The 'Blur' that was My Week!

Aren't these cute? They are Amigurumi and you can check them and their other kind here. These were made by my daughter who lives in North Carolina and we just got them as a gift from her. Beautifully tensioned crochet! I love her girly flower :) They are going to my studio and sit by my two real cactus's, that look suspiciously like these two! Yup, my daughter is knitting, crocheting and playing with a drop spindle now.... I keep sending fibre stuff in each care parcel and slowly infiltrating yarn and such into her life. The spinning wheel and loom can't be too far behind!

I have had a busy time of it lately with my sweet mother in law "Granny" staying with us for a week. While the tone of the visit was laid back, as any of you know, company in the house means a heightened sense of 'hostess duty' and so meals and generally the whole time is like being on the job. We're are talking my *Italian* / Canadian mother in law here! We showed her the local area and dined in Cowichan Bay. We also did a day trip to Victoria and drove her around and saw the sights such as Oak Bay, the view of the Olympic Peninsula Mountains across the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington State, the Government buildings down by the inner harbour, the quaint older buildings and Chinatown. I was amazed at how busy the streets were and there were crowds everywhere. Tourist season has hit! While there we did visit one of my favourite stores:
I made a couple of purchases: a linen hankie from France for my MIL and a small table 14" x 36" runner for our table. 'Scuse the lumps.... I haven't ironed it yet! The last photo is a close up of the details. The piece is well starched but I believe it's cotton and the work is hand done. Hard to tell with the starch!

Meanwhile, our garden and grassed areas are growing leaps and bounds! Where my MIL lives gets very hot and is also *very* dry. As she likes to say, it's only irrigation that keeps it from being a desert! The idea of lush green trees and vegetation was a constant source of amazement for her. We had a variety of birds at the feeders, squirrels playing in the trees and there was the constant search for 'Peter' our resident rabbit.

The ferns have shot straight up and unfurled...

This is the view from my kitchen window, but taken at ground level. The tall leggy fern in the fore ground is bracken.

I have a large rock garden in the back yard and the saxifrage were craning their necks to the sun!
While the more sedate columbine relaxed in the shade...


Meanwhile in the house, my snake plant (also known as Mother in law's Tongue) had produced a flower spike; it's third since 1994! It just so happens that my mother in law, Lorraine had given me a single stalk to start back in the mid 90's and it was wonderful she was here to see it bloom! The blossoms literally 'ooze' syrup and the petals are very delicate.

A close-up...
The flower stalk....
Then the day arrived for Lorraine to go back home and were up bright ( okay, not so bright) but early at 5 am to see her to the bus. The house sure seems empty without her. We hope to go to see her and visit in September.

The very next day, my local guild: The Tzouhalem Weavers and Spinners Guild had their annual pot luck and AGM. Good time, great food! The show and tell was amazing as well...

This is a fine strand of copper wire knitted by Alison. It's pulled through a hole in wood to elongate it after. The flexibility of the coil was surprising.

Alison also makes baskets from nothing more than string and yarn. The results are lovely. She teaches this method and I hope to take her class sometime. Great new way to use more stash!

This had to be my favourite though... simply lovely! The blending of colours really makes it special. Here Toni shows a wrap she made. Variegated chenille stripes in the warp made for a wonderful effect. It's treadled as plain weave. { Damselfly: you might be interested to know that's the cotton chenille you gave me as a prize and I passed it on. Look what you started!)

One member, Els, brought along an antique textile mill equipment. It's for making weaver's knots when a thread breaks between the spools in the cotton mills. Children were given jobs joining ends. It's says 'Boyce Weavers Knotter, Gastonia, NC. USA , patented 1912'. It's in working order.

I think you could hurt yourself with this is you weren't careful!

This is Els, who is Dutch by birth, showing a lovely crocheted cap that is part of a district costume from the Netherlands.

Here Gudrun is showing us her lovely silks scarves. The sheen and drape was beautiful. Her weaving is impeccably done. Close up of two of Gudrun's scarves

So, now I have a mountain of laundry to tackle, the weeding needs to be done in the gardens outside and the lawns all need mowing. Back to normal!

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