I'm getting a harp

I am getting a harp. I think I wanted one from the first time I ever saw Harpo Marx sit down to play. Of course, at that time my parents wouldn’t have dreamt of getting me a harp, because the only ones available then were the big concert pedal harps with price tags similar to purchasing a home.


However, by happenstance, this past September a busker from Australia was playing his harp in the streets of my town. It wasn’t the tune, it wasn’t even the harp itself, it was the sound that moved me totally, unexpectedly, and deeply. After some soul searching I decided I would get a harp.

I began with a web search for companies making harps. Here are some of my results:

I really like the sound of the Stoney End harps. www.stoneyend.com/ I also like their 5 year guarantee and their “package deal” on some of their harps. I wouldn’t mind waiting to have my harp “built” but I seemed to have asked them too many questions – not that they aren’t very good at answering questions!

I also really like the bright sound of the Dusty Strings harps www.dustystrings.com/ and can say that after a skype session listening to two of their Ravenna’s live, that they do indeed sound like their sound samples! They also come highly recommended. Dusty Strings has absolutely great people, helpful, knowledgeable, and real professionals. Their webpage is packed with very helpful information. They are prompt in replying and really care for things. They only offer a 2 year guarantee, but as you will see – if you read to the end – that is not a stopping point. I was concerned that so many of their harps seem to be seeking new homes. Of course some people will realize after purchasing a harp that learning to play the harp is a lot more work than listening to harpists and harpers on you tube, others will move up to bigger models with more sound. Still that little detail niggles at the back of my mind…

Triplett www.triplettharps.com has some marvelous harps, and I see many people in various places recommend them. They also offer a 7 year guarantee. My problem is that I want sound clips of each harp and they don’t offer that. But they definitely will get a much closer look if I decide to get something else later.

Harpsicles harpsicleharps.com/ seem to offer a great deal if one is planning on opening a music school and want harps beginning students can actually make music with, but which won’t break the budget! Nice bright sound.

Sweetharps www.caswellharps.com/Page17/Page17.html really seem to be a deal – rather similar to the harpsicle in price and sound, but there was a telling forum on The Harp Column online site which showed considerable problems in actually getting one!

Surprisingly, the BIG names in the world of lutenists (makers of harps) Lyon and Healy www.lyonhealy.com/ and Salvi salviharpsinc.com/salvifactory.htm in Italy, and Carmac harps www.camac-harps.com/ in France are makers of the big concert harps for harpists worldwide, and they are now also making some smaller more affordable harps also, so please be sure to check them out thoroughly if you’re in the market for a harp!

If you’re wanting something more medieval then there are places like Eric Harps www.eric-harps.de/ in Germany and Ardival Harps www.ardival.com/ in Scotland. The latter has excellent sound tracks. I’m not yet sure if I want to add a bray harp or a wire harp later. I especially like that the later also has a summer course so one can learn and experience the harps before buying!

Meanwhile I think it is vital to actually hear the harp you want to by before you buy. Skype is great for connecting if you can’t actually get out there, travelling the world to find the ideal harp. According to Salvi, it takes three months to a year for them – as full time professionals – to build a harp. Most of what I’ve seen and found online from my exploration of this, confirms that. Reputable companies also don’t expect payment until the harp is ready, and most will have showroom models available which do the “auditioning”.

What did I choose – or more accurately, which harp chose me!? The Nico, by Telynau Teifi www.welsh-harps.com/ in Wales, although I must admit their Robyn, not to mention their Eos, really have me drooling! In a rather intensive Skype session, I listened to three Nicos and one Robyn. The extra strings on the Robyn really make a notable difference toward a full robust sound. Though the Nicos are all made the same way, they were of different woods Ash, Poplar, and Black Walnut. In discussing my age and so on with the harper and teacher, we came to a very clear decision about which harp was the one for me for now. So that’s how this story unfolded!

Mushroom Soup

Yesterday I made mushroom soup. I decided to post it here so I could find the recipe again.

Mushroom Soup (2 servings)


1 box of white mushrooms
1 box Shitake mushrooms
Small bunch of broccoli
1 chopped onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
3 Tbs butter (or olive oil)
2 Tbs flour
1 teas. salt
1 teas. Black pepper
Water


Cut all mushrooms in quarters so they will release their flavor. Cut broccoli into small pieces. Chop onion and garlic.
Melt butter in pan for soup. Mix in flour and allow the flour to thicken. Add chopped onion. Stir constantly. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Add water slowly, stirring constantly so that butter/flour mixes completely with the water. Add all mushrooms. Adjust heat so the soup simmers quietly, not a hard boil. Cover and let soup simmer for 15 minutes, add broccoli, and let soup simmer another five to seven minutes. Serve.

Break continues

This past week was crammed full - for someone with a broken arm. Monday I went to have a follow-up X-ray ad the doctor decided I needed surgury because my thumb and forefinger were slightly numb.  The numbness, I assured hi, would go away once the cast came off and I could move normally.  Besides I had company coming and didn't have time for surgery.  A long wait for the orthopedist, via the lab, and an EKG, decided the point in my favor: no surgery but another "cast adjustment".

Unfortunately the cast adjustment turned into a cast replacement, and the follow-up x-ray after that showed the bones pulling apart. So I have to be a very good girl - not easy.  Next time I see the doctor, I will say "all is well," and leave it at that or they are apt to get other nasty ideas and go for that surgery.

Meanwhile my friend Gail was traveling up from Helsinki, completely unaware of my chaos at the hospital.  I managed to escape the hosital in time to buy a few groceries and meet Gail at the train. We caught the next bus home and had a great evening catching up.  That night I saw northern lights for the first time. Lovely!

Tuesday Magdalen came to help create a pattern for Gail. Magdalen brought at least 10 books with her from her library. Gail attended one of the early SCA events in San Francisco "way back when" there was only one kingdom (SF area) and has been thinking of coming to Drachenwald coronation in June since it's practically going to be in her back yard (40 miles close). It was inspiringly AMAZING to watch Magdalen do the pattern! I was ordered to a corner to prevent me from doing (murph!) anything! All went fine till we (Gail) began sewing her fabric together and it started unraveling all over the place. We ended up throwing it out but she went home with the pattern. I added all sorts of peicing notations to the pattern peices, where they will not get lost, because directions don't stay in memory that long.

Wednesday brought the local Hirvenkylä members to my home and we had a great evening.

I am borrowing one of Magdalen's books and have been studying "The Medieval Tailor's Assistant: Making common garments 1200-1500" by Sarah Thursfield (pub 2001 in England and claiming not to permit sales in US). I'm enjoying the details, and drawing out a few of the patterns. I understand that Hawkwood's Baronial Birthday has an Arts and Sciences competion with "hats" as one of the categories. Hummm... maybe when I get my left arm back.
 
Not that I don't have plenty of unfinished "in-progress" projects needing my attention. 

Taking a "Break"

Do you know how to walk? Lift foot, move foot forward, put foot down, shift weight, lift other foot...

On Feb thirteenth I took the dogs out for their mid-day walk and... Somewhere in the process of putting my left foot down and lifting my right foot, I realized my left foot was sliding, slipping, and the next thing I knew I was sitting down saying "Oh fuddle!" My left hand hit the ground before the rest of me did.  There is a feel to a broken bone. I knew my arm was broken.  I gave the dogs a mini mini walk, got them in, sent emails to employers saying "I'm going to the hospital. My arm is broken, please tell everyone", and called a taxi.

At the hospital they took off my mittens, watch, rings... and I went to see the doctor, have x-rays, see the doctor (again), get the arm set - two men pulling my arm in opposite directions until the bone is in place: AH!;  have more x-rays, and see the doctor (one more time).

I have lots of free time but I can't DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO any handiwork with my left arm in a cast!!!

Conference day 3 - and a half!

Last Thursday  - Feb 2 - I began warping my loom.  First I took the end of my thin black warp, tied up with a bright pink mop string, from the bag; found the end loop and placed that over the warp beam stick. I secured the warp beam stick to the back of the loom and got my raddle. The raddle is divided into one centimeter sections with metal spikes. I hung the raddle on the loom castle and measured out 115 cetimeters and marked the beginning and the end of that distance. I covered most of the spikes with paper bags and then carefully placed my bundled warp on the other side.

Because I had wound the warp using four threads per pass around the warping tree, and the goal is ten threads per centimenter, I began counting out warp threads 12 in the first raddle slot after the first marker, then 8 in the next one. I continued with 12, 8, 12, 8 accross the raddle till almost the end when I had first run out of the first cone of the four I began with when winding the warp. We had counted the warp threads at that point and knew I needed just 40 more pairs.  So we had ended all of the four cones and started the two extra cones I'd bought as "just in case".  We had originally thought I'd need only 3 cones of thread...  Anyhow the last 40 rounds were just two threads each and there had to be 10 of those in each raddle slot at the end.

By the time I was done with that it was time to go to my sewing class.  I was exhausted from the intensity of counting threads, trying to be sure NONE were crossed - makes for really bad weaving and I do not want really bad weaving! Next conference day I will continue warping the loom!

In my sewing class I continued to work on the pulled-thread lace for the front of my blouse. By the end of next Tursday I ought to be able to move the embroidery ring and start the top portion of the blouse front.

Then on Saturday I began dyeing! First the wool into soak in nice hot water so the dye vat wouldn't be a terrible shock and so the wool could take up as much indigo as possible.  Then I began making the indigo dye vat.  After four dips in idigo at 60 - 90 seconds I decided to let the color develop a while, then washed the skeins and hung them to dry. They'll get more dipping soon enough. It looks like the ikat-tied bundles are doing really well.  The rest is not taking up the idigo evenly, which is terrible.  But I'm really happy about the way the ikat bundles are going because it is so much work tieing them up, and if it weren't working, or if the indigo was seeping under the ties I'd be really upset. As it is I am feeling positive that this will work.

Sorry about the lack of pictures. I know they'd really help!

Second Conference Day

The second day of my personal conference went well. I worked for about 2 hours tying thinly sliced bicycle inner tubing around what will be the weft for my national dress. The photo (which will come as soon as I figure out how to reduce the mb size) shows the set-up I use and you can just see some of the markings in the board and the ties I’m using. The bicycle tubing is powdered and makes my hands dry. It also makes them stink of rubber. After about two hours of that (four groups of yarn, each with thirty ties), I washed my hands and applied hand-cream before spending another hour winding some plain weft that doesn’t need ikat tying before dyeing.

In the early afternoon, I worked on the belt some more. The first photo shows where I began and the last shows where I ended. It’s really difficult to tell that anything happened. When I am able to continue the warp has been advanced so it will look like I’m back at square 1 again. This week I found the routine easier to follow. It’s easier to distinguish threads and I am always working from left to right when picking threads. I eventually got my clamp and clamped the Inkle loom to the board. The board is the same one I use to wind yarn to tie for ikat dyeing.

I went to my sewing class in the late afternoon and continued working on the simple pulled thread design I chose. Note to the world: this pattern is NOT the approved one for this blouse. I am saving my eye (singular) and my sanity. My sanity should NOT be the issue – the blouse is supposed to be more valuable than my sanity. Yes but the official plans specifically state that I can substitute store bought lace instead of the specific pattern… this is more work than store bought lace … No, That’s not gonna fly! Okay, I’ll just go buy the hideous lace from the shop. I can cover this up and no one but us will know it’s there.

Friday I went to the weaving centre and had some help and lots of advice in winding the warp for my loom. The winding went fairly quickly – about three hours – and the warp is long enough and has the correct number of threads! As soon as possible I need to dress my loom (it’s naked!!!). So on my next conference day I will be dyeing and dressing my loom!

I have begun work on my Norn (master spinner). The requirements for Norn spinning with flax are three skeins of flax. One skein must be spun wet; one must be spun dry; and one must be spun three ply. More on all of that will follow as I progress.

I chose the bleached tow (flax/linen) in the picture from my pervious post. I took my bleached tow supply to my local grocery store and weighed it. I did that because my scale is broken. I have plans to acquire a new scale, but it won’t be digital or battery operated.

Now I know I have 68 g of one bundle and 40 g of another bundle of bleached tow. Why is that important? I need (at least) three sample skeins of spun flax. Each skein must be between 1-2 ounces, which translates as 30-60 g. I’m starting with the 68 grams.

I’m not particularly worried about my bleached tow supply. I do have at least 100 g of unbleached tow. But I am planning what to do with all of the flax I have. You see there are also the dyeing requirements for Norn, and the project requirements in addition to just spinning simple skeins of various fibers. I want to be sure to have enough for everything.

Anyhow I began spinning and chose to use a drop spindle for spinning. I have three key reasons for using a drop spindle: it is easily transportable, which means I can take it with me almost anywhere and spin; it is more appropriate for the “Middle Ages”; and finally, I am spinning this single wet. I spin a section and then run it through my mouth to set the twist. I know most people use a bowl of water and wet their fingers in that. My reasons for my method are because it is more convenient and probably more historically accurate, and because Elsie Davenport claims this makes the best yarn but calls the method “quite unhygienic” (1953, p.82). In any case the yarn will be washed before other people handle it.

Davenport (1953, pp 87 and 90) also suggests winding the tow on a tow fork to keep the tow in order. While I have a tow fork, I am choosing not to use it. My choice not to use it is because I have the tow in order in a plastic bag, and because the tow fork is one more piece of equipment to carry around and it is pointed and somewhat dangerous. So I don’t want to deal with it for this skein. However, I have wound the 40 g of bleached tow onto it, and will probably use it as the distaff when I spin flax on my wheel.

I am choosing to spin the singles “s” because I have been told that flax has a natural “s” curve. Although I received this information from spinners who routinely spin flax, Irwin (2001, p.71) and Amos (2001, p. 119) confirm this. Personally, I do not see an “s” curve in the tow. Davenport makes no comment on this, though she is most thorough in all other matters.

Spinning

This morning I woke up and knew that to complete the spinning requirements for Norn (master spinner in the SCA Guild The Company of the Silver Spindle http://kws.atlantia.sca.org/ ) I would have to get a plan for accomplishing all the work (http://kws.atlantia.sca.org/charter.html#ranks  see Norn).

I have two problems: 1) I don't want to spin JUST for the Norn. I want to spin other things too. 2) I OUGHT to spin the rest of the fiber for my national dress project.

So I've come up with a plan. One Norn skein per month until summer, then I can spin other things, once the Norn skein is done. During the summer two Norn skeins per month, and work on spinning the yarn for the National dress project. I may end up scheduling another Conference day for my spinning.

After debating whether to start with spinning Cotton or Silk, I took out Holda Siobhan's spindle and some flax... One skein wet, one dry and one three ply... each skein at least 50 g. Okay I know what to do and can get busy.  White or natural?

I forgot that I also need to get out and start collecting nettle. Yes it's mid-winter, but it is recognizable, and because it is midwinter the nettle is already retted, so it only needs to dry out before breaking and hacking and spinning - that's exotic fiber for you...

Oh, yeah, I got the camera to work. but deleted more pictures than I saved. Really have to learn to use the camera.

Gee it's been a while...

How many times do I say that?  If I had a penny for every time, I'd be rich!

Sorry no photos today.  Yes I have a new camera after the old one died last summer, but I don't seem to be able to take good photos with it so it sits hidden in a cupboard.

Wednesday two friends came over to learn to spin!  YAY!  This is in addition to another friend who is also learning to spin! Great fun was had and two are reporting great progress!

Thursday - shh - don't tell, is my conference day. I keep a conference with myself all day. This event repeats every Thursday. The subject of my conference is my National dress project. This past Thursday I succeeded in 1) numbering skeins of yarn headed for the dye-pot 2) tieing other skeins of yarn for ikat dying. I used thinly sliced bicycle inner tubing to tie the places off. I figure that traditionally they probably used pig gut. Those two things occupied my morning.

3) My Thursday afternoon conference session focused on the belt I am trying to weave for the National dress. I am still not satisfied with the results. Yes, they are better than the last disaster, but something is definitely not right and I suspect the wool and cotton mixed warp is the problem. Basically I think it looks hideously bad.

4) Then I went to my course and sat happily and worked on the pulled thread embroidry for the front of the blouse (collar and back placket still to go and I am not finished with the front yet... and I've been working on it for several weeks).  We still need to check on the vest trim, the weave for the vest and what the tex of the warp and weft is, and get the pattern for the cap.  Now I understand the vest trim is velvet, which makes little sense (to me) because it is spun velvet.  Ok, how is velvet spun? I thought it was woven?!?!  I understand the principle of weaving velvet, but spinning it...??? I wonder why no one sees this dress?  Why no one makes this dress?

Also I hear the vest fabric is very shiny wool (also very thin and fine) To me that means a very fine combed top, closely spun worsted. It is the only thing that can really provide a shiny wool.  Okay I've been spinning at 84 tex, and have spun a 50 tex, so maybe I am looking for a 25 tex.  Um, yeah, I know. It IS possible to BUY this fabric.  But come on! Once upon a time, other people - not machines - actually spun the fiber and wove the originals, so it should still be possible today - or are we less skilled than our ancestors?
Don't answer that question!
I need samples of that trim and that vest fabric!