and more

The week between Christmas and New Year's was not very productive for me.  I had a migraine that put me down.  Plus allergies on top of that.  I am still working on regaining my stamina.

This week has been a week of catching up, grinding on axes, need to work on chef rolls.  I had actually gotten custom chef rolls made for the end of the year and one into stock.  The one in stock sold yesterday.  I need to make more.  I am at my Dad's for most of the next two weeks so that is going to be interesting.

Koda Bear and I were volunteering at Blackwood Educational Land Institute on Wednesday.  So while the attempted coup was happening in the capitol, I was putting my hands in soil, harvesting food, and weaving vines.  It felt very surreal because my hands in soil is one of the best places for me.  I have no words but I also was not surprised.  I am saddened and disgusted for so many reasons.  I will continue to feed people because that is what I do.  Take care of the small humans.  Protest and try to create change when I can.

December

December.  What can I say about it?  I have been so busy with the business and my Dad.  I have been sad because I miss my Mom and Christmas was definitely her thing.  But it is almost January.

But the first visit to my Dad's had a walk in the rain which was lovely.

It was to Bridal Veil Falls in the Cascades.  It was not a hard hike but I was not ready at all for the stairs.  Why are there so many stairs on trails?  I feel like I need to walk more hills and find an office building that will give me access to their stairs so I can walk up them everyday.  But there are no office buildings near.

I still have all the Christmas baking and boxes to make except for my Dad.  When I was there, I baked him cookies.  He stashed them in his room so he still has some.  I went back for Christmas.

I will probably spend this week baking cookies.  I have a chefs roll to make for stock.  There are axes to grind on and a farmer's market to work.  I received Christmas/birthday money so I am thinking black fabric and the corresponding dress to make in my head.  I know there is red yarn in the mail.  I have a sweater that is half finished and another dress in my head.  There are conversations on how to expand the shop.  Handcrafted folders are wished to be made.

I was looking at this last ramble and this is really about how my week runs.  There is always too much to fit and what gets done gets done.  I made a dress last week as doing something relaxing for myself.  And I totally get that stress most people so I have to laugh at myself.

Life just keeps going.  I would like a room for myself.  Maybe something I can build.  Something tiny and just a place to sit and have tea.  I would build a small mud rocket stove for tea.  A chair for stitching, crochet, spinning, and reading.  A room of my own.  Less than 70 square feet does not need to be permitted.  The odd little bits I have in my head.  

quarantine shawl

I found this last month and the start of this month to be hard.  I am missing my Mom.  She would do Thanksgiving and Christmas.  25 people at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner were not unusual.  And the number of nativity scenes!  Oh my gosh! 

I was at my Dad's for Thanksgiving and so was my brother.  5 at the table was not normal.  We were all a little bit sad.  I am finding that I am wanting more quiet and less words.

I have taken to working in my garden more.  I am trying to walk everyday, even if they are short walks.  I have been skateboarding at my Dad's.  I am trying to learn how to dance on a skateboard.  Being outside helps.  Creating helps but is hard too.  I have so many works in progress it is not funny!

At the beginning of the stay at home orders, I started a shawl.  I have been calling it a quarantine shawl.  I finished it at my Dad's during Thanksgiving week.  I sent it off to my best friend, which is why it is not fully pictured here.  I want her to be surprised!  It is a lovely weight and is cozy.  Cozy is huge.  She lives and moves around in states that actually have winter.

Now I need to work on another project now.  I have multiple shawls, sweaters, and one vest in the works.  Which one is the question.  Which one too that will travel well as well.  I am off to my Dad's again soon.  More doctors.

learning a new skill

Last week, I had an axe throwing tournament to work with Serenity Knives.  When it was first spoken about, the thought was I would be there for sales and for sharpening.  I sharpen axes.  I do not sharpen meat slicers yet but I can see it coming.  It will be if I get them apart.

The thing is, the tournament was a national event.  The best throwers from all over the country were there.  Not big to the skating events I used to do but big when it comes to axe throwing.  The prize was nice.

What does that have to do with me learning a new skill?  More hands were needed to grind on axes.  I was taught how to profile an axe.  What does that mean?  The shape of the axe head is changed to it sticks better when it is thrown at a target.  It starts with what is called a hollow grind.

Here is the funny about a hollow grind.  I have been around enough new knife makers at this point to know that a hollow grind can be intimidating.  What I start with?  A hollow grind on an axe.  That is then blended in to reach certain measurements.  The calipers come out.  I did not do badly.  On the five axes I profiled, a little clean up was needed and sharpening.  But hands and forearms were done.  So done I could not pick up a pot to start dinner without pain.

So the Big Rob profile is what I learned next week.  Then Big Rob wanted to take a big axe (Asgord) and make it into a hatchet.  Four actually.  That became a big thing this weekend.  Changing shapes all over the place.  I still did a lot of sales and sharpening.  Because two of us grinding that hard kept tripping the surge protector.  

I learned a lot.  I have more to learn.  Including how to throw an axe, large and small, so I can tell if a profile works.  It would be cool if I became good but I do not need to be.  I just need to be able to stick an axe.

and back again

I am back again after being at my Dad's last week.  The doctor's anointment went better then we expected so that is good.  He still has more tests to do mid-November and I will be there for those.  Then, maybe surgery?

We got the walk behind tractor to the mountain.  It worked well but we already broke the front shielding off the brush hog.  But there are lots of blackberries cut down.  

And we actually have a field again!  This is very exciting.  The walk behind tractor is smaller then our large one.  We also do not have the brush hog for the big tractor.  The small one gets into places the big one cannot go.  It is almost too big me to run but I can run it for a couple hours and get more done in then I can in a whole day.  Though I still sleep very well at night!

The sun in the two previous pictures was much of the sun we got.  It sleeted once and snowed once on the mountain.  At my Dad's it rained.  I brought a piece of silk with me so I could play with ecoprinting.  I let it soak in a pot of dead tea leaves, and then a pot of Epsom salts.  I wondered around my Dad's yard and picked up leaves and berries.  I found a stick to wrap the bundle up.  I tied it all up with a piece of string and left it in a bush.  I will see what it looks like in February or March.

I may take a light colored dress up with me next and do the same.  I really do not wear light colors.  I have some wool dresses from when I worked corporate jobs that could use some darker colors.  One is in a dead tea pot with a scarf and silk skirt currently.  I treated myself to dye and blanks.  It could end up very interesting.  But it is making me feel creative.

I find when I spend all my time working for Serenity Knives or making face masks, I just stop feeling creative.  I need some making of my own.  I have a dress wandering around in my brain that I will make soon, even though I do not need a new dress.  But it will be the only way to get it out. 

Spinning helps.  Crocheting helps.  I am currently trying to decide on colors to make the shawl I started during quarantine larger.  I stared with skeins of yarn that I did not use for another project and the shawl is just not big enough.  I am looking at other skeins and leftovers and trying to decide what I do next.  It will be an interesting creating when it is done.