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!

Absence

Just realized that I have not posted for a couple of weeks. My excuse is two-fold. I have been working on several paintings (including the next "state flower" which is Arkansas; shopping for a spinning wheel so that I can do yet another thing; and after today, recovering from the final part (at least I hope it is) of my surgery for the removal of basel cell skin cancer on my poor little nose. Things are good though. It was not nearly as traumatic (so far but the area is still a little numb so the jury is out on pain) as the first time. Some of you know about it and I appreciate all your kind words for my recovery. That is all for now.

I promise to come back with some more creative news. 

xoxo

Keeping up...

Lately I have found it a bit difficult to keep up here. As some of you know, two weeks ago I had some surgery which involved the removal of some basel cell skin cancer on my nose. Things are healing nicely though I still have to go back for some follow-up work on the reconstruction. I know this might be TMI but I say it by way of an explanation as to why I can't keep up with things. The recovery for all this is pretty taxing. But I will say no more about THAT.

Here are a couple of my latest paintings that had sadly been neglected because I could not muster up the energy to finish them until now. Actually that is not entirely the case. Hiking the Mist Trail had perplexed me (like it's sister Bridal Veil Creek) in that I got stuck and found myself looking at the paintings in process and scratching my head (Why did you do THAT?) as to how to finish them. But I am pretty happy with both now. Bright Creek Dawn is a made up place and part of my ongoing experimentation with the illusive Aquabord. I still like paper better but it is fun to play with new surfaces.

Hiking the Mist Trail, 12"x12" Watercolor on Arches 140# CP

Bright Creek Dawn, 6"x6" (original)  Watercolor on Aquabord.

Quick post...just like these little guys

I painted this for Don for his birthday (which was yesterday) but just finished it today. It's a bit of a departure for me in both subject matter and support (it's still watercolor but on aquabord instead of Arches 140# cold press). Don gets the original but prints will be on Etsy.

Hummingbird, Watercolor on aquabord. 6"x6" Original.