Mystery spin - three

So now that it is revealed here are the niddy gritty details.

Thrumbs -some Cotton & acrylic, but mostly wool or wool blend. total weight 3grams.

 lighter colored alpaca - I bought this second hand and it wasn't labelled as to what type of alpaca, it is softer than the one below. 30 grams.

 Darker colored - same label problem - it is harsher and thicker in texture than most alpaca I have worked with. 60 grams

 Lincoln longwool - some veg, clean but unprocessed otherwise. 55 grams

 brown sheep wool roving from Wyoming. 14 grams

 Mohair roving from the same mill in Wyoming near my Grandpa's house. 16 grams

 This is Correidale sheep's wool. I was very unhappy with this purchase as there was a huge (about a pound) ball of muddy yuck in the center of the fleece, I couldn't see it at the time of purchase. There was also a ton of veg - I am very tolerant as that goes but this was excessive. I will not be buying from this farmer again. I like spinning Correidale and this is courser than many I have worked with. 18 grams.

 This is Rose fiber, it is rayon made from rose stems, it is soft and flyaway and lovely. 48 grams

 don't forget the beads!

So here we are the Mystery Spin revealed. I am excited but honestly have no clue what to do yet. Still pondering, one viewer asked me to discuss how I will be addressing the differing stable lengths  and I sure will - after I figure out what I am doing. One current thought is sort them into two strands by stable length, ply them together and then autoply beaded thread around them. But I haven't decided.
 ~Julia

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

Bunnies

Are not a good thing in my garden, but in my fiber they are great!

It is bluer and greener in person!

I blended Cormo wool, Angora (Bunnies,) and what my Daddy would call Found wool. That being wool you found in your studio and can't find a label or remember where it came from. It is good wool and a bit like finding money in an old coat pocket.

I dyed this twice in a green and then blue green acid based dye bath and love how it turned out, soft with a great hand, pretty colorway, and a bit bulky. I have not done wraps per inch yet or labelled it, but after those sarcastic critters, I am calling it Bunnies in the Garden.

Inspiration

We find inspiration everywhere in our lives. This month for me it has been in colors and spontaneous what would have if thoughts, and in a series of mystery novels. The Embroidery Mystery series by Amanda Lee features Marcy embroidering her way through her work day - in her very own storefront where she helps crafters expand their skills (WANT) - through her friendships, life choices, and through solving the murders the story features.

It got me thinking, I had read in Spin off of people spinning embroidery or crewel threads. I decided to play around.

I started with white silk hankies, just two got me 48 yards of two ply. Then I grabbed a whole bunch of different bits to play with. (warning Embroidery thread spinning is fun and slightly addictive) I did a dark brown Corriedale, a light pink Merino, a raspberry pink Merino, a forest green Merino, and a purple Wensleydale. I sent these, along with some blue Lincoln Longwool curls, to my Mom to test out. I do embroider but as it tends to hurt my hands I don't do it often, even though I like it. She really liked them. I will post a picture of her work after I make it into a little clutch purse.

I will be making more and carrying them in my booth and on-line offerings this season!

Silk

Wensleydale

The dark brown is not pictured.

Hope you are looking for inspiration! ~ Julia

The connections you make

 One of the greatest treats for me as an artisan is to have someone show me how they took something I worked to create and used it for their own act of creation. I love chatting with people at the markets and shows, and of course hearing that people appreciate the work I do, but seeing the joy others get from working with my products to make something unique to them. So far I have only have two ladies show me their work, I have had people stop by to tell me how well recieved a gift purchased from me was.

Trust me, the craftspeople you see in the markets want you to not just buy our work we make, we want it to bring you joy, we want it to enrich your life. If it is a finished good we want you to love using it and remember why you brought it, who you were with, the beauty of the day and the experience of meeting the artist. If it is a supply, ingredient, or tool, we want you to use it, to touch it and have all those memories, to make with it or to make it into something that carries all those meanings with it.

So the next time you find yourself at a craft fair or farmer's market, stop by and tell them you liked the product or art work you bought, show us what you made, tell the farmer the tomatoes you bought at the end of the year made amazing tomato sauce your family enjoyed all winter, tell me your sister loved the shawl you bought her, or how much your baby enjoys crawling on the blanket. I won't be sitting there thinking "I hope she buys more" all though if you want more I won't stop you! I will be glad to know the energy, love, and work I sent out into the world is appreciated.

If you bought a skein or roving from me, I would LOVE to hear about what you made, how you liked the yarn, and what you learned while working on it! So a big thank you to this client for stopping by last week wearing the hat she made from the skein of grey scale yarn she bought two weeks before. You absolutely made my day and the hat looks great!

~Julia

In the studio, in the market

This is in process, I got this really, really dirty Cotswold fleece and after washing, picking, and carding it I started to spin it. It still had too much lanolin for me to be comfortable with so I stopped at a single and washed it again. It came out great. I am considering dying it now and plying it as a boucle or spinning the rest of the fleece and deciding then.

I have been working on a blind breed study with the ladies of my spinning guild. This one was fun to spin and knit. I am still not sure what breed it is but, it will make a great sweater.

This is another breed in the study and is soft and full.

This is a fun picture. The yarn is from the breed study, I am making it into a nice welcome mat. The sleeping cat is Racer, he is good company and well mannered enough to know that the yarn and roving is NOT a cat toy.

My both at the Westosha Market showcasing my new woven scarves. Also hats, hand-dyed roving in natural and acid Dye and some jewelry! That's Melanie in the back, she runs things at the market and is absolutely great with help and ideas.

Here is some of mine and some of Dad's amazing woodwork, he really knows how to let the wood speak for itself, shining the story of the life of tree into a functional bit of artwork. The crochet hooks are a dream to work with!

Very one needs a friend, someone to keep you company, talk you through the troubles in life, be there for the great things, convince you to let good of that which causes you no end of stress, inspire you to craft more and be the you you're meant to be, and watch your booth while you grab a lemonade or run to the bathroom. This is one is mine. Thank you Resee for always being there when I need you.

Notice the lemonade!

piles of pretty beads

Sometimes you have a plan when you craft.  I am making X using these supplies and these tools.  Sometimes it is more like I want to make X so lets see what happens when I make it with this and with these other things and then decided which I like better. The above - overexposed but still kind of neat picture - was one of those times.  I am making crochet stitch markers and having a blast. Each is a bit different - gauge, color, size, beading etc. - but I am playing and having fun.  I also put together some earrings playing with color and shimmer.  The hammer - for making slightly threatening statements - oh yeah and for hardening and shaping the markers.  I am channeling my inner barbarian blacksmith here in the studio.  The bowl was made by my eldest son a few years ago, he is turning into quite the potter.

Sometimes the best plans just run away with themselves and don't do what you want.  I love this choker necklace, except it does not lay right.  So soon I will have to disassemble it and rebuild it slightly differently. This time with more math and less random. That growling is me.

And sometimes, a rare beautiful sometimes... you are doing something else entirely and poof that magical elusive thing inspiration attacks you.  I was actually organizing the box and drawer I keep my beads and such in, when I found the pendant stone in the upper right.  Followed by the gold pearls and copper wire... wire crochet here we come.  I kept finding bits that would look great with them so I will listen and build the necklace.

Hope you are following or ignoring your plan as best fits your day! ~ Julia