Back to the Regularly Scheduled Chaos

Going to try to keep this to a quick(ish) update, and get back into posting regularly again.

I last posted way back in November, and surprising no one, there’s been a lot that’s happened since then. December was the normal holiday blur, and I took some much needed time off. Got to do a little bit of interpretation at Fort Dobbs (and try to figure out how to make the oven work when we burned the door by accident). January was slow in a mostly good way, and I tried to establish some new habits to give myself the kind of routine that makes me more comfortable day to day.

In February, things took off in a very pre-Covid way. Work suddenly ramped up, and I had to work more (and harder) than I had been. An event I’d been planning to do on the 12th got cancelled, but a pop up event at Alamance Battleground quickly took it’s place. I took a dye setup out for demo and interpretation for the first time. Went really well – I should give that (and a few other dye things this spring) their own space. I was back at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson for a Civil War event on the 19th. It was the first time in two years that I dealt with historic artillery fire, and I almost forgot how loud it can be. And on the 26th, I was at Fort Dobbs and planned/coordinated food for some of the civilian interpreters attending the event. I’m happy to say that some of the cooking muscle memory is still there, even if I haven’t been using it lately.

March was even more work chaos, mixed with all the fiber arts things. I taught at Carolina FiberFest for the first time on the 10th, and helped out at the event on the 11th and 12th. As someone used to being on the “inside” of living history programming, it’s always interesting to see what the insides are like for different kinds of events. I’m looking forward to being more involved with the event going forward, and meetings for next year have already started. March 19th brought the return of the Durham Parks and Recreation Sheep to Spindle event at Leigh Farm Park in Durham. I brought out the dye pots again (minus funny clothes), and despite the wind, had success with cochineal and madder dye pots. Lots of great conversations with visitors. Got a chance to sell some yarn I’d prepared ahead of time, which was a nice boost too.

And just this past weekend, I did my first event as a vendor. The Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties had their Spring Fair at Durham Central Park, and I signed up to sell my yarn. Not knowing what to expect, I also took my Traveller, a drop spindle, and some fiber to keep myself entertained. Made some sales, but the most enjoyable part was getting to do a bit of outreach to folks who didn’t expect to see someone spinning.

More to come as I decide what the shape of things going forward will be.