Fiber Art Rolags!

Last week I debuted the first set of these fiber art rolags, but I wanted to make sure that I gave credit to the amazing fiber artist who shared her method of creating them. Right now blending boards are all the rage for creating these lately, and while I knew I could make one for less than I could purchase one, (and they are in fact reasonable!) I didn't think I needed to acquire yet another piece of fiber equipment before at least a little experimentation.

Then I discovered Michelle Snowdon of Wooldancer had posted an incredible video on her site of how she creates her beautiful rolags right off of her carder.

In her beautifully filmed and edited video, Michelle shows not only how to create them, but how to spin them.

I love spinning rolags, especially on my drop spindles because I find it is easier to manage than a strip of a batt or roving when I am already worried I'll drop it or get tangled! I'm hoping to film a video soon demonstrating this so look for that soon!

Anyhow, I am addicted to making these things now. They are bit more time consuming than just making a batt since you are individually pulling them off of your carder, but they are definitely worth it for the results.

These ones are heading for the shop tonight at 8 PM EST along with some Betty Batts.

I've been a little obsessed... an ode to my love of pinterest

So I'll be the first to admit it, I am a Pinterest addict. I am obsessed. On it every day and pinning constantly... I was shocked to find out that I now have almost 70 boards. How did this happen!?!?

Well, I gotta say, my ipad and the pinterest app itself have probably been the biggest lifesavers since having my sweet boy. When he falls asleep, I can at least dive into a world of ideas for when I have time to work on new jewelry, displays, and getting my booth just so. It has made me feel like I was actually able to work when I wasn't actually creating. Research right?

Fabulous ideas like using vintage wooden thread spools for price tag holders

... and thanks to Vintiquities Workshop's Blog, and her tutorial on making a jewelry display bust, I was able to tweak her design a bit to suit the displays I had created in 2013 to become everything I hoped for and more.

sorry for the crummy photo but you get the idea. :D

 The paint job on the bust itself is one of the coolest and most simple ideas I discovered on pinterest. It is an Elmer's glue tutorial. Whaddya need? Two colors of paint, some brushes, the items you wanna paint, and some wood glue. THAT'S IT! Here's the link to the tutorial on their site.... and here are some in progress photos. :D

Base coat of brown spray paint

top coat of an off white paint - got a sample that was either a screw up or no one wanted for a buck off the "mistake" table at Lowe's :D

All Dry! i ended up not liking the green so I went back and did them white also. luckily I wasn't out anything cause the green paint was left over from my shutter displays.

You can find me on pinterest here. :D

 I also finished 15 new necklaces today. You saw a peeky gander of them above on my new display piece but here are a few more nice peeks and closeups.

I can't wait to get started on more of these, bracelets and earrings to come also! These are in preparation for the MSU Arts and Crafts Fair on May 18-19. I'll be sharing a booth with my good pal Faun. She will be displaying and selling her rad prints and is so much fun, I can't wait!

Mid April Updates!

As Spring starts to shine (or rain really...) in my neck of the woods, I am seeing little glimmers of hope for warm lovely weather as my Day Lilies and Irises show their lush green leaves. 

I have begun teaching again (a post for another day!) and have fired up the dyepots to replenish my personal stash for batt making again, frantically working on new jewelry designs for an upcoming show, and am loving being a mommy. Life for my sweet family is anything but settled still, but the promise of warmer weather certainly helps raise our spirits.

Something else that helps raise my spirits? All the amazing vegetables and herbs I have started seeds for our raised beds that will be happening this year.

Also, COTTON!!! :D Dear Laila of laigrai fibers hosted a beautiful vintage spin along a couple years back which came with a gorgeous cotton boll. I plucked the seeds from it with hope that I would be able to grow it at some point and happened upon them carefully sealed away in their little envelope. 

I can't wait to be able to use some of my very own home grown fiber. I am hoping it will be ready in time for me to dye it up at Tiller's International's natural dying class this July. 

Did I mention I updated the shop? There are several batts awaiting new homes to be spun or felted into lovely things. Many of these ones are packed with some super deliciously soft merino and absolutely amazing glossy soft curly locks.

Next shop update will be filled with luscious locks and handspun goodness!

a word about novelty

or several....

So the ol' term "novelty yarn" is really starting to grind my gears. I never really used the term before, and then was completely put off by it when I took a class with Jacey Boggs a couple years ago. She seems to feel the same and definitely put the reason why into perspective for me.

Sitting in front of our class she asked us what we thought of when we heard the word novelty and my mind jumped to the crap you find at tourist traps... which was kinda what she was getting at.

I started teaching again a couple of weeks ago, teaching spinning for the first time. These wonderful students who are beginners have already heard this term and are asking about it. While I am happy that I am able to dissuade them from using it about their beautiful yarns, it is disheartening that it is becoming so commonly used.

To all of you out there who use it in your listings, teaching, in books and other print, I have one thing to say. I urge you to PLEASE STOP!!!

Here's why:
 (definition is taken directly from dictionary.com)

nov·el·ty

[nov-uhl-tee] Show IPA noun, plural nov·el·ties, adjective

noun

1.state or quality of being novel, new, or unique; newness: the novelty of a new job.

2. a novel occurrence, experience, or proceeding: His sarcastic witticisms had ceased being an entertaining novelty.

3. an article of trade whose value is chiefly decorative, comic, or the like and whose appeal is often transitory: a store catering to tourists who loaded up with souvenir pennants and other novelties.

adjective

4. Textiles.

a. (of a weave) consisting of a combination of basic weaves.

b. (of a fabric or garment) having a pattern or design produced by a novelty weave.

c. (of yarn) having irregularities within the fibrous structure.

So we have here, not only the standard definition, but this has so commonly been used in the textile industry that it has it's own specific section under the definition of the word, and it's not so good folks. 

"(of yarn) having irregularities within the fibrous structure" 

With the popularity of "art yarn" out there, you may think that all the funky bits that make that yarn "irregular" are what this definition is referring to. I suppose it is up for interpretation, however, my feeling is that 

Most people, when they are making yarn, are making it not just to be beautiful, but also so that it will stand the test of time. You don't want any portion of it to have irregularities causing it to break at a crucial point in a garment or other fibrous construction. That being said, why in the world would you refer to your yarn that you worked so hard to construct, in my case starting with the raw fleece directly from the sheep, picking the vegetable and poo bits out, washing it by hand, dying it, and blending it lovingly before I even make it to my wheel to spin. 

Stop cheapening our craft. Take it seriously. Love it. 

We are not making plastic snowglobes here people. 

Home

Warning: This will be a baby photo heavy post. Just sayin.

My last post I hoped that next time I blogged it would be with photos of my sweet little man. I had wondered at that point if I could even get any bigger. I could... and did.

That was just 4 days before I went into labor... holy jeez I can't believe I was that size.

36 hours of labor ended in a C section. Not what I had wanted for his birth but totally worth it because wee Gareth was perfect. 8lbs 6oz born on August 29, 2012. Three years to the day since I married my amazing husband. I don't think we could have gotten a better anniversary gift.

my best friend took this one. i absolutely love it, especially since you can't see how swollen my face is. they pumped a LOT of fluid in my poor body.

only a couple of days old here, about to get his picture taken for the paper

his big sister is quite smitten

by far one of my fave pictures of him.. only a few weeks old here

Now he is already 10 weeks old. He is smiling, cooing, nearly giggling, and we both made it through his first round of vaccinations.

hangin' on his special nana made quilt

I can't get enough of these little toes

he recently discovered his hands taste delicious

Gareth and his daddy sneak naps while mommy gets some work done.

Frank loves Gareth! I think the feeling is mutual from that grin. :D

Gareth and his cousin Carley

 I love being a mom. <3 br="br">

38 weeks 3 Days

While I have been posting pictures occasionally of how big this baby belly has gotten, I have definitely not been very good about updating on the ol' blog. As you can see by the title of this post, I'm extremely close and boy am I feeling ready. I took this sometime last week.

I definitely am at that point of feeling like I couldn't possibly get any bigger... though I'm sure if he decides to wait the full 40 that I will be proven wrong.

We live in a small 2 bedroom house so wee Gareth will be in our room for at least a couple of years.  It has been a bit of a task to figure out how our room will work for everything but I think I finally have things arranged well. Adele helped me decorate the baby wall the other day. I have pinterest to thank for the simple idea of putting cute fabrics into embroidery hoops. I splurged on a couple of the prints but still only spent about 25 bucks as I already had some hoops lying around and the rest were half off at the thrift store.

A slightly blurry photo but you get the idea.

I was also excited to see lots of hot air balloons the other night. It was kind of a sweet moment, though I'm not sure the hubs thought so. We were all excited to see them up in the sky but I insisted we find a good spot for me to take some pictures. I honestly hadn't seen so many since I was a little kid and it was so nice to share the moment with Adele too.

This was just the ones that were close as we were leaving the grocery store, but Adele counted 87 up there at one point. So funny to me that this nationals competitive event has launch sites mostly in residential areas and we see this gigantic amount of whimsical treasures but the air show in Battle Creek that used to be so great for them I maybe saw 3 balloons up this year and I live just a couple miles from the airport they launch from there!

I've also been busy finishing up a few things like my most recent Spin Along offering. For the first time I decided to combine the Spin Along with a jewelry piece because the artist that inspired this particular one was perfect for it. That artist? Alexander Calder. Here are the pins that will be coming with each SAL.

The Spin Alongs are taking me a tiny bit longer to put together than I anticipated. Mostly because everyone who is participating is someone who I know personally and I decided that just a pin was not enough. They should all be out and on their way tomorrow though (only a week late.) :D I think they will be worth it though.

Much love and hopefully next time I am able to blog it will be with pictures of this little fella's face