First, my husband and I drove from Austin Texas to Los Angeles to visit his Grandmother, who is 98. It was a lovely week long visit over Christmas. I spent a lot of time spinning in the car and at various family events, and Grandma was fascinated by the work I was doing. It turns out her grandfather worked in a weaving and spinning factory back in the 1800's, and I helped explain the process to her in detail. She said she felt like I helped her bridge the gap in knowledge and time to bring her a closer, albeit belated, understanding of his daily life. I was honored to do so, and very pleased with my new wheel (which I will post about in a future update, I LOVE IT!)
For me the highlight of the trip was getting to visit LA's fashion district, where I picked up amazing and inexpensive wools for my reenactment costuming. I was really happy with that, as in Texas good wools run me anywhere from 40-90$ per yard and can only really be found in drab, dark colors, and I scored these for less than 12! What a steal, AND they were teal, royal purple and pink! The fabric on top is a silk blend I picked up for a friend, that she loved.
Next we went to Las Vegas, to visit my husbands Grandpa who is 96. This was also a lovely stay, and seeing Vegas was fun and glittery, but far too expensive for my tastes, considering I am also not a gambler. I spent 3 dollars on slots, big spender high roller that I am.
Next we stopped at the Grand Canyon on the way back home, which was amazing. I had never been and I was awe inspired by the size, and color variation of the stone. I think I may have some canyon inspired color ways in the works once I get home and am able to process it all creatively.
After arriving home, I received news that my mothers best friend, who was like a third Grandmother to me, had taken a turn for the worse in her battle with breast cancer that had spread to her liver, bones and other internal organs, she was in a coma. I immediately packed up the car and started the drive to Maryland from Texas. It is supposed to only be 23 hours, and ended up taking me 30 due to snow for most of the northern part of the trip, and I drove straight through. I ended up arriving just after she had passed away.
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| Roma and I at my High school graduation. |
Since then I have been enjoying family here in the Maryland area, helping to clean up the estate, and working towards heading back home. Roma left me so many amazing things. She was a quilter and craft addict when she was alive, and I have boxes and boxes of linens, wools, cottons etc that I will be taking home in addition to a high quality serger sewing machine, many sewing related knick-knacks and notions etc.
I've also decided to participate in the Spin the Bin challenge on Ravelry. Spin # 3 and 4 on the link are being dedicated to Roma, as the color of the yarn it is spinning up remind me of her hair when she was alive.
So here I am, having been on the road since the middle of December and wishing for home and some quiet me time. It should happen sometime by the middle of February.
I hope everyone is having a great new year, and enjoying your fiber arts pursuits.