Tuesday, August 01, 2006

strawberry sunrise yarn

Now that the weather is a bit more reasonable I have been back in the kitchen with fiber and dye, making a go at down-home mad science. I prefer to think of it as wizardry.

This jumble pictured here is a blend of Wilton's buttercup, copper, and aster. Translation: yellow, orange and pink. This is actually commercial yarn and not homespun! I'm not as spinny this week as I once was. I do have a full bobbin of homespun right now but I can't show you a picture until after I ship it off to my swap partner.

Now that it's finally August I can count down the days until the fabulous fiber fest! This is where I learned to spin last year, which means on the 18th, I will officially have been spinning for one year! I can hardly believe it!

It all started with a spindle and curiosity. It blossomed into massive frustration and self-doubt. And now it's grown into mostly joy. Ah yes. Mostly joy! Peppered with moments of deep fondness when I am spinning in the flow of things and the harmony of life is balanced and resonant with me, through me and infinite.

But more often, frustration, self-doubt and mostly joy.

3 comments:

Wendy Stackhouse said...

I wish I could be at the Fiber Fest this year. I didn't go last year but did the contests the year before and won a flicker. I won't be back in time. I'm hoping to get to the Hunterdon Country 4-H fair in New Jersey, but it's a bit of a drive.

I was explaining to my friend Joy why spinning is so fun today. She's more product oriented and it does take an awful long time to finish a knitted garment if you start with fleece! But I realized that part of it is that my fear of failure is somehow negated by the unknowable factors. I'm not afraid to do badly if there are so many variables over which I have limited control. Especially if I love the results no matter what they are, and I generally do!

Except mauve, I detest mauve...

Star said...

Yeah! And again, you put it SO well! And with humor. I love reading your comments and your blog!

I wish you could come to the fiber fest this year! I'm going to go with my friend who is a knitter but I don't think she's hot on the spinning stuff.

I like how you put it. It's best when you give in to the unknowable factors. That's a good thing in spinning. It's a good metaphor for life too. My fear holds me back in lots of ways! Sigh.

I'm not sure I know what mauve is. It's a pinky lavender? I think I accidently dyed some fiber that color and find it hurts my stomach when I look at it.

Wendy Stackhouse said...

One of the things I especially like about having a dye recipe book is not having to worry about accidental mauve! Blech! I actually managed to gift Joy with a bunch of BFL that I'd overdyed to get rid of the mauve (ended up dark mauve!). She didn't want to take it all, I said, "Get it out of my house!!!"

Wish I could make the Fiber fest, too. But I really don't need anything!!