Happy New Year with Maine Shetland Yarns

 I can't believe I haven't shown up here since September! 

I've missed writing and sharing a bunch so I've made it a New Year's resolution to commit Monday's to writing. 

I've set a few writing goals for myself for the New Year that are energizing me. 

Along with a few exciting endeavors I've been thinking about but those are still secret. For now. I'll give you a hint though, they involve the words "color" "school" and "Peaks Island".

Stay tuned!

Today, I'd like to get you caught up on my latest making. 

Our little guy is now almost 19 months old! It's like two steps forward and one step back with how easy/ difficult day to day life can be. 

Add living on an island plus sub zero tempts, fevers, and ear infections, and we don't get out too much. There's been a whole lot of snuggling AND climbing the walls. 

However, I am getting better at carving out time for just me and the things that give me life and feed me. 

Like working with wool. 

handspun maine shetland fingering/dk weight. 

These beauties will be available in the shop soon. 

Something I don't normally do for the shop is such fine spinning. 

But this wool told me exactly what it wanted to become. 

I had to listen because the wool is always right.

When I buy a fleece, I never know what it will end up looking like once spun. 

As I spend all this time with it from 

selecting it

skirting it

washing it

drying it

carding it

by the time I start spinning it, I've had ample time to become familiar. 

By that point I've formed a bond with that wool. 

I know I may sound a little nutzo but I'm really serious. 

I have no idea why I love wool so or why it feels me with such a primitive mothering instinct, but it does. 

Anyway, 

I wait for the moment I bring the huge fluffy batt to the wheel, spin a few yarns, play, and through all that, it whispers to me what it needs to become. I swear it;)

And this last fleece, a very dark soft shiny charcoal Shetland just NEEDED to be spun into the finest singles and then plyed into a sport weight. 

I then knit up a swatch of it, something I'll be doing from now on with every single fleece I spin so I can better understand and communicate to you what you're getting. 

But OH! 

IS  THIS  YARN  

*D   E   L   I   C   I   O   U   S *

It will be available in my etsy shop soon. I promise.

Next up at the wheel is a Maine Icelandic, same color and has been enjoying long slow soft twirls onto the bobbin. I'd say light worsted weight with a bit of fluff. 

Icelandic is one of the trickiest for me to work with at times. 

There is so much downy fluff but also long shiny, not too scratchy hairs. 

It kind of wobbles in between wanting to be finely spun, which can feel like wire, in my opinion.

Or thick rope. 

It really is a slippery slope with this wool. 

I'll let you know how we get on. 

In the mean time, R and I try and get out every day to explore a part of the island. 

Sometimes, I get out a few extra minutes to myself before getting on the boat and I find these:

foot prints left by our 4 island resident geese. Who I might add, aren't that friendly and like to chase me off the beach. 

December skies out here on Peaks are always beautiful too. 

What wool are you spinning this winter? 

New Shop Items, Baby Socks, and a Fiber Column

I've just have too many thoughts swimming around up here to get organized properly.
Or at least like I used to. 

Days of spending endless hours creating and writing are over. 

Or at least on hold, for a long while. 

But that's ok. I've got a human to raise and cuddle and love and just be with. 

Motherhood is a crazy time warp spent swimming through diapers, cuddles, and every emotion. 

And being a new mom whose life has been spent creating has its special challenages and highlights. 

My good friend, Casey recently told me about the podcast On Being with Krista Tippet. In particular this episode with Ann Hamilton. I loved the last question of the interview about balancing motherhood and creating. 

I had had a particular crappy week with teething issues with our 5 month old. 

The concept of balance has always eluded me. 

That is until however I heard the Ann's answer. 

I then started to feel differently. 

Thoughts mainly consisting of:

Nothing is written stone.

Lower my expectations for myself and for my baby's routine.

Sink in deeper and cuddle more.

Put off that project if it's not working. Let it breath, think about it, come back to it. 

The response Ann had to how she keeps her balance invloves looking at everything, from her art work, to making soup for her sick child, to whatever needs to come next- as all one big project. 

What I took away from it was

L E T  A L L  O F  I T  B E  YOUR  W O R K 

the laundry

the meals

the playing

the relaxing

the creating

And for me the word work isn't a negative one. But rather filled with privilege, meditation, graditude, hope, shelter, color, nourishment, entertainment, therapy. 

This past week, my heart has felt new aches for the world that it hasn't felt in a very long time. 

I've been reminded to be thankful all over again for the rhythm we've created in our family, the environment we live in and to remember to look up at strangers to smile, say hello, or even give a compliment. To just slow down and notice. 

So, to let all of it, my work, to be part of one project that is never ending. 

Doesn't it make sense? Because laundry and meals and general care of our selves and our child is not suppose to have an end. Neither should our creating. Or interacting with one another. 

I used to think I needed (and sometimes I still do) so much clear head space to get settled into a creating rhythm. But I also realized that part of my creating rhythm needs to include prepping and cleaning materials and making lists or steps and documenting- it's really endless what needs to go into creating. 

All this has come about for me with the approach of winter. I've been remembering that at the beginning of last year, I was writing and creating a dye tutorial once a week or this space to share. I miss my dyeing desperately and hope to get to it when I can. But in the mean time, I'd like get back to my once a week posting and share whatever I've been working on for the week. When I decided to do this, I was reminded that Damn! I make a lot! Despite the broken hours and stranded projects and misplaced ideas I have at 4am. I'm still creating!

For my shop, new Holiday themed project bags. I love making these so much. 

I am a fat quarters hound. I visit a fabric store and I immediately start looking for stacks of fat quarters. I found these sweeties at Z Fabrics in Portland, Maine. I've also been taking a weekly sewing class there working on garments. I love it so so much. I've completed 2 so far that I'll share later.

I often have several knitting projects on the needles and I love keeping them tidy and clean and in a to go mode. I never know what I'll want to work on while on the boat and on car trips. 

Sewing up fat quarters and adding a simple ribbon or lace at the top to create a simple size bag and an easy to open and close bag. 

I couldn't resist these prints. And I really enjoy adding to my project bag collection every season. 

My little one has been growing faster than I can blink- as babies do. He's just over 5 months now and growing out of his soft stretchy new born Old Navy socks. Though I can't believe how long they've lasted. Babies grow in funny ways. Our guy has been growing long and fast but it wasn't until last month or so that he started growing out ward much faster than before. 

I've had a few balls of my hand spun Irish Texel and fermented lichen dyed yarn hanging out in my stash for a while now from experiments I did here last year. You can also read about my whole process for lichen dyes there. 

For this little sock pattern that I improvised, for the starting point I used the pattern from a book in my home library, Last Minute Knitted Gifts, Angora Baby Booties. 

I've made countless pairs of these booties and they are so much fun to make. I tried the base of this pattern with my thick and chunky handspun. The only adjustment I made was continuing to knit up the leg and adding a few rows of rib stitch. I tried to make my bind off nice and loose and stretchy but it didn't happen. Resulting in making it kind of hard to get the socks on his chubby feet. I found instead it worked to fold over the rib edge and get them on that way! He wears them that way too. And usually stay on for a quite a while. 

My latest endevor involves venturing more into my home state of Maine exploring and sharing Maine's fiber happenings through a new media outlet known as Northern Journeys Magazine. A quartley publication that was created by Jason Thomas nearly 20 years ago in Idaho. You can read more about it on their website. I will be a contributing columnist for each edition for the 

Your Maine Fiber Connection.

In the first edition, I share my own fiber journey. The online edition will be live soon. 

I somehow was able to complete this post around a feeding and getting a pumpkin in the oven and feeding myself!

Finding My Feet; life with baby and wool

For the past 3 months, my life has been all about establishing routines. Something I find very grounding. 

Our babe has quickly become a 3 month old. And I know next time I blink, he'll be a 4 month old. 

I have been loving every bit of figuring out motherhood and forming a family.

I've also been learning that raising a baby and working with wool, go so nicely together. 

Lately I've been thinking a lot about and missing showing up to this space to share my work. 

As we figure out routines, care for, play with, and generally stare at our baby waiting for him to wake up (which is happening right now), I've been wanting to show up here but also feeling too scattered to do so in a way that feels right to me. 

But this past Friday I was given the gift of time to travel on my own up tp the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine as my husband took charge of our R. 

It was blissful and I was giddy as I moved through the fair with an energy I don't quite remember happening since long before I was pregnant.

Once there, I bee lined it for the fleece tent and people in there must of thought I was nuts as I darted around with my cart looking at every single fleece. I smooshed 5 fleeces into my cart to open up and decide upon. 

I went home with 4.  

On the way out, I found this dye garden with a weaving project in the middle. Dream dye garden. 

dye garden by the wednesday spinners. very inspiring for my soon to be dye garden.

I was so so pleased with the fleeces I found. Three of which are from Eolian Farm~ a brown/ grey finn and 2 very light grey/ very light tan shetlands. And a beautiful brown icelandic from another grower- name is escaping me at the moment. 

The following day I started my fiber prep process. This fleece is also from Eolian Farm that I purchased this past June at the Fiber Frolic. I was way too pregnant to do any prep- then my water broke one week later. 

I soak my skirted fleeces in a my double sinks. Giving them several baths until the water is clear.

Just look how snow white that comes out!!! 

I use Orvis paste for the soap. 

Washing fleece is really easy and you can even have little ones help. 

I fill up my sinks, or you can use basins or bowls, what ever size. I found I'm able to fit a pound of fleece in one sink. 

I fill it up with the hottest water from the tap, shut off the water, add a scoop of orvis paste (I found mine on amazon), stir it around, sink the fleece in- dirty tips down if your able. 

Let sit for a few hours to over night. I'm impatient though and I only let mine for for a few hours and then change the water. 

This is the brown/ grey Finn I mentioned. So so lovely!! I can't wait to spin it up. I've already envisioned making a little cabled sweater for my R. 

I typically go to the Frolic, Common Ground, or help put farms with skirting for all my fleeces to produce my yarns for my etsy shop. But I've had a super sad realization about my work. That is, I never spend time knitting these yarns I work for hard to make! That is changing now. From each fleece I'll be keeping enough yarn for myself to make at least something small. Especially to showcase what this yarn looks like to help encourage you along too:) 

As I started washing all my raw fleeces, I also started to set up my carding operation outside on my porch. I have 7 fleeces left to card. Some are only 1 pound where others are up to 8!! My goal is to have all these carded up before the weather turns too cold to do it outside. Then, come winter, my work will switch over to spinning 10 fleeces by the spring. Let me tell you what they all are, because I'm so proud of my selection this year. 

But before I do, here's a Scottish Black Face fleece on the carder. Speaking of carders, I have an extra wide Fancy Kitty and it's a dream to work with. Once my fiber is weighed out, I'm able to card up 4 ounces in 5 minutes. 

So these 10 fleeces I've got:

Scottish Black Face from Nina Fuller at Lily Brook Farm

A Cheviot mixed breed from Wolf's Neck Farm

A white Shetland and two grey/tans and a brown Finn from Jenni Johnson at Eoilan Farm

A brown Icelandic from a place that's escaping me at the moment. 

and a creamy alpaca, also can't remember where it's from

A white churro from New Mexico from Pat at the State Fair

And a creamy cinnamon Churro from New Mexico from a lovely weaving center, again, my brian is starting to take flight. I will post about all these later as I'm working on them so stay tuned. 

That's my work for this week. 

I wonder what I'll get up to next week. 

What are you working on?