What I've been up to...

I finally took the leap. The siren song of the Alley Cat Collective was too loud to ignore any longer. I'm SO excited! 
The Alley Cat Collective is the lovely project of Julie Ressell, the owner of Three Dog Books in downtown Wichita Falls.  When I first walked into her shop I was both captivated and insanely jealous.:o) I HAD been hoping to open a yarn and toy store downtown within the next year but she beat me to it.:o) I was ready to cry. Until she told me about the craft collective she was starting. 

So let me get this straight....I can pay you a commission or booth rental....get to sell my stuff and teach in an awesome space......but not have any real responsibility? Hey, I think I kinda like the sound of that!

It's taken me a long while to get up the confidence to offer classes. It's strange when I think about that, because I teach all the time.

I have several things I'm working on for the Collective and my new etsy shop. I'll get pictures to post over the next few days.

So watch out Wichita Falls!! The Wild and Wooly Waldorf Woman has come to lazure the town!

Or Something.:o)

Kettle Dyed I put in the shop yesterday.

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)

W.I.P. Wednesday

Auriana's new Cowl

I love the way the colors flow.

I finally finished it!! I can't even remember how many times I tore it out and started over. But I'm pretty happy with it. And Auri LOVES it.

That's what really matters.

The Imp coming out.

The Gourmet Yarn Co

Color. One of my favorite things about yarn.

I love love love these bright happy colors. They're my favorites. No, wait. I think the pastels are my favorites. No, um, maybe it's the deep foresty colors.....or it could be the.....

My next cookbook purchase.

I know, I know. All it takes is a snappy title. Throw in a couple of sheepies and I'm a goner.

Tyler trying to decide what he can't live without.

This store is so amazing. The people are awesome. The selection is great. There is plenty of room to walk around. (That's a biggie for me, I get kinda twitchy when everything is too close.) I got to sit down with some ladies the other day and they gave me so many great tips. I have decided that I have to get my projects organized. I need to actually inventory my stash, I discovered the other day that I'm already losing and forgetting about things.

I also learned a lesson about choosing a project and then choosing a yarn. I've been falling in love with yarns and then trying to figure out something that would fit the yarn and my family.

I can't wait to get back there this weekend. I can understand completely why it is helpful to travel to a good yarn store. It may be 90 miles away, but the trip is worth it.

Spinning Bliss

Rainbow Merino/Silk before plying.

         

I had a lot of fun today. As soon as I opened the package I knew that I would go crazy if I didn't get to the spinning wheel soon. I managed to calm myself by debating the pros and cons of the different methods that I could use with it. :o) I finally decided to spin for gradient, and my son Tyler thought that it would be best to go ahead and ply without care. I really like the result. I haven't decided which pattern I'm going to use. I think that a cowl will be the perfect fit for this yarn.

 I was actually scared to begin spinning it. That familiar fear that works hard to keep me from trying. This roving was so beautiful that even though it inspired the fear, it also conquered it.:o)

 I'm scared to gift my daughter with something so fine. I know that my novice attempts at the  spinning wheel  translate into a yarn that isn't as strong as it could be. She can be so hard on things, not that she's careless, she's just a busy 8 year old. She loves beautiful things though, and so far she's worked really hard to care for anything I've made her.

I will decide on a pattern and begin tonight. I hope to be almost finished when WIP Wednesday comes around.;o)

Finished Yarn waiting for Auri's new Cowl.