Thursday, January 26, 2017

Podcast episode one - introductions are in order



Link to video here!
Intro
Me
Welcome to The MoonBound ArtisanShip Podcast, I am your host Julia. As this is the first episode I want to start out by chatting a minute about me. I am coming to you from Wisconsin in the US, where I live with my husband, Jim, four kids – 8-18 – and one aging cat who hasn’t come to terms with having no upper canines. My degree is in Anthropology and Museum work and my training in Archaeology. I am interested in most anything. Especially, if it used to be commonly done and now produces something most people just go buy. Among those interests are Spinning, knitting, weaving and all things fiber-y. I also brew and bake and regularly get it in my head to try something I am reading about. Sometimes this leads to a great (or not so great) recipes, sometimes to spending a week learning how to weave fishing nets. I intend to chat with you about all of that!
Why I am starting these videos?
I dream of owning a little brick and mortar gallery and teaching studio. The kind of place where people wander in to see a work up close and end up staying for a cup of tea and taking a class or just chat and craft all day. I long for the ideal of community involved in a quilting bee. Having drawn this feeling from the podcasting community I have decided to join in. Hopefully, you will learn from me and I from you.

Knitting
On the needles
                I have three projects on my needles right now.
Mouse’s sweater
Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Percentage system
Key number is 162,
gauge is 5 stitches to the inch.
Junghans Wolle, thifted and old 79cents a skein.
on fourth skein and have four left.
knitpicks interchangeables in nickel size 4 us or 3.5mm
Second tryat knitting a Pikachu Colorwork into the yoke
                                                Socks!
Mina Philpp’s Two at a time sock pattern – morphed into her vanilla sock recipe
Mystery stash busting – inventoried all of my stash yarn and ordered buddy balls for sock yarns I found there.
                                                                Patons Kroy Cascade
                                                                Knit Picks interchangeable size 2.5 us or 3mm
                                                My Milk sweater
                                                                Knit picks size 9 us or 5.5 mm
                                                                Gyre  Cardigan in interweave knits spring 2014
                                                                Vicki Howell Craft in Carol colorway         65-35 Organic cotton-Milk Fiber
                                                               
Finished
I have finished exactly zero knitting projects this year! But I did inventory my yarn stash so that is something.
Spinning
On the wheel
                Montadale sheep’s wool that I picked up at Garfield Farm Museum’s rare breed show from the sheep farmer she had the fiber processed mildly some done into roving some mill spun and was selling them to support her daughter’s 4H project. I really enjoyed spinning this wool, it is fluffy and wanted to spin very fine, I used a supported long draw to spin it and Navajo or Chain plyed it. I also talked about the cabin projects – log cabin style knit blocks afghan and welcome mat – using breed study fibers.
               
Finished
                Confetti Skein
                                66 yard
2oz skein
Bulky thick thin
Kettle Dyed
One more lot
Spin box
                Inspired by Grace Shalom Hopkins’ Spin Hanukah series, I have asked my kids to put this box together. Hoping it will be a regular series here. I gave them a bin of random stashed fiber from my stash, Nope not letting them loose in my stash! Some of the fibers were leftovers some from a guild member’s de-stashing event where I bought a big box of random, mostly at least partially unlabeled stuff. I did not include cotton or silk hankies, but there was angora, alpaca, multiple breeds of sheep, and rose (rayon), plus sparkle. The only rules for them was the final weight had to be about 4oz, if they chose to add sparkle they could only pick one color, and they needed to tie the box up with string and return unselected fibers to the bin so I could not guess. I was then kicked out of the kitchen and went to take a shower. My rules, I have to use whatever is in this box to make one skein of yarn, I can’t skip anything but VM, if present. Everything was washed but some of the fiber was not milled.
Acquisitions
                Hat block
                Fancy light box for better pictures – I forgot to mention this so I will add it to the next one!
                Sock yarn for matching to stash inventory yarn

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Announcement

I am pleased to announce that I will be carrying a limited amount of my very talented Mother-in-Law's pottery. Introducing Conjured by Tina






Tuesday, January 17, 2017

We will see you there

We are pleased to announce that we are getting things ready to go for:

Spring Treasures Craft & Art Fair
Saturday February 18 10am-4pm
Sunday February 19 11am-4pm
Waukesha Expo Center - 1000 Northview Rd, Waukesha, WI

 

See you there! ~Julia

 

Friday, January 6, 2017

In Progress - 1st - Drying Time

I have been working on a
few fun things amidst the admin and the clean up work. A video will be coming out soon. This lovely Eiderwolle Sheep's wool is drying after the dyepot. This time, I used Mother Mackenzie's dyes and I LOVE the results in this wool! Hanging to dry there is a single skein on single ply soft yarn, spun thick thin with lots of air. This is my Confetti colorway.

You are getting a look into my kitchen today as the dye porch is entirely too cold to work in! -2 degrees! In fact I had to have the crock I dyed the wool in, in the house for several hours before I turned it on! After, I had waited my husband pointed out that I
could have just warmed it in cool then gradually warming water... Sigh.

I hope you like the new look for the site!

Happy Crafting and Stay Warm (or cool if you are on the flip-side!) ~Julia

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

The Start of A New Year

You might be thinking I loaded the wrong photo to the blog or that I meant to be loading this photo of the hearth-side cooking to I did in December to a different blog. Nope. It is right where I wanted it.

I have a lot of pot going at anyone time, as most of us do, I am using this photo here today to illustrate that and to talk about the start of the new year. Which for me is like the preparations for a big meal right after a different feast. I have lots of clean up to do from last year, my studio is in such a state you might run screaming! I have new pots to put on the fire - or to eliminate the metaphor - new projects and ideas to get rolling on, new show applications to get filled out, new locations to check out, new ideas to grow and expand into! I am bursting with enthusiasm! But - to return to the metaphor- not a lot ready to show you, the outside of the dutch oven is not particularly exciting no matter how tasty the contents are.

It is time to roll up my sleeves, dig out the studio, fill out the forms, check out the... you get the idea... I am off to work.
~Julia