I'm always tickled when one of my customers returns to share their creations with me. This sweet Waldorf doll by Regan of Barking Dog Creations is so adorable that I had to share her with you too.
When Regan bought some Thick & Thin wool yarn from my shop, I would never have guessed that it would become Valentina's Hair! Regan shares, "She is most definitely a girly-girl. She loves her flowing pink chiffon skirt and her red and pink shirt- pink is her favorite color after all!"
"Valentina is made of 100% organic cotton knit fabric stuffed with clean wool. Her hair is wool, some of which was hand dyed by me using food coloring. There are also some strands of baby alpaca/silk blend yarn in her hair as well. Her hair can be styled in different ways; ponytail, pigtail, buns, half up half down, braids, or just worn long, but be careful she doesn't trip- her hair reaches just past her toes! Valentina is 14" tall and has green eyes that have been embroidered on with cotton embroidery thread."
I think any girl would be lucky to receive Valentina as a valentine this year!
Visit Barking Dog Creations on Etsy to see more pictures of Valentina. There are also two more little cuties in the shop.
I'm back today with more fibers to share. Honestly, I've just been trying to stay on top of things this month. I've been restocking, dyeing as well as trying to find time to be creative. Some months this feels like quite a challenge. My kids both have busy schedules this January, so that's making life more interesting.
Today I'm playing show and tell with my cotton. Last year I started carrying two forms of cotton at Wind Rose. On the left is Ginned Pima Cotton. For cotton, this ginned Pima has a long staple length of 1 to 1.5 inches. It's named for the Pima Indians who grew, spun and wore cotton. It's also the accepted generic name for all American Egyptian Cottons. This cotton contains very little vegetable matter and is wonderful for spinning. A little gentle fluffing and carding and you'll be a happy spinnner. It's also a very popular natural stuffing for primitives, Waldorf dolls, and other handmade creations.
If prepared fiber is more to your liking, I also have Acala Cotton Roving. This is Acala Cotton that has been cleaned of all vegetable matter and combed into a nice pencil roving. It's all ready for spinning and a great way to try out cotton for the first time. Doll makers seem to like this preparation too. It's so smooth and can be perfect for filling little arms and legs.
I have both of these fibers listed in one, two and four ounce lots, but if you need more for your project, feel free to contact me through the shop I usually have a pound of two available.
A nice big box arrived from one of my suppliers yesterday. It's always fun to open up a big box, but even more exciting when there are new fibers inside.
When I placed this order, I decided to add a few new items to my inventory at Wind Rose. First of all, I purchased this beautiful Fawn Alpaca. It's such a lovely shade of light brown that I really don't know why I haven't ordered it in the past. I already carry Natural, Black, Silver, Dark Chocolate and even a nice blend of Black & Cultivated Silk. I think adding this gorgeous Fawn rounds out my collection!
Also in my box of goodies was a fresh pound of Tibetan Yak. I've carried Yak at Wind Rose before, but this is a new color. It's really pretty and almost hard to describe. It's like a warm silver and it's sooo soft. Did you know that yak fiber is used as a substitute for cashmere? Yes, it's that soft!
It's important to note that yak has a shorter staple length of around one inch, so it helps if you're comfortable with shorter fibers. However, there's no reason you can't blend yak with your favorite wool to infuse that extra softness into your project!
There's one more newby in the shop, although it's hardly a new fiber. I've decided to carry Colonial Top also known as Corriedale. I haven't carried this fiber in the past because of the overwhelming popularity of Merino, but from time to time, I do get requests for a wool with more texture. The felting community seems to like Colonial Top. I'm sure this is because it will both wet and needle felt and it has a long staple length. I also know quite a few felters that like to play with contrasting textures in their work. Sometimes you don't want everything to be silky smooth.
I hope I'm not making this fiber sound like sandpaper or anything. It's coarse, but not that coarse. Actually, because of it's staple length and crimp, it's a very nice wool for beginning spinners. Also, if your spinning wool for a rug or a basket, you want a fiber that has a little more strength to it like this fiber has. So, for the sake of variety, I think Colonial top will be a good addition to my inventory.
I have a pound of Ginned Cotton that has a little more vegetable matter than I'd like. It needs a home and would make a good natural stuffing for darker colored dolls, pillows or stuffed animals. I'm selling it at a deep discount in 4oz lots at Wind Rose. If you happen to be a primitive doll maker, this is a great deal!
I have yellows and blues back in the shop today. These are all super soft Merino roving. On the top row is Bright Yellow and Light Blue. This shade of light blue is brand new and I plan on keeping it as one of my staple colors. I get a lot of requests for robin's egg or duck egg blue, not to mention just pastel blue. Each of these colors has its own nuance, so I tried to create very versatile light blue for all of the different crafting needs out there.
On the bottom row is Night Blue which I think is one of the prettiest shades of blue. It's sitting next to Golden Ochre. This yellow has warm, brown undertones. It always makes me think of ripe corn or harvest time.
Slowly but surely, I'm building my inventory back up at Wind Rose. I've never had my stock so depleted as it was over the last two months of 2010. I'm very grateful to all of my customers. Since my inventory is a little low right now, if you are looking for a color and don't see it in the shop, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll make your request a dyeing priority.
Today, two of my regular shades are back in stock. I swirled them together for their blog photo op, but you can find Bottle Green and Mediterranean sold separately and by the ounce at Wind Rose Fiber Studio.
I didn't take my camera, so I have a rare pictureless post tonight. I just thought I'd sit here for a few minutes and share my day.
Once a year, my town of Chandler hosts a multicultural festival. It always feels like a breath of fresh air. For one day, people come together to celebrate diversity and culture with food, music, dancing, art and education. Why oh why can't events like this be headline news?
I had my husband drop me off. I headed down the sidewalk with a blanket roll slung over one shoulder along with my messenger style purse. The other shoulder supported my tote bag full of yarn and samples of my craft. My hands were busy carrying a big African basket with display materials, a handful of drop spindles, roving and other goodies. As I walked into the center of downtown, I passed a grandstand where a new group of American citizens were being sworn in. There were big smiles in the crowd and plenty of cameras too. The pride on their faces was almost palpable. I walked on to have my senses livened by tasty aromas. I knew the food tents were near. I kept on until my own little culture came into view. Finally, the spinning wheels of my fellow Telaraña Guild members greeted me. The sun shone on this sweet little group of casually dressed women, expertly feeding roving to hungry wheels while chatting in happy tones. I felt a flush of warmth as I joined them, my people.
I rolled out my striped blanket and sat cross legged in the middle of it like the happy bohemian I am. On one side, I set out a display of my oversized tatted necklaces and bracelets. On the other, I allowed a large cloud of Blue Faced Leicester to billow out of a hat box surrounded by drop spindles. I like teaching, so I sort of come to these events prepared to interact with anyone who looks interested. I especially like working with kids. Every so often you see that sparkle, and you know you've got a real creative mind in front of you. It's exciting to think that you may be witnessing the beginning of a lifelong passion.
Anyone reading my blog post is probably already a fiber enthusiast, but if you're not, you may be surprised to learn that spinning, even with a simple drop spindle, can be a real crowd pleaser. I would even go as far as to say that people experience the "wow factor" the first time they witness wool becoming yarn. It's always the moment that tickles me the most as a teacher. I'll be instructing a young girl as her parents look on. She'll be holding the wool in an anxious pinch with one hand as she spins the spindle for the first time with the other. I like to keep my beginners in the moment so I'll say, "Can you see the twist getting tighter and tighter as you spin? Can you feel it starting to put pressure against your pinch?" Their focus will shift from their hands to the fiber. Their eyes will get a little wider as the see the twist for themselves. Then I'll have them park the spindle and slowly pull back on their pinch. "Watch the twist travel up the wool." I'll say. My student's eyes will get even larger and they'll suck in a breath as they see the twist climb up towards their fingers. One of the parents will usually exclaim, "Well, will you look at that? That's something!" I'll smile at my delighted young student and inform her, "You just made your first piece of yarn!" Before my students leave me, I always unwrap the yarn they spun and give it to them as a keepsake along with a little roving. Spinning is all about the connection you feel with the wool and I want them to take that connection away with them. I know that with this souvenir in hand, they will be much more likely to seek it out again in the future. After all, the only way to keep your culture alive is to pass it on to the next generation.
There are always a couple students that stand out in my mind at the end of the day. They are the ones that I know will spin again. There was one woman, Alyssa, who was about my age. As she spun yarn for the first time, she became so excited. "I have to do this!" She told me more than once. I just giggled and nodded. I know exactly how she feels!
I have a feeling that this hairpin lace project of mine is going to end up with a lot of posts. I decided I'd better start numbering them. I'm taking a break from the Roman Numerals and going with French. Pourquoi pas?
So you can see I have two more lace strips completed. I didn't feel the same need to pin my loops as before because each of these strips fit entirely on my loom. If you click on the pic and take a closer look, you might understand why I am a little worried about protecting my loops. They already seem to want to curl and twist. Now imagine them hanging free as you turn the loom around and around making more lace. It seems like it would be easy to end up with a twisted nightmare. The fact that this yarn is 10% mohair also means that it likes to stick together a little. It could get messy if I'm not careful.
On the positive side, I love the colors that are coming through and I think this will make up into a really cool looking garment. Remember, I'm making an unconstructed cardi wrap from the book Crochet Master Class.
Even though I have quite a few strips to go, I'm anxious to head out and buy the yarn that will be used to trim and assemble my pieces. With this colorway, I could go with either a cool or a warm trim. I wear more cool tones, so I'm leaning in that direction, but we'll have to see what I find when I'm standing in the yarn aisle.
Hi all. I finished my first strip of lace on my hairpin lace project. As I promised, now that I'm starting a new piece, I've taken some pictures so you can see how to begin a strip of hairpin lace.
*Click on the pictures to see a larger view.
1. Start out by forming a slip knot on your hook. 2. Holding your hook in the center of the two parallel posts, wrap your yarn from front to back around the post on the right, yarn over and pull through the loop on your hook. The first loop has been made. 3. Flip your hook over so that it changes from front facing to back facing. Turn the hairpin lace tool clockwise and as you do so, wrap your yarn around the outside of the unworked post. Your hook should now be facing you. 4. Slip your hook under the front of your first loop, 5. yarn over and pull through loop, yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. single crochet made. 6. Again, flip your hook over to change it from front facing to back facing. Some people like to flip their hook in a vertical motion between the posts. I have found that sliding one end of the hook and then the other, in a zigzag motion is very comfortable. 7. Turn your hairpin lace tool clockwise while allowing the yarn to wrap around the outside of the opposite post. Your hook is now facing you. 8. Insert your hook under the front of the previous loop. Make single crochet. 9. Continue on in this fashion until your strip of lace is the desired length.
I'm almost done listing my Oversized Tatted Necklaces in my shop at Wind Rose. This morning I added two pinks, a Long Pink and a Short Pink chain. For fun I layered them on my dress form almost like you might wear a scarf. I think the more carefree you get with these necklaces, the cuter they are!
I must be trying to make up for lost time with all of my blog posting today. All I can say is that I hate being sick! Lifus Interruptus!
I've gotten a little farther on my first lace strip in my Hairpin Lace Project. As you can see, I've had to slide some amount of my stitches off of the loom to make room for more.
Most of the hairpin lace patterns I've perused have suggested using stitch markers to help keep count. After all, each strip has hundreds of loops on each side. The beginner in me has amped up that advice. I'm not marking stitches, I'm holding on to them!
This has to be making any experienced hairpin lace person giggle, but I can't help myself. I'm nervous about keeping my loops even and tangle free. Maybe I'll get over this by the third or fourth strip. Right now you can see that I've got safety pins holding onto sets of 10 loops each. I do feel like they are doing a nice job and keeping my work safe. Thank you safety pins!
...and Green Tat too! I must be feeling better today, because I'm writing like a goof!
Yesterday I posted my first Oversized Tatted Necklace for sale in Deep Earth and guess what? It's gone! It found the best of homes. I will try to make a couple more in that color because it was very pretty, but for now I'm just trying to get the rest of my necklaces listed in the shop.
It might be a little early for that particular question, but when I was thinking about what colors to dye yesterday, my mind turned to the next holiday. For anyone planning a felted valentine, or perhaps some seasonal yarn, it really isn't too early to be on the lookout for pink and red.
With that in mind, I decided to dye my Holiday Red and Pink Blush Merino. They're so soft and so very feltable and spinable. Okay now, why isn't blogger recognizing the words feltable and spinable? Come on! Embrace the fibery goodness!
Oops, now I've used the word fibery. It may be time to update the dictionary. These are all very valid terms! :D
I've been having such a great time making my Oversized Tatted Necklaces that I've ended up with quite a collection. Today I decided it was time to start listing them at Wind Rose Fiber Studio.
This one is the first to go on sale. I call it Deep Earth because it's a blend of really deep purple and warm browns. It contains just enough mohair to give it a super soft, almost airy quality. Click on the pic to get all the details.
Hello friends. I am off to a slow start with my blog posts this year. I've had a bad case of the suds. If you have children, you might think that this is a disease only SpongeBob can catch, but I'm here to tell you, it's not so. I don't have any of the traditional symptoms of cold or flu and yet, I've been feeling hopelessly run down. I'm sure my resolution to kick my caffeine habit hasn't helped my lethargy.
Okay, now that I have my whining out of the way, on to hairpin lace. In my last post, I talked about the book Crochet Master Class and my plans to explore some areas of crochet that are new for me. Well, suds or no suds, there's no time like the present, so yesterday I went out in search of a hairpin lace tool. After hunting through the yarn accessories section of Joann Fabrics three times, I finally found one of two hairpin lace kits by Boye. They were well hidden and I colored myself lucky that they were even a stocked item. It's a pretty far cry from using real hairpins, but the Boye Hairpin Lace Kit does provide the ability to adjust my width which is what I need for my pattern.
My adventure in hairpin lace making begins on page 26 of Crochet Master Class with the project called Feather and Fan Cardi Wrap. I'm making the L/XL size and using Lion Brand's Amazing yarn in the color Wildflowers. It's the same weight as the pattern suggests and I just happen to have enough on hand. I'm also using a size D crochet hook just as the pattern indicates. The first step is to make hairpin lace strips. For my first strip the tool is set at a width of 2.5" and I'm to make a strip 71.25" long or which contains 676 loops. Now this is the total number of loops on both edges, so each edge will have 338 loops.
On pages 23-25 of the book, a tutorial on how to make hairpin lace is provided. It took me no time at all to figure out, but you know me, I also sought out video confirmation. Off to YouTube I went and after typing hairpin lace into the search box, I clicked on the video at the top of the list entitled Hairpin Lace: Part 1 Beginning. This is not the slickest looking video, but it provides a good, close-up look at how to get started. I also prefer the video's suggestion of starting with a slip knot on your hook rather than tying the yarn onto the tool. It feels more like what a natural crocheter would do.
As you can see, I'm off and running. I have 72 loops so far and it won't be long before I have to slide the beginning portion of my lace off of the tool to make room for more. It's probably because this is new for me, but I'm a little concerned about my loops staying neat and not getting tangled especially since this yarn has a bit of a mohair quality. I'm thinking that I'll use safety pins as stitch markers to help me keep count and keep the loops nice and orderly.
Well that's all for today. I'll be back with updates as I progress. When I start my next lace strip, I'll take some pictures of how to get started and how to make the lace itself. Basically, if you can single crochet, you can make hairpin lace. Things will get really interesting when the time comes to edge and join my lace strips!
I've been crocheting for over 30 years. I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I learned when I was a kid and well, I'm not a kid anymore. Basically, I'm just saying that I have some experience in the craft of crochet and so I'm pretty selective about the books I buy.
A couple of months ago I received one of those Amazon emails. You know, the ones showing you items you may be interested in based on your past purchases. In this email was the opportunity to pre-order Crochet Master Class. I couldn't resist checking it out, so with just one click, I was sold.
Actually, it was kind of fun when my book arrived right around December 25th. Merry Christmas to me! I haven't completely mind melded with it yet, but even upon first inspection, this book does contain a few projects that would be learning experiences for me. For example, I've never made hairpin lace, Brudges lace or worked with a double ended crochet hook.
So, in the spirit of continuing education for 2011, I think it will be fun to work my way through a few of the projects and share the experience here on my blog. Maybe you'll even want to join in. Crochet-Alongs are always fun. I'll be sure to give you the heads up when I'm getting ready for my first pattern.
Oh, and just as a final book review note, Crochet Master Class by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss, is a beautiful piece of work. The projects offered are very appealing. It's also full of lovely photographs and stories about the crocheters.
Everyone has their own style of blogging. I like to keep mine fairly focused on fiber and folk art which are my two passions. Yet, like most women, I wear multiple hats. Most often it's a wide brimmed mom/wife hat. Sometimes, it's a lovely, woolen chapeau. More recently, it's an educator's cap.
Over the past few days, I've been reading my favorite blogs. Many of them have featured year end retrospectives or resolutions for 2011. Meanwhile, my blog has been at a standstill. Where have I been? I've been in the middle of this picture, surrounded by teaching materials and planning the third quarter of school for my fifth grader.
Yes, for me the beginning of the new year meant it was time to prepare for a new quarter of teaching my son. It was two years ago that our student/teacher relationship began. Happily, people tend to be more supportive of the choice to homeschool these days. I rarely even get asked why, but if your curious, it's mostly because the way he learns deviates from what is considered the standard or the "norm" in public school. Of course this standard has become so narrow, it's not hard to become an anomaly. What it really boils down to, is that he is a highly artistic, visual learner who processes information best in a one-on-one, creative environment. That's what he needs, so that's what I give him.
I'm not sure what inspired me to share this personal tidbit with you today. I guess it's mostly because teaching has become a big part of my life and more specifically, my chief focus for the past week. I like sharing a bit of myself from time to time, even if it makes me feel a little vulnerable. It's my way of reaching out and connecting with other moms, bloggers, teachers, dyers, crocheters, spinners, womankind, humankind. There is comfort to be found in these connections. For that, I am very grateful!
down, braids, or just worn long, but be careful she doesn't trip- her hair reaches just past her toes! Valentina is 14" tall and has green eyes that have been embroidered on with cotton embroidery thread."
