Casa De Morrill

Yesterday afternoon, Sean and I took a drive to the other side of town. I’ve had a drop spindle of a friend’s for about 2 years now. I keep meaning to get it back to her and constantly forget to do so. Saturday while my family and I were at Lydia’s, I ran into Emma and she mentioned the errant drop spindle. Determined to give it back to her, Sean and I drove out to her house off of Dug Hill Rd. It’s a really nice house. It’s not huge, but it is very tastefully designed with just the right amount of room for Emma, her husband Alton and their two dogs Buffy and Lady. The one thing that had been requested, though, when they moved into their new home last July was that there was an extra room that could become her loom room. Emma is the one responsible for getting me into spinning. She’s also the one responsible for teaching me just enough about weaving to make me want to learn more. So, of course, yesterday, when we drove out to her house I had to go in and drool over her loom room. She has a smaller loom set up in one of the guest bedrooms, but the large loom which can weave about 30 inches across was set up in the loom room. I drooled appropriately over that and an older spinning wheel she had recently acquired. The loom was new, the spinning wheel dates back to somewhere around the late 17th to early 19th century. It’s extremely beautiful. The loom was set up for some napkins she was working on for their dining area. Yes, the ultimate reason to learn how to weave, you don’t ever have to worry about finding the right color napkins and placemats or other decorating bits for your house. You can just weave them yourself. She and I chatted awhile. Emma gave me another spinning wheel to take a look at. It’s actually much cheaper than the one I had been looking at before and had beautiful carvings on the wheel. After poor Sean dealt with Emma and I discussing textiles (everywhere from red cotton to some yarn she found to actual weaving), I handed over the drop spindle and we headed back with a promise that once I had time (ie, I had graduated) I would give her a call and she would start giving me lessons in weaving. So, I’m not exactly your usual domesticated geek who just does the more accepted domesticated chores such as sewing and cooking. I actually like the thought of being able to take the fiber and walk it through the entire creation process until I come out with finished products. It might turn out that next Christmas, everyone’s getting small tapestries from me.

I’ve almost got the hang of this “waking up early and being at work before everyone else” thing down. In fact, I’m almost beginning to enjoy it. No hordes of traffic to deal with, all trying to rush into Research Park same as me. Instead, I get a pleasantly serene orange flaming ball in the sky to appreciate as I drive towards it in the morning. Just a few other cars out on the road. Now, I’m nestled into my office starting to gear up for a new week of work and school. Except, this week’s a bit different. Kate’s gone. She’s not going to be back until the new year. She’s got a new infant to take care of for now and until she gets back, it’s up to Beth and me to pick up where she left off and keep working. I guess it’s a good thing I’ve been phasing out programming here for the past couple of months, because I don’t think I’ll have a lot of time to work on any now. For now, though, it’s still quiet in the office and I can still enjoy my cup of tea by myself.