2016 Goals

This year I will keep it simple so that I actually have a chance of reaching my goals.

1. Teach. As often as possible.

2. Spin. As often as possible, including at least one new breed or fiber that I haven't spun before.

3. Because my mother taught me "idle hands are the devil's workshop," always have a project underway. And complete at least some of them. My current projects are a pair of socks (more about that in the next post), spinning again for the Ribe mittens, and an embroidery/sewing project. That last one has an actual deadline, so no procrastinating allowed.

2015 in Review

Here it is, already a week into 2016. Today I will stop and think about what I accomplished last year. I set myself seven goals for 2015. The one that seemed the most important to me at the start of the year - recreating the Ribe mitten - went nowhere. In fact, I used up the yarn for an entirely different project. But I will start again. I also did no work on the tablet woven garters. But I did inventory my yarn and roving, which prompted me to give away much yarn that I knew I would never use. Now a new person is learning to knit.

I finished my little experiment about how much yarn fits on a spindle. After several trials, to get consistent threads, I fit slightly more thread on my medieval reproduction spindle. Two full spindles made enough thread for a napkin or basket cover or short veil.

I wanted to teach more often in 2015, and I did. I taught at every event I attended, also taught one-on-one or to small private groups. I also attended as many classes as I could during the year, because learning new things is as much fun as passing on what I already know.

After learning about goldwork techniques at Pennsic 2014, I wanted to try my hand at a period embroidery piece. I did some research on these styles, and worked out a design, based on a small enamel piece. But I never started the embroidery. That's because in the spring I learned about lacis, and if you have read any posts this year, you know I am smitten with the technique. So, while I didn't do the embroidery project I expected, I did increase my knowledge of a period embroidery style. Perhaps this year I will organize what I have learned and panel for period competency from Athena's Thimble. (I wonder if I could be ready by Birka?)

A project that I wanted to do, but was not originally a goal of 2015 was to make a period style knit bag. I made my pattern, made several samples and began the actual piece. Then, I put the yarn away before we went to Pennsic, and I have been unable to find it since. I must have put is somewhere very, very safe. When it turns up, I will pick up where I left off.

The best thing I did in 2015 was take Marjorie Parmentar as my apprentice. I am so enjoying spending time with her and watching her skills and knowledge grow. I am looking forward to our time together in 2016.

2015 Goals

Looking back at my 2014 goals I see I didn't reach many of them. I did recreate my great grandmother's socks, and I did a tiny bit of tablet weaving, and quite a bit of spinning. I guess I did a lot of meandering last year. Even so, I find I do best if I lay out a map of things I want to accomplish. I know I am rarely successful at completing all the tasks I set for myself, but it keeps me moving in a generally positive direction. So, here goes:

1. Stop Procrastinating, and FINISH THE RIBE MITTENS. There is nothing more to say.

2. Toward the end of 2014 I posed myself a little question about how much thread could comfortably fit on a period spindle, and how long it would take to spin it. I started to experiment, using my #6 whorl and Ribe style shaft. I am guessing the spindle is somewhat more than half full at this point. When the spindle reached a weight of 35 grams I started having to add a second half hitch to keep the thread from slipping off. We'll see how much more I can add before it becomes too difficult to keep a consistent gauge, or both knots slip off. There have been too many interruptions to the spinning to be able to time it, so I will do it again. Besides, it's always nice to have more than one trial to reach a valid conclusion.

3. Finish my tablet weaving project. I started to make myself a pair of garters, but stalled after just a couple of inches. Can I finish them before the end of May?

4. Teach. As often as I can. The first thing I will teach is beginning sprang, at the January 20 Concordia A&S night.

5. In that same vein, I have taken on a student. Marjorie Parmentar and I will get together each week so that I can help her structure her learning process. If we find the relationship works well, she will become my first apprentice.

6. I want to inventory all of my wool and roving. I'm sure I have more than enough to keep me busy for a year. If I organize it I can begin to decide on some projects to spin for. First is to finish spinning for the shawl I want to knit.

7. Finally, in December we visited the Metropolitan, the Cloisters and the Cooper Hewitt museums. I was particularly interested in the embroidery pieces that were on display, since I had taken several embroidery classes at Pennsic this past summer. It was wonderful to see in person some of the artifacts made using the techniques I had just learned about. This year I would like to begin a period style embroidery project.

This is a scene from the life of St. Catherine, South Netherlandish, c. 1430, from the Cloisters - silk and metal thread on linen. What is difficult to see in my poor photo is the diaper pattern of couched gold around the edges of the scene. This is much more complex than anything I would attempt as my first metal thread project, but I thought you might enjoy the picture.

Goals for 2014

My first goal for 2014 is to complete the reproduction of the Ribe nalbinding mitten. I have been working on this project off and on for more than a year and a half. Part of the delay was because other priorities got in the way. More importantly, I found there was more to discover about a "simple" mitten than I had anticipated. This is the year than I will bring this project to completion.

I spent a great deal of time in 2013 doing research and writing. That isn't a bad thing, but it meant that I had less time for spinning. I feel a void, and I will not neglect my spinning in 2014.

Third, I will weave something with the flax I have spun. I will keep it small (a napkin?) so that I don't get discouraged. If I can motivate myself, I will finish the big cotton piece that is on my larger loom (and has been there, neglected, since spring).

Fourth, I will practice tablet weaving. This was a 2013 goal that I never found time for, beyond taking a class at Pennsic.

Finally, I will knit a pair of socks using my great-grandmother's pattern. I have already counted out the stitches and worked out the pattern, so this should be an easy goal to accomplish.

2013 in review

This year has gone by so fast, and once again it is time to look back on what I've accomplished for the year.  What have I done? What have I learned?

Shortly after making my goal list I was surprised by being chosen as the Queen’s A&S Champion, for my research into how spin direction affects the look of the woven fabric.

While my goal had been to do my best work, actually being chosen changed my priorities a bit. I am truly enjoying this honor. I get excited by the intersection of arts and sciences, and my time as champion has allowed me the opportunity to encourage others to look at their work in a new way. I've attended a wider range of events, I've gotten to know many more people, and I've been able to spread my enthusiasm farther than I could on just the Baronial level. Shortly after I was chosen, Kiena requested that I make a gift for the King and Queen of the Mid. That slowed my progress on the goals I had set for the year, but I used it as an opportunity to learn a new embroidery technique.

In May I was off to Kalamazoo to present my research on 8^th century Danish spindle whorls. What an amazing opportunity that was! My paper was well received, but more importantly, it gave me access to many other researchers, not only in textiles, but every other field of medieval study. After the conference I was asked to submit my work for consideration for publication. I've yet to see what comes of that, but after several months of polishing my text, it is off my desk and there is nothing else to do while I wait for feedback.

I also spent time this spring and summer analyzing Egyptian textiles dated to approximately 1000 BC. They are currently on exhibit at the Albany Institute of History and Art. This is something I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to do, and it was especially exciting when we discovered a garment that no one knew the museum had. It was a thrill to examine how the flax was spun, how the cloth was woven and how a garment was constructed. Egyptologists will have new material to study here, and I am glad I was able to be a small part of the research. Some of the research will be printed in the exhibit catalogue in 2014.

At Pennsic I broadened my understanding of textile archaeology, and tried my hand at weaving medieval-style patterns. I still have a mental block about warping the loom, and I don’t get as much pleasure from throwing the shuttle as dropping the spindle. I doubt I’ll ever consider myself a weaver, but my fascination with cloth keeps me coming back. (It is fun to watch the pattern emerge from the threads.) Between weaving sessions, I presented my spindle research to a tent full of interested spinners, which was so inspiring. The art of teaching really is the best way to learn your subject. Students have the most insightful questions, which fuels my desire to know more.

This summer I tackled my goal of learning to spin flax. I still have a lot to learn, but I did have success. One thing I learned is that I prefer spinning animal fibers. They feel so much nicer in the hand. Between spinning flax and spinning quivet, I'm beginning to get the feel for spinning while holding onto the spindle. I'm not that fast yet, but I'm getting better.

I also improved my knitting skills (although this was not one of my planned goals). I learned to knit gloves, expanded my sock knitting, and trained my hands to work with tiny needles. I've learned to “read” my knitting, and I can correct my mistakes, even when I find them several rows later. I did not quite finish my Christmas knitting - my poor husband got 3 socks. I guess that makes my first goal for 2014 to finish that last pair! At least it is already on the needles.

I attempted to work on my goal of recreating the Mammen nalbinding artifact. What I've learned is that this project is going to have to wait a few years until I retire. The stitches are so tiny that it takes a great deal of concentration to make evenly sized stitches. I also find it difficult to pick up the work mid-row (thank goodness for magnifying glasses). This project will have to wait until I can devote several uninterrupted hours of work at a time. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to work on my tablet weaving skills.

I have made progress on recreating the Ribe nalbinding mitten. While work on it was slowed by unexpected projects and family emergencies, I am happy with how the work is going. The yarn is spun and the stitching is started. I completed one final test mitten to work out a few questions I still had. It is meticulous work to recreate an artifact, rather than just use it as inspiration, but I am enjoying the effort.

So once again I have meandered this year, but I have no regrets. I have accomplished some of my goals and I am well on my way with others. I will allow myself to drop one goal temporarily off the list, and I am ready to leap into the new year with new work.

If you are coming to East Kingdom 12^th Night, bring a small project to display, and be sure to say hello. I’d love to hear about what art or science excites you.

Goals for 2013

My first goal for 2013 is to do the best work I can for my presentation in Kalamazoo in May. There will not be much blogging until I am satisfied with my paper.

Second, the King and Queen's A&S competition this year requires only one entry. My goal is to complete my current spinning project (more on that later) in time to enter the competition in February. It was so valuable talking to the judges last year that I want to push myself to be able to have that opportunity again.

Third, I want to complete my reproduction of the Ribe mitten. I did enough research and experimentation last year that it should be possible to reach this goal. I will not start until after Kalamazoo.

Finally, I want to return to tablet weaving, to advance my understanding of the Mammen artifact.

Between these larger goals, I want to make time to try spinning flax, and practice some more with spinning silk. I have a hard time not spinning, so even while I am writing my paper I'm sure there will be time to pick up a spindle. If nothing else, it will clear my head when I get stuck.

My year in review

It hardly seems possible that it is New Year's Eve already. Where did the year go? I thought I would take this opportunity to look back on what I accomplished this year and how it fit into my goals.

A year ago my goal was to learn the skills I needed to complete a replica of the triangular Mammen artifacts. The new skill I needed to learn was brocade tablet weaving. I didn't reach that goal, but that doesn't mean I did not grow during the year.

I began the year completing 3 projects for King & Queen's A&S competition. You can see them if you look back in this blog. The embroidery project highlighted the level of my skill in this craft, but didn't push me to learn new stitches or history. I enjoy embroidery, but I am not passionate about it. The most fun was spinning the thread. With the nalbinding project I began to learn how to tease out new information from an artifact. While the period weaving project was really more about testing my hypotheses about spun thread, I also began to learn about the relationship between the weaving and the thread, and what that means for the finished cloth.

Much of my time during the year was spent spinning and knitting my mother's cashmere scarf. That was a joy to create. I increased my skill at spinning short staple fiber, and greatly improved my knitting skill.

I spent the year seeking new fibers to spin, and to date have played with 25 animal fibers, plus silk. This taught me a lot about how the different characteristics of the breeds impact how they are spun. My skill as a spinner improved as I learned to confidently manipulate different staples lengths, crimpiness, slipperiness, etc. I no longer have a "favorite breed" - I like them all.

In the summer, I was invited to present my period spinning research at the 2013 International Congress on Medieval Studies, at Western Michigan University. (It's a bit scary, but I'm excited, too.) Much of my time in the fall was spent spinning to fill in gaps in my research, and beginning to re-write my paper for an academic audience. I am looking forward to meeting Gail Owen Crocker (the moderator for my session), and I hope to have an opportunity to talk to her about the Mammen artifacts.

The one thing I did this year toward my original goal was to take a brocade tablet weaving class at Hrim Schola. While this class taught me the basics of what I need to know, perhaps the most important thing I learned was that there are many people in the SCA who are passionate about tablet weaving, and I am not one of them. I suppose I can console myself with the fact that in period it would have been highly unlikely that the same person completed the nalbinding portion of the artifact as completed the tablet weaving part.

Sometimes the path life takes is different than the one expected. That doesn't mean one shouldn't set a destination. There is a reason why I called this blog "the meandering drop spinner." I always set myself a goal, but my curiosity takes me in many directions along the way. It may take me longer to get there, but I generally find I am a better person for having wandered.