BEST IN DIVISION AND BEST IN SHOW
By Jackie Deal
Not just a blue ribbon (tho’ those are nice.) but a “Best In Division” and a “Best In Show” at the Oregon State Fair! Val Knowles explains, “My division was “hand-spun knit garment” and her beautiful vest won that. She goes on to explain, “Best In Show “included felting, spinning and weaving”; she won that also.
Val (site 156) spins her own yarn and this was her first time spinning cotton yarn. She says, “I’ve used bamboo and rose fiber, Egyptian cotton, wool, lots of things.” The bamboo-rose fiber yarn was beautiful, soft, multi-toned, and some alpaca yarn she showed me was soft as a dream. Val uses a small spinning wheel, powered by 12 volt or 110; it’s about the size of a toaster. She twists and pulls the fiber into a fine continuous thread as the wheel turns it. She also carries 2 small looms on the road and beautiful, colored fabric grows on them as if by magic. Val says she had knit with acrylic and other fibers but fell in love with natural fibers. “It’s the wonderful hand, that’s the feel of the fiber.” She says a friend is “gifting” her an alpaca fleece, “I’ll have to clean, deveg’ and prepare it for spinning.”
Val and her husband, Ken, were on the road for three years doing some Work Camping before coming to Timber Valley. Ken is a professional artist who has painted and sold his art all over the world. Art, whether painting or fiber craft, is a passion and two passionate crafts people might find it hard to live in the confines of a small RV. I
asked “How do you blend your two art careers? “Val thought, grinned and said, “Well, I like him better when he’s painting!”
Val and Ken have been married 42 years and they support each other’s crafts. They met at a Singles Bible Study group. I asked “and did Ken invite you over to see his etchings?” Ken laughs, “Um, hmm and I DID have etchings! “They were married a year later and Val says, “It was a God thing.” They have two sons and beautiful talented grandchildren.
Ken teaches drawing and painting Monday at 10:30 a.m. and Val plays and teaches Mahjong (an Americanized Chinese tile game) Monday at 1 p.m. Both of them are available and happy to teach their arts to interested people. We are so fortunate to have them in our park; this may be the opportunity of a lifetime for you to learn about and enjoy their arts.
Our Valerie Knowles is a winner, and apparently the judges at the Oregon State Fair think so, too! Here she is with her handspun Egyptian cotton knitted vest, taking not only a First Place ribbon, but a Best of Division and BEST OF SHOW! She has won a cash prize and a basket of lovely spinning fibers and goodies from the Aurora Colony Handspinners Guild, WEGO, and the Eugene Textile Center! Congratulations, Valerie!
A quiet man with a gentle smile; he reminisces about the beginnings of our Timber Valley Park. Bill Moss was born in Oklahoma in 1929. He ran an Auto Parts store in Roseburg and then retired to go into Real Estate in Sutherlin. He was on the original list of owners and also on the Land Search Committee entrusted with finding a home for Chapter Nine members. He was in Yuma when Roy Adams called and asked his help in getting money back they had put down on Oakland “flood plain” land and buying Sutherlin property instead. Bill says they looked all over and here was this wonderful place “right under our noses.” Bill went to the Sutherlin Planning Commission and helped put together 6 or 7 parcels to make up our 90 acres.
There’s music in the park! You didn’t know? You haven’t heard them? They’ll be playing again August 16 at 3 p.m. and August 23 for the Anniversary party. The five of them bring years of music experience to our park.
Bill and Cheryl Henry, are our newest members.
While I was away I had a chance to have a very nice Seattle dinner of crab cakes and salad. It was an upscale restaurant with entertainment provided. Well, not entertainment in the usual sense. When I first arrived at the place I thought there was a concert or at least a stage show about to start. Throngs of people were lined up on the sidewalk. They were standing, facing the street 6, 7, 10 deep. I entered the building and was led to my table by the window and now I could see that all of those people were waiting for one of the buses that would stop just outside my window. Along comes a big articulated bus and opens its mouth wide as dozens slip inside. The bus clamps it big jaws shut, and the signage changes to “Sorry, Bus full” and pulls away. Bus after bus pulls up, gobbles up as many humans as it can digest and pulls away. The crowd stays the same size as just as many arrive as are allowed on the buses. For awhile I fear all of Seattle is destined to be on this street corner waiting for a bus, but slowly, as I finished my dinner, the number of people and the number of buses became less. Dinner was done and rush hour was over.