Artemisia Ink Studio Arts

Spring brings along the usual airing out of spaces, finally warm enough outside for the windows to be opened and things to be sorted out, cleaned and organized anew.. and my fiber bins are packed with awesome treats even I had forgotten about. Much like the pleasures of blogging, the time to sit and go through the ever-accumulating stash seems to have dwindled, and it was invigorating enough to clean and organize my fibers that I decided to check in here and do a bit of writing.

Getting ready to vend at the Fleece Market at Webs' annual Tent Sale coming up on May 14th, and the yarn making apparatus is engaged with delicious fibery creations in various stages of completion. Full bobbins waiting to be plied with some of the sumptuous 1/45 cashmere with 1/600 silk binding from Loro Piana that I purchased at Webs as soon as it became available, and I am having a wonderful creative experience playing with it in the plying process, adding a bit more luxury into my already high-end handmade yarns.

As the past few years have tossed me about personally, I've begun to narrow my focus with making yarns that engage and satisfy me during the process, yarns that I would personally want to knit with, that will be beautiful and durable, and move outward into the world and in the hands of others, make spectacular garments and projects. I make luxury yarn for handknitters and crocheters who want to add something unique and precious to their creative process.

Life is too short to drink cheap wine or knit with less-than-pleasing yarn.

Which reminds me, there should totally be a tiny glass of port consumed while I'm plying this evening.

For a more up-to-date look into my process, please follow me on Instagram at Artemis4242 for the photographic adventures of a fiber nerd.

Later.

-Me.

February approaches soon, and I'm somewhat amazed that I let an entire year slip by without a decent blog post, but at the same time, living with a spotty internet connection means that a lot of the things I used to do online have changed.

I do post about my fiber adventures on Facebook at Artemisia Ink Studio Arts, and can be found on Twitter/Instagram at Artemis4242.

Looking forward to participating in some great events this coming season, vending and teaching at this year's MA Sheep and Wool and participating in the first Alchemy Fair, and I'm spinning away in the winter cold to get ready!

-Me.

Cold season is upon us, and I have been unable to escape its horrid clutches. Home and finally plowed out after another 6 inches of snow got dumped on us last night, canceling our music gig for the night and reminding us just how futile our planning can be in the face of intense weather.

Today finds me sipping cup after cup of medicinal herbal tea, blowing through consecutive boxes of kleenex and generally trying to encourage my body to be doing better so I can work tomorrow, a hopeful approach that will likely prove futile.

I will know that I'm feeling better when I can focus enough to either knit or work at my spinning wheel, as not being able to do either is making me nuts.

More tea..

Later.

-Me.

Moments of raw honesty can occasionally happen when one is engaged in the familiarity of practice. A split second's view from outside, and a rush of clear sight; a drop of sweat drips onto the yoga mat in practice, or a song carries me away in kirtan and suddenly my heart opens wide. Training and long habit tells us to force this down, especially in public.. but the richer vein waiting to be mined may lie in the calm investigation of the moment, beating back the urge to judge, to squelch, to suppress.

In skeining up some recently finished yarns, I perform the same repetitive motions, long familiar after winding many thousands of yards of handspun yarns off of the plying bobbin and onto the niddy noddy, a device that helps a spinner create a circular loop hank that can be tied off to withstand the setting process, and later after it's dry, wound using an umbrella skeiner and a ball winder into a center-pull ball for use.

The motion of my arms and hands, fluid and almost unconscious in the winding, becomes prayer, becomes meditation, becomes a way to step outside myself for just a second..

I notice my breath. I notice my heartbeat. My heart is racing. Why?

I find the answer in a flash, and I don't care for it.

I have been rushing. Racing through this task, barreling down the bobbin with determination to answer the calls of the stories in my mind.. "so many projects behind" ... "once this is done, I can finally finish more of that commissioned yarn that's waiting" ... "why can't I be faster at this?" ... "why do I feel so inadequate?"

I startle, feeling that I've hit on something, and go there. Why do I feel so inadequate? I'm a successful jack-of-many-trades, with a set of jobs I love and feel called to, and though I've been through my share of bad scrapes, hard times and heartbreak, I feel strong enough to manifest my highest potential and overcome all obstacles to find happiness. Logically, I should feel perfectly adequate, but this isn't as simple as logic.. it's a deep feeling, almost pouring from my guts.

I race from one project to the next, one day to the next, one challenge overcome.. and I still don't feel any more worthy, because this feeling that drives me is coming from within.

The calls are coming from inside the house.

But who are they coming from? When? Is this a vestigial voice I hear, calling from childhood desires for approval, recognition? Is this my own unfulfilled dreams taunting me from the wings? Why are these feelings being allowed to have so much influence over my present peace? Pausing to locate the feeling in my body, I find it centered in my chest, awareness of my heartbeat. I feel a release in asking these questions of myself, remembering all the words of my teachers. Breathe.

What is the origin of this feeling? I can disarm it, remove its fangs if I can find it and catch it. I see the fear of inadequacy, and it's a small child, afraid. Breathe.
Surround this place within in light, reminders that I am perfectly adequate right here and now, and I always have been. I am only running from myself, only seeking my own approval, and I give it to myself, right now. I am already home. The child is safe and held by all the teachers, all the beloved guides, always.

I continue winding, breathing.

This is tough sometimes. I am not always in the mood to practice my yoga flow series, or meditate or chant. I forget sometimes in the mad rush from one task to the next that the practice lives in every moment, in noticing the quality of the moment, in bringing my attention to it, and the lessons in practice will find me as soon as I make the space for them to come in.

Whether I'm ringing out a stalk of chard at the co-op back in my grocery retail days, or praying in retreat, or on the mat doing sun salutations, or scrubbing the floor, as soon as I allow myself to notice the quality of my mind, of my breath.. in that moment, I am practicing.

Tonight, while unconsciously winding yarn, I made just a little space inside myself, hollowed out a little bit of room for the Goddess to remind me of the path I dedicated myself to, and the gifts of joy that are waiting for me right here and now, simply by becoming more aware of them.

I took a moment to blow my nose, fighting back the urge to feel silly about the tears streaming down my cheeks, since it's ridiculous to judge myself for having a small epiphany instead of enjoying it.

I go back to winding yarn, determined to feel the fibers moving through my fingers with a new awareness, using the opportunity to introduce myself to the yarn I spent so much time creating, something that shouldn't go by in a rush, but can be savored and sipped, as the yarn is destined for eventual sale, and will be enjoyed by other fingers in the knitting and wearing. I have only so much contact time with my work, and every moment of it is precious.

I am already home, within myself and this present moment. It just took some yarn making to remind me.

Later.

-Me.

Loving my world of fiber, even while I stay home sick. It's nice to get up from a nap, eat some nice hot soup and sit down behind my spinning wheel for a while.

My family lavished me with 2 new spindles this holiday season, and of course, they're already slowly filling with fiber.

First, the amazing Golding Rudraksha Ring Spindle, made with enough of my interests mashed together that it might as well have been my ultimate dream spindle.



Made with birds' eye maple, rudraksha beads from India strung on silver around the edge, and the inset is Tibetan silver and turquoise, and slowly filling with natural colored cashmere fiber as I spin merrily away.

This spindle caught my eye at Rhinebeck this past year, and my mom nabbed it for me when I wasn't looking, along with some fiber that almost matches the colors of the wood in the spindle itself!



It's a Hearthwise low-whorl spindle, made with maple, purpleheart and osage orange wood in a unique whorlless teardrop shape that can move between regular drop spindle and supported spinning styles. The fiber is superwash merino wool, hand-dyed by Bitsy Knits.

My most recently finished wheel project centered around hand-dyed blended Cormo wool and Angora fiber, which was spun into a fine single and plied with an even finer natural light-colored Cormo wool. Here's the bobbin full of singles:



The finished yarn, plied and set in all it's lofty mottled green glory:



Once this yarn is knit up, the finishing of the fabric will encourage more of the angora fiber to present itself at the surface, producing the lovely soft halo that angora is prized for.

Now to make myself some more tea...

Later.

-Me.

It's been a pretty productive weekend, and I'm enjoying the continuous evolution of my spinning projects, be they on the wheel or my spindles.

Currently on the wheel: This gorgeous Loop batt is being plied with a thin Corriedale/Merino cross single, which I think is coming out beautifully, and I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of finish I get after this skein has been set.



Sometimes I feel so impatient with the plying process, like once it's spun I just want to get it finished immediately, but then I remember how much of the character in the finished yarn, as well as how long it will hold up under abrasion without pilling, is determined by the degree of ply twist. Just like warping a loom, once the single is spun, I'm about halfway there.

Here's the plied yarn, sitting on the rack drying out after just having been dunked in some nice hot water.



Currently on my beloved Kundert spindle: Some lovely multicolored Corriedale top purchased on my trip to the Rhinebeck fiber festival this year.



I think I'd like to ply this with the other ball of sparkly spindle spun Loop batt once it's finished.. we'll see if I change my mind at the last minute.

More to come as new yarns make their way onto my Etsy shop...

Later.

-Me.

So much going on in the world of fiber arts here in the woods. This season's dye experiments were lovely, and I'm looking forward to creating some incredible yarns with all the gorgeous naturally dyed wool braids taunting me from my fiber stash bins.

Made a few new yarns recently, one of which has already been sold, but I'll put up a few images anyway, though I'd hate to be accused of being a yarn tease. :)



This was a fun project, started on my drop spindle with a Loop Spontaneous Spinning Cloud, and plied with various small lengths of scrap yarn left behind from plying uneven lengths of yarn. Mostly fingering weight, it will self-stripe beautifully, and will likely end up on my Etsy shop after a bit, if no one pounces on it in the meanwhile.



This came out so lovely, one of my coworkers claimed it immediately, which is poetic, since she introduced me to Loop's lovely fibers. This started as a Loop Bullseye Bump, and was plied with some of my precious Corriedale/Merino cross fleece to preserve the long color sections. I named it "Pink and Glitter" after the Tori Amos song from Midwinter Graces, which still makes me smile. One of the things I enjoy the most about the various yarns I handle at Webs are the fun colorway names that the various yarn companies choose, and I'm the most amused by the ones with a small joke or obscure cultural reference, so I try to do the same with my work.

I've been working on a hat for Webs, which is still in progress, but I'm really enjoying the self-striping repeats in the chosen yarn, which is Schoppel Wolle's Zauberball Crazy, a lovely 2-ply sock yarn.



Hopefully it will be done soon, so I can start on a new hat for myself, now that it's getting cold again.

In other matters, I've been listening to Florence + The Machine's 2009 debut album Lungs nearly constantly since I downloaded it the other day, which reminds me how grateful I am for headphones, lest I drive my household crazy.

Later.

-Me.

In celebration of National Spinning and Weaving Week (October 3-9, 2011), and the weekly Wednesday Craft Night at the hidden treasure of Wendell, the Deja Brew Cafe and Pub, I will be hosting a Spinning Night there on October 5 from 7-10pm.

Bring your spindle or wheel, your fiber or yarn questions and spin in community! I'll be on hand for a Q&A, spinning instruction and raffling off a special Artemisia Ink Studio Arts door prize at 9! The event is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted.

During that same week, Webs will be hosting tons of exciting spinning events, and I'll be there until 9 on Tuesday night for a special spinning event, with workshops and events at the store throughout the week, come on out and join us!



Later,

-Me.

As Irene spirals its stormy way up into Canada, the winds in her wake continue to buffet the mountaintops here in Western Massachusetts. Hunkered down in the woods all day, I've been grateful not to hear any trees going down near us, and happy to report no damage thus far.

Spent some time spinning this afternoon, working on some hand-dyed Falkland fleece from the Portland Fiber Gallery in Maine.

I have a few new yarns that should hopefully make their way onto the Etsy shop sometime in the next week or two, as soon as I can make the time to photograph them.

Later.

-Me.

Spring is poking its collective head up here in the mountains of Massachusetts, and I'm loving the incredible biodiversity present in the forest and where its edges meet the lawn. So many medicinal and edible plants are naturally part of this ecosystem, and I enjoy watching the plants in all the different stages of growth. The coltsfoot flowers that come up early, only to be replaced by broad leaves later in the summer, mint leaves unfurling to shoot up high on woody stalks to flower in delicate purples as fall threatens her riotous color display as the summer tries to hold out a few last weeks.

I'm raising a few dyeplants this season, and reading my Peterson's guides to local medicinals, and I'll take walks with my gathering basket and sustainably harvest for both the teapot and the dyepot this year as I notice the natural abundance all around me. I just read through Harvesting Color by Rebecca Burgess and was inspired to find the color in the landscape of northwestern MA and ways that I can beneficially interact with my forest environment and interweave that with my fiber work and the nourishment I take in from the plants themselves. It's also fascinating to learn which plants that I can eat or make tea with are also sources of beautiful dyes, and vice-versa, plants I may have learned to avoid due to toxicity may make fantastic additions to the dyepot.

I'd love to find a cast-iron tripod thingy to go over my firepit, so I could hang a dutch oven-style iron pot directly over an outdoor fire and work with that kind of summer dyeing space.. I might experiment with some solar techniques, too.. so many possibilities, and such a busy summer ahead.

Today I'm at the drum carder, going through my considerable fiber stash to create some amazing art batts of spinning fiber for other spinners to peruse at the Fleece Market, which is coming up this Saturday.

Back to the creative process..

Later.

-Me.