We're not in Kansas anymore and other news...

Life sometimes throws us a curveball and some things just have to take a back seat to others. That said, I have not had the time or the mood to blog for a couple of weeks. But today I feel like I need to catch up here.

Today I posted the latest in the state flower series. The Kansas sunflower was one of the few that I have had to start over but I am pretty happy with what I came up with in the end. I've a few to show you that came before Kansas so I will go backwards from that.

And that pretty much brings it up to current. I am working on Kentucky at the moment. I have to admit that even thinking of Goldenrod makes my nose twitch and I don't even have allergies! 

In other news here at Olliff Studios I've been spinning nearly everyday and getting a bit better at it. It is extremely relaxing for me. I put the spa channel on Pandora and it is my form of meditation. So here are a few of the things I have spun lately...

Royal Baby Alpaca plied with Mulberry Silk...I kept picturing it in copper so...

I dyed it. The smaller skein has since been dyed black 

This is one of my first dye attempts on commercial merino and I quite like it.

Same skein but different sides. This was inspired be the sunset. 

 I have to say that this dyeing business is really fun and also a bit addictive. And in the knitting department of Olliff Studios, I finally finished the "Mama Bear" cardigan for our daughter Karin. She had a big grin on her face when it arrived so I think she loves it. The color looks great on her.  

No, I didn't spin this yarn. It is baby alpaca generously given to me by a dear friend who got it in Peru. (Thank you again Gail!) I was lucky to find a perfect button for it on Etsy:

There is a cute beret that goes with it but apparently our granddaughter Molly has commandeered it for her own personal hat collection...

And this is what is on Lola Jr. at the moment. I am still not sure I like the way it resembles camouflage fatigues though several have commented in my spinning group that it reminds them of a meadow or at least something of nature. We'll see how it plies and knits up. Either way the extra-fine merino is a dream to spin and extremely soft even if it does look like it is gearing up for combat. 

Too many irons in the fire... or why I need to clone myself.

Sometimes I wish I could clone myself. I need several of "me"to keep up with all the things I want to do. Or more hours in the day. Mostly it would be nice to have an extra me to do the cleaning and cooking so I can pursue the creative stuff that is supposed to be my job now. Anyway, lately I have been dividing my time between keeping the Etsy Shop going and feeding my yarn/knitting/spinning addiction. And as if that was not enough I have decided that I need to dye my own yarn. For those that are curious here's the latest in some of those endeavors...

I am really having fun with these little guys and frankly surprised myself that I have not ditched the project due to its immensity. 

In the spinning department of Olliff Studio I have been improving my consistency and learning the differences in spinning various fibers. Alpaca spins very different than wools and I even tried "spinning in the grease" (spinning un washed wool right of the sheep) and learned how to Navajo ply which is a lot of fun. 

Merino/Tencel I picked up in a lovely little shop in Piedmont

Spun & plied

Alpaca/Silk from a shop in Oakland called A Verb for Keeping Warm

half a hank spun

About 200 yards spun and plied

After I finish spinning the chocolate I am hoping I have enough to make this:

It was meant to be. The pattern is called "Deb"

Dyeing is not as productive as I would like. I finally dove in and did a little but it is intimidating… 

First dyeing attempt (sorry the lighting was bad)

I took all the bits of merino, alpaca and silk in the previous image (minus the skeins) and spun them end-to-end.
Not much yardage but it was fun to see how they spin. 

Oh...and then there is weaving. I have a small table loom that has been in storage for about 30 years. I think I wove a stupid wall hanging on it and then lost interest but I'm really glad I still have it because I suddenly have the urge to use it. More on that later. 

See why I need to look into cloning?

Catching up. Again.

The problem with finding new, fun things to do is that there is never enough time to do them all. I need to look into cloning. So, with the new spinning (and soon weaving, as we found my tabletop loom and it no longer scares me) I am having to balance the creativity in my studio. And then there are the days when I don't want to do any of it or have other stuff that calls to me from 'real life'. 

Getting back to the state flower series that I have been working on for my Etsy shop I am pleased to say that I am up to (still working on) Florida. They are getting to be more fun than I anticipated but I'm still glad I'm forcing myself to go in alpha order so as to not skip over any that I might not ordinarily be compelled to paint. Here are the latest: 

Rumplestiltskin would be jealous

Yesterday I decided to try spinning some silk roving that I bought from an Etsy seller (Silk & Shine). I really *should* be practicing more on the ton of alpaca that I got almost free but I really couldn't resist the colors and the feel of this mulberry silk so I started with just a little. But… before I knew it the entire length was spun onto my bobbin! How'd THAT happen? I will tell you. The stuff is so wonderful to feel and seeing all the colors twisting into a beautiful mix just mesmerized me! Here is the result:

100% Mulberry Silk

As you can see I have much to learn on consistency of twist but as many of my fellow spinners will say "If we wanted consistent yarn we would go to the store and buy it!" Still, I would like it to me a little more even. It will even out a little when I ply it with another single so hopefully I will end up with something useable though I have no idea what I will make out of this. I may just sit and stare at it, occasionally cuddling it to my face. Seeing all those luscious colors makes me want to start dyeing my own fiber now... 

For those wondering, don't worry… I have not abandoned my watercolors. I have several in progress and am up to Colorado in the state flowers series. The last one I added to Etsy was California: 

California Poppies (watercolor, original -without text-7x10)

And with that I am back to the studio to continue with this project. I think I have mentioned that I am doing these in alpha order for a reason. If I were to choose then I might be tempted to skip the states or flowers that didn't appeal to me. This makes me do them all. It is a discipline thing. 

New beginnings...

I think that is a pretty good title for when one takes on a new thing in life. A thing that you never in your wildest dreams could've imagined you might be doing. The funny thing is that I don't need another *thing* to be doing in my life. My painting and knitting and life in general keep me pretty busy as it is. As a lot of people told me after they *retired* from my last place of employment "I don't know how I had time to work!" It is true. Anyway, crazy as it sounds this new thing called to me. It got my attention through Don though. Because a few months ago as I sat next to him on the sofa in our usual evening routine of laptops, TV or music and knitting he said "I bet you are gonna want to do this soon." Or something like that. What can I say? He was right. That said, I am now the proud owner of a spinning wheel and I love it. I sometimes think I am a pioneer woman sitting there making something that anyone can go out and buy. There is something wonderful about doing that though. So let me introduce you to Lola Jr: 

Lola Jr. is a Lendrum DTC Spinning Wheel and she is lovely.

Lola Jr arrived last Thursday and to be honest I was a little intimidated but after a bit of frustration in getting her to move consistently in the right direction I conquered my fear. Here is my first bobbin of yarn (crap, by the way but you have to start somewhere):

First bobbin of yarn. Alpaca from two different animals (White is Camile and Tan is Abby)

I should stop here to say how lucky I am to have generous friends on Etsy one of whom sent me nearly 6 pounds of alpaca from some of her older animals to practice with. Camile is one of them and the other is from Outlaw which turned out much better since I am getting the hang of it now:

This is bobbin #2 with Outlaw's fleece on it. It is very soft and silky.

The things I love about spinning so far is that it is a green activity. No electricity is required and the animals grow more fleece. It is also incredibly relaxing.  I can't wait to get some yarn that is good enough to knit with. Meanwhile I'm having fun learning. Besides, who could resist a face like this?

Gigi, who lives at Riverstone Alpacas 

I would also like to thank all of my new friends over at the Facebook groups Fiber Artists and Wool Artists and Spinners and a special thanks to Joy at Riverstone Alpacas and Kate at her Woolwinding blog for her encouragement and humor and Annie at Knitsofacto for leading me to Kate.  If you are in anyway interested in fiber arts or knitting check these lovely people out! As they say...Spin on!