A Busy Week

Just after I put up the previous entry, I found out that Deb Pulliam died last May. Unless you are a serious fibre addict, that name probably won't register with you: she wrote great articles in SpinOff (among other places), talking about historical knitting, spinning, and dyeing.

We never met in person, but had a lively, if infrequent e-friendship, especially when I was learning to spin and exploring how to use my handspun in projects -- one article she had in SpinOff was about dyeing some yarn with lichens, and turning the result into socks that riffed off the Elizabeth Zimmerman afterthought heel.

These were the first socks I ever knit, despite my mother being a hardcore sock knitter -- I don't think my dad, in the forty years they were married, ever wore a "bought" sock. Shortly thereafter, I knit the pair of socks whose cuff is shown above, and the rest, as "they" say, is history.

Deb had breast cancer, and was barely two years older than me: we both started Masters degrees at the same time as well, and shared many stories about the mixed results of going back as mature students, and trying to keep our sanity at the same time.

I've thought a lot about her this past week. RIP.

The rest of the week has been filled with mostly ups: I'm starting to actually feel that I'm accomplishing something at my part-time job; interviewed Roch Carrier, the iconic Canadian writer/playwrite/former head of the Canada Council and the National Library for CJSW, and got the news that I'm scheduled to teach two classes (Everything Entrelac and Reversible Knitting) at Olds College's Fibre Week 2008.

However, I made the mistake on Thursday of attending an event run by the guild I used to belong to: in the end, I should have gone with my gut instinct and not bothered. One attendee pitched a major hissy fit, and I had two people tell me how much they "hated knitting" as I sat there working away on another knitted scarf for the Alberta Craft Council Shop.

sigh Time to move on: I'm supposed to hear whether or not I've been accepted to the residency at the Banff Centre this week, as well as if I get a solo show at the Alberta Craft Council.

Cross your fingers....