My Stash

This is my stash, some of it is hand spun by a friend, and some is from Brigs and Little as well from the friend who did the hand spinning.  All of this is wool, I believe sheeps wool.  All of it is Canadian and it's beautiful.  I have more yarn than this, however, it's acrylic and I'm quickly veering away from unnatural fibers.  I have plenty here for making some lovely items.  My favorite thing to do is scatter all the bits and pieces beside me and start  pondering all the different things I could make from this lovely stash.   When inspiration hits, it usually strikes quickly and I'm reaching for one of my hooks or my knitting needles and I'm off.  I love the bright bold colors and in all honesty, the photo does not do it justice.  

I have learned to spin myself and have gone from using a drop spindle made from a pencil, to what is called a kick spindle.  Above is the kick spindle, you kick the large round wheel to spin the spindle and it twists, leaving your hands free.  To wind the wool on you just kick the spindle and it's done... so easy so quick.   I love this and it was made for me by the same friend who helped me with the wool, and got me involved in spinning and such.  The next adventure, is going to be dying some wool.  I have some dyes, but still need to do some reading.  Little things, like life, are getting in the way, but there comes a time when you just say enough and disappear into the wooly blue yonder.

Following your Bliss

I love to be creative and was looking forward to taking pictures of all of my creations and posting them today.  However, the Universe, in all it's infinite wisdom decided I needed a break, and sent a dark storm our way.  The winds have howled, some snow has fallen and there has been rain falling cold and heavy.  I did brave the elements, but only to clear my head and get some much needed garden supplies.  That worked and I was able to see things more clearly and feel refreshed.

Our apartment is rather dank when the sun is not out, and taking the pictures I wanted to take was an absolute impossibility, so instead I worked on designs for a simple business card.  I settled on my  name, the name of my blog and my phone number.  If I can, I want to add an insignia or logo, I was thinking of a ball of wool with some knitting needles.

In all honesty, I have wanted a break for some time and not seen a way to take it.  Slowly I've been removing myself from things that don't work for me.  I have been working on having a good support network and finding my zen.  When I'm spinning and knitting, I find that sweet spot and never want to leave.

In the beginning:

In the beginning, man, or should I say woman, was wandering around gathering things, one was the fleece of some of the animals the hunters brought back, and the women noticed that when twisted together these pieces of fiber of fleece clung together, and you could wrap those long strings around a stick... That's it in a nutshell.  Fiber's are twisted into long strands, which can be used to tie things together, weave into fabric, knit, crochet, weave, and even mat with needles or water into felt.  From here, we can create so many things. Clothing, blankets, shelters, shoes, art and so much more.

It is my hope to take this simple little craft and discover what can truly be created if you really really want it.  When I lived in my mother's home, the sewing machine was pulled out and she would make lovely dresses for my sister and I to wear, as well she knit us sweaters, and I still can hear the plink plink of the needles as they crossed.  She did not always work on things and I do recall a loom with lots of string and some long  pieces of thick doweling that she would swear at in German as she tried to untangle the inevitable mess of strings that were hanging from the main dowel.  My sister and I were not allowed to touch her things... but I wanted to learn to knit.  The answer was no... However, my father saw me and grabbed me and he showed me to knit very simply and from there I learned to knit, and knit well.  I watched my mother and my little German Aunts that came to visit and exciting things would happen, in glorious natural colors made from mustard and onion skins and other strange exotic things.  These ventures into dying, I suspect ended in disaster, because one day it was all abandoned, to be worked on later (which came to never).

Life goes on and I would knit and sew from time to time and was always comfortable around textiles, loving the artsy feel of it all.  I had wanted to spin and knew no one who spin, there was no YouTube, so no kind of tutorial or lessons.  For, as luck would have it, spinning fell out of vogue and items for spinning were impossible to find.  Then one day I met someone in a group that was not even remotely involved in my desire to explore textile arts.  She brought me wool, and looms, and we continued to talk and built up a friendship.  I began to pour over YouTube and discovered ideas on how to make my own little drop spindle.  It was created from a pencil, I put in a little teacup hook into the eraser end.  I then sandwiched an old CD between two square pieces of cardboard with a hole in the center and two rubber bands... those are to set the place for the spooly end.  I just put the rubber band near the end by the eraser, and wrapped it around tight, then it's a piece of the cardboard, the CD and the last piece of cardboard, hold tightly in place and put the last rubber band around the pencil and inch everything up tightly together, now you have a drop spindle to spin with. 

This is a picture of my spindle, the fleece I used and the ball of wool I created.  That was my first ever attempt and it actually knit up quite well into these:

These mitts are finger-less and are actually quite warm.  I've made a pair of these in heather for myself, and these are more of a masculine style, which I call Bad-Ass Biker Mitts. :D