Sneak Peak

Handwork Bags on the Line

So, it wasn't supposed to be such a pitiful sneak peak. I actually have several pictures of different things I got done today. 

Since Blogger keeps eating my photos.....this is all you get.:o)

Tons of stuff going into the shop over the next few days. 

I am so jazzed over the Grand Opening and the Talent Show. 

I hear there are going to be some wicked good ukulele players.;o)

 

Handwork Monday II

Class Yarn Hanging to dry.

Today we got our hands dirty as we played with food coloring and wool. Each child chose two colors to work with when we begin weaving next week. I think the color choices are BEAUTIFUL!! They did great!

My "low mess method" was not as low mess as I'd have liked. I should have taken glass jars. Instead I used plastic baggies and several of them leaked. The colors didn't seem to be affected, thankfully. I wouldn't have wanted to take muddy colored yarn back to the children next monday!

We didn't take notes as carefully as I intended. I did end up with accurate notes, but the children weren't the ones who took them. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I think it had more to do with my dye method/organization/time limit. But it was an excellent learning experience all around. 

Next week we start weaving bookmarks with the wool we dyed. It should prove entertaining!

Handwork Blessings!

 

My Handwork Class

Class Supplies

It took more than one basket to take all the yummies to my Intro to Fiber Arts class today. I wanted to give the children an overview of different types and classes of fiber. 

So I took a little bit of everything.

The Hidden Treasures

Superfine Merino

Superfine Merino with Bamboo

We did a lot of compare and feeling of different grades and types of fiber. Cotton, Alpaca, 8 different wools in several different grades. Went over micron counts and prickle factors. Looked at raw wool vs. processed wool and compared all of those to the acrylic I took in too. It sounds very complex, but I think they got a pretty good idea of the topics.

Two Ply Handspun.

I showed lots of different plys and the how's and why's of plying. Talked about balanced yarns and how it affected the final product. Which led us into different types of drop spindles.

My limited examples of drop spindles.

Then we moved into our project for today. Which was picking our wool apart to card next week. We went over how clumpy it is when you start and how it looks when you finish. The how's and why's of picking were discussed.

The Starting Point.

Then I made the one boy in my class VERY happy as I brought out the "Box of DEATH". Which is the only way I can think of my picker. I love it because it's safer than any of the other's I've seen. It was also much less expensive.

The Box of Death.

Each child had a turn with their wool. Then they labeled their bags and I did a teaser demo with the drop spindles that they will be working with next week. They all seemed really excited. I hope it's as fun. They're a great group of kids.

 

Ready for carding and spinning.

The comedian's wool.

                                                  There's always at least one.:o)

Waldorf Supply Shelves

This is where everything begins.

I decided to post this because I had a really rough time finding some helpful examples. If any of you know of some please let me know. 

I'm not a great organizer. But I have finally figured out how to get things workable for us. And in a way that I could afford. Because I've seen some very very lovely handwork room organization possibilities that would be awesome, if I had a few thousand dollars to spend on it.:o)

I don't have the baskets relabeled yet. I'm hoping for that tonight or tomorrow. 

So I'll tell you what everything is.

On the top of the shelf I have our super handy globe, a small basket of cube spacers for our paint boards, a box of paints, a basket of stamps, and a basket that holds drop spindles, Niddy Noddies, extra spools, and warping supplies.

Next comes paintboxes to the left, paintbrushes and knitting needles to the right, and beeswax in the middle.

The next shelf holds pencils and pencil boxes to the left, beeswax crayons in the middle, and misc on the the right. We also have our flutes hanging out there for the moment. I think we're going to knit hanging flute cases as one of our first projects. It's so hard to keep them out of the littles' hands. 

The rainbow circle is a star lantern waiting to be born.:o)

On the bottom we have our daily work boxes. They're not beautiful but it was only 14 dollars for the whole lot of them. I'm working on finding some white ones that we can paint.

Hanging on the wall to the right are our handwork bags. The blue box below them holds our hard nature table items and some felt pieces.

To the right is my picker and handwork basket. 

They will be taking a trip tomorrow to my very first handwork class.

I'm very excited and I hope to take lovely pictures and tell you all about my successes and failures tomorrow.:o)

Our next explosion in the making?

I'll let you know THAT tomorrow too.:o)

Roving and Plans

Finally Spun Up.

I've been really busy.:o) Tonight I'll ply this and try to get pictures of the yarn tomorrow. I think I'm going to make this into a cowl or scarf for me. I still have a few ounces of roving left over. I have a fairy mobile in my head that I think would be beautiful in this colorway.

That might be a nice Imbolc or Valentine's Day suprise for the children.

Since I won't be able to use the farm to run with my agritourism ideas I had to come up with a different way to go.

I chose massage therapy. I've worked with this modality on a few different occasions. I searched and found a school that I LOVE in Wichita Falls and I start Monday morning. The people there are very much my kind of people. The owners have bees and llamas. They are both herbalists. They believe in Holistic methods, and they've been involved with some of the longest running Clinics in Texas. I loved everything they had to say. It was a true breath of fresh air after the attitudes and misconceptions that I ran into at all of the other schools I looked into.

I also only have to go three days a week for the first half of it. That's nice because it will give me ample time to adjust us to this schedule. Kiska is the only one who will be in daycare. I will be taking Ronan just to see what he thinks. I got very lucky and the Comanche Nation reopened the daycare here in my small town and they have revamped it to a place that I can feel comfortable leaving my children.

It isn't Steiner inspired, but at least it isn't for long. I always forget how jarring the colors, sounds, and smells are in your standard daycare. It is still hard to get over. It feels so institutional.

I know. I'm spoiled and picky...lol. But at least I found a place that I can tolerate. I will be finished in mid August and then I should be able to either work out of my home or at least be able to dictate my own schedule.

It doesn't hurt that Healing is something I love.

Prom Corsage predrafted

The predrafted roving that's just begging for the wheel.

The soft wooly mound of goodness.

Today's Handwork

Auriana's Purse

Blood Orange Merino Roving from Slackford Studio.

Handspun and Plied.

Knit and waiting to be sewn together.

Happy to be in the hands of a little girl.