By Tara, on August 27th, 2008%
Polite people would use a different word. But let’s be honest:
I failed.
My Ravelympics goal, which I knew was lofty and difficult and challenging (but that was the point); well, I failed at it. I set out to spin and knit a sweater in 17 days and I didn’t accomplish that.
And that is fantastic.
The risk of failure
incites action.
Without this challenge, I would have never begun. I have been talking about knitting a sweater from my handspun for months but without this challenge, it would still just be a dream. Not only did I commit the goal, I worked hard towards it; spinning 400 yards of beautiful yarn, swatching, designing and knitting half of a sweater in 17 days!
The risk of failure creates commitment The feeling of true commitment to something I really want feels great! By focusing all my . . . → Read More: Failure
By Tara, on August 20th, 2008%
The Life of Yarn series is my attempt to share the process from fiber (on the animal) to finished yarn. Each is just a glimpse into a moment in the life of yarn and yarnmaker.
I recently confessed that most of my freshly dyed fiber spends some time in the trees, but once it comes inside, it has a much tamer life. The handdyed fiber is stored away from my kittens and puppy, in a closet. When inspiration strikes, I pull it out and it spends some time in my “studio” (also known as, my living room)
Here, it lounges on my spinning chair, on cushions made by my Grams (check out that piping! It’s not “my” colors, so I’m looking for fabric to cover it with), along with a pillow I made (these are the colors I want to cover the chair cushions in). I love this . . . → Read More: The life of Yarn – in the studio
By Tara, on August 15th, 2008%
Next in the series of Interviews with Fiber Artists is Rachel-Marie of KnittyDirtyGirl.com. To learn more about Rachel-Marie’s jump into the world of full-time fiber artist, read this excellent Etsy article How’d you get started dyeing? I started dyeing with kool-aid and yarn from my beloved Brown Sheep Company. I don’t remember what sparked my interest in dyeing. Being able to create my own colors has helped me to be a more creative fiber artist.
Which came first: the knitting, the dyeing or the spinning? Knitting, then dyeing, then spinning. I am still working on my knitting skills, my spinning expertise has far exceeded my knitting talents.
How did the business begin? I started selling my knits with trial and error. I have learned from some not so smart business choices. I started selling my knits to friends, then at a co-op, next on ebay, and finally on . . . → Read More: Fiber Friday – Knitty Dirty Girl
By Tara, on August 14th, 2008%
Ravelympics Update: I started with the Handspun Heptathlon: pre-drafting, organizing my spinning space and getting underway, while watching the Opening Ceremonies on Friday night. I kept up the pace Saturday morning and by lunch had a huge 200 yard skein.
At this pace, I could have been done with all of the yarn by Monday, but alas, I don’t live in the Olympic village and was pulled away from the wheel by little brothers that had to be fed, a business that needed new yarn and various other distractions (like a visit to the farm!) By Tuesday I was back in the saddle, spinning a second ginormous skein (which is resting in it’s post-spin bath).
The temptation of the squishy yarn was too great and I moved away from the Handspun Heptathlon (without finishing it!) and launched into the Sweater Sprint. While watching Micheal Phelps earn . . . → Read More: Ravelympics Update – Week One
By Tara, on August 10th, 2008%
Hanging freshly dyed wool out to dry, I was struck by the ridiculousness of the sight: huge swaths of brightly colored fiber, adorning a unassuming tree.
From the parking lot, my tree seems harmless, the dogwood of any normal resident:On closer inspection, it becomes obvious these residents are a bit more colorful. And by the time you get to my door, it becomes clear that this is a house of those possessed; possessed by a need to drape everything in color, to soak up the bright summer, to imbue the yarn-world with sunny goodness.
This weekend I dyed pounds of wool, all in bright, happy colors, mostly in semi-solids, as seen above. While I stood outside, hanging dripping wool, I thought about the path these fibers take on their way to becoming yarn. I have, through this blog, tried to delineate this path. I shared the path from inspiration . . . → Read More: The Life of Yarn – on the tree
By Tara, on August 8th, 2008%
Fabulous! Spun by me from SeeJayneKnit’s Fabulosity roving
Today’s Fiber Friday interview is with Jayne of SeeJayneKnit. She is a full-time dyer, spinner and stich-marker maker! I got to know Jayne through the Fiber Friday threads on Etsy, where she shared her experiences with learning to spin. She knocked my socks off when she started selling her handspun yarn just a few weeks later and it was perfectly beautiful! A quick learner, with a great eye for color, you can keep with Jayne on her blog or by checking out her shop.I was so smitten with her color-sense that I purchased some fiber from her shop. It spun evenly and quickly into 2 gorgeously soft skeins of yarn (one of the skeins is my biggest EVER at 300 yards!)
(just to clear up some questions I had last week, everything in italics, is me, Tara, and everything NOT . . . → Read More: Fiber Friday – Interview with SeeJayneKnits
By Tara, on August 7th, 2008%
Happy Ravelympics Eve!
Ravelympics is the Olympics for Ravelers (members of the online fiber community Ravlery, if you’re not yet a Ravlerer, join now!). It starts tomorrow, with the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics (8 a.m. my time) and ends on August 24 (when the torch goes out). Ravelers, like Olympians, set their own crafting goals and join with other Ravlympians to challenge themselves to complete it during the timeframe.
By the way, if I was in the Opening Ceremonies, I’d want to wear this or this, from last night’s Project Runway.
I really love knitting with my handspun, but rarely get the chance, since most of what I spin goes in the shop. I’ve been trying to remedy that, but spinning for myself cuts into spinning for the shop and I end up selling my most favorite skeins. However, I have maintained a small stash of . . . → Read More: Challenge: Spin & Knit a sweater!
By Tara, on August 6th, 2008%
I really love reading what my customers think of my yarn. Whether it’s Etsy feedback, in the Ravelry group or in blog posts – it’s really nice to know how people are using the yarn. I’ve longed used GoogleAlerts to alert me of anything written about me or my yarn, but it must not be working right, because anytime I google “blonde chicken yarn”, I come up with a new batch of links to the shop. The most exciting are write-ups by shopping blogs or “knitting stars” – and lately I’ve been blessed with a few mentions:
Indie Fixx’s column Indie is the new Green featured my yarn (and used photos of both my Banana and handspun yarn!) in an article on ‘green’ yarn. Vickie Howell (host of the TV show Knitty Gritty!) used my handdyed recylced silk in a featured crochet pattern (it’s on the front page . . . → Read More: Gimme some love!
By Tara, on August 5th, 2008%
I’ve gotten a little behind on posting the Farmer’s Market Project, since being out of town for a few weekends, but I’m back, baby! Renewed determination and commitment to see this through until the end of the season.This photo was taken 7.19.08 at the Johnson City Farmer’s Market. You might recognize the tablecloth from past photos, as this is my favorite booth – always filled with color! Bright red and yellow shades on mill-ends wool was handspun ultra-fluffy, thick and thin. Plied with a handdyed green hemp thread, the yarn became even fluffier and soft with a squiqqly, fun-in-the-sun vibe.Yellow Tomatoes, available here
I was happy with it, right until my husband looked at it and said “Hulkamania, brother!“Oh, uh yeah, it does look a bit like it could be knit into a boa for the Hulkster:
. . . → Read More: Farmer’s Market Project #7
By Tara, on August 1st, 2008%
Today I’m thrilled to get a chance to talk to Ricky of Silver Sun Alpacas. She is both fiber farmer, fiber dyer and purveyor of all things fibery! (all photos taken from Silver Sun Alpacas)
How did you get started with fiber art?My true fiber passion started about 25 years ago,but long time before that I always had a pair of needles knitting something for someone. My mom taught me how to knit when I was younger, and still helps when I run into problems. She is 82 years young now and still knitting her heart out! She just loves knitting using the alpaca yarn. About 25 years ago I saw my first silk painting in an art store, and I knew then that I had to know how it was done. From that, the road to a living room full of dyes, paints and bolts of silk was . . . → Read More: Fiber Friday – Silver Sun Alpacas
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