The event was fabulous, thanks to many, many helpful volunteers. Nobody went hungry, and I saw some folks even taking seconds. I’ll put recipes up soon, but not tonight.
Since I’m too tired to do much other than lay around on the couch with the dog and the cat, instead I’ll catch up on some things I’ve been saving.
- Katrin Kania describes how to untangle skeins. This is a lot like my approach, and saves me from having to write it up. One extra tip: if both ends are fixed (tied to each other, or to fixed points as on a loom), there are limited things that the yarn can do. In particular, you never need to pass the ends through any other loop, since all tangles must have formed in the bight. You can find loops and untangle them, rather than working from the ends. Where it works, that’s a faster method.
- More on the golden spider weaving mentioned here earlier, from Bonnie Tarses.
- The book Pattern and Loom: A Practical Study of the Development of Weaving Techniques in China, Western Asia, and Europe by John Becker and Donald Wagner is now freely available online.
- Anne Rock recently contacted me on behalf of the UK-based Braid Society. This group is devoted to research, teaching and construction of braids and narrow bands, but has in practice been only open to UK members. The Society has added a membership class for people outside the UK. According to Anne, “The long haul category is £10 per year (plus £1 if paying by PayPal); is open to residents of Asia, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa; includes e-mailed quarterly newsletters and a mailed copy of the annual journal Strands; does not include participation in swaps or exhibitions. See attached form for more fine print. The new category is a two-year experiment, so it’s important that we get new members right away. Membership year starts in November; new members will receive the just-published issue of Strands as well as the one published next year.” Please check it out.
My own Christmas cactus started flowering while I was off cooking. I was afraid I’d miss it entirely, but it is still going.
