to the Ben and Jerry's Factory, Vermont

Gloucester, Mass

The "Cottages" of Newport, RI

Gary came out to visit for a week. We traveled all around northern New England. It rained nearly the entire week and we were both a bit sick with various stages of my cold, but we had a blast anyway. We experienced many new places, listened to music on the wharf, attended Halloween dinner theater in Salem, and tried several new craft brews. What more could one want?

An odd little cabin at Weirs Beach, NH

Honey-Comb Rep in cotton and linen

Rep in cotton with mini-string weft

This past week, after Gary left, I was kept busy for several days beaming and threading looms for the upcoming Rep class at Vavstuga. But, I was rewarded for my efforts with getting to weave two beautiful runners from the selection of projects and a Saturday trip to the NY Sheep and Wool Fest. in Rhinebeck, NY. I have heard of this event for years and jumped at the chance to get to attend.

Susan hard at scutching flax

the Zinzendorfs

Becky, Susan and I had a three hour seminar on raising flax and producing linen with hands-on practice.  We had to leave Shelburne Falls at 5:30 AM to drive the 2.5 hours for the class. When we finished the session we unanimously decided to get off the fair grounds as quickly as possible. It was a perfect fall day and there had to be 1/4 to 1/2 million people attending the Festival. Elbow to elbow people and strollers. Luckily, the interesting Zinzendorfs, who wrote, The Big Book of Flax,  made it worth the trip to hear their stories of understanding how to grow and use flax in the United States. After dismissing the idea of eating at the bursting town of Rhinebeck, we finished our drive home following a delicious, uncommon lunch at the "Fork in the Road" diner outside of town.

Fall at the Bridge of Flowers

A new group comes today for the Rep weaving class. The week will fly by for me as I work to be helpful around the studio. I hope you are all having a terrific, magical fall! Get out and take a walk before the snow flies.

Maine Road Trip

Happy End of September Blog Fellows, 

I have returned to Shelburne Falls from my quick road trip to Maine. It was fun taking in all the changing foliage, quaint little towns, pristine lakes and a few fiber shops. 

Iron art on the Bridge of Flowers

Not to mention time spent getting reacquainted with an old friend. Sue and I spent our day going to an Organic Farm and Garden Fair in Maine. We left her lake house and drove about two hours where we parked in Unity, Maine and bicycled four miles to the fair grounds. The Maine bike coalition was having a promotion to encourage biking. So, we took advantage of an excuse to get some exercise and save a couple of dollars.

It was a gorgeous day for a ride and then a couple of hours spent walking the fair grounds which had everything from vegetables and animals, to hemp products and build-your-own composting toilets.  We only made it to about 2/3 of the fair before heading back to pick up dinner - a real Maine treat! Fresh lobster, corn on the cob and salad.












After leaving Sebago Lake on Monday morning I took all small roads to return to Shelburne Falls. It took about nine hours to get home, twice the time of using the Interstate. But, it was so much more pleasant.

Harrisville Designs Mill

I drove to Harrisville, NH where there is a mill and loom manufacturer. Sadly, the place is closed on Mondays. But, I did get to see a lovely town full of old brick buildings. As I traveled down the road in New Hampshire I passed a little highway sign pointing out  that The Fiber Studio was just ahead, so I detoured up the road to visit the place. Nestled back among a half dozen houses is a totally restored old barn with two inspiring floors of yarns, looms, wheels, buttons and beads. Here is a link to their website http://www.fiberstudio.com/ . Funny how it was hidden off the highway, no town or commercial center in the area at all.  It has to be return business and word of mouth that keeps this place going.  I bought a couple of pewter buttons for Nordic mitten making and went on my way.

About an hour later I was passing through the small town of Antrim, NH thinking the name sounded familiar. Just as I was about to exit the town I saw a sign on the side of the road that read "Wool Room" and I remembered a conversation with a Vavstuga student about a little shop with a charming older woman who taught spinning and knitting. So, I turned down the single lane country road and drove a couple of miles to the shop of Anne Hennessy. It turns out Anne is one of the knitters featured in a new book, 10 Secrets of the Laidback Knitters. She is "the wise woman" in the "Find Yourself a Wise Woman" chapter. She said wise meant she's old and has been around a long time. After my encounter with her, I think a wise woman is like fine wine! Needless to say, I had to buy the book.

So eventually, after a warm fresh-made calzone in Keene, I headed for my little bedroom in Shelburne Falls. Where I unpacked, read my new book, and fondled my latest off-the-loom blanket while wondering what the next week would bring.

Enjoy your fall weekend. Too soon snow will be flying.

Class Week at Vavstuga

Hello from Vavstuga Blogfellows,

Fall is definately in the air out here in Massachusettes. You can see in this picture taken last week that there is one little yellow tree snuggled up in the top of the picture. I plan to take this same picture every week or so as the trees prepare for winter. There is so much variety in this section that there should be a great display of color. Gary will come east the second week of October, so it should be a great time for us to explore the north-eastern states and see a lot of infamous "fall color".

Kim sent me to get a few groceries. I hope she wasn't in a hurry. I took the camera and while I realize these flowers do not look very fall-like, trust me, they are totally different than those from last month.

It has been a terrific week of weaving, linen threading and new information shared at the drawloom studio. A class is now in progress at the other studio. I have had the pleasure of spending this week weaving a beautiful piece at Vavstuga and going out to the drawloom studio for lecture times. Students in the class are experiencing making the pieces I wrote about in the blog two weeks ago.

On Tuesday it rained heavily the entire day. It was so peaceful at Vavstuga with chef Kim working away in the kitchen filling the building with the scent of Swedish meatballs for dinner, the sound of steady rain tapping on the windows, low hanging clouds socking in the village and best of all my smalandsvav progressing with only a few broken warp threads (which is to be expected, for me anyway, when weaving on a warp of over 2000 threads). I am so happy with this piece. It should come off the loom today, Thursday, and I'll picture it in it's entirety next week.
Out at the drawloom studio when I went for lectures
we typically sat at the table writing out pattern drafts, discussing the difference in the techniques being used and see first hand the variety of material that can be woven with each technique. This is just a small collection of beautiful opphampta fabrics made by Becky, used for demonstration.

Sometimes, Becky likes to get her students up and moving around to keep things interesting and help make a point. Here we are making a "human loom" to aide in understanding a loom with Damask pulleys and two harnesses. You can't say weavers don't know how to have fun :)

So, as I said, my other mission this past week or so was to get a 2,185 thread linen 20/2 (?) warp threaded and sleyed for a ten-shaft satin table cloth. It will be stunning. I am hoping to get to weave it. It is one of the widest, finest linen warps Vavstuga has had on loom for people to weave and it will be part of the upcoming "Treasures" classes through 2013 (maybe 2014), I think. I am so proud of myself because the warp came out beautifully. It is really tough for me to concentrate on so much threads, so I am pretty easy to please when it comes to getting so many of these fine little yarns to come out to exactly the number aimed for.

This week has been nuts around here for everyone other than me. Becky had her Drawloom class to teach and Vavstuga opened their 2013 class enrollment on Wednesday morning with the phone has ringing off the hook. Susan, the business manager, has been manning the phone, registering people for three days, while also handling the on-going day-to-day operations during a class week. She is amazing. After three days they are over 80% enrolled for the year (that's with 144 classroom slots - not counting "special" private events).  Have a fantastic week. I am headed to Maine after work Saturday night to see Sue Dyer, a classmate from 33 years ago. It will be a fast trip and a wonderful day spent catching up.