Osborn Fiber Studio

[sorry all, i’m working on something new with pictures. hopefully they are working now.]

[ok I know they’re still not working. Our fam is on the go right now but I’ll fix them as soon as I can.]

[OH MY GOODNESS sorry that took so long. Hopefully they’re really working now!! The deal is, I’m running out of space on my wordpress account (which is not cheap), and I’m looking for photo hosting options that don’t (a) cost me a TON more money, and that (b) don’t involve a lot of tedium (looking at you, google photos). Any suggestions, please drop them in the comments!]

Time to collect our month in pictures. The summer months are so different for us than the rest of our lives. Ten months of the year, we have a pattern whose variations are limited by a comfortably encircled location. But in summer, all that explodes, and gives us more than enough variety for the whole year!

We started the month at our friends’ cabin. When we arrived, the heather and dwarf rhododendron were in bloom.

During the week we were there, I knit the Mercy Otis Warren socks.

By the time we left the cabin, the Labrador Tea was starting to bloom.

We got back in time for the Nunavut Day celebrations on July 9th. Festivities were scaled back this year because of COVID-19, but lots of people went all-out decorating their vehicles for the parade.

July 14th was the hottest day of the year (so far); it was a balmy 26 C (79 F)! We joined the crowd at Sandy Lake for an afternoon of swimming. The water was still too cold for me, but I sure enjoyed the sunshine.

Craftwise, I didn’t get any spinning or weaving done. But I did do one little project. My friend Alide had shown me her work doing eco-printing on paper last year. We were gifted some beautiful linen cardstock by a friend who moved away, and I wanted to seize the opportunity to do some eco-printing while we had a variety of plants and flowers available.

Yellow was the dominant color, of course, but the willow leaves made a powerful rusty orange, and the grass flowers made a rich grey-green.

This was by far my favorite print. The twisty stage of the mountain avens made such life-like impressions at the center, with their sepals even printing a different color. The circle is alternating daisies and mountain avens, and the delicate ferny leaf stems of milkwort frame the top and bottom.

I finished my orange gradient sweater, and didn’t take a single picture of it! UGH. I guess you’ll hear about that in September!

Before vacation, my main mission was to complete my sister’s quilt. I finished it with a few days to spare, finishing and all.

And then, on July 20th, it was vacation day! So far we have…

… done our sealift shopping in Winnipeg …

… gotten up at 3 am to catch a plane to Toronto, then on to Maryland and Mimi and Granddad’s house …

… gone to a super-cool splash park …

… which also had an enormous inflated lump to jump on …

… rode a merry-go-round at Wheaton Regional Park …

… observed lots of flora …

… and fauna.

And lots more. We are making the most of family time and rest right now, trying to be helpful, but also just enjoying each other’s company.

As such, I haven’t been crafting a lot. I did start the next Bluestocking project, Phillis Wheatley Peters, which has accompanied me on vacation so far.

I’m behind schedule – the next pattern in the series came out yesterday – but with only two patterns left, I feel I can afford it. I can’t quite make myself stress about a sock on vacation! Thank goodness I have that much sense. I’m not even participating in the Ravellenic Games, though we are watching some Olympics. It’s so good feel able to responsibly rest.

August starts tomorrow, and there’s lots more planned. We are so thankful just to be here, to be able to recharge and reflect, and to invest in our relationships. After two years, we appreciate it more than ever.

What’s your summer like? (Or winter, if you’re in the southern hemisphere?)