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Habits.....

I appear to be a creature of habits, returning here at this time of year...again....
I am about to begin a Fiber Arts course that is centered around not only the technical 'Doing' of the craft...but also very centered upon introspection and understanding the driving forces of why I reach for certain colors and textures in my work.


I am incredibly excited about this, and I haven't even opened up the first lesson plan :) Bear with me while I savor these moments of excitement at the unknown potential for what this course might bring to me, and through me to my friends and family as they receive the lions share of my handwork and artwork.

It's Friday today, and as miserable a grey, overcast and cold fall day that Washington can dish out....yet the lack of sun and cold weather have never bothered me, I find it relaxing...but there's something more to today, it's a bit oppressive and as I checked in with friends across the internet, everyone else was saying the same things"it's like the day is still asleep' said one friend, while others cried out for the Sun to return.

I simply pulled an extra quilt onto the bed and continued on kitchner stitching up a cozy colorwork cowl I had finally finished, with Normal on my feet(as my lap was occupied space with the knitting and seaming up of the handwork) I found it a good day, if subdued. Tomorrow shall be a better day, and tonight...I shall study the lesson plan and begin the process of identifying and finding long shuttered doors and dreams-

“Take to spinning to find peace of mind. The music of the wheel will be as balm to your soul. I believe that the yarn we spin is capable of mending the broken warp and weft of our life.” ~ Mahatma Ghandi

“Take to spinning to find peace of mind. The music of the wheel will be as balm to your soul. I believe that the yarn we spin is capable of mending the broken warp and weft of our life.” ~ Mahatma Ghandi

Hello Sweetie(s)

Well I have let no small amount of time pass by on this blog. I've many reasons for this- the main one being that I do NOT enjoy whinging in public. I had a severe back injury that happened at my work, and have not been back to work since.

Not being one to lay down and give up, I've thrown myself into studying Spinning and knitting like mad since Dec, 2009. -I know- It's nearly That anniversary, which may well be why I'm back here, things aren't getting better for my back so why continue hiding from the world, right? I may as well keep blogging, after all- my fingers and my internet connection aren't wounded :)

I have learned SO MUCH about the Fiber Arts, my personal library is bursting at the seams (So sorry Librarything :( I haven't kept you up to date either!!)

I have been busy making friends in the Fiber Arts community, learning new things, Teaching and passing on as much as I can...friends have had babies so I've spun and knit for them(and knit with purchased yarn- like this lovely self patterning yarn (stars and stripes by Abbi Grasso)

When I cannot concentrate I have my mitered square blanket to keep my hands busy and my mind as off  of the pain as I can. The pattern is SO easy and good for the rough times.

I've spun and spun, and fallen in love with drop spindles (with the nerve damage spinning on my gorgeous wheels is not something my body can do for more than a few moments without increasing the pain and causing more issues(edema in the leg with nerve damage/etc.) yet!! I bought an amazing electric spinning wheel, a Hansen MiniSpinner it's allowed me to return to production spinning after a long time of not being able to do so! :D Haha!! I can even use this spinning wheel in bed with the help of Normal. (here he's holding the singles taut so we can see the difference between the single on the right and the piece of yarn i chain plied to get an idea of how it'll look as a three plied yarn when done :)

 So much has passed in three years, I'm sure I'll wind up having days where I revisit projects from the past- but my main goal is to keep moving forward. I was born with the Need to keep my hands busy, although my life has changed in dramatic and painful ways- this one thing is my saving grace. I can still create and make things for the people I love, and I will never Ever stop being thankful for this.
Happy November to my readers (and if you're still reading this I'm sure I can count you as a friend:)
My dear, accommodating Husband told me a few days ago that if I were to go fast or look inward for my true name, it would be 'Walks with Wool' I think  he's not far off ;)
Yours Truely,
Jencie

I've been busy, really!!!

One from the accidentally unpublished archives :) This is from 2008, late fall :D Wow, nothing like letting time fly by and not blogging about what is going on! Since my last post i have been proposed to, married took a business trip to Utah, been given beautiful things, made beautiful things, met new people and had a hell of a good time in general! If this is indicative of what life is like when you're in a good headspace And in a great relationship....i am blessed, and want to stay in the good headspace!

Wee update

Second pair of socks are now completed!!! Well, they've been done a couple of days now actually!


My husband has been a dear and has been helping me wash and prepare the raw fleece we bought (really...i'm tired of the closet smelling like a barn!!)
The white Corriedale is completed and drying now and the beautiful grey is soaking and will be done in a few days.
The cat litter pails have worked great for soaking, as they seal up nicely so we don't smell it:-)


the corriedale flicked open and ready to spin..

and spun, waiting to be washed to have the twist set:-)


hope everyone else is doing well...

The Whidbey Island Spin-In

I first must thank my Husband for being amazing, without all of the effort he put in for me I wouldn't have been able to attend this wonderful event. (He and his friend C. carried my wheel, chair, and bags and delivered lunch both days to myself and a friend who joined us)My hip is still not functioning properly, so I wasn't able to spin much, and lucky for my pocketbook...unable to go through the vendor area much, but i managed to learn a LOT and picked up a few beautiful things...And the bonus was that my best friend from highschool and 'my other mom' made the drive over for a day to join us :-) I loved that, as her Mom inspired me so much in my formative years...hell, she still does! And I got to spin with my girlfriend, it was the first time for that as I learned to spin After she showed me her wheel 2 years ago. If the Jensen Tina wheels weren't out of my price range i'd want one.(her wheel is Gorgeous!)
You can read bout the event at the event's website so you can make plans to go next year!
http://www.whidbeyweaversguild.org/spinin.html

I forgot to take pictures on day one...but this was the spinning area on day two, which had a smaller attendance than day one.


here is the fiber provided for the class on color blending for your project

here are my samples of the rovings provided(a pre-blend control group)



I found it fascinating...i had never thought about the fact you can spin a section ...say 10 inches long, then allow it to ply against itself to have test samples of how the yarn will two ply up. Seems simple, but it never crossed my mind, i'd just sit and spin full bobbins Then ply and see. Needless to say, this will be one technique i shall use regularly from here on out. THe idea of creating my own color blends was Fantastic as well....i would just search through rovings in stores to find colors i like, but now that i also have a drumcarder, it should make it that much easier, but the handblending worked great as well!
I must say, Jill Laski was a FANTASTIC speaker and teacher, and hew work is amazing...and i've been purchasing her fibers for some time as well, so it was cool to meet her!
here is the fiber(besides that class fiber) i brought home....it was Hard to not spend more, but with all the time i've had off work...i didn't have more to spend!! :-) From the left, the grey fiber a Lincon Romney batt(8 ounces) i won as a door prize !!! the BFL is soooo soft, and the price couldn't be beat so i bought a pound ....for my koolaide dying experiments! and the wonderful braid, 8 ounces of sheer goodness there...i ADORE the color transitions in that, and see some winter wear for myself to be knitted before next winter(i hope!) The cool thing is my girlfriend from highschool that met up with me there bought a braid of it as well...can't wait to see what she does with hers!


here we have the little bits that came home with me...
The sock keychain was too tempting:-) and with my newfound love of knitting i really needed a needle sizer(sorry, but all of those sock DPNs look like they're the same size!) and...hell, it's a sheep, you couldn't get much cuter than that!
The adorable little knit sheep and llama pins, bought my step daughter a sheep, and a local friend and new sock knitter a llama since she couldn't be with us(i understand though...Mexico is awesome as well!)
The three pottery pieces are buttons. Now if you know me at all you know my first real craft/fiber love/Obsession was Tatting. I simply ADORE lace, and those three buttons have simple little tatted motifs embedded in there. How simply wonderful is that?!


I don't currently have plans for projects that will use the buttons, but i will have the buttons when the time comes, and goodness it made me happy to see the tatting, as without that first craft i wouldn't be doing what i'm doing now. I'd likely not be around at all....doing my arts and crafts truely kept me out of harms way as a teen and young adult.(i'm not trying to sound melodramatic, but it's the simple truth. all of my spare time and money went toward furthering my knowledge and abilities in lacemaking, and i wan't computer literate at the time it wasn't until i was well into my twenties that i found the original pink pig tat-chat mailing list and then my world exploded with tatting information and techniques! Then it went further...bobbinlace, then beading as i found myself in bead stores looking for pretty beads to spangle bobbins, so bead weaving came next...then wire wrapping, my Mother showed me chain Maille working, i dove in..it's all so beautiful! Then this blog was created about the time i needed to learn to spin due to the operation on my left hand which left me craftless...so i started spinning, and realized i had to learn to do more than knit dishcloths and crochet granny squares!
So here i am today, just as in love with all of these craft forms...i believe weaving will come next, as i've dabbled in it in my youth(did some card weaving and a bit of work on my 4 harness tabletop loom) but know i would want technical information first now.
Ah, how i digress....
Back to fiber for a moment though, the Corriedale i bought raw from Crossfire Hill Corriedales (gotta plug Karen, without her inviting me to the spin-in i wouldn't be posting this Huge blog today!)
I washed half of the corriedale locks as clean as i dared(I'm afraid of felting and ruining it!) I was bummed to see the tips still looked dirty, and there's a lot of lanolin left on the fiber, but when i flicked the ends the dirt came off! So i didn't take a pic yet, but i spun up a wee sample then koolaide dyed it with tropical punch! it turned out lovely and Soft!!!Not sure what this lot will be dyed as yet after i spin it, but i can't wait!

The fun part about the weekend was my parents, without them i couldn't have afforded a hotel stay, nor could my girlfriend that went with us work that in her budget as well(i have pics, but since i haven't asked her...i try to respect privacy :-)And a friend of my Husbands wanted to hang out with him as well, so my Super-cool folks let the four of us decend upon them and stay at their place! It was a riot, everyone spent a Lot of time laughing, and a very good time was had by all.
My dear sister house-sat for me so poor Normal wasn't home alone all weekend...but he certainly missed us and told us so when we got home. Here he is claiming his roving-

This was a long blog, and i appologize if it ran on too long, but it was an eventful weekend!
Here is one last pic of Normal, just before bed.

love to all,
jen

April Fools Day 2009

Nothing too foolish about today really....had a bad dream about work so i went in and helped out a wonderful employee who has really stepped up since i went on leave, felt Much better after talking with her and seeing that my department looks good! ( i would feel obsolete, but they tell me they miss me still!)

Came home, had a small spining group today(just 3 of us) my hip was hurting from the trip to town, so i didn't accomplish a Lot on the wheel, i joined a group dedicated to the process of making yarn(wether it be prep- carding, spinning or dying) every day of this month with pics.....So, we shall see if i can blog daily??!!
Oh yes And i did finish sock #1 of the second pair!!!!



Looking forward to a nice evening in...and a guest for dinner as well.
Stay warm, it was snowing all morning...sigh
jen

First pair of socks Finished!!!

Okay, i completed one pair of socks,here are a couple views...



And i've begun my second pair, knit with Noro Sockgarden yarn(a wool,silk,blend a bit of nylon in there as well.) It's a bit more thick and thin than i was anticipating, so i hope they turn out nicely!



Todays little project....koolaide dying. I'm boring, and undecisive, so i picked three packets and added them to the yarn before heating in the microwave. There won't be finished pictures until either late tonight or tomorrow as i heard the secret to a strong color was to let it sit and soak for a while.....






Oh, the yarn this came from, the BFL locks i carded with my very own drumcarder, and then spun up on Maurice and decided it was to be sample yarn so quickly navajo plied it so it wouldn't be so lightweight.(it's a 2.6 ounce skein)
Yep, i have my own drum-carder now! A vintage Clemes and Clemes hand crank drum carder...it's official now, i need a craft room as i've outgrown all my crafting cubbyholes in the apartment, and storing this beastie on the kitchen table just won't do!






The nicest part is all of these activities are easy on my hip!! Although all of this stitting around has me more than restless...as soon as i think, aw, i'll be fine and get up to walk a bit i realize that yes indeed...i need to Stay the F*!K OFF of my leg, and meekly sit back down whil my dear husband fetches me my pain medicine.

Sock madness!!!!

We'll get to the socks in a moment.
My dear Husband gave me an dearly Easter gift...instead of a chocolate Easter bunny, he bought me this...

and a closer look at my Chocolate Glock (yes...i should have taken it out of the plastic, we'll do that when it's time to eat it :-)


I have been busy filling my time expanding my knitting skills, as my hip is preventing me from doing much spinning...so, knitting it is :-)

Sock number 1...finished up!

another angle-

I'm about halfway through sock # 2 and have plans for the second pair (they'll be knitted in a beautiful green/black & other colors, norro sock yarn, it's a blend of silk and wool)
All in all...life is good!
More later!
love to all...
jen

Catching up...

Things have been wonderful here, very busy with work and my family...And my crafts


This jewelry was made for me by my Very talented mother....I'm a lucky girl!!!!!!

New events.....

Well, nothing new in the lace related field....but i'm still knitting and spinning like a fool.....
we took the kids to a rimfire shoot out past Doty Wa, where the floods hit a few months back, and have a few pictures of a washed out bridge(still washed out all these months past the flood)




And in more recent news for me...on Saturday we finally made an appointment with a tattoo artist that has worked on a friend to give me my second tattoo....and here it is....

just got home from the tattoo parlor, and into my nightgown....normal investigating the plastic wrap and blood on me.
the next day, alongside the inspiration for the particular design....

We are researching the I-Ching for a set of hexagrams particular to me for my left calf for the next tattoo...and i'm still perusing lace designs and pictures of antique lace for a Honiton lace related tattoo.
Needless to say, things are going fabulously for us :-)
I am a Happy, Happy woman, and have no complaints ;-)
For now...it's time to head to bed...work comes early in the morning!

Spinning, Knitting and Cat fur.....

Well not only have i been busy at work...and in my personal life, but I Finally took the time to read Elizabeth Zimmermans book, The Knitters Workshop, and the first project was a hat. I decided...i can do that. Then i decided i would use this Yarn i spun myself (this is what was left after making the hat)

It is one strand of BLF wool(the pretty creamy white) and one strand of my cat Normals fur, spun as you would angora rabbit fur. I did Not cut his hair, i simply collected it as i brushed him and spun the fluff.
Here is Normal

and...the hat...the white part of the cap is just the BFL wool i spun by itself, the crown is the cat fur/bfl yarn.


and of course a few of the cat in the cat hair hat


Normal is entirely too tolerant for his own good....actually, he thinks he's as human as we are, and is a little emo for a cat, always wanting love and cuddles.

So...here we have crafty happiness, i think i'll be making hats for anyone who wants them, as they're fun to knit up. (have already made one for Chris' son, and have started his daughters...they match the scarves i made them:-) Chris decided he wanted a set as well. i am utterly thrilled that my family likes my handcrafts enough to want me to make them things!

Spring is on the way, and i look forward to all that brings.....we have more shooting outings planned, it's the shedding season for pets, so i'll be able to reap Quite the cat fluff harvest...then i'll need to decide what to make with that yarn!
All in all i must say that my life is Blessed with love and a joy i had not known was possible.
love to all....
jen