MOLLYOCKETT MEADOW FIBER STUDIO

I nearly die while dying

2008-02-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

OK, so I have this great batch of cashmere merino fiber. I've decided to dye it before spinning in spite of the possibility of felting it. I was unable to forgo the pleasure of spinning beautifully colored fiber.

I chose the cold pour method from "The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook". Though I'd never tried this technique, it was chosen instead of the more dangerous bring it to an almost boil and then simmer it one. The word cold had a great deal of appeal.

Half of the fiber would be a deep, royal purple with some variegation in depth of color due to the pouring and squishing method. This proceeded nicely. I'm glad I tried this, less complicated dye lot first or I might never have tried another.

Once this was gift wrapped in its very own plastic wrap package, I began batch two. I had covered my kitchen counter with heavy duty poly and placed the plastic wrap on top. The plan was to snake the roving from one end to the other and apply blue red to one end and royal blue to the other and hope that they would run together amicably into some interesting blends of the two colors. The results could then be plied with each other and or with the purple.

Imagine my horror when the middle portion instead turned to a particularly bilious shade of...brown! Thoughts of how I had, in spite of all my planning, ruined my formerly fabulous fiber staggered through my head.

At this point, DH wandered through the kitchen, noted my consternation (thirty years together have given him a keen eye for emotions of this sort) and its cause and assured me that it would turn out just fine, all my other fiber projects have. What supreme confidence!

It gave me the courage to soldier on. Fortunately I had LOTS of purple dye from the first batch left over. I applied it liberally (thank goodness for heavy duty poly) over the entire batch and squished and tilted until I liked what I was seeing. This was wrapped up and both batches were steamed. The directions advise that a dyer should let her fiber cool overnight to avoid felting. It wasn't easy, but I managed to wait.

I couldn't have been happier with the results as you see above. Batch two turned out just as I'd envisioned and I learned a thing or two about multicolor batch dying.

And ..now......my gift! In which I decide 2 out of 3 quandries

2008-02-17T05:03:00.000-08:00

Oh, such a lucky dyer, spinner and knitter am I! My DD's sweetie gave me two clouds of gorgeous cashmere, yes, cashmere, and merino as a Christmas gift. Here is one of said clouds posing with my Merlin Hitchhiker spinning wheel and my niddie noddie made for me by my own sweetie out of antique wood (a by-product of his Maine renovations of our 175 year old house).

It took me quite awhile to believe that I deserve cashmere. And as long to fondle this lovely stuff from Crown Mountain Farms while I contemplated what to make? How to spin? And what color (s?) to dye it? What a delightful condition to be in, to daydream about this luscious stuff.

Although some make cashmere socks, and I love to make socks, I immediately rejected that idea. I couldn't stand the idea of standing on this lovely stuff.

A scarf, perhaps? Soft and cuddly and useful especially in Maine, but so much here in Florida. I had fallen in love with this fiber and wanted to make something that I could use... a lot.

A shawl? A shawl! First, I seem to suffer from chronic cold shoulders and second, a great deal of French blood runs in my veins, which I like to think demands a flair for fashion of the more dramatic variety.

One question answered. Now to color. I love purple in all its permutations and I decided on many shades of same. More decisions. To dye first or spin first? The last thing I wanted to do was to accidentally felt my fabulous fiber, so dying after spinning was the safer choice.

That method would, of course, deny me the great pleasure of spinning beautifully colored fiber. For those who don't spin, spinning natural colored fiber is , well, boring. I suppose it wouldn't be if you were preparing yarn for a natural colored project, but I love color too much.

I decided to throw fiber to the winds and dye first. I chose a method new to me and less likely to felt, the cold pour method. the word "cold" was very appealing.

My next post will describe my dying process which nearly became my dieing process as, much to my extreme dismay, unscheduled colors appeared!

Recent Knitting

2008-01-19T13:16:00.001-08:00

As promised, some words about the fun I had knitting Christmas gifts.

But first, a word about handmade gifts. I took the "Handmade pledge" this year and gave only my own handmade items. Others who took the pledge gave handmade gifts made by others (etsy.com is the place to look for these) others gave a combination.

If you stop to think about the advantages of pledging handmade, it makes sooooo much sense and none of my giftees complained...at least not to my face!

I really enjoyed finding the perfect project (and changing it for further perfection, as usual) and yarn... all from my stash!

It's too bad that the pics of presents were so sucky.

Look here for one that I made twice. I called them "Dog walking scarves" long scarves with rectangles folded at the ends and sewn into fingerless mitts. The pattern is called "Entwined" and can be found here
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTentwined.html

Very clever and useful. Here's my dd's pic of the finished item in use during an Atlanta snow storm.

Fibrous doings

2008-01-16T07:41:00.001-08:00

Whew!

I'm still recovering from a marathon holiday of knitting. I'll enumerate what and when in my next post. Though I took pics, none of them is worth foisting upon you, dear reader (s?).

After Christmas, I was commissioned by my dd to make her some yoga socks. No pics of these either since I was in a hurry to warm up her feet!

She has cool pics of them on her blog:

http://looptangle.com/2008/01/14/socks/

Take a look!

Leo

2008-01-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

Hiya my friends,

What a lapse in blogs! There are complex reasons for this, most of which I won't bore you with.

Just after my last blog, dh and I had to make the decision to part forever with our dear problem-beagle, Leo. He had been failing for a time, but that doesn't lessen the profound sadness making and living with this decision has caused.

I can't bear, even now, to relate the often difficult story of our lives together for ten and a half years, but I'd like to share this remembrance of the little guy and a picture of Leo.

Leo was always a problem dog, and maybe that's why
we loved him so much.

He is resting in a small meadow, at the convergence of
animal trails.

Leo was a lover of:
anchovies
belly tickles
butt scratches
long walks
the soft green grass of Maine
holding his nose to the breeze the better to decipher its scents
turning his belly to the sun while lying under the lilac tree
other dogs
children
riding in the car
climbing into DH's lap on cold nights
our comfort during thunderstorms
and...of...the three of us.

Today, the sun is warm, the grass still green and soft and a gentle
breeze is blowing.

As I told him every night when he was with us, "Have a good sleep, little guy"

The Pleasures of Spinning Sari Silk, Illustrated

2007-10-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Spinning news: I've been experimenting with spinning sari silk, the by-product of the sari making process. I ordered what looks like a snarled up bunch of threads, but...but...but, what threads! All colors, with silk's lovely sheen and with hidden blobs of color. Seee above.

I bagan carding this lovely mess and began to hyperventilate. The beauty of it all. When I began to spin it and found that those hidden blobs spun into what looked like little jewels along a necklace. You can see from the pics of the skein I spun how beautiful this stuff is.

I was hooked. I've included some of this gorgeousness in a little scarf kit I'm in the process of listing on Etsy, but I must, MUST knit the rest of this stuff myself. The scarf kit consists of 3 little skeins, one yellow merino, the second yellow merino plied with the silk and the third also yellow plied with silk, but this one is spun with beehives of silk and merino. Cute!

I'm not sure what I'll knit with the rest of the skein. This will take some thought.

Our assignment yesterday for "30 days to a better shop" was to revisit our profile and polish it up. I have to admit that I hadn't read it lately, not since I first bagan to set up my Etsy shop. I blush to admit that, on revisiting it, it's not so bad. I was reminded that I spent a lot of time working on it. Thus, no changes there.

Tune in tomorrow for tales of our visit to "Liquid Silver Mountain" It took my breath away!

More Improvements to my shop

2007-10-04T04:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, today's assignment is to work on my shop sections. Here they are in their present state:

HandSpunKnitFeltedBags (4)
YarnHandSpunHandDyed (1)
Wet/NeedleFeltedScarves (0)
YarnSunDyed Handspun (4)
ScarvesHandKnit/Spun (2)
OtherWet Felted Items (0)
HandDyedSpunKnit (1)
Accessory Scarves (1)
WetFeltedScarves (1)
WetFeltedBags

When printed on Etsy, they form a descending "arrow" pointing down to my items for sale. They seem a bit wordy and I had to eliminate spaces in them to fit in all the descriptors. I wish sub catagories were possible.
Also, I want to add a section for custom orders and I've used up all my allottment. And provide spots for projects in the works. And leave descriptions of my work to, well, the descriptions!

Changes must be made! Heads will roll!

Here's the new, minimalist list:

Custom Order Bags
Shawls/Ponchos
Maine Rocks
Sari Silk
Scarves
Yarn
Bags
Kits

Isn't this a better list? Easier to read and understand? Are you intrigued by the sudden appearance of Maine Rocks (!), Sari Silk, and Kits? Hopefully "yes" to all the above!

Again, thanks Christina for prodding me to put my brain in gear!

I accept the challenge!

2007-10-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, we all know I love Etsy, right? If you don't know that or what
Etsy is, see my earlier posts or click on my Etsy shop selections over
there----->

Well, in order to improve my work, my shop and hopefully my sales, I have accepted the challenge of a fellow Etsian, Christina Perdue. It's called, "30 days to a better shop", and we can all improve, yes? Yes!

So, I have to get caught up. Day one's homework ( I think Christina is or
was a teacher!) is to list short and long term goals. And here goes:

October's goals

1. List enough items to get to a second page in my shop.
2. Finish pending projects and list them. Hmmmm, 1 and 2 seem somehow related.
3. Polish existing listings so that ALL info about shipping, returns etc are checked
for each listing.
4. Dream up some designs for wet felted Christmas stockings. No one else is doing
it, but I can find a way to do something tasty!
5. Keep up with the "30 days to a better shop series.
6. Blog at least every other day.
7. Try for every day.
8. Get to 100 hearts. (I'm at 56)
9. List something every 3 days. (my items sometimes take a week!)
10. Sell one item or more per week.

Long term goals:

1. Make enough sales with Etsy to be able to make this my exclusive sales venue.
2. Say good-by to the 2 galleries who feature my work and take their percentage.
(I love you Denise and Brenda, but Etsy works soooo well for me) Again, 1 and 2
seem to be related.
3. Find the time and venue to teach more wet felting workshops.
4. Spin more revolutionary yarn, the fat, chunky, include everything stuff.

I like the idea if giving these goals some thought and telling the blogosphere about it. Hope you'll hold me accountable!

On to day two, in which we are instructed to inspect our Etsy shop announcement and to be sure that it is short and sweet.

Here's the new one:

Hi and welcome to my shop.

I am a full time fiber artist working in felted wool and creating hand dyed hand spun yarn which I frequently knit into unique treasures. I currently show pieces at galleries in FL and ME.

My passion is creating vibrantly colored yarns and useful things made with my obsession, wool.

See my profile for an explanation of the processes I use to create my
unique felted pieces. There you will also find my return policy.

Visit my blog at mmfiberstudio.blogspot.com for hints about my inspirations, the creative process and future items for my shop.

So.... what do you think?

As the Leaf Turns

2007-09-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

It's a bit weird in Maine this fall. Temps in the high 80's and humid. Dh said yesterday that we wouldn't see it this warm until next July. To which I replied, "If then!". Temperature records of 77 years standing have been broken.

All this warm weather with lovely changing leaves, delicious apples and pumpkins everywhere feels like we're rehearsing for fall in the middle of July. We've had no frost to speak of and the garden soldiers on. Strange!

I've been invited to join a wonderful spinning group. Monthly meetings with pot luck lunches and the most awesome group of women. I've learned so much from them after attending only two meetings. Cool to gather wisdom and pass it around.

I finally finished taking pics of the Moonlight in Maine with Fireflies shawl, though I'm really not happy with them. There are two problems. Taking pictures where the beads show and finding a model. See above pictured on the only model handy. It's
listed now on Etsy. See----->.

I have several hanks of handspun to photograph and list and I'll revisit pictures of the shawl after they're listed. My goal of getting enough listings to get to a second page will be met by then. Wish I had grabbed my DD when she was here and taken
pictures. The shawl looked lovely on her.

Above is a pic of my latest "for me" project. I've been wanting to try this combination of intarsia and embroidery for embellishment for a bag. This is one of those bags that is circular with a short and long handle. The long one pulls
through the short one and is a shoulder strap. I love the way the flowers came out after felting, my own design, I blush to say. I used embroidery to create the curved lines which are impossible to do in knitting alone.

The bag needs further refinement. It's huge. I made it to carry both a knitting project and wallet, keys etc. So I intend to knit a divider so I don't pull out my keys and get a strand of yarn in the bargain.

Also need small internal pockets for the above mentioned keys and other quick-release items. Think I'll make these in some of the colors of the embellishment. It's dark in there. Also the ruffled top of the bag is pretty, but doesn't naturally pull into the short strap. Needs elastic sewn in. Ah, it never ends. In the meantime, I'll use it daily to find outwhat other additions I need to make.

I'm also working on a scarf using llama yarn! Soooooo soft. Tune in later for a pic. To tantalize, I'll admit that the scarf has knitted on fringe of my own design. A necessity (mother of invention!)since I hate to make fringe. Did my year's worth already on the fireflies shawl which has deep double knotted fringe.

More later.

Frost, fiber projects, chipmunk hideout

2007-09-17T04:57:00.000-07:00

Frost indeed last night. Would have had to scrape my
windshield if I'd had to go out before the sun melted the frostiness.
But I've no plans to leave our 175 year old farmhouse today. DH and I are going to try to finish insulating the newly renovated second floor. Nothing like a little frost to motivate.

Guess breaks will be taken next to this.

I'm finally getting ready to list (on Etsy) the gorgeous Maine Moonlight with Fireflies shawl I talked about here earlier. I just need some really good pictures, hard to do because the beads don't sparkle as much in photos as they do in person. My DD, who was here for a too brief visit, put it on and it, and she, looked great!
Watch for it.

I'm working on a custom order through Etsy for a Goldilocks bag (Juuuuuuuust the right size). It's in shades of grey and pale blue and it is lovely. My artist DH raves about it each time he sees it. The buyer chose the colors, and I spun some
Jacob wool (the sheep with the ingratiating habit of growing both white and black fleece) into blends of different greys. I hope she loves it!

The Frog Prince above has been sold and has gone to live in New York. I miss the little cutie!

Had to show you how one of our four-legged neighbors gets ready for winter in an abandoned old birdhouse.

Fall hits Maine, HARD

2007-09-16T03:44:00.000-07:00

Remember that woodpile? Well, it's changed a bit now.

Temperatures are dropping as they always do after Labor Day. Frost warnings for tonight. We have a small wood stove
that begins to get hungry at this time of year and an equally small
beagle who loves to cuddle up next to it. So the woodpile is
diminishing. It's almost a shame to see parts of it go. I was so proud
of my success in piling it and I love the way it looks,
coziness on the hoof.

Wildlife sightings are increasing. The ubiquitous
turkeys pay us nearly daily visits and now it's hard to tell the chicks
from the hens. They graze walking through the meadow with their
ungainly gait, stirring up crickets which they apparently find tasty.

A group of "teen age" deer, four of them, one with budding antlers, drop
by our meadow frequently. They love the new grass since the last cut
and the apples on our wild trees. They arrive usually at dawn or dusk
and I have my camera ready and, when there's enough light, I'll grab
some images to share with you. Their hide is darkening almost to black,
so their white tail twitches are especially jaunty. My dh goes out to
tell them to help themselves to the apples and they do, as do several
other species judging by the scat below the trees.

I'm almost afraid to mention it, but the deer have politely left my garden produce to the human inhabitants of Mollyockett Meadow. My neighbors have fences, sometimes electric ones, around their
gardens, often festooned with aluminum pie plates and other shiny things. They say that the deer, turkeys and rabbits will ruin their gardens if they don't fence them.

Every year I test the theory of an Extension
Service teacher from many years ago, who instructed my class in
gardening to plant marigolds around a garden. He claimed that their
strong scent would keep the above would-be garden samplers away. Can't
argue with him. I always do it and it works. Also makes the garden look so
beautiful, don't you think? Certainly here, it helps to have other
fodder handy.

Fibrously, I've been spinning some awesome Cotsworth, about which more later, and plying it with novelty yarns for fun scarves. See above for a sample.

I sold the yellow yarn my niece
was thinking about for a shawl. And not to her! Not to worry, I've dyed
another, larger batch which should be up soon. Thinking of carding a
little recycled sari silk into some of it.

Off to work on a custom bag I'm knitting. It's going to be a winner!

Happy fall!

Of gawjus weather, Etsy and fiber

2007-08-18T01:07:00.000-07:00

Aaah! The weather is gawjus, as we say in Maine. Cool, in the 70's and
dry, every leaf and needle of distant trees visible. And Mollyockett
Mountain is back in all her understated glory. We usually call these
days "typical Maine days", but they are better termed "optimal Maine
days". It just doesn't get any better.

Friends from Florida,
with whom I don't usually share our temperatures (40's at night, btw),
report staggering heat! We are soooooo lucky.

Just had a gas fireplace installed. Could this mean a longer stay on Mollyockett than our usual mid to late November?

Fiberly,
I stressed on the Art Fair I attended. It was a beautiful day and I
made lots of contacts, but few sales. I' thinking that Etsy-------->
is the way to go.

RANT ALERT!

If you don't know Etsy, you should, both as a buyer and a seller. Etsy is a marketplace for artists from all over the world to sell their hand made work. I've seen some really awesome stuff there (etsy.com).

As an Etsy
buyer, I've been way more than satisfied. The sellers I've dealt with
give customer service that is really world class! They communicate
quickly and frequently and in such a personal and friendly manner, you
won't believe you're doing business with a stranger.

Items were shipped
to me withing days of my purchase and arrived carefully and beautifully
wrapped to boot. Etsy sellers are allowed 5 photos of each item for sale
and most are works of art themselves. Descriptions of pieces can be as
long as they need to be and measurements etc. are exhaustive. I've loved everything I've bought.

As
a seller just starting out, I appreciate the ease of use of this site,
even for someone whose first keyboard was a manual typewriter! And, as
questions arise, the Etsy forums are a really fantastic source of information. Just reading them is so enlightening and the sense of a caring community is palpable. When I've had a question or was in need of commiseration, members have been quick (I'm talking seconds here) to respond with support, encouragement and old fashioned friendliness.

So, if you're looking for a break from Walmart and Amazon. check out Etsy! For yourself or as gifts. You won't be disappointed.

END OF RANT

I've just listed the Frog Prince bag as you can see. He's soooooo cute and was so much fun to make. My next listing will be the bag pictured above with detail of the needlefelting I did on it. Man, I love neelefelting. The wool sort of sculpts itself into such organically pleasing shapes!

I visited a local business and bought some balsam needles for stuffing embellished wet felted pillows with. It smells soooooooooo good. Like a walk in the Maine woods on a hot summer day, or like real Christmas trees used to smell, or like those little souvenir of Maine pillows they used to sell so you COULD take it with you.

Look for pix of these soon.

Off to snooze!

Rain, rain, go away!

2007-07-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

DEAR NEGLECTED CONSTANT READERS,

So sorry to have left you in limbo, but who wants to read a post without pics and how can you take pretty pics without sunny days?

It's rained or been threatening to do so for much of the past week. When the sun does come out, I've rushed to get some sundying done and, mea culpa, forgotten to take pics!

I 'm writing this in hopes of good weather soon. I'll grab the pics and post. I've missed you!

I've spun several hanks of yarn, mostly merino, but this skein on the left is Cotswold, dyed not by me, but by a local woman with a magical touch. I don't usually like brown, but I love this yarn. The brown roving was carded with the following colors: greens, teals, reds and oranges. It's very subtle AND hard to photograph! and beautiful, suitable for a warm scarf or hat.

I'll spin the other half of the roving with, you guessed it, beehives, so a knitter or crocheter could use them in stripes or as cuffs for mittens, a hat etc.

I'm obviously thinking fall here. Here's a skein of handspun merino, Trick or treat. It's the very dark grey blue of the Moonlight in Maine colorway plied with a variegated orange to coral for a nifty fall scarf appropriate for Halloween, but not screamingly so. Could easily be worn whenever your neck needs warming. Think I'll make a big felted black spider pin to use for the holiday. Look for both here and on Etsy.

I decided to knit a shawl from the Moonlight in Maine with Fireflies colorways. It's looking sparkly and is anxious to warm some lucky person's shoulders. See next post for pics of it in progress.

All this rain is all our fault. We just had the above pile above delivered. Close inspection of the pic will disclose that it is wet. Clever persons will point out that firewood is not supposed to be wet, doesn't burn well that way. Also, those in the know realize that stacking firewood is not as easy as those quaint picturesque stacks look. I did manage to stack some of it in the wood shed in the background and then the monsoon came! And the weather service says more of the same for the foreseeable future, which is what they've been predicting all week. Don't you just hate it when they're right.

The squash wars are continuing. Just when it looks like the straight neck yellow squash will produce the first 4 inch squash, the zucchini makes several 3 3/4 inch fruit magically appear like Athena springing from the forehead of Zeus. Lots of green tomatoes. We'll need sun to get red ones. I'll keep you posted (ouch!).

And as the aforementioned sun rises, Mollyockett meadow is a bright, bright green, but Mollyockett Mountain usually visible beyond the meadow is absent. As the mists come and go, we can see only parts of the various peaks visible to us on a clear day. An interesting view, but as I do my constant readers, I miss Mollyockett.

Of spinning, knitting and a special scarf

2007-07-07T03:18:00.000-07:00

Good morning, or whatever time of day it is when you're reading this!

Our weather seems to be going backwards. Record breaking 95 one week and now we're into the cools, not that I mind. Can't remember another Fourth when a sweater was needed at midday.

We went to an outdoor concert given by the Portland Brass Quintet, a perfect way to celebrate our independence.

I seem to be doing same with the new yarn I'm spinning, Moonlight in Maine with Fireflies (up on the top). As my Constant Readers will know, I've been thinking about this yarn for some time. Many nights sitting outside watching the fireflies blinking at each other like so many animated stars come to earth inspired me.

So, having observed that moonlight is blue, I sundyed 6 wingspans of merino in the darkest blue I could create. It ended up having some blue grey in it as well, which I liked.

I began on the hardest part (we New Englanders always do that), the fireflies. I strung lots of tiny glass beads on black thread, pearlized and clear round ones and sparkly cylindrical ones.

I did this randomly. Art should be disorganization gently arranged to please the eye, don't you think?

I spun a skinny moonlight single and plied it with the beaded thread, much easier to type than to do, I assure you.

Oooh, they're playing a harp version of Debussy's Clair de Lune on the radio. How apropos!

I then spun what seemed like miles of the moonlight and plied it with glossy dead black nylon thread. It turned out lovely, drapey and dressy, an odd thing to say about a yarn. I also like the contrast of the shiny nylon and the matte wool. I snuck in a few beehives in the inky black. Nice.

My intention was to make a kind of set or kit, so a knitter or crocheter could make socks, or a scarf or mittens, etc. and knit a sparkly trim. It will be listed on Etsy soon.

I did knit up the blue/purple yarn with white and other colored nubs. I made a long skinny scarf, the kind I call Air Conditioner Chasers. (Shown above) A friend needed a purple gift for yet another friend and he snarfed it up before I'd had a chance to list it. I'll spin more of these kinds of "art yarns". Don't know what to call them. Maybe revolutionary yarn, appropriate for the season and as a tribute to PluckyFluff whose book, Handspun Revolution, inspires me. Yes, revolutionary yarn it is.

Off to dye and spin some more. Hmmmm autumn colors, worsted weight, lots of yardage. How much will my bobbins hold?

Every dye lot, every yarn spun teaches me more about color and the amazing properties of wool.

Thanks for joining me!

Tardy!Multlinational? New Yarn Etsy Success

2007-07-01T14:11:00.001-07:00

Hi, Hello, Goo'dye, Cheerio, Bonjour and Hola!

Oooh, people from all over the world are reading. I'd better make it good!

Here's some new yarn, blues and purples and fluffy nubs throughout. Some are dyed and natural color merino, others are curly mohair. Tons of fun to spin and again, I think I'll knit it up myself.

And what is that on top and to the right, you might ask? I'm experimenting with another knitted/felted purse. I made it in colors I love together: hemlock with purples, blues, magentas and more. The green yarn and the brighter maganta one are Peruvian wool. It knits kind of crunchy, but what a beautiful felter! Gorgeous texture. The other colors and the lumpy stuff is my own handspun and dyed merino.

I thought the bag looked pretty good when I finished knitting it, but it's really a knockout now that it's felted. I love the shape (worked at that a bit) the flat bottom and the seamless handle. One of my problems with knitted felted bags is how to solve the handle problem. How to make it look like an integral part of the design of the bag. This is a good solution.

The astute among you and the chosen few who are enlightened already will notice that one of my items from my Etsy store is missing.

No, it didn't get lost. Instead a clustomer with taste and discernment bought it. After it was lilsted for less than 2 days! I thought it wouldn't sell until winter's chilly blast, forgetting momentarily that others are currently enjoying same blast.

It was a customer from Massachusetts, however who bought it. I touted it as an AC chill chaser since it's a little one and next to the skin soft.

Think that's what I'll use the above blue sky with clouds yarn for.

Sadly, our catbirds seem to have abandoned their nest even though a surreptitious check with a mirror out the window showed 3 perfect robin's egg blue eggs. Too bad. But, as they do often raise several clutches in a season, they may try again in that spot or another nearby.

Eeek, the ladies among you dear readers, must gasp as I do at that concept.! Who can blame them for flying south!

Off to swatch for the scarf.

Happy Fourth for those who celebrate it.

New yarn lovliness, mooses (moose?) galore and a not hungry bunny

2007-06-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

Here's a pretty picture below (I can't take credit for the prettiness, look at the cut glass, the peony and the pretty almost yarn!)

Have been spinning up lots of roving. I love to spin fiber I've dyed. There's the same yarn finished and perched on my ever trusty lilac branch,

Unfortunately, some really cool dying techniques are possible only if used on already spun yarn. It's nearly boring to me to spin white roving, but I have some dying ideas I'm dying to try!

Here's the scarf I knitted from the first of my beehived yarn. What I ball I had with this! It's pictured tied around my trusty sun tea jar just about the size of my scrawny neck.

On to the moose of whom I have no pictures, but they were very black and apparently calves, if you can call something so big by that name! They were standing on the yellow center line of a 2 lane road near the Maine, NH border, so big that they took up the entire road it seemed. A NH car had stopped in front of us and we all just paused to enjoy the sight.

The mooses seemed to be conferring about where to head off to next and blessing their luck for having found such a smooth path with no bushes to shoulder through. They finally just ambled off as moose do. I looked into the woods and saw three sets of bushes being trampled. Guess that means that an impatient mom was lurking there probably stewing about her young offsprings' inappropriate behavior! It's rare to get such a good look as they usually are on the move after dark. How about that, Fred!?

The rabbit without an appetite, no pic of him either, he was too fast for me. He just hopped around our meadow, seemingly oblivious of the tasty tender garden goodies not 50 feet from him. Or maybe he doesn't like the smell of marigolds!

More later,

Margot

Joy to the world

2007-06-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

I know it's the wrong season, but my spinning wheel is named Joy and she has been humming with all this newly dyed fiber.

It's also a joy that I have finally opened my Etsy store with the bag made with the black and white Jacob, the burgundy merino and the natural baby alpaca. As you can see over there.............
I'm excited because I've been trying to open the store since April, but life intervened.

I've been lucky to sell some items in the galleries I show in, have made some sales and they've asked for more! Though I've been selling some, it's a pain as so little of the list price returns to me. Those gallery percentages and monthly or quarterly charges really mount up!

That's why I love Etsy. It's so easy to use and the price is right. Also, I've had several questions about starting my store and had them answered in the forums almost instantaneously. Pretty cool that these good folks don't look upon new listers as competition but as someone to help.
Very impressive!

Above is my first beehive yarn made from one of the sun dyed lots. It was a difficult skill to master and I did much calling on my maker and referring to human waste products. I love the way it came out and, no, it won't appear in my Etsy store. I just couldn't wait to try knitting it into a small skinny scarf, a perfect showcase for the beehives. THAT may show up in the store. Soft and wonderful and fun!

I will definitely spin more. I've got my faithful Hitchhiker spinning wheel out now and some gorgeous periwinkle light and dark roving with blue pink areas. The plan is to beehive this one too.

I also spun Daisy and Dandelions pictured on the right above. I love it. It's a thick and thin single ply and will go up on Etsy tomorrow. I'll be putting a lot of yarn up, all hand dyed or hand painted and most hand spun. I have also ordered some Peruvian worsted and sock yarn for dying for people who prefer machine spun yarn. A bit less expensive too.

Busy woman you might say. And I accomplished all this spinning and knitting and dying in addition to falling into a WET culvert while mowing the front half acre. Had to ask our neighbor to pull the beast (a brush mower, the guys call it a bush hog!) out with his tractor!
I'll make him some banana bread tomorrow.

Happily, no pics of this incident.

Oh, and I was able to climb out of the ditch myself without the aid of a tractor.

The weather is to dye for, pun intended. Long, cool days with achingly blue sky and inky nights with a bazillion stars overhead and thousands of fireflies close to the ground in Mollyockett meadow.

Yes, there really is one of those. Our old farmhouse sits on the slopes reaching up to one of the 5 summits of Mollyockett Mountain. If I hadn't bent your ears, dear Constant Readers, with too much verbosity, I'd spin the tale of the Native American woman the mountain is named for.

Another time.

Fiber arrives! Butterflies were already here, knitting and spinning again!

2007-06-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

OMG, Dear Constant Readers (and there are lots of you, we've gone into triple digits!),

Please remind me to NEVER , no never allow my fiber supply to dwindle to zilch!! I know what a drug addict feels like when (s)he goes cold turkey! Which is what I subjected myself to since I am a self proclaimed fiber addict.

We returned from a walk and there it was, just like in the big box stores, except this big box was filled with fiber! Mostly merino which I have already started to dye. That's a pic of my first two batches of sun dyed fiber above. Isn't it pretty and yes, that's one huge hunk of granite, part of the old dry stonewall that runs along the side of our old house.

That boulder and its fellows didn't grow there, but must have been hauled to the spot by oxen. I can't imagine how many it took. I'll bet it bent a plow blade or two.

While waiting for the big box to arrive, I bought some Jacob wool roving. It was the product of one of our local guys. Jacob sheep have the handy habit of growing both white and black fleece. Isn't that accommodating! I was fascinated. It spun beautifully, felt rather scratchy in the spinning, but once spun the yarn is super soft, almost like my favorite merino. Go figure.

On the left on the top, you see a bobbin of white and one of black. I decided that the burgundy merino I dyed made a nice mix with the jacob and I've started a cute (I hope) bag for the Grand Opening of my Etsy shop, at last. I'll call the bag Jacob's Ladder, I think.

Oh, and I also added the yarn I spun from the cria (baby alpaca), Ocho. I got the fiber from Freddi at www.alpacas-of-dundorwoods.com. She's a cool lady and will send you 2 pounds of cria seconds for $15 plus postage. It's soft stuff, great for needle felting and challenging to spin or wet felt, but well worth the effort. Btw, a two pound bag is HUGE.

So the Jacob's ladder bag will have some super fuzzy stripes. Pics follow.

Meanwhile, in the garden, EVERYthing is up and running. Need any snow peas? I didn't think every seed would succeed, but..... ..... Lucky neighbors! I went out to take pictures of the pretty chives plant in bloom and look who wandered into my viewfinder. And posed prettily!

Sorry the pics won't cooperate and go where I want them. Could be I'm now on a dial up connection and haywireness ensues. Please bear with me. A good excuse to visit the local wired up cafe.

Thanks for visiting. make a comment now and then. I'd love to return your call.

Margot in fiber heaven!

Back to fiber at last

2007-06-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

First, an update on the portfolio cover I made for my DD. It was made so that a one inch ring binder could fit in it with a slot inside the front cover for a sketch book.

The finished product

And a close-up

I was pleased with the way it came out and I think she loves it. It took every last oz of fiber that I had, but more is on the way.

While I wait for the merino to arrive, I'm experimenting with alpaca. Sooooooooft!

I have two pounds to play with and that's a lot of fiber since alpaca is much lighter than wool. It's from an alpaca farmer in upstate New York and is the first shearing of a baby (cria), so it's even softer than adult alpaca.

It's great for needlefelting ( poking repeatedly with a barbed needle to make sculptures or raised designs, for those who are scratching their heads), but the fiber is very short, making it difficult to use for wet felting (insisting with water and soap and much hand and foot agitation that fibers blend into one solid piece, for the scratchers again) and ditto for spinning.

It also has lots of straw from the little fellow's home turf that needs to be plucked out patiently. But I found it well worth the effort (thousands wouldn't).

I wet felted a small pouch, which took LOTS of rolling and throwing. It came out cute with curly edges.

And today, I tried to spin some of the fiber. I decided on the minimalist approach, just clean out vegetable matter, spin without carding and soak and wash several times. The results are a bit like spinning a poodle and a mink together! Very soft with short blobs now and then. Another bath and a stretch and a chance to dry hanging from one of the ubiquitous lilac trees and it was ready to knit.

I loved knitting with it even though I was knitting icord for the pouch. I usually hate to knit icord, but not this time.

This yarn will make a great start for my Etsy store. It's very dark brown, almost black,btw, with some lighter patches. I'll spin several spools in case someone wants to knit a larger project. No dye lots here!

Will take pictures tomorrow to post here and there (mmfiberstudio.etsy.com).

Sitting in the Catbird Seat

2007-06-15T05:06:00.000-07:00

Here is the catbird seat.

Aaaand the catbird herself.

She seems to have survived DH's inadvertent clipping of her umbrella, our vacuuming of our living room which adjoins hers and our careful peeping at her from time to time.

We can't see eggs in the nest when she leaves it, but it's very deep and there could be some in there already. Hopefully snuggling with some of the fiber I left for them that vanished in short order.

We've read that catbirds are the only birds who recognize cowbird's eggs laid in their nest. They don't brood and feed these impostors as other birds do, but unceremoniously (presumably) dump them out of the nest.

Also, like mocking birds, they imitate other birds' songs, using their namesake catlike sound only in times of distress. Haven't heard the meowing thank goodness, but we're expecting shortly to hear the strains of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart as this is our habitual song.

Our visit to DD was wonderful! What a fabulous human being she is, and we take all the credit! More tomorrow about the Atlanta visit and the finished portfolio with pics!
Better ones this time, I promise.

In Maine finally! The bird census

2007-06-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Constant Readers,

We arrived at last. Just love this place. Had to have an immediate check of the neighbors, feathered ones, that is!

Last year we had a robin family in progress in the lilac tree outside our bedroom window when we arrived, followed by kestrels not 8 feet away. Later the phoebes arrived after 4 tries at a nest on the 1 3/4 inch top of the new porch rafters. The fifth try was a success!

What a treat to watch our grand birds grow. The phoebes' final nest ended up just outside our door to the back yard. We used another door while they were in the nest. For the robins, approached quietly and went to bed before lights were needed., not difficult when it gets dark at nine or so. And with the sun rising before 5, we and the birds got up early too.

The robins have returned, but not to the lilac tree, too close to the kestrels, I think. They're in the elm cluster - yes, elms!! Gorgeous big ones, one of two clusters in the farm land surrounding our old farmhouse.

No sign of the kestrels, but catbirds are sitting on a nest outside the living room window. DH was busily trimming back the lilacs (yes, they surround the house) and discovered them. He's tacked one of my hand knit (notice how I sneak fiber news into this post!) afghans over the curtainless window. Now we can peer through it without disturbing her.

Sigh! Guess we won't be using lights in that room while the little ones are there.

It'll be fun to see if the phoebes return. DH built a small plywood platform for them away from the door and put some nesting materials on it for them. I added some soft fiber. Don't see how they could resist.

Pics tomorrow, I promise!

See you in Maine

2007-06-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well, guys and girls, all 47 of you (actually probably far less, most of those hits are probably me looking to see how many hits...), we're off soon, so packing and no blogging for awhile.

Shutters are going up, so it's like a cave in here.

Leo, the intrepid beagle ( Chairdog and CEO of Beagles for Barak) clever canine that he is has noticed and KNOWS something is up. He can't miss the biiiiig box of "things to go to Maine" by the door either. It's getting hard to find the door.

And so Leo tries his darndest to be always between us and the door to be sure we don't leave without him. He was a pound grown up dog when we adopted him. Who knows, somewhere in his puppydom, he might have been left behind.

And to think that all the stuff by the door and more will fit into the Beetle! Amazing! DH, the intrepid packer can fit anything in that car, an elephant wouldn't surprise me.

He DID politely suggest, however, that I should not take up weaving, fitting my spinning wheel in is enough of a challenge I guess.

So, see you in Maine!

The Portfolio Cover Emerges/Maine Looms

2007-05-28T04:51:00.000-07:00

Wish I had taken a pic when the portfolio cover was just a pile of many-colored wool tufts. I guess I was too anxious to start the loooong rocking and rolling process. You'll have to believe me on this...the pile was 3 inches thick.

On the top a pic of the piece after the tufts of wool have been convinced to migrate together and form a tough hard-wearing fabric. Though it IS "hard", it's soft to the touch since it's made of the softest wool, merino and the white areas are soft mohair curls.

On the bottom, the needlefelted embellishment is in progress. I use a single felting needle, poking literally millions of times, to get the wool to further migrate, creating texture and design.

I work with the wool to emphasize changes in color and texture. I never know what the wool will whisper to me but it always seems to be a happy collaboration.

I've spent hours needlefelting so far. I love it. Good thing as we leave for Maine in a week, stopping with my DD and her boyfriend in Atlanta on the way, and she is, as constant readers will know, the giftee of this piece. Hope she likes, no, loves it!

So, we will soon leave north Fl behind with its heat, humidity and killer winds. More shutters have been built and stained so that ALL to exposed windows will be snugly and safely covered.

We learned our lesson from the 2005 season. It's no fun to watch hurricanes approach your house from 1500 miles away.

Maine and the mountains, and the quiet, and the garden, the moose, the deer and the black flies await. The latter are the price we pay for glorious, cool, dry summers and to-die-for fall foliage.

Friends also await and are anxious for our arrival.

Back with pics of the latest wet felting work

2007-05-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

These two wet felted bags have just been sent off to a gallery in Maine. I really like them both but found it especially hard to part with the green one! Separation anxiety!

Wet felting is an ancient art, probably the first animal friendly process used to make clothing after the fig leaf. It has also been used to create shelter, think yurts.

Today's felters use the same methods as the Mongolians without dragging their future felt behind camels or horses

As of old, modern day felters use small (about 1"x4")tufts of wool in overlapping and multi directional layers to create fabric.

But, instead of using livestock, we roll, stomp, rub and throw the fiber ourselves until, magically, it congregates into a lightweight,strong, dirt and water resistant single piece of felted wool that has many uses. It can be used for bags, pouches, mittens, scarves, boots, booties and more.

Spoiler alert for my DD.

My next project will be something new for me, a wet felted cover for a portfolio/notebook for my artistic daughter, Jessi. It will contain a felt covered sketchpad, slots for pencils and blank pages for her artistic musings. Check back for my progress on this challenging project.

Here I am at last, sort of.

2007-05-22T04:43:00.000-07:00

Hi and welcome! This is all new to me but bear with me, I'm a fast learner.

I am a full time fiber artist working in wool in one form or another. I spin, dye, felt, roll, pound, stomp, throw it and sometimes even knit it.

I'll post here some of my recent work. It will soon be for sale at mmfiberstudio.etsy.com

This blog and the official opening of my shop at etsy.com have been delayed by, wonder of all wonders, galleries that carry my work asking for more!

So now I have a little time to blog, but all my work is "out there". It's like the "time vs. money" problem.

Pictures coming!