September

 Fall is coming to western North Carolina, and the temperatures have dropped oh, so slightly.  The trees are dripping outside my window from the rain we had last night and early this morning.  
  I've been very busy, making new friends, exploring the area, getting ready for the Fall Festival, and weaving, finally.  Two of my bosses took me to a wine tasting just over the state line in Georgia, to a winery called Crane Creek, set in the rolling hills that magically transformed from north Georgia to Tuscany when we left the road.
It was beautiful, and a fine way to end the day.  

I have spent most of the month so far smoking pork shoulder butts for the fall festival ( https://folkschool.org/event.php?event_type_id=6)
I went in every morning, fired up the gigantic smoker and put 16-24 butts on the grill.  Every two hours, I would go out and stoke the fire, and by 9:00 p.m., the night crew would take them off the grill.  They pulled the meat off the bones and put it all in bags to go in the freezer to chill until the first weekend in October.  I think I have smoked 320 butts, and have decided that that's enough.  Next, it's on to ordering coleslaw mix, cornmeal and buttermilk, baked beans, buns, barbecue sauce...  It takes a lot of food to feed 15,000 people!  I try not  to get nervous about it, but it's not really working.  I'll be so happy to see the back end of the fall festival!  But at the same time, I hope some of you will be able to attend!  LouAnn and I went a few years ago, and we really enjoyed it.

As you know, I think the folk school is a magical place, and this past week, some friends thought so, too.  Michelle, pictured here with her new, hand-made Windsor chair, has been a work-study here, and after her last week, she took a class to make one.  She was surprised, not always pleasantly, to find out that most of it was done by hand, her hands.  She said it was very hard work, but every time she sits in that chair, she will have the satisfaction of knowing she make every bit of it.



My friend Anne spent the week here, staying at my house and taking a class in paper art, which included making a paper "quilt," up in the corner of the board behind her, and some books that she's holding. They batiked on paper, made paper from cornstarch and learned to bind books.  She had a great time, and it was nice to spend time with her.
 The last day Anne was here, we walked along the Rivercane Walk, and she took these beautiful photos.  We'd been to the Brasstown Full Moon party the night before, and the full moon was still lingering while we walked through the mist.
















It was a beautiful morning, and the start of a long, lovely day.  After Anne left for Knoxville, I went to Pam Howard's house to meet some new friends, and to take of tour of Pam's house.  Pam is the resident artist for weaving at the folk school, and her studio was amazing!  I didn't take any pictures, but it was inspirational. She has a dye kitchen, lots of yarn storage and three NAKED looms!  But due to the gas shortage this weekend, she was forced to work in the studio yesterday, and I'm hoping she got something on those looms!
  After that, I rushed home to clean the house for our inaugural knitting group meeting.  Four crafty women came, two knitters, one basket maker and a quilter.  We had snacks, gossip and craftiness, and fun.  We hope it will be a monthly thing.
  Then, it was upstairs for me to get something done about my own looms.  Yesterday, I started on Jenny's painted warp, beading the hem stitching before I started weaving.  I posted a photo of the beading on 4-shaft weaving on Facebook, and had almost 250 likes!  It was pretty exciting!  
  I started weaving the Orange Peel design out of some silver tencel for the tabby, and purple cotton slubbed yarn for the pattern weft.  I wove some more this morning, sat down to blog, looked over at the loom, and saw a big fat error, where I must have missed the tabby throw about 1 1/2 inches ago.  Guess who'll be unweaving tonight?
  I also noticed Weft on warp.  His favorite nap spot is on any warp, which is how he got his name.  And how all my handwoven items have a little of him in every one.
  Remember, today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day, so be sure to say ARRGH! at least once!