General news and MOPACA Fiber "U" update

Well, it has been a long, long time since I posted last so I won't delay...on with the news...

I've been so busy with non-fiber related things for the past month.  I built a website for my brother-in-laws company.  And, now I'm working on another website for a fellow artisan.  I am enjoying doing some graphic design work after a little hiatus from that type of professional work when Rowynn was born.  I am thinking of doing for-hire freelance graphic and web design work again on a regular basis.  It might be nice to cater to the artist since I know where they are coming from concerning business and dedication to their craft... just something that I'm still pondering.  I'd love to know your thoughts on it.

I've also been busy doing an array of fun stuff with my baby girl including her first zoo trip this past weekend.  She adored the meerkats as they bobbed their heads around and scurried from hole to hole.  She was also quite smitten with the sheep, and they were with her as well.  You can see Rowynn and her daddy admiring them in the photo below.

 And, I've been planning a birthday party because my baby girl enters the realm of toddler when she turns one year old on Friday.  Yay!  Happy Birthday to my fiber princess!  I can't believe that it has already been a year!

Now for the MOPACA Fiber "U" update...
I attended most of the day on Saturday, July 10th, and took a few classes.  It was well worth the small registration fee.  I learned a great deal, and of course, came home with a big sack full of fiber goodies.  If you live anywhere near Lebanon, Missouri, I absolutely recommend that you jot a note on your calendar for July 9 - 10 next year to attend.   If you are a fiber enthusiast, I feel it is 100% worth your time!  I also got to meet Ron, the maker of my lovely fancy kitty drum carder that you can see in the photo below.  He is super nice in person (as he is online).

Here's some alpaca that I purchased from Whirlwind Ranch.  It took a bit of effort to clean and card, but it super soft!  Also, the natural brown color as seen on the left above is just gorgeous.

Here's some wool that I purchased from the Ozark Carding Mill.  They had a very large selection of different sheep breeds to choose from.  The above fibers are friesian (in green), romney (in purple), and merino/bamboo blend (in turquoise/purple on top).  Below is a corriedale/bamboo blend that I spun a small skein of on my drop spindle.  I think it turned out wonderfully.  I like that the fiber is already pre-drafted for spinning, but the super thin roving is a bit cumbersome for laying out to wet felt.  I still plan to make something felted with it soon though.

Handspun Yarns and Handmade "Fulled" Crochet Flowers in the Works!

I know it must seem like I dropped off the face of the earth.  Well, I haven't!  I'm alive and well.  It has just shaped up to be a very busy summer so far.

I have been able to do a few fiber-filled things though.  I've found that wet felting is a little too time consuming right now, and needle felting, although easy to pick up and put down, is not very baby-friendly with those super sharp, barbed edge needles.  Therefore, I have settled on spinning and crocheting for a while.  I have found that it is easier to pick up and put down a drop spindle or crochet hook out of harm's way while periodically chasing after my baby girl.  I prefer to full, or shrink, my crocheted items because I like the final effect - a texture sort of like traditional wet felting which I adore!  The crochet process is much, much different though.

Most of the handspun yarn that I've made has been done on my Kundert drop spindle with one in the photo (the lime green skein) done on my new mother marion style kick spindle.  Each skein is anywhere from around 30 - 60 yards and made of various combination of wool, mohair, and tussah silk.  Although the kick spindle is much quicker at cranking out yarn, I have found it to be a bit awkward to use, and it appeals a little too much to my baby girl.  I think that she sees it as one of her toys because she heads right for it when I try to use it around her.  I guess that, for now, I will be sticking mainly to the drop spindle for its ease of use and the lesser attention that it draws from my baby girl. Even though I like to use the kick spindle for the bigger skeins it can produce more quickly, it just isn't practical for me most of the time.  I have even thought of selling it, but can't quite decide on that because I do like it.

As for crocheting, I think of myself as a complete novice.  I learned how to crochet in an elementary art class, but have only practiced it off and on casually in the past.  I can't read a pattern very well and usually resort to small free-form objects like the flowers.  I am taking a crochet class at the upcoming MOPACA Fiber "U" event though so I am hoping to learn to read a pattern and venture into making some larger things.  If anyone has any ideas for small (easy!) crochet items that I could make, I would appreciate knowing.  Although I like doing the flowers, variety is the spice of life!

As for traditional feltmaking, I actually do have a few felt art objects in the works, but it is slow going right now with all the summer plans.  I gradually get time to work on them and hopefully will have some photos to post later in the summer.  I still feel somewhat like I'm in a creative dry spell, but I'm trying to focus on just a couple of things at a time to not get overwhelmed and discouraged.  On the bright side, I have the opportunity to teach felting at the Fancy kitty Missouri Fiber Jamboree on September 25th.  Although I've taught a lot of other subjects on design in the past, I haven't ever taught felting hands on so I'm pretty excited about it!  If any of my fellow feltmakers out there has any teaching tips or online sources, I would sincerely appreciate the information.  I'm a bit nervous about teaching.  I have always wanted to though.

(And, some of you probably noticed that I referred to my Crochet items as fulled rather than felted.  I guess that I'm somewhat of a stickler for this terminology.  By definition from what I have always understood, felted items are non-woven; therefore, a shrunken crocheted piece would actually be considered fulled rather than felted.  I know that opinions on this subject vary widely so to each their own.  It seems that often times anything that is shrunken, no matter what process or fiber it is made by, is referred to as felted.)

NEW Yarn and Bead Kits!

It seems that I have a bit of insomnia tonight - okay, a lot of insomnia! Therefore, I've decided to be productive and go ahead with an announcement that I had planned for tomorrow's blog entry.

I'm introducing my new Yarn and Bead Kits which is very exciting for me. I've combined my hand felted wool beads with matching handspun wool yarn to form a spectacular new embellishment kit. Since I've started spinning yarn on my new drop spindle, I couldn't resist making some matching sets of yarn and beads.

What crafty thing can you use this for? Well, I would suggest using it as embellishment or trim. It would be great for adding some decorative touches to a handmade purse, scarf, sweater, and the list goes on. The beads make great buttons, whether whole or cut in half. It is also nice for scrapbook lovers who want a touch of unique embellishment on their pages. The yarn and beads can be crafted into cards or jewelry too. They could even be used in paper making or book binding. Really, the skies the limit when it comes to crafting possibilities!

You can find several color schemes and combinations of these new Yarn and Bead Kits in my Etsy shop. I also have one available on Mintd. Here are some examples of what's currently available or will be available very soon.

My new drop spindle and spinning

I've decided to take up drop spinning. I've been thinking about learning to spin for a while now. After seeing this beautiful spindle at Cottage Fiber, my local supply shop, I just couldn't resist. It is a top quality, handcrafted Kundert Spindle. I think the wood crafting on it is so beautiful. It is a joy to use too.


My plan is to use some of my handspun yarns in the feltmaking process. Often times, I will hunt for just the right shade of commercially made yarn to trim out my scarves with fringe or add the finishing touches on decorative designs, but now I plan to spin my own yarns for fringe, decoration, etc. This will allow for more creative freedom in my designs. Perhaps, if I ever feel that my spinning is quality enough, I'll start to sell some skeins of handspun yarn. I'd also like to experiment with hand dyeing some skeins of yarn.

Here's my first couple of attempts at using my new spindle. They are only two very small skeins. Neither of them is very consistent in thickness throughout, but the one ply strands do seem strong, and, of course, I love the colors! For now, I've really only managed to do the "park and draft" technique consistently. You can see a nice little video on this beginner's method on ispindle. There are also several other short, helpful videos there on using a top whorl drop spindle. It seems that when I try to actually drop the spindle, either my roving breaks or bunches or the spindle quickly changes direction and starts to unravel my strand. I think that I just need to practice quite a lot more, but that is just fine with me. I really enjoy using my new drop spindle thus far and can't wait until I have a better handle on the techniques of spinning.