This has been truly the worst and most stressful holiday in history for us. I guess that happens sometimes. Our car died, never to be driven again, forcing us to scramble for funds to get a new one and trying to do it with all the storm and holiday closures of business and gov't offices. Then there was our New Year's party ... a very small function for two couples which was crashed by a bunch of Yahoos who ate and drank everything in site and finally had to be thrown out on their butts, and all topped off with the sad loss of a dear friend, who passed very suddenly. It hasn't been fun and I'm hoping for a much better year.
I haven't written anything here in a long time, mostly because I've been knitting and spinning wool, which tends to be very boring to the spectator. There's only so much you can write about yarn and socks. All my closest friends got socks for Christmas. The last pair is nearly done and they are for ME! I finally get a pair for myself. I have lots and lots of wool here that still needs to be carded and spun into fine yarn, and it's safe to say I'll be busy with that all winter.
As you can tell from the pictures, I've found an alpaca farm nearby. My husband and I have taken on the project of installing a man door in the alpaca barn. We were out there working all day yesterday and the door is in now, and just needs to be trimmed out. My husband has to move some wires for them too, then that project will be finished.
Alpaca wool is much finer and warmer than sheep wool. It's cloud soft and very luxurious. There is also the added bonus that alpacas don't produce lanolin, so there's no grease to deal with and this actually makes it great for folks who are allergic to wool. It takes dye very well, almost too well at times but I seem to prefer the natural colors. They come in 17 registered colors but there are a few more shades as well. Lots of colors to choose from. I like to ply a light and a dark together as shown in these booties I made for a friend who is going to be a new father very soon.
I have two books here I have to read cover to cover ... one on wet felting and one on spinning. I've very determined to get that done this month so I can get back to some felting and do things the correct way, knowing it will work instead of muddling through and hoping it will work. I got some nice silk and glitzy threads, curly locks, etc to add to my projects. I'm very well stocked in fact, so it should be a productive winter. I shall try to blog more often, but given the turmoil over the holidays, my heart just wasn't into it. Today is devoted to housework, then we're back at the alpaca farm tomorrow to finish up (and take more pictures of the cuties!)
Happy New Year to all my loyal followers.
With the onset of the colder weather, I've been hearing lots of comments about cold heads. Since the much lamented departure of his hair, these comments start every year about this time and then the hunt is on to find what is left from last year's head wear. Since his six month stint in the Yukon, it appears that toques are in short supply around here so I took this past weekend to make my dearly beloved a special and very warm wool hat.
I have very recently received a pound of lovely long grey locks that have been overdyed. My friend Linda in Ohio thought they were a bit coarse but good for outer wear so she sent them to me to practice my spinning. They are a lovely mixture of lilacs, reds, greens and blues. Don thought he might like the greens and blues so I picked them all out, and spun up a fine two ply. The yarn was beautiful with such natural looking tones. It reminds me of the forest floor .. or moss growing on rocks. Very inspiring.
It knit beautifully into a hat and I thrummed the inside with some plain undyed fleece for super extra warmth. He's quite thrilled with it and loves the warmth from the thrums. A special thanks to Linda Koch for just knowing I would love this wool. The yarn has a lovely halo as the locks are quite curly. I'm going to begin spinning up the reds and lilacs for the same purpose so if anyone wants one, let me know and we'll talk.
Here is the finished scarf. The knitting part was pretty easy once I got onto the pattern. I think this was the first triangular scarf I've ever made.
Many thanks to the Troll from Norway for modelling for me. The husband flatly refused. Once it was washed and pressed out, it hangs really nicely.
The beads stand out and although it's very hard to photograph the effect of the crystals .. they're there and glitter like crazy when the light catches them just the right way.
It certainly was a lot of work to spin all those beads into the yarn. I think the end result was worth it. Not sure it would be a practical item to retail though ... as the hours involved are great and it's only a scarf so I can't price them highly enough to make it worthwhile. They will remain on my " special commissioned items " list and will be made only on request.
A little blurb about the yarn I'm working on. I started with some lovely Corridale roving in a solid medium grey color. I pulled off little whisps and, using a needle threader, I added #8 seed beads and 4mm crystals.
I added the beading roving wisps to the first single ply, trying to keep it as fine as I could manage. The seeds are placed every meter or so, and there is one crystal for every 10 seeds. It's shown here on the bobbin.
I also finished painting my wheel. Cute eh? There are some flatback crystals on it as well ... you can sort of see them here. They glitter like mad!
I made another plain single ply from the same roving and plied both singles into a double. Shown here is approximately 120 yards of fingering yarn on the niddy noddy made by my husband.
This is the yarn wound into a ball and all ready to knit.
This is the yarn knit into the pattern I selected for a triangular shawl. Now, I just have to do all that two more times and I should have a very nice shawl to add to my inventory. Keep in mind it has to be washed and blocked out to get it to drape and hang properly.
Yes, I know I've been very tardy with the blog but I really have been rather busy. We just wrapped up the In Hants Christmas Craft Show this weekend. We both pulled a shift in the canteen and had to just generally be around in case there was a need for more staff. The show itself was a great success. The revenue was flowing again this year. That's such a good sign as last year was pretty much a dismal bust for some sellers. My husband didn't do very well with selling his woodworking, and another gentleman was practically giving away his intarsia pieces but they weren't moving either. All my small needle felted sculptures sold. I have a bunch more that need to be made right away too, as I have an order for Colorado, and I need some on hand for next week in Dartmouth, so I'm thinking of getting started on some of them this evening. I have to make a bunch of small birds and a couple of Woolfins. I'm up to G with the names of the Woolfins, so I'm thinking of a fishing outport kinda guy named Garge and a female named Hilda. I haven't dreamed up a persona for her as yet.
The spinning has been going very well and I have a great stash of wool yarns for my felting projects, as well as some for knitting mittens. I just love to knit mittens. My next plan with the wheel is to make some laceweight beaded yarn for a drapey triangle scarf/shawl. I using grey Corridale roving and size 8 white opalescent seed beads. There will also be a generous smattering of 4mm Bermuda Blue crystals throughout. I'm hoping the project will turn out a very elegant piece.
On the wet felting scene, I've taken a step back to catch up with some bookwork. I purchased Uniquely Felt and I'm not making anything else until I read it all, cover to cover. It's an amazing book and I'm now going to be able to correct bad habits, do things the correct way and have all the methods and reasoning right at my fingertips. I can't believe I was muddling through the process so awkwardly. I'm hoping all this knowledge will be making the felting process more enjoyable. A couple of projects are stewing away on the back burner of my brain just waiting for a chance to emerge and evolve into 3-D tactile objects. Stay tuned for more creations.
It took several days, but I think I've got it! Finally and not without some pain and frustration. Ok, the first thing I did wrong that was of any major significance, was to not realize that my feet were creeping forward on the treadles. It was a new thing to me ... trying to coordinate both hands and both feet at the same time. There was a lot to think about and I just forgot that my feet were not in the correct position, until my left big toe slid over the front of the treadle and under the frame. That was a major shock to the system. My husband found it terribly funny and kept asking me to demonstrate the "emergency brake" again! Thankfully, I wasn't going too fast and the toe is fine ... it didn't even bruise too badly.
After a few bobbins full of junk, I finally got the tension and twist to a place where it was acceptable. Here is the two ply I spun from some long curly locks that were dyed by my friend Linda Koch from Ohio. It's a fine weight ... almost a lace weight but not quite. Lace weight was what I was striving for so much more practice is required.
Feeling like I've died and gone to heaven, my head is still spinning just like this new Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel. I've been searching all over for a used wheel but all I could really find within a reasonable geographic distance were old antiques. They aren't suitable for today's modern fibers and techniques. Well, last Wednesday, my sweet darling hubby decided it was a wonderful day for a drive so where would I like to go for a day trip? My answer was quick ... Gaspereau Valley Fibers.
I had previously done business with these people and wanted to see their shop, so off we went, headed for Wolfville. It certainly has a great location. It's in the cutest valley I've seen in quite sometime and the property is adorable. The shop is a converted garage and so rustic, yet inviting with tons of restoration. The original wooden interior is a perfect spot for wool. It's roomy and well stocked, with a large open area for their workshops. The lady waiting on me was friendly and helpful and much to my amazement, my darling hubby was convincing me I really had to have that Ashford Kiwi that was already set up. We tried to rationalize the cost and Don was insistent that since my birthday was fast approaching and Christmas too near for comfort, that the spinning wheel would cover all those and more quite nicely. Well, it certainly gets him out of gift shopping. Who was I to argue and I've been in wool heaven ever since. You can see that I've painted my wheel. It still needs to be varnished, but it hasn't been still long enough. I'm simply having a blast with this thing and wonder why I never did it sooner. Mind you, I've been getting lots of help from internet friends, which is very welcomed at this point. My skill sets have been improving and I've progressed to the point where I can turn out a fairly decent knitting yarn in a two ply.
Here is 55 grams of 100% local wool, which I have spun into a singly ply, then dyed with food colors. It's almost what I was aiming for, but I went a little too heavy with the yellow and turned almost all the blue into the bright green tones.
All is not lost however. The next batch of single ply will be all blue, then it will be plied with this to make a strong, bright mitten yarn which will be incredibly warm.
 |
| Ukpik |
Well, these days my husband, Don, is hard at work in his woodshop making some scroll sawn products for the craft show next month. Therefore, he's tracking all sorts of debris up through the house, which is keeping me busy with Mr. Vaccum. I've got most of my products packed up for the show, and that leaves me to make some sort of thing to display some of the smaller jewelery items. I have to go for a little walk out back later, as I'm thinking of cutting a small hardwood and trimming back all the branches, then spray bomb it some Christmas color and secure it in an attractive and simple base. That ought to solve the problem rather nicely and after all, it is a pre-Christmas show.
Since we had several days of wet and cold weather, I've been playing with some little critter designs, trying to capture the cute factor. Who's old enough to remember the Ookpik rage? I was a kid but I remember everyone had to have one. I got one at some point and it was really cute .. all furry and big eyes. Of course, ookpik is simply the Inuit word for snowy owl and it's more correctly spelled Ukpik in the Canadian north these days. However, they were to die for cute so here is the rendition I came up with. These are needle felted and around three inches in height. The feet and tail form a tripod allowing them to stand alone.
I really enjoyed making this little guy. He too was done while I was recovering from the flu, as needle felting requires far less energy than wet felting. He's done really really tightly too, as I wanted him to be able to stand on his own without putting wires or sticks up inside his body. Once again ... he was an experimental piece, but he turned out so well. If he doesn't sell in the November show, he'll probably find a good home as a Christmas gift.
This little meerkat's eyes are Miracle beads and have a reflective glow all of their own in certain lighting conditions. It's really kind of eerie until you get used to it. There were a lot of hours that went into him due to the density of the felting. Since I've never seen a meekat, I relied on pictures from the internet and the pattern on his back came out ok. Perhaps next time will be a bit better. I was starting to get the hang of it toward the end of the pattern.
You can see here how his rear feet and his tail, also very tightly felted, form a tripod to support him.
Finally, in this last picture, you can see that he's just darn cute!
I've been down with the flu for over a week. It's nasty and lingering. It makes you wish you were dead. However, I did manage to catch up on some needle felting that had to be done. It's been awhile since I've made anything needle felted and I find my style has changed a bit. I seem to be much more into detail than before. Well that's a good thing. Since I was pretty much confined for several days, I used the time to get started on my list of things to be done by Christmas. I finished the little beaded ring in no time, and then made the sea horse brooch. These are both orders to go to the city.
That left a couple of larger sculptures to be done. I tackled the trout commission and it turned out rather well, but took a couple of days. I'm sure it will find a nice home.
The next project was a pair of earrings I had started. When I realized the pattern was a bit more time consuming than I had thought when I started them, I had put them aside for an occasion such as being laid up for a few days.
That nearly caught me up and I only have one more commission lined up right now, which I will begin working on today. I've taken on the chore of cooking something nice for supper as well, since I'm feeling better now. I have a project ready to start with the wet felting too, but that will have to wait until this awful cough subsides and I have the energy to work the wool.
It really feels good to be all caught up this early in the process.
This is the second pair of slippers made in the wet felted technique using a resist. I love the way the colors worked out. I made the inside with violet and mulberry, then put two light layers of yellow over top. Lots of ultraviolet Angelina and a wisp of yellow to lock it in. A bit of embroidery, a suede sole and presto ... my new slippers. They're nice and warm too.
Using this technique, you can make several different styles. It's just adjusting the length between the feet. You could make boots if you wanted to, but would have to enlarge the instep so you could get your feet inside. After separating the feet, you can change the style by how you shape the opening.
It's been awhile since I've written here. Been busy with social events, most notably the Dutch Mason Blues Festival in Truro, Nova Scotia last weekend. I've finally recovered from sleep deprivation, dehydration and sunburn and back to my normal self. I just finished up a series of journal covers for the craft show in the fall. I was able to find the journals at a very small cost so can keep the price low in hopes they all sell. This week has been very hot so working with wool has been put aside until it cools down a bit. In the meantime, I'm catching up on housework. My husband is returning next week from six months working in the Arctic so I have to give the place a good cleaning while the clutter is at an all time low.
I've been looking at more work from various fiber artists and have decided to attempt something new. Not sure how it's going to work out as there are some technical issues that I don't know how to do, but I'm going to wing it and hope for something great to evolve. Stay tuned for progress on that. Here's a couple more pics of the journals.
The same thing happens here every year. We get roughly two weeks of damp, hot weather where you need to engage in multiple cold showers and you can't get dry enough to get dressed. I do not have AC. With the size and design of my house, it would cost a fortune, and it isn't feasible anyway, since it's only unbearable for approximately two weeks. There are ways to stay cool, and I've been trying to do just that, felting for short periods of time late in the night when it's bearable to handle wool. Now I have completed this bag. I don't have the handles made yet and will work on those later today or possibly tonight. It's supposed to rain today but there's not a cloud in the sky as I write, so it will be very hot long before any rain comes. Then it will be all steamy again. Please enjoy the pics of this pretty bag. The client ordered the fringe on this shape of bag. It's a large piece so will hold lots of items.
This week has been a mishmash of housework, errands, doctor's appointments and finally getting to work on a large bag. I had been waiting for supplies to arrive as I was out of one of the colors I needed for this, so I was able to catch up on some domestic chores. I've nearly finished the housework, as I've taken advantage of a couple of less humid days to do it. The spare room and bath has been totally cleaned up and is ready for more guests or house sitters, whatever the case may be. I have a function to attend next weekend, but weather will be the determining factor as to whether I stay over night or not. Unless this week is very dry, I won't be camping as the area is notorious for mosquitoes and I'm simply not putting myself through that annoyance.
This large bag is an order I received on Canada Day. I will have the bag completed today sometime, leaving me the ropes to make tomorrow. I've taken some liberties with the fringe, adding some curly locks, not shown here and the client loves the look so far, so curly locks on the fringe it will be. I still need to cut a few holes above the fringe. I've hidden some color inside the layers, so I'm hoping the color will show through at the edges of the holes when I cut them. I'll post more pics later.
I just completed this piece. It's called "Watching" and it's a statement about our diminishing personal privacy in current society.
This picture was taken with a flash in order to make the pupils of the eyes glow. I used Miracle beads which have this property. The second picture was taken without a flash.
The art is a birthday gift for an old friend. It is destined to reside on Nova Scota's beautiful south shore at White Point.
It didn't take me long to set up. I brought a table cloth that just fit perfectly, whipped it over the table, fussed with it for a bit, duct taped it down and laid everything on the table. Still Going Strong, my old ladies sculpture, took front and center position and I hung the purses from the canopy support bar over my head. Looking around, I decided I had the very best spot on the boardwalk! It was only a matter of minutes before two lovely ladies came and chatted with me for quite awhile, then purchased several items. They also took my card for a friend. Great!
In return for dog sitting, I asked the painter to watch my table while I went in search of a bathroom. It wasn't far and on my return I stopped to chat with a very sweet Pakistani lady who was selling lovely treats from her native land, in the middle of the terminal building. I ordered a lentil samosa, and while it was heating up she told me she was 70 years old (she sure didn't look that old!) and was taking the rest of the summer off after this event. The samosa was delicious! When I returned to my booth, and I'm calling it a booth now as I feel very special having the canopy, I'm the envy of the other sellers as they're in full sun. Some have brought large patio umbrellas. Good plan except the wind was picking up. They were beginning to spin at an alarming rate! Then it was calm again. The next few hours were much the same, with occasional gusts that forced me to rearrange my wares and tack some items to the table.
The first disaster of the day happened shortly after 1 pm. The young man across from me walked out from between his table and the pottery table. He tripped over the table leg and caused the pottery to go flying! Oh my goodness; what a tragedy! The casualties were the unique but obviously top heavy sign the potters had made, from pottery, with their shop name on it. Also in pieces were a piece that had been on a wrought iron stand. Such a shame. The look on the boy's face was heartbreaking too, as he clearly wanted to die. I was afraid he might cry, adding further shame to his already shattered inner being. His mother came to his emotional rescue and made things right with the pottery folks. I'm sure they were pissed though. For an artist, each piece is dear to the heart, and we constantly hope to find a home for them where they will have the respect they deserve.
Another drama soon ensued. Two of the sellers from inside, a young man in a red shirt and an older gent in khaki shorts approached the bicycle police in a frenzy. Red Shirt was using some pretty foul language and saying that Khaki had "laid his hands" on him. I heard the part where they were beside each other inside but didn't hear exactly what happened. A couple of the terminal security arrived. Could they not find bigger men? These two giants drew looks from sheer size! Red Shirt slunk off back to his table, leaving Khaki talking to the authorities. Red Shirt had been hanging out at my booth earlier (booth; notice the attitude I've developed over this prime real estate) and he was just plain weird. I was glad when he buggered off. Khaki and the Two Giants headed back inside to have a chat with Red Shirt. I saw them later in the day working in close proximity of each other and successfully ignoring their neighbor's existence, so I guess it all worked out. Khaki had the popcorn stand and Red Shirt was selling God knows what, looked like fridge magnets and key chains but I wasn't going close enough to investigate.
A great gust of wind came up, sending those aforementioned patio umbrellas airborne. The one shading the t-shirt folks landed on the pottery table, sending more precious pottery to the cement. It was hard to look. I really couldn't watch this. My heart broke for the t-shirt family. The potters only stayed for a little while longer, then packed up and left. So did the painters next to me. I stayed until 5:30 pm, then packed up as well. I was among the last to go and there really wasn't a lot of traffic on the boardwalk by then, as everyone was seated at the free concert or the beer garden. I didn't make any great amount of money, but a lot more than I came with, and the entry fee was so low it was really a great day. Lots of cards were given out to sincere people who were genuinely interested. Overall, I was fairly pleased and well attend this show again next year.
And so a new week begins. I'm nearly ready for Canada Day. Watching the long term weather report and hoping the rain is going to move off by then. In the meantime, we're in for a wet week. They're still calling for showers on Thursday morning, which will force the event to be inside. I was hoping we'd be outside, but that might have drawbacks as well, such as wind, in which case all my things would have to be pinned down to the table, and sunburn, which would be inevitable with my fair skin. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. This is a photo of one of the new hair combs I have to offer. The flowers are really pretty, and I've already had gaping jaws of disbelief that they are really made of wool. They're very fun to make and I never really know how they'll turn out until I have them finished.
I enjoyed another nice gathering with friends on the weekend. We went for a boat ride, a swim, a great barbeque and a bonfire. It was really fun and the weather held up for us. Can't ask for more than that. Today I'm packing up items to sell on Canada Day at the Alderney Landing waterfront Boardwalk Artists event. I'll be there selling from 10 am until 6 pm if anyone is interested in coming. There will be lots of artists there talking about their work. I'm told there is a small cover charge to get in. I hope to see you there.
Daisy and I just got home from Malagash. We left yesterday afternoon and drove to Jost Winery, which was having an open house. It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze so not too hot in the car. Daisy seemed excited. I haven't taken her anywhere in awhile and she could sense this was a bigger trip than just going for the mail.
We made good time and the traffic over Nutby mountain was light. It was hot at the vinyard, and after attending to Daisy's business, I went in to see what was being offered at the open house. Their patio was packed, but I managed to find a chair and wolfed down a very good sausage dog with lots of hot mustard and saurkraut. I tried a glass of the white wine they were pushing on the patio, but didn't care for it. I was pondering going inside to get a nice glass of chardonnay, but the place was crowded and the live music was geared much more to an older generation (good grief, I'm old but this fiddle stuff was not at all to my liking) so I just picked up a bottle of chardonnay and headed across the road to my friends' cottage.
My timing was perfect, as when I arrived at the cottage, they had just pulled in a few minutes ahead of me. They'd all come up on the bikes so Daisy was the only four legged guest this trip. Ida insisted we stay for supper, and later on, after more alcohol was consumed, she convinced me to stay the night and have a good time with them all. There were 8 of us there so it was a nice gathering. We sat outside most of the evening, on the deck. It was a bit windy and I got windburn on my face, but no real harm done. Ida's son, Sean, took Daisy to the beach and tricked her into swimming ... which she wasn't too happy about but she really had a great time. Sean seems to really like her ... who wouldn't?
