Second Ball

Here is the day's spinning for you.

The spindle, last nights spun ball and the batt for today.

The ball from today. About an ounce.

The two balls together.

I plied them on the Lendrum.

Check back tomorrow to see the finished skein....

August

Last evening I was discussing with a friend that elusive quality that is sometimes found in the arts and crafts world. That certain something that lets you know that this person has been doing whatever it is for a long time. With writers they have this concept of showing up on the page every day and putting in the hours to write. With artists it is time at the easel. You get the idea. This conversation led us to speculate on the change in understanding that occurs when you do something everyday for a period of time. August is my least favorite month, so I got to thinking - what if I took this time when I normally count down the days until it is over, to learn a new skill or get better at a skill I already have. So last night I got out the new Turkish spindle, the beautiful Mesquite one with the turned shaft and began to spin a fairly bulky yarn. This spindle weighs 2.1 ounces which makes it pretty heavy for a drop spindle of any kind. I wanted to add at least an ounce of fiber to it and see what that was like.

This ball came in at 1.1 ounces and was made from a mini batt like the ones we have at the store. (Thank you Kym!)

The plan for today is to spin another one and then ply them together tomorrow.

I'm inviting you along on this journey to see if I can become a better Turkish spindle spinner. If you are in the Las Cruces area, come by the store to see in person what I'm spinning daily. If you are further away, check in with me here in bloglandia and we will keep in touch. Maybe we can think of something fun to do with the yarn at the end of the month?!?

Spindle Love

Delicate Lovely Turkish Spindles have taken over my spinning. This small one is just perfect for lace weight yarns. BFL and silk spin up like a dream on this.

The thing about these little spindles is that one is rarely enough. Three or five are even better. Even though you can make a pull ball or two and then ply onto the same spindle it is fun to play with several.

Mesquite and Cocobollo woods.

For the serious spinner a couple of Ashford Travellers all stained and put together and ready for new homes. This is such a nice all purpose wheel and like all the Ashford's they are solid workhorses. 

Summer Solstice

This June has been hot. More days over 100 than not. It is hard to find anything blooming in the yard that would seem like a celebration of the mid point of the year. I am not a summer person. I endure the heat, not too stoically and count down the days until fall. This date for me is always an important one since I feel like the best part of the year is still to come. Today is a good friend's birthday and she and her partner are having to evacuate their home because of the Colorado wildfires. My heart is with them.

This time of year is marked by abundance. The farmers here in the Mesilla Valley are harvesting the onions that were in the ground all of the spring and the fields of alfalfa are being cut regularly. The Rio Grande is flowing - which is a rare thing these days. The drought is so severe here that there will be one more week of water in the river and then it will be dry again until next year. The farmers are worried. I live along near the river in an incredibly green zone that is home to many birds and other animals.

Midsummer is a time for being grateful for all that we have been given. I am grateful for the store and all the incredible people it has brought into my life. I am grateful that my world is enlarging beyond my comfort zone. I leave you with pictures of my back yard, few flowers but lots of green - a miracle in this desert.

Be blessed.

Passion

We hear a lot in the creative community about living your passion, or finding your passion. I know for years I thought about that, the passionate drive to live an authentic life. It was as if a person had to find their passion and adhere to it religiously to really be a creative person. I struggled with that for a long time because I would have a deep interest in something but it would fade and become an interest in something else. That creative unrest made me explore soft sculpture, pastel, oil painting, gardening, weaving, spinning and dyeing. All through my explorations I questioned if I was living authentically and passionately enough. Now through opening the fiber arts store I have a new definition of living passionately - it is when you do something all day, talking with others about it, looking at it, living in the essence of something and you go home at the end of the day so tired that you cannot remember what it is like not to be tired........ and all you want to do is more of that thing...........

May you all live passionately.

June

Who knew starting your own shop could be so much fun? The Grand Opening was a huge success and Kym and I would like to thank everyone who came out to see what we had been up to these past weeks.

 This week we began with what will be (for now) our regular store hours Tues - Sat 10-4. We had some repeat visitors yesterday who could not see everything for the chaos on Saturday and came back for a better look.
Those gift baskets - one for spinners and one for knitters will be given away this coming Saturday and you can still get your name in the hat for them if you stop in anytime this week.

Also next week we will have new Karbonz DPN needles coming in and an order of self patterning sock yarn from Opal.

Have any suggestions? Drop me an email, see us on Facebook or come in and fill out a wishlist card.

You will feel better with a little more fiber in your diet........

Just A Week or So Away...

The shop is coming along nicely and those of you who are on Facebook can follow along to see some more of the inside scoop. For those of you out there not on Facebook I wanted  you to see the store front...

We will be at 207 Avenida de Mesilla Tues - Sat from 10- 4

Our look is being updated a bit......

Imagine this corner filled with colorful roving so you can come make batts!

June 1st! Come have cookies and punch and look around at all the exciting yarns.