JANICE ROSEMA

Spinning, designing and knitting as well as crocheting

2011-12-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

It feels like I have been silent too long. Life has been an adventure as my computer died the death of a thousand screams! It has been quite a journey trying to reconstruct everything. I thought I had it all saved on disks - WRONG! Yikes, slow but sure, I am getting it back together.

In addition to the computer challenges, there have been some exciting new developments. I am signing a contract with a publishing company to offer my patterns through them. They should be going up on line just after the first of the year. Lots of knitting and crocheting going on, with some fun new designs for winter, fall and spring!

Furthermore, piles of fabulous kid mohair fleeces as well as Wensleydale wool has come my way. There has been much dyeing and spinning of all this gorgeousness for use in knitting, crocheting, weaving, doll hair and other kinds of hand crafts. I love intense color and am extremely pleased with the dyeing results.

Our wild little kitten Karma has been busy too - she managed to topple over the Christmas tree and scatter things everywhere! She is still finding and chasing gumballs around the house as she finds them underneath a piece of furniture! She also decided that she could help me with knitting a sweater and I managed to get a photo of her with knitting needles in her little paws.

Additionally, my husband and I are celebrating our 19th anniversary on December 24th, and they said it wouldn't last! HaHa, they were wrong! We actually still like each other more as time goes on. I guess it takes practice.

Wishing everyone a fabulous holiday season with all the joys of family and friends and best wishes for a wonderful New Year ahead!

Pluckyfluff's new book coming!

2011-10-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

Just this morning, I happened to see the announcement on Amazon for Lexi Boeger's (Pluckyfluff) new book "Handspun" soon to be released. This is her third wonderful book concerning her unique approach to contemporary artistic yarn spinning. There will be lots of new things to delight the eye in this offering.

One of the things I am excited about is that she chose to include an artist profile about my work and designs using my handspuns and fibers and I can't wait to see it. Just the idea that she felt my creations were worthy of inclusion thrills me. Additionally, she will be doing a profile on my friend Natalie Redding (Namaste Farms) who is an amazing shepherdess in Temecula, CA as well as a wonderfully innovative spinner.

Currently, I am spinning tons of textured yarns and am working on a Shaman Coat which will be featured in a gallery show in 2012. Lately, I have been drawn to more wild organic looks in terms of garments. Therefore, I've been experimenting with some unusual wool fleeces that have that look. It should be interesting to see where all of this leads.

New Patterns on Yarnmarket.com

2011-09-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

A few months back, I was convinced by a friend to enter a design contest on Yarnmarket.com using Namaste Farms yarns. To my amazement, I ended up winning first and second place! My reward was a lovely gift certificate for Yarnmarket yarns. That made me a happy woman as they have beautiful options.

Additionally, the patterns are available for free downloading on Yarnmarket.com. Just go

to the site, click on the Namaste Farms yarn selection and then the "mohair fringe" yarn. To the left side, you will see a selection of patterns including mine for downloading. I have lifted the photos to share here so you can get an idea of what they look like. I will be taking more photos of these garments as well so you can see back views. Hope you enjoy them!

The new love of my life!

2011-08-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Allow me to introduce my newest love - I adopted her recently from Natalie at Namaste Farms. She was a little barn kitten I met on a visit. She had been given lots of love from Nat's five kids and this precious little baby chose me to come live at my house. The kids had named her Java Bean so that had to remain but her full name is Karma Esperanza Java Bean Rosema.

The story of how she got her name gives a giggle still. In preparation for bringing her home, my husband and I picked up cat food, cat box and some new fangled litter. Louie (husband) had been kind of irritable all week and I was definitely getting a bit tired of the grouchies.

Anyway, we bring her home, she appears to be settling in well; however, she apparently did not like the new litter (it looked like hamster food pellets.) I hadn't seen this kind of litter before and apparently neither had she. Well, she proceeded to express her displeasure by pooping on Louie's side of the bed. Imagine me, howling laughter inside but serious on the outside, saying "Karma is the perfect name for her!" He had to clean up the mess and I still have a quiet internal giggle just thinking about how tough paybacks can be for a grouchy old man!

Needless to say, we immediately replaced the new fangled litter with something more conventional. Since that, she has been a perfect angel and has not had one single "slip of the cat box."

She has kept me laughing and entertained ever since she has arrived and is the most loving little rascal. I brought home a big bag of fleece from the farm and she proceeded to jump on top of it and make happy feet and then take a long nap. It must have smelled like home. Too sweet.

I've also been keeping the dye pots simmering as the weather has been perfect for drying fleeces outside. The colors are coming out great and the beauty of these Wensleydale wool and mohair fleeces is astounding - I'm also kettle dyeing skeins and skeins of handspuns. It is making me feel uber-productive!

Unveiling the new SpinOlution Wind spinning wheel

2011-08-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Finally, the testing and tickering with the new design have been completed and a brand new baby has been delivered at SpinOlution! This wheel is a bobbin-led wheel with the unique orifice set-up and pegs characteristic of SpinOlution wheels. Changing bobbins are a dream. Treadling is wonderful and the yarns you can produce are amazing. I can do everything on this wheel that I could do on the Mach III and it is easier to change drive band as well.

Here are a few new photos of the Wind, just contact me or SpinOlution for more information about this beauty!

Back to work

2011-06-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

It has been busy around here lately. Went to a Jacey Boggs weekend workshop which was amazing. There were 27 people participating but it was well managed by Jacey. She definitely puts emphasis on the more technical side of spinning. This approach along with the incredible creativity of Lexi Boeger (Pluckyfluff) is an incredible boost for anyone's creativity and ability as a spinner. I really enjoyed it. Jacey also has a book coming out in December 2011, which I have pre-ordered.

I also have taught a freeform knitting and crochet class which included a young lady who had never crocheted. However, she did very well and learned the basics as well as some more complex techniques. It was a fun day for all concerned.

Additionally, I signed all the release forms and it is official that Lexi's new book (out in the Fall 2011) will include an artist profile on my work. I am very excited about this as I admire Lexi immensely. Also, her renovation project for a Pluckyfluff Headquarters was funded. The grand opening should happen by the end of August or early September! Can't wait.

Also, I have been doing a lot of spinning lately and I have included some new photos. Wishing you all a wonderful summer and lots of creativity!

New freeform knitting and crochet classes

2011-05-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

I am extending an invitation to join us for a new freeform knitting and crochet class which is being offered in Long Beach, California on June 12, 2011. We still have a few spaces available.

The class will cover some of the basics of creating freeform using different techniques. Additionally, we will touch on some design and color principles, yarn choices, introducing other things like felting or embroidery into the work. There are many possibilities for creativity that we will explore.

During the class, students will be working on a small project of their choice. You will need to bring knitting needles, crochet hooks, variety of different kinds of yarns and your imagination. I will bring lots of different yarns, fabrics, etc which you are welcome to use. I also bring samples of finished garments and handbags and other items to inspire your creativity.

We will provide cheese, crackers, salad as well as water, soda, tea and coffee. If you want to bring your own lunch that is okay too.

Please call ahead and make a reservation: (951) 925-3532 or (562) 233-2801 or you can email me at janicerosema@hotmail.com

Location is JA's Loft, 417 Alamitos, Long Beach, CA in the art district. Class hours are 11A-4P. Cost per student is $50.00.

Come join us for a day of fun and no pressure learning!

Spring has sprung!

2011-04-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

This morning, to my delight, I saw this gorgeous photograph of one of my creations on Facebook. It is a teaser about an upcoming event that will take place this Fall. Even though I can't share all the details, I can share the photo.

There are lots of things afoot in terms of creative new garments and designs. All I have to do now is to finish writing up the patterns and do the photo shoot for the garments. There are some really wonderful new handspun creations and designs. Keep checking back for updates!

Waldorf Mermaid Doll

2011-03-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

This is the most amazing little Waldorf doll. This charming little mermaid was made by FeeVertelaine.etsy.com, she is an incredibly talented dollmaker from Canada. She has a wonderfully whimsical sense of creativity. In this little darling, she used some of my handspun for the doll hair. You should check out more of her delightful creations on Etsy.

Lexi Boeger - Pluckyfluff Headquarters

2011-03-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

Lexi Boeger is undertaking an adventurous new fiber project - converting one of the old barns on the Boeger Winery grounds in Placerville, California into the site of the World Headquarters for Pluckyfluff. This will be a great resource to the fiber community to enable further study of all things fibery as she continues to explore and push the boundaries of contemporary spinning.

I put some photos up 1) Lexi herself in a handspun wool hat that I made for her; 2) original winery building where Lexi lives and 3) a view of the winery which shows the building on the right which will be restored.

I do invite you all to join in to help make this possible. Go here to access all the information to help contribute to making this venture a reality! www.pluckyfluff.com and click on blog.

More handspuns and Navajo Turquoise

2011-03-06T17:11:00.000-08:00

Things have been buzzing in the handspun yarn shop, with skeins flying off the shelves~ Some of the most popular yarns have been used by Waldorf doll makers for doll hair. These dolls are so charming and the addition of handspun hair really adds to the magical quality. It is such fun creating unique color combinations for everyone and it is wonderful for the child recipients of these dolls to have input into how they want their doll to look.

Additionally, I have been washing fleeces and spinning up lots of art yarns and corespun textured yarns for knitting, crocheting, weaving and other handcrafts. There is just nothing like an amazing handspun in terms of softness, texture and colors. I have put up a few photos. I've also been making more needlefelted gnomes and plan to incorporate them into a handspun yarn - how fun is that?

I've also included a photo of a recent gift from my husband of a wonderful Navajo turquoise bracelet. It was a real surprise and I just love it. He has been such a sweetie lately, taking care of me when I have been under the weather and even cooking! He has made me feel really appreciated! Smooches sweetie!

Wonderful dolls using handspun yarns

2011-02-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

I always love to see what my handspun yarns become after they leave me. One of the things that delight me the most is when someone creates dolls for children with my work. Just recently, Regan, www.epierce423.etsy.com, a wonderfully talented doll maker on Etsy gave me permission to feature her delightful handmade dolls here on my blog. She incorporated some of my handspun yarns into the hair and I just think they are adorable. Do go to Etsy and check out her work.

Just checking in

2011-02-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

The last week or so has been a whirlwind of activity. Right now, I am up to my eyeballs in the most gorgeous fleeces from Namaste Farms - Wensleydale/Gotland crosses, Wensleydale and a beautiful Angora goat fleece. Wouldn't you know, in the middle of scouring fleeces I ran out of my favorite wash (Kookabura) so am currently waiting for it to be delivered.

In the meantime, have been dyeing and spinning up a storm! Lots of new yarns up in my shop on Etsy. I still have more to photograph and list, which I will do as soon as the last batch is dry. I've included a few of the new ones as a bit of a preview.

This weekend, I plan to escape for a few hours and hang out with fiber friends and exchange ideas and watch how-to videos! Should be fun! Have a great weekend and I will check in again soon. Happy creating!

Busy, busy, busy

2011-02-03T11:04:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks have been super busy but lots of fun! I co-hosted a Camp Pluckyfluff in San Diego which was very successful with lots of students wanting to learn new techniques from the amazing Lexi. She is working on a new book and I got a chance to introduce her to Natalie Redding of Namaste Farms. She has amazing fiber and is a self-taught spinner who produces gorgeous yarns. It looks like she is going to be included in the new book. How cool is that? I took a few photos of the workshop which include Lexi, Natalie, Lovalee and some of the other attendees. I also made Lexi a wild hat out of my tailspun yarn and she looks fabulous in it. Too wonderful on her!

During the week, I was running all kinds of errands, listing new yarns in my Etsy shop and getting ready for Griffin Dyeworks Fiber Frolic on Saturday in Monrovia and a Beginning Spinners class in Long Beach on Sunday. I spent most of the time carding wild new spinning/felting batts, which I need to photograph and list in my www.excavations.etsy.com shop. I did take one class from my friend Katy Croshier making needlefelting gnomes. They turned out so cute - I really enjoyed it a lot!

On Sunday, I went to Jamie's Loft in Long Beach. I was his back-up spinnning instructor, without much to do as he is terrific as a teacher. I did bring a selection of SpinOlution spinning wheels for the students to try. I think we have some new spinning converts!

Natalie also gave me a bunch of beautiful mohair locks that were somewhat felted. We tried running them through a picker and it worked great to open them up. So, I have now ordered a small picker for myself! Additionally, she sent two small fleeces which are super soft and I can't wait to spin them up!

Today, I am busy doing a photo shoot of a bunch of new yarns and listing them on line for sale. Playing with fiber gives me such pleasure, I can't imagine life without it.

Something in the Water

2011-01-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

A friend recently introduced me to the work of an amazing environmental activist artist named Wendy Osher (www.wendyosher.blogspot.com.) Currently, she is working on a new installation project called "Something in the Water." This will highlight the effects of plastics, etc on our environment.

She needs the help of crocheters to help realize this project. All you need is a crochet hook and some used plastic bags to participate. For more information, check out her Facebook page (Wendy Osher)for a link providing instructions and an outline of what you need. Hope you decide to participate.

It's a New Year!

2011-01-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

A new year has begun and I'm looking forward to a lot of new adventures! This past year has brought some wonderful new friends into my life and strengthened old friendships. This caring circle gets together frequently to share our love of all things fibery! There is lots of laughter, tears, creativity and just plain hanging out together.

I have finished a couple of new sweaters and need to get photos so I can share them here. I've been doing lots of spinning, especially yarns for Waldorf doll makers. The delightful dolls really catch my imagination and have such a magical quality to them.

The weekend of January 22-23 is approaching and I am so excited to be co-hosting a Camp Pluckyfluff at The Shepherdess in San Diego. Lexi Boeger is an amazingly creative spirit and it shows in her yarns. These are truly little works of art! In addition, she is a delight to be around and she inspires spinners to tap into their own artistic well. If you are in the area, sign up and join us for a great weekend!

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year filled with joy, prosperity and creativity!

Okay, I finally made something new!

2010-12-19T16:15:00.000-08:00

Finally, I am feeling more creative again. Just completed this freeform handspun scarf. I'm really happy with the way this has turned out! Who knew that dog hair could be used so effectively!

Initially, I carded some of the dog hair together with some wool and spun up a bulky single which I knitted into a basic scarf. Then, the fun began, a lot of the dog hair was felted and kind of looked like little flower petals to me. Therefore, I made flowers and emnbellished them with vintage buttons and embroidery. Once I placed them where I wanted them on the scarf, I added some gorgeous Wensleydale locks to add that something extra to finish it off perfectly. Enjoy!

COME JOIN US - CAMP PLUCKYFLUFF SAN DIEGO

2010-11-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Cooky and I will be hosting a Camp Pluckyfluff with the incredible Lexi Boeger (Pluckyfluff) at The Shepherdess in San Diego, California the weekend of January 22-23, 2011.

You can sign-up through www.pluckyfluff.com or by calling The Shepherdess (619) 297-4110. There are some spaces still available so reserve your spot! It is a weekend of wonderful fibery fun so bring your wheel and various fibers (Lexi brings interesting things too and there are great things available at the shop.) If you need to stay overnight there are lots of hotels nearby as well as wonderful restaurants.

Don't miss this opportunity to spend two days with the author of Handspun Revolution and Intertwined. Her techniques are awesome and she is a delight to be around!

Socks and more socks

2010-11-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have gone to sock knitting heaven! I made a vow to myself that before I started using my own handspun for making socks I would use up all the sock yarn in my stash. Well, a dent is being made in that stash. In the last three weeks or so three pairs of socks have been finished. Two are the Monkey pattern by Cooke A, which were such an easy knit.

The shades of blues, reds and greens sock is made using Poems sock yarn by Universal. I did enjoy knitting with this yarn. There were thick and thin spots in the yarn as well as a little splitting occuring occasionally. But, I just slowed down and I am really liking how these are turning out.

The socks of greens, orange, etc are made with Noro Kureyon sock yarn. Definitely a favorite. I enjoyed knitting with this yarn a lot and like the way they feel on my feet.

Embossed Leaf socks done!

2010-11-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

Finally finished the Embossed Leaf socks and absolutely love the fall colors in the yarn (Zitron Zauberball)which lent itself very well to this pattern.

Now, on to try Monkey socks. Just casting on using Noro Kureyon sock yarn.

Sock knitting in progress

2010-10-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

The sock project is coming along. This is the Embossed Leaves pattern from Interweave. I am using Zitron Zauberball yarn and two circular needles to create these socks. One thing I have discovered is that this yarn kind of "sticks" together when worked and if is necessary to rip anything out, it becomes a bit tricky. Other than that, I have enjoyed working with this yarn. This pattern is one of my favorites and is one lace pattern that is easy to remember in terms of the repeats. Can't wait to finish this pair. My new felted slippers are in the background. They are so comfortable and cosy.

Knitting and crocheting again!

2010-10-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here in Southern California, our weather has been fluctuating between super hot and rainy, chilly and windy! What an adventure! Since my Humpty Dumpty incident, I have been a bit sore especially my right hand. Gradually, things have been improving and I am no covered with Technicolor bruises. This new found sense of well being has rekindled my need to knit and crochet. A freeform sweater that has been languishing in a bag unfinished is now being worked on again and actually looking pretty good, if I do say so myself. Right now, I am finishing off the yoke of the sweater and assembling the body and inserting the sleeves. So far so good. Then, the finishing touches will be added and FINALLY it will be done! Hurrah!

Additionally, I have started another pair of embossed leaf socks. It seems that everytime I make a pair they end up with someone else. This time, I am determined to have a pair of my very own. Hoping that I am strong minded enough to keep them! I am a push over when it comes to giving things away.

Still spinning too and have created some lovely new yarns which I have posted on my Flickr page (janrocrochet.) There is just something alluring about wool fleeces and the whole process of preparing for spinning that I really love. Last week, my friend Jamie and I introduced two new spinners to wheel spinning and they are now hooked on it too. Love it when someone is drawn in by the joy of spinning!

Humpty Dumpty

2010-10-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Once again, my adventures have been a bit curtailed. This time, I took a tumble and ended up with technicolor bruises all over! Not being known for my grace, I slipped and went down following a pedicure (my feet were slippery afterwards.) Getting up was a challenge and required my husband's help. Everytime, I tried to stand up, down I went again but I did have cute pink toes! Finally, I made it and promptly went to bed for the rest of the day! Over the next few days, I began aching in places I didn't know I had!

The one thing I could do a bit of was spinning and thus I would sit up for a while and create some yarn. One of the bright spots was the afternoon when Michael Pauly came over with the new version of the SpinOlution Hopper in tow! I immediately took to this new wheel and promptly ordered one of my very own! Hopefully, I will get it this week - just can't wait!

Now I am up and doing well, I actually cooked dinner the other night for Louie and made him some brownies with walnuts and chocolate chips! He is still in shock but loved it!

Last night we had quite a thunder and lightening display out here with heavy rain. It was pretty spectacular. Today, the sun is out and the air is clear. Wonderful!

The spinning continues

2010-09-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

Just received a lovely box of wool from Sandy Ryan filled with suri alpaca, East Fresian wool, Romney and llama. Delicious colors and softness. Yesterday I spun up bunches and it is hanging outside drying now.

Actually, am excited about finishing a sweater that I started and have let languish over the past months. I just need to complete one and half sleeves and the trim. Can't wait for it to be done.

As Fall approaches, I am finally feeling much better and stronger so am able to be up and around more and am getting things done. It makes me so happy to be improving at last!

Getting my strength back!

2010-08-28T08:01:00.001-07:00

Hurrah! Starting to feel a lot better and more energetic! Still on my spinning kick and have been digging through my ginormous fiber stash to find interesting things to use. I did dig out a few treasures and have been making a lot of new yarn.

The weather here in Hemet has been extremely hot lately and just great for drying yarns and fleeces. I have been a drying maniac to say the least. I've attached a few photos of some new yarns. As you will notice, I have been doing a lot of coils and beehives types. Love them, even though they are time-consuming, when I get a rhythm going, I don't want to stop.

A few new yarns

2010-08-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to resist spinning new yarns. I find myself sitting up on the edge of the bed with fiber in hand and spinning until I get tired and then falling back to sleep. There is something therapeutic about the colors and textures running through my fingers as the fiber twists in yarn.

Lately, I have had fun doing small amounts of yarns that are great for small craft projects including weaving, crocheting and knitting. They also look great for Waldorf-inspired doll hair. This has been really gratifying especially when I see the finished projects created.

Attached are a few new colorways that I especially like.

Missing in Action for a while

2010-08-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Lately, my postings on this blog have been sporadic at best. So, I have decided to share the reason for pulling back from things somewhat. In the past months, I have been having significant respiratory problems. After testing and numerous medical visits, I have been told that I have problems related to having lived in a house which had mold in the walls. Additionally, they let me know I had the beginnings of congestive heart failure.

Needless to say, all of this has slowed me down a bit. I am still spinning yarns, selling spinning wheels and doing some designing. However, I get tired easily sometimes and need a nap. Hopefully, with the new treatment the doctor has started me on, things will start improving and I will be back to my old self soon.

My husband Louie has been taking good care of me, bless his heart. I am in good hands and am hanging in there.

Back from Summer Hibernation

2010-07-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been silent and hibernating in my spinning cave for a while. Basically, been washing fleeces and doing some dyeing and carding batts for spinning and felting. Of course, there has been spinning going on and I have attached a few photos.

Additionally, SpinOlution has come out with a new wheel, the Mach III, and it has some great new innovations. I have enjoyed testing it out and will be adding this wheel to the others that I sell. While driving to Mike's, I came across four bison in a fenced field that starts at the end of my block and goes around to a couple of blocks from Mike's. Who knew? They are pretty darn big and my spinner's heart longed for the fiber. However, I am not brave enough or foolish enough to try and gather it. They can move pretty fast and don't have very good dispositions. Kind of cool to look at though! I thought we only had dairies and grazing sheep around here but obviously there are more exotic critters nearby.

The month of July is proving to be hot, with windy days and a few thunderstorms. I have decided to try to stay cool and enjoy creating some new garments.

Fallow Field

2010-06-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Since last visiting my blog, it seems that the fields of creativity have been laying fallow and unplowed. Aside from a bit of spinning and a little needle felting, my hands have been idle and my time spent in non-fiber mundane activities. It does leave me feeling a bit guilty that I am not accomplishing anything so to speak.

This has turned into a bit of late Spring hibernating for some reason. The spinning/yarn/studio room calls has reached avalanche stage and calls for re-organizing. However, the door has been pulled firmly shut for now creating the illusion that all is well. Hah! If there was an earthquake or anything began to slide, I am afraid that I would find myself buried in fleeces, yarns, etc. Soon, my courage will return and I shall gird up my loins and go forth to create the perfectly organized room! At least that is my story and I am sticking to it.

One thing that has resulted from all of this laziness on my part is that my husband is happy to have me cooking for him on a more regular basis. I have even made him the occasional chocolate cake (his favorite,) So, at least someone is happy!

Crocheting baby Hats again!

2010-04-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have gotten back to one of my favorite things to do, crochet hats for babies! Those precious little faces look so adorable peeking out from under a hat! The one shown here includes the use of cashmere and handspun art yarn to make this tasseled and cosy hat. The wonderful photography was done by Joyce Eveler.

Up to my elbows in fibers and still spinning!

2010-04-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

The morning started with old-fashioned roses and a cuppa coffee brought in by my hubby! That was a sweet surprise and then he started a load of laundry too. Who is this man and what did he do with Louie!??? Guess I will have to make that chocolate cake I have been promising him for the last month!

Our weather has been changing from day to day, one day warm and then rainy and cold. I wish it would just decide. Oh well, the wool is getting cold rain water rinses occasionally, can't hurt! For some reason, I just remain entranced with spinning and playing with fiber just for the sake of creating yarn. Since it is the basis for everything else I love doing, it just seems right.

Additionally, I just received a darling hat from a designer on Etsy called dadaya whose web site is www.tinytoadstool.com and I absolutely adore it. It is so wonderfully whimsical and it just makes me happy to have it on my head or looking at it on the hat stand! I have included a photo so you can enjoy it too.

Looking forward to a lovely weekend full of fiber, friends and fun!

Spinning at The Shepherdess

2010-04-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend I taught a class at The Shepherdess in San Diego California. This is a great shop with a wonderfully edited collection of yarns, beads and now SpinOlution spinning wheels. The emphasis was on creating art yarns and everyone did a fantastic job using a whole new range of techniques for wonderfully textured and exotic yarns.

It always seems that when a group of spinners get together, inspiration is close at hand as having a collection of new and unsual fibers to work with gets people excited to try new things in terms of carding unusual spinning batts. All in all it was a lovely day and one which we are going to repeat again soon.

Happy spinning!

New Art Flyer and Bobbin from SpinOlution

2010-03-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today, there was a knock on my door and there stood Michael Pauly of SpinOlution with the new ginormous flyer assembly and bobbin in hand. I invited him in with great excitement and watched with itchy fingers as he attached this new device to my Mach II spinning wheel. Holy Mackrel! That is one big bobbin! Measurements: Flyer assembly is 12 inches long and 8 1/2 inches wide; bobbin is 6 inches in diameter and 9 inches long. The gorgeous wooden pegs are 1 3/4 inches tall.

After attaching a leader, I pulled out some roving and started to spin on the lowest ratio (about 3:1) in a thick and thin fashion. What I noticed right away was that this is exceptionally well balanced and spins easily. In the photos attached, you will notice the yarn on the bobbin which weighs about one pound. I still have lots of room. Will fill the bobbin just to see how much it will hold and then do some serious art yarn spinning. Mike said I can have this for testing for the next couple of days and then I have to return it. I intend to make the most of the available time.

This is a really cool new addition for maximizing the potential of the Mach II and the Hopper wheels in terms of art yarn spinning in particular. Just fabulous!

Waldorf Doll

2010-03-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

This is one of the cutest Waldorf dolls I have seen in a while. Debra Brucker of Atlanta, Georgia made this one using some of my handspun yarn (www.excavations.etsy.com) and she has a shop at www.appletreehouse.etsy.com where these darling dolls can be purchased. I will be spinning up more yarns for doll hair as this is really sweet.

New handspun Art Yarns

2010-03-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Spring beckons, today was 80 degrees and wonderfully clear with a little breeze. I decided to spin up some carded batts that were experiments and I think they turned out pretty darn good! I added lots of goodies to embellish the yarns which is always fun!

Additionally, I spun up some lovely singles including Angora/Alpaca fiber and bluefaced Leicester. These are so soft and lovely.

These have inspired me to keep experimenting to see what kinds of interesting combinations I can create.

An Etsy Treasury

2010-03-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

It is always wonderful when another Etsy artist recognizes someone's work and I am so pleased to have been included in this lovely treasury. Just click on the image to enlarge it.

Currently, I am working on patterns and have put up three on my Etsy site recently. Take a look and hope you find something that inspires you to knit or crochet!

Freeform Shawl Photo Shoot

2010-03-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Today, the photos arrived of some of my original garments including freeform shawls. I am so thrilled with how they turned out. The photographer is Joyce Eveler of Jefferson City, MO and the models are her two gorgeous daughters. These photos are really outstanding!

It seems that lately I have been sidetracked with spinning and making yarn. Figured it was time to put up some photos showing some completed work and hopefully inspire some new freeform adventures in knitting and crochet! It seems like the time has come to rummage through my tasty tidbits of yarns to start a new project! H-m-m, color suggestions anyone?

February Fiber Frolic

2010-02-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we joined a bunch of other fiber lovers for a day of spinning, dyeing, embroidery, weaving and rug punching. It was great to see some old friends and make some new ones. The Coffee Bar of Splendor was reason enough to join the party - great coffee! Lunch and snacks were provided as participants became peckish. We needed our strength for all the activities available. There were great fibers, yarns, spinning wheels and other goodies available for purchase at this event.

Even my husband Louie got into the action! He spent most of the day working with Bjo Trimble of Griffin Dyeworks at the dyepots. This is the first time he has tried natural dyeing and he just jumped in with both feet. I have included a photo of him with his glorious hand-dyed skeins. He used indigo, cocchineal, mustard (I can't remember what the yellow was). The colors he created were wonderful and he is really proud of his achievement! In fact, he has been fondling skeins at home and talking about how great the colors turned out. I haven't seen him this excited about something that wasn't on four wheels in a long time! Who knows, maybe I will get him spinning soon. I can dream, right!?

My friend Jamie joined us for the day and we had such fun just hanging out and spinning and talking, with lots of laughter thrown in for good measure. As you can see, he documents everything with photos (caught in the act).

On Tuesday, my Louet Classic drum carder arrived and since then I have been carding lots of art batts for my etsy shop (www.excavations.etsy.com). Will be spinning up some new art yarns too.

This Sunday, I will be at LisCat in Long Beach with SpinOlution wheels for trying out. Come join us if you are in the area!

On the way to Lillehammer!

2010-02-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Lexi Boeger (of Pluckyfluff fame) I decided to participate in the Handspun Revolution exhibit at Galleri Zink in Lillehammer, Norway. These yarns are on their way to be included in the show May 7-18, 2010.

As a little girl, I used to listen to my grandfather's stories about his boyhood in the Indian Territory (which is now the state of Oklahoma.) He spoke of carding wool for his mother to spin for making clothing for the family. He also entertained me with stories of joining the cavalry as a teenager and then working for the railroad in the last vestiges of the pioneer West. His accounts always fascinated me and one of the dearest sounds in the world to me was the sound his dentures clicking as he spoke and his laughter as he delighted himself and me with humorous renditions of his adventures.

Years later, when my own son was small, spinning became a part of my life and it brought tears to my grandfather's eyes watching my son card wool for me as I made yarn just as he had done as a boy. Since I was the only one of my generation in our family who enjoyed spinning, quilting and weaving, he and I shared a special bond as well as the fact that I always laughed at his jokes no matter how many times he had told them.

Later on, I actually made a living as a spinner and these days I find myself exploring more of the contemporary art yarns and am enjoying it immensely. Even though I stay fairly close to home these days, my yarn will be enjoying an adventure in Norway in the company of lots of other fibery goodness!

Ch-Ch-Changes!

2010-02-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of learning, new experiences and changes going on around here. As of February 1, 2010, I have severed my relationship with Ozark Handspun due to personal and creative differences. For some time, the exciting challenge of new design opportunities has beckoned and I decided it was time to move in other directions. Therefore, if anyone has questions about any of the designs I had created for Ozark Handspun, do contact me directly in the future.

I will be designing for new yarn company clients and also continuing to promote SpinOlution spinning wheels as the Southern California distributor. Additionally, more focus will be placed on writing new patterns, magazine articles and teaching as well as selling my own art yarns. The opportunity to pursue new challenges always stimulates my creative juices and promises to be a lot of fun. I have posted a couple of photos of things to come.

On the road again!

2010-01-28T15:57:00.000-08:00

Just returned home from a short road trip to Northern California and beautiful Placerville to visit a lovely and talented new friend. The area is absolutely glorious and the air was crisp, cold with intermittent light rain. Additionally, in slightly higher elevation on the way to South Lake Tahoe there was snow along the roadside and lots of beautiful pine trees and old oaks.

Two wonderful days were spent spinning and hanging out playing with fiber as well as exploring the countryside nearby. Not too far from Placerville, gold was discovered many years ago in the California Gold Rush. Also checked out a little local yarn and fiber shop called Lofty Lou's. Definitely worth the trip (just remember, it is closed on Tuesday.) Found a great little place to get fabulous coffee called Zia's. Additionally, we took a little trip out to the Boeger Winery and it was a beautiful sight, well tended vineyards, tasting room and a lovely old house built in the 1800s where Lexi Boeger (the oracle of all things contemporary in spinning artistry in my opinion) lives. What a beautiful setting to wake up to in the morning. You definitely feel a connection to the history of the area here.

At the end of the visit, I hated to have to leave but Louie (my husband)was ready to get on the road again. We traveled down highway 49 to Angels Camp and then cut over to Route 99 to make our way home. He had his heart set on stopping for dinner and apple pie at Apple Annie's in Tulare. So, he got his wish and I got a chance to take a photo of the fountain in the courtyard built of car parts as well as a pic of the apple pie a la mode. I must admit that it was as good as I remembered. With his tummy happy we continued on our journey.

Going up the Grapevine, there was fog but the road was open although there was snow along the roadside. Once we descended out of the mountains, things cleared up and it was a straight drive home to Hemet. All and all, a lovely trip although as an old person, I must say I missed my own bed! Needless to say, I slept like a baby, dreaming of yarns yet to create and combinations of fibers to explore!

TNNA January 2010

2010-01-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Just back from TNNA (The National NeedleArts Association) trade show. The show was much smaller and more low key than in the past. Shop owners were focused in their buying. I noticed a number of new small yarn companies with lovely new products and an increased focus on spinning and felting. I was with Ozark Handspun as a designer representative. One thing I did notice at this show was more art yarn sellers than before which I found interesting.

I will also be doing some new things in the coming year designing for Chameleon Colorworks using sock yarns for crocheting projects. This should be a fun endeavor and a contrast to my work with Ozark Handspun. I am looking forward to this. Another fun thing at the show was seeing people I rarely get a chance to see and also running into two former students who had new product lines (FiberSpheres and Red Barn Yarns.) Wonderful products and delightful women! I wish them every success.

Additionally, on my way to the show, I stopped off to see Michael at SpinOlution and brought a Hopper for David Gentzsch of Ozark Handspun to try out. I took a few photos of the new Hoppers being assembled and you can see the newest incarnation. David loved the wheel and was really surprised at how versatile and sturdy this little wheel was for art yarn spinning.

I have put up a couple of photos from the show and also SpinOlution wheels. I apologize for the quality of the show photos as the lighting was not the best in the convention center.

Just twisted!

2010-01-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

It is beginning to feel as though I am going to require a spinning 12-step program soon. Every time, I look at a bag of fibers, I start thinking about what kind of yarn I can create. Lately, coils and beehives are giving me a thrill and I have been making skein after skein. It is actually a lot easier than it looks!

On Sunday, a couple of friends and I got together at the Coffee Bean in Long Beach and hung out, spinning and knitting in public while we enjoyed delicious cups of coffee and green tea. Lovely way to spend a day in great company and accomplished spinning one and half bobbins of yarn. WooHoo!

On January 8th, will be helping Ozark Handspun set up their booth at TNNA at the Long Beach Convention Center (January 9-11th) and am looking forward to seeing all the new yarns and other goodies coming out for next year! It is always a fun occasion and is a chance to connect with people I don't get a chance to see too often.

In the meantime, back to playing with fiber and carding wild art yarn batts and spinning up some fun new things.

She continues to spin

2009-12-23T08:01:00.000-08:00

My spinning addiction continues and shows no sign of stopping. The feeling of the fibers in my hands as well as the colors and textures of the dyed locks, curls and rovings just spark my imagination. Then the search begins for interesting things to include such as feathers, fabric, sequins, sparkle, threads, etc. It is a never-ending experiment in creativity. I feel like a magpie in search of flotsam and jetsam for my own little fiber nest!

I am awaiting the arrival of a Pat Green drum carder any day now so that should invite more experiments in creating art batts for spinning and felting too. I am excited about this and am squirming in anticipation! It is fascinating to see how everything blends together and then becomes that perfect art yarn.

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!

More pictures from Camp Pluckyfluff

2009-12-08T16:57:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more photos from Camp. I have included yarns spun by various members of the group. There is also a photo of Lexi demonstrating a technique for us. You can also see the little SpinOlution Hopper in the background working away like the big guys and turning out some fabulous yarns.

The Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica is a really unique crafting space with supplies for papermaking, quilting, sewing, spinning, felting, knitting and crocheting as well as polymer clay and other things. They also have equipment that can be used and an extensive library available to members. Great concept for a crafting center. Anghered (the owner of the store) joined us for the spinning event and created some fabulous yarns herself.

Camp Pluckyfluff

2009-12-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

OMG, what a fantastic weekend! Two intensive days of spinning art yarns a la Pluckyfluff! It was held at the Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica. This is a unique teaching space and crafts store. I highly recommend this store.

Lexi Boeger (Pluckyfluff herself) brings a wonderful spirit and immense talent to her uniquely individual yarn and has a relaxed easy teaching style that is inclusive and encouraging. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class from her, it is worth every penny and you will come away with a new appreciation for what goes into creating art yarns and mad new skills. Everyone was tired but totally delighted by the end of the second day and left with armfuls of fabulous yarns. This was my Christmas gift to myself (I was a really good girl, honest!)

A few photos are attached so that you get a taste of the atmosphere and the yarns created.

New SpinOlution wheel - the Hopper

2009-11-23T18:20:00.000-08:00

Here is a little info on the brand new spinning wheel from SpinOlution. This one is called the Hopper. These photos represent the first prototype wheel and in photos it is shown in relationship to SpinOlution Mach II, Bee and Echo. On Sunday, I took it to the spinning group at LisCat in Long Beach to share with other spinners and see how they liked it or had any suggestions. The photos were taken by Jamie Badore on his new camera phone because I forgot to charge my digital camera.

I will be adding more information to this post about the wheel in the morning but at least here are some pictures to tempt you in the meantime. One of the ladies trying it out stated that the wheel just made her feel happy, kind of like you did when you rode your tricycle as a kid. That is an apt description.

New Projects - finally working again!

2009-11-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

Now that I am feeling much better, I have been trying to finish up some projects that were interrupted when I got sick. Yesterday, the blue fantasy flower felted bag was completed. Some of the photos turned out pretty good but still have to get a good full size pic. I did knit and the full this bag in the washer. Afterwards, I ended up embellishing further with needle felting using handspun yarn, felted balls, beads and embroidery as well as adding a set of exotic La Beana handles.

After that, I started embellishing another felted bag which looks like it is going to turn out well as I love the colors. These are going up on my Etsy shop as patterns soon.

The current issue of Haute Handbags features an article on two of my freeform handbags as well as another needle felted bag in the Salon section. It has been a busy year. Also, the 2010 Pattern-A-Day calendars for knitting and for crochet are featuring five of my patterns. So cool! Be sure and get one when they are available in your local yarn shop.

Off to make brownies for my husband and cook him a lovely dinner. He has been such an angel taking care of me while I have been sick. He has definitely earned it. The only down side is that he was "in charge" for a while and now I need to shovel out the house as housekeeping is not his forte. LOL.

Homage to Painted Spinning Wheels

2009-11-04T17:38:00.000-08:00

Finally, I am emerging from my bout with flu and pneumonia, hurrah! Still a little weak but definitely improving! Therefore, I elected to celebrate by paying homage to some gloriously creative painters of spinning wheels. These are just a few that I have come across recently on Flickr. In the future, I will re-visit this topic. The two Celtic style wheels are by Northwoods Dyeworks. The Flower wheel is by Magee* and the multicolor wheel is by Princess Froglips. These are their user names on Flickr where I found these lovelies.

In a way it reminds of Olympia Dukakis in Steel Magnolias when she made the statement that what separates us from the animal kingdom is our ability to accessorize (I know I am seriously paraphrasing here but you get the idea.) Each wheel was such a wonderful work of art in its own way that it made me smile as I looked at each. I thought you might enjoy them too. I know they brightened my day.

Now that I am feeling better will be working on some new designs and getting ready for a big photo shoot for new patterns. This year has gone by so fast, I feel like I need to catch up!

Congratulations to Harpa!

2009-10-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

My friend Harpa has won the 1000 Fabulous Knitted Hats Competition! Her blog is called No Patterns, you can click on it in my list of favorite blogs and see more of her incredible work and photos of her beautiful homeland (Iceland.) She is a lovely person and such a talented artist and so deserves this recognition!

Congratulations!

Spinning wheels, yarns and knitting

2009-10-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Finally, the weather is beginning to cool although there are still a few wild fires burning in Southern California. The chilly mornings make me want to huddle with a great cup of coffee, wool, spinning wheels and also knitting. It is a lovely thing and as I have been spinning up a storm, I have put several baskets of my plied and art yarns at LisCat for sale.

One of my little neighbors has shown an interest in spinning and I have started her out with a drop spindle and some fibers. She is doing really well and her next thing is to learn knitting. So, I think I have a new member of the fiber world on my hands.

A lovely antique wheel belonging to my friend Jamie has come to visit at our house for a while. Louie has been working on the wheel and has gotten it working again. The wheel is not warped and treadles very nicely now. The only part left to replace are the little hooks which appeared to be made of tiny little finishing nails bent into a curve. Along with it was an incredible skein winder that has hand-cut wooden gears and expands and contracts. It is an amazing and lovely object just to admire, a true work of art.

Additionally, another SpinOlution wheel has come into the house which will be for sale when the painting is finished. It was painted with lovely lilacs and still has more to be done in terms of the finishing touches but will be a lovely addition to anyone's stable of wheels. If you are interested in this one, just contact me.

Furthermore, I have begun designing new patterns and am showing a small portion of a new design incorporating Cha-Cha ruffles. I am also working on some new flower designs which can be knitted and crocheted. It is wonderful to feel the creative juices flowing again.

2009-09-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos that go with the post below.

It's a girl!

2009-09-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, the SpinOlution wheels and I joined a group of ladies who raise llamas and also spin and do other fiber arts. We met at the Historic Galleano Winery in Mira Loma. What a lovely place! The picnic area had lots of trees and shade and the old buildings were charming and vine-covered. The winery tasting room was near by and they do give tours. The llama fiber was absolutely lovely and wonderfully soft and spun up into gorgeous yarns. One of the ladies brought a Louet Hatbox wheel which I got a chance to try and just loved it. These are no longer made but are a real treasure. A great time was had by all and this is a group I want to meet with again!

Yesterday was the meeting of the Sunday Spinning Group at LisCat in Long Beach. I picked up my new baby girl, a Louet S45. She is lovely to look at and delightful to spin. Since she is little and cute, I have dubbed her Gidget! Isn't she adorable? Thank you, Velvet for selling this little beauty. She will be much loved!

This was a weekend filled with friends and spinning that made my heart glad. Just wonderful!

Still Sidetracked Spinning

2009-09-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I have been pretty much obsessed with spinning for the past month. Knitting and crochet projects languish in the work basket, tugging at my ankles begging me to return to them. Except for two pairs of socks which have been knitted while a passenger in the car, I have been taking a sabbatical. There are five new patterns which have to be written up and photos taken so I can post them but that will get done soon.

I have been up to my eyeballs in washing fleeces, dyeing rovings and fibers (winter will eventually come and cleaning everything before it gets too cold will give me plenty to spin.) That is my plan! All the spinning has been lots of fun and here are a few more examples. I have posted some on my Etsy shop (www.excavations.etsy.com and www.janicerosema.etsy.com)as well as some dyed rovings and carded art batts for spinning and felting.

More talented friends

2009-09-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

Being surrounded by talented friends is always inspiring! Today I want to give kudos to my friend Kyle Kunnecke (www.kylewilliam.com)for winning Best in Show at the Los Angeles County Fair for his freeform shawl. He started this project a while back after we got together and experimented with freeform techniques. The end result is pretty amazing. In addition to his Best in Show for the shawl, he won a second place ribbon for one of his sweaters and a second place for ceramics. This is a multi-talented man! I am always impressed with all the things he tries and does so well!

The actual fair photos are a little dark so I included more clear photos of the shawl. Note that the main color of shawl is a green not brown. Enjoy.

Talented friends

2009-09-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful Sunday at LisCat, knitting, spinning and crocheting. A chance to see friends I haven't seen in a while and admiring their wonderful projects. My friend Michelle finished her gorgeous crocheted Babette afghan using lots of lovely Noro yarns as well as handspuns. Eileen also joined us and I have posted a photo of her first original pattern for a darling little knitted capelet modeled by Meghan (Michelle's darling daughter.)

My friend Jamie and I were carding and spinning some wonderful alpaca fiber. Jamie also brought his SpinOlution Bee wheel and bag. He had dyed his bag using Rit dye in the washer and it turned out really great. More user-friendly color than the original natural white canvas. Clever guy! It was a wonderful mix of people. We laughed, worked and visited with each other in the lovely environment at LisCat.

More spinning fun

2009-08-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

For some reason, this new little wheel from SpinOlution (the Echo) has captured my imagination lately and I have been spinning almost every day for hours at a time. Dyeing rovings, fleeces and carding up art batts has been filling my days as well. There is nothing like playing with fiber. In between, I have been knitting up socks for myself in preparation for winter, kind of like a squirrel stocking up!

I have posted a few more photos of some more traditional handspuns that I have been doing, ranging from sock weight to bulky. It is an interesting change from art yarns for a while. I had decided that I would spend the rest of the summer spinning, dyeing and playing with fibers and have been really enjoying this little interlude.

Dyeing and spinning

2009-08-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

This week has been a busy one, filled with dyeing rovings and fibers, washing fleeces and hand spinning yarns. It is a great feeling when the stars align and everything goes smoothly and even allows time for a nap!

Here are a few photos of this week's accomplishments. I love the colors. Creating interesting colorways is always a lot of fun for me. Hope you enjoy these!

More spinning fun

2009-08-13T09:40:00.001-07:00

This week, I have been lucky enough to be able to keep the prototype SpinOlution wheel which has officially been named the Echo at my house. Needless to say, I have been a spinning maniac. This little wheel is a delight to use and easy to move around. A fellow spinner (wildharefiber) was the inspiration for SpinOlution to create this wheel. When I took it with me to LisCat on Sunday to share with the spinning group, everyone trying it loved it. I took a photo of Jamie (fiberfreek on Ravelry) spinning using wildharefiber roving. How sweet is that?

Additionally, I have posted two photos of another singles green yarn I spun on the Echo as well as a bobbin of two ply spun by (bettymo on ravelry) on her Mach I/II hybrid. I am loving how this looks. Jamie sent me home with a bag of intriguing fibers which I am going to be exploring this week.

On Sunday, August 16th, there will be a yarn tasting held at LisCat in Long Beach, CA and a group of us will also be there doing spinning demo. Do come and join us for all the fun!

Also, I have included an amazing wedding gown created using handspun Lincoln longwool. This is a real tribute to imagination, spinning talent and design. Hope you love it as I do.

Tip toe through the tulips!

2009-08-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a glorious day! My husband and I got up at 5:30 in morning and proceeded to go out together for breakfast at our favorite little local restaurant (Gramma's Kitchen in Banning) where the food is good, the waitresses and customers are so friendly that it does feel like you are hanging out in Gramma's Kitchen! After that, we took a drive through the local mountains where it was cool and the views wonderful. Then we headed to Temecula past one of the many Dutch dairies in the area, this one is kind of special as they make Gouda cheese, winning many ribbons and even being featured on the Martha Stewart show. Woo-woo! Since Louie's mom is Dutch, we always pick up some lovely cheese for her to enjoy.

We ended up at Trader Joe's for olive oil, rosemary plant, French roast coffee beans, fresh garlic/cheese bread and TULIPS! I love this place as they have truly delightful things lurking in every aisle. The wine alone is worth the trip.

We made the full circle returning home with eco-friendly bags filled with all this bounty. The tulips ended up keeping company with Joan of Arc (a wonderful garage sale treasure) and the iris painting by my friend George Keahey. Seeing flowers in the study always lifts my spirits. The rosemary ended up with all the herbs on the patio and smells wonderful.

The rest of the day was spent washing fleece (Soay, Icelandic and a lanolin-rich Corriedale) and spreading them out to dry. Also, I was lucky enough to be able to have the new spinning wheel shown below for the weekend! I am so excited and have been spinning like a mad woman (I have to return this prototype wheel on Sunday.) Can't wait to have my very own.

I did stop to make dinner: roasted chicken rubbed with olive oil, garlic, rosemary and roasted vegetables as well as home grown tomato salad. It smelled divine and tasted even better. Yum! looking forward to a great weekend!

Isn't she lovely?

2009-08-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

Ta-dah! Here is a new offering from SpinOlution, an entry level spinning wheel that sells for $450 which includes shipping. It comes with one bobbin and has three speeds (4:1, 6:1 and 8:1) and will have an upgraded flyer assembly for an extra $50 with speeds up to 18:1 as an option. She weighs in at about 14 pounds, stands 29 inches tall, orifice height is 25 inches and she is about 19 1/4 inches wide. The innovative SpinOlution treadling is standard on this wheel and she also uses standard Bee bobbins but there is more room here for filling the bobbin as the flyer arms have been moved a bit in this design. The tensioning is very nice and adjusts well in small increments and does hold.

I had a chance to actually spin on the wheel today and really enjoyed this. I love the size and weight of the wheel and really hated to see Michael (the wheelmaker) take this home as I wanted to keep spinning. I have already placed an order to add to my wheel collection which is reproducing as quickly as rabbits in my living room! Yikes! Will be listing this new wheel for pre-orders on my Etsy site. I have shared some baby pictures here so you can see that this little darling is just the cutest thing!

Sunday at LisCat

2009-08-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

Another lovely Sunday in Long Beach with Katrina in her wonderful and friendly store called LisCat. It is a great place to spin, knit and just hang out in general. Also, we had a little party for my husband Louie's birthday, complete with cupcakes and pressies! There was also lots of fiber and yarn for all the yarnies. In a couple of weeks, I am going to start teaching some workshops at this shop and you can see some of the samples displayed of what is upcoming.

I am also including a photo of Betty's using her hybrid Mach I-II (Mach I body with Mach II upgrades) You can see she has a beautiful yarn in the works on her bobbin now. Jamie and I are participating in a fiber study and this week I washed Targhee and Cormo fleece and just have to card it up and spin. He was working on spinning a gorgeous alpaca fleece today which is a yummy reddish brown and so soft! Linda and Velvet brought their wheels and had some fabulous skeins that they had spun (didn't move fast enough to get photos). Abraham does the most amazing counted cross stitch and was working away on a commissioned piece. I will snap some photos next time! I have also included a group of knitters in the comfortable seating area along with Katrina. Doesn't it look inviting? Come join us!

Re-organized my work space

2009-08-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Phase One is complete! It was a lot of work but finally the work space is looking pretty good. I have great new storage and used an antique oak bookcase with doors to hide all my bolts of fabric. Everything is accessible and organized. It is a pleasure to be in this room and work on projects. I now have a large table to spread things out and work. All the spinning wheels are close by as are the fibers and my drum carder. Ah, happiness! This has sparked a whole new phase of creativity and some new sweater designs for Fall, which are currently in progress.

Phase Two - The Archives - more yarn and fiber storage is still in progress although great strides have been made in there too. I am still culling out the old and re-arranging the things I want to keep. Finally, all the reference books and magazines are in one place which makes it much easier to find what I want. I love Ikea for their storage solutions and am slowly getting everything compartmentalized. When that room is ready for primetime, I will take photos and share them. Right now, it is a little crazy looking!

Racka Sheep

2009-07-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

Check out these sheep! They are called Racka and also known as Ratca (Romanian), Hortobagy Racka or Hungarian Zackel. The males and females have the spiral horns. They are hardy animals with quiet dispositions. They are raised for milk, wool and meat. The fiber diameter is 12-40 microns, yield of 38-65% and a staple length of 12 inches.

There apparently is a small flock in Temecula, near where I live so I am definitely going to go see them and hopefully obtain some fleece to experiment with to see how I like it. More on these soon.

Starry Starry Night - gorgeous sock yarn

2009-07-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

This will be available at Sock Summit and, in my opinion, is a splendid colorway. I want to make socks out of this one! Starry Starry Night is made by Three Irish Girls and is a limited edition yarn. Wish I was going to Sock Summit so I could snag some of this one!

She's back!

2009-07-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since making any blog entries. Have been in house hermit mode, quietly knitting, crocheting and spinning on projects of my own. It has been a nice respite from the summer heat (as high as 112 degrees) as the AC has made it comfortable enough to continue working with wool which is a personal fav of mine. Over the past few months, I had made a vow to not be buying any new yarn and only work from my considerable stash. I have been good until just a couple of weeks ago. I was invited to a lovely shop in Long Beach called LisCat and definitely fell in love! It is a cheerful, inviting space with a wonderfully welcoming owner and staff. It is definitely a place where you want to stay for a while and just knit, crochet or spin! As you can see, socks are a popular item here and the yarns are great (even I broke down and bought a skein.)

July 19th was my birthday and I met friends including Jamie, Abraham and Velvet at the shop for fibery fun. The owner's young daughter tried using a drop spindle and was a natural! I think we have a new spinner! I also brought cupcakes for everyone and we definitely had a party - too much fun! LisCat is becoming my Sunday hang-out spot and I will be doing some teaching here of knitting, crocheting and spinning as well as some other fun things. Come join us.

SpinOlution has just released their new Mach II wheel and it is amazing. There are new upgrades including an additional speed (23:1) and a magnetic orifice. I just love this wheel. The wheels continue to evolve in terms of design and finishing. As the Southern California distributor, it is really gratifying to see how much people like this wheel as well as the travel wheel (the Bee.) If you have any questions about them, just contact me.

I have been doing some dyeing of fibers including fleece and fiber for my Etsy shop. Also, I found a homemade coarse carding machine that has been motorized and will be creating a lot more art batts for spinning and felting. I am really excited about this prospect as it should be more efficient than the hand cranked drum carder which is definitely a knuckle buster.

Blast from the Past!

2009-06-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

It has been a nice break from everything in the past weeks. My work room finally has been reorganized and things I haven't seen in ages have emerged in the archaelogical dig! Amazing what was tucked away in all the cubby holes!

In the process, I discovered a lot of millinery supplies and old ribbon embroidery designs of mine too! So, because there are lots of hat bodies and unblocked felts in my stash, I decided to re-create some of my embroidered hat designs and post a few photos. Hope you like them! I have always loved hats and it seems like I always come back to them.

Lovely Festival Day

2009-04-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

The weather was perfect and the setting divine for this lovely little Festival of Arts at the Pasadena Waldorf School on Saturday. It was wonderful to see lots of old friends. I have been doing Waldorf School shows for a long time and it amazes me that some of the kids are now graduating from college! It is always good to see them coming back to visit. There were some fabulous artists at this show with beautiful items to tempt festival goers.

I have included a few photos of the grounds of the school which is just magical for a school environment in my opinion. The hollyhocks were just starting to bloom which are one of my favorite flowers. There is a picture of my booth and a darling little girl in one of my rag hats, just precious as well a photo of part of the campus. It was just a glorious day that had me smiling and joyful.

Festival of Arts upcoming!

2009-04-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Come and join me at the Pasadena Waldorf School Festival of Arts on Saturday, April 25, 2009, 10A-5P at 209 E. Mariposa St, Altadena, CA (exit at Lake on the 210 fwy and go north towards the mountains, turn left at Mariposa) It is a beautiful setting for a show with lots of wonderful trees and a lovely old Craftsman home. There will be lots of great entertainment as well as talented artists and crafts including paintings, glass, jewelry, spinning, felting, knitting and crocheting as well as handmade dolls and toys. Best of all - admission is FREE!

I love doing shows at this school because it is always a delight and they do things with a definite flair. You will be able to see some of my brand new designs as I will be offering knitted and crocheted hats, garments, bags, handspun yarns, spinning wheels and drop spindles, hand-dyed wool rovings, fibers and hemp and wool/mohair yarns to sell. It promises to be a lovely day with good weather and lots of fun. Hope to see you! I included a few photos of items I will be selling.

Bad, bad blogger

2009-04-02T15:08:00.001-07:00

I have been a bad, bad blogger and haven't posted for a while. I do have an excuse though - five new knit designs! Wahoo! All it took was a little hermit mode for me to rekindle my creativity. I have sent most of them out for professional photos but I do have some new pics so you can see at least a little of what I have been up to these days.

The weather has been a bit chilly and so that has kind of kept me indoors. No housework, a little soup making and lots of knitting and crocheting with some spinning thrown in for good measure is the perfect recipe for happiness in my opinion. It has certainly reinvigorated my spirit! Also, I have been knitting from my stash which has encouraged experimentation and the results I will leave to your imagination until the photos come back.

Hope you like the new little leaf capelet and some new photos of some of my favs. I must get back to the sketch books and see what direction to go next.

Men Who Knit in America

2009-03-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

A dear friend, Kyle Kunnecke (above photo, at the LA County Fair with sweater in early stages) is preparing a book on Men Who Knit in America and I would like to invite all of you men and women who knit to participate in his information-gathering survey at www.knittingmeninamerica.com

Aditionally, you can get in touch with him at knittingmen@yahoo.com Kyle is an amazingly talented man and I know he will do a great job on this project! Sorry, I could not make the link work but I did get a photo of Kyle up!

Survival

2009-03-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

The past week or so has been challenging to put it mildly, most of which was due to outside forces. It pretty much peaked on Saturday evening, when my anxiety maxed out and medical problems were adversely affected to the point where I ended up in the Emergency Room from about 10P to 9:30A the next morning, making it impossible to function in any useful way due to the effects on my health. I ended up back in the doctor's office on Monday with continuing and scary symptoms. The doctor lectured me on the effects of stress on my medical condition. He advised cutting back on things that create the kind of stress that caused the physical meltdown on Saturday night.

At this point, it seems like a good idea to scale back on the things that do not create a sense of peace and joyfulness and focus on the things that do. Therefore, I am taking a sabbatical of sorts and just spending some time doing what I enjoy which will, of course, include creative ventures not tied to someone else's expectations or deadlines. Hopefully, this will result in a restoration of sorts. I do not want to lose the joy of creating but do feel it is time to become a hermit again and stay away from organized gatherings for a while.

So, now it is time to take a deep breath and take some time out for myself and focus on the work that I truly love. Life is too short to waste.

Bee's back view and spinning demo

2009-02-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

On February 12th, Michael allowed me to show the Bee to this young lady who was visiting from out of state (Dorayme on Ravelry) and as you can see, they bonded. She spun on the Bee and compared it to the SpinOlution Mach 1 and also a Schacht Matchless. In the end, the Bee was the perfect fit for her and she did pre-order one. The SpinOlution Bee comes out officially on March 1st so none are shipping until then. The wheel I got to use for a demo did not have the on-board bobbin storage/lazy Kate installed yet but those will be included when actual wheels are delivered. Unraveled, my favorite knitting shop, in Monrovia, CA was gracious enough to lend their store for this demo. Thanks Christine! We had a wonderful afternoon spinning and playing with wool and cotton.

Additionally, in the course of spending my afternoon there, I acquired beaucoup amounts of Maggi's Knits linen/cotton blend - what a wonderful yarn, where has it been all my life? It is delightful to knit and creates a lovely fabric. I ended up getting several colors with an interesting design in mind to take advantage of the drapey loveliness that is linen. Then, as FayLynn (the usual instructor) was sick, I ended up staying to help out with the Thursday evening drop-in class. Afterwards, my husband and I went to dinner at Chang's (our favorite Thai restaurant)and then went on home. After checking emails and filling PDF pattern orders, I fell asleep at about 1 o'clock in the morning. So, needless to say, I am dragging my sorry self around today but that's what happens when having too much fun at my age. It doesn't stop me from doing it but it just takes longer to recover!

Professional photos - what a thrill!

2009-02-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

Just recently, Dave Gentzsch from Ozark Handspun had some professional photos done by Joyce Eveler of Jefferson City MO. He sent me a few of my own designs and I am thrilled. What a difference it makes in how a garment looks, amazing! I thought I would share some here.

All this week, I have been working on some new designs and having fun experimenting with carding fiber batts and hand-dyeing some rovings also. Additionally, PDF patterns are in the works for several new things and will be up soon. It always seems to take me a little longer than I anticipate as I get distracted by new ideas and go on a side trip experimenting.

According to Punxsutawney Phil of Groundhog Day fame who did see his shadow on February 2nd, we have six more weeks of winter. Judging from the cold temperatures (55-60 in the day and 40 at night) and impending rain today, I believe it. Of course, friends in other parts of the United States have much more extreme conditions to deal with but I still find myself pulling on warm socks and a cozy sweater and a pair of mitts. I find myself yearning for Spring and have an idea for a crocheted shawl in mind that I want to get started on soon.

Today, I have a nice pot of homemade beef vegetable soup simmering on the stove, filling the house with a tempting aroma. Maybe, I will pull out my antique cast iron pan and make some cornbread to go with the soup. There is nothing like it on a cold and rainy day!

Guild meeting and Butterflies

2009-02-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

Our fiber guild meets once a month at a charter school in Los Angeles. One of things that caught my eye was this glorious wall of butterflies made by students. They also decorated chairs in a very folk art style and one even had wings made using real feathers. I just had to share these. Hope you like them as much as I do.

Also, today, I got photos of the new traveling spinning wheel made by SpinOlution called Bee. She is an incredible little wheel that folds up to a size that will fit under an airline seat. Amazing! It has the same open orifice set-up as the Mach 1 (her big brother)and is a delight to spin on.

If you have any questions about the wheel, just contact me. I can make layaway arrangements for you if you want to pre-order this wheel. She will be available for shipping on March 1st. I am so excited about this one and am in line so I can have one of my very own!

Embellished Buttons Class

2009-01-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

<
Just a quick note for those of you in Southern California. I will be teaching a short class on creating your own embellished buttons at Unraveled in Monrovia, CA on January 24th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM (Saturday.)

I posted a photo above as an example of what we will be doing. Some supplies will be provided, others will be available at the shop. Do bring embroidery needles, various size threads such as pearl cottons, DK and fingering weight scraps, scissors, smooth fabric (I will also provide some hand-dyed felt) and your imagination. It will be a fun afternoon! Looking forward to seeing you there.

TNNA 2009 San Diego Show

2009-01-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

After weeks of anxiety, creativity and just plain hard work, we arrived at TNNA in San Diego with new designs for Ozark Handspun in tow. David, Terri, Louie and myself set up the booth and it looked great if I do say so myself. We had some fabulous stuff this year. On Friday night, Carol Porter's wonderful sweater and my jacket were featured in the fashion show. We were a hit! There were some really lovely things in the show but for me the absolute stand-out was a crocheted wedding dress with a little fishtail train by Nicky Epstein. It was simply stunning and would assume it is in her new book.

This year, I took a couple of classes; one from Cat Bordhi and another from Chris Bylsma. It was definitely worth the price of admission and I learned a lot. Since this show was a bit slower than most in terms of attendance, everyone got a chance to network and chat amongst ourselves. The fiber glitterati was present in abundance including Annie Modesitt, Stephanie Japel, Prudence Mapstone, Myra Wood, Ellene Warren, etc, etc, etc. It was loads of fun to have all that creative energy in one place!

Attached are photos of my new fashion show sweater as well as Carol's sweater. I also included a couple of pics of the booth. Unfortunately, some turned out a bit out of focus but still show how it looked.

Belle Armoire January/February 2009

2008-12-26T21:14:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, I opened the mailbox to find a copy of the new Belle Armoire January/February 2009 issue. Inside was a variety of wonderful delights including an article about one of my favorite designers, Claudia Grau. She is based in Southern California and I always look forward to admiring all the glorious creations in her booth at the Contemporary Crafts Market twice a year.

Additionally, the issue contained an article on a couple of my abstract freeform shawls. I love the way the photographs turned out and was really pleased with the layout of the article. I will be working up a tutorial for creating a leaf shawl in the next month or so and will post it in my Etsy shop when ready.

In the coming year, I will be teaching a lot more classes using some new techniques and materials. I am really looking forward to this.

Wishing you all a joyous New Year!

Holiday decorating and new ideas

2008-12-23T11:58:00.000-08:00

The final Christmas orders were sent out on Saturday morning by priority mail. Hurrah! Now, it is time to play for a few days. So, in addition to my wonderfully tacky little lopsided fiber optic tree, I dragged an old Santa I made years ago out of the box for a few days hanging out to keep a watchful eye on the two presents under the tree.

In going through my button box, I found some cards of old cover-it-yourself buttons and decided to try an experiment. In my opinion, they turned out pretty nice. So, I have written up a tutorial with lots of how-to photos so others can try this too! They were fun and pretty easy and I can see all kinds of possibilities for creativity with these. More to come later....

Now, I am going to get busy with dyeing and carding art batts for a few days as my stockpile has diminished and besides playing with color makes me feel good. It has been cold, rainy, windy and even snowy around here in the past week with more promised. I am still working on the fashion show sweater jacket for TNNA in January but it is getting pretty close to finished. There are a lot of wonderful new things for Ozark Handspun which can be seen at the TNNA trade show coming up. I am getting excited!

I plan to surprise my husband and cook a nice meal for Christmas Day. He has been doing most of the cooking for a while as I have been knitting like a mad woman to fill orders. So, I guess it is only fair - he will even get home-baked pie for dessert! Poor guy, he will probably faint!

Even if you do not celebrate Christmas, I wish you and yours joy, peace and prosperity in the coming year!

Sneak peek for fashion show TNNA January 2009

2008-12-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

My fingers are flying these days, working up a new item for the TNNA January 2009 fashion show in San Diego, CA. These colors are so wonderful together (pics don't do them justice) and working with the combination of Opulent and Companion yarns by Ozark Handspun is fabulous! We are going to have some amazing new things to introduce at the show featuring all these yarns. I am so excited about all of this and can't wait to see how everyone responds to the new looks! Will post photo of completed project after the show.

Additionally, I am working on a how-to tutorial article on creating a freeform handbag for an upcoming magazine article so that will be fun to see how that develops over the next week or so. Furthermore, I have lots of holiday orders that are shipping out and am pleased about the response to the ruffled neckwarmers and wristwarmers this year.

Tomorrow, I plan to be at Unraveled most of the day, just hanging out and knitting. If you happen to be in the area and want to join me, will be happy for the company. Come in and enjoy this wonderful store! On Sunday, will be at the LAF Guild meeting in Los Angeles. I will have SpinOlution Mach 1 spinning wheel with me if you want to give one a whirl! Hope to see you this weekend!

Winter issue - Knit 'n Style

2008-11-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of the cover and my design inside Knit'nStyle Winter issue (February 2009) on news stands now. This was a fun design to create. I love the way the mini-capelet and arm warmers look together. On the page where the pattern is given in the magazine, there is also a back view which looks wonderful and shows the armwarmers from a good angle. I made this using a combination of Ozark Handspun Opulent and Malabrigo. Now that the Companion yarn is available from Ozark, I would substitute that for the worsted weight portion of this design.

Currently, I am working on some new how-to articles for several other publications and am really enjoying sharing designs and techniques with new readers. There are lots of new ventures in the works for the new year and I am very excited about the prospect of these wondeful opportunities. Will keep you posted as things develop.

Thursday is a day of Thanksgiving here in America. From my personal point of view, I am grateful for waking up in the morning and having what I need to live another day. All the things, great and small, that we take so much for granted are the things I cherish. It is my deepest desire that our nation moves forward into the New Year with positive and healing change for all of us as well as for our planet and all who live upon it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spinning fibers at Unraveled

2008-11-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

As I hinted before, I am going to be putting spinning and felting supplies in the store on a consignment basis as well as some hand knitted gift items for sale. Most of Sunday afternoon was spent at Unraveled working on all the hand-dyed rovings, art batts, drop spindles, niddy-noddys, nostepindes, spinning wheels and other fibers as well as mohair, Teeswater and Cotswold curls. On Tuesday, we should have everything ready for when the store opens on Thursday morning. I am really excited about this new opportunity to share my love of wool and other fibers with spinners and felters alike. Additionally, I am putting some of my handspun two-ply yarns and art yarns on the shelves. There will be some exciting new classes on many of my techniques and projects for knitters and crocheters alike. We are also discussing a dye workshop in the shop. Just call and ask if you would like to sign up.

Furthermore, I will be offering spinning wheels for sale. The SpinOlution Mach 1 is shown in the picture above along with a lovely vintage California Bulky Spinner from the 1970s made of walnut. If the response to all of my efforts is good, I will be adding more. Once I get things on the shelves, I'll take some photos to share what is available in the shop so you can see for yourselves. Unraveled is also carrying Ozark Handspun and the brand new Ozark Companion yarns as shown in one of my recent postings. These Companion yarns are gorgeous and are only available at Unraveled and The Shepherdess in California at this point. As I am the main designer for Ozark Handspun, you will find lots of projects, patterns and classes available using these yarns in the shop. Come check them out!

Do come in and sign up for the fiber cooperative as this is a great chance to be a part of a wonderful opportunity which will offer discounts on yarns, classes and other goodies. For more information go to: www.unraveledknitting.com or call (626) 256-6777. Hope to see you in the store soon!

A day of incredible highs and lows!

2008-11-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama is our new president-elect based on the content of his character and not the color of his skin. The message of Martin Luther King Jr's speech so long ago has come to pass. This is a day filled with rejoicing and the promise of hope and promise. May he lead us well and may God protect him and his family and God bless our country!

On another note, here in California, voters said yes to proposition 8. This affects a lot of people I care deeply about, including my own son. No heterosexual marriage will be "restored" and no "religious rights will be protected" by the passage of this proposition. It just sends us backwards into a time of ignorance. When I married a Nigerian man (my son's father) back in the late 60s, it was illegal for us to be married in at least four states in this country into the 1970s. The miscegenation laws in place then were based on the same kind of fear and ignorance present concerning this issue.

Since so many supporters profess to be Christians, I submit if they believe that God made us in His image it means ALL of us. To me, that means there is a purpose for ALL of us, as God doesn't make mistakes. Voltaire (I am paraphrasing here) said that God created man in His image and man returned the favor. Knowing how petty and cruel human beings can be, in my opinion God must be pure love because if He was in the image of man, He would have given up on us a long time ago. So, today was a giant step forward for our country in one respect, but a giant step back in this matter concerning civil rights.

Also, today my cat Harley died. My heart is broken as he has been my sweet and loving companion for 17 years even when it seemed like no one else cared. He was always there to comfort me when I was sick and make me laugh when I was sad. I will miss him walking on me all night long and snuggling up on a cold winter's night and even on a 105 degree day. Every morning, he would awaken me with a paw on my cheek and a morning meow. Life will be very empty without him. He is being buried on a friend's farm near the sheep pasture so hopefully he will be chasing lots of field mice in his next life.

Election day!

2008-11-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

Today I have exercised my most important right as a citizen, I voted! At this point, all I can do is pray that this election is resolved for the highest good of all concerned.

ROCK THE VOTE!

My week in fiber and politics

2008-11-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I donated a SpinOlution Mach1 spinning wheel to the Knitters for Obama campaign fundraiser on Ravelry. A lot of other people donated prizes too and the drawing took place on November 1st and a brand new spinner in North Carolina won the wheel. Needless to say, she is very excited! Even more importantly, as a group, we were able to contribute over $42,000 to the Obama campaign. On Tuesday, the election takes place and we will have a new President of the United States. It is my fervent desire that it will be Barack Obama as I have not felt so much hope and inspiration about a candidate since John F. Kennedy ran for the office all those years ago. I believe with all my heart that he will be a great leader and one who will look to the future with intelligence, compassion and wisdom both for our own country and in our interactions with the world at large and the environment of our planet.

Now, concerning knitterly things, I have made a lot of progress on the modular jacket. It is coming along very nicely and certainly is a quick knit so far. Even though it looks quite complex, it is actually very easy. This is another pattern from Patricia Werner's Dazzling Knits book and is called the mola jacket. I have been fascinated with the optical illusion of this jacket and wanted to learn this technique so that I can take off in some new directions in designs of my own. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn modular knits as the author's instructions are very clear. Hopefully, by next week, I will have this project done and blocked.

At this point, I have been making new sketches for designs for Ozark Handspun combining the new Companion yarns with the Ozark Opulent and have some really interesting things in the works which will be ready for viewing soon. Additionally, a new opportunity has presented itself to me regarding selling my handspun yarns, carded art batts, hand-dyed rovings and finished garments as well as spinning wheels. As this is in the early stages, I don't have any pictures of how it will all look but stay turned. I am really excited about this!

Modular jacket growing

2008-10-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

Knitting is helping to keep me from losing my mind during this contentious election process. As you can tell, this piece of modular knitting is growing pretty rapidly as the only alternative for the anxiety would be a good stiff shot of tequila. Working with yarn is safer in the long run even though I am using sharp pointed objects in the creation process. I am loving how this new Ozark Companion yarn is working up in this design and the variations of color within the skeins is delightful.

Companion swatches

2008-10-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here is another little hint of what the new Companion yarn looks like when knitted. These are going to be great in modular work as seen here. Will post more as I make progress on this project.

Ozark Companion - brand new yarns

2008-10-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

Here is one more group of the new yarn colors in the Ozark Companion. These are worsted weight single ply yarns. Each skein contains 190 yards. Needle size: 7-9. Fiber content: 85% wool, 15% mohair.

Ozark Companion - brand new yarns

2008-10-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

The most exciting box of goodies arrived from Dave Gentzsch of Ozark Handspun! As I cut open the box, yarns in glorious and luscious colors burst out all over the place. I felt like a kid in a candy store surrounded by all this beauty. Then, I calmed myself and began to approach things like a grown-up, going through them one colorway at a time. I must say that each one was more wonderful than the last. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world!

Next step, I corraled my husband to do his thing with the ball winder and swift. Twenty skeins later, I let him take a break! On the table was a stack of these wonderful yarns for me to create new designs for Ozark Handspun. I intend to combine these with the Ozark Opulent handspun as well. I have started making up some modular swatches with the Companion yarns too. As soon as I block these, I will put up the pics. In the meantime, here are a few yarn photos just to tempt you.

This new yarn in the Ozark Handspun inventory will be available soon in yarn stores throughout the country. In the meantime, the first store on the West Coast to stock this yarn will be The Shepherdess in San Diego, California. This shop is a little gem of a place with a beautifully edited collection of amazing yarns for the fiber artist as well as wonderful beading supplies and the most outstanding classes and teachers!

Woodland Elf neckwarmer

2008-10-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

Neckwarmers continue to intrigue me. They lend themselves to such a variety of interpretations and when taken a bit farther become capelets. This is a new one using Ozark Handspun yarn as well as their brand new Ozark Companion yarn which is a single ply 85% wool, 15% mohair delight with 190 yds, worsted weight. Tomorrow, I will be taking photos of some of the glorious colors I have just received from Dave at Ozark Handspun to use in creating a bunch of new designs. The colors are absolutely spectacular and it is wonderful for knitting and crocheting. I can see some seriously incredible modular designs coming on!

This particular new neckwarmer combines a super-bulky handspun and worsted weight yarn resulting in this lovely ruffled effect and fastened with a very large pewter button. Last weekend, I scoured some of my favorite button sources resulting in some great finds including pewter, bone, wood and ceramic. Now that the weather is beginning to cool off a bit, I find myself more energized to be creative with wool and other fibers. Now, I can begin working up my sketches into finished projects. Hurrah!

dyeing, carding and spinning

2008-10-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

This has been a hectic week of dyeing fleece and rovings, carding up fiber batts for spinning and felting as well as spinning yarn and some knitting. I have posted a few pictures of some of my latest adventures. In addition, there is a photo of an extravagantly flamboyant scarf made of lusciously beautiful pom-poms for that "stop 'em in their tracks" accessory.

Last Saturday, I spent the day at Unraveled helping out and even got in a bit of knitting time and did a bit of informal teaching drop spindle spinning. I also found some lovely yarns for a project of my own. On Sunday, I ended up in San Diego at The Shepherdess where Cooky and I spent the day spinning. She has a little Louet Victoria which she needed a bit of help with and I brought my Schacht Matchless. We had a great time playing with fibers and creating some lovely yarns. I also found some absolutely stunning Czech glass buttons. Additionally, I signed up for my first beading class - yes, I have finally been officially seduced by the lure of beads.

Fiber play weekend

2008-09-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I plan to be at Unraveled to just hang out and play with fiber and work on projects. It has been a while since I got a chance to do this. Lately, I have been busy with all kinds of activities and ventures. Just recently, I became the Southern California representative for SpinOlution Mach 1 spinning wheels. I am thrilled about this and have them available unfinished and finished, wholesale and retail. Just contact me if interested.

Also, I have been doing some dyeing and carding spinning/felting batts filled with all kinds of goodies like gorgeous hand-dyed wool, mohair curls, silk waste, Angelina and Firestar as well as wool nepps and whatever fun stuff falls into the carder. These spin and felt fabulously and have been great fun to make. Additionally, I had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time and was gifted by someone I just met with some tribal Afghani jewelry pieces. The Universe is conspiring to get me into beading and jewelry making. I can see these combined with all kinds of wonderful fibers and textiles. Can't wait to start playing with these.

Anyway, if you are in the area on Saturday, come into Unraveled and hang out, we'll have a bunch of giggles and fun with projects. Look forward to seeing you.

Adventures with a favorite freeformer

2008-09-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was quite a day! It was a whirlwind of activity which started with picking up Jenny Dowde and her traveling companion/friend Sue at their hotel in San Diego. Jenny has made her first trip to the States at last and taught some workshops at the CGOA Conference in Portland, Oregon and in Carlsbad, California. She is an amazing freeform artist and author of three books. She and Sue had done quite a bit of sightseeing in the previous few days including Balboa Park (my personal favorite place.) We were on a mission to hit yarn, book and bead stores in the area in search of treasures.

We started out with a couple of places in Carlsbad with some lovely jewelry and amazing geodes. Next, we ended up at a wonderful yarn shop Black Sheep in Encinitas where we cruised all the yarns, beads and Jenny got a chance to see some of the incredible freeform garments and art dolls in the shop by the artistic Barbara Chapman. I have included a little snapshot of the owner Karen and Jenny. I love this shop a lot. We wandered down the coast past Mission Bay in all its' beauty and then headed inland to Old Town where we stopped at The Shepherdess and Lost Cities to check out yarns and beads again. Next was a stop for lunch and then on to find a Japanese book shop on the hunt for knitting and crochet books. This was an interesting challenge as all the titles were in Japanese but we did find some lovely books.

Our final stop was the climax of the day and was an incredibly overwhelming assemblage of beads of every kind and color imaginable as well as finished jewelry including amber (a personal favorite) which was stunning! On top of all of this, they were having a 50% off sale on tables and tables of beads. I have now officially been bitten by the bead bug and it is all Jenny's fault! We spent hours in this warehouse. We all made a bunch of purchases here. I found some beautiful coral and turquoise (see pictures) which I intend to combine with some old tribal Afghani metal beads and other goodies I have gathered over the years.

It was a wonderful day filled with laughter and good company. By the time we were done, we were all ready for supper and a good night's sleep filled with creative dreams of beads, freeform, yarns and new projects. Jenny and Sue are off home to Australia tomorrow and I can't wait until she plans to return and share all of her creativity again!

Awards, inspirations and new projects

2008-09-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

I feel really honored to have received an award for my blog from one of my favorite fiber artists HarpaJ from Iceland. She makes the most wonderful and whimsical hats that you can see here in her blog so do take a look. Another of my particular favorites is the amazing Sara Lechner.

It is my pleasure to nominate the incredibly talented Mitsuko Tonouchi for an award whose work can be seen in her blog too. She is another of my favorite artists and her work is always inspirational! Go to my favorite blogs to the left and click on their sites. (I can't figure out how to put links into the text for some reason.)

Looking at the work of all these creative artists encouraged me to break out of the doldrums and starting working again. I spent the last couple of days sorting out the workroom and re-arranging things so that it doesn't look like total chaos. Hurrah! I then worked up a couple of simple projects looking forward to the autumnal colors. Hope you enjoy these.

Emerging from the shadows

2008-09-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Things have been a challenge since I last posted. Have you ever felt that everything you do goes sideways? Well, this past few weeks have been that way for me. It feels like I have been unable to accomplish anything I set out to do. Projects are unfinished, personal deadlines are in disarray and the workroom looks like an avalanche hit! Additionally, anxiety about our Presidential election has taken a toll on me. I have actually had nightmares about this. It seems like many people have lost all reason and want to drag us backwards into bigotry and narrow-minded religiosity with women having no rights to govern their own bodies. If my memory serves me correctly, it didn't work out too well for most people in the past except for the rich and powerful.

Now that Fall is officially here, I am looking forward to being revitalized in the area of knitting and crocheting as well as designing. Today, I am going to be playing with yarns and experimenting. A good reorganization of the work area is in order too. I am also thinking that spinning up some yarns and carding spinning batts are needed to inspire me to new things. Hopefully, this will perk up my attitude about things and result in some interesting projects.

What is she up to now?

2008-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

As the calendar marches to September within a short time and the lure of Fall projects beckons to me, this is what I have been playing with this week. Even though it is blazing hot outside I am still lured to create with wool and mohair! The sleeveless jacket started in a dream which woke me and wouldn't let me go back to sleep. I had begun this jacket sometime in the past but was not liking the sleeves and other things about it and set it aside for some time. With the inspiration found in my dream, I got up out of bed, took a pair of scissors, hacked off the sleeves and slashed and rearranged things to create a new shape. Then, fibers and embroidery threads, silks and mohair locks called my name and voila! Magic!In addition to this coat, here is another ruffle neckwarmer. This time I combined it with handspun and a great handmade ceramic button. In my opinion, it turned out pretty nice. I've also been making sketches of new ideas conceived in my dreams. I love when that happens. This Saturday, I'll be at Unraveled again and am bringing more spinning fibers and another spinning wheel with me as well as some knitting projects. Hopefully, you will be in the neighborhood and can join us for more fiber, spinning, knitting and crocheting fun!

Fiber-wrapped bracelets on Saturday

2008-08-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (August 16th), I spent the day hanging out at Unraveled (my favorite place)and got to spend some one-on-one time with Christine as she opened boxes of stunning calligraphy pens and accessories as well as simply gorgeous Midori ribbons and vintage Noro yarns I have never seen. These will all be available in the store for purchase. I already staked my claim on a green feather calligraphy pen and stand which is luscious! If you are a lover of beautiful things, come in and check them out. Christine has impeccable taste when it comes to her choices in yarns, gift items and knitting bags. Just exquisite! Well,the new Belle Armoire Jewelry fall issue is out and contains some wonderfully creative approaches to using crocheting in making jewelry. My fiber-wrapped bracelets and cuffs are also featured in this issue and turned out pretty good. My only note on this is that in one of the photos the millinery leaf is turned backwards for some reason and doesn't show the "public" side of the leaf. Other than that the article looks nice. Since the larger neckpieces seem to be a bit daunting to a lot of folks, this coming Saturday (August 23rd)I will be teaching a wrapped bracelet and cuff class at Unraveled. It will be possible to complete the project during class. Bring various types of yarns, embellishments, ribbons, fabrics, buttons, beads or whatever else floats your boat! I will supply the cording and the mesh for the cuffs. We will whip up delightful adornments for wearing and gifting! Come and join us for a day of fiber play!

Another lamb spotted on line

2008-08-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Kyle's lamb from the class last Saturday. Is he the cutest or what? We all called him Elvis because of the black curl between the ears and he does look "all shook up!" You can see more of Kyle's wonderful creativity on his web site. Just click on kylewilliam in my list of blogs to the left. He always has an interesting project in the works.

Looking forward to this weekend, I will be hanging out at Unraveled for most of Saturday, playing with fiber and having a good time. If you have a project that needs a little help bring it in and I'll work with you. The Mach 1 spinning wheel is available at the shop for a test spin and more fibers for spinning. Also, we are going to be doing some photos of new garments and things as well in the shop. It is such a beautiful background, I love it. The Pasadena Bead and Design Show is also this weekend so hopefully I will zip through and check it out taking great care to not spend much money. I have heard it is a very tempting show for bead and fiber artists!

Flock of sheep spotted at Unraveled!

2008-08-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

Amidst lots of laughter and flying needles, a wonderfully delightful group of eight knitters (Kyle, Roxanne, Anita, Susan, Mary, Lisa, Jeannine and Michelle) gathered today at Unraveled to turn Ozark Handspun and an assortment of worsted weight yarns into an adorable flock of whimsical sheep! They developed personalities all their own with help from each knitter. By the end of the day, we gathered the little critters together for their colorful group photo. As you can see from the photos, everyone was having a good time and had a productive day. Who could ask for more?

In addition to the class, there were several busy knitting circles happening in the shop which included Larry of knitdad fame, the gorgeous Hannah and her mother Lisa, Sylvia and Melanie. Fay Lynn was here today hanging out after teaching a class this morning. I tell you, the joint was jumping today!! Joining in was my friend Shella who was auditioning yarns and ideas for a new project. A few people including Melanie tried out the Mach 1 spinning wheel today and checked out the new spinning fibers in the shop as well. Susan was working on another fabulous pair of socks and Christine was working on her knucks (which are looking amazing as she is carefully blending her colors as she works.) Margie was working on another wonderful baby sweater too. Such industry on everyone's part!

There was a steady stream of people through the shop all day including friends I haven't seen in a few years. It was absolutely amazing! My heart was bursting with delight by the end of the day!

Afterwards, my husband and I met his oldest brother and his mom for dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant (Chang's Bistro)in Monrovia. Following that, we headed home and as we were driving down the little two lane country road near our house, I spotted a large flock of sheep grazing right next to the road with the shepherd and his dogs nearby. You have to love it! We also pass a dairy farm on that road and in the "maternity pen" were five new calves which weren't there on our way out of town in the morning. So, today was a busy day on the farm too! Great day!

Fiber fun and future class

2008-08-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

On August 2nd, I escaped from home and ended up at Unraveled (my favorite hang-out)with the Mach1 spinning wheel, drum carder and loads of fiber in tow. There were lots of people in and out of the shop all day. We carded custom spinning batts and other tantalizing fibers which will be available in the shop for spinners and/or felters. I brought in some dyed Cotswold locks to add extra texture to projects or even use for doll hair. Additionally, I brought in new garment samples for future classes and patterns for sale at the shop. Do check them out! I am also working on some new ones for Fall which will be ready soon. I left a Mach1 spinning wheel, lazy Kate and bobbins as a floor sample so come in and give it a try. Christine will be carrying the wheels for sale in the shop as well as some spinning fibers.

A number of people tested out the Mach1 including a couple of folks who had never used a spinning wheel before. This trusty wheel performed like a champ and the learning curve for a newbie seemed a lot less frustrating than with most wheels. I also ended up doing a bit of impromptu teaching of knitting techniques. As an added bonus, I got to see some friends whom I haven't seen in a bit. It was a busy day, filled with fun, laughter and lots of fiber! At the end of the day, my husband and I went out to our favorite Thai restaurant in Monrovia (Chang's Bistro) and had a wonderfully delicious meal and a lovely drive home.

Looking to the future, on Saturday, August 9th, I'll be back at Unraveled teaching how to create my Lambie Pie. I have written a pattern for a knitted and a crocheted version of this adorable critter so I hope you will join us to create your own whimsical flock! I am looking forward to this one. Apparently, Lambie has been well-loved by nearly everyone who has come in the shop in recent months and they all want one of their very own. Here's your chance! Hope to see you there.