Holiday Wreaths

Following are some pictures of the wonderful
and interesting wreaths everyone made today!

Thank you to everyone who came and helped make it an enjoyable morning!

All of your wreaths were beautiful !!

Observations from Fall Fiber Festival 2011...

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that so many people believe that the yarn I am making goes around the wheel inself. (I must admit, I think I had the same impression before I learned to spin). So when I explain how the wheel works and where the spun fiber actually goes...I get the 'ooooohhhh' reaction. 

It's cute, someone will stare...I notice them watching...they keep watching...then get brave enough to ask how it works. Sometimes I just say hello and that seems to put them more at ease...after all, I don't bite ;)  

I put myself out there when I demonstrate for the simple purpose of showing and teaching anyone interested, just how making yarn works,
either on the wheel or drop spindle. 

Of course my overwhelming preference is the spinning wheel.

I know how wonderfully portable the drop spindle is, I just can't
get over the stop and go associated with using it.
I admire all those who can make amazing yarns on a drop spindle!

Then comes the approach with the accompanying question,
asked as follows..."I have a stupid question"...

Now, I know we all do this...we feel like our question has to seem 'stupid' to those who make things look easy that we just can't imagine ourselves doing.
I am overly guilty of doing this myself!

BUT...I always tell people that there is no such thing as a stupid question...I think it's stupid NOT to ask...how ever else would we learn anything new?

There also seems to be interest in what I'm doing for a few different reasons...

There is the person actually interested in the making of the yarn, either because they knit or crochet and have wondered how it's made
or have been inspired to learn to spin but didn't know where to start...

There's the generally curious person who looks in wonder, doesn't do anything with fiber, but thinks it's just 'cool'...and there's the engineering type that actually wants an explanation of exactly how the spinning wheel works. 
A lot of men ask this type of question,
they have no desire to learn to spin,
but they are so interested in how it all works..

 So next time you walk by and see someone doing something that interests you...
go ahead...ask your 'stupid' question,
you'll probably be glad you did and I hope you are inspired to learn something new!

Thanks to all of you who stopped and inquired about what I was doing...I had a fabulous time demonstrating at the Montpelier Fall Fiber Festival ! :)

When the Flowers Fade...

In the fall, after the first frost, when most of the lovely flowers have faded, we look for other types of nature to bring inside.I find it just as enjoyable to go hunting for pine cones, rose hips, and evergreen cuttings, as to cut a wildflower boquet...I recently spent a whole afternoon with Bettie Sue searching for just the right fall items to bring inside!

 Wild Rose hips make a wonderful window accent!

 Or they can be displayed in your favourite piece of pottery!

Or in a basket.

 Juniper berries are just wonderful...

 I just love the frosty blue colours!

These are absolutely gorgeous...and I have no idea what they are...

More of the same in the above picture...(I need to find out what they are).

Pine cones from a huge white pine tree!

(That's me with my grandpa in the picture behind)

Even deer antlers add a wonderful feel to a room (these are sheds found in the woods).

This is just some of what there is to find if you just go out and take a walk in the woods!

Perhaps you will be inspired :)

The Joys of Romney

I think Romney fiber is so wonderful!  It is so easy to work with. When washed, it keeps lock integrity and doesn't sproing shorter like Merino or Rambouillet after it's washing. Usually just one wash and one rinse will do, unless it's really dirty. It comes in the most wonderful shades of gray, from silver to charcoal.  Not high lanolin content. Easy for beginners with just enough grab, not too slick and not to clingy...all around fun!

 

 This particular fleece came from Harmony Farm Fibers on Esty. 6 pounds total.
It is wonderfully clean!

  The average seems to be between 4 and 5 inches. This is an ideal length to work with, at least in my opinion :)  Beautiful color variation. When blended, it's just gorgeous!

Depending on the light, it looks silver to a light brown. I brushed out the lock ends and fed it lengthwise into the drum carder(just one pass), then rolled the batt lengthwise and pre-drafted it for spinning. What I spun seems to be an ideal weight for this particular fleece, average 9 wraps per inch, it's 160 yds to 3.3 ounces(94 grams). Great feel!

Romney may not be the softest, but this wasn't coarse at all. Almost soft enough for a scarf, depending on how sensitive you are.  I've spun two skeins up so far...I keep holding it and snuggling with it, it's quite nice and generally pretty soft. I keep thinking about a nice warm shawl or maybe my first sweater!

This has so far been one of my favorite fleeces to work with...
and I've got over half of the bag left to wash!
After many Romney fleeces, I have decided that Romney is my all around favorite !!!

Navajo-Churro Fleece

I'm always on the hunt for new fleece to work with.
I saw an ad on craigslist for fleece and drove and collected some Navajo-Churro fleece.
This was the best of two Ewe's fleeces. Beautiful rich brown color.

Raw in the bag when I got it home.

So I laid it out on a sheet on the floor in the fiber room and began sorting through it.
It's interesting how many differences there are in fiber from the same fleece.
 And this was a mixed bag from two different sheep.

3.5 to 4" staple length. Good crimp.

 

 The first batch I washed up was the best of the bag.
I then flicked the ends and drum carded it up into batts.

Full batt on the drum carder.

Batt of Navajo-Churro.

Rolled batt lengthwise before drafting.

Nicely rolled ball of drafted fiber ready to spin.

I then spun up a sample, rather thick. This isn't a next to the skin kind of fleece.
So I was aiming for a nice thicker yarn for maybe a hat or sweater.

The finished yarn. Two ply.

Overall, I very nice fiber that made a pleasing yarn!

Collecting Dye Plants

Living on a large farm gives me access to wild dye plants. The most prolific of those would be pokeweed and goldenrod.  So one day last fall I set out to do some collecting. My idea was to gather, bag and then freeze the plants for later use. I don't know for sure if either of them will thaw and still be useable.

Goldenrod

Not only is Goldenrod a wonderful dye plant, it is very attractive out in the fields. Note:14 July, just out bushogging the paths in the back fields and have noticed that goldenrod is just starting to get ready to bloom!

It grows in great waves out in the fields.

Pokeweed to my eye isn't the most attractive plant, but it does produce an abundance of berries to use for dyeing.  I haven't tried it yet, but am planning to do so this year.

I will hopefully get to thawing the plants out and determine if freezing worked or not. I will update this when I do!

Coaching Day at Stratford Hall on 8 May 2011

You really had to be there to appreciate the horses and coach. They are really quite breathtaking!

Bettie Sue and I were at Stratford Hall for their Concert and Coaching on the 8th of May 2011. It started out a little rainy but cleared to be a beautiful day!  We were part of the group Backyard Revolution, the same folks who we first met at Monticello last year.

Bettie Sue's honeysuckle baskets. The bowls hold the various stages of processing the vine so it can be woven.

As well as my spinning demonstration, Bettie Sue brought her honeysuckle baskets to show all who were interested just how to take this obnoxious vining plant and turn it into a beautiful basket.

Ginny keeping watch as I spin.

It was a very busy day and before we knew it, 6 hours had passed and the day was over. It was a very good day!

2010 Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello

Gerilee using her drop spindle and me at my wheel.

Display table

11 September 2010....What a fantastic day!!!  The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful spot under a tree, to sit and play with fiber all day!!  I was invited to be part of a group called Backyard Revolution, an incredible group of craftspeople and artisans!!  I was there to demonstrate spinning, but I also put together a display showing the different stages of wool preparation. I find it very satisfying to have a bag of dirty raw wool and turn it into a usable product. My friend Bettie Sue joined me. She brought some flax and flax hackles to display. Someone actually made the comment that they had no idea that the flax fiber is what is turned into linen! I love it when people ask questions, because I love to explain and show just how fiber prep and spinning works!  My friend Gerilee was also demonstrating spinning. She loves to use a drop spindle...and I love the wheel...so between us both, we had all forms of spinning covered!  Many people wanted to try their hand at using the drop spindle and Gerilee was a wonderful teacher. We had a great time!