Twisp of Fate

I can’t believe I have been back from Orcas Island for a week already.  While I was gone, Rick reported that the new cats were getting along well and playing a lot.  They seem to be firm friends by now:

Spinning camp, or fiber retreat, was a lot of fun as always.  The theme was supposed to be “Fine and Fuzzy” but we did a lot of different things.  Here’s the meeting room where we set up our wheels:

spinning retreat at Camp Orkila

We took apart thrift-shop cashmere sweaters and experimented with re-using the yarn in various ways.  We spun paper! Judith had an article about this in the Spring 2011 Spin-Off Magazine.  I liked the end result used in weaving, or for baskets, the best.

Little mats woven from spun paper on a cotton warp, and a little basket from spun paper, dyed with indigo

The raw material - cut up dress pattern paper

We were also given cashmere, camel, bison, angora bunny, and pygora goat fiber to spin (some of these in different blends, e.g. with silk or with merino wool).  On the last day, Judith made a boucle yarn with recycled cashmere and pygora type A fiber.  Definitely going to be pursuing this one.

There was also dyeing going on in the cabin adjacent to the meeting room.  This year it was mainly dyeing with various lichens, and with indigo, although there was a frenzy of silk hankie dyeing with acid dyes towards the end.  I stayed out of that – just too many ideas and things to try to take on another one!