This past weekend, several of my hobbies and interests all took place on the same day. Emergency preparedness, biking, bunnies, and fiber arts events all happened on the same day! What’s a girl to do?!?
The first event was a combo event: Arlington’s second annual Disaster Relief Trials, held in partnership with BikeArlington and the County Office of Emergency Management. I love this whole concept – people discovering all the different ways their bikes are the perfect vehicle in an emergency, when roads are possibly closed and no one can get around. 
The second event was the first-ever Arlington bunny parents meet-up, organized through Instagram. Connecting with other bunny parents who live nearby is a great opportunity to compare notes on bunny care, adoption histories, and swap sitters’ contact info. 
Then the third event was at the GW University Museum and Textile Museum’s 40th annual Celebration of Textiles. This free event promised sheep, hands-on activities, and family-friendly entertainment. I was especially attracted to the line that said local artists would be spinning and weaving. I’ve been thinking about spinning Sullivan’s angora fluff…. 
It was a hard decision, but I ended up going with the bunny meet-up and textile event. Meeting other bunny parents was fun, and somewhat gratifying to know that we all go through the same bunny challenges, they all have silly personalities, and we aren’t all crazy!
I’m sure everyone else in the coffee shop wondered what on earth was going on….
The Celebration of Textiles was really cool. My friend who went with me and I tried Japanese embroidery and bobbin lace making, oohed and ahhed over the sheep and llamas, admired some looms, and talked to a woman who does needle felting creations. But most excitingly, the women who were there spinning actually spun some of Sullivan’s fluff (which of course i took with me) into yarn! I’m so inspired, I want to try this myself. It would take a long time to make enough yarn to knit anything, but that’s okay. It’s not like I have a ton of time for a new hobby.
Speaking of new textile hobbies, I also took a shibori fabric dye class last week. Hosted through Arlington adult education, a local artist walked the five of us in the class through different types of dyes and fabrics and techniques. In two hours, we didn’t get much done, especially when we realized that some of the textiles the instructor brought were polyester or polyester blends which didn’t take the dye at all. But the last two that I dyed were clearly all-natural fibers and took the dyes quite well. The resist technique I chose for those two were the same – desk clips! I folded the fabric different ways, which resulted in different designs. I have no idea what I’ll do with these but with Christmas around the corner (ack!), I’m sure I’ll come up with something.
Fresh out of the dye pot!
The successes: fuchsia cotton and red linen
The polyester failures: indigo poly/silk, and turquoise what I think was a polar fleece, not wool, as the instructor suggested. You can see how the one on the left didn’t take any dye at all, and the other took some dye but didn’t “shibori,” despite being twisted and tied.
I am sorry that I missed the Disaster Relief Trials for the second year in a row. From what I saw on Twitter, water and even “pets” were transported by bike! Maybe next year all my hobbies won’t collide on the same day!
Don’t worry, Sully, we’ve already thought about how to evacuate with you if we have to!
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