Michgan Fiber Festival

Today, I drove up to the Allegan Fairgrounds, for the Michigan Fiber Festival. There were four in our group: Jess Wesel & her daughter; Denise Pluta, and me. We had a splendid time, and all behaved fairly well. Our goal, of course, was to Buy Yarn (with the sub goal Not Too Much).

This is the only skein I bought - it is Sea Pearl, a fingering weight, merino/tencel yarn, from Briar Rose Fibers. I went to the festival this year with a plan: buy enough fingering weight yarn to make the Camping Half-Circle Pi Shawl. Within 10 minutes, I saw some yarn that would have worked, and almost bought that. Then I liked some yarn at the Knitting Notions booth, and I think there was a third booth I considered.

Then we reached the Briar Rose booth (we'd been at the festival not quite an hour), and the shopping began. They have lovely yarn, and usually their booth is packed with people and total craziness, but today it was still fairly calm. I saw this yarn, and fell in love. Then, Jess discovered that they also had silk hankies, and she and Denise and I each bought some.

These are also called mawatas. Each one is a single cocoon, spread out into a square. These mawats have been dyed various colors (and I managed to pick out one in a color totally different from the other hankies - I'll have to try to blend that with the others).

What looks like one hankie actually can be separated into multiple thin hankies. And then, amazingly enough, you can knit with them. I have enough to make (I hope) a pair of simple mittens. The Yarn Harlot describes the process here and here. I will probably do some additional internet googling before I tackle this project...

We also helped Jess' daughter find something to buy. She was looking for an idea for her next 4-H knitting project, and settled on a kit to make a pair of lacy fingerless mitts. 

I have to tell you about the yarn that got away. After we finished going through the green building and the white building (names that are descriptive, if not imaginative), we wandered through the outside vendors, and watched a demo of sheep herding, and had a bite to eat. We headed next for the barns, where I discovered a gorgeous yarn by Maple Creek Farms. It was an alpaca / bamboo blend, called Cheyenne, I think, as soft as you can imagine. It would have been wonderful for the half Pi shawl, but - already having the lovely Briar Rose fiber in my bag - I resisted. (Note to Self: next year, look for this booth early in the game.) But, I have no regrets about the yarn I did buy. Above all, my goal at Fiber Fest is to buy yarn that I wouldn't be able to find at our local stores, and I did that again today, so I am happy.

I think I've achieved that goal each year I've gone. The first year I went to Fiber Fest (2008), I bought yarn from Knitting Notions (still in my stash), from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and from Maple Row Stock & Wool. I used the Blue Moon Fiber yarn (Woobu) to make a shawl. I finally started a project with the Maple Row yarn:

This is the swatch I knit; now I'm working on the Cerus Scarf pattern. This is knitted lengthwise, instead of widthwise, so each row takes a long time to knit!

On my next Fiber Fest visit (2009) I bought yarn from Heritage Spinning & Weaving, and from Briar Rose Fibers (that day, their booth was utter chaos). Both are still in my stash, although I have settled on a shawl pattern for the Heritage yarn. Now all I have to do is wait for it to reach the top of my queue.

I think I did well to limit my purchases today. Really, my stash is sufficient that I could knit for a long, long time without buying any yarn - but it's good to be prepared for an emergency! Jess and I will prepare a bit more next week, when we travel to Stitches Midwest.

I have no pictures of my companions today (clearly, I wasn't operating in blogger mode), but here are a handful of photos from the festival.

Marsha Fletcher is a fiber artist. She raises Shetland sheep, and uses their wool to make her art pieces. Today she was working on this rabbit, who is nearly as tall as she is. (He's sitting on her lap in this photo.)

Isn't this a cute elephant? Unfortunately, we could only get the pattern by purchasing the two skeins of yarn required to knit him - and that was a $100 purchase. None of us were inclined to make that investment.

A rabbit with attitude

Alpacas

A sweet little baby alpaca

Cheese from sheep milk

I even found something for Jim!

Essential, Necessary, Nice-to-Do

I recently stumbled across a series of images, paired with quotes from a talk by Julie B. Beck. These address the importance of prioritizing the many activities in our lives. (I've repeated the images & quotes below.)
When I read this, I was stunned to realize which category most of my activities land in.

This feeling was only reinforced when I read an Ensign article by Elder Christofferson, To Always Remember Him. This passage particularly impressed me:

...you and I can put Christ at the center of our lives and become one with Him as He is one with the Father (see John 17:20–23). We can begin by stripping everything out of our lives and then putting it back together in priority order with the Savior at the center. We should first put in place the things that make it possible to always remember Him—frequent prayer and scripture study, thoughtful study of apostolic teachings, weekly preparation to partake of the sacrament worthily, Sunday worship, and recording and remembering what the Spirit and experience teach us about discipleship.

Other things may come to your mind particularly suited to you at this point in your life. Once we make adequate time and means for these matters in centering our lives in Christ, we can begin to add other responsibilities and things of value, such as education and family responsibilities. In this way the essential will not be crowded out of our lives by the merely good, and things of lesser value will take a lower priority or fall away altogether.

Here are the images & text from Julie B. Beck that so impressed me:

Navigate This Life Confidently

“A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently. The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life" [my emphasis].

Essentials

The things that must be taken care of to ensure the blessings of eternal life for me and my family.

• Inviting revelation (praying always)
• Studying scriptures daily
• Taking time to ponder and fast
• Making and keeping covenants (sacrament meeting, temple)
• Loving one another

Necessary

Things we have to do as a part of mortal life in order to be self-reliant and be of service to our families and the Lord.

• Strengthening marriage and family relationships
• Homemaking (cooking, cleaning, working)
• Living providently
• Giving compassionate service
• Doing temple and family history work
• Sharing the gospel
• Serving in the Church

Nice-to-Do's

These add variety to our lives, but they won't save us.

• Crafts
• Hobbies
• Recreational reading
• Lunches with friends
• Movies
• Travel
• Blogging and recreational computer time

The presentation ends with the question, "What is on your list?" I need to consider this, and then, as Elder Christofferson suggests, strip away everything, and add items back with proper consideration of their priority.


Note to self: Come back and reread this list. Often.

A Trip to the Detroit Temple

This past Wednesday, I drove over to Bloomfield Hills, and attended the Detroit Temple with Dave & Joyce, Paul & Rachelle, & Annie.

This photo is from the church's website - it didn't really look
like this on Wednesday; there was snow
on the ground, for one thing, and
no leaves on the trees! But it's a beautiful building.

Happily, Dave had a camera, so here are a couple pictures to prove we were there.

Robin, Annie, Joyce, Rachelle, & Paul

Can you find the difference between this photo & the
previous  picture? (Answer: Robin turned into David - scary!)

After our session, we lunched at the Potbelly Sandwich Shop, not far from the temple. The sandwiches were good, and it was nice to relax and visit. Conversation covered the movie Babies, Annie's experiences as an intern with church magazines, successful weight loss, and lots in between.

As always when I drive to the temple, I can't help but compare my travel arrangements with those of the pioneers, struggling to build roads and plant crops as they traveled. I am grateful for a warm car and good roads, and the fact that I can drive there, attend the temple, enjoy a meal, and drive back home, all in an easy day.

I'm also grateful for iPods and podcasts, and enjoyed listening again to the talks from last September's General Relief Society Meeting.

I picked up on Sister Julie Beck's use of the word "haven" to describe our homes, and pondered how I could make our home more of a haven.

And I appreciated this comment from Sister Silvia Allred:

How do we strengthen our belief in the affirmations that I have heard over and over again from so many of you, that you believe in God’s love for you, that you trust you will receive His blessings, and that you understand the plan of redemption through the Savior Jesus Christ and your important part in His plan?

I will suggest four things that have helped me: prayer, scripture study, obedience, and service.

I can remember teaching youth classes where the kids complained, "we've heard this principle a thousand times." I always replied that we have to get it right, so we keep teaching the same basic principles, over and over. Certainly I've heard Sister Allred's list a thousand times, and yet I haven't quite got it down yet. It's good to be reminded of these basic principles, and ponder how I can adjust my life to be more diligent in these areas.

Note to self: Keep trying!

Rest Unto Your Souls

I just reread Elder Per G Malm's recent conference talk, "Rest unto Your Souls."

He says that "rest unto your souls includes peace of mind and heart." So often, I feel conflicted, and full of doubt and worry - I would like to feel some peace!

Elder Malm counseled,

The thoughts that we dwell on inside our minds, the feelings we foster inside our hearts, and the actions we choose to take will all have a determining impact on our lives, both here and in the hereafter.

I notice that he assigns responsibility for this impact to me, and not to others. My thoughts, feelings, and actions: my responsibility.

He shared a simple story to illustrate how our actions can also influence others.

In our day-to-day actions, it is often the small and simple things that will have a long-lasting impact (see Alma 37:6–7). What we say, how we act, and how we choose to react will influence not only ourselves but also those around us. We can build up, or we can tear down. A simple and positive example is a story told about my grandmother. She sent one of her young children to buy some eggs. The trusted child was probably joyfully walking home along the road, but most of the eggs were broken when the child arrived home. A friend of the family was there and admonished my grandmother to scold the child for behaving so badly. Instead, Grandmother calmly and wisely said, “No, that will not make the eggs whole again. We will simply use what we can and make some pancakes that we can enjoy together.”

When we learn to handle the small and simple daily things in a wise and inspired way, the result is a positive influence that will solidify harmony in our souls and build up and strengthen those around us.

Note to self: If I work on controlling my thoughts, feelings, and actions, I can find harmony and peace within myself, and build up those around me as well.

Kalamazoo Stake Conference

Last weekend, we attended our Stake Conference. We were fortunate to have an apostle presiding: Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Elder David L Cook, an Area Seventy, also was there. What a wonderful experience for us! They weren't here to reorganize anything; they just came to preside, and to teach.

The Saturday night session was packed. As Elder Oaks observed, typical attendance at the Saturday meeting suggests that maybe they are "secret," but that was not the case for this conference. The chapel and gym were full. (The parking lot was full, too - people parked at the high school, about a mile down the road, and were shuttled back and forth in vans. We, of course, simply walked from home.)

I can't remember specifics from the Saturday night talks (note to self: take more notes). What I remember is how pleasant it was, watching and listening to Elder Cook and Elder Oaks. They felt like friends, rather than authorities. They laughed and smiled, and spoke to our specific needs. More than once, I felt that Elder Oaks was looking right at me, looking into my eyes as a friend would.

For Sunday's session, we met at the W.K.Kellogg Auditorium, in Battle Creek. What a nice facility! We arrived early, so that Jim could rehearse with the choir - they sang an arrangement of "Beautiful Savior" that really was lovely (definitely not the familiar tune). We were able to find comfortable seats, right up front, with leg room for Jim.

I remember a few thoughts from Sunday's meeting. Elder Cook talked to youth, about staying the course during high school, and the importance of finding good friends. He shared his own experience, in which he decided to separate himself from the friends he'd grown up with, because of their choices. On his first day of school, he entered the lunch room, and sat alone. Gradually, over those first days of school, others joined, until he had a core of new friends. Elder Oaks spoke of missionary work, pointing out the benefits of talking about religion with our friends; sharing literature; sharing our testimony; and inviting friends to activities with us. (This all makes sense, and yet we are afraid of offending our friends - why is that?)

Anyway... it was a lovely weekend, and I feel loved by our leaders, and (by extension) by the Lord.