oOo.. ahhhh

On Thursdays I have Design class in the morning. Um, I don't really know what to say about this class. lol. I find it challenging (mostly because of personal reasons, that I won't go into) but this week I am really proud of what I made and wanted to share it with the world!

One of our in class assignments was to create a self portrait and then create two design templates. The whole class was just doing this on a whim because the teacher was guiding us through it step by step. When we finished the three pieces the teacher told us to cut up our self portraits (I know, I couldn't believe it either, especially because I really liked mine! A lot of us did.) And then use the portrait for pieces in the templates. (Confusing, I know. I'm going to add pictures. It will all make sense. lol) One of the templates was supposed to be symmetrical and the other asymmetrical. (Apparently, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be) I really liked my symmetrical one (I actually "hung" (by hung I mean used masking tape to put it up. lol) it on my wall) I had a harder time with the asymmetrical one beacuse apparently there was too much negative space, but I was fairly happy with how it turned out.

On to the pictures!

(love this one!)

(the art work is lacking in text because I didn't have ink for my printer for about 2 weeks)

I am so impressed!

As you read a few posts back, I purchased 2lbs of Shetland fleece from Serenity Sheep Woolens on Etsy. Well, it arrived today! It came a lot sooner than I had planned! (I was expecting early or mid next week) So you can imagine my surprise when I opened up the mailbox and saw a key waiting for me! The thought ran through my mind that it could have been one of my swap packages from Craftster, but none of my partners told me they mailed their items. So, like a giddy little girl I grabbed the key and bent over to unlock the larger mailbox and found this:

(minus the kitty... hehe)

Right away I checked the label to get a clue of the contents that may be inside... and I was right!I grabbed the nearest sharp thing, which luckily was scissors! and opened up this bad boy!It was jammed packed in there! I was surprised when I pulled it out, and fluffed it up a little that this "tiny" little box (15-1/2"x11"x5-1/2") held 2lbs of fleece!!

(12" ruler for size comparisson)

And a crappy picture of the staple length for good measure. (no pun intended! lol)
This fleece is surprisingly clean! The first raw fleece I ever received was sooooooo (x10) greasy I still haven't de-lanolin-ized it (yes I just created a new word ;) lol) (I've written about it in one of my drum carding posts) But, this one! Beautiful! I can't wait to clean it up, dye it and spin it! Thank you Serenity Sheep Woolens!!!!

finally...

I bought some acid dyes from Maiwa. It's just your basic starter kit, but it came with everything I need for right now.

(Instructions, Acid, Red, Yellow, and Turquoise dye powders)

It was very exciting! Now I just need to find some time to dye. lol I think I'm going to dye the Shetland fleece I bought from Etsy, but that will take awhile because it will need to be cleaned in batches (unlike when I washed one of my llama fleeces all in one go .. big mistake .. lol)

something new!

Caution: May contain TOO many pictures


Last friday, we learned how to weave! I finally remembered to bring my camera this friday, so that I could take pictures of my progress.

We started on a Woolhouse Tools (Canadian company!) table loom and next semester we will be on floor looms. (We do have the option of switching to a floor loom half way through this class for our final project, which I might do because I have a loom at home. Then I would only have to go to class in the mornings)

(my loom)

So, yesterday (friday) I got quite a bit of weaving done. I really liked doing patterns, and I think that will be where my main focus is. A lot of my classmates where using different weft objects, such as plastic bags, cloth, leather, fishing line, raffia, etc. Some of it looked ok, but I'm more of a fan of "traditional" weaving. Just plain 'ol yarn on yarn! lol But I did get a little "crazy" with the weft.

(click on the picture to enlarge it)

I used pipe cleaner and ribbon! (check this out, I found it while searching for a picture of pipe cleaners! lol)

(close up of pipe cleaner. so cute!)

I really liked how the pipe cleaner turned out, except the sharp little ends. If I were to use it in the future, I don't know how I could keep the ends from poking me. Maybe fold it back and wrap it around it's self? Please leave suggestions in the comment box. :)

While playing around I also developed my own pattern. I'm sure it's been done somewhere or at some point in the history of weaving (considering weaving dates back to at least 5000 B.C.) BUT, I drafted it on graph paper and wove it myself. So I'm calling it mine, until further notice. :)

Here is a close up

When I was drawing (writing/drafting?) up the pattern I originally wanted large circles, but I think I needed to take in consideration that I was working on a 10 e.p.i. (ends per inch)

I should have created something that was more spaced out or wove it on a bigger e.p.i. OR developed a pattern that had a different heedle set up (I think I'm getting too ahead of myself now! lol)

Next week we are finishing our samplers and moving on to color! I can't wait! I think we are also going to learn how to do more complicated patterns. I'm pretty excited about that too! So I'll try my best to remember my camera so I can overload another post with pictures.

Side note: I'm going to Maiwa today for school supplies, and also some acid dyes so I can dye more fleece (the Shetland I have coming in the mail!) and yarn.

look what I can do...

... in a 3 hour break between classes on a Thursday

("Party Gone Wrong" - 163 yards of Unknown Fiber)

Last semester we had a class on spinning and I got a little carried away and drum carded a few batts of random fiber from a giant bag of unknown fleece (I wish I had a picture of it)(I drum carded because I already knew how to spin). The batts sat around the classroom all semester and I finally decided that since no one was going to do anything with them, I would spin them. So the above skein is the product of my fiber obsession. The colors are a little darker in person. We have had really bad fog the past few days, so the lighting was bad in class.

Side note:
I ordered a 2lbs Shetland fleece on Etsy from Serenity Sheep Woolens. It should be arriving here in 5-7 business days! I can't wait!

a little update...

I HAVE been working on stuff, but I can't post it just yet, because they are presents. Mostly for Craftster swaps, so once my partners receive I can post lots of pictures! lol School has been good, definitely keeping me busy, as well as my part time job, so my crafting time has been cut dramatically. I'll try and post something interesting, maybe tonight? I did get my tapestry back, so I can post a picture of the whole thing... but.. i'll make you wait, to build suspense. muwhaha :D

i'm in love...

...with machine embroidery.

I had my first Surface Design class of the semester today and we learned how to machine embroider. (We also learned how to use Opulence Pigment as a painting medium on fabric by "watering" it down with ____ (can't remember what it's called. I'll update when I find out).) I first traced out an owl (I'm doing an owl themed swap on Craftster) and then traced it on to fabric with a fabric pencil (I don't have a picture of the sketch, unfortunately).

The owl was then machine embroidered using a special "free motion foot" (which pretty much just a foot that does not touch the fabric and protects your fingers (most times) from getting sewn).) I loved the owl just the way it was, in all it's free form glory, but because it was just black thread on a plain 100% white cotton, I thought it need a little ... "more" ...
So, I used a stiff stencil brush to apply a "watered" down brown pigment to him. (he looks a lot better in real life, but I think that I still like him in his first, "natural" state.) This process was easy enough to do, that I might replicate him and try different colors or even just a different brush to get a more even coat.I think he looks like a "Henry" to me...

Today, we shall remember....

I had to haul this thing back to school today. It must have weighed at least 10lbs. (which doesn't seem like a lot, but it is. Especially with a backpack on, trudging through the snow) I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy that I have my dining room table back, but sad that I won't have easy access to a drum carder. I will now have to haul fiber to school (at least it will be lighter *wink*) and card it there.

As I lugged this thing on the 2 buses, a skytrain, and another 2 buses, today, I set a goal for myself. If I pass my program with an A- or higher in all my classes, I will buy a drum carder. I've been wanting a drum carder for at least a year now, and I think this is a good goal. It will give me more motivation to do well in school and I won't just run out and buy one, now that I don't have my own drum carder at home.

i'm going to need a bigger basket...

Today's post was brought to you by the letter "S" and the number 2.

Last spring my friend V and I did a spinning demo at a local farm called "Maplewood Farm". V was invited on stage and helped the sheep get sheared. (I wish I could have gotten a picture of that!) At the end of the day we were given a gift of a fleece and a half from the sheep that got their hair cut that day. One was white, and the other was "black" (it's actually almost black with a bit of grey and some brown tips (bleached from the sun)). Both of us were super excited, but had never cleaned a fleece before (that's a story in itself. hehe). After many mini adventures of picking, cleaning, and re-cleaning. I took most of the white fleece to school (I'm lucky enough to have full access to any kind of textile supplies you could think of. More or less.) and I dyed the fleece a rainbow of colors using Ciba Acid dyes. The fleece then sat on patio for a few weeks *cough* and then in a cardboard box, paper bag, and rubbermaid container (poor thing ... lol) until tonight. (I borrowed a drum carder (picture shown is not the actual model of drum carder I used)) So, I sat down on the floor and sorted all of the colors into piles.

(cat for size reference *wink* )

After sorting the piles it made me realize, I'm going to need a bigger basket for storing all the batts I have to card! haha. So now, making a large basket is on my ever growing "to do" list. After a few hours (with lots of breaks of course!) I drum carded 17 batts!So, that leaves me with the yellow, yellow purple mix (I don't think this one is going to turn out very nice), grey (it was supposed to be black), green, and purple. Unfortunately though, I have to bring the drum carder back to school this Monday. That means I'll have to bring my fleece into school and drum card after class, not that I mind. I actually enjoy drum carding, it's very relaxing.

Dealing with this fleece was definitely a challenge. I am sure I will have more challenges with it considering I'm not even half done (note: the fleece packed to the brim in the box; in the first picture) It was and still is fairly greasy, even after washing it at least 5 times (I don't think i used hot enough water.. and I also left it to cool). I am hoping that after I spin it, I'll wash it again and it will release more of the grease. Even though it was kind of a mess, and a hassle I would definitely purchase a raw fleece in the future. I really like doing everything by myself right from the start. I look forward to seeing what kind of yarn this will create. I think I'm going to spin a few skeins of patchwork yarn.

happy new year

Well I can't believe it's 2009! I just wanted to wish everyone good luck and I hope they had a good holiday.

Some of my goals for 2009:
-get A- or higher in all my classes
-live a more frugal lifestyle
-post on my blog every 2-3 days
-stop procrastinating
-sell at a local farm market/craft fair
-learn how to knit intarsia
-make a minimum of 1 gift a month (to stock pile for next xmas... )

I don't think those goals will be too hard to accomplish, I just can't expect it all to happen in the first month :D

what are you goals?