me, a cap & tassle - and my spindle!

Yep.  That’s me, spindling during the graduation ceremony rehearsals. 

The biggest thing?  I ACTUALLY FINISHED SOMETHING. 

I had a great time, and my wonderful boyfriend was there to cheer me on- will wonders never cease?  Of course, there was the obligatory statement; “CONGRATULATIONS – NOW GET A JOB!”  LOL! 

After graduation, I got taken out to dinner at Cafe’ Fiore, my favorite restaurant in town.  Wine, fabulous food (Lamb shanks and gorgonzola gnocchi for me), and great atmosphere.  Yum! 

Here’s a few pics: 

I took this photo for my Ravelry buddies

toasting the moment at Cafe Fiore

Sam reveiws the tab (in mock horror!)

my "Paparazzi" moment

The gorgeous fig that survived -- in spite of me!

 When did I become such a slacker?  

Take gardening, for example.  I used to get so excited to tend my little “porch” garden, planting fresh herbs and flowers every season, weeding —  showering them with love.  My little harvest was a haven — my little “escape” from city dwelling.  This year?  Not so much.  The lovely fruit above survived with no help from me.  Even the herbs have died –and they love to be ignored.  

I don’t exactly know when I started to slack off.  Maybe during my returning student phase — which is actually just coming to an end.  But I worry:  Can people who grow lazy and/or loose their mojo get it back?   

 I remember there was a movie a few years ago….I think it was called “How Stella got her groove back”….Well, it seems like I am right there with Stella.  I need to place a “911″ call to somebody –to try and get “IT” back.  If I just knew what “IT” was!!  

To be fair, it could just be that I’m not cut out for the full-time student gig.  All the bullshit general ed courses, which I’ll never use again.  Sitting in one place, studying.  Memorizing useless information.  Heck, anybody could get sick of that, right?  

I do know that I love working in a challenging  job - but I love to “craft” so much more!  

I have also really enjoyed getting to know some new friends this year.  Lately I seem to be drawn to creative folks “like a bee to honey. ”  Maybe I’m looking for my own brand of medicine? Could these new creative friends have some extra mojo –and would they lend me some?  

So, here’s my dilemma:  I really suck at making major life decisions.   

 When I started my last career (escrow officer), I was just really grateful to have a job with a future.  I worked hard.  I struggled.  I strived to succeed.  I forgot about friends, my family, my own interests….I lost myself.  

And now, tomorrow, I graduate from college.  I am a “paralegal”.  I need to take a major huge test to get certified. More studying and memorizing. More money for tests, pressure, stress.  And an iffy job market.  And – who knows if I’ll even LIKE working as a paralegal?  

I keep wondering —  Will I lose myself again?  Will I ever get my mojo back?  Should I have chosen to go to fashion design or art school instead of a business college?  I just really really want to create stuff!  And lately, it seems to be the only thing that gives me that “feeling” of happiness, that “bounce” in my steps….that reason to jump out of bed in the morning, because you can’t wait to get going.  

Nobody really has the answer for me, I know.  I just wish someone would lend me their crystal ball for a day.  

That’s it from the home-front. I promise to be back with more good times soon….just not today.  

I’ll leave you with my new favorite self portrait:  

Fiber LOVE

Inspiration - ahhhh, Lance - We Love You!

Spinners everywhere are gearing up for the annual “Tour de Fleece” contest.  

Inspired by the Tour de France, the  “Tour de Fleece” contest is held during the actual days of the tour – July 3rd to July 25th, 2010.   

Over on Ravelry, there are over 145 individual teams, and 7  formal Ravelry Group teams involved in the event. You can join as many teams as you want –  or can HANDLE!  

For example: in addition to being on TEAM ROGUE 2010, my “home” team, I’m also on Team COLORBOMBERS -  cause I need to spend some artistic time with my own personal spinning buddha, Velma . Or you can totally just spin on your own.  

As the unofficial  Team Captain of the ROGUE ADVENTURES FANS team, I help to organize our own internal club contests, prizes – donated by team members  – ’cause our team ROCKS – and head up the cheerleading squad.  Check out our COOL contest categories:  

1.Squooshiest yarn (need I say more?)  

2.Best Tour de Fleece inspired yarn (Inspired by the actual Tour de France)  

3.Biggest diversity of yarn weights spun during the Tour (Examples: You spin up super fine, sport weight, worsted, Aran, bulky, and sailboat rope)  

4. Most amount of Rogue Adventures fiber spun during the tour (each 4 oz braid counts as one “point”) and no- having the most Rogue Adventures stash does NOT count! I’m betting that Trish will be donating the prize for this contest, haha!   

5.Most creative plying. This can include: plying with thread, metallics, thick and thin, chain mail, caution tape..etc. etc…  

6.Most amazing pushing –the- boundries- of- spinning- yarn (example: spinning toilet paper into yarn? OK! Spin dryer lint? You bet! Wanna spin up some Chinchilla dandruff? Not for the faint of heart, but ok too!)  

7.Best picture of you spinning during the Tour (clothing required!)  

8.Best STORY about the most expensive skein of yarn (for you) that YOU spun during the Tour (quiviut? Cashmere? How about the yarn you spun with the new Golding spinning wheel you spent $6,000 dollars on – should that count!?? I’m not sure if plane tickets to spin in Fiji can be included – I don’t think so)  

9.Most complete braids of DIFFERENT types of ROGUE ADVENTURES Fibers spun during the TDF (for example: BFL, SW BFL, Merino, SW Merino, Merino-silk, Falklands, Colonial, Silk caps) Caveat: Wheel spinners, you need to spin the whole 4 oz braid of each fiber. Spindle spinners, however, can spin 2 oz of each braid to qualify.  

10. Highest number of plies (now is your chance to try the 10 ply yarn – weeee!)  

11. Finest WPI Froghair yarn – But we still have to be able to SEE it!!!  

12. Most yardage spun during the tour – come ON you sweater people!  

Come on over to Ravelry – it’s FREE to join – and get some cool new spinning “mojo”! Join us!!  Join our TEAM!!  

GO TEAM GO!!!  

Le Tour!

CHECK OUT MY AWESOME "CHALLENGE" YARN!

Need to jump start your spinning?  Try organizing your own “Spinners Challenge” session! 

The idea came to me after my recent road trip to Black Sheep Gathering.  

Traveling to Oregon was both beautiful and inspiring. And there was so much to be inspired by at the event: The scrumptious, good-enough-to-eat colors of  hand dyed fibers which begged to be spun; the gorgeous artisan made hand spindles and spinning wheels; and the endless vistas of Oregon and Northern California on the drive home — the trip was like a drink of water for my thirsty senses — and I NEEDED to be “re”- inspired! 

Therefore, when my traveling buddy called me over for a “play date” – she wanted to learn to spin on her big “find “of the trip —  a mint condition “California Bulky Spinner” ( and I just happen to have one  of my own that I love ) I came up with a brilliant idea: 

Why not plan our own creative “spinners challenge” for the day?  

Confident that my inspiration was genius, I packed my own Bulky Spinner in the car, along with the brightest hand dyed fleece, angelina and threads from my “stash”, and headed off to my “date”. 

Of course, being the BEST kind of friend, my buddy went for the idea in a flash; I would card up some wild batts on her drum carder, which we would then spin in tandem on our wheels, and ply with the space dyed sock yarn that I had brought along for color inspiration.  This time, I would be in charge of color, texture, and technique, and we would both spin side by side, using the beauty of the “art batts” to make a chunky, textured single. 

Well, it worked out even better than I had imagined.  Not only did we have a glorious time, we came up with the most AMAZING yarn! 

Here are a few pics of our day: 

Is this an amazing art batt or WHAT?!

our 2 "kissing cousin" Bulky spinners - see their matching fiber bags?

Susan gets to know her new wheel

The plying yarn - which was also the inspiration for our batts

On the bobbin - isn't it awesome?

My "crazy spindle hat lady" look

Road trips. 

What does a “road trip” mean to you?

An adventure, a chance to see the countryside, experience new things, get to know your traveling buddy….AND – a reason to be really, really glad to get home!

My friend Susan and I just got back from a road trip – we traveled over 1700 miles, driving up the I-5 through California, into Oregon, finally landing in Eugene, Oregon. We had a goal – to attend Black Sheep Gathering - and a job to do on the way.

Several months ago, one of my “online”  friends suggested that driving up to attend Black Sheep Gathering would be fun.  You see, Black Sheep Gathering is one of the biggest and best of the fiber festivals in the country, and I hadn’t had an opportunity to go to one for decades.  A bunch of my online spinning buddies live in Oregon, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to meet them, enjoy fiber folks, and just brush off some tension after completing my Paralegal Program.  The problem was that I’m still an unemployed “starving student.”  How could I justify the trip, even if I drove?

I had the brilliant idea that I’d post an ad on the web, for delivery available – RABBIT delivery!  I have my own German Angora rabbits, and I know how hard it is to get close to another breeder if you want one.  So I posted an ad, wrote up a little “contract”, and waited.  No response.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks prior to the event.  I was still wanting to go, but thinking that it might not happen.  However, I posted my little transport ad again, this time to about 5 different rabbit groups on Yahoo.  Voila!  I had a response!  Which lead to another friend of the first person, and a friend of a friend of the 2nd person…

In the end, I ended up taking 17 rabbits – all in the back of my PT cruiser!!!  Now THAT is amazing!

To accomplish this amazing feat I built a special “shelf” for the back of my car, crafted from plywood and wood, and it worked like magic.  I was able to stow the larger cages below, and a few smaller cages above – along with our luggage, mini-cooler, and emergency supplies. I still can’t believe we got 17 rabbits in there!  We had all kinds, too – Flemish Giants, German angoras, Californians, Netherland dwarves, and Mini-rexes.

Oh– and my buddy Susan saw my blog about the potential trip, and “nudged” me about becoming a travel buddy – who would have thunk that  anyone else would join me in the asylum??  So it was set — we were going!

Well, we ended up having a BLAST – with laughs, good times, and experiences that neither one of us will forget.  Of course, by the end of the trip, we were both ready to get home.  But I’d do it again in a heartbeat!!

Here are just a few of my favorite things about our trip:

1.  Learning more about my friend Susan of Wild Onion Studio.

2. Meeting up with my many online buddies from Ravelry.

3.  Getting to meet the very special Trish Koppala of Rogue Adventures.

4. Meeting my IDOL Carrie from Harvest Moon Angoras.

5. Trying out the Hansen Mini Spinner – and meeting my surrogate Mom and Pop, Beth and Kevin Hansen – I love you guys!!

6.  Checking out all the different sheep breeds and fiber animals at the event – I really really miss having sheep!  In my next lifetime, I want to have a flock of Shetland Sheep – oh, and a beautiful farm with lots of green grass for them to eat, of course!

7. Meeting another spinning idol, the unbelievably fun Velma from Colorbomb Creations – Velma, you are a hoot, and I’m sorry our time was so short!

8. Selecting not one, but TWO hand spindles  for my growing collection, er, obsession.  I came home with a featherweight maple burl with walnut shaft from Cascade Mt., and a black walnut bottom whorl Magpie spindle from Carolina Homespun - Oh, and I got to meet Morgaine Wilder!!!!  Yes, she’s a rock star!!!!

Other things that made our trip fun and memorable:

The bug storm we drove through near Willis, CA ….Ask me about it sometime, it was hilarious and horrifying, all at the same time! We also stopped for lunch TWICE in Weed, CA….yep, it sounds like a goofy town, but it is gorgeous.  The views of Mount Shasta and Shasta lake in Northern California were AMAZING.  My lovely traveling companion Susan got some recommendations prior to the trip for books on tape – well, we did listen to the David Sedaris selection,  which was excellent….but the other 2…not so much. 

Next time, I GET TO PICK THE BOOKS ON TAPE, LOL!

Lucky for us, we had enough to chat about that we didn’t really require diversions.  We actually got along like “Peas and Carrots”, as my Gran used to say.

The things that saved us during our journey?  Trader Joes, Starbucks, and TOM TOM.

It’s good to be home.

Susan enjoys a gourmet meal courtesy of Trader Joes - with WINE!

My first SOCK yarn- I'm so proud!

That’s right, people – I spun sock yarn! 

Not only is it sock yarn, it’s fingering weight – that is about the finest I’ve ever spun (on a wheel). 

I know that might not be a big deal to alot of you – after all, many people primarily spin fine yarns.  But me?  Not so much. 

So what did I learn from this?  Let’s see….. 

1. Ok, first and foremost – resign yourself to the fact that this will take awhile!  You might get frustrated, and go back to other projects when you are tired – it’s all good.  Just enjoy the process, and let it go.  If your first fine yarn doesn’t turn out as you planned – who cares??  It’s all about the journey. (sorry if I sound like a Hallmark card) Tip: Watch your drafting triangle.  Keep it cobwebby, or you’ll move out of the fine range. 

2. Fiber selection matters.  This yarn was spun from 4 ounces of superwash Blue Faced Leicester, which is perfect for spinning fine weight yarns, and is sturdy enough for socks.  I’ve tried spinning other fibers really fine, with limited success.  Pick a fiber that already wants to spin fine! 

3. Be patient.  I know – GROAN. I am probably the least patient person I know, at least when it comes to projects.  I want it done NOW.  But, you really can’t rush fine spinning, and if you do – it won’t work!  And be ready to take breaks, because your eyes and back will be killing you.  That being said, once I finished spinning my singles, it took almost 3 hours to PLY it!  And that was in pretty much one sitting – thank god for my Wooley Winder! 

4. Ply firmly.  Because your super fine singles have more twist, you need to put in enough of a ply (which takes out twist) to make a nice even yarn.  I tend to under ply, because I hate “hard” yarn, but the trick when plying fine yarn is to ply firmly.  Especially for socks (your yarn needs to stand up to constant wear and abrasion. 

Will I become a fine yarn spinner?  Probably not, I’m just too impatient.  But for the occasional sock or lace weight (gasp) project, I know I can make exactly the yarn I want. 

Try spinning fine – it’s an exercise worth doing. 

That's a dime, for reference.

Me and "Pepper", my German X doe

Ok, it’s almost here – the Annual Black Sheep Gathering, in Eugene, Oregon. 

Guess who’s going?  That’s right, ME!!! 

I’m so lucky — I decided to celebrate my graduation by driving up to Oregon for this famous “Fiber” extravaganza.  Yes, it’s a LONG drive – 14+ hours, to be exact – but I’m taking my time.  It’ll be fun to head off on a road trip.  I haven’t been on a road trip in so long! 

I have even figured out a way to help pay for the trip – I’m transporting Angora rabbits along the way!  I have Angoras and mini-rex rabbits so far, both on the way up and the way back.  That’s right, just me and the ‘bunnies” in the car – can you say HUGH HEFNER?!  hahaha 

Anyhow, the trip is getting more exciting all the time.  You see, lots of folks make the pilgrimage to Black Sheep each year, and many of my new Ravelry friends actually live nearby.  There are Ravelry member meetups, a pot-luck, bingo and prizes (you have to locate a person(bingo square), whom you have never met (probably), and fill your “bingo” card.  Hope I win!  There will be live music on saturday night, a fiber-trade, and of course – lots and lots of SPINNING.   Along with the famous wool show and sale (fleeces -oooooh), there are workshops, and even a Fiber Market – an entire building filled with all the tools, wheels, fibers and goodies you could ever want to buy.  I’m in heaven! 

The only problem is my starving student budget.  I’m actually hoping to sell a couple of pieces of equipment before the event, so I can have a little extra “mad money” to take with me.  But, even just being there and meeting my online friends with be huge fun! 

My red/fawn Angora doe – seen at the top of the post- is from Oregon as well.  I’ll be visiting with her mom and siblings while I’m in town. 

Check out the official Black Sheep Gathering page at http://www.blacksheepgathering.org/.  

I hope to see you there!

pArtAY on, Garth!

Ok, I have to admit – I’m a real novice on the computer. 

Don’t get me wrong – I can type a million term papers in Microsoft word, and make a spreadsheet.

But for artwork, or doing cool stuff with photos?  Not so much.  You see, I don’t have a MAC, which is the coolest computer for graphic artists.I also don’t have Photoshop, or any other fancy software.  What’s an aspiring computer geek to do? Google it, of course!

Recently, I was working on a project for our spinning “team” for the annual TOUR DE FLEECE contest on Ravelry.

As the official “instigator” of our team, I decided that it would be fun to make team “Ravatars” (that’s an avatar in Ravelry-speak)

I had been intrigued by the mini-ads that kept popping up on my screen – “avatar yourself”.  So, I clicked on one. 

Why didn’t I ever try this before???!!!  The one I ended up using is called MY WEBFACE, and it is wonderful!  Don’t be scared away by the offer to “join for Facebook” or whatever.  You can manipulate photos and save them to your computer without joining anything.

In fact, I had so much fun playing around with photos, I ended up spending most of the Holiday weekend in bed on my laptop!  (what better way to spend the holiday?) Well, I did a little spinning too.  But I was able to make quite a few samples during my practice.  And then, I made the coolest team “Ravatars” ever!  Check it out:

Yup, it's HOT!

Along with our Team Rogue “Ravatars”, I found out that it’s a pretty cool way to manipulate photos – without having to own Photoshop or some other really expensive software. 

Let’s hear it for surfing the internet!!!

My advice to you guys is to check out some of these “cartoon yourself” programs on the web.  You just might find out that it’s a great way to manipulate photos for your etsy shop, or blog.

Let me know what you think – I’d love to hear about some other free software which is great for photo manipulation. 

I DO intend to buy Photoshop when my budget allows. 

However, in the meantime – this is a great option for a starving student like me. 

Check out some of my other “practice” – I sure had fun!

Diet avatar - "before"

knitting Avatar

Yes, those are roving braids for eyeballs!!!

The original "Team Rogue" avatar - too hard to read when shrunk down to Avatar size.

Climbing the peak in Sequoia - my inspiration for "grey"

Lately, I’ve been working on some very colorful projects in my studio. 

Now that I’ve been working on more art-yarns and knitted garments, I’ve been trying to find a way to be more purposeful in my design.  I find that it’s not enough just to throw beautiful color and texture together – the random beauty of ingredients does NOT always = a beautiful finished product. However, when the mix turns magical – art yarns are heavenly!  As a matter of fact, many of my art yarns are so pretty, I can’t even bear to knit with them!   

So, other than hanging up skeins of yarn all over the house, I have decided to become more purposeful in their creation.  

For example:  I have yet to create the core-spun yarn to use in my (unfinished) post-Ravelympic project; a chunky shawl knitted with bulky corespun, following the pattern from Shannon at The Spun Money.   

I’m thinking about how I want to design this piece, rather than just blindly going for it.  I carded up some scrumptious art batts in a creamy-colorway, using light grey merino, kid mohair, tussah silk, gold pulled-silk threads, angelina, and alpaca.  I’m thinking about calling it the “marriage proposal” shawl.  I just envision the finished item looking great with a wedding dress in the summertime.  I’m also wondering if I should spin in some creamy beads and pearls.  Will they lend themselves to the design, or be too heavy?  Will keep you all posted.  

Monkeywrap, courtesy of the Spun Monkey

But, back to the topic of “inspiration.”  

My friend Susan uses photographs to inspire her colorways.  I love the idea of using the images and colors in a photograph to inspire the end product.  For example, the picture at the top of this post – I took a series of photos while we were on vacation in Sequoia National Park last summer.  Boyfriend thought I was crazy – I took about 75 different shots of the stone staircase leading up to one of the peaks in the park.  The images obviously inspired me in some way!  I love the shape of the stairs, cut from the natural stone of the mountain.  the greys have so many undertones of blue, cream, rose, and flecks of darker colors, plus the old metal railing, and the shadows – can you see this turning into an art yarn or knitting project?  Me too!  

This makes me wonder – how do other artists use everyday objects or events to inspire their creativity?  Lately, there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t stop and gaze at an image which inspires me.  Perhaps my creative juices are flowing, or maybe it is due to all the crafting I’ve been doing lately.  I’m sure the many years I worked at that BAD escrow job – you know the one; I worked 20 hours a day, with no crafting for ten years?  That’s it — anyway, after such a dry spell, perhaps all that pent-up creativity is ready to explode?  

For whatever reason, I’m thankful to be inspired again.   

I’d love to hear what inspires you, too.