Giving Away Fiber? Really?

So I got my new Spin Off magazine, and wow - every time I get my hands on that magazine I just want to read uninterrupted. And then I hit the internet to read more about fiber arts.

I am so in love with fiber this year. And it is interesting, because there are lots of fiber festivals this year that I had never heard of before. And sites with interesting stories and fiber ideas and beautiful fiber - really I am astounded. And so, from a reference in Spin Off, I found the PHATFIBER sites. Phatfiber sells a sampler box of fibers from many vendors, showing off mixes in batts and rovings and wonderful dye techniques and colors. And the Phatfiber Blog offers regular give-aways from featured artists as well!

This week the give-away is from Silver Sun Alpacas - check out the shop where there are great items like Wine and Chocolate pictured above - WOW!

So you can read all about it the giveaway here. Go enter! Win something! Good Luck!!!

http://phatfiber.blogspot.com/2009/06/silver-sun-alpacas-giveaway.html

First day of spring

Remember this lovely white yarn that I spun up myself on my wonderful Fricke spinning wheel (mine doesn't have that fancy nancy winder on it, but it works like a dream anyway!)? The yarn is from a Blue Faced Leicester sheep, and is not dyed - natural color. Very creamy, really quite lovely. I was very proud of this yarn, I must say.

I also had scraps of some wonderful fiber that came as a "starter" gift with my wheel (which, by the way, I purchased from Artclub at etsy!). I had some black as night Merino Wool and some teal green Alpaca - really wonderful fiber. Both very silky, both heaven in my hands. Not such great yarn, as I was still spinning MOSTLY thick and thin when I spun them, but still wonderful to touch and to look at. I wanted to make something from them.

Well, I found a hat pattern that looked pretty interesting - and it required FELTING, which I thought would be good for my first completely hand made project. That way the irregularities in the yarn might be hidden a little. I jumped right in.

Here is the finished hat before felting.

Detail of the Merino/Alpaca stripe

The crochet on the top of the hat.

The crochet on the sides/brim of the hat.

Once the hat was crocheted, I put it into a zip up lace bag and into the hot washing machine. I couldn't decide if this was a good idea or not - it really looked nice just as it was, although it was too big for my head. I put the hat through 1 1/2 washer cycles, and when I took it out it was Just Felted Enough. I sat it on a large glass jar overnight to shape and dry, and am pretty happy with the results of this first "completely by my hand" project.

Felted hat

And now the hat is finished.

And it is the first day of spring. :)

Wordless Wednesday 3-18-2009

Crochet One, Knit Two

Mrs. and Mr. Hanson, Fall 2008

Mrs. Hanson (of "Mr. and Mrs. Hanson take a cruise" fame) has really enjoyed working with her hands since she retired from the corporate world. She learned to crochet, as her mother had also done, and then she went on to learn the fine knit work that gives her such delight. She inspired me to begin to crochet, and then knit, and now I have gone on to felting and spinning - and I am hoping that mom will be able to use some of my yarns, soon.

As the years have gone on, though, mom is beginning to be plagued by severe arthritis. First she had pain in her fingers, and then in her wrists. She has been taking pain medications, applying heat, and doctoring. There is no cure for this kind of arthritis, so now she is learning to live with the pain. But she is not slowing down much on her crafting. And her work is getting better and better all the time.

Mother's Hands

It is wonderful to have the fabulous work she makes with her precious hands, and we all hold these as heirlooms. We have wraps and sweaters and blankets and even wonderful dish cloths. She has made baby sweaters and gifts and gorgeous ponchos and scarves. Last fall she made a fantastic wrap for Rose – look at the detail work (and happy birthday, Rose!).

Rose's Hand-Made Wrap

And her most recent and very much loved and appreciated work was a “leftover yarn” afghan for ADR. ADR immediately wrapped himself up in the afghan, and wore it like a regal robe after one of our family dinners. He made the mistake of getting up to get a drink, and Mr. Asa took the opportunity!

Asa, all cozied up

Fiber Fascination - Part Two

As I continued to play with crochet, mother was knitting. She would tell me - knitting is the fine work. We went to knit shops, looked at patterns, and what do you think - I was smitten. First I knitted washcloths, then the cutest baby hats - and I was off. Knitting was my newest passion, and I bought the happy hookers guide to knitting and had a blast. So you see, my friends, the fourth step into fiber was knitting. I amassed a small library of knitting books, and poured over pictures and patterns. Many of them were beyond my skill, but I was into reading them anyway. I have books with heirloom patterns and patterns recovered from old trunks. And more fiber stash. Much more.

Then, while looking for knitting supplies, I was browsing on the web and saw some fabulous bunnies - I fell in love with them. I learned that they were needle felted, and away we went. I just had to learn how – after all, I am thewildhare! Purchasing raw wool and beautiful carded rovings and batts (what WAS a roving and a batt anyway? I had so much to learn!), I felted chicks and eggs and bunnies and soaps and dinosaurs! I loved the feel of the raw wool, and the smooth silkiness of the finished fibers. I loved the colors, the creations, and the tools. I felted bowls and beads and brooches. I studied about felt; the feel, the texture, the properties, the amazing water resistance and warmth. I felted purses and necklaces. Another step down the fiber road, felting was fifth.

Many of you have seen my feltings, and I do love them. In fact, in line with my total fiber fascination, I have made scrapbooks about them! I have included them in my monthly scrapbook pages, and written journalings about the joy of making the little bowls and using them.

I have talked about the life coming to the bunnies eyes as I felted them, and how I loved the dragon Fiercely.



But the fiber story didn't stop yet. And so I find that here we are, one more tiny step closer to the end (or is that the beginning???). I just had to understand the difference in rovings and batts, and as I researched and read, I learned about SPINNING. And oh my, what a world, what a world. I read every word on many spinners blogs, I learned about fleece and how it is washed, prepared and cleaned, dyed and carded – sometimes on “hand cards” that look like large dog brushes with shorted tines – sometimes on a fabulous creation called a drum carder. I learned about the amazing mystery of fiber and how it is molecularly structured, and how that structure makes fiber turn into string and yarn and thread and all the other wonderful materials that we use to make, oh, everything. I learned that scientists have found spun woolly mammoth fibers, which connects me with ancestors at the very beginning of our time on the planet. I learned about spindles and the many ways to spin fibers, and I learned about wheels and spinning machines. I am still learning, as you might expect. There is a wealth of information to be had, to learn, process, and understand. I now have spinning books, and just the other night I made a spindle out of things I had sitting around the house. And once I had the spindle, I picked up some of that New Zealand Corridale wool that I had reserved for needle felting, and guess what? I spun.

Here is my spindle. You can see the raw fiber and the spun fiber in this picture.

This is a close up of my first spinning. Yarn. Right there. How about that!?!?

So what happens next? Hmmm? Stay tuned. More on the fiber and my growing (can you believe that) fascination coming soon.

Fiber Fascination - Part One

Well, I think the long slow pull to the dark side has begun. Maybe it has been going on for quite some time. Maybe I am only just noticing it. Maybe I am evolving - but it feels a little bit like DE-volving - as I fall back millions of years and tentatively touch the astounding connection with our ancestors through fiber. How did this happen? And, What Exactly IS happening?

Well, I love paper, and have always been an avid reader. I love to hold the paper in my hands. I love to read from paper leaved books. I am crazy about quality papers, interesting fonts, and various binding techniques. I love the texture, and I love the look of wonderful book covers and interesting paper elements - almost as much as I love the words on the pages. Together, these things transport me to new places and wonderings. So first, I read.

The texture of paper is oh, so fine. And paper holds the fabric of our lives, in stories, pictures, and fabulous books and scrapbook pages. Being a part of creating and documenting and sharing my story and the stories of my loved ones and friends is such an honor and a humbling practice. It seems fundamental to my very soul, sharing, creating, loving the art. So second, I scrapbooked.

My tactile enjoyment expanded as my dear grandmother crocheted fabulous quilts for me and for my children while they were young - and we still snuggle up under these covers now. I never learned to crochet while she was alive, but after she passed away I found her hooks and supplies. I picked up a hook and taught myself from a book, and found my next love of fiber in the yarns I used to make creations. Soft yarns, boucles, wool blends, feather yarns, silks - I found myself in a heaven of fiber. Loving every minute of it! I told everyone that I thought I could be happy if all I ever had to do was scrapbook and crochet. I built up a reasonably decent fiber stash of fabulous yarns. I smiled alot. So you see, third, I crocheted.

This was a very happy time for me, loving everything I touched and making wonderful gifts. Hats are one of my favorite crocheted items, they make up quickly. Alpaca fibers are my favorite to crochet with - they feel better to touch and work than any other fiber in my hand. Finding these things out was a fabulous exploration, where I worked with fibers of many types - silks and wools, mohair and angora, cotton and alpaca. I crocheted dishcloths and mittens, scarves and more hats. I hit a plateau here, before I slid further into the depths. Fiber wasn't done with me yet.

Next.....Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth....where will it end?