Olds Master Spinner Level 4... Beginnnings

Here it is just past the middle of July and we are all baking in a heat wave combined with our usual high humidity & also high UV index of 9 or 10. We  could use a thunderstorm to lighten things up.
We have had a lot of rain, but I just came from pulling 10 minutes of weeds and the gardens are extremely dry.

It wasn't but only 3 weeks ago that I was with a few spinners in a classroom setting at Olds College in Alberta. A few days before I was due to fly, the Bow River was overflowing its banks and causing terrible loss for people out there. Rain combined with the snow melt in the mountains was just too much for the river to contain. Many people lost homes, lives or suffered property damage.

My heart goes out to all of them. It will take a great deal of time to rebuild.

In Olds, AB, they weren't affected. The college housed some evacuees for a time.

Classes went on with some people affected by the flooding not being able to attend.

I flew into Calgary Airport from London on the morning of June 23, 2013. Good flight and Jack, my shuttle driver was there as my luggage came round.The countryside I saw that day was lovely even if it was raining part of the time.

When I got onto the campus I settled into my townhouse room and went over to the vendors' marketplace just as I had planned. After seeing what I needed to complete my workbook assignments I was able to purchase a few supplies.

In the class there were the five of us from Ontario, all previously acquainted from the other levels taken in satellite classes in ON. I met 4 other spinners in our class - Maria, Susan, Lynn and (?) sorry her name escapes me at this moment.

Our teacher for Level 4 is Donna Rudd, very capable & very good at explaining & demonstrating what we must learn.

Donna in our silk reeling class

Here's the building our classes were in:

Olds College

The gardens around campus were beautiful being they have horticultural programs.

Columbine flower

These are Columbines, unlike any I have seen before. Many walks produced many pictures of the gardens. Very beautiful indeed.
Olds College is in an agricultural setting and they also have animal sciences and a full working farm on their many hundreds of acres.

Animal Science building

Level 4 deals with the luxury fibres: cashmere, camel, flax, cotton, silk, ramie and bison. How to choose fibres, how to spin, how to finish and where to use them. Level 4 also introduced acid dyeing and silk reeling from cocoons. More novelty yarns were part of the curriculum too. Flax - finally I learned how to dress a distaff.

Dyed silk worm cocoons

Reeled silk

Just wonderful things we learned. No wonder they call them luxurious. It's amazing what properties they can bring to a blend of fibres.

Now for a year's worth of homework. Where to start....let's go to the beginning and just work through it fibre by fibre.

Post Christmas 2011

I do hope you all had a very nice, good, pleasant, wonderful Christmas!

As for me it turned out very good - I had visits with my kids & new grandchild, though way too short in duration. There was an issue with one of their cars, and the winter weather arrived so when I was looking forward to sitting with everyone, they were on the way out the door & going home.

I didn't get to hand out my knitting. Oh darn!!!

The food was plentiful & tasty.  I think everyone was satisfied in that department.
Having everyone together was wonderful. So until next year....

But really, if I had the opportunity to skip Christmas I just might take it. My stress levels sky rocket, but enough of that.
Here is some of the fibre things that have been done. There are things that don't make it to the blog, like the rugs I weave, socks & hats knitted and all the mittens that I felt.

I've had the opportunity with a few days off to also visit with some dear friends. And now since this is probably my last post of 2011, I want to say thanks for visiting and I hope everyone's coming New Year is better than the last & you have wonderful things coming your way.

And take some time for yourself to enjoy whatever it is that you enjoy doing with spare time you may find. All the best to you.

Felted mittens & hat. Woad dyed & handspun Suffolk.

Silk Hankies, dyed for mitts. Knitted without spinning.

Megan's Sock Monkey

Megan's hat & mitts

Finished 2 ply yarn w. dyed roving (Falkland).

Dyed roving & spool of one of the single ply from yarn in picture at left.