Now that we are past the shortest day of the year, I finally need to post again about hope, opportunities, more daylight (well – it’s been super soggy in Oregon, but July 5th is right around the corner!! 🙂
Watch this video and join me if you so desire. I crochet – don’t knit – but here’s to something awesome!! I would adopt every child if I was there where this video was shot.
Methinks when this kind of equipment is required to pursue spinning, I could very well be in the wrong “sport”. Oh well – I tried!
Intention: To learn spinning. I’ve always been intrigued with it.
Problem: I’m allergic to virtually every kind of animal hair.
Possible Solution: Go to the yarn store, handle all the wool and see what happens, forge ahead.
The real problem: It turned out to not be the wool itself but the drafting process – with fine hairs flying everywhere – that brought on the very itchy eyes and need for antihistamine.
Feeling: Discouraged but determined. I paid for the spinning class and the spinning wheel rental. I want to give this a solid try… and still be able to breathe 🙂
The next possible solution: Wear some kind of eye gear and mask (not practical). Spin with a merino/silk blend – will try it. Spin with organic cotton – my preference, but teaching staff says it is harder and I need to master spinning with wool first.
ANY ADVICE OUT THERE – other than, “stay away from animal hair, you silly girl, and stick with crocheting your synthetic fibers”???
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ADDENDUM: Paradise Fibers in Spokane, WA sells all kinds of cotton, bamboo, faux angora and cashmere!!! If I struggle, skill wise, with spinning wool, why not just go ahead and struggle, skill wise, with spinning cotton? 🙂 Hooray. Feeling hopeful.
Isn’t it cute???
Today, October 26th, is the 3rd anniversary of my 1st spinal surgery. To “celebrate”, I got a Zoom Loom. It has lots of Loom and not too much Zoom yet, until I know what I am doing. It took 3 times to finally get it set up without threads popping out all over the place.
Here is my completed 4 inch – wash rag for doll’s dishes? A potholder for lukewarm doll pots? Actually, if I can survive making a bunch of these cute little squares, they can be sewn together to make scarves and placemats. I’m looking forward to eventually moving up to a table loom.
This “carry it anywhere” Zoom Loom may not go over so well with the airlines though. There is a 6 inch needle (to poke my eyes out when I get too frustrated) and tons of spikes on the loom with which to poke out fellow passengers’ eyes. The airlines tend to frown upon such weaponry.
Loom avec Zoom
A woven….thing!
Woven things – with crochet.
Up close and personal
Calling all artists – we know that we do what we do because we love it. I could crochet till the cows come home – and often, they are long tucked into their cozy beds and I am STILL crocheting. But what do we charge when we sell our goods? If I charged even $5 an hour on labor for the large blankets I’ve made for friends, the blankets would literally cost $1,000. Anyone want to comment – as an artist or as a consumer of homemade, handmade goods? What are your guidelines as someone who is selling or buying?
Tie dye, hippie placemat of love. ~20″X12.75″
Necessities in life – music, yarn – oh, and maybe air, water and food too! 🙂
BIP – blankets in progress – the “crop circles” below are the carpet
I faked my way through a beginning sewing class and came out the other side with a completed pillow case. No sewing machines were harmed by my taking the class. And I met some really awesome people.
I love batiks!!
This blanket is for Kholi’s birthday on Wednesday. (If you are seeing this Kholi, act surprised on your big day, ok?)
I stand behind my crocheted blankets 100%. No really, I DO!!
The artist “in” her work!
If you are going to blunder, go big or go home. Yep, that’s my motto apparently.
In my last post, I wrote about being so new to this whole sewing thing that I was surprised to find out sewing machines use TWO threads at the same time. Doesn’t that seem a bit greedy? 🙂
Today, I got to hang out with the ever fabulous Carly, a young woman from Arizona who is here in town for awhile. She went with me to the – as she had to teach me, fabric store not cloth store. Well what do I know? Give me some yarn and a hook and away I go. The whole vocabulary is different in the foreign moonscape of sewing machines. If I crochet, I am a crocheter. If I knit, I am a knitter. But if I sew, I wouldn’t want to be a sewer – because, like, ewww. Doesn’t look right.
So we toddled into the store to purchase my fabric for tonight’s class. What I was trying to express to the refined sales crew was, “Hi, I’m really new to this and expect to make many mistakes tonight. And while this is a very nice store with very nice sales people and very nice fabric (and indeed, it is), I’m wondering if, perchance, you might have some fabric remnants or discounted items I could buy?”
But noooo. What came out was, “I want whatever is cheap and ugly”. Holy Bovine – I didn’t score any points with that one!
Crocheting a long, hot blankie in 90 degree temps – woo hoo!
mariannedecher 