copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Oops…

this yarn isn’t

crocheted, it’s

spool knitted.

I spun it from

a variegated roving,

but found the color breaks

to be too sharp.

So, I plied it with a thin

slubby strand of brown silk thread.

This toned down the color breaks and made the yarn more visually cohesive.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

This golden

yarn was just a little

bit flat looking.

Combining it with a

strand of very thin

variegated thread gives

it depth and more

life- it’s a far more interesting

fabric than when the gold

yarn is used on it’s own.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I crocheted these two

Shadow Scarves

using  red merino/possum

lace weight yarn from New Zealand.

The shadow scarf on the left

was crocheted with just the red yarn

and a size ‘H’ (5 mm) hook and is

delightful.

I wanted to see what would happen if

I combined a strand of the variegated thread

with the red yarn. I also wanted to try taking

the laciness factor up a notch, so I went up

one size of hook, to an ‘I’ (5.5 mm).

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

The variegated thread

really punches up the

impact of the plain red yarn.

Even though the variegated thread

is very thin, it has tiny slubs,

so it dramatically increases the

texture of the finished fabric.

Wonderful!

Oh…. I just realized that the one

thing that I haven’t done (doh) is

to crochet or knit the variegated thread completely on it’s own.

I’ve been so caught up in combining it with other yarns, that I forgot to try it on it’s own.

This particular thread came from Salt Spring Saori, and is kind of one of a kind, I think, as Terri brings in unique yarns from Japan.

Watch second hand stores for interesting threads and yarns- and garage and yard sales, too! Also, don’t be afraid to combine serger threads and sewing threads with your yarns to create interesting crocheted, knitted, spool knitted or woven fabrics.

You never know where you’ll find fun threads and yarns. And, when you put them together with other yarns, you might just be surprised by the fascinating textiles that you can create!

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photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

With the upcycled paper yarn,

I wove a Unicorn.

crocheted a fairy

and crocheted a basket.

I am down to the

last of the Blue Man

streamer paper yarn,

so I feel like I want to

make something

that is a ’statement’ piece…..

I have been mulling and mulling it over… after all, this is quite special yarn, so I want to design and make something that is worthy of the yarn. I also want it to be fun, and quirky and funky and tongue in cheek.

A couple of people sent me some suggestions about what to make, and I appreciate that so much!

I got all inspired, which of course meant that I had to get out my sketchbook and start sketching.

Well! as I flipped through my sketchbook, I found a sketch with some notes that made me go- Bing! YES!

And, I KNEW that I had found exactly what I needed to work on.

I got out paper, pens, scissors and started drawing and cutting a template.

The first three versions ended up tossed into the fire.  We heat the studio with a wood burning stove. It often eats up rejected templates, sketches and drawings!

I finally got the template to the place that I am now happy with it, and have started crocheting the last project with the Blue Man streamer upcycled paper yarn.

Am I going to show it to you yet? Nope. Not yet.  I’ll keep working on it, and hopefully, it’ll be worthwhile showing off!

So, stay tuned…. more will follow!

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Natural dyed yarns. Photo copyright Joybilee Farm, used with permission

One of the other list members is the delightful  Chris Dalziel of Joybilee Farm,in BC.

I have enjoyed following her fiber adventures over the years.

In just a few days,  on Saturday, August the 8th,

Chris and her family

will be hosting the 2nd Annual Linen Festival….

(details at the end of this article).

It’s going to be wonderful! Wish I could be there…..

I asked Chris a list of questions and she has graciously responded to them…. So without further ado, here is the profile of Joybilee Farm in beautiful British Columbia, Canada….

1.  You are well known for the wonderful fibers, natural dyeing  and ethical animal husbandry practices that you have developed. Can you tell us a little about the process of how you have created this incredible life and body of work?

It started with wanting to teach our children the value of industry. By industry I mean home industry, working with your hands and using your time wisely. As a family, we learned to spin, dye with natural dyes, weave and as so often happens, added just a few angora rabbits. We traded a pair of angora rabbits for two angora goats and then we needed more space… its an often told story of how learning to spin on a drop spindle leads to a move to the country and building a barn for sheep, goats, llamas, and rabbits.

We love this life, working together as a family, working with our hands, caring for the sheep, goats and rabbits, walking with integrity on the earth. Natural dyeing is a strong part of that. Too many water ways have been permanently damaged by the use of chemical dyes. In India, Mexico and other developing countries the use of chemical dyes has caused serious harm to people, animals, and the earth. And ironically, we, in the developed world, are blind to the damage while we are dazzled by an inexhaustible, insipid colour palette. Yet, plant dyes abound, with their regional colour palettes and rich beauty. We are missing so much aesthetic pleasure in our reliance on chemical dyes. Natural dyes have life, beauty and depth and we can gain it back one skein of yarn at a time.

At Joybilee Farm we take each animals fleece, shear it ourselves, dye it with natural dyes, card it on our Pat Green Cottage Industry carder for felting or hand spinning. We also send some of our fleece to Custom Woolen Mill to be spun into yarn, which we then dye with natural dyes.

2. Do you have a favorite product or aspect of all that you do and make on Joybilee farm?

I love it all, except maybe cleaning out the barn. Capturing linen from flax, harvesting the natural dye plants and extracting their dye, and creating a special item from each fleece that best utilizes the qualities inherent in that individual animal all bring me joy. And then passing on the knowledge and joy to others is very fulfilling.

We teach workshops at the farm and this summer we have benefited from short stays by WWOOFers.[ WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)  www.wwoof.ca ] They come to learn how to spin, or dye with natural dyes and help us with the farm work. Its been a wonderful blessing to learn about their cultures and share our mutual love of the fiber arts. Our WWOOFers have come from New Brunswick, BC, Mexico and Israel and its been richly inspiring to get to know each one and to teach them the things that they are interested in.

photo copyright Joybilee farm, used with permission

3. What aspect of being a designer, workshop presenter and artisan is most challenging to you?

We are farming full time at Joybilee Farm and we are unusual since we are a fiber farm not a food farm. We don’t raise animals for meat, although we are not vegetarians. So every penny that we need to raise the animals and take care of our family comes from our artisan work. It can be scary when the economy tanks or BSE drives down the value of Canadian livestock.

My most challenging issue is learning to rest and let it go, rather than worrying. I worry about a lot of stuff – whether my work will sell, whether the tourists will visit the studio, whether we can pay for the winter hay. But I am learning to do my very best and trust Providence. To learn that I don’t have to “make a living”, I just have to work, create something that is beautiful and useful, do my best, and Providence will take care of the rest.

4. What part of it is the most rewarding to you?

My greatest reward comes in sharing the work with my family. Working alongside my husband and my children, sharing the joy of new discoveries and seeing miracles – red from woad leaves (woad usually gives blue) – new lambs – a flax field still standing after a hail storm – simple miracles. Even the sorrow of loss has an undercurrent of joy when we experience it together as a family.

5. How long have you been designing and crafting your fiber arts professionally?

We started selling our work in 2002, a year before we moved to Joybilee Farm, near Grand Forks, B.C. We started making soap from our goat’s milk and handspun, plain vanilla yarns, dyed in a rainbow pot with weak acid dyes. Lots of people do that. It was easy but not empowering.

Then I discovered natural dye colours – amazing palettes of colour that are regionally unique because of the water and growing conditions that each plant lives under. To grow colour sustainably and spin special yarns from the hand dyed fleece was uncommon. No one else has my water, which is from a mountain spring, rich in calcium and magnesium salts – that contribute to the bright clear colours that we achieve from natural dyes. And our land is in the mountains, subject to summer frosts. Vegetable growing was a complete failure. But dye plants thrive here.

There is a world wide natural dye revival and we are one thread in it. That’s exciting for me.

6. What triggers your creativity?  What is most inspiring to you?

My Christian faith is the well spring of my creativity. When I struggle with creative blocks, advertising that seems ineffective, yarn that won’t cooperate or animals that are stubborn, I pray, tell my problem to God and God gives me a solution or a creative image or an inspiration. Sometimes it comes as a feeling, or a verse from the Bible or a memory or image. Sometimes it’s a sense to change direction.

7.  Are the fiber arts your main focus?

Yes, we don’t raise animals for meat. We can’t grow vegetables. Natural Dye plants, basket willows and the fiber animals seem to grow best at Joybilee Farm. Then we process the bounty that the land produces – and add value in the yarn, rovings and wearable art.

8.  What is your favorite way of getting your work out into the world?

I love to sell it in person, at my studio, at the farmer’s market or at a fair. I am energized when I hear the oohs and aahs when someone caresses an angora shawl for the first time, or fondles kid mohair locks. I participated in my first joint art gallery show this Spring and it was thrilling to hear the kind comments as people reacted to my work.

9. Does where you live influence your work in any way?

I am influenced by colours and textures – the rich, bright colours that come out of the dye pot are dependent on the minerals in the mountain spring water that we use. . I’m also influenced by the texture of the individual fleeces. It is wonderful to be able to take a fleece and decide “Sapphire” will be hats this year, with her soft Rambouillet fleece, while “Hollyhock” is going to be a curl yarn with her lustrous, black young mohair locks. Angora bunny is perfect for my “eternity poncho” design, with its cuddly halo and soft warmth. The unique texture of each fleece feeds my need for distinctiveness and vision to escape from the homogenized sameness of so many available fibers.

10. Where can people buy your work? (links, please),

The Grand Forks Art Gallery Gift Shop in Grand Forks, B.C. and Rags, Relics, and Rutabagas in Rock Creek, B.C. and online in my Artfire store http://www.joybileefarm.artfire.com/ or my website http://www.fiberarts.ca

11. Do you maintain a blog or website? If so, what are their urls?

http://www.fiberarts.ca

http://www.joybilee-farm.blogspot.com/

http://www.tinctorium.blogspot.com/

12. Do you have a crafting or arts community that influences you and is important to you? (online or ‘real life’).  Is it important to you to be in touch with your peers?

I’m a member of Canspin, and Fiberarts Business on yahoo groups, and find the friendships there inspiring. Its wonderful to have a question or conundrum and to be able to ask about it right now – even in the middle of the night. My online friends are very supportive and encouraging.

I’m the president of our local Spinner and Weaver Guild and also the president of our local artisan association, so I am called to solve problems for others. Its nice to have an online group of mentors like Laura Fry, and yourself to bounce ideas off of.

Photo copyright Joybilee Farm, used with permission

13. Do you have an all time favorite piece that you designed?

Photo copyright Joybilee Farm, used with permission

Yes, the “eternity poncho” is knit in one piece from handspun 100% angora bunny sports weight yarn. It is knit to look like fur pelts, with a mobius twist at the shoulders. I never tire of knitting it. The pattern is available on my website.

14. Is there a project or product that has ever flummoxed you and just refused to work out?

I find the challenge of learning to hand felt a fine, thin, stable fabric a challenge. I have a few failures that decorate the studio as examples of different fibers. Also a few successes. But I haven’t mastered the technique yet. Each time I start a new piece of felt I’m not sure if it will work out or not.

Weaving on my floor loom has been another challenge, but this one is the mental challenge of the fear that the project won’t work out the way I envisioned. But I just found out that our local fair has added two weaving categories to their craft competition, so that may be the impetus I need to get warping.

15. Is there anything that I have missed that you would like to share with the readers of Hankering for Yarn?

We have two special events each year at Joybilee Farm. One is the Annual Indigo Dye Day where we invite the public to come and buy a dye blank or two, play at the resist table and share in a natural indigo vat. We have families that come every year to share in the fun.

The second one is Saturday August 8^th, our Annual Linen Festival. This is our biggest event of the year at Joybilee Farm. We will be harvesting the linen field, breaking and scutching some flax, demonstrating spinning of linen thread and generally celebrating the flax plant. Randy Cowan of Plant Fibers Canada will be at Joybilee Farm talking about the current state of flax fiber usage in Canada. There will be music, food, and hands on fun and educational activities for the whole family. We have visitors from all over Western Canada planning to attend this year.

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For instance… part of our daily ritual is to take a mid-morning break to walk our two beloved  dogs:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Going for their walks is a very big deal for them,

and even though they have covered the same

ground at least twice a day for years and years,

it’s always unmitigated joy for them to know that,

miracle of miracles, Mummy and Daddy are -

can you believe it?

Going to take them for a walk!

It never fails to crack me up to see their

quivering anticipation and excitement at the

prospect of going down their road!

Today, we wanted to check the hayfield, and see how the freshly mown hay was looking:

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Jim cut the hay yesterday, and as we walked the dogs last evening announced that it had been a perfect day, because his trio had had a very fine gig in the morning/afternoon, and then he had an excellent cut of hay in the late afternoon/early evening.

So, his day had been the perfect combination of being and doing the things he loves to live: Musician and farmer.

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

As we walked along, admiring the beauty of the pattern of the newly mown hay, I was describing the combinations and permutations that I was contemplating in getting some yarn ready for spinning then, weaving.

I hadn’t thought of the ridiculously complex process of ‘making yarn’ that I had been mulling over in my mind as actually being really complicated, until I heard myself describing it to Jim.

I burst out laughing and said: ‘Or, I could just go buy a ball of yarn…..’

Jim grinned at me, and we both said, at the same time: ‘It’s just like making hay!’

You can probably tell that this is a conversation that we have had a lot…. that making hay isn’t one of those things that makes sense to someone who doesn’t love doing it….. (that would be me…. I absolutely ~loathe~ lifting those prickly, nasty, heavy bales, and just don’t do it anymore)……. but, Jim loves it…..

It’s contemplative and meditative and joy filled to someone who DOES love it. (that would be him. And, he is welcome to it)  

Spinning yarn (picking through the stinky fleece, washing it, rinsing it, sorting it, carding it, spinning it….) doesn’t make sense to anyone who doesn’t love it.  BUT…. to someone who does love doing that (me) it’s wonderful.

It’s contemplative, and meditative and full of joy…

yep….. it’s just like making hay…..

so,  when someone asks you,

How is a hay field like a basket of fleece?

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

You can tell them the answer!

Alright, I know that they AREN’T going to ask you that, so you can ask them…..

and then smile a mysterious little smile and tell them that Noreen told you so……

it’s meditation in motion, and a contemplation of contentment!

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Thump thump thump

That’s the sound of me whumping my head against a project that is just so not working out.

Mostly, I post about things that make me feel all happy and pleased and generally chuffed.

BUT, the last couple of days, I have been experimenting with felting some Shetland fleece.

and it has not gone well.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I spun up a bunch of said fleece…

I blythely assumed that I was just

going to spin it up ,

turn it into yarn….

weave it…

and felt it…..

so I could make  adorable

little booties for

my darling grandbaby to be.

Sample swatch number1: Well…. I plyed (that’s what I am doing with 2 wheels in the pic above) the yarn, and wove up 4 squares on the potholder loom. I stitched them together, and did the things that I generally do to turn woolies into felties.

Oh oh….. the felted fabric came out soooooooooooooo thick that the poor child could stomp across the tundra in the booties and never feel tumble weed or barbed wire fences.  Not exactly what I had envisioned….

Sample swatch number 2: I thought…. hmm…. First swatch was too thick, so I’ll just weave up singles and the felt will be thinner….

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I decided that the singles wouldn’t stand up to the rigors of being warped through a rigid heddle or reeds etc, so I thought…. I’ll just use my Schacht school loom….. which I love.

The weaving was great fun, and I was soooooooooooooooooooooooo optimistic…… wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee………… I thought!

Holy smoke.

The piece of fabric that emerged from the washing machine looked like a small rodent had ventured onto a construction site.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

(I washed it again, and it got worse. Much worse)

Wow. I thought….

I guess this fleece doesn’t want to be woven.  What about knitting it on the knitting machine?

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

It was lovely to knit. Of course, because it was unplyed singles, it angled off madly…..

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I washed it……

and it didn’t felt.

It shrank a little….

but it’s not felt.

oh sigh.

I will wash it again tomorrow and see if it might felt after it’s been abused some more.

Well….. if it doesn’t, I will just spin up the rest of the fleece and knit soakers for the baby, as it’s beautifully soft.

So, I guess it’s not a total failure….

well, not quite….

Um, I think I am an incurable optimist.

Ah well, let’s see how things come out in the wash tomorrow shall we?

Hmm… maybe the uber thick felt could be made into booties for the dogs…. yes…. that’s it!

They can stomp through the snowbanks of deep winter with cozy toes…

now that’s a thought.  An optimistic one , at that…..

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Now, this may not seem to be all that important, but believe me, for MANY reasons, it is VERY important.

You’ll be hearing about this a lot in 2009!

It’s really expensive to maintain a herd of fiber animals!

B U T- here’s the great news!

You can help support a lovely fiber farm  in a truly concrete way,

AND you get a luscious treasure from your goodness…..

Read all about it at: Hudson Valley Fiber Farm Co-op

Image source: Original drawing by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright and not to be reproduced without permission

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I’m so excited! They have confirmed that the title is: (drumrolls, puhleeze…….)

The Woven Bag: 30+ Projects from Small Looms

I am publishing it with Krause Books, which is part of  F & W Media. And, yep, the publisher chooses the title of the book.

I am really happy with it because they’ve nailed it. yay!

I am sad though, because the release date has been moved to November of 2009 from July of 2009! boohoo!

anyhow……….

Last week, I was in Cincinatti (finally learned how to spell it!) working with my WONDERFUL editor, Jennifer Claydon, whom I adore, and the fantastic photographer and totally delightful person, Christine Polomsky.

Let me tell you about my editor.

Having a great editor who is smart, funny, feisty, and knows her stuff AND that you really click with is a HUGE bonus!

Happy happy happy happy me!

So, I am THRILLED to bits to be working with Jennifer Claydon.

Not only is Jenni a fabulous editor, but she is also an author.

Her book: Spin, Dye, Stitch  is being published by F&W Media and will be released in June of 09.

She is a spinner extraordinaire – her handspun silk has to be seen to be believed. I swear, you will swoon when you see the pics of the knitted cobweb shawls that Jenni makes…. unbelievable!

She’s just written a fantastic article for Spindlicity on spinning silk.

Check it out: Jennifer Claydon’s article

AND!!!! wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Jenni blessed me with a skein of her hand dyed roving…. ohmigosh….it’s too beautiful for words!

I am just squeezing and fondling it like crazy.

I don’t want to start spinning it, because then, I won’t have it as roving anymore.

Know what I mean?

Okay, this is getting really long, so I’ll sign off for now, but will be posting lotsa pics of the photo shoot. Soon!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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When I was in Portland at the Knit and Crochet Conference , I met a kindred spirit who is doing fabulous work with silk, wool and other natural fibers: Lisa Horner of Purple Lotus Fiber Design. (doesn’t click through yet, sorry)

Lisa dyes ‘Gourmet Art Yarn’.

Rats…. a picture does NOT do it justice….. ah well… imagine great lusciousness!

Lisa doesn’t have her website up yet, but her yarns are available at the most wonderful store:

Abundant Yarns in Portland OR. Wonderful wonderful wonderful!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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I arrived in Portland on Wed night (Sept 10th) and took the light rail transit into the city from the airport.

I managed to get myself turned totally around, so got completely and frazzlingly lost.

Everyone I asked for directions sent me in a different direction.

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……… dragging 2 suitcases around Portland at night is not fun!

Eventually, 3 very wonderful young Goth teenagers got me going in the right direction, and then a lovely young woman who was attempting to sign up voters helped

(come on people! You gotta VOTE!)

(I’m Canadian, and we’re in the middle of our own election, and you bet I’ll be voting…. people ~died~ so we can vote!)

um, please excuse that rant…. (but DO vote, ok?)

Anyhow, I FINALLY arrived at the hotel, thank heavens!

On Thursday, I took a workshop-

usually I am teaching in all the slots, so never get to take workshops, so this was a huge treat for me.

The workshop was Myra Wood’s self publishing class, and it was brilliant.

Myra is a genius and a delight and totally fabulous.  Here’s her website: Myra Wood

I taught a workshop in the afternoon, and had camnesia the whole day, so didn’t get pics. Sigh.

On Friday, I met up with my friend, Karen Whooley  (Karen’s blog).

I showed Karen how easy it is to spin with tiny support spindles:

It was such a treat to see Karen really Get It……

Wheeeeeeeeeee! and she took home yarn she had spun.

It’s a pity that the gentleman who took the pics for us didn’t stick around to capture the look of joy on Karen’s face as everthing clicked into place for her.

YAY  Karen!

The thing about spindle spinning, especially spinning with tiny support spindles is that you can get so much spinning done when you have a couple of wee little spindles in your bag.

Bring them out any old time, and away you spin!

Bliss.

This is one of the joyous and serrendipity moments of going to conferences.

Trading knowledge with your friends, and keeping  traditions and heritage crafts alive.

Bliss.

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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and another

and another…..

I just found some charming felted toys and wild handspun yarns on etsy….

check out totallyin2fiber

Post from: Hankering for Yarn