pink hyacinths

pink hyacinths
Originally uploaded by Verica

The Flock. Hanging.

The Flock. Hanging., originally uploaded by Verica.

The flock stuffed after grazing in the fields. Notice how the ignore me when they don't need anything from me. Within a few minutes they all sat down in the sun.

Guitars of Oak Park

A while back I saw Goran Ivanovic on Chicago Tonight with his guitar-making dad. Hand-crafted guitars? So Saturday I took a short break from selling at farmers' markets (one in the morning, one in the evening) and visited Danče Ivanović's shop.

Of course the first thing Danče asked, in Serbian, was if I married "one of ours" or "one of theirs" which made me laugh. Old school, like my dad. Actually, talking to him made me miss my dad a bit. . . the cigarette smoke, the laid-back attitude, the Turkish coffee, and that accent. Well, the accent was probably mine because he's more comfortable speaking in his native Serbo-Croatian and I fell into the language a lot easier than I have in a long time. Oh, don't get that marriage question wrong, he was only asking where my loyalties lie. He spoke about his wife and asked how I knew his son. I don't know Goran all that well, mostly I'm a fan of his band Eastern Blok and I worked with the saxophonist's sister a while back. Goran also performs guitar duets with Andreas Kapsalis, a cousin to one of my best college buddies, Adamandia Kapsalis. Small world syndrome.

The shop is on a quiet stretch at 906 Madison in Oak Park. A few guitars line the wall, including a few hand-made by Danče. Behind the counter, though, is a workspace with hand- and power-woodworking tools. Danče pointed out a storage loft that holds wood he brought from the old country. He uses that aged wood for his custom guitars and it's probably older than his sons! And in the front corner is an amazing hand-carved wood and glass, um, guitar armoire. I wish I had taken pictures as the double eagle on top made me smile.

I have another farmers' market in Oak Park at the end of the month and may make another visit, pictures next time!

Miniskirt

Miniskirt, originally uploaded by Verica.

I love making these miniskirts.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Winter is great for hermits. I finished two complete batches of yarn, shown drying in the bathtub. I finished spinning all of 2007's shearing (undyed, hanging on top) and plyed a not-so-bright dried marigold dye batch with some undyed wool. The result is a subtle heather-y effect. The purple-ish stuff is the Merino batch that I thought I messed up and looks fine in a single-ply. The black? Ah, that's the black Merino fleece I bought over the summer at the Michigan Fiber Fest. Deep, rich, and soft. Yes, that's a natural shade.

I like winter

I like winter. Scenes like this snow-covered garden mean I don't have to weed, cultivate, or harvest. As much as I love this garden I do get worn out by September and in 2008 I was harvesting through late November.
I'm staying in town until March. The farmhouse is shut down, offering me no heat or water. I've moved all my wool with me and am spending my time watching (cable) TV and spinning, spinning, spinning.
I'm nearly done with all the naturally-dyed wool. 2008 was the year of the marigolds. Golds, greens, yellows. I also had a small batch of dusty yellow from the walnut leaves.
More sales are scheduled. If you're in town the weekend of January 10 I'll be at the Handmade Market at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, Chicago, from noon-4:30.