Animals

I'm getting ready for a big art sale called Art on the Street. It's in mid-July and I've been making lots of things for it. One of the things that I'm really enjoying is making animal dolls. I'm using paper clay, yarn and fabric. I'm using all sorts of fibre arts techniques in making them. These are the current ones - a porcupine, a woodpecker and a badger.

Sheep and Wool Festival 2013!

Welcome to Rhinebeck...

About a month ago, I left for my annual trip to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival.

As usual, I had a fantastic time.

Cal Patch and me.

I got to wear my new Violaine - a crocheted sweater that I made out of my own hand-spun yarn. 

I purchased the roving last year at the festival and managed to finish the sweater just in time. 

Hand-spun goodness.

It was so wonderful to see so many cheery faces, meet new people and catch-up with friends. 

I spent the weekend doing what most people do at Sheep and Wool - feeling fibre and petting animals.

I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves for this post now...

Cal Patch and Sonya Philip

Cal and Jill Draper

The gal's from Fancy Tigre Crafts!

Cal and a new friend.

Me and some puppet friends.

The Ravelry Meet-up.

The Damage.

The Rat and The Rabbit

I'm continuing with my series of puppets based on the animals of the lunar zodiac. So far I've made The Rabbit (mostly because that is my sign) and now I'm working on The Rat and The Ox.
I'm hoping to start adding some woven fabric to these puppets. I like the Rabbit but it's a little bit to "easter bunny", I might have to "weird" it up a bit!
After this series, I'm starting on some puppets based on important people in my life and incorporating their personal mythology into their likeness as puppets! We'll see how all this goes....

Fall 2012... The Lost Posts...

It's all about friends!

I had a great fibre-y fall, as autumn is usually full of fibre-y things.  I'm way behind (obviously) on the Rhinebeck post and my fun two day workshop with Lexi Boeger AKA Pluckyfluff!

Arriving at Sheep and Wool!

As usual, The Sheep and Wool Festival was amazing. I got to hang out with my pals Cal and Jill, meet some new friends like Sonya Philip (of 100 Acts of Sewing) and Laura Nelkin (of amazingness) among others! 

Friends new and "old"!

I saw lots of cool animals and amazing yarns and fibres! I bought some roving to spin up to make a sweater for next year.  I've got four skeins done so far.

In addition to the festival, I got to visit Lagusta's Luscious and the Tuthilltown Distillery as well as the Hodgepodge Farm animals - Gertie, Trice and the Chickens.

The other fun thing I did was attend a two day workshop with Lexi Boeger with my buddy Andie L at the Niagara Artists Centre.

A beautiful Early Fall morning!

The workshop was an amazing break from our OHS homework (which is totally great but by the book).  In Lexi's class we got to be truly free in our spinning and learned some fun techniques. It felt great! 

From table of fibre to crazy bat to crazy yarn!

From fluff to auto-wrap to fluffy yarn!

Even yarn made of FABRIC

I've learned to share my Instagram photos directly to my blog, which is going to be fun but, not being super "tech savvy", the pics show up as links, not actual pictures.... oh well, can't have everything! 

Annual Hodgepodge Farm Residency Number 1

Cal and I wearing our new cowls!

Well!  I have been back from my two-week long dyeing (and more) residency at Hodgepodge Farm for about a week now.  It was amazing and I have so much to tell...  so much, it will require multiple posts!

AMTRAK coffee is sooo gross...

This is the second time I've taken the train to visit Cal and it's a fine journey.  It can get a little caught up at the border, but an 11 hour ride is great for doing some crochet and watching movies or having a nap and reading a good book.  I struggled with my luggage though, the biggest case I had was full of undyed yarn and fabric.  I also brought a sheet of rubber and carving tools to make some stamps.  I had a tiny case for my clothes and then my backpack with all my train food and computer, books, projects, etc.  Hauling all that by myself was difficult but I got there in the end!

The red one is FULL (like I had to sit on it to close it) of undyed yarn and fabric!

It was so great to be upstate NY in August.  It was gorgeous weather, which allowed us to do most of our work outside.  We set up a dyeing station under an "easy-up" tent.  

Swimmin' Hole.

It was wild mushroom season and Smith foraged for some beautiful Chanterelles as well as supplying us with delicious Shitakes that he grew himself on some old logs.  Yumminess all around.  Also, the Swimmin' Hole was open for business and refreshing to our toes...

Wild Chanterelles - yum!

Smith's mushroom logs.

We had a few fun outings!  I finally got to visit Lagusta's Luscious Chocolate shop - deeelicious!  We also went to White Barn Farm to visit Paula's Cormo sheep and fancy chickens...  it was knit night, which was great AND they get a visit from Farmer Dave who brings an array of fresh veggies to sell to the knit-nighters.  Talk about service!  Paula was wonderful and gave us lots of advice about nature dyeing.  We got a great tour of her farm and shop!  I also got to visit with my pal Hanna - who is an amazing artist and rescuer of dogs (and animals in general)!

Lagusta's Luscious Chocolate - I can't even tell you...

Hanna, Cal and myself.

Paula's wonderful farm/yarn shop!

Cormo feeding frenzy.

Farmer Dave's Knit Night Bounty!

Speaking of animals - Slinky Malinky loved her some hand-dyed yarn, Gertie is cute as ever and the Hodgepodge Farm's chickens are curious!  My new favorite is Olivia "Livers" the chicken.  

Slinky Malinky and the big stretch!

Gertie - fine as ever!

Livers.

Lixolux was kind enough to think of our needs and sent us a wonderful package full of chocolate and fancy spinnin' fibre all the way from San Francisco.  She's been participating in Verb's Seam Allowance group - which sounds amazing!  I will be participating remotely and in spirit...

Lixolux bounty!

Cal and I also finished the cowls we started in April when she was here.  Made out of beautiful Indigodragonfly silk/merino yarn - soft.  I (finally) started and am about half way done my Crochet EPS sweater out of Jill Draper's Empire yarn.  I will be done this sweater by Sheep and Wool!

Just a little newt.

Night pigs... blurry pic, but worth seeing...

There's going to be a flurry of blog posting because this is just the tip of the iceberg!  Next post.... Nature Dyeing at Hodgepodge Farm...

Stay tuned for more Hodgepodge Farm fun!

Dip, dip, dip - dry....

By the way... this is the first puppet I ever made. I was maybe 5 or so...

Lock Washing

I started washing fleece for my hand-spinning programe.  There are several different kinds and the students have to decide, based on the end use of the wool, how to wash and prepare the wool.  Some of it, I washed in a bag in the sink and some I lock washed.  


Lock washing is my new favorite way of washing fleece.  It's very time consuming but also very meditative for me...  basically, you separate the greasy fleece into individual locks then dip each lock into very hot, soapy water, rinse in hot water and lay flat to dry... 

The Set Up

At first, I kept burning my finger tips in the water, then Boomer gave me her surgical forceps. They sound scary but are really just small, tightly locking tweezer-y things.  I could grab onto the wool and tightly lock it and dip away without burning my fingies or having the lock fall apart. The whole purpose of lock washing the fleece is to keep it all organized as far as the tip of the lock vs. the end that was attached to the sheep. 

Washed and Drying!

Now I have a whole pile of different fleeces all washed and ready to go! Romney, Lincoln, Corriedale and some Merino - maybe some other stuff too!

Bags-o-Wool!

I'm getting ready for my Hodge Podge Farm Residency too!  Lots of natural dyeing will take place as well as some weaving. This will kick off a new body of work for me!  Well, actually, I'm hoping a class I'm starting tomorrow will kick it off!  It's an Abstract Quilt class.  I'm going to get all surface design on that quilt!  I just can't decide on a theme....  hmmmm.....


I have a Granny Square Class coming up at Greenwood Quiltery that will be a blast!  Get in touch with them to register!


OH!  The Donkey Sanctuary of Canada is amazing and everyone should sponsor a donkey there!

A Sheep Friend for the Donkeys

Boomer Brushin' a Donkey