By Tara, on February 26th, 2009%
A little departure from the weekly “Ask Tara”, this week I asked a few spinners what their Spin-Life is like. I’m delighted by the variety of places and ways people spin!
Today I’ll share their fiber “studio” set-up and next week we’ll talk about when and where they actually sit at their wheel.
But first, let’s meet the spinners:
Liz of Hobbledehoy Esther of JazzyTurtle Velma of ColorBOMB Creations Rachel-Marie of KnittyDirtyGirl Lacey of In A Circle of Fog Erin of Wooly Hands Mia of Knit and Play with Fire
Do you have spinning studio? If so, what’s it like?
Liz:
I have little corners of storage space set up like this:
for fiber to spin, handspun yarn, and batt bags. I spin out in my living room most of the time, but I have a giant bedroom that I sectioned into studio space . . . → Read More: Ask a Spinner – Do you have a studio?
By Tara, on February 24th, 2009%
Cosette of CosyKnits gets…cozy! . . . → Read More: Fiber Artist Interview – Cosy Knits (literally)
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 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 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
By Tara, on July 25th, 2008%
Today’s interview (the third in the series) is with Bobbi of Kittygrrlz. She creates fun and exciting handspun yarn using fibers handdyed or carded by other with other fiber artists, a beautiful example of collaboration. You can read more about her fiber-y life on her blog.
How did you get started with knitting? I was vending (with jewelry) at the DIY Trunk Show in Chicago, in November of 2004. As I like to say, this show changed my life! Their local SnB group was there giving free knitting lessons. Since I had a Chicagoan helping me out, and it was pretty quiet in the morning, I went up and got my free lesson. They started me off with some needles and a skein of basic yarn, and, honestly, I never thought I would get it. I was all thumbs. But, I took it home, promptly bought some PURPLE . . . → Read More: Fiber Friday Interviews – Kitty Grrlz
By Tara, on July 18th, 2008%
Today’s interview (the second in our series) is with Abby of Folktale Fibers. She creates beautiful handspun yarn from cruelty-free and vegan fibers. You can read more about her fiber-y life on her blog, but be sure to check out her beautiful shop.
How did you get started with fiber art?
Honestly, I think it’s in my blood. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with textiles and the process of making things. My earliest memories are of finger crocheting on the school bus on the way to field trips (this was before kindergarten) and sewing buttons onto fabric scraps my mom gave me while she sewed clothes on her sewing machine. I had a fabric and yarn stash by the time I was three or four years old! I didn’t discover the art of spinning until about 3 years ago, when I suddenly realized that I . . . → Read More: Fiber Friday – FolkTale Fibers
By Tara, on June 6th, 2008%
Fiber Friday is here and today I’d like to share what I hope will become a regular feature: an interview with a full-time fiberist! I’ve gushed over her beautiful batts, and now I’m happy to share some insight into the world of Hobbledehoy. Liz (aka hobbledehoy) is a successful full-time spinner with a thriving Etsy shop. She candidly shares the realities of life as a spinster on her blog. I find her blog and business inspring but I was curious about her beginnings, so I asked some questions and she generously answered:
How’d you get started spinning?
I’ve been a long-time fan of the Craftster.org forums, and discovered novelty spinning on one of the boards there. I’m a bit obsessive with new hobbies, and will gobble up all the information I can find about a specific craft before trying it out. I ordered a spindle and dyed . . . → Read More: Hobbledehoy – behind the wool
By Tara, on January 11th, 2008%
I first met Maple of North Star Alpacas through Yetsy, the yarn-centric Etsy Street Team. I was immediately smitten with the pictures of her alpacas; they accompany every listing, which really connects the fiber artist with the fiber producer! Last week, running low on fiber, I contacted Maple to ask a few questions about her fibers. BCB is committed to using only eco-friendly, animal-friendly fibers and finding suppliers that fit the bill is a challenge. Some possible suppliers don’t respond to my questions or respond defensively (although I really try to ask the questions as un-judgmentally as possible!). I was thrilled when Maple answered me honestly and completely, so I thought I’d share a bit of her response,:
We just do the best that we can to take care of our little piece of the world. I’m probably more concerned about being animal-friendly…I think that all the farmers . . . → Read More: Fiber Friday #2 – North Star Alpacas
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