Creative Lighting

Last night our minister spoke about all the different effects that light has on our lives, from the physical effects of light (vitamin D, photosynthesis, sunburns, etc.) to the spiritual effects. As I mused on this later last night, it started another train of thought concerning the effects of light on my artistic fiber endeavors.

I think most of us have learned to look at colors under natural lighting and sunlight if possible. I know photos of my yarns and finished projects are always better when taken outside in the sunlight. Fortunately I live in Florida's sunshine city, Fort Pierce, and we generally have the sun shining at some time almost every day. Colors can look very different under different lights and it always helps to look at variegated yarns in natural sunlight, especially when you want to pair them up with solid colors. Unfortunately light can also have an adverse effects on colors over the course of time and bleach them out to a pale shadow of their former glory.

I also love the differences in color perception caused by texture under strong lighting. Sometimes, when playing with my dye kettle, its fun to see the differences in color when you dye different fibers and yarn textures in the same pot full of dye. A silk ribbon dyed in Periwinkle will look quite different from the bulky wool yarn from the same pot.

Another effect of light is seen in the slight variations of color you get when hand dyeing. Those of us who dye know that one of the beautiful effects from the process is that a solid color is not really a solid color. I love the slight variations in color that give character to my yarns. This effect can change greatly depending upon the available lighting. Last fall I had dyed 3 skeins of yarn in Spruce for a shawl. The lighting in my house showed some little variation in the color. Later in the month, while in rehab for my knee replacement, the color variation hardly showed up at all in the flourescent lights of the hospital room.

I also love the play of light that I get when I spin Angelina into my fibers. I recently used my drum carder to blend turquoise wool with small amounts of Silver Sparkle Hologram Angelina and black and white mohair and alpaca. Then I spun up all the batts to make a lovely yarn for use on a triangle loom. The finished shawl was a treat for myself. It is beautiful under normal indoor lighting. When you take it outdoors into the sunshine it becomes spectacular with little bits of colored fire sparking off the Angelina. I am adding photos of the shawl and have tried to get the pictures to show the effects of the Angelina but the camera's eye just cannot do the same job as the human eye. P.S. The model in the photo is an acquaintance from our LYS.

Spinning in Public

I recently spent a whole week demonstrating spinning at our county fair. This is my second year to do this. It's a great experience. People love to watch. For most people its the first time they've seen a spinning wheel in use. A lot of parents use it as a learning experience for their children. Unfortunately many people don't really know what you are doing. Some people think you are weaving and call your wheel a loom. It's important not to embarrass them and just use the correct terms for what you are doing with out noticeably correcting them.

The hardest part of demonstrating is finding a way of letting people be involved in your spinning without messing up the work-in-progress. I think I have finally found an easy way for the children to be involved. I let them put their foot next to mine on the treadle while I pump it up and down. For other requests I now bring two wheels with me. I mainly use my Ashford Joy for my current work-in-progress. I also brought along my Kromski Prelude which was my first wheel. I had a lot of fun with using this wheel at the fair for a special magical purpose. One of the questions I am usually asked is if I can spin gold. This year I prepared some special batts before the fair. Each of these batts had two layers of fawn colored alpaca with a layer of gold angelina in the center. When I spin from these batts it almost looks like I am spinning gold. I also used this wheel for the two or three adults who really wanted to try spinning.

This year we also had a gathering of spinners on the first Sunday of the fair. There were eight of us. Fortunately there was enough room for us to all sit in a large circle with extra chairs for bystanders to sit and watch and learn. Both the observers and the spinners had a wonderful time and this will now be an annual event.

The End of an Era

I was downtown yesterday afternoon when the space shuttle Discovery was launched for the last time. Even though we had partially cloudy skies, we were able to see the vapor trail and the last burn of the expendable booster tank before it dropped off. It was a very beautiful moment. Everyone in the nearby shops had walked out into the street and cheered as we all watched and shared this historical event.

My grown children and the newest generation probably won't quite understand the impact all of this has had on my generation. The space program began during my lifetime and the world was changed forever.

Why is this a post in a fiber artist's blog?

As I said before, the world changed forever in almost unimaginable ways that affected all areas of life. Spinning may be one of the oldest art forms but it has been greatly affected by the space age. Many of the new fibers that we use were able to be developed because of the technology developed during the space race. And they are beautiful! The softness and silkiness of Latte (a beautiful fiber made from milk protein), the loveliness of yarns made with bamboo and seaweed. There are many more fibers waiting to come into being. I still prefer natural fibers like wool and cotton and alpaca, but I like to blend these with the glitter of Angelina (a polyester metallic).

What's the Anal Artist?

Several friends were discussing the habits and artistry of the fiber artist a few days ago. We came to the conclusion that many of us are pretty anal in the organization, preparation and facilitation of our fiber creations. At first the thought of an anal artist almost seemed like a contradiction of terms when you think of the usual artistic stereotype. But then I decided that fiber artists just do not fit the stereotype. I also think most fiber artists are very passionate about their art and are more actively involved in their creations from beginning to end. (How many painters do you know who actually create their own paints and canvases?)

The end product of this discussion was the general consensus that "The Anal Artist" would be a fiberful title for for the blog or business of a fiber artist. And so "The Anal Artist" was conceived and is in the birthing room.

Best wishes to the rest of you anal artists out there!

Art or Not Art: Yarns by Design

I get so frustrated by people who think all Art is strictly painting or sculpture. Art is the combination of a creative state of mind and the passion behind whatever medium is being used. In my case it is fiber. An example of this is everything involved in designing a yarn. I quite often start with an overall concept or story or inspiration, sometimes based on the genius of another artist. Most recently I've used whatever is the monthly theme for the latest Phatfiber box. The June 2010 box has "A Midsummer Night's Dream" theme. I love fairies and decided to use the fairies from the Shakespeare play as my inspiration. Next I saw this lovely fluffy wool with little nubby bits that reminded me of cobwebs. Cobweb is the name of one of the fairies in the play. What else should I throw into the mix? How about some black mohair for a halo effect and some Aurora Angelina for that irridescent luminous magic that belongs to fairies. The next thing to be added is some white alpaca for that oh-so-soft and luxurious feel. I can just see all of this blended together and spun into a lace weight yarn for an airy cobwebby lacy shawl. How can this not be art?
Next thing is to take some of this Cobweb blend of fibers and add some lustrous light blue silk and some of my pale blue meriboo (a combination of merino wool and bamboo) fibers to get the feel of a Luna moth. Voila! The magic of another fairy in the play: Moth! I can see this being spun into a nice sportweight yarn and used for a baby blanket or layette. Again, how can this not be art? It is certainly magical and involves a lot of creative thought processes and a passion for fiber, spinning, and everything else leading to the yarn and eventually a finished garment.

Fiber Frenzy

Fiber + Fiber = Fun. Yesterday was the Treasure Coast Art Association's First Annual Fiber Show. I think we outdid ourselves. Celeste brought her Angora rabbit to show how to pluck their fur for spinning. Mr. Bunny loved it and fell asleep in her lap while being plucked. If rabbits could purr!
She also brought her Majacraft wheel and her rug loom. I will definitely have to try making one of those fleece rugs. I showed everyone how to design a yarn using my drum carder. The batts were totally gorgeous made with a dark blue and emerald green superwash, gold angelina, and a beautiful silk hankie from Gale's Art. I also felted a soap and dyed some fiber and some yarn using Kool Aid. Nffra was painting her breathtaking denim art clothes, Bonnie was there to show her skills in hand painted canvas dropcloths and Jeanne started painting one of her gorgeous silk scarves. We had refreshments and a silent auction. Quite a number of people showed up throughout the afternoon including several of the Knit Sisters from Vero Beach.

Government Spending and Trains

There are many items of government spending that I totally disagree with, but today I lauded the news of money going to develop our rail system. That is until I read the full article. Most of the money to be spent in Florida is for a high speed route from Orlando to Tampa., two cities that are only 90 minutes apart. There are so many other options that would be more usable.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for rail travel. I love it. I do not enjoy air travel in today's world and I think if most people were honest with themselves, they would also admit how little they enjoy air travel. The only good thing about it is speed. The seats are cramped and uncomfortable, security can be a huge hassle, and you spend almost as much time arranging to get on and off the airplane as you spend in the air. You can't move around much and you certainly don't have any scenery to enjoy. With a train you can move around, enjoy the almost hassle free travel, and even have a wonderful meal in the onboard restaurant. The seats are more spacious on a train and even have footrests.

I just feel there would be many better ways to use that rail development money in Florida. In the first place I wish they would reinstate the New Orleans to Jacksonville portion of the Sunset Limited. I would love to once again be able to take the train from West Palm to Houston and beyond. I also wish that they would develop a passenger line all the way down the east coast. It would be so nice to get on the train Fort Pierce and do day trips to Miami or go to the races in Daytona. If we had service along the east coast I would probably get to visit the relatives up north (including my daughter) more often. Service from Orlando to the rest of the east coast (not just Tampa on the west coast) would be a boon to the travel industry. There are probably thousands of people in the Treasure Coast area alone who would go to all the tourist attractions in Orlando and Tampa if they did not have to drive, pay toll roads and pay exorbitant amounts to park in Orlando. As it is we rarely go because the two hour drive each way makes for a very long day, or we have to stay overnight and pay for hotel rooms. We would probably also have more visitors to the Treasure Coast from Tampa and Orlando. The east coast of Florida has many outstanding features for the visitor. There are beautiful beaches, wonderful restaurants, many fantastic galleries and stores, and NASA of course.

I do want to say thank you to the govvernment for investing in Florida's train system. Hopefully this is just a starting point for expanding sevice throughout the rest of the statel

Its A Start

Its time to start working towards making a dream come true. For quite a while now I've wanted to see a real working Fiber Arts Studio in the Fort Pierce area. A proposal for the real thing is being discussed. With some hard work it may actually come to pass, hopefully in time to host a real fiber arts festival in Fort Pierce in 2011.

As my own contribution towards this reality, I've started a Ravelry group - "Treasure Coast Fiber Arts". In less than 12 hours it already has 8 members. This group is aimed at anyone (resident or visitor) who is interested in any type of fiber arts in this area. I'm hoping this group will not only provide a cameraderie and source of information among the members, but also an impetus towards the realization of my dream.

If you read this, I hope you'll help actualize the dream!

New Day, New Year, New Photos

Finally a new day that may be a little warmer. Haven't wanted to do anything for the last week except huddle under blankets.

This should be an interesting, fantastic year. Daniel (my middle child) will be getting married in July. First wedding in this family. Charlie and I and Bob (our oldest) will be going on an Alaskan cruise in May. (Better get our passports taken care of this week.) And I have lots of interesting things going on with my fiber art.

Today I need to go outside with all of my beautiful yarns and take new photos. The old ones on Etsy are a little drab. Hopefully the sun will lend warmth and light to the fibers.

Phat Fiber Sample Box: Fiber Fancy Stellar Giveaway!

Phat Fiber Sample Box: Fiber Fancy Stellar Giveaway!

A Time to Spin

Don't I wish. It seems I have less time to spin every day. And my reading time has totally disappeared. (I did manage to work in Dean Koontz's new book Breathless and will probably have to work in King's new Under the Dome. I always find time for their new books.) I've been spending all my time the last couple of weeks sculpting sea creatures out of polymer clay. At first they were an experiment for the Artful Tree I decorated for TCAA's Holiday Tree Auction. They turned out so cute and whimsical that I decided to make a bunch more for my Etsy store and Christmas gifts. I'm also going to try to sculpt a Peekachoo for Melissa's stocking. I guess I should also do a Dalleck for Daniel and something Star Wars or and Orc for Bob. Daniel has informed me that his toy Dalleck will once again grace the top of our Christmas tree this year.

Back to spinning. Ive had an idea for a whole series of yarns and spinning batts: University Colors. I will use my drum carder to make batts in the color combinations of all the major universities. I can either sell them as batts or spin them into yarns for my Etsy shop. (I finally opened my Etsy store last week and have already sold 15 items!) I think all the grandmothers, and mothers, and aunts, and other relatives of all those marvelous college students may enjoy using my yarns to make hats and scarves and other outerwear for their loved ones. I've started out by putting together a list of all schools (and their official colors) in the major university sports conferences. So far I've included the Big 10, the Big 12, and the Ivy League schools, next I need to work on the Southeast conference. I've already carded a batt of blue, orange, and royal blue Angelina that I have named "Florida Alligator". I plan on spinning that one up this Saturday while at market.

Now for places to spin during the time. I love to spin in public. And the public loves to watch me spin. I always enjoy talking with all the different people who stop to watch. I am also always getting asked to bring my wheel to other markets. Of course they all want me to rent a space at their markets. I've decided that for the moment I will probably only sell my yarns in my Etsy shop (KathleensSpin.etsy.com) and at one or two other markets as well as at TCAA. If other groups want me to come out I will offer to do so, but only as a demonstrator and only if I don't have to pay for the booth. We shall see.

I wish it was "time to spin" this morning, but I need to make more sea creatures and a blackberry pie.

Jury Duty

I recently finished jury duty. It was a life changing experience. It was a murder trial. What surprised me most was the reaction of people to the jury's verdict. We received a lot of hostile comments because we found the defendant guilty of Second Degree Murder, not First Degree Premeditated.

What most people do not seem to remember is that jurors are chosen from a pool of people who have no knowledge of the case and have to make their decision based upon what the lawyers present in court. I was a trifle upset because it seemed that either the police department did a very poor job of investigating the crime, or the State Attorney chose not to present certain evidence and witnesses. There seemed to be no definitive evidence. Because a lot of questions were not answered by the testimony and evidence, the jury had to go with reasonable doubt and find the defendant guilty of Second Degree Murder. There just was not enough proof of premeditation. The jury was very serious in their deliberations and reviewed much of the testimony and evidence.

Decisions like this are not easy and must be made very carefully. It is a very serious business because you not only have the life of the defendant in your hands and your decision will have a deep impact on everyone involved, including the jury.

It was a very interesting process. I would like to make a suggestion to any attorneys of similar cases: have an uninterested party read through your evidence and make a list of unanswered questions and what evidence is missing. These additional items just might make a difference in the verdict.

Hidden Treasure

Just spent a couple of weeks in Texas. While there, I spent most of my time at my mother's new apartment in a continuing care community. I was cleaning out a couple of drawers in her antique furniture when I found some papers behind the drawers. They were copies of handwritten notes made by my grandmother while she was in nursing school in 1918.

Yarn To Dye For (or a simple one pot method to make multicolor yarn.)

After spinning and plying a large amount of white Corriedale wool, I decided it was time to play with color. I wanted to try and make a self- striping yarn for slipper socks and fingerless mittens. I also wanted to devise a method that would make the smallest mess possible and would not require lots of newspaper, paper towels, plastic wrap, and many containers that would have to be cleaned up afterwards.

If you try my method, you will need the following materials:

1 skein of yarn separated into 3 bundles (one for each color.) I have to find a simpler way of doing this, but that will be the subject of a future blog.
White vinegar
Water
Large pyrex or other glass bowl
Kool Aid
16 oz. disposable cups
1 gallon size large freezer bags
Latex gloves
Measuring cup
Large plastic collander
Large pot, bowl, or dishpan
Plastic wrap
Gentle liquid soap
Lavender oil
Large bath towel

My first step was to soak the wool in a water/vinegar mixture for 20 minutes to prepare it for dyeing. While the wool was soaking, I prepared my dye mixtures. I measured 2 ounces of vinegar and 6 ounces of water into each plastic cup. (I used 3 cups, one for each color.) I emptied 2 packages of Kool Aid into each cup and stirred the mixture. Higher concentrations of Kool Aid lead to more intense colors.

After soaking the wool for 20 minutes, remove it from the water/vinegar mixture and let it drain for a couple of minutes in the collander. Take 3 large freezer bags (again, one for each color) and stand them up in the large glass bowl. Put one bundle of yarn in each bag after carefully removing the ties holding the bundles together. Pour one of the dye mixtures over the yarn in one of the freezer bags. (Now would be a good time to put on the rebber or latex gloves.) Gently squish the yarn and the liquid around in the bottom of the bag. Repeat this process for each of the other yarn bundles and the dyes for each bundle. You may want to make sure the yarnat the top of each bundle is also immersed in some of the dye. Carefully stand up each bag in the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave the bowl on high for 8 to 9 minutes. Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave and make sure that any liquid in the bottom of each freezer bag is now clear. Let the bowl and its contentsd cool for a few minutes. Carefully move the freezer bags from the glass bowl and place them in the collander, then gently empty each bag of wool into the collander. Leave the wool in the collander until completely cooled.

Once the wool has completely cooled, gently wash in water with a small amount of gentle soap and a few drops of lavender oil. (This will help remove the Kool Aid smell. The lavender oil also helps to protect the wool from moths.) Rinse thoroughly in cool water and roll in dry towelling to help remove excess water. Hang yarn up to dry.

Enjoy using your hand dyed yarn in your next project!

Something Old, Something New

Today I will start monitoring the Monday afternoon Open Studio at the Treasure Coast Art Association. I've requested that this studio time be dedicated to fiber arts. It will be interesting to see how many people will decide to become involved.

For myself, I have decided to crochet a small handbag using some of my new handspun yarn. I've been racking my brain for a crochet pattern to complement the yarn. Finally I went back to my bookshelves and found an old book titled The Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery, which has a very well developed section on crochet. It was a lot of fun seeing some of the forgotten stitches and patterns in this old book. I finally decided to use a moss pattern. I'm going to attempt writing out the pattern for this handbag as I develop it. This will be an interesting challenge.

The Frog Prince (or, My Life Really Is A Fairytale!)

We all know the story of the Frog Prince. The story includes 2 very important elements: the frog and the kiss. Without these 2 elements there would be no story.

My life as a fiber artist also incorporates these 2 elements that are an integral part of my art. First is the kiss. Many of us also know KISS as an acronym for Keep It Simple Stupid. I've often used that rule in my designs (the less is more concept). There are three very good reasons for keeping designs simple. First, there is nothing more elegant than something simple that shows your personality or fashion flair. Knowing when to stop adding things to a design is what makes the difference between an artist and a wannabee. Too much of a good thing is just that, TOO MUCH! Remember the wedding gown in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Second, it helps keep costs down. Every time you add something extra to a design the basic material costs go up. Don't go overboard here and minimize to the max. Once again the difference between an artist and a wannabee can be plainly seen. Too little of a good thing is TOO LITTLE! You know what I mean. A bracelet made with only two types of beads alternating throughout its length is simple but lacks imagination and personality.

Third, if you plan to duplicate the pattern, make the pattern available commercially, or use it as a teaching pattern, it is much easier to write it out with fewer mistakes if it is simple. It is also much simpler to teach a simple pattern and give your students a feeling of accomplishment when they can easily learn it and walk away with something they can be proud of.

The only thing left to discuss in this allegory is the other main element, the FROG. Anyone who has ever been involved in any form of needle art knows the frog stitch. Rippit, rippit, rippit!

By now you understand why I say my life really is a fairytale. I'm sure your life is also one!

Dragon Tote Bag

Photo of a large fulled tote bag I designed for a Ravelry swap.

Drafting and Detours

I finished reading the posts in a Ravelry group concerning how to spin evenly a little while ago. Most of it dealt with how to draft your fibers to make a smooth thread. Some of it dealt with making neural pathways within ourselves to handle these new tasks. This started a whole new stream of thought for me.

I have become very aware of my own network of neural pathways over the last 15 years while dealing with the effects of Parkinson's. I believe that many times I have set up detours on my neural pathways in order to accomplish tasks that have become more difficult due to the rigors of the disease.

Finding detours or new routes has always been part of my life, even before the Parkinson's. I remember the first Christmas after we got married when we got stuck in a blizzard on the way back to Nebraska. Some of the roads had 8 foot drifts blocking them. We ended up following snowplows on some back roads to bypass the snow drifts. When our children were small, we always enjoyed roaming the countryside in the station wagon, finding new roads to get where we wanted to go. I still enjoy roaming around in my vehicle, when the gas prices are down, of course.

Now I have a new network of roads to discover. But this network is all in my head. I've discovered new routes to familiar locations as well as paths to new places.

Life is always an adventure, both on the physical roads and landscapes as well as the mental ones.

First Photos

Here they are! The first photos of items made with my first hand spun yarns! These are both small handbags made with a 50% Merino wool/50% silk blend combined with a solid wool yarns from my stash.