Retreating

Spinners and weavers from all over Vancouver Island and slightly beyond have been happily retreating in Parksville the past 3 days.  The pictures below should give you a flavour of the events.

There were a lot of busy feet and whirring wheels.  Do you recognize any foot wear???
These photos are candid shots and I am glad to say there were no worn out heels or protruding toes in sight.
We have all admired someone's handknit sweater.  Their talent and taste are clearly visible on top but check out the feet if you want to see the real person.  There could be a raving extravert hiding near the floor. 

There are many styles of spinning wheels and we could look at them but I thought it might be more revealing to check out the choice of footwear and treadling technique. There are strong differences in the choice of foot wear.  Some prefer the stocking feet approach while others prefer a range of shoes including sensible walking shoes, garden clogs and a running shoe that could cope with the rocks on the beach.  We even have a half-way approach with slippers and socks.  There is also a split on the one versus two treadle approach.  This limited photo survey suggests there is no correlation between the choice of footwear and the approach to treadling   

There also seems to be a mix of sock styles with some opting for the good old sport socks and others preferring more colourful feet.

Some spinners bring a companion along and all spinners find a companion along the way.  When asked what they enjoyed the most about the retreat, the overwhelming majority indicated meeting old and new friends.

Getting Ready for the Retreat

seagulls eating herring roe on Parksville Beach

March came faster than anticipated in spite of a long February.  There isn't much time to finish projects and complete tasks before the Spinners and Weavers Retreat starts on March 30th.  Some of us wish we had picked a less ambitious project for the fashion show or bag exchange or display.  You know what I mean.

In addition to finishing projects some of us have workshops to organize, lectures to prepare, goodie bags to stuff or door prizes to collect.  That means there is not much time for walking on the beach or watching the herring cycle unfold. 

My challenge is to finish twisting the fringe on this iridescent shawl so I can bring it to the sharing session (show & tell).  I had great fun designing the piece and choosing the colours.  I was in a hurry to turn the design into cloth so the weaving went quickly.  But finishing a piece is always a slow boring process so this shawl has been lurking in the cupboard for too long. 

  I suspect I am not the only one with almost finished items in their cupboard.  There are more hems to sew, edges to crochet, buttons to put on or fringes to twist than most of us would like to think about.  And there are so many handy excuses.  You need to shop for thread.  The buttons are just not the right colour.  Another project is calling you.  The cat's claws need clipping and it just can't wait.

I believe the only solution is to reward yourself for doing those boring tasks.  Take the fringe for instance.  Completing half of one side should be enough to earn a cup of tea, finish the entire side and you can have a cookie with it.  Complete both sides and you've moved up to a piece of chocolate.  The reward needs to be in keeping with how distasteful the task is.  For some things you really need a powerful incentive.

Kelp basket by Linda Raven

The members of the retreat organizing committee are working on the final details of the event.  There will be 3 presentations, Ingrid Bossel will talk about the use of computer programs for weaving design (no more graph paper draw downs).  John Fitzpatrick will give a presentation on Tartan and Its History and Judith Crosbie will take us on a textiles trip.  There will also be a hands on workshop in Kelp Basketry given by Linda Raven.  For updates on the retreat activities see announcement to the right of this posting.
Stuffing the registration bags is next week's big task and it might require some reward incentive.  I am thinking it might have to be better than tea and a cookie.