Snowy Monday

I was so happy and filled with creative hope when I peaked behind my roll up shade after creaking out of bed this morning. Last night Jubal and I made the short walk to the Inn on Peaks for a cheese burger and fries which is very good I might add. The snow was just coming down and it was lovely and quiet outside. The snow didn't stop and left a lovely fresh carpet for the morning. I hear that some kiddos around the state had a snow day which always warms my heart. Since I moved out here at the end of August, I knew I would relish the day when snow fell, I had no plans to leave the island and I could create all day- with snow coming down. For some reason my creative senses feel especially saturated with snow or rain falling. It really means I don't have any reason to go out side. And now it feels extra specially good because we've gone for a walk around the block all ready and picked up eggnogg at the store. 

I enjoyed looking around at trees and berries pondering what I might be able to get away with foraging for dye. I've been thinking of collecting the rest of the good looking rose hips for a boil up and dye. I also pondered the bittersweet. Earlier last week we came across a bush of black berries that when squeezed with my fingers are actually purple. 

I made this hat about a months ago from a really fun and easy lace pattern that I found here which is the Foliage pattern by Emilee Mooney. I used Manos Del Uruguay Yarn in Oxygen and the rib in Spirulina. Beautiful color combination. Both of which I purchased at my favorite yarn shop, Knitwit.

This hat has been quite a work in progress for the last two weeks. After pouring over my new book, Super Sticthes, a knit stitch dictionary, I knew I wanted to create a hat using a stitch pattern I'd never done before. I decided on the Chevron pattern but having never translated a flat pattern to circular, it took many test runs, frogging, and explicits. I finally looked up what to do in this case and learned that in order to turn a flat pattern into a round pattern I must work backwards and opposite. I took the time to rewrite the pattern and then learned all I needed to do was knit each odd row twice as it was the same! It did make it more fun and not quite so frustrating. I was going cross eyed, sea sick and turning into a fox faced sailor (foul mouthed). The yarn however, though I enjoy using it a lot, may not show the pattern after all. Blocking will take place after I complete it then I'll know. The yarn is 100% alpaca and has been over dyed twice. It was originally a variegated denim. I wanted to add more fun to it so I splashed in some green and purple. It kind of only darkened it but I like it:) I'm not one to take my time to knit fine but I'm working on new skills. 

This will be my next project one that I have not been able to stop thinking about since I brought this sweet little loom home. I picked up some pearl cotton for the warp which I may to today. For the weft I'll be using my hand dyed silk hankies. 

I used to feel quite overwhelmed if I had an unfinished project hanging around and I wanted to start a new one. I felt like I had to finish the first one before I started the second one. I've gotten over it though and find it quite freeing to have a few to several floating around and going back and forth to weaving to sewing to knitting to spinning to felting like a bird collecting for her nest. It's felt good to come into my own natural process for creating. 

Projects Abound

I quit my full time job 3 and half months so I could knit, make yarn, and sew full time. Not only have I loved every minute of it but it also feels very surreal. It's something I've dreamt about doing my entire life. Now when I wake up with a remnants of a dreamt up sweater, I can take the time needed to sketch it into my notebook instead of shrugging it off as something I can only dream of making. Needless to say, I got to a point with my creative self where not only could I not balance my creative energy but I it kind of felt like I had left it for dead with a little note saying, don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can. In the mean time, here's some needles and yarn.. make something.  Now my creative self and I are two peas in a pod spending late nights together pulling apart over sized fugly mohair sweaters by the fire (to recycle the yarn of course), spinning first thing in the morning while watching entire series of Parenthood and Hart of Dixie. Yes, I like that show, it's cute and happy. I've had piles of bird shapes gaining on my and over taking my sewing table. And now I make more special trips to see fiber friends and buy their yarn. This past weekend my partner and I made the journey to visit Bill of Hope Spinnery and of course by some yarn! I bought two lovely skeins. One of orange the other multi colored with orange. It's sitting in the dream pot. Aka my basket waiting to tell me what they will be. The next day we just crossed the bay to attend Picnic and to of course... buy more yarn. I found Rachel of On The Round selling her lovely fiber and of course, I bought yarn. 3 skeins of this lovely pale variegated pink. I noticed not until I got home that the color way is called Lamb. I Really Really love this yarn and I am really looking forward to knitting something special and small with it.  

So with all this collecting and gathering, and creating, there is also listing. New batches of yarn and birds were added today.

Today I listed a few new items in my etsy shop. Fresh handspun Maine Island yarns dyed with various plant pigments.  

I also added a few special birds to make this holiday season a bit more festive. 

And a few upcoming projects working their way through my fingers are some knitting needle cases. I have 4 in the making. 

I've been working on a new fair isle inspired child's mitten made from plant dyed maine wool.

I've also got a fresh new batch of dyed wool to spin. The last of my Maine Island fleece. Consisting of madder, cutch and fustic.

A few other things that I'm still working on is a hand knit Christmas stocking for the sweetheart. A hand knit hat in a chevron design that I have frogged 3 times included numerous back picking. Next time, it ends up in the fire. But I'll show pictures if it makes it off my needles alive! 

Then waiting in the wings ever so patently is a what I hope will be a sweet, shiny, fluffy weaving project. I've recently inherited from a very nice lady a tiny metal table loom. After the holidays I imagine that things will get oiled and will be reinstated to a place of glory weaving silk rovings. I can only hope. 

Off for a walk now before the sun sets. 

   

To Start Anew

It has been far too long and I intend to make good on this long absence of posting. The thing is, I'm not a great writer. My grammer, spelling and lack of attention to detail is all wanting. I do have a lot to say on many things though. Like creating. Creating from textiles. And creating textiles in the most natural and long winded way possible. I love talking about natural dyes, how to extract them, where to get them, the quality of local fleeces, my most recent vintage linen find or gift, if it's from my grandmother. But there is always more to talk about too. Like how half and half is SOOO much better in my morning oatmeal then milk- though I love milk. How cream from my Dad's cows is like nothing else. That also goes for his maple syrup and honey too. Three things I feel eternally blessed to savor with each smidgen I manage to squeeze into some of my meals on a daily basis. And then there's living in my new home, on an island, with my sweetheart. I love talking about all these things and every thing in between.

The view at the end of our road a few weeks ago just after sunset. Looking at Portland and South Portland. 

A few months ago, one of my oldest friends commissioned me to make gifts for her family. This scarf was the beginning of a breakthrough with both my knitting and how I look at commissioned pieces. I probably started this scarf 4 different times and 4 different ways. I just wanted IT to be perfect but I had no idea what perfect was suppose to look like. I'd seen this idea of knitting scarves the long way about 8 years ago and always meant to try it. I'm so glad I did. It was so much fun to knit. I was able to incorporate all kinds of hues, but what I loved the best was reliving the story of each yarn and how it came to live with me. Some of it was hand dyed, some of it hand spun, some if it synthetic, and all of it was held on to because I loved it. While knitting this long river of a scarf, I thought a lot about the women it was for as I knew her well from another life. She was my mom's best friend when I was growing up. Our families spent a lot of time together and our mothers' spent a lot of time taking care of each others' kids. When they moved away (both times) it was heart breaking. Our family never connected with another family like this one. I am so happy I am still in contact with my good friend, Molly. No one could ever make me laugh like she did. I was honored to make her mother this gift. 

I also made these tiny socks for my friend's sister in law. They were great fun and very easy for me to do as I had already made a pair for Molly. Dyeing the wool is super easy and only takes a few things to be prepared. I used roving I had bought a long time ago from the Portland Fiber Gallery and Weaving Studio. It's a waste wool of alpaca and merino perhaps??? I really should keep track of what I purchase because I actually do forget easily. Anyway, because it was waste wool it was maybe.. .75c an ounce. I bought most of it. It's so wonderful, nubby and soft. I got into space dyeing a few years ago when I really wanted to figure out a way to make rainbow roving!! LOVE! See, I'm getting really excited:) I had done koolaid dyeing a lot with kids when I taught more often and they were always wowed and it's really fun watching others get wowed over colors:) I just filled each jar with a packet of the colors of the rainbow, except for yellow. For this I used yellow rit dye because lemonade does not dye well. It's so pale. I poured boiling water from the kettle into each jar half way, stirred it up and put in my pre soaked fiber. Then I filled it up the rest of the way. After a few minutes I shifted each section of wool over into the next jar so that the whole thing would be dyed. It's also great to set this outside on a warm day. However, I'm realizing, it's not the SUN that does the solar dyeing really- though it does help of course. It's the HEAT. However, to do this outside feels more fun to me.

If your interested in this process of space dyeing, let me know and I can post a tutorial. 

Peace to you and happy creating <3 div="div" nbsp="nbsp">

It's December... Almost.

It's almost December and I have been secretly excited about the Holiday season. Since Halloween. I say secretly because I was sure I would hear moans if anyone new I listened to a holiday station on my Pandora radio. Secretly thinking and planning the presents I'd make for my loved ones. Secretly planning the decorations I'd put up, make, the cookies I'd bake, and the activities I wanted to create and participate in with my loved ones. Walks in the snowy woods, making Christmas cards, baking special treats, gatherings, and watching my favorite movies. I've gone through enough Holiday seasons in the past few years where I see them whoosh by with a blink and it's over and I've done nearly nothing that I wanted to do. This year I just thought it would be a good idea to start the mental planning so that I could enjoy the whole season to it's fullest.

It's three days after Thanksgiving and my small sweet tree is in place filling my studio with that wonderful smell that reminds me of my father passing out presents to four expectant little girls in pajamas while chocolate kisses are being devoured. The ingredients are purchased for the kiss cookies which I'll bake for my family's cookie swap this thursday. I baked chex mix this evening burning the bottom pan. Oh well. My lists are made for the ornaments I'll make. I had my first eggnogg of the season today as I sat at a holiday craft fair selling the art work of the folks I work with. I sit now feeling fully satisfied and confident that I'm ready to enjoy this season as I watch M*A*S*H and enjoy the fragrance my tree.  I'll decorate my tree with my sweetheart and eat cookies with my family this week. I'm a happy girl.

Hooray for a New Year!

How I mark the start of the New Year is with a new calendar. I take down the old one and take a few moments to look over each month and remember all that I did and who I met. As I sat with this year's calendar in my lap I realized it was such a rocky, trying year that I am so glad to say goodbye to. Here it is in recap in calendar form. I love calendars and am thinking of creatively making some... I think because I love the process of putting things in order. Or something like that.

January: 

:( spent a good amount of time waiting. Waiting for calls from resumes I sent in to schools for interviews. Waiting to get called to sub. And a good general wasting of time on the phone and by the phone talking to people who turn out to be...scum.. for lack of a better word. 

:( Working in a job that paid way less than I was worth, the job was worth, and way less hours than I should have had. The free time I did have was not enjoyed very well either to the fact that I felt guilty for not working more. A general time of chasing my tail. 

February: 

:( A pretty heart wrenching month for me. I had to put my sweet kitty Nutmeg down because of cancerous cells that where taking over her body. 

:) Spent some time with my family and friends.
:( More waiting for interviews and working as a sub and low paying job. Kind of just floating along. 

March: 

:) my birth month and time that has always led to rebirth and healing for me. That which it did especially by the help of two great friends who are married to each other. They helped me through a lot. 

:)Spring was coming and I could all most taste the promise of new beginnings of the heart, the soul and a career. I knew it was all so close. 

:) Discovered chicken wings and flan and margaritas go great together!

April: Ahhh.. Spring!

:/ A funky extremely quick friendship that came and went faster than I could say Happy Easter. 

:)But because of this person I learned so much about myself, my character, who I wanted to be, who I was, and that I am a beautiful being no matter what anyone said. 

:) Also I was beginning to discover my backyard, the Eastern Promenade again which was such a blessing. 

:) Experimenting with new spring plants in the dye pot. Forsythia, and rose-hips. 

May: True spring. 

:) Learning to celebrate the sweet times with friends and family again. I remember a particular barbq at my dad's that ended with marshmellows on children. 

:)One of my favorite moments/ days was the knitting trade show my boss took me too. I loved going and it really lifted my spirits. 

:)Two pretty huge monumental events happened this month as well. One of which I mentioned in my earlier post was meeting Peter Hagerty of Peace Fleece. It was his companies materials which I learned to spin with. My history with my love of fiber reaches further back to my childhood.
:) I met a really wonderful person, Pesh from Kurdistan. 

June: 

:)The beginning of a summer exploring Maine with someone who was new to so much. Sharing all my favorite spots and just meandering around town and on nature trails and down by the water was blissfull...even as I continued to apply for the retched jobs that never answered back. I had more strength and grace than I thought. 

July: 

:) Heart continued to expand. 

:)I made a career choice to try preschool again in order to just make more money. I could barely make my rent and other basic payments. My Father continued to be a great source of support and encouragement, as did all my family. At the end of the month I left the fiber gallery to work at a Montessori school. Kind of bittersweet, but it had to be done. I really wanted to feel more excited about this new venture but something deep inside me was telling me something else. 

:( Also, I spent a good part of the month battling the retched bed bugs

:( It took a huge toll on me emotionally. 

:) On July 4th as a sit on the side walk in my hometown of Bowdoinham at 9 in the morning, one 4 year old Lucy (my niece) informs me that "mommy has another baby in her belly. !!!!! Shannon is expecting her 3rd for this spring.

August: 

:) I spent 4 days as an instructor at a fiber retreat for adults in Washington Maine getting to know lovely people. It was amazing and I hope I can do it again next year. It was such a wonderful experience for me! So. Much. Fun!! 

:/ When I got back I started my new job at the school. But after a week, I soon realize why my gut was not as happy for me as all my friends and family. 

September: 

:) Enjoying as much of the last bits of warmth and sun as possible. 

:( However my anxiety starts to make an appearance in a new form. I start having a lot of trouble sleeping and I feel consumed in a way that I hadn't felt since I worked at Bowdoin College Children's Center. Lots of calls to my mom.  

:) Cadence Joan is born to my best friends! Such a blessing. 

October: 

:( Continued anxiety about work. 

:O Relationship tested by a car accident which brings us closer.
:) I start to become aggressive about finding other work. 

:) Have a great experience doing a natural dye demonstration at the Boothbay Botanical Gardens- demonstrating how to use natural dyes from plants to dye wool with wonderful women. 

November: 

:'( Have a bit of an emotional break down and realize it is definitely due to stress about work and decide I can't allow anything or anyone to do that to me. Even myself. 

:) I take a leap and apply for a new job even though it made me nervous to do so. This time I got a call back. And a 2nd, and 3rd and 4th. All for the same job. 

:) Pesh comes to Thanksgiving at my mom's. A great feeling to celebrate a holiday with someone when it is their first time celebrating that holiday. 

December: 

:)I spend the month celebrating Christmas by soothing myself with Christmas music. 

:) I learn more about the Islam faith. 

:) Spend Christmas with Pesh whose first time it was to celebrate Christmas. I also end the month by giving my notice as a preschool teacher to put my degrees to work with a great non profit company. SO SO SO SOOOOOO Happy and excited about this new chapter in my life. 

:) Lots of lessons learned through this experience. We all need to recognize what we are worth and live accordingly. 

Now I sit here pondering over my small list New Year's resolutions. Create a simpler life and schedule to  unplug, cook, create, walk. Forming a plan for each of those things. 

That's it. I've wrapped up my year and I'm so ready to say goodbye to it and start a whole new one, fresh, with so much love, light, and hope in my life. 

Happy New Year!!

A Week of Connections.

A few weeks ago my life started to take an interesting turn. A turn towards inspiration, productively, new friendships and just the kind of turn that I knew I was headed for. It finally started to happen. Let me explain.

 I am someone who believes in the power of positive thinking, the kind of thinking that if you put it out there in the universe, if you want it bad enough, no matter how impossible something feels, it will happen.... Or something like what you imagined.

With in 1 week I experienced a continuos flow of meeting new people, making new friends, having meetings, friends sending me information, and a general running into situations, all of which involved sheep, education, textiles, the Maine economy of past and present, and places very.far.away.

Though I keep my life very full of activity- side note here- my mother calls this kind of living, "Burning the candle at both ends." "I can't help it!" I say. Ok side note over- I keep my life full and because I do, I don't always make room for processing. For sorting my thoughts. For making a plan on what to do next. However, I'm learning I must do this if I have any hope of getting to where I know I belong, or where I long to be. More soon....

Also, the photo is from a day when my fiber life seemed to come full circle. The week I speak of was the one before Memorial Day Weekend. The man in this photo is Peter Haggerty, the founder of Peace Fleece http://www.peacefleece.com/ 10 years ago I learned to spin with a drop spindle made in Turkey and with wool a mixture of which was from the Middle East, Russia and Maine which I got from Peace Fleece. As I met and watched Peter Haggerty shear a sheep outside the store I work at www.portlandfibergallery.com I became so filled with emotion that when the time came for me to actually speak to him, I couldn't for several minutes in fear of bursting into tears. But after listening to him and my boss talk, I was able to relax and tell him just how much what he does mean to me and how it helped change my life.

Dyeing with daffodils, carrot greens, and lichen

I have involved myself in so much over these past few weeks that I almost feel like a new person. Which is perfect timing as it's spring and every spring nearly as long as I can remember, something happens to me where I feel reborn. Reborn in the sense that my whole creative side and spirit becomes rejuvenated and inspired with completely new concepts which start to sprout out of me.

Now that I have more than enough enamle pots, old spoons, a siv and an endless supply of aluminum sulfate, I've delved into natural dyeing at home. I also believe I've surpassed my fear of being unsafe with chemicals when I realized and quite decided just not to use any to dye with except for alum. For instance, many natural dye recipes call for iron, tin, copper, or some such mineral. Knowing this would alter the color (because of the natural occuring pigment in the mineral) I didn't want it to interfer with what I might find from a plant where I have no idea what color would come out of it. Once I decided that last bit, it's made my natural dye endevours so much easier and fun to approach.

This first picture near the top is spun wool that I dyed with the daffodil stems. The picture here to the left is a single spun wool from Maine Island raised sheep that I dyed with carrot greens. So- last week I started with two new plants. Daffodil stems and carrot greens. Both were so much fun. Both I boiled down in seperate pots and then strained. The daffodil stems smelled slightly like sweet grass. the carrot greens smelled like bitter greens. I mordanted the wool in alum and then simmered the two seperate skeins in their two seperate baths of daffodil dye and carrot green dye. The daffodil stems gave a slight warm parchment. The carrot greens gave a light lemon yellow. I was so pleased. I had no way of knowing if any color would emerge or not so to see the change, I got tingles in my fingertips and on the top of my head. That's when I know I'm onto something that is bringing me complete and utter joy. This week I will repeat the daffodils, this time with the whole flowers as they began to wilt the other day. I may dye the whole skein again, but I'm not sure. Though I'm a purest, it would be so easy just to throw this tiny skein back into the pot and really add to it.

A few days after this dye bath, I boiled up some lichen my mother had given me over the summer that I had kept in a bag in my kitchen cupboard. It was time. After I boiled the dryed lichen and bark and twigs, I got a lovely rootbeer brown color. When lichen is coiling, it smells sweet and woodsy and even more so when the fiber is dried. I love the smell. I strained it, saved it in a pot for two days (beacuse I was lazy and had other things to do.) But then I got it out again and this time threw in several fiber types but this time in roving form. Pictures will appear soon.

As a colorist all my life, I have always been completely seduced my bright and bold colors, but, with these subtle, gentle shades, I have seen and felt such a loveiness in them that I just adore. Where once I may have said about the daffodil stems, "oh nothing happened- it's so bla." I see SOMETHING. That something is important to me. It's like I'm finding out a secret out about these plants that maybe no one else knew....