Although I've enjoyed very much blogging on this site, new projects and new directions are leading me away.  I have become involved in an exciting new on-line magazine, with the focus of fiber and women in fiber, at Fiber Femmes.  The first issue will be coming out in July, for July/August.  In support of this project, Sandra and I, as co-editors, have worked up a blog that will focus on the magazine and our individual businesses, as well as our other cooperative efforts.  I simply do not have enough time to keep yet a third blog going, so I'm going to have to let this one go, replacing it with Fiber Femmes.  I'll miss this community; I've placed links to some of you on my blog, At the Top of Squirrel Spur, which was always my personal space on the web. 

I hope you will all come out to visit us at Fiber Femmes and at the Fiber Femmes blog!

• Comments (3) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

• Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

• Comments (1) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Recently the other editor of the Blue Ridge Gazette and I were kicking ideas around and we (mostly he) came up with the idea of putting together an on-line group blog with articles about fine fibers. So here's another blog called Gossamer Strands. Our focus will be on fine fibers, angora, silk, alpaca, bison, fine wools and other elegant fibers that are spun, woven, knitted, crocheted or felted. Articles can be about techniques, the animals, the history of the fiber, tools, whatever....the only requirement is that the theme be fine fibers and their use.

Writers are NEEDED! The guidelines are in the sidebar of Gossamer Strands. There are some wonderful writers out there in the blog world (you know who you are!) and I think we could put together an awesome site for reference and that would be a lot of fun. Soon I'd like to put together another magazine, like the Blue Ridge Gazette that would feature articles from the blog plus new articles. The only limits are our imagination; if the magazine is successful our writers could be PAID for writing a blog!

• Comments (5) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

I don't do much shopping.  At least, not for recreation.  My dad and I live here alone, and our needs are pretty simple.  But this past week I wanted a lot of odds and ends because of putting together displays for my booth and because of other things that happen occasionally on the farm.  One day last week the pump in the spring house quit.  The drive band on my spinning wheel broke.  And I needed hardware for the displays.

The nearest 'box store' is 40 minutes from here.  Naturally, all the things I needed weren't required on the same day.  With gas prices the way they are, I estimate that each trip to pick up a needed item would have cost about $7.00 round trip with my economical little pickup.  I don't enjoy either burning up money, or the time it would take to travel to the nearest town.  I do enjoy a trip every couple of weeks to town to have lunch with my favorite cousin, and that's when we do our 'big' shopping.  We really make that trip count; with recreation and necessities combined.

The pump needed a switch, so I called a local hardware store and ran to pick it up.  Ten minutes down the road and maybe $1.25 in gas.  I tried to make do with the drive band for the spinning wheel with a nylon cord that I had here, but that didn't work.  So I walked to the local store to pick up some cotton string, which has been working perfectly.  A couple of days later I walked up there again, to pick up the hardware I needed for my booth displays.  The fabric I wanted for a screen was available at another small shop twenty minutes away.  On that trip I combined grocery shopping and banking with the fabric purchase.

Over and over again I hear people talking about running to a chain store.  I know people that go several times a week.  Around here that's quite a trip.  These people think they are saving money; a widget at Wal-mart costs less than it does at the store here in my little community.  But if I buy the widget at my local store, I'm not only supporting my neighbors and adding to the local economy, I'm saving very expensive gas.  It's long past time in this country that we started thinking about shopping locally. 

I'm probably luckier than people in some areas; the little stores in my community are operated by women that are talented in buying and we have a tourist trade that helps keep the stores open and available.  Fresh produce, meat from a local butcher, groceries, a deli and bakery are all within walking distance for me.  One store has an extensive hardware section and there's even a little greenhouse and they sell garden seeds.  Even though we have a tourist trade, none of these shops would stay open if the local community didn't support them.  As time goes on and I find the trends in big business more and more disturbing, I tend to spend more time and money in the local shops and small businesses in my area.  Since my own business is small, it makes sense for me to support the local economy as much as I can. 

And it's fun to go into a shop and know everyone there, to be greeted by friendly faces and interesting talk.  Our shopkeepers pay attention to the needs of their community, and keep items available that are needed, interesting and sometimes unusual.  Prices are only a bit higher than the chain stores, but the convenience is more than worth it to me.  And I know that my dollars are benefiting my local community instead of some impersonal big business with a dubious reputation.

• Comments (2) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

The Blue Ridge Gazette, May 2006 issue has been posted.  Lots of interesting articles and beautiful pictures of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Several new writers have joined the Blue Ridge Gazette blog and there is some wonderful material being posted there every day. Come see us!

• Comments (6) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

North Carolina Research Center

I took a trip Wednesday with my sister-in-law to attend a seminar on running a farmer's market down near Asheville, North Carolina.  Although I am not involved in what Sue is doing, I knew it would be easier for her to go if I took the trip with her, and I thought I'd pick up a few tips while I was there as well. 

There were several markets from Western North Carolina represented, and I think a few producers.  The discussion ranged from collecting sales tax to promotion of the market, with a lot of emphasis on complying with regulations.  Since we're in Virginia the regulations are different, but it was good to be aware of some situations that might arise.  Some good points about promotion covered using newsletters, with raffles to collect names and addresses. 

A resource table at the back of the room was covered with handouts and leaflets.  A particularly interesting notebooks contains the information from a previous seminar on selling at a farmer's market.  I haven't had a change to go through all this material, but if anyone out there has specific questions that I might be able to answer, I'll be glad to try to look up the information.  The notebooks contain a lot of North Carolina and Federal contact information as well as ideas for what to grow and who to target.  Just leave a comment or message me privately. 

During a break for a terrific lunch, supplied by local farmers and bakers, I saw a flyer for an information session on the National Animal Indentification System.  The meeting was held by the extension office, and the tone was not "oh, goody, we're going to save you from all the diseases known to man and animal".  It was more like, "Look out, see what's coming if we don't do something."  I can't be sure, of course, since I didn't attend the meeting.  But North Carolina has done a lot more for her farmers than Virginia in recent years.  To see this flyer from the extension service (I think), when my own extension office answers queries with "oh, it'll be good for you and it won't cause any problems" is refreshing.  (nonais.org)

• Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

For the last month I've been quietly working away at a new web site. This project was the brain-child of D. L. Ennis, the blogger that created the Blue Ridge Gazette blog. He invited me to write for his blog and then other writers joined, for a really creative team with different viewpoints and talent. I've been doing web pages for awhile, and suddenly I found myself designing a magazine format to take advantage of the great writing that was flowing into the blog. So, as of today, the premier issue of Blue Ridge Gazette is on-line. I'm co-editor, thanks to the generous nature of Mr. Ennis. We're hoping to sell advertising to support the magazine.

 
I've thoroughly enjoyed working on this project. Now that the format is done the monthly publication won't be very difficult, and I can continue writing articles for the blog. I think this type of writing, although new to me in a way, is growing more comfortable. I used to write articles for small magazines years ago, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoy this. I'll probably always tend to write more from personal experience than from any other viewpoint. "Write what you know" is good advice. Even when I write about something for the magazine or blog, it will always be something where I feel a deep connection.

So go visit the Blue Ridge Gazette, when you have time, for a look at our wonderful mountains. Then come visit us!

• Comments (5) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

The weather is threatening again, so Sandra wisely decided to stay home.  I'm disappointed that she won't be able to join me for a dye day, but I'll be digging out my pots and working on some rovings after bunny chores.  Laundry is high on the things to do list, too.

I spent a wonderful evening with friends and relatives at an author's talk in Floyd yesterday.  To see my impressions of Lee Smith, visit At the Top of Squirrel Spur.  My business accomplishments were minor but I cleaned house and had fun with the ladies!

• Comments (2) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

At the top of Squirrel Spur

MyThreeDaughters lives in North East Victoria, Australia and said in a comment on the last post that my house reminded her of the house that she lives in in a town of about 1,000.  I visited her blog, Snowys, and it's a delightful 'trip' over.  There's a particularly interesting entry on planting tips, and some beautiful pictures.  It's interesting to read about someone's life so far away, and see what is different, and what is the same.

To answer her question, the house in the pictures on this blog is mine.  It was built, probably before 1900, on a piece of land that had an older house on it, which was probably closer to the existing springhouse.  The original land grant that included this house belonged to a family called Langhorne, who came to the area in the 1830s or so.  They found a few people already settled, some old families with names like Boyd, Eden, Reynolds, and Webb.  The first Langhorne is credited with naming the small community here Meadows of Dan.  The Dan River begins on a small farm here, and apparently the area had been cleared by a forest fire when the first settlers arrived.  The piece of property that belongs to my house was originally given by the Langhornes to a denomination for building a church.  The money was never raised for this purpose and it came into private hands.

Window

This farm belonged to my father's father, who bought it in the 1920s after working in the coal mines of West Virginia.  The original house was four rooms, two up and two down, and, like most old houses, has seen birth and death, joy and sorrow.  Sometime during the 1930s a two room addition with a basement was built at the back side of the house, to provide a kitchen and dining room. 

People around here didn't name their houses and farms in the early days.  This was probably because they were of mostly German descent and from common stock and it wasn't part of their tradition.  Houses were known by the names of the families that owned them the longest. 

The name of the business is Greenberry House, which I took, at the suggestion of a cousin, from the first name of my great-grandfather Steadham.  The farm itself doesn't really have a name.

My kitchen

The rooms are not large, with low ceilings and hardwood floors in the old part of the house.  We lived here when I was a child and my father did some work on the house, remodeling the kitchen and adding a bathroom.  He also enclosed the open porch at the front of the house and made part of it into a bedroom for my brother and me.

Kitchen, with my favorite purple chairs

When I moved here in 1990, the house had fallen into some disrepair because it was rented.  I did what I could afford at the time, replacing neglected plumbing, ceilings and floors.   I lived here for two months with no lights except in the bathroom because the wiring had to be redone.  Fortunately it was in the summer with the longer days!  Later I had siding put onto the house, new windows put in and remodeled the livingroom.

Livingroom

I spent most of five years looking after my grandfather, so during that time the house served mostly as a place to store my stuff.  He became feeble in his last years and couldn't be left alone, right after I finished remodeling the livingroom and putting the siding up.  I was working nights and staying with him during the day, so my financial situation kept me from really completing the needed repairs to the house.  I'm planning to remodel and expand the kitchen, put on another tin roof, and add a porch. 

Livingroom

There's always work to be done to an old house.  Along with the remodeling I want to do some basic painting needs to be done; the livingroom floor needs another coat and the doors need a touchup this spring. I had the floor in what was my bedroom refinished but I couldn't afford to do the livingroom.  So I painted it, a tradition in this area.  I really like painted floors, and eventually I can have the floor sanded and polyed when it's affordable.

Computer Room

The former dining room is now my computer room, where I spend my mornings writing, working on web pages, researching books and antiques, and blogging.  A cheerful cockatiel chatters along with my keyboard, and often a sleeping spaniel or labrador puppy curls up to sleep at my feet under the desk. 

My Bedroom under the eaves

My father moved in with me a year ago, and I put him in the bedroom I had downstairs.  This moved me up to a cozy little room upstairs, which also needs some work but has pleasant memories for me.  When I was small this was the 'junk room', a necessity to store the many odds and ends that the generations had collected.  We played here when we were little, discovering our family history through the pieces that they had collected.  It's a wonderful room for reading at night, with the wind blowing in the eaves and the rain rumbling on the metal roof.

My Studio

My studio and workroom is also upstairs, but since Dad moved in I've had to cram a lot of stuff in there and I work in the livingroom most of the time now.  My great-grandmother's spinning wheel is pictured on the right, beside a walking wheel that we bought at an auction in Lexington, Virginia. 

Part of the stash

Last fall we started construction on a shop building here beside the house.  With our location just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, we hope to attract tourists to our antique and book store, and I plan to use a small portion as a working studio.  I think people will enjoy seeing me spin and clip bunnies.  My way of life is very quiet, and the busy visitors that come to our area want to know about how we live here and what we do.  Sharing our heritage and traditions is part of what we offer. 

My house, imperfect as it is, is a small place of quiet and calm.  I sit spinning near a window where I can look out and see busy birds in the apple tree bird feeders.  Sunshine streams into the computer room, and the vista from those windows is fields, neighbors and a placid pond.  I wash dishes looking out at the same pond, watching the ripples as the wind tosses the surface.  And at night moonlight streams into the window of my bedroom, while the wind blows across the eaves.

• Comments (13) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link