Saturday we celebrated at the Sunwheel, in spite of the rain. We had an ez-up to stand under, which helped, and everyone was in good spirits. Afterward we adjourned to friend Myttin's house in New Salem, for a wonderful feast - ham, chicken, baked beans, fresh homemade slaw, green beans w/ almonds, applesauce, pumpkin bread, another type of bread (rye, I think), a bit of hard cider, tea, regular cider, coffee, and a variety of desserts as well. It was all wonderful (I had 4 slices of the pumpkin bread I think...), and the company even better.

fitzw and I went off to see Winterberry Farm, and chatted with the lady who will be leading an ongoing workshop we're thinking about taking -- growing/harvesting/processing flax. It might be nice to have some help with the process, rather than discover it completely on our own. I'm curious about whether they have sources for tools or had to make their own. I suspect the latter, as most flax is processed on a large scale, with mechanized equipment... hm, another research project... did pick up some pretty dyed Romney roving while there. They have lots of animals at the farm, and teach classes on a variety of subjects, from milking goats to spinning and weaving.

And that was it for Fiber Twist for us this year. A friend was wanting some superwash merino roving, and I found the 4 oz. ball I have and have no plans for at this time -- should be enough for a pair of socks.

Saturday evening, a blue heron flew north across the field, as we drove in.

L's mom Marian's birthday was Saturday. She's been under the weather, so no celebration until she's feeling better, but we did sing the nice Happy Birthday song to her, and even managed to do it as a round (a little odd with only two people, but still nice).

***
Sunday was clear weather, so we got the rest of the plants into the ground (some still in pots), and finally put the sugar maple in its new home. Everything is mulched as well.

fitzw was doing battle throughout the afternoon/evening with one of the older computers, to get access to my art files, with success by the end of the day. Oddly, this morning the computer decided it would boot up. Still, he's continuing with moving the files to a more stable environment. We also got more things unpacked and more boxes up from the sugarhouse. The back attic is finally clear of extraneous stuff, so L vaccuumed while the floor was mostly clear (I'd already put in some shelving, to make space in the apartment).

Fortunately I've also found the comforters, so we've been quite cozy and comfortable the past few nights! I'd gotten a couple of them professionally cleaned this summer, and then they went straight into storage up here, so they weren't underfoot during the moving/renovating, and are in excellent condition. The new washing machine here is larger than our old one, so I _might_ be able to wash a comforter in it, if need be.

Going back to Saturday briefly, I wound off some bamboo fiber I'd spun earlier in the year, so I could use the moosie drop spindle for spinning up some of the newest fiber. Finished up a spindle of it last night and wound that off -- a little over 114 yards. Not bad for a few hours' work.

Oh, and quite of bit of roving and batting are now on the shelves and hooks in the weaving room, so the outer wall is now partially extra-insulated, and much roving has been chained s that it hangs more neatly on the wall. I have more somewhere, but haven't found it all...

***
Today I go in for my MRI/arthrogram at 1pm, at Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) in Northampton. L offered to come, and I was undecided. Not like he can be in the room with me anyhow... But we can have lunch together, so he's coming with. Oh, and I have to remember to get the image on disk for the doctor. Friday I'll be doing the follow-up meeting with the doctor, and we'll see what happens from there.

Had a query about the Fiber Twist, and figured it would be better to post info as a regular journal entry.

The Franklin County Fiber Twist started just last year, to promote all the fiber, tools, and fiber products in the county. There's a 'marketplace' where a number of vendors come to sell their stuff, which will be at 10 Memorial Street, (Old) Deerfield, MA, just a few blocks away from Historic Deerfield. There are supposed to be some demos at Historic Deerfield, probably flax prep and spinning at the least. Some demos will be happening at the marketplace too.

Then there are a bunch of places around the county that will have open studios/sales, etc. at their places. Tregellys Farm is always a good one, especially if you haven't been there before -- they have camels, yaks, llamas, sheep, dogs, a cat or two, and a macaw. They used to have peacocks, but as that was a grad student project, not sure if they're still there. And they have a connection with Nepal, helping farmers and craftspeople there, so they had a stupa built on their property. There's a big long stone reinforcement wall there built by my and fitzw's nephew Curtis, too.

We've been there a few times, so we may skip it this year. Last year we also went to Buckland, to Bedfellows Blankets, where you can see power looms from the 1950s in operation -- they give you a whole tour, explaining how they got the machines, how they work, etc. They're the makers of the heritage blankets that are made from wool grown on local sheep. This year we want to go see the weaver in Shelburne Falls, who does Swedish weaving.

You can find out more about what's offered (and when) at: http://www.fibertwist.com

Ooo, hey I just checked out the Special Feature at Memorial Hall link in the side menu -- there's a little museum next to the marketplace with an exhibit of wheels and stuff, and on the page about the museum exhibit there's a link to download a free admission ticket. This ticket will also get you into Old Deerfield Children's Museum at Indian House on Main Street of Old Deerfield, four houses north of the Deerfield Inn, where there will be hands-on fiber activities. Sounds like fun for kids of all ages :)

It's only on Saturday, October 28. fitzw and I plan on going to the marketplace first, then on to other places.