Smoky Mountain Fiber Art Festival

Last summer (while still living in California), my mama and I went on a girl date to a fiber festival near Oceanside that had the most wonderful assortment of fibers and yarn and spindles and wheels and accessories for all your fiber art needs, I was in heaven!

There we ran into vendors that moved to California from Knoxville (where we live now) and told me that here (Knoxville) they have many fiber festivals, some big and some small... as this kind of craft is a huge deal in East Tennessee! I was going to be surrounded by "my people"! Woohoo!

 I've been waiting for this weekend to come since last summer... at last... it came!!!

 The festival was south of us about an hour, and the drive there was absolutely breathtaking! So much bright green and flowers blooming, I felt as if I died and gone to heaven! Though I could do without the humidity... my hair became my mane! No worries, I was going on a fun trip!


 My beloved came with me, he and I are inseparable,  we are best friends and love to do things together!!! The deal was that I drive as he sleeps as he has an odd work schedule, but I didn't mind at all!

I am my beloved and my beloved is mine!

 Arriving to the festival, it was in a little town called Townsend which was pretty much at the feet of the Smoky Mountains! When we got there, I felt like I was somewhere in Rivendale or the Shire from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy! I was off on an adventure... One Spinning Wheel to rule them all...  Ha Ha!

 

one of the cabins in townsend that the vendors used to show off their items!

The festival was surprisingly small, but had top quality vendors with their assortment of goodies to sell! The festival was set in the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center, The Heritage Center is home to 13 historic buildings that have been furnished according to the period in which they were built. Including a wheelwright shop, a set-off house, cantilever barns, log cabins, a smokehouse, and even an outhouse!

Some of the vendors had tents outside and some set up shop in one of the cabins! It was so rustic and quaint that one of the cabins had an old mattress made out of feathers! 

Inside one of the cabins! So charming!

 My favorite part of the whole festival was seeing the sheep and alpaca from a local sheep farmer! Dustin and my dream is to have a small homestead and have sheep one day. So seeing them there, my husband had to go and have a chat with him! 

He had angora sheep, a ewe and her little lamb and a rare breed that he is breeding and conserving called Romeldale. So far this is what I learned about them that I find fascinating! - The Romedale  is an American fine wool breed, and the California Variegated Mutant, or CVM, is its multi-colored derivative. Both the CVM and the Romeldale are unique to the United States and are endangered. This group of Romney-Rambouillet crosses were bred for several years and selected for both wool and meat quality. The CVM and Romeldale sheep have never been numerous, and today they are quite rare.The breed’s fleece quality and performance characteristics, however, make them useful for many production systems and valuable to handspinners and other fiber artists.

Two brown sheep are the Romeldale's and a ewe with her lamb!

 My husband had a good discussion about the breed of sheep and other information and the sheep farmer gave dustin his card for future questions/information, which we are excited about! Slowly we are figuring out what kind of sheep would be suitable for us to raise! The fun part is the journey to the destination, don't you think?

My hottie-hot-hottie!

 It was a wonderful day, and the weather was nice, though it was humid there was awesome cloud cover! I was inspired by all that I have seen and learned quite a lot of different techniques and dyes and how others created their own small businesses! So much to do and so little time! 

A mama and her baby!

My husband talking about this shepherd's sheep

a HUGE dog keeping watch over his charge.

Angora sheep... that face. Ha Ha!

Angora Rabbit, i've seen spinners place these gentle rabbits on their lap and spin it's fur into yarn directly off the rabbit (when the rabbit is shedding), how cool!

Finally mastering the Drop Spindle!!!!

I absolutely LOVE my Kiwi spinning wheel, I love the feeling of pedaling and hearing the soft "whir" it omits when I spin, and feeling the fiber drafting from my fingers onto the flyer... and another thing I love about it, is how fast I can spin the yarn and ply it!

But sometimes, I'd rather spin in a way I can move around my home or I can take my fiber to a local coffee shop or at barnes and noble (as my husband is studying), but bringing my spinning wheel would be not only difficult but would look rather silly! So what is a girl to do?

 A drop spindle is such a simply little thing, isn't it? All it has is a hook attached to the shaft with a whorl! I can put into my purse wherever I go and when I feel like spinning, I just whip it out with the small amount of fiber and begin to spin! Even in our vehicle when we are driving long distance!

One thing I just could not master with the drop spindle was allowing it drop in the air while spinning and drafting at the same time! Each time I practiced, it would stop spinning, or begin to spin backwards, or the fiber would break completely!

But finally! After practicing more, I have now mastered not just standing while spinning on my drop spindle, but I can walk around the house while it is spinning!

When I finally got it right, I was so tense!!!! I was so excited that I was finally doing it, that I didn't want to break my rhythm by breathing! Ha ha!

After relaxing (a little), I asked my hubby to record me actually doing it! I look a bit tense (as I just finally mastered it) but please... rejoice with me... I did it!!!!!

Sorry for the bad hair and lack of makeup! It was a lazy day at home with the husband, and wanted him to quickly video tape it while I still had it! Ha Ha!

In Christ alone, my hope is found!

This post is more of an encouragement to all who are followers of Jesus Christ!

 About 2 weeks ago I was going through something emotional, and felt such a burden on my heart, so in order to calm myself down I began to spin some yarn...

As I was spinning the Lord began to speak to my heart, He said very simply...

Elisa, I am the potter and you are the clay, but let me explain this in a way that you will understand and can relate too...

I am like the spinner on a wheel and you are the fiber being spun from my hand!

This spinning wheel is like life, the wheel keeps spinning just like life keeps going... time stops for no man. I am the one who treadle the wheel to spin, because I am the Author of life, I hold time in my hands and am not limited by time...

During life you will go through many ups and downs... Like a soft fiber of wool, fluffy and extremely easy to rip apart.

 But in my hands you won't stay soft and fluffy... you will be turned into something strong. In order to come out more than a conqueror, victorious, and an overcome you must go through a time of drafting...

When you draft your fiber while spinning, you are stretching the fiber to the max that you want in order to get thick or thin yarn. You may feel as if you are being stretched to the limit, and you are hanging on to the tip of a string and feel as if you will break and collapse and not recover, but know this... I am the one holding you as draft your faith, I will not let you go. And if you break, I will cast you back on again, for I hold you with My hands.

While drafting there will be lumps in the fiber that you have to pick out and toss or else it will have an impact on the yarn in a not so great way... Same goes for you, there will be times that I will bring to your attention what things in your life needs to be plucked out that would stumble you or weaken your faith, trust Me when I say to let it go!


All this drafting and plucking in your life may hurt, but this is all temporary!For in the end you will be unbreakable like the twist of a yarn! 

Trust me, Elisa. You are in my hands and you will not be forsaken or forgotten, I hold you in my hand and gently draft you into something stronger, something better, and something valuable... You are precious to me and no matter what, I will never let you go. 

Be encouraged my dear, friends! To Him be the Glory!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Ice Storm February 2015, Tennessee

About 3 months ago my beloved husband and I moved from sunny California (I was born and raised there) to Knoxville, so this is my first Ice storm/lots of snow and I honestly thought i'd be panicking more than I thought! I was a bit nervous when it was happening, but other than that, I enjoyed seeing the aftermath in our neighborhood... It's a White Wonderland!

 So what do you think I did during all this cold? Yup, you got it! Made a whole new batch of dyed tunis/alpaca with some merino wool into the mix!

You know, after carding the already dyed wool, I was wondering, "Is there a way I can spin straight from the carder onto the bobbin?", so after some research and learned of different techniques, I decided to give it a "whorl" (HAHAHA! I crack myself up... C'mon... that was a real knee slapper.), and it was amazing!

Spinning straight from the carder onto the bobbin next to our fireplace in this cold weather... Heavenly!

I will admit, I was quite excited to have found the right technique for me that I asked my husband to record it...

But other than learning this new technique I had the most wonderful time spinning one bobbin (filled it all up!) and now working on my second bobbin in order to ply! The colors are more on the purple hue side with some tinsel to add sparkle! 

I just remember a dream I had not too long ago that I was sitting in a clear field with trees surrounding the field. There was only one tree trunk in the shape of a chair that I was sitting on, it was summer time because I could see I was wearing a summer skirt and top, and I was spinning at my wheel, but there was absolutely no fleece surrounding me, so in my dream I looked closer at what I was so intently spinning and what I saw had me in awe...


 I was spinning the sky! I looked up and saw vivid colors of the sunset on the clouds and I was spinning the clouds onto my bobbin and then the sky grew dark but I kept spinning, and the stars came out and I was spinning the stars onto my bobbin the stars looked like fire and diamonds mixed into the soft yarn made of clouds and the sky!

Twilight (50 yards) click on photo to be redirected to my Etsy Shop

I remembered that dream that the Lord gave me, and I was inspired by it and wanted to make something like what I saw in my dream... of course there is no stars, fire, or diamonds on this yarn... but there is sparkly tinsel! Close enough, eh? 

But beside all that I loved having fun in this cold wonderland! But I will admit one thing... Goodness I can't wait for spring!!!!!

While many are drinking hot coffee or hot chocolate, I drink an ice cold slushy during this ice storm... I too like to live dangerously!

I must brag about my beloved! He is so creative!!!! He is really interested in wood art/carving and this is what he made:

He burnt our last name into the wood a few months ago, but just recently he found what he wanted to burn above our name! Our home state and under the star he burnt it says "Home".

                                       and,

He made the shape of Tennessee from a wood pallet and burnt the words on it!

These two AWESOME items he created looks beautiful on our mantle!

No better way to end a cold day than cuddle on the couch with the fire on, snow falling from the sky outside, and our sadie girl snoring peacefully inbetween us on the couch as we have our family devotions! 

I'm DYEING to PLY! Lousy joke... I know.

Both dyed yarns being plied together! Gorgeous!

Last post I showcased the carding, blending and dizzing, now comes the part i've been waiting to do and share with all who are reading... the dyeing and spinning! Good golly, miss molly! I'm excited!

 All right, so after dizzing my wool into roving I at first was going to dye it then spin it. But before all that I forgot to add that I test dyed a batch of roving I made and all the softness and perfectness of the roving was a mess! I have to re-card to get the softness back. But, I wasn't sure if it was "me" that maybe messed up the dyeing process of that test batch, so I decided to be more careful about it in the next batch... 

As I was getting things prepped to being the dyeing procedure, a light dawned on me... "Elisa" I told myself, "You don't know what you are doing. So why not ask people who have done this before!" Well, that seems smart! So I put down what I was doing (to the relief of my soft perfect roving) and went on my laptop to the most awesomest sight I know! Yes... "awesomest" is a word in the dictionary of "Elisa" established 2015. 

I went to Home Steading Today , and there I asked the fiber arts people, should I dye before or after spinning? I explained my situation, and promptly I was blessed with wise responses! Pretty much they said, "Do not dye after you have carded and dizzed into a roving. Because all that work will just go to waste. Either dye after you washed the raw wool and before carding/combing. OR dye after you spun already carded/combed wool." 

 If unsure always ask!

 I was more than happy to postpone the dyeing process, because I was itchin' to spin!

 Because I want to spin for the spring/summer seasons coming up, I didn't want to spin bulky yarn of any sort, I really wanted to strive for fingering weight. So I needed to spin single lace weight so when they are 2 plied I can achieve fingering weight. How on earth could I achieve that?  With this:

Rosie's Precise Spinning Control Card

This helped me keep consistent on how thin or thick I want to spin my yarn. At this point in time i'm not looking to spin "Art" yarn, but consistency in texture and looks! This card is something I believe every spinner should have on them, next to them, in a place you can grab because you will use it!

Lace weight singles

After spinning an awesome amount I got to experience first hand what alpaca/tunic processed all the way by hand feels like spun... it is so extremely soft and springy, meaning quite a lot of elasticity and strength at the same time!

In it's natural color

After I spun, I got the dyes ready. I wanted to mimic something natural. I love taking photography, so I remember seeing this gorgeous birds nest and some moss lying around the ground and those colors just popped in my mind and I had the dyes to try and mimic those same colors! 

Photo I took that inspired me.

So when I dyed the first batch of single yarn, I didn't keep it in the water soaking the dyes for very long. I didn't want it "vivid" but mossy/bird nest like color:

I left it to dry, and began to spin my second bobbin. This time I left it to simmer longer in the dye to give it a stronger green. Here is what I used to dye my yarn:

Before I dye the yarn, I let it soak for up to 2 hours. If I was dyeing roving it would be much shorter than that, but because I spun it, I need to make sure all air bubbles are out so that my fiber is completely soaked so that the dye can penetrate and no "white" spottings anywhere, that's not what i'm going for.

Left to soak for up to 2 hours)

Less is more when adding dyes! First add vinegar then dye away!

Once the water was simmering, the dyes began to go to work, I let it set for about 15 minutes, making sure the water did not boil (if it boils for too long, your fiber WILL felt. ).

I made sure the water was "clear", meaning that when I poked my dyeing spoon in there I could actually see it in the water. That means the dye is stuck to the wool.

Carefully I took out the yarn and with warm water (I didn't use cold water, because drastic change of temperatures from extremely hot to cold will also felt it) and gently squeezed out the water and let it dry.

After making sure the yarn was COMPLETELY dry, I went to work! Plying! It is soooooo much fun, if you know what you are doing. If you don't, you may catch yourself in a tangled mess or bumpy yarn when you really want it smooth! The colors came out very lovely and rustic and a natural that pleases me immensely!

Mossy Nest ( 60 yards ) click to be redirected to my Etsy Shop

Mossy Nest (80 yards) click to be redirected to my Etsy Shop

The joys of blending in!

Cleaned alpaca (left) and tunis (right) wool with hand carders in the center.

I can't tell you the relief and giddiness I felt when I took the above picture! I was DONE with cleaning and picking out the VM and waiting for the wool to dry, now, I can begin the next process which is: blending both wool together.

 If it wasn't for youtube and other blogs and articles I would have no idea what I was doing! But now, it was my turn to do the deed! So... I began!

When I first started blending by putting alpaca wool on the bottom edge of one carder and lay tunis wool on the top, it was a mess. Cos the alpaca was much stronger than the tunis, the tunis just slid off but wasn't grabbing the alpaca to slide with it onto the next carder. It was like trying to blend water and oil, they were still separating! 

So recognizing that, I decided to switch how I was placing the wool on the hand carder:

 On the above photo you see that I placed the alpaca wool at the edge of the carder.

On the photo above you will see that I placed the tunis wool behind the alpaca, as tunis is the more weaker of the two.

After gently carding the wool, as you see in the above photo, look how absolutely beautiful and well blended the wools are together! Yes, I shall wait until the applause has died down to move on! No, please... continue! Hee Hee!

After carding I rolled them into loose rolags to later blend even more!

loosely rolled rolag

bundle of rolags ready for the next process!

Another step, Elisa? Why not just start spinning straight from the rolags? Because even though it looks well blended, there was still some separation I could notice up close! And because my goal is to sell the yarn I spin from this wool, I want an amazing quality, and I want to make it as perfect as possible, even if it means putting in another step that is "unnecessary", but i'd rather be safe than sorry!

My next step? Blending hackle!

 My darling husband made this blending hackle for me for under $20 (with the help of my daddy who was here with my mama!), to buy a good blending hackle would cost up too $200!!! So, he made one for me instead! 

I put the rolags on the hackle for dizzing...

For a dizzer I used to use a small hole washer you can get at home depot for around a $1. But I would get frustrated with it, because the smallest hole they had wasn't small enough, yes, the wool would clump together but right when they went through the washer they would just loosen up so I wasn't getting a strong "true top" roving!

So, I improvised for free! I went to my cooking cabinet and took out the top of a lemon and pepper container and used the center hole as my diz!

My new diz!

 When dizzing you must be very careful... it's not about strength (or else you'll rip apart your wool and also pull down the nails in your homemade hackle!), it's about technique in pulling your wool into the diz to make it into roving!

dizzing

Look how strong and smooth that roving looks! The lemon and pepper container top really improved the results of my work! I had to have a "feel" for it to get the right results!

After dizzing from the hackle

The results of the aftermath of picking VM, washing, drying, carding, blending and dizzing is the most satisfying feeling ever! Here is the results of all that work! a rolled up true top roving!

Next post will focus on the spinning and dyeing! Stay tune!!!

Sadie thought she wouldn't get caught sniffing too close to the wool! She looks a bit confused and shocked she got caught and is given a lecture. As you can see, we knew what she was doing cos of the evidence on her snout! She's giving me that look that says, "Well, you see... what had happened was..."

" Ma... before I get in big trouble I really want you to know... I really love you... ok? "