Winter Weaving

Today I made it into the River to see my teacher. Due to the holidays, inclement weather and dangerous driving conditions, it’s been a month since I was last there.  It was good to see Verna and weave with her. The roads were clear with some icy patches. Lots of snow on the sides of the road. At one point at the California/Oregon border, my car thermometer read 7 degrees.  Brrrr!  There were lots of fallen rocks on the road, which I tried very hard to miss. I really hoped for no flat tires today. I did see a beautiful 3-foot tall Eagle perched in a tree right next to the road. Unfortunately she flew off before I could get a picture.  I also saw a huge heard of elk, which I’ve never seen before in all the years I’ve been making this trip.

 

OK. How’s my cap going?  Today I got my two rows of black completed, and I am excited to be moving into middle of the basket.  I’ve been told this part of the cap represents a woman’s middle years. The next few rows will be woodwardia red.  Woodwardia is much easier to work with than black fern. There will not be any design in these next 4-5 rows. I will however be adding sticks and replacing sticks that are getting to small.  So, although there may not appear to be much going on in this section once completed, this is an important place to be turning the cap down, but at the same time keeping its shape.  Not adding enough sticks at this point will make the cap go straight down.  Adding too many sticks will make the weaving bumpy. Adding just the right number of sticks gives the cap a nice rounded shape to [hopefully] fit just right on my head. It’s a delicate balance that comes with experience. Pictures of my cap progress to follow.