Fibre Ecstasy

A few hardy bloggers have already documented the weekend...

So here is my take on things to add to the pile.

Marilyn G. started things off with a bang on Friday night with the fashion show at Med Grill, a posh establishment on Fort Street in the Mosaic Bldg. No photos unfortunately, but I did get to wear the Harbour Lights shawl in public for the first time, and I got to see what the other fibre folk in Victoria have been up to. I saw some lovely, lovely pieces and met some wonderful knitters.

Saturday, again no pics, in the afternoon I gave a class on the beaded necklace design that I did a couple of years ago that I still regard as my play therapy project. You simply cannot remain in a bad mood and do this piece. It was a rather jolly class, thanks to all the glorious, sparkly beads that people brought to swap with their classmates. Beads do bring out the little kid in all of us, don't they??? To take advantage of the nice sunshine that was very kindly with us, we took our stuff outside and had our class right there by the marina. I wish I had kept an audio of the ships horns that seemed to echo from one side of the water to the other. It was really atmospheric.

In the evening, I gave a little talk to some lovely knitters, about life, knitting, and my incredibly fortunate career. I say that because I have only been a knitter for a few years and I still need to pinch myself to see if it's real that I am lucky enough to be working in the field I have come to love above all else. My audience was very kind, especially since it was my first time speaking about myself rather than just teaching folks about knitting, which I feel quite relaxed about and do quite often.

Here are some of the sweet faces I saw looking back at me, most holding their knitting:



The talk was given in the old part of town, near this bridge:


And near this square of interesting little shops, Bastien Square, where we found a great restaurant, ReBar. Here is the square and a couple pics of the interesting mosaics inside the place:




Sunday I checked out of the hotel, sorry to say goodbye to my little balcony overlooking a running fountain, which I particularly appreciated. We headed over to Saxe Point Park by the sea, a lovely spot for a fibre festival. Others have posted nicer pictures, but here are some high points that somehow made it into my camera:


My friend Annette, who was a guardian angel for the first leg of the trip...


My friend Mel, who found the elusive yarn she had been looking for to do a lovely Lyra...


My table at the Community Knitters.com booth...






...and spinners and knitters and yarn galore, along with beautiful views of the sea.

I had a wonderful time talking about lace, knitting, and fibre among the spinners, knitters and yes, miniature llamas. They were wonderful, happy creatures with long, long eyelashes.




And here is Mary Kozicki's highly original version of River Rock, which I love. It uses very fine yarn and tiny beads, looking more like a waterfall than a bubbling stream full of rocks. I appreciated her vision - so refined and beautiful. Please click on the picture and look at it bigger to get the full effect.


I am glad the day was wonderful because the trip carrying loads of stuff home without a vehicle (thank you forever and forever, J!) was, well, less than fun. But I am safe home now and recovering from the highs and lows of the weekend, waxing a little nostalgic about it all.

The best of all is that Harbour Lights is now officially available to all. Go here or here for more information about purchasing the pattern. And bless all of you for your letters impatiently looking forward to its release date!

The Auction!

Thank you all in advance for opening your hearts and your wallets. In contributing to such a great cause, you are helping many, and honoring the memory of my dear father.

Caution... picture-heavy post ahead.

There are lots of goodies here, and I hope, with your help, to raise a nice amount for Doctors without Borders. For everyone's information, the money that you donate through your bids for the items in this silent auction will be donated IN ITS ENTIRETY to Doctors without Borders. No tax receipts will be issued, as DWB does not officially recognize donations in exchange for goods. However, you will have the thanks of me, my family, and all those around the world who are helped by this worthy organization. Please contact me with any questions you may have about your donation. For my part, I will be donating the yarn/fiber and whatever it costs to ship the item(s) to you.

Here is how the auction will work: Go shopping down the list of items up for bid, and email me at siviaharding AT shaw DOT ca (delete spaces and caps before emailing) with your bid and the item you want. There is no minimum bid, but please be generous. I will post the high bid and initials of bidder twice a day or as I am available to post new bids. The bidding will continue for one week, ending at midnight PST on March 23, 2008, Easter Sunday. Winners will be notified by email. Payment must be made by cash funded Paypal. The donation will be sent to DWB as soon as possible after the completion of the auction.

The final donation will be made in memory of my father, Raymond Cushman. The amount of donation will be posted here after the auction is complete.

Good luck and happy shopping!

1. 501 100% pure wool superwash, 137.5 yds/50 gr ball, 1 ball plus 2 partial balls, color 210. High Bid: $15 LR2. Schaeffer Anne sock yarn, 60% merino wool superwash, 25% mohair, 15% nylon, 560 yds/4 oz, 1 skein wound into a ball. High Bid: $50 SW
3. Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere, 80% baby alpaca, 30% merino wool, 10% cashmere, 109 yds/25 gr ball (fingering weight), 11 balls plus partial ball, color 1321. High Bid: $60 AS
4. Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere, 80% baby alpaca, 30% merino wool, 10% cashmere, 109 yds/25 gr ball (fingering weight), 10 balls, color 2699. High Bid: $85 AS
5. Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester braids, 50 g, 2 full braids and 1 almost full braid, in lovely greens. High Bid: $100 MD
6. Cascade 220, 100% feltable wool, 220 yds/100 gr, 3 full skeins of coordinating colors wound into balls. High Bid: $40 SG
7. Cascade 220, 100% feltable wool, 220 yds/100 gr, 3 skeins beige, color 8021. High Bid: $25 CO
8. Confetti self-patterning sock yarn, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 210 m/50 gr, enough for two pairs of socks, or stripes of nicely coordinating colors. High Bid: $30 DH
9. Louet Euroflax 100% linen sportweight, 270 yds/100 gr, 1 skein in crabapple blossom. High Bid: $35 KB
10. Novelty yarns - 2 balls Crystal Palace Whisper, 1 ball Funny. Nice for edging your felted kitty beds! High Bid: $5 LAR
11. Vintage German fingering weight pure wool yarn, 200 m/50 gr, 4 balls plus 1 partial ball. Dye your own sock yarn! High Bid: $48 FR
12. Fleece Artist sock merino, 350 m/115 gr, 1 skein, discontinued colorway. High bid: $55 DC
13. Fox Fibre Cotton, Coyote/Camel Breaker Sliver, 45 gr. This rare color-grown fiber is now impossible to find. High Bid: $15 ES
14. Fox Fibre Cotton, natural sliver, 46 gr. High Bid: $10 JR
15. Fox Fibre Cotton, Breeder's Mix organically grown Sliver, 47 gr. This rare color-grown fiber is now impossible to find. High Bid: $15 ES
16. Fox Fibre Cotton, Green Card Sliver, 49 gr. This rare color-grown fiber is now impossible to find. High Bid: $18 LAR
17. Fox Fibre Cotton, Coyote Card Sliver, 40 gr. This rare color-grown fiber is now impossible to find. High Bid: $18 LAR
18. Handpaintedyarn.com handspun 100% feltable wool kettle dyed yarn, 135 yds/100 gr, 2 skeins purple grapes, 1 wound into a ball. High Bid: $30 RG
19. Indigo Moon 100% merino wool superwash handpainted sock yarn, 185 yd/50 gr, 2 skeins northern steppe paisley. High Bid: $100 LM
20. J.Knits superwash me - sock, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 420 yds/ 100gr, 1 skein Nebraska. High Bid: $55 MK
21. J.Knits superwash me-sock, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 420 yds/ 100gr, 1 skein Amesbury. High Bid: $50 MK
22. Jo Sharp Soho Summer 100% cotton dk, 109 yds/50 gr, 3 balls carmen. High Bid: $50 AT
23. Koigu Premium Merino 100% merino wool, 175 yds/50 gr, 2 skeins 113. High Bid: $40 CB
24. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Laci, 100% extra fine 80's merino, 1,750 yds/8 oz, 1 skein Ms LaRock wound into a ball. High Bid: $105 KB
25. Rowan Linen Drape, 55% linen, 45% viscose, 109 yds/50 gr, 1 ball pearl. High Bid: $25 LR
26. Louet Gems 100% merino wool fingering weight, 185 yds/50 gr, 2 full skeins (1 wound into a ball) and 1 partial skein mustard. High Bid: $50 LK
27. Malabrigo Lace Yarn, 100% baby merino wool, 470 yds/50 gr, 1 skein velvet grapes wound into a ball. High Bid: $50 LK
28. Mirasol Hacho sportweight sock yarn, 100% merino wool, 137 yds/50 gr, 2 skeins blue ocean (1 wound into a ball). High Bid: $25 MM
29. Handpainted 100% mohair roving in brillliant jewel tones, predrafted and very soft, 100 gr. High Bid: $25 RL
30. Hand dyed 100% mohair roving in natural pokeberry, 31 gr. High Bid: $10 KG
31. Handpainted 100% mohair sliver in light raspberry shades... by moi! 121 gr of fiber. High Bid: $30 KAO
32. SWTC Phoenix, 100% soy silk, 175 yds/100 gr, 5 balls rose. High Bid: $55 LSC
33. Assorted fine rayon yarns, great for crochet or knitted jewelry. Very soft and pretty. High Bid: $20 MY
34. Charbotté French ribbon yarn, 100% nylon, 147 yds/50 gr, 5 spools black. High Bid: $40 KW
35. New Zealand Romney fiber, hand processed and very soft, 5 bumps, about 180 gr total. High Bid $20 CD
36. 100% Samoyed fiber, very soft and easy to spin. This fiber has been washed once, but you will need to wash it again. Beautiful and well worth the trouble. I have tons of this from a dog owner friend... I am dividing the fiber into 10 lots of 100 gr each. High Bid: 2 lots $15 each AS, 6 lots $12 each LK, 2 lots $16 each LAR37. Seacoast Handpainted Yarns 100% superwash wool, 480 yds/100 gr, 1 skein shadows on snow. High Bid: $45 NE
38. Berger du Nord Belle, 100% silk, 136 yd/50 gr, 3 balls color 9039 (more red, less pink than it appears). High Bid: $50 LK
39. Silk Tree medium silk singles yarn, approx. 200 yd/50 gr, 1 ball mulberry. High Bid: $50 LK
40. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight, 360 yd/4.5 oz, 1 skein love-in-idleness. High Bid: $60 MM
41. Wool Pak 8 ply 100% feltable New Zealand wool, 525 yd/250 gr, 1 skein royal green. High Bid: $50 JO
42. Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester, 100% wool, one-off colourway, 1,000 yd/250 gr (fingering weight), 1 full skein plus 427 yards left from another skein from the same lot. High bid: $75 DD
43. Tangled Skeins Yarns wool/cashmere (unknown proportions but yummy soft) hand dyed yarn, 220 yd/50 gr, 2 skeins. High Bid: $100 LM
44. Elann Peruvian Collection Baby Silk, 80% baby alpaca, 20% silk, 109 yds/25 gr (fingering weight), 5 balls Butter Pecan colour #3423. High Bid: $55 FR
45. Rowan Kid Silk Haze, 70% super kid mohair, 30% silk, 229 yds/25 gr (lace weight), 1 ball color #597. High Bid: $20 MB

46. Sweet Georgia Yarns Handpainted Sock, 100% merino wool, 420 yds/112 gr (fingering weight), 1 skein coffee bean wound into a ball. This yarn is no longer available, and it is lusciously, decadently soft! High Bid: $60 SR

47. Sweet Georgia Yarns Handpainted Sock, 100% merino wool, 420 yds/112 gr (fingering weight), 1 skein viola. This yarn is no longer available, and it is lusciously, decadently soft! High Bid: $50 WJ

48. Handmaiden Angel Hair, 70% kid mohair, 30% nylon, 800 m/100 gr (lace weight), 1 skein bronze wound into a ball. This yarn is no longer available. High Bid: $53 KB

49. Handmaiden Angel Hair, 70% kid mohair, 30% nylon, 800 m/100 gr (lace weight), 1 skein burgundy wound into a ball. This yarn is no longer available. High Bid: $45 KB

50. Waterlily Socks Kit featuring my Waterlily Socks pattern, 2 skeins of Nature's Palette vegetable dyed fingering weight yarn in ice blue (100% merino wool, 185 yds/50 gr) wound into balls, and beautiful faceted blue beads to match. I have even strung the beads onto the yarn for you... High Bid: $70 JS

51. Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino, 100% premium merino wool, 320 m/100 gr (fingering weight), 1 skein seashell. High Bid: $50 CC