Jump Sheep

Postscript to the Aura's tattoo design

2010-10-26T18:25:00.008-05:00

As a followup to the previous blog, I'm posting the designer's story.

The designer, Mark Storm, blogs about the series of koru tattoo that he developed for the Aura spinning wheel here.

The Aura Spinning Wheel by Majacraft in Maori-inspired gear

2010-10-25T17:55:00.009-05:00

Tattoo design by Mark Storm of the Netherlands. Laser transfer and execution on the wheel by Andy Poad of Majacraft. Excellent, excellent job by both guys! They were a pleasure to work with. : )

UFO no longer: Cavendish in Noro by Jane Ellison

2010-08-22T10:47:00.003-05:00

About 84 inches long and 42 inches in width. I'm taking it to yoga class for savasana.

Lexi with "our" yarn: my kinda girl!

2010-05-12T08:30:00.006-05:00

Lexi's very own handspun.

Feature on Lexi's Lillehammer, Norway, show here.

Pleasant Surprise: impromptu Majacraft visit

2010-05-04T10:46:00.008-05:00

Guess who was in our living room this morning?

Larry had picked up Owen and Glynis Poad with sister, Pam, from Homewood Suites in Columbia to take them to the airport, while I got ready to go to work. Unfortunately (or fortunately), he forgot a care package I had packed for Glynis to take home, so they had to pass by the house before going to Dulles.

Here they are trying on my spinning chairs: Owen is sitting on an Amish stool, while Glynis is propped on a stool recycled from French oak barrel.

They're now on their way to L.A. for a two-day visit.

Aura and pluckyfluff

2010-05-02T11:06:00.011-05:00

The day that was at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

The temperature was HOT, and Aura, Lexi and Owen were definitely HOT among the Majacraft fans who came to see the unveiling of the latest spinning wheel. (Note Lexi's nonchalant attitude as if saying, "There's nothing to it!" and the admirer's amazement.)

Videos of spinning novelty yarn (here) and spinning regular kind (here). Lexi created both types of yarn without adjusting settings. Owen Poad, the design engineer behind Aura, says he would have to change settings to do that, but he adds, "Lexi is very clever with it as she has used it a lot."

Aura has arrived in Blogosphere!

2010-04-27T16:21:00.004-05:00

Read more on pluckyfluff's blog.

Ain't she a beauty!

My Favorite Men. Serious!

2010-03-27T17:33:00.010-05:00

Owen Poad
Otto Strauch
Pat Green
Nathan Lee
Tracy Eichheim, the ultimate Majacraft dealer

And now, add to that list Kevin Hansen, creator of the miniSpinner.

Weight: 4 lbs
Woolee Winder Bobbin: 9 (!) oz capacity
Speed Range: 0-1600 rpm; Z and S twists capable
Power Supply: 100-240 VAC universal 12 volts with auto adapter

Didn't believe in electric spinning until...Kevin's miniSpinner came along. Now I can spin artyarns effortlessly and as fast as Jacey Boggs.

Wool Spinning Scene in Queenstown

2010-03-21T03:20:00.021-05:00

The only handspun/handdyed yarn shop in Queenstown is owned by a Japanese woman named Chiyo. Her shop is called Little Wool Shed.

Chiyo's handspun/handdyed/handknit hat with felted flower pin.

Chiyo's felted flower pin and matching knitted jumbo cowl.

Scarf knitted by Chiyo with her fingers.

Do we look dorky enough? Hats from the Queenstown Saturday Creative Arts and Craft Market.

That's Biddy with Lorna who's wearing a beret from Biddy's Knitwear. Biddy raises Perendale sheep in her farm in Gore and accepts homestays.

Handdyed boucle yarn by Touch Yarns.

Made by High Country Knitwear in Timaru using Colinette yarns and patterns. Sold in boutiques around Queenstown.

Queenstown: Images from a Favorite Town

2010-03-21T02:07:00.022-05:00

Favorite restaurant: Amisfield Winery Bistro

Favorite dish: crackling pork belly

Favorite chocolate cake: dark and gluten-free

Favorite burger place: Fergburger

Favorite hangout: Vudu Cafe

Favorite dessert: pavlova

Favorite sheep: the merino

Favorite travel clothing: St. James (san jams) sailor shirts. These are nine years old and still going strong.

Visit with the Poads of Majacraft in Tauranga, NZ

2010-03-09T12:38:00.019-05:00

The very day that Lexi was arriving at LAX from her Majacraft spinning workshop near Wellington, we were departing from LAX on the way to New Zealand to, among other things, catch up with the Poads, owners of Majacraft. My intention was to join Lexi's class, but flying on Frequent Flyer Miles, one can't dictate the dates of the one's flight.

At any rate, Majacraft's marketing director, Andy (Poad), was, of course, drumming up interest on the new Majacraft wheel -- still unnamed -- on Majacraft's Ravelry forum. I was sucked into the "treasure hunt" as I was about to place an order for a custom-made Suzie, but the new wheel announcement made me put that order on hold. For all the tortuous waiting, I'd have to say it was all worth it!

I got to try the new wheel and it’s fabulous! I like all the Majacraft wheels because with them you are in control. The new wheel is different. It’s very easy to spin, but you feel it’s you and the wheel working together to create the yarn. I would liken it to taking two to tango or eating pasta that’s cooked al dente -- there’s chew. There’s a good deal of give and take and you feel some pleasant pull from the wheel as you spin. Really, really nice.

BTW, while the new wheel was created for artyarns, what I spun was more like sock yarn, so the wheel is truly versatile.

Andy also showed other things in development, but I’ll let Andy make the revelations in the months to come. No more pre-empting. Promise!

After spending the entire afternoon in the workshop and office hanging out with the Poads and Pat Old who just published her book, In A Spin (available from Majacraft dealers), we were graciously treated to delightful dinner in Glynis and Owen’s garden along with Rob and his daughter, Hope. It was very pleasant. Owen smoked mussels, and deboned and smoked trout that he caught. It was complemented by a bottle of red wine from Trinity Hill. (Owen did showed off the bottle Lexi brought them from her family's Boeger Winery in Placerville, CA.)

More photos here.

Sheep Ahoy!

2010-02-23T23:36:00.006-05:00

Off to see the new Majacraft wheel still under wraps.

B/w image from Spinnuts, a Japanese spinning magazine published by Spin House Ponta in Tokyo.

Could this be the new Majacraft wheel?

2010-02-08T17:12:00.012-05:00

Follow on Ravelry's Majacraft Fans and Intertwined Spin-along.

Note the humongous orifice that just screams, "I was made for PluckyFluff!"

Another view below. That's Lexi in Tokyo where this particular wheel made a, well, maiden appearance. Design subject to change as the photo was taken in the Fall of last year and the new wheel isn't coming out till May. Still, this could be the prototype.

And finally, the front view:

Note to Andy: I'm changing this blog's name to MajRumors. LOL

ETA Tracy Eichheim's notation on a fourth photo. Published with his kind permission. For Tracy's take on the new wheel, read here.

Two Days' Worth of Carding with the Rover

2009-12-26T14:40:00.022-05:00

From here...

to here:

Close up of some of the rovings. All were made with 2/3 Ashford Corriedale of two colors and 1/3 of Louet Merino of a single color.

Luna, the rover's new owner, liked the yellow bump so much, she said: "I almost want to take it home". LOL. I would have given it to her if she wasn't going home with the rover. ; )

Paula Simmons' Rover No. 1 has left for a new home

2009-12-22T09:59:00.002-05:00

The new proud owner is Luna Ortiz of Blueball Mountain Spindle Needleworks in Hardin County, Kentucky. She, Allan,and her two college boys, Will and David, picked up the machine last night.

HandMade Mart, Part II

2009-11-02T14:14:00.005-05:00

The Emperor is has a new home

2009-10-28T11:54:00.020-05:00

Just above is my new imperial spinning stool from Stil Novo Design. It's two inches shorter than my humble Amish-made spinning stool from The Mannings in Pennsylvania (photo just below). Not a problem since my all-time favorite Majacraft wheels have adjustable height.

The Stil Novo stool is recycled white oak wood from French wine barrels and the curves were made using the natural arch of a barrel stave. It has a very oriental design so the designer calls it The Emperor Seat. The stain on the seat and the sides are from the red wine previously held in the barrel. The stool was polished off with a rich cherry chocolate finish. Yum!

Note: The round rugs are from Ikea, available in magenta, Egyptian blue, spring green, and orange.

The Bus Driver

2009-10-16T13:56:00.019-05:00

It was Spring 2006 and we had just returned from New Zealand. While there I had gone to the Majacraft Magic Weekend and met and roomed with Pat Old, a spinner and certified wool handler.

Back in the US, Mr. JumpSheep grabs his coin collection to add the new ones from this recent trip and he decides to get rid of bus coin tokens that he had come upon previously. He asks, “Do you know someone who might find use for these?” I immediately thought of Pat as she and I had fun attaching objects to handspun yarn at the camp. She is, in fact, the other person in my avatar. I mailed the coins to the North Island where Pat breeds sheep and I received a “thank you” email saying she hadn’t quite thought of what to do with them, but that she’d find something…

Fastforward to this Fall and I received an email from Pat with picture of what seemed like a necktie made of handspun yarn. She wrote: “You sent me some bus tokens to spin with, and it took me ages to figure out what I would do with them. I finally spun a sharl yarn of overdyed grey finn fleece with the tokens attached at the ends of the snarls. I plied this with a scouring pad that I had ‘unknitted’. I knitted this tie and called it ‘The Bus Driver’! It caused some laughs in an exhibition recently.”

Pat added, “I am currently writing a book on spinning and it is at the very stressful proofing stage. Thankfully Glynnis ( of Majacraft) is helping when I get brain fade! So look out for ‘In a Spin’. Hopefully it will be out by Christmas.”

Meanwhile, Pat and Glynnis and the other Majacraft regulars are getting ready for Lexi’s appearance in New Zealand scheduled for February 2010.

Get This! Sheep Pendant in SpinOff Magazine

2009-09-17T10:08:00.006-05:00

Got my Fall '09 issue yesterday at Barnes and Noble and saw this feature for myself. It wasn't a surprise, though, as Lynn and Gayle had already emailed me as soon as they got their SpinOff copy in the mail last month. A BIG Thank You! to SpinOfff editor Amy Clarke Moore whom I met at Guido's Party during the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival last May and, of course, to Stefanie Berganini who writes the column, "Get This!"

By the way, a belated BIG Thank You! to Amy Singer of knitty.com, whom I met at Jenny the Potter's booth at the same festival. I was buying a cloche (looks like an inverted bowl with a hole on top; keeps the knitting yarn from rolling off too far) and Amy was Jenny's cashier! I'm shy, but nothing can restrain me from doing a little shameless promo! The result was in the "Cool Stuff!" section of the Summer '09 Knitty issue.

FOR SALE: Pat Green Seven-Drum Roving Machine

2009-09-08T09:33:00.008-05:00

For complete info, see ad posted in the Housingcleaning Pages.

November 2007 Blog: Paula Simmons' Rover No. 1 finds a new home.

See bumps produced with the equipment here.

JumpSheep just got accepted: Baltimore Etsy Street Team (BEST)!

2009-08-26T15:55:00.005-05:00

Homemade Mini Photo Studio

2009-08-11T10:27:00.006-05:00

While I'm away in Torrance, CA for Sarah Hornik workshops, Larry fashioned this setup. The lamps came three in a pack from Ikea. The Ikea wastebasket was idea from Hadar Jacobson.

Bamboo stairsteps as weighted bases, Ikea lamps, Ikea wastebasket and scrap.

Homemade adjustable riser (wood and an old handled set screw on a leg from an old lamp, hammered to a point).

Would you like to teach spinning in this idyllic town in Chile?

2009-07-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite events during the year is the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival because it allows me to cross paths with interesting people. This year I had the chance to meet Silvia Fernandez-Stein. While Silvia does not spin, her son, Guido, does. And Guido, whom I met through Ravelry, introduced us.

Guido had read about Charkhas for Africa and he emailed: "Could you talk to my mom? She wants to do something similar in Chile."

So Silvia and I sat down at Guido's MSWF party and she told me of what she had in mind for her town in Chile.

Silvia is offering a free two-week stay in her three-bedroom house in Cobquecura named La Loberia to spinners who can organize themselves to teach spinning to the women of the village. You see, Silvia would like to empower the women of her town to learn skills that turn can into a self-sustaining cottage industry. The spinners' only expense would be the air and land transfers to and from Cobquecura (about 200 miles from the capital, Santiago) and the daily subsistence, which would be about $20/day.

La Loberia, built in the early 1980s, was restored in 2005 by Silvia and her husband, Robert, a city planner who was a Peace Corp volunteer in Chile. It now functions as a bed & breakfast, museum and cafe. See the "before and after" photos of La Loberia here.

Another goal of Silvia's is to bring attention to the threat of pollution to Cobquecura now that a pulp mill recently started operation in the area. She and other environmentalists are concerned about the tons of contaminants that will be pumped into the Rio Itata and endanger an entire stretch of the coastline.

Cobquecura is apparently a cool town for, and of, women. Below, some of the dynamic women of Cobquecura. Silvia is in the center.

If you are interested in going to Cobquecura for a spinning retreat -- and conducting a workshop for the local women, let Silvia know by email.

The Precious Metal Clay (PMC) Process: Bronze

2009-06-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

I used Hadar's Clay which is bronze in powder form (also available in copper).

Just out of the kiln.

Scrubbed with a metal brush.

Filed, burnished, patinated and polished. Finished off with copper jump ring and chocolate-colored silicone cord.

More sheep, more chocolate-makers

2009-06-14T14:35:00.013-05:00

A few months ago, I started working with precious metal clay (PMC) and, at the same time, learning metalsmithing. While working with metal sheet seemed difficult because of the drilling, sawing and soldering involved, I was finding PMC more challenging because it would dry out before I was satisfied with the result.

So, I started working with polymer clay, testing designs on it before trying them on PMC. Unfortunately, polymer by itself is not very interesting and -- not wanting to just discard the tests -- I thought of finishing them just like Tamara of blockpartypress had been showing on her blog.

Silver, copper and bronze clay pendants headed for the kiln.

Pieces in polymer inspired by Tamara's work. However, I only do fine-fleeced friends and chocolate-makers.

Here's a clay rendition of another of my dad's drawing of the chocolate-maker.

JumpSheep pendants make it to knitty.com

2009-06-11T10:29:00.002-05:00

See under Cool Stuff! here.

My dad's drawing

2009-06-07T08:45:00.006-05:00

The drawing was done in the 1980s for me to make an ex libris rubber stamp. My name used to be underneath the frame. I reduced the size to 1" x 1.5" and had the rubber stamp made to make silver pendants using Precious Metal Clay. Here is the result. It's a woman in a Philippine 1800s dress frothing Spanish-style chocolate in a tsokolatera with what we call a batidor. The chocolate is served in demitasses because it's thick.

Handmade Mart, Silver Spring, MD last Sunday

2009-06-02T08:25:00.008-05:00

Strip-Cut Construction in Glass

2009-05-30T16:45:00.005-05:00

Layout on paper.

Pattern bars surrounded with strips of glass in pink striker color. The piece is dammed and fired in the kiln.

The strips of glass strikes into a deep cranberry color.

I'm a vendor at Handmade Mart, Silver Spring, MD

2009-05-19T15:53:00.005-05:00

The outdoor market will take place on May 31, Sunday. Q&A with JumpSheep at the Handmade Mart blog here.What is your craft all about?
I make glass jewelry and plates for fiber lovers. I also produce wool batts and bumps for spinning and felting, as well as handspun yarn and handdyed yarn for knitting.
What inspires you to make what you make?
For my jewelry, I draw inspiration from the passion of fiber lovers; that's why I choose to work with images (in silver or copper) of furry animals. For my plates, I look to the works of quilters; I translate their quilt design into glass.
What is your favorite piece/product you will have with you at the Handmade Mart?
Glass and silver pendants with the sheep's silhouette. I have the Black Sheep made of glass and copper, and the Sheep in Pasture made of glass and silver.
Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart?
My etsy store: jumpsheep.etsy.com.
Find me at booth #30!

Pattern Bars

2009-05-18T12:26:00.010-05:00

Strip-Cut Construction at Vitrum Studio. The pattern bars (left) are piles of glass scrap melted together to form a serendipitous design; they are later cut and polished to be used as inserts in a bigger piece, such as a plate (right and bottom). The rest of the plate is made up of 3/8-inch strips that are made to stand on its side to form a flat construction.

Coming Soon: Sheep in Pasture Pendants

2009-05-04T15:26:00.024-05:00

I got very encouraging feedback from people who saw my pendants (like the one I'm wearing here next to Ysolda) at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Right now I'm out of stock, but I'll be firing them up in the kiln very soon. So, if you'd like to order, please email me. Alternatively, you can watch out for it at my etsy shop, JumpSheep. They should be available on etsy by June 1st at the latest.

As door prizes at Guido's MSWF After Party. (Photos by Woolarina)

Back in DC: Lexi (a.k.a. pluckyfluff)

2009-05-01T19:21:00.012-05:00

It was so nice to again see Lexi whose class I took back in the Fall of 2005. Organized by Angela and Reenie of MaterialWhirled, her students then included Natasha of Luxe, Jacey of insubordiknit, and Heidi of mypapercrane.

Lexi came to A Tangled Skein this evening after a two-day camp in Hyattsville for a signing of her second book, Intertwined. The camp was organized by Steph of Loop and Carissa of Treadle to the Metal.

It was great to hear an update on her upcoming projects and they are all so exciting! There's a book, collaboration with a manufacturer on a new wheel for her brand of yarn, a teaching stint in Tokyo in the Fall, a new house,... and it looks like the pluckyfluff camp will be an annual event in the Maryland area around the Sheep and Wool Festival weekend. Yay!

I should add that Lexi is very excited about going to the festival tomorrow. "It's my first time," she chirped.

In the photo above Lexi is signing the copy her publisher sent me for having contributed to Intertwined (it's the felted shoe laces on a pair of boots). She's wearing a glass pendant with a black sheep that I gave her.

And here's Carissa, also wearing my pendant, a silver sheep on green glass. She's my first-ever customer for the pendants. I'm so excited!

Another Quilt-Inspired Plate

2009-04-26T16:45:00.003-05:00

If it weren't so darn time-consuming, I'd probably quilt. But it is, so I will just translate into glass.

Size: 8" X 8"
Materials: Bullseye Glass in French Vanilla Curious and petal pink, deep red and orange opaque on a transparent sheet.
Kiln: Paragon
Technique: Slumped

Sheep in Pasture

2009-04-26T09:52:00.003-05:00

Here are the pendants mentioned in the previous blog.

Combining Fused Glass with Soldered Silver

2009-04-24T16:59:00.014-05:00

After weekends at Judith Conway's Vitrum Studio for fused glass classes, I'm now at The Art League for silver jewelry with Tina Chisena for the next two months. I hope to execute the designs in the photos below, but for this weekend, I'd like to do pendants to take to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival next weekend. The pendants - intended for wool lovers, spinners, weavers and knitters - are made of glass with silver foil inclusion in the image of a sheep's silhouette. The prototype will be worn by the Fluff and Nonsense group participating in the MSWF's Sheep-to-Shawl competition on Sunday, May 3.

Rough designs...

With more detail...

The glass fairy cometh

2009-02-20T18:14:00.015-05:00

Laurence Pocztar of lainezinzin has always been my sole inspiration in fiber spinning. Having gotten into glass arts, I didn't expect to ever find my glass fairy, since -- looking at all the books that has come out in the US and Japan, and surfing on the web -- I didn't find any that really blew me away (Corina Tettinger of Passing the Flame came very close) until I saw the freeform glass beads of Sarah Hornik of Tel Aviv.

Sarah has come out with two ebooks: Sarah's 12 Favorite Color Schemes and Think Pink. I just love the colors and the asymetry of her glass beads. They look so sumptuous that gazing at them simply brings such delight!

What I did last weekend

2009-02-19T13:12:00.003-05:00

Learned Venetian glass beadmaking from Marilyn Nugent at the Glen Echo Park Art Glass Studio.

My First Fused Glass Project

2009-02-13T09:21:00.003-05:00

Size: 8" X 8"
Materials: Bullseye Glass in white opaque and assorted opaque and transparent sheets, topped with rod bits
Kiln: Paragon
Technique: Slumped
Inspiration: Log Cabin Quilt

Finding a new direction

2009-02-07T19:02:00.025-05:00

Today I attended a class in kiln-formed glass. Wow! One more class tomorrow. Yay!

It was held at Vitrum Studios from 10am to 4pm. Not knowing I would take this class a few days back, I signed up for a book signing and reception at the Alliance Française with Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb (Fear and Trembling) which was scheduled at 3pm. After the class, I took a chance and drove to the Alliance just the same.

I arrived two hours late and the event was over. The author was having a tête-à-tête with the organizers and about ready to leave, but when she saw me at the door of the salon with my stack of her books, she motioned me to come over and she went back to sit behind a table and signed my books. "Et votre prénom?" she asked politely. When she finished she said, "Merci d'être venue, Thérèse."

Amélie Nothomb was so sweet. It's almost incongruous with her reputation as an eccentric and her penchant for black ensembles. Yes, today, she was wearing her trademark Mad Hatter's hat and dark red lipstick, just like in this photo.

Babes in Mali

2008-08-14T18:11:00.004-05:00

Sidiki Ouattara, who is the director of the government agency on handicrafts in Mali and my contact for the project Charkhas for Africa, just sent this photo. He writes that the women are from Nonsombougou and that they are beneficiaries of our spinning wheel project. Mr. Ouattara reports that he will be going to Nonsombougou next week to deliver the third Babe spinning wheel.

Lace Reader

2008-08-11T18:07:00.006-05:00

If you like novels and you spin and knit, you should be reading -- or listening to -- this book by Brunonia Barry.

Embroidery by Takashi Iwasaki

2008-07-29T16:17:00.016-05:00

The artist is a Canadian of Japanese descent. More of his works here. He is featured in the current issue of Selvedge. Amazing work. And it sort of updates Constance Howard's medium of choice by throwing in images reminiscent of Alexander Calder's sculptures and mobiles while using Iwasaki's own palette of colors. Wow!

Delightful Handspun

2008-07-24T15:53:00.005-05:00

This sweater was spun and knit by a Japanese blogger, musktenjin0715.

It looks like an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, but this one was designed by Naganasu of Witch's Knitting Room. Using top-down knitting, Naganasu employed short rows to have a deeper neckline in front. See comparison in this photo.

The pattern is written in Japanese AND English (Yay!) The patterns are in two versions: Short Row and Simple

By the way, Musktenjin's buttons were handmade.

Darn It!

2008-07-17T09:32:00.008-05:00

I ordered this book (ISBN-10: 4894446561 ) from amazon.co.jp thinking that it was a how-to craft book.

And I thought that it would be a nice companion piece to this book (ISBN-10: 4579111273) on darning (read review by fluffbuff here):

I was a bit disappointed to learn upon receiving my order that the book is only a guide to cool shops in Japan. However, through the book I discovered this online shop called tarco which is a great source of crafting inspiration.

See samples here:

Six meters of warp later...

2008-06-13T07:23:00.003-05:00

Here's over five yards of fabric.

Selvedge view:

And the weft goes on...

2008-06-07T13:04:00.003-05:00

Still working on the initial six meters of warp that came with the loom already installed. The weft is yarn handspun by Florence of Le Mouchon.

LIttle Miss Saori

2008-06-06T17:02:00.007-05:00

There she is comfortably settled in the living room straight from Loop of the Loom. It took about 45 minutes to set her up.

Up close. Started with leftover Noro Silk Garden yarn and added corriedale roving bits. The last rows are made of handspun from a Tintagel Farm roving.

The piece was woven with no instructions other than watching the Springwater Fiber Workshop's Sheep-to-Shawl team at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival last month.

Nearly done

2008-06-02T12:30:00.012-05:00

This was started day after MSWF four weeks ago. It could have been finished in a couple of days, but then there was a week in Edinburgh, Scotland, and a long weekend of camping in Harrisonburg, Va. I spent the whole day Sunday doing the remaining 50 percent of the shawl and I have a sore back today.

Yarn used was Peace Fleece's Moscow Magic Pink, a tweedy DK sport weight spun with 30 percent mohair and 70 percent wool. The 7-foot triangle used up an entire skein of 350 yards length (4 oz.). It looks very plain so I'm adding inlay, echoeing the colors of the tweed bits.

The inlay work, using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted in Limeade, Aztec Turquoise and Regal Purple. I'm also adding Lotus Pink and Fushia.

The fringe.

During and After MSWF

2008-05-05T15:45:00.006-05:00

Photo taken at Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fiber Studio booth at the festival.

At home the following day.

Up close.

Florence has arrived!

2008-05-01T18:53:00.005-05:00

My friend, Florence, who's a Gotland sheep farmer from Liège, Belgium, arrived this afternoon from Brussels. Tomorrow, Friday, we attend Bob Padula's Wool Science seminar at Howard County, Maryland.

Majacraft Magic Weekend

2008-04-27T18:42:00.007-05:00

The Majacraft spinning camp was held last weekend in the North Island of New Zealand and I received a message last Monday on Ravelry from kiwijoy with her account of it. Here goes:

Hi Therese,

I’m sure you want to know how the camp went!! Good weather and lots of fun. I was very good and didn’t buy anything. Tracy White with Inspire Fibres, Michelle Aplin with the Finn wool and Kim Priest with alpaca fibre and some books. Tracy’s beautiful colours were especially tempting.

Have you tried spinning with the Stylus yet? I really struggle with it and feel very dumb. I can see how fast it can be.

Glynnis and I thought our block printing was a disaster as the mixture wasn’t stamping well when Glynnis hit on the idea to put another piece of thin foam on top of the dye mixture and it worked well then. We had plastic meat trays with a piece of thin foam, then some dye which was thickened, etc. and another piece of foam on top. Because Glynnis and I were getting our mixture ready, we missed most of the flax class. I think the man was from the Netherlands and they made a grasshopper and a small basket. Not really my thing.

Pat Old held a very rushed class showing three novelty yarns. Both she and Glynnis have the new book, “Intertwined”, so getting inspired there. The first yarn was a single of a fine fibre like merino, half-breed, corriedale, etc. plyed with a yarn that has been made up of lengths of fancy commercial yarn tied together that have been run through the wheel to put more twist in. You might then choose to overdye the whole skein. She called this “Thrum yarn”.

The second yarn was called “Mainland Jazz" which is a tuft yarn but using eight-inch lengths of fancy commercial yarns as the tufts. The main fibre was shrink-treated merino top (used because the commercial yarns are mostly non-shrinking).

The third yarn was “Yarn Soup” which is fibre carded with lengths of different yarns approximately the same length as the staple length. Predraft and spin thick yarn wrapping it as you spin it softly with another yarn. Another step after that would be to felt it and overdye it.

Pat Old did a dyeing class which I didn’t do as I had seen her demonstrate at her home in January and didn’t feel like winding the huge skein - about 25 metres wound on a warping board or similar. I just wandered around taking photos and finding out what colours people were choosing.

You divided your skein in six equal parts and chose three dye colours. You measured out three colours into separate jars and mixed with water and vinegar and detergent. Each section of skein was put into a plastic bag. You then poured first colour into first bag, second colour into third bag and third colour into fifth bag (missing a bag each time). You gently pressed on each bag until no white is showing and squeeze out air and securely tie each bag. For the three remaining bags, you put in a mixture of the three colours in each bag pouring each colour carefully in a different part of the bag. (Am I clear as mud here ?) You then put your six bags in a big plastic bag, sealed it off and then steamed over boiling water. Some of the colour schemes were fantastic.

The other class was with Cilla Kuzamaner in needle felting. I was amazed at how quickly the wool stuck. We made beads by winding fibre around a kebab stick and then going for it with a very lethal felting needle, and then Cilla showed us how to make a little man. Cilla comes to our night spinning group and some of her creations are out of this world.

Glynnis gave out a challenge of spinning carded fibre mixed with shredded paper. Most people didn’t think much of this!! I never got round to trying mine.

Andrew Poad put on a presentation showing Creative web sites - Ravelry being one of them. There was this guy there called David and I recognised him straight away as David from Ravelry so that was a huge laugh. Pat Old is koruspinna and Andrew Poad is Andypandy. I haven’t persuaded anyone to join Ravelry yet. They all say they’re not that into computers. It is a time waster, I must say. David and Pat were commenting how nasty some people get on the forums and they didn’t like that.

There was a lady from NSW in Australia who had come especially for the weekend but I think the rest of us were North Islanders.

Well, must get back to cooking the dinner.

Joy

I have got to go to Loop of the Loom

2008-04-18T14:23:00.009-05:00

Linda Hurt teaches Saori at Springwater in Alexandria, VA, but it just started without me. :(

Happily, I found out that Loop of the Loom, a Saori studio in Englewood, NJ, occasionally holds classes in Manhattan. They offer 2-hour classes, with the option to take two consecutive classes for a 4-hour session.

Here is the website of Loop of the Loom . Look at all the colors and textures in its photo album.

In June I'm taking John Marshall's class on Clothing Designs of the World - Creating Your Own Fashions Based on Ethnic Traditions at Springwater. It would be awesome to combine Saori weaving with making clothes! It sure would be nice to take a Saori class this summer.

Saori loom at work here by clicking on "Tips".

I want to discover Saori!

2008-04-16T15:59:00.006-05:00

Saori
What is Saori?
Saori: its beginning

Here are new books that look interesting:

Saori: Self Discovery through Free Weaving by Misao Jo and Kenzo Jo

Handmade Style: Weave by Wendy Cartwright, an Australian

The Ashford Book of Projects, Vol. 1, a follow-up to The Ashford Book of Weaving for Knitters. This is for weavers who use the Ashford Knitter's Loom or the Rigid Heddle Loom.

And finally, an updated edition of The Ashford Book of Dyeing by Ann Milner.

Update: Charkhas for Africa Project

2008-03-23T07:04:00.006-05:00

So, at the beginning of this year I pledged a delivery of one Babe Pinkie and one Strauch hand carder a month to Malian spinners through the National Center for the Promotion of Artisanal Arts in Bamako headed by Sidiki Ouattara.

The shipment for January went out. I put the address, a PO Box, that was in Mr. Ouattara's business card. Two weeks went by and while tracking the package which goes out by DHL (at a wholesale rate of $55 through my employer), it seemed to me that it was stuck at the DHL depot in Bamako. I emailed Mr. Outtara and asked him to check with the DHL office because the package had arrived. He said he would go there personally.

More weeks went by and still I hadn't heard from Mr. Outtarra. I had the February shipment ready to go, but I didn't want to send it without confirmation of the first delivery. Usually I get a prompt reply or update from Mr. Ouattara; this time things were quiet on the email front. So, I emailed him to check.

Mr. Ouattara reported that, because I had put the (wholesale) price of the items on the shipping form, he was taxed 100 percent. OMG!

Unfortunately, I always have to put a price when sending by DHL as labeling a package a "gift" is not an option. Probably for insurance purposes, in case the item is damaged or lost. I had been sending PVC spinning wheels and Strauch carders to two women's coops in Segou three hours away and all items were always received without any problem.

Probably, sending to a PO Box was a bad idea. Probably Bamako, being Mali's major city, the people there have less of a sense of community that you would find in a more rural place like Segou where they would give a non-profit organization like Mr. Ouattara's a break. Who knows?

Anyway, the February package was sent to a physical address and I underpriced the items; I mean WAY under price. In less than a week I received a thank you note from Mr. Outtara:

"I have just received this morning a package containing a wheel and a pair of hand carders this time without having to pay anything. I think that we have found a system that works.

"On March 19 I met the members of the women's association of Nonsomboubou located 62 km from Bamako and I took the opportunity to talk to them about your availability to help them in their work with cotton. They are very pleased and would like to get to know you better.

"I will be in Antananarivo (Madagascar) for the conference on Indian Ocean textiles. As soon as I return, I will contact you again for the next one."

By the way, I have moved the Charhas for Africa online shop back to Material Whirled. I find that Etsy has become so big it's so easy to get lost in the crowd.

Looking forward to MSWF in May

2008-03-14T18:49:00.016-05:00

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2008 website is up and for the first time in two years, I'm in town in May. Yay!

One more thing to be happy about, this is the first time I'm not going alone. My friend, Florence, from Liège, Belgium, is coming to the US just for the festival and we will do the 40-minute drive to Howard County together. Yay! Yay!

Florence runs an online fiber business, Les laines du Mouchon, and raises sheep in her neighborhood where she has over 70 of them. Florence breeds an assortment of them, but among the Tricofolk Forum spinners, she is best known for the soft wool fibers of her Gotlands whom she fondly calls, my "gogottes".

Florence in her backyard.
When Florence is not tending her flock, she joins craft fairs and holds spinning and dyeing workshops at her home with the help of hubby, Jean-Marc, who is gifting her the MSWF trip for Mother's Day this year.

Jean-Marc assisting with a drum carding demo.
A few days ago, Florence, her sheep and her spinning were featured in a Belgian television as part of a series on women who have unusual interests. See the video here.

Jean-Marc and Florence taking the sheep to graze in a field near the neighborhood.

Springwater Fiber Workshop Reopens!

2008-03-09T11:22:00.007-05:00

In mid-November I wrote an obit for Springwater which had suddenly closed down for lack of funds (it's a non-profit organization). Since then the fiber school and shop has rebounded with over $100,000 in donations.

The grand re-opening happened yesterday and along with it came the Spring issue of the Springwater newsletter. In it you will see that I will be teaching a half-day class on Carding Tricks and Techniques.

By the way, Jacey Boggs is also teaching. She's doing a full-day class on Coils and a two-day class on Spinning Art Yarns. I met Jacey when Pluckyfluff came to the East Coast in Fall 2005 for a spinning workshop in Pennsylvania. At that time her monster hat knit kits were already selling like hotcakes. Since then she has moved on art yarns and is coming up is her own spinning video.

To further help support Springwater, I'm taking John Marshall's class on Clothing Designs of the World - Creating Your Own Fashions Based on Ethnic Traditions while Mr. JumpSheep is signing up for Roderick Owen's class on Japanese Braiding on the Marudai and Takadai

Majacraft Magic Weekend is back!

2008-02-26T01:46:00.007-05:00

The camp will take place from Friday the 18th until Sunday the 20th of April. This will be a weekend packed with learning and fun, and the chance to meet the wonderful Majacraft team, which is also the entrie Poad family (Owen, Glynnis, their sons Rob and Andy). During the 2006 Magic Weekend, Rob and Andy gave our wheels a maintenance check, gratis et amore.

Not that maintenance of a Majacraft wheel is necessary, but if you treat it badly, that's another story. I remember there was one spinner who kept oiling her wheel and that was a disaster. So remember, no oiling those sealed ball bearings!

On Sale: Yarns from France for Charkhas for Africa

2008-02-22T16:01:00.006-05:00

I have just uploaded donated skeins of yarn on Etsy. You may check them out by clicking on the Charkhas for Africa button or "Goes to Etsy" on the right column. The one on the photo is of Collie dog hair. All the yarns are donations from France. Mille mercis, Muriel et Yvette.

Francophone Spinners' Annual Yarn Exchange

2008-02-21T18:26:00.008-05:00

I was away overseas for the Valentine's Day yarn exchange of the Tricofolk Forum so I only got my package today when I went to pick up two week's worth of mail at the post office. Here's what I found in the mail.

It's a beaded yarn from Yvette, along with Scottish soap, British chocolate and a handknit pouch. On the greeting card, she wrote: "I have only been spinning since August; I hope that you don't mind being paired with a beginner." A beginner? This yarn looks like a pro's! Yvette is Scottish, but lives in Echirolles, France. Merci et tant de bises, Yvette!

My "godlchild" was Elo and this is what she received.

I find that a sampling of KoolAid always perks up a care package headed towards Europe because it's not available there. : )

When family comes to visit...

2008-01-21T18:53:00.001-05:00

...spinning takes a break (note Suzie in the foreground).

Prepping crackling roast pork (recipe based on Nigel Slater's and Jamie Oliver's).

Portrait of the bro as a gourmand.

Lunch over, Mr. JumpSheep is ready to take my niece shopping.

Indeed, this long weekend has been eat, sleep and shop.

A Happy New Beginning for Charkhas for Africa

2008-01-02T14:15:00.000-05:00

Charkhas for Africa. The name has stuck, but it has actually moved on to spinning wheels. Following my Skype conversations with Sidiki Ouattara of Tissutèque, I have pledged a delivery of a Babe Pinkie and a Strauch hand carder for every month of the year 2008. Each package, a wheel and a hand carder, will be given to a Malian spinner.

As always, I'm grateful to Otto Strauch and Nels Wiberg of Babe's Fiber Garden for giving me a favorable arrangement. The packages will be sent by DHL and they should be received in a matter of days. My office is kind enough to extend to me its discounted rate.

Happy New Year to all!

Mali: A country with a Ministry of Artisan Arts #2

2007-12-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, Mali does have a ministry of artisan arts and it's an honest-to-goodness government office. It's complete name is Ministère de l'Artisanat et du Tourisme. Every year, the ministry even mounts a festival of Malian artisan arts at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris -- only five hours away from Mali by plane -- and last October, over 18,000 people came to visit. Click on "galerie photos" to see the local marketplace.

La Bourse de Commerce, Paris

Moreover, the Malian artisans get support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and other donors, Japanese and European. How cool is that?

I met Sidiki Ouattara, national coordinator of the UNIDO pilot project called Tissutèque which was started in the early 1990s jointly by the governments of Mali and Japan -- both aware that West Africa has a rich heritage in artisanal textile, but the dyers were abandoning the trade because it was becoming less and less profitable.

National Center for the Promotion of Artisanal Arts.

Sidiki Ouattara, Tissutèque project coordinator

So far, the seed money provided has produced 10 spinning wheels, 500 pairs of handcarders, 100 weaving looms, 20 woolwinders, 20 warping boards, 10 new types of fabrics and training of 100 people. There are also three manually-operated dyeing machines and two electric ones that have been converted to gas power. (Electric power is expensive, but gas is subsidized by the government!) Over the years they have developed 50 repeatable dye recipes using scientific instruments and have trained 300 women in the art of dyeing.

Instruments for measuring dye solutions.

The various dyeing machines.

Looms at Tissutèque.

I had a lively chat with Mr. Ouattara in his office while an info tech person was installing his webcam to enhance his Skype use. I talked of Charkhas for Africa and the equipment that is available to spinners in the US.

He was very excited and as soon as the webcam work was done, he asked me to show him the works of American spinners and the equipment shops available online. And then he turned to me and said, "Madam, you coming so late in the game. We could have used your advice when we were starting."

He went on to explain, that though they had financing, they didn't have technical advice. He said that the donors wanted to provide heavy-duty machines, but he said, that wouldn't have worked. "You have to start from the bottom and work your way up to find a sustainable solution. First you have to build the capacity of the people before you give them sophisticated equipment."

As I left, Mr. Ouattara gave me a list of things that he wanted assistance with: a quote for 1000 pieces of carding cloth, a sample of a spinning wheel made of PVC, and information on a small dyeing machine or a large washing machine that is gas-operated. He was concerned that the women who dye the traditional way with just rubber gloves and masks were not adequately protected from the toxic effect of chemicals.

The sample Babe spinning wheel, I'm happy to report, has be sent off to Bamako via DHL. The super-durable carding cloth from Strauch turned out to be out-of-reach despite donor financing; thus, they are going for the cloth that is locally available. I've started the research on the dyeing machines made in China and India. However, I have not seen one that is gas-operated. If you have any suggestions, please email me.

When I returned home, I received this email from Mr. Ouattara. He wrote: Following your visit to Mali, I'm writing to say that I look forward to our partnership in our common passion: the promotion of artisanal textile.

A very nice way, indeed, to end year 2007 and begin a new one.

Mali: A country with a Ministry of Artisan Arts

2007-12-21T22:34:00.000-05:00

Work was going to take me back to Bamako in early December and -- having found a new job that was to start at the beginning of the 2008 -- I wanted to make wise use of my final(?) trip to Africa.

Since making the trip to Mali in September 2006 I had resorted to commercial courier service for sending tools, equipment and supplies to Ethiopia and Mali. So, I only needed to pack a few things that were ready to take. Once I established new contacts, sending more stuff would be easy by courier.

I was leaving Bamako at midnight of Dec. 6 this year and in the morning I decided to explore the Artisan Market. I figured, if I didn't meet spinners or weavers at the market, I would drop by the DHL office downtown and send the hand carders and dye powder to the two fiber guilds I had visited previously.

Ready to DHL, just in case.

The Artisan Market

It turned out to be a lucky day for me as I checked out the weaving studio of the Artisan Market. I met Bina, an old man working on a floor loom.

Interesting touch: Bina adds a stick of broom material every several row of cotton thread.

Broom on the floor.

I asked him if he had handcarders and could he show them to me. He very nicely did. I said I had three pairs with me, could they use them? He replied that the handcarders would be welcome. As he opened the box that I had packed, he delightedly leafed through a Japanese book on rigid heddle weaving and then he saw the plastic bags of dyes.

At that point Bina invited me see their dye lab and the spinning wheel that he had built. We went out of the market and walked some blocks to a fenced-in building. Outside, women were dyeing bazin (like damask) fabrics to sell in the market.

Bazin cloth from Holland. They can cost anywhere from a few dollars to over 10 dollars depending on the thread count. The top-of-the line is called "bazin riche", while the lower quality kind is called "bazin moins riche."

To be continued.

And that is how Charkhas for Africa began #2

2007-12-16T12:14:00.000-05:00

My project to introduce charkhas to Africa spinners acquired a name and gained momentum thanks to two spinners from Pennsylvania: Angela Place and Reenie Hanlin of Material Whirled. They had brought Lexi Boeger to Harrisburg, PA for a two-day workshop and I had signed up. That was how we met.

We kept in touch and when they learned about my having gone to Ethiopia, they offered to help with a fundraiser. I'm not a go-getter and am squeemish about handling money donated by other people. We made an arrangement where I would procure the equipment and Angela and Reenie took care of paying off the suppliers with proceeds from donated yarns.

With the fundraising momentum in full swing, we bought 10 Indian box charkhas, a few Babe wheels and lots of hand carders from Otto Strauch. I redeemed frequent flyer miles and arranged a visit to Segou -- noted for weaving -- three hours away from the capital of Mali. On the way, I stopped in France for a spinning retreat with francophone spinners who also pledged yarn to sell for the project.

The trip was not easy. First of all, traveling on my own, I did it on the cheap and lugged everything through train stations in France. In addition, the Little Gem was also traveling with me. Upon arrival in Bamako, arriving passengers have to take their luggage to an x-ray machine and the customs people saw the charkha boxes. I was being asked to pay taxes on the items! I had to explain they were donations to spinners in Mali. Eventually, they let me through without having to do anything else.

I hung around in Bamako a couple of days while I waited for my friend, Dr. Youssouf Diallo, to finish his office duties during the week. I had requested for a driver and a car, but he wanted to drive me personally so we planned to go on a Saturday. He said, "You've done so much for my country; it's the least I can do".

Youssouf was thinking of driving to Segou leisurely and driving back the next day. I said I wanted to make it a day trip. He then accelerated his speed. He wanted to avoid being on the road in the dark on the way back. Problem was, the road was filled with potholes and it was only a matter of time before we hit one that badly damaged the rim of one of his tires. The damage produced a loud and alarming noise, so we had to stop. At this point, we were in the middle of a forest reserve.

Youssouf tried to phone for help, but his cell had lost signal. We tried to flag buses and other motorists; no one wanted to stop. Then we heard a shot. "What was that?" I asked. "Oh, hunters," he replied, more concerned about the tire than the presence of poachers. I got nervous as I was reminded of Dick Cheney and his well-publicized hunting trip.

We had no choice but to ignore the wheel noise and just drive on. Eventually, we left the forest reserve and commercial activity resumed along the highway. There were shacks serving as phone booths and bottled liquid for sale like vinegar or oil. I asked what were in those bottles and Youssouf said nonchalantly, "Gasoline." Needless to say that was a concern for me, but we soon found a car mechanic to change our tire and we were back on the road.

And that is how Charkhas for Africa began

2007-12-13T10:07:00.000-05:00

Spinners who read my blog invariably ask me in person or by email, "You seem to have traveled extensively and go to Africa repeatedly. What exactly do you do?"

True, I never talk about my day job, but that's because it has nothing to do with fiber. After all, it's a day job.

Well, okay. A large part of my day job is handling the logistical arrangements for conferences and workshops in Africa. That goes from identifying the hotel, requesting bids, securing contracts, engaging interpretation services and equipment, arranging airport transfers, planning meals and banquets and, finally, settling the bills. On top of that, I look after the well-being of 150 traveled-exhausted participants who may sometimes lose their luggage or get sick.

It's not uncommon, either, to find at the very last minute that the hotel has overbooked and, therefore, the management announces that a number of the participants will have to be taken to another hotel, at least for one night. That is never acceptable to the team I work with. Therefore, with all sangfroid, I go to the hotel management and tell them calmly, "it's in your best interest that you keep all of us right here". That seems to work everytime. Talk about the bottomline.

At the end of the day, I would spin on my Little Gem for a cool down. When colleagues would insist on a drink at the bar, I would take my knitting along. One time someone quipped, "I've never seen a woman knit in a bar -- it's the last place you think you'd see someone knitting".

Then on the last day, I'd make a quick trip to the market to see crafts and fabrics. Then, even more knitting -- at the airport this time.

After three years, I started to get tired of the whole routine. Plus, I'm really scared of flying and my anxiety would show up two weeks before departure. Skin rashes would appear and my suitcase would be packed and ready at about the same time. Strange and conflicting behavior. However, the team I belonged to was almost like a second family and my colleagues were a pleasure to work with.

But if I had to continue doing the job, I felt I needed to find a way to make the trips less predictable, more worthwhile, and even more interesting. And that is how I thought of starting a personal project of buying with my own funds spinning wheels made of PVC and bringing them to Ethiopia. It didn't have a name. It was a diversion and form of sharing spinning experiences with women who I would not -- but for my job -- have the chance of meeting.

Caption: Our first workshop: Nairobi 2002. How could I leave such a warm bunch of people and the coolest manager (second row, left) ever?

To be continued.

Back from Bamako & Yarns from Lyon for Africa

2007-12-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

The moment I took my seat in the airport shuttle at Washington-Dulles last Saturday, I felt a sore throat. Two days later, I was experiencing a number of the symtoms of malaria, including chills, perspiration and diarrhea. A couple of more days later I'm still sick in bed, but I begin to recover and open my laptop to catch up with email. At this point I learn that two other colleagues fell ill: one of them back in DC; the other, still in Africa wondering if it's not malaria.

Anyway, on to more pleasant news. While in Mali I received an email from my friend, Muriel from Lyon, France. She had just finished spinning two skeins of yarn for my project, Charkhas for Africa. Muriel has mailed off the yarns and I will put them up for sale on Etsy once they arrive. Email me and I will reserve either of them or both, if anyone is interested. The yarns are lovely and I would understand if the buyer will take her time before knitting any one of them up. At any rate, there is one request from Muriel: that the buyer please send her a photo when the project is done.

"Lingerie" is of silk-wool blend handdyed in pink, navajo-plied and embellished with strips of tulle of burgundy color. Length: 218 yards. Price: $60

"Frou-Frou" is of merino and plied with yarn from Houard, the famed manufacturer of novelty yarns in France that closed down in mid-August. Length: 73 yards Price: $40

Paula Simmons' Rover No. 1 finds a new home

2007-11-24T13:34:00.000-05:00

I called Paula Simmons inquiring about the Cottage Industry Rover made by her husband, Pat Green. She informed me that Pat no longer made them and she suggested I look for a secondhand one. I said there was no way I would consider buying a secondhand as it's a delicate machine and I was concerned not just about its provenance, but also about its history. Then she offered her very own machine, 15 years old and which she said hadn't been used in 10 years.

It took about two months before I finally got it. First there was the weight: 360 lbs. They had to find a way to take down the machine from upstairs their house. Then Paula agonized over parting with it. She said on the phone, "Once it came down the stairs, there was no turning back. I loved it. It even has my name on it. It wasn't easy." [True enough, on the infeed tray is a metal plate that reads: "Paula's Rover #1".]

Finally, before calling the shipper, Pat took it apart to make sure it was in excellent working condition and called Mr. JumpSheep to give detailed instructions about uncrating and putting it in functioning order. The crate, once empty, was to be turned upside-down to provide a convenient table. There were more technical instructions that just went over my head. The phone call took two hours because the conversation eventually drifted into political and economic philosophy.

Just right now, the machine is still sitting in the garage because the house has been undergoing a much-delayed improvement (14 years!). I have made a number of center-pull balls that I'm sending to Sandrine of Alysse Créations in France to test. I would love to do loose rovings, but since the machine is sitting very low right now, the center-pull ball was the way to go. Once it's put on a table, I could put a basket underneath and create the loose rovings.

Initial attempt:

JumpSheep goes on sale in Europe

2007-11-16T18:14:00.000-05:00

JumpSheep hand-painted yarns are now available in Europe at Alysse Créations. These are half pounder superwash merino in fingering weight dyed with Gaywool.

Obit: Springwater Fiber Workshop, Alexandria, Va.

2007-11-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

Springwater Fiber Workshop was not only my LYS (local yarn store), it was a fiber workshop where I learned to spin and dye when these crafts were not yet as trendy as they are today. It was supported by commissions for the arts, other agencies and foundations. Most importantly, it was supported by the teachers and the members of the community who have made Springwater a part of their lives.

Once I was on my own at the spinning wheel and producing knittable yarns, the shop welcomed my products and sold them at the store. Springwater didn't just ask for my support; it also provided me with encouragement and support to pursue my interest in fiber arts. Therefore, it was with great disappointment that I learned yesterday of the closure of the school and of the shop "effective immediately". Needless to say, there were a flurry of emails on the yahoo group of Springwater habitués. Finally, my spinning and natural dyeing mentor, Sylvie Demar, wrote this:

OK all;

Before rumors start flying . . . .

The decision to close was not made lightly and for me personally it feels like another death in my family.

Decisions were made that at the time seemed the best way to solve some of the problems and, unfortunately did not work.

During this process, additional problems began to surface, and reached the point of being unsurmountable.

Personally, I'm tired of fighting.

Springwater has always had financial obstacles - one was trying to maintain an open studio in an extremely and increasingly high rent area so as to be close to other arts (i.e. Art League).

Closing is the result of many, many factors in combination with a downswing in the economy. And yes, rising gasoline prices are included in this.

The fact that one can now find almost as many knit shops and knit classes as Starbucks in any given area is also a contributing factor. Why drive in congested rush hour traffic to a place that is notorious for bad parking when you can just go down the street from where you are to do the same thing.

Also purchasing on the internet, while extremely convenient leaves many small organizations/retailers wondering how to pay the rent when people come into a store, look around and try things out - then buy online because its less expensive.

The only way to keep small businesses open is to patronize there as much as you can - even if it costs a bit more or is less convenient than buying online. Not a criticism - just a statement of fact that times have changed.

These are not the only reasons for the decision to close Springwater - but these consumer trends are forecast to continue, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

So, having said all that, we need to celebrate the spirit of an organization that while physically will pass into history - but will live on in spirit for a long time.

One last point:

The lease on the site is up the end of this year and all of you renters know what that means:

new lease = higher rent or moving - and believe me its worse for commercial property than for residential.

All of these contributing factors and more unfortunately made the decision to close the most prudent.

Sylvia D.

If you have your beloved LYS, you have to think twice before buying the cheaper products that you find on the internet. You may be saving a few dollars, but losing your community of crafts people.

Just about as pink as you can get!

2007-10-31T16:06:00.000-05:00

One of the wonderful spinners I met at Yarn School in September was Kari Cohn a.k.a. UpTheMudCreek in Ravelry. Shortly after, she started her Think Pink project on Etsy. At about the same time, I got a bundle of pink dye from Africa and it was just appropriate to put these two things together and the results are these batts put on sale by Kari on Etsy here and here.

Pink Peppercorns (sold)
Pink Spice (still available)

I also had a recent swap with YarnWench: a box of trims from Filature Houard for a box of the YarnWench's fabulous, fabulous handdyed tops. In addition, Lynn also got a batt of Pink Spice. Here is the resulting yarn.

The dye powder used is very unusual. First of all, it's olive green when dry. I found it in Marrakesh last year and I shared it with Laurence. It's so powerful that a smidgen is more than enough to dye two pounds of wool. However, Laurence said the one her father got for her in Madagascar was better so I sought colleagues who might possibly go to Madagascar. Finally I found one who would have no problem going to the market.

I've always suspected that this mysterious dye was manufactured in India, but the kind from Madagascar turned out to have been ground super-duper fine. Thus, it's not noticeable when the dust gets to your clothes and your skin.

So, my colleague who had been carrying the plastic bag of dye had no idea what was in store for him when he washed his face at the end of the day. There, staring at him in front of the mirror in his hotel bathroom, was himself in shocking pink!

Rhinebeck in the New York Times

2007-10-22T07:06:00.001-05:00

Read article here.
Photos I took to follow...

Back from Stitches East

2007-10-13T16:46:00.000-05:00

Stitches East doesn't sound exciting when one is only a week away from Rhinebeck (5.5 hours by car). However, since Baltimore is only 45 minutes away, why not?

I bought a rubber stamp with a spinning wheel and a sheep by Magenta and a book: the 1994 hardcover edition of Fancy Feet by Anna Zilboorg. The book was priced $18.95, but the shop owner offered a 10% discount since the book had shelf wear. The exact same book is for sale on amazon marketplace from $45 to $100. Now the paperback edition published in 2001 is also available at the marketplace with price ranging from 249.77 to 386.46. Hard to believe, but it's true!

Unusual Spinning Wheel found in Japan

2007-10-08T07:18:00.001-05:00

Here is a photo taken by Majacraft's Glynnis Poad of a curious-looking spinning equipment at the Tokyo Spinning Party. It has no wheel and you use a stick which you push on the spindle shaft to make it run. There is no bobbin or flyer either; instead, it has a quill. Glynnis reported at the francophone Forum du Filage that it's simple and quite fun to use. However, the fiber has to be pre-drafted because one can only hold the fiber with one hand as the other is pushing the stick.

Speaking of quills, Glynnis added that Majacraft will be coming out before Christmas with its own quill which will work on all its spinning wheels.

This is an old Japanese postcard I came across...

...and I was delighted to see it in contemporary setting. Photo provided by Glynnis.

It looks like an Indian charkha that my friend, Sandrine, sells at her online shop, Alysse Créations.

Yarn School 2007: We Came, We Spun, We Dyed!

2007-10-01T20:23:00.001-05:00

Photos taken by students at Harveyville Project in Harveyville, Kansas, may be viewed here.

More Tokyo Spinning Party photos

2007-09-26T10:08:00.000-05:00

I found more photos taken at the Tokyo Spinning Party held last week on the website of Kakara Woolworks, a Japanese fiber shop. Below are photos of Glynnis teaching, and doing a spinning demo on the Majacraft Rose. Bottom photo shows Glynnis's husband, Owen, creator of The Little Gem, with his back turned watching Glynnis spin on a Suzie Pro. By the way, Adrian of HelloYarn did an exhaustive review of the Rose recently. Read it here

Tokyo Spinning Party, Sept. 17-18

2007-09-25T16:46:00.000-05:00

No, I wasn't there, but my friend Glynnis of Majacraft was. See photos here found on the website of Spinhouse Ponta which was a sponsor. Spinhouse Ponta publishes the Japanese spinning magazine called Spinnuts.

Back to school this coming weekend.

2007-09-22T21:46:00.000-05:00

The Harveyville Project's Yarn School with Adrian Bizilla of Hello Yarn. Which means I will miss The Washington Paper's Crafty Bastards' Arts and Crafts Fair on Sept. 30 for the second year in a row, just as I missed MWSF for the last two years.

obit: Filature Houard

2007-08-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

I just received an email from a self-described fiberholic who is going to the Languedoc area in France very soon. She wanted information on Filature Houard. Unfortunately, just a few hours before, I had received an email from Laurence a.k.a. LaineZinzin -- who vacations in nearby Bedarieux in the summer -- and she reports that Filature Houard finally closed down for business August 15.

Monsieur Houard had been trying to fight the imminent closure due to bankruptcy since last summer. He went to court last October and the factory stayed open for 10 more months. I'm glad I was able to go to the shop at least once. It will be missed by spinners and knitters.

The machines of the factory churns out fabulous threads and yarns. Let's hope someone or some entity will take a financial interest in it.

Otto's cashmere

2007-08-11T11:37:00.000-05:00

What spinner doesn't know Otto, his fabulous Petite and Finest drum carders and his even more fabulous customer service. No introduction needed here.

We -- Larry and I -- paid a visit to his farm in New Castle, Virginia, five hours from Washington, DC, and this gentle creature was who greeted us before Otto and Joanne could come out of the workshop-cum-office.

More cashmere goats slowly descended from the hill behind. Otto explained it was their habit to come down in the afternoon for treats: quartered crab apples that they nibbled on off one's palm.

We spent a delightful afternoon in the Strauch's porch drinking beer and nibbling on Joanne's tomato and mozzarella platter, talking about the next spinning retreat in France at Mic's place planned for Fall '08 and exploring the craft market in New Zealand. Add to that science fiction films and Hercule Poirot, my favorite film to watch while spinning. Otto mimics the Belgian detective to a T.

We got back home at the stroke of midnight, still thoroughly delighted and hopeful to spend more time with Otto and Joanne on the road on craft fairs and such.

The cashmere goats had already been brushed (no, they're not shorn) so all that's left are the guard hairs. Here's a closer look at the horns.

Japanese boots (jika-tabi) in print

2007-08-03T18:59:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting acquisition from Japan, specifically from a little Nara shop called Tabi-ji. It's a pair called jika-tabi.

Hubby was looking for these boots, usually black or blue, and normally worn by construction workers and Buddhist monks. When he finally found Tabi-ji, the boots came, surprisingly, in prints. And even more surprisingly, the shop owner, named Ryo, spoke impeccable English because he lived for sometime in Eastern Washington State.

As Ryo packed our purchases, he carefully included a couple of his brochures in the bag and said, "If you want anymore, just send me an email. I will mail to the US."

Here's how you contact Ryo:
Tel: 011-81-742-263588
Email：yonezi.come@s6.dion.ne.jp

Ryo in his shop.

Spin your newspaper and, yes, you can crochet or knit it too!

2007-08-02T06:25:00.000-05:00

This you will see in the trilingual blog of Pirkko. Her instructions (in French) are here.

Jetlagged, and oh my deer!

2007-07-26T05:55:00.001-05:00

It's just a manhole, but since this is Japan, design is a must. The deer is a symbol of Nara, where the rest of the photos were taken last week.

Feeding time!

Do you see the pleased look on this cookie-eating deer?

Larry is beseeched to share his ice cream.

"That looks yummy!" These fellows are not incapable of poking your butt to get you to feed them.

Looking stately and nonchalant among tourists.

This deer, er, dear getting water just outside the temple to cool off.

Ravelry

2007-07-24T03:54:00.001-05:00

To toast the Ravelry invite received, I present the French music video of Camille, Ta Douleur, where she gets caught up slowly, but surely in a self-knitting blue yarn.

Abigoy: Indie artist in Manila

2007-07-13T05:35:00.001-05:00

So I've been in Manila for almost two weeks now and a trip to Manila is not complete without a weekend in the country with family friends from waaaaay back. One of them is an indie artist named Abi Goy whose hip t-shirts are sold at Analog Soul.

So Abi and I had our "stitch and bitch" time during which she worked on her contribution to an upcoming group exhibition. For the show, each artist was given a blank doll which was to be finished according to the individual's desire. Abi's is a doll with two identities: Fire and Rain. Note the flame on the red doll's right hand and a rain drop on the blue one's. Abi drew the design on the doll with a pencil as she stitched along. That's a true artist, not a mere craftster!

Out for the Summer

2007-07-01T14:24:00.000-05:00

Halo-halo is a favorite treat in Manila, especially during the summer months. A tall glass is filled halfway with sweetened beans, coconut meat, jackfruit, yam, plantain, flan caramel, and rice crispies. Then the whole mix is covered with crushed ice, milk is poured on and topped with ice cream.

What goes in halo-halo.

How to prepare halo-halo.

Ice shaver fashioned after the traditional kind made of cast-iron.

JumpSheep gets woven in France

2007-06-26T09:50:00.001-05:00

Back in February, Le Forum de Filage held a yarn exchange called,
Le feu couve sous la glace. My godmother was Carine; and my godson, Paul -- not a spinner, but a weaver.

Last month, Paul sent me photos of what he had done with the yarns that I sent him. I was so delighted to see our work together -- a table runner -- and am equally delighted to share them with you. Paul wrote that it was his first time to weave with handspun yarn. Well, it was also my first time to have a weaver work with my yarn. : )

By the way, at last month's spinning retreat in France, Paul won my yarn -- which I had DHL'd when I learned I was quarantined -- at the raffle. It's a plied lace yarn in gold and burgundy.

Le Forum de Filage has opened an English section!

2007-06-18T20:04:00.000-05:00

I'm delighted to let anglophone spinners know that the French spinning group Le Forum de Filage has opened a new English section. This is after the spinners' retreat in the Cevennes in France was graced with the presence of anglophones Owen and Glynnis Poad of Majacraft in New Zealand. Also, the European spinners of the forum are planning to come to the U.S. for the Maryland Sheep and Wool and, eventually, visit the Majacraft factory in Tauranga. Therefore, they are brushing up on their English.

So far, we've heard from Andy Poad, son of Owen and Glynnis; Otto Strauch, creator of the fabulous drum carders; Elizabeth of Spinning from the Edge; and Natasha of Luxe.

Andy, along with brother, Rob, are fashioning a new Majacraft flyer as requested by Midian.

As Sandrine, the forum's host, describes it, "It's a small flyer, for baby bobbins and fat-core bobbins. Not a flyer for standard bobbins. Instead of an orifice for fine fibers it's a delta orifice like the standard flyer, but with e-hook. And of course fiber-glass arms."

So, there you are. If you want constant discussions daily, go join the filage forum!

I bring you what I missed...

2007-06-02T00:47:00.000-05:00

due to chickenpox: the spinning retreat in the Cevennes region of France. You can view photos taken by Richard and written about by Sandrine right here

More photos below courtesy of Sandrine, Muriel and Paul.

Joelle, the quintessential chic French woman played the ever-gracious hostess, along with her husband, Pascal. Here she is spinning with her suede boots on.

What spinner or weaver wouldn't want to get lost in a place like this:

A basket of fantasy handspuns by Joelle labeled "LamadeLaine". One for each of her spinning guests.

Florence with one of Joelle's affectionate donkeys.

Joelle with a gift from Paul: his own handwoven piece.

Joelle's basket of singles. This picture is so French country.

Owen Poad and his wife, Glynnis, of Majacraft flew all the way from New Zealand to attend the retreat. The francophone spinners are fanatic about the their wheels, The Little Gem and the Suzie Pro.

Laurence, Sandrine and Florence mesmerized by the sight of fleece.

The buffet table.

Table for twenty, at least.

Spinners, weavers and spouses breaking bread.

Joelle's husband flambéing cognac on the hearth.

The May babies: Christine, Spock, Agnes, Joelle and Muriel (me, too). On the right is Pascal who prepared the cake. By the way, Christine is translating the Elizabeth Zimmerman patterns into French for Meg Swensen.

Paul hamming it up with a handspun.

Muriel and Laurence.

The Belgians: Agnes and Florence with the emblematic Belgian beer.

Mic's van filled with swags, spinning equipment and tools.

The view on Monday morning, departure day. A promising sign. Next retreat will be at Mic's place in Fall 2008.

A missed opportunity, a surprise in the mail

2007-05-24T14:52:00.000-05:00

At this time today, I should be airborne on the way to the Cevennes region in France for the second francophone spinning retreat this long weekend (Memorial Day in the US; Pentecost in Catholic France). Attending are some 20 spinners from Switzerland, Belgium and, of course, France who hang out daily at the spinning forum, Tricofolk. Special guests at the event are Owen and Glynnis Poad, the couple behind the Majacraft spinning wheels from New Zealand. So apt, as the Tricofolk spinners are diehard Majacraft fans, especially of the Special Edition Alpaga Suzie Pro.

Anyway, hosting this time is Joelle, whom I had the opportunity to visit in October. She has a lovely place where she and her husband, Pascal, offer a country gîte to nature trekkers at certain periods of the year. Pascal was a lawyer practicing in Paris when he decided 29 years ago to go back to nature. Their business is called Balladanes and their service includes renting out donkeys and llamas to carry gear, and arranging for a stay in a series of other gîtes within the region for a guideless tour on foot with nothing else except provisions (Pascal is a fabulous hand in the kitchen) and a map. Unbeatable.

As luck would have it, I caught chickenpox and was forbidden to travel until the end of the month. That sure sucks, except, there's always a next time.

The good news is that, today, I got an unexpected package in the mail from amazon.com. In it was a copy of "Victorian Lace Today" which I have been eyeing at the bookstore, but which I never bought. DH, after opening the box for me, started reading a note on the invoice in French. It was a gift from Laurence, a.k.a. Laine Zinzin, one of the spinners who will in the Cevennes tomorrow. The note read: "Here is something to distract you while waiting for your pox to go away. You need a lot of concentration to work on lace." True, I have been spinning lace lately. It's just appropriate that I should start knitting lace as well. Merci, Laurence!

JumpSheep Handspuns & Hand-dyed Sock Yarns at MSWF

2007-05-05T06:36:00.000-05:00

I will not be able to shop for fleece and test-drive spinning wheels due to work, but about sixty of JumpSheep handspuns and sock yarns will be on sale at the Springwater Fiber Workshop booth in the Main building.

Enjoy! I look forward to reading about this weekend in the spinning blogs.

Je serai en voyage à partir d'aujourd'hui

2007-04-27T19:00:00.000-05:00

Hotel Rwanda: du 30 avril au 5 mai
chez-Florence: le 6 mai

Vive la langue française!

2007-04-16T08:38:00.000-05:00

Et merci à mon amie Bonne Marie pour ce lien:

Denis, t'as pas perdu tout sens de l'humour et c'est pour ça sûrement que t'as survecu à Washington aussi long. Comme moi.

In May: the face of things to come

2007-03-30T11:03:00.000-05:00

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival takes place (as if everyone didn't know already!) on the first full weekend of May.

Fiber addicts attempting to load 500 lbs of fiber into a van. Photo from the fiber shop in Japan called Spinhouse. Its magazine is called Spinnuts.

Charkhas for Ethiopia

2007-03-19T12:50:00.000-05:00

I returned from a Youth and AIDS meeting in Johannesburg last week and found this email from one of the Ethiopian participants I met there. His name is Nibretie, a program officer from a UN agency in Addis Ababa. He wrote:

Dear Therese,

Thank you for all your logistical support for the Regional Consultation in South Africa.

Please advise how we should start the project you told me last time to support women in spinning and weaving. Maybe you could send me the type of materials that could be made available so that I can discuss the issue with my colleagues and partners?

As you know, there are a number of destitute women who need to be supported to improve their livelihood. There are also sex workers and women living with HIV/AIDS who badly need such support.

Thank you and kind regards,

Nibretie

Today, as I was sipping coffee at the office cafeteria after lunch, who should I see but Nibretie, in Washington for a training course. He was surpised to see me as well as he didn't think I was based in Washington.

Now I have to quickly put together something for Nibretie to take back to Addis. Fortunately, I still have one book charkha at home. I've just ordered a DVD copy of "Basic Techniques and Charkha Proficiency" by Eileen Hallman to serve as a manual and I hope it arrives before he leaves end of next week.

Today I also placed an order for a Babe charkha and Pinkie from Nels Wiberg of Babe's Fiber Garden. The Babe will go to Ethiopia, while the Pinkie will go to Mali. I have a standing request from Korotimi of the Sinigessigui guild in Ségou, Mali, for a Pinkie.

Previously, I gave Sinigessigui four sets of handcarders and four book charkhas. At that time, I didn't know the Malians knew how to use spinning wheels so I brought only one Pinkie which went to the Nieleni guild in the same city. Korotimi has since, checked out the Pinkie at their sister guild and I got an email saying, yes, they are interested in receiving one.

Midian's Troll Umbrella

2007-03-18T21:52:00.000-05:00

The gigantic parasol that I saw at the Filature Houard showroom reminded me of the work of my Swiss friend, Midian.

Midian is a fellow spinner. She is also a fabulous lace knitter who specializes in shawls, but her parasol creation is nothing less than breath-taking.

Midian calls it the troll umbrella, after the Scandinavian folklore of supernatural beings thought of as giants (or sometimes, dwarfs). It is an umbrella with 10 panels fitted over the frame of an antique one that she restored.

See Midian's home -- which is wired with cameras -- here. The interior evokes the same romantic character as knitted lace.

Filature Houard

2007-03-12T13:59:00.000-05:00

This is the famous French yarn manufacturer I discovered through Laine Zinzin. It's located about an hour or so from Montpellier and Toulouse, or somewhere between Provence (South) and the Pyrénées (Southwest). If you are in the area and driving around, don't fail to visit the factory showroom because I've heard the company is in financial trouble, which is distressing. In fact, I can no longer access either of its two websites.

The store window from inside.

Scenes from the store.

An umbrella made of yarn.

Mill ends on the mezzanine floor.

The cashier asked if I was a weaver and I answered "no" and that puzzled her. So I explained that I'm a spinner. She still looked puzzled. I further explained that I use their yarn to ply with mine and mentioned to her that spinning in the US is "tres tendance" -- very trendy. She did mention that there was a lady who would come to the shop from time to time and buy lots of cones to send to friends in the US. As some of us know, that lady is none other than Laine Zinzin herself.

My modest loot from the store and the upstairs outlet. There was so much stuff in the outlet section that it took me no less than two hours to find just a few cones that I liked. You really have to dive into the corral of mill ends.

Yarn Invasion of the Alien Planet

2007-02-16T18:22:00.000-05:00

Here is my submission to The Yarn Museum in the "Surreal" section. Thanks to Adrian of helloyarn for photographing tips.

Valentine à la française

2007-02-14T04:00:00.000-05:00

This is the day I get to open my exchange gift from Le Forum de Filage. My marraine (godmother) is Carine from Belgium whom I met in France last September. As you will see in the following photos, Carine put a lot of effort, care and stuff in the package. The idea behind the exchange was to gift a filleul (godchild) one's handspun, an interpretation of the theme "le feu couve sous la glace" -- fire sits under ice, referring to Red Hot Day in the midst of Winter. The sender was also to add one's regional specialties and other goodies. The cream on top of my marvelous package was Carine's handspun: very finely spun and extremely balanced yarn only in the softest wool fiber. Merci, Carine!

Natasha Fialkov, you're my hero!

2007-02-10T14:54:00.000-05:00

Armed with the dishwasher photo uploaded by Tala of Black Cat and Handspun, I followed the 5000-word instructions of my fellow Camp Pluckyfluff alumna, Natasha, for dishwasher dyeing.

Here is my succinct rendition:

Fill the zipper freezer bag with water, soak in the fiber, squish until the fiber looks transparent. Squeeze and pour out the water. Mix the dye and vinegar, pour into the bag. Press to distribute the dye. Zip to just 1/4 inch to the end. Place in the dishwasher and run the longest and hottest cycle (no scrub) and heat dry.

I shared this idea with the Euro spinners on the French Tricofolk forum and they thought the wool would felt. So, I tried it myself using normal cycle, no pot and pan scrub. While I was able to card 100 percent of the fiber -- which meant it didn't felt -- I did have to open up the fibers at the end. Next time I will just run it on water miser just to see if there's a difference.

Here are the rovings after dyeing in the dishwasher and drying in the washing machine.

The fibers did need some opening up.

The fiber, 100 percent carded up. No felting.

Into the drumcard slicker (if you want one go talk to Heidi of The Artful Ewe)...

Unrolled...

Very nice...

Up close.