The feeling of creating!

I love the thrill of creating something new. The adrenaline starts when the idea comes. Then the thrill of gathering all the materials and sitting down for that first creative session. One of the things I really like doing is spinning yarn. I don't get much time to do that so it is always exciting when I finish something. This yarn was inspired from some Cotswold locks I had dyed bright green. I have been wanting to try core spinning again and using locks would make the yarn look really cool, if I was successful! So I consulted a video about it...again...and sat down at my lovely spinning wheel. As with anything, it was slow going at first. The thing is with core spinning, you have to take it slow. That was good for me as I tend to be going all the time. It was a great chance to just sit and enjoy the moment. Soon I was getting it. YEAH! What a thrill it was. I filled that bobbin and still had locks left over. So I did another one. Now I have enough yarn to actually make something....sometime...that's another adventure. Do you think I was successful??

 

 

Happy Creating!

Anita

A Great Time at TNNA!

WOW! What a great time I had in Columbus at the TNNA yarn & needleart market. There is always so much to see and nice people to connect with. This year I taught two classes...I was so excited. I did a flat needlefelting class in which the students made gift card holders.   The second class was sculpting with fiber. We made a Jack-o-lantern. They seemed to really enjoy the projects. I am already thinking to what I want to teach next year!

Of course what would be a yarn market without lots of yarn to look at. The trends this year seem to be migrating back to novelty yarns. Bling is also back but in subtle ways. The fashion show was amazing! Fitted garments are still the trend. The evening gown was stunning.

I took some classes too. One on dyeing....look for a workshop on this before summer is over. I talked extensively with Schacht Spindle, the company I bought the Cricket Looms from. There will be workshops offerred for this as well...coming soon.

We are going to be closed for a much needed vacation July 4-7th. We will reopen on July 11th as usual....Happy Fourth of July!

It all starts here!

This is how it all starts...out on my front porch.
This is how I actually dye the wool. I like to to do it outside when the weather is nice. I don't have a dye room set up in my studio....what a treat that would be! On a good day I can dye about 10 yds of wool fabric... if everything goes well. This works really well as I can then go about my business at the house.

THE RESULTS!!!

This is where the fun is...Dyeing the wool. It is always amazing to see what will come out of the dye pot. The color cards are not always reflective of what you get....After two weeks here are the results. More then 25 yds of wool fabric has been dyed. Aren't the colors great! I just want to dive in and get started creating something. I am in the process of creating a new fall wool applique wallhanging. I can not wait to get started.

Felted eggs

Well we can finally feel spring in the air. It is so nice to see the flowers out and the grass is greening up nicely. With the change of seasons comes new inspirations. For the easter and spring season I have been needlefelting eggs. A simple technique of using the felting needle to punch fiber into styrofoam eggs. They can be as simple or fancy as you want. I did some classes recently and it never ceases to amaze me at the creativity of students in the class!!! Check them out.

Now I working on a line of hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn. I have learned alot in the process, mostly how long it takes to have a mill spin the yarn for you. So I decided for this first batch I am going to be spinning it myself. I will be posting pictures as we go along.

Happy Creating!

Anita