Get To Know It

Yesterday I was introduced to the BAC and the weaving and spinning (and rug hooking) guilds, shown around the studios, conference rooms, the shop and the solarium, introduced to many people and finally given a box of weaving books and sent on my way. 


The BAC is a beautiful place. That being said, it's always a little difficult to reconcile what you've read and imagined in your head with what's actually in front of you. The weaving studio is huge, and the dye kitchen similar in size to the one at the college (albeit without the felting table in the way), but I thought I'd be getting bigger looms... Most of the ones in the studio are 4-harness (for teaching classes and such), but the largest I saw was a 12-harness macomber. There are a couple of 8-harness jacks and an octado dobby too. 


All this means is I'll have to be okay with toning down the pattern development a little (and figure out how to make the physical labour of running a big macomber less intense). It won't matter too much for the final outcome. And as for the project itself, I've made a list of materials and have already ordered a few mordants for dyeing. I'm going to be doing a lot of experimental dyeing with the plants found in my new house's spectacular garden, and Ontario's ridiculous summer (seriously? I did NOT sign up for more summer) means the dyestuff stays fresh for longer. There were a few neato dye books in the box of things I was given, and with very little money I can put together a great dye book and DYE ALL OF THE YARNS FOR THIS PROJECT WITH THINGS FROM THE YARD! 


That'll be fun. 


Also, I mentioned in an earlier post, possibly the last one, that Burlington feels very familiar. It's gotten a little sinister since I started watching the Wire, but I know that's all in my head. I've noticed something strange though, and what I've noticed in the past couple of days is this: there is nobody my age in Burlington. Where are all the young, hip twenty-somethings? Nobody said there were any to begin with, but you'd expect there to be someone kicking around. Has everyone already emigrated to Toronto for the year? Is this really just a town of middle-aged couples and retirees with dogs? Maybe my future friends are all waiting for me at Ribfest. UGH.