Hogmanay

Well, it's been a relatively productive year here in the studio: lots of books made it out the door and went on more trips than I did too.

Although I didn't get as much knitting out the door as I have in the past, I did get a lot of spinning done, particularly during the Tour de Fleece (held during the Tour de France in July), and I taught at Olds College over the summer.

The return to teaching was something I had mixed feelings prior to getting up there. I quit some time ago after having a student take my copyrighted handout and distribute it publicly without permission -- an action I wasn't, ah, exactly impressed with.

Encouragement (verging on bullying, but in a good way, y'know?) from several teaching friends to resume sharing my skills led me back, and the wonderful students I had at Olds made me realize how much I had missed it. I'll be glad to go back again for 2009, especially as I will also be the judge for the handspinning fleece auction.

(OK, I know some of you think that plunging one's hands repeatedly into bags of unwashed fleece sounds like a fate worse than death, but trust me, it isn't!)

On the bookbinding front, my entire perspective was radically altered by the two weeks I spent with Don Rash in northeastern Pennsylvania: I learned how to think like a professional, and that has had a profound effect on the art (fibre and book) I've created since.

Those two weeks gave me the confidence to take on work that I would have thought beyond my competence (such as executing commissions and doing repair work), but that weren't, and to envision projects that a year ago I couldn't have ever imagined.

And I've worked on some other interesting projects, including hanging out with the local Flickrmeets group: their encouragement and comments about my photographs may not be turning me into a professional, but I am growing happier with some of the work I've done.

Up top is our poor, lonely barbeque: abandoned since the warm November gave way to December's snow, bone-shattering windchills, more snow, blowing snow, howling winds, and snow. I can't remember seeing so much here in Calgary since I was young. I'm going into BBQ withdrawal....

Time to find the stick of rowan; some holly, mistletoe, hazel, and yew; and trot out a fine wee dram (or more!) of single-malt.

Lang may yer lum reek!