Some People Just Never Learn

A few weeks after we returned from the Navajo Nation, we packed up and headed east again. This time we towed a U-Haul filled with yarn and fiber goodies, along with our excited hopes of finding a knowledgeable and eager audience of weavers in Albuquerque who would appreciate unique and homegrown fibers. For many months I had been weighing and marking, dyeing and spinning, sorting and culling, packing and planning, and dreaming. The guest house had been pressed into action as a wash and dye center, and a fortunate bout of hot, dry weather helped keep the process rolling along.

Wool drying on the guest-house/studio porch - trio of dye/roasters - bakers' rack with dyed locks

Sort, wash, dry or dye, skein, weigh, tag and pack was repeated in an endless loop. Three roasters and three huge dye pots simmered most of the day. The washing machine ran non-stop. Soon bags of wool and skeins of roving began to pile up everywhere: in the house, in the barn, in the guest house, in the car, and - eventually - in the trailer.

After making reams of lists and piles of maps and directions, we headed off.

This should have been a clue that we weren't as big as we thought we were.

Next: Convergence 2010

On the ranch:

Last week: moved the ram lambs down to the boys’ pen.

This week: enlarged the garden by planting chard, cucumbers and a fig tree.

Next week: shear goats.