Fibery Beginnings
wanderingbrookfiber • March 10, 2019
I’ve been contemplating starting this blog for quite a while. I actually put up a few posts a year or so ago, but wasn’t ready to really commit to posting regularly at the time. My goal is to share my love of everything fiber – from raising fiber animals to spinning yarn to creating felted items. I also really enjoy writing, so creating this blog just seems like the way for me to combine all that I love into one area.
I began my journey into the world of fiber about 7 years ago. I had wanted outside animals for a long time, but being a single mom to three daughters kept me too busy to add something else to my life. As my girls started to get older, and need me less and less, I realized it was time to start creating a life for myself. So I spent time thinking about what I love in life, and came up with three things: animals, reading, and making pretty things. I was already a school librarian, so I had the reading covered. I thought about horses, but I couldn’t have them at home, and I absolutely love being at home. So I combined my desire for animals and my love of creating pretty things, and I came up with fiber animals.
I started with angora goats. I chose them over other fiber animals because of their outgoing personality. I love sitting outside with them on warm mornings, drinking my tea as they gather around me. I can scratch them under their chins and not have them run away from me. I had thought about alpacas, but they definitely seem more wary of people – I wanted animals that would come running over to me when I entered their pen. Plus I was concerned about their susceptibility to parasites, which I had heard can be problematic for someone fairly new. So I set out in search of angora goats.
Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I sound someone less than an hour from me who bred angoras, and she was going to have babies very soon, so I started getting ready. I brought home my two boys when they were about one and two weeks old, bottle babies who lived in my basement for the first several weeks. Not knowing a lot about them, I thought it was awesome to get them so young – everyone loved bottle feeding them. Looking back, I realize it would have been much better for them to stay with their mom until they were ready to be weaned, but their previous owner believed in bottle feeding so it was her call.
So my fiber journey had begun. I had a lot to learn, both about animals and about fiber preparation, but I’ve always loved learning so I was up for the challenge.
Being a teacher, I adore my summer mornings on my porch - looking out at my gardens, listening to the birds, my dogs lying nearby. It’s the perfect time for planning and dreaming. Sometimes I spend just a few minutes out here; other times I spend an hour or two before moving into the rest of my day. It feeds my soul and sets a peaceful tone for the rest of my day. I try to balance the rest of my days between chores and creative time, and this week my main chore was doing a really big barn cleaning. I clean the stalls regularly, but it had been a few years since I’ve done a big cleaning and reorganizing of the rest of the barn. I was out there one day gathering loose straw to put in one of my gardens and realized it was time. So the next morning I put on some work clothes and headed out there. As disgusting as it was knocking down lots of cobwebs and sweeping up rat poop, it was so satisfying. I had lost my last chicken earlier this year, so I was able to re-purpose their space to hold my sheep and goat supplies - feed, minerals, and anything else that can stay out in the barn rather than being stored in the house. It’s nice that the space can be locked, providing extra protection in case anyone escapes their stall at night and wander around the barn, which has happened once or twice. Using this area allowed me to move other stuff around and create a designated spot for my gardening tools. Prior to this, some stuff had been in the barn, but the stuff I use every day had been stashed on my porch, hidden behind a loveseat but still not pretty. I also created a gardening bucket for myself. I really want a little gardening cart thing that I saw on Facebook marketplace but didn’t buy - I’ve looked briefly online and haven’t found what I want - so I’m improvising for now. It’s really nice to be able to go out there and quickly grab everything I need when I go do some garden care, rather than walking back and forth whenever I forget something. Of course, cleaning the barn hadn’t even made it to my big “to do” list for the summer - it was purely an impulse thing, but I’m so happy it got done. One thing that was on my list that also got done this week was fixing this blog - I had somehow messed it up, and was posting things to the wrong place and they weren’t showing up. I’m fairly comfortably with computers, but this website and blog are a stretch for me, so I feel really good when I get things figured out.
The first few weeks of summer tend to be a productive time for me - really the one time of the year that I can focus primarily on making things for the upcoming season. I’ll make a whole bunch of one item and then move into another, knowing that once craft show season starts I don’t typically have much time to make things. But this time of year is also good to get a little playful - to really throw myself into something. Right now, that means doing something new with my birdhouses. I’m not even sure how it started. I know at one point earlier this year I was looking online at felted flowers. I was really interested in the three dimensional ones, but I wasn’t sure what I would do with them. I also learned about pre felt in a class I took, which got my mind working. So after making some scarves I decided to take a break and make some pre felt in a few colors to play around with. I thought I might use it on a scarf, but I was kind of tired of making scarves - it was time to move on to something else. So everything came together and I started making flowers out of the pre felt and putting them on my birdhouses. I’m still in the process of figuring it all out, but it’s fun to challenge my brain a little. With each one I’ve made, I’ve made changes and done things a little differently. While working in my third one, I realized I want to base my flowers on ones that I know - those growing in my yard or that I’ve seen in person. So now it’s research and development time. I need to decide what flowers I think I’ll be able to do and then figure out how to create them. And I need to dye some wool to make the flowers I want to make - I need a lot of yellow and orange shades, as well as some other colors. I’m gonna go see what I have in my “for sale” fiber, and then decide what colors I need to make. This may or may not work out - I may find I want to stick with more whimsical flowers rather than real ones. Or I may go back and forth. This may be a “let’s see how I’m feeling today” kind of thing. All I know is that I want to have fun when I’m doing it.
So once again I’m slacking on keeping up with blogging, but summer vacation is here so I will hopefully be good for at least a few weeks. Lots of changes happening- mainly giving up my new studio. My youngest daughter has been trying to buy a house and is trying to keep to a reasonable price, but the housing market right now is anything but reasonable. She had only renewed her lease for six months, thinking for sure she would find something in that time frame but it wasn’t meant to be. So she asked if she move into the apartment my studio is in - she could save a lot of money and wouldn’t be stuck in a lease. The deal was she could have the apartment but she has to help me move my stuff out - not an easy task. I spent a lot of time over there packing and boxing stuff up, and she’s come over a few Saturdays to help me move stuff out. As of right now we’re about 99% done. I'm sad to lose the studio I’ve dreamed about, and it was quite a task figuring out where to put everything. Yes, the majority of it came out of my house, but I’ve moved things around and repurposed so much of my space that there was not much left. We did do one dump trip to get rid of some big furniture that just had nowhere to go, but the rest has somehow fit back into my house. I’m certainly not going to have a designated studio space, other than my dye studio down in the basement. I’ll have a storage “room” for most of my fiber stuff, but it’s basically an oversized closet, not somewhere that I can really work. Fortunately my partner is okay with my taking over the kitchen table for days (or weeks!) on end. I am trying to stay focused on the positives. It will definitely be nice to have my daughter right next door. And I have a fairly new rescue dog who just loves to,be outside, so I can spend the summer working in my kitchen and letting her stay outside all day with me close by to keep watch. The reality is that I’ve lived without a studio before and I can do it again - although there may be a little whining involved. And it’s got my mind working - when my sheep and goats are gone (they unfortunately don’t live forever) would I want to turn the barn into my studio, at least for part of the year? There an “Artists in the Garden” tour that takes place in my area. I don’t know much about it but it might be worth looking into some day. Gotta keep daydreaming about possibilities! This picture is my view when I’m working in my kitchen….I guess I can’t complain!
So I had posted about wanting to blog on a regular basis, and have definitely NOT followed through. I think it might be the “winter doldrums” - I haven’t felt very motivated to do anything lately. This is also the time of year I usual like to get household stuff done - closet cleaning, organizing, projects - and I haven’t done much of that either. But it’s Saturday morning, and I just made myself of list of what I want to accomplish in the next three days (Monday is a holiday). One thing on that list was to make some felted hats. I created a basic pattern last week and made a couple, so want to make a couple more of those. Then I want to get more creative. I’ve been looking at Pinterest to get some ideas - I love seeing what other people have come up with. I do have a couple craft shows coming up in March, so I’d love to have some hats to bring with me. In addition to Pinterest, I also love taking classes to get ideas, and there are a few I’ve been looking at lately. One is on Lena Archbold’s website and it’s for a “Reversible Nunofelted Waistcoat.” I’m not really into nunofelting, as I’d prefer not to use silk, but I’m thinking I can adapt it to only use wool, or maybe use cotton instead of silk. I’m not sure this is something I would make to sell, but I really want one for myself. I’ve taken a couple of her classes already and have really enjoyed them, plus I love listening to her talk. So if this post is up on my blog, I crossed at least one thing off of my list this weekend!...although I didn't get it posted until Sunday afternoon.
’m struggling a little right now with motivation. Now, I recognize that this is an individual thing - a lot of people would look at my life and say I’m very motivated. I work full time, spend a lot of my free time making things out of wool, and spend many weekend days at craft shows and fiber festivals. Plus I’m goal setter - I love making lists (big and small) and then crossing things off those lists. But there are definitely things I struggle to get done. Writing this blog is one of those things. It has been a dream of mind for a couple of years to blog on a regular basis. (You can see from the old blog posts I’ve reposted that I’ve started this before and not continued). For some reason, I have trouble following through with this. I’m not sure why, as I love to write and pretty much write every day. And I really want to share my fibery adventures with others - like anyone who is into what they do, I love to talk about my passions. But for some reason I just don’t follow through with my blogging. In the past, part of my difficulty was related to having pictures for my posts, which is definitely not one of my strengths. I decided this time to not put that pressure on myself - not all of my posts will have pictures. I’m hoping that actually writing this post makes me more accountable. I’m also hoping that, if you’re reading this and have trouble with motivation at times, you join with me and push yourself to do whatever it is you want to do. (I know I said I wasn’t going to push myself to include pictures, but I just had to share this adorable picture of my old white dog, Marshall, with my daughter’s fairly new puppy Luna. I just love how they love each other.)
One of the reasons that I waited to have my own studio to do AOS, rather than join a group show, was that I really wanted to be able to demonstrate what I do. So I made a couple of birdhouses the first weekend, plus a small bag that was a special order. The second weekend I decided to challenge myself a little and make some felted fingerless gloves. I had made one pair awhile ago, but I definitely needed more practice. Although the basic process is the same as other felted projects, I use a lot less wool when making fingerless gloves, so it’s important to focus on the layout of the wool. For the first layer of these gloves I did a basic up and down layout, but as I was doing that I remembered I did more of a herringbone layout the first time, so that’s what I did for the second layer. In the end, each side had 4 thin layers of wool, which is much less than for a birdhouse or bag, but for some reason it seems to take a lot longer to get them felted. When felting something like this, I start with a template that’s much bigger than the final product will be and then shrink it down to the final size during the felting process. I focus on getting them down to “hand” size, using my own hand as my measuring tool, but also need to be sure both sides are the same size. Although I definitely need more practice, I was happy with how these came out, and gave them away as a Christmas gift.
So my dream of having my own studio has come true - my tenant has moved out, leaving me with an empty apartment large enough for all of my fiber stuff. Unfortunately I didn’t think to take “before” pictures, but after ripping up some rugs, painting the floors, and putting up a new kitchen ceiling it was ready. I was amazed at how much I had accumulated over the years. I really thought I’d have plenty of extra room, but it turns out there was just enough space for my needs. Our official “debut” was an event that takes place in our corner of CT called Artist’ Open Studios. It was a chance for people to see what we make and how we make it. I had my felting table up and running making birdhouses and my mom was weaving on my loom(which she definitely does NOT love but dealt with for the 2 weekends). Since we had signed up late and weren’t listed in the brochure we didn’t get a lot of traffic, but it was nice to show off the studio for those who came to visit. The studio will mainly be my work space - I can have all of my fiber things together, not have to run up and down stairs when I need something, and I can leave my stuff out and easy to access. It be open for special events and by appointment, so email if you’d like to come take a look. At some point in the future I’ll offer classes in dyeing, felting, and possibly other fiber arts, but for now I’m just going to enjoy it.
I love shearing day, seeing the amazing fleece under the dingy, muddy outer tips of their wool. And seeing how excited the animals get afterwards. It must feel so good to get rid of that heavy coat -they certainly act like it feels good, running around and having their goatie battles. Because I don’t breed my animals, it’s probably the most exciting day in my life as a shepherd, and today was the perfect day for it, around 60 degrees and sunny. It definitely felt like the start of spring for me - my favorite season of the year. When I first got my goats, I thought I would do the shearing myself. My plan was to have someone come and shear them the first time, so I would have an idea of how it was done, then read up our on it and do it myself. However, after watching the shearer that first time, I realized that it was worth paying for her to come out twice a year - I’m not sure my back could handle the bending over that it entails. And she is wonderful. She knows what she’s doing and gets the job done in a gentle manner. She doesn’t rush to get them done as quickly as possible, but takes her time and talks to both them and me why she’s shearing. I’ve learned a lot by watching how she interacts with them. I feel very fortunate to have found my shearer. Our daughters were going to the same gymnastics place when I first got the goats and she heard me talking about them and mentioned that she was a shearer. I hadn’t thought about who I would get to shear, so it was a lucky encounter for me. Not only does she do a great job shearing, but she’s also been a great resource for me about sheep,and goat care. I still didn’t feel like an “expert”when it comes to helping with the shearing. I try to do some skirting as she shears, ending up with a big pile of yucky wool to be gotten rid of, but I also try to stay out of her way. The goats tend to be difficult, flailing their legs and tossing their horned heads around. They’re definitely not as cooperative as the sheep. Sometimes I can help by holding their head or keeping a leg out of the way, but more often I just kinda stand back and watch her work. Today worked out really well because she was able to come in the morning, so,that after she left I was able to lay the fleeces out in the sun to ensure that were completely dry before I bagged them up. I’ll still need to spend a day l sorting through them and doing more skirting. I typically send it out to be made into top and roving, but I’ll probably set some aside for other projects. Although I love washing it myself, I just don’t have the time to do it all.
Last craft show season, the school at which I work held its annual craft show, at which I was a vendor. While talking with one of my fellow teachers, she pointed out that we have a lot of talent on our staff and that we should come up with a way to share what we love. So a couple staff members and I decided to start a knitting/crocheting group, and I somehow became the unofficial leader - although social organization is definitely not my area of strength. The idea behind our group was twofold. People who wanted to learn to knit or crochet could receive help getting started, while the rest of us could just hang out knitting, crocheting, and talking. After seeing something on Ravelry, I proposed to my fellow organizers that us “experienced”knitters and crocheters make shawls for victims of domestic violence in our state. Having worked in this field for a few years earlier in my life, this was a cause that inspired me. I loved the idea of making something that could provide comfort to someone who really needs it. Having seen first hand how traumatic it can be to come into a shelter after being abused by a person you’ve shared your life with, I wanted to do what I could to hopefully make their life a bit easier. So I began the process of creating what I had come to think of as a warm hug. I started by dyeing fiber from my owns sheep in shades of blue and purple, then spinning it into yarn . Then came the more difficult part for me. I’m not a big knitter-I typically make small items for sale, such as hats and scarves, and I’m not one to follow a pattern. Or pay attention to gauge or needle size or making swatches. So I started this project 3 times, ripping out quite a good amount of work twice. At last I figured out what I needed to do and got it done. This week was a “mailing out” week for three of us in our group. While we all followed the guidelines given for the project-that it contain both the color purple and the number three-it’s amazing how different our three shawls turned out. If you’re from Connecticut and interested in participating, here’s the link with more information. http://now-ct.org/show-a-domestic-violence-victim-shes-not-alone/
So I was thinking my first blog post should be really upbeat and positive, and then I had a really frustrating afternoon that I needed to share. I got angry with myself for messing something up - a bag I was sewing out of some of my hand spun, hand woven fabric. I have 4 such bags in various stages of "production." I wove the fabric last spring, started sewing over the summer but my sewing machine broke, and then life got in the way. So I just got a new machine Thursday, and Sunday was supposed to be my sewing day. I'm not a great seamstress. My mom is amazing, but she lives an hour away. Plus, I really thought I had this. The straps were made, the fabric was pinned, the lining was cut and pinned, and the pockets were sewn. All I had to do was sew. It started out great, but when it came time to put it all together I got confused. I can never figure out how to put the bag, liner, and straps all together. I remembered to leave an opening to pull it all through, which I was proud of, but I didn't get the right side/wrong side thing correct and it turned out all wrong. Then, to make things even worse, I grabbed the bag and my seam ripper to start taking it apart, got about 3 inches into it, and realized I had the wrong bag! I had accidentally grabbed the one that was almost done and ripped it apart. Grrrr! So I had to walk away. I went and rinsed some fiber I had dyed earlier in the day then did some cleaning in the barn. A lot of times the physical work helps release that tension, but even that wasn't enough to calm me down. So then I took the dog for a walk on the airline trail and by the time I got back to my car I was much calmer. I think the biggest part was feeling like I had wasted a huge chunk of time, but I realized I can't be so hard in myself. I needed to look at this as a learning experience. I know I'm not great at sewing and could have taken the time to watch a quick YouTube video but I chose not to. And that's okay. I messed up, but I learned a lot. From this experience I have a much better image in my head about how it all works. Does that mean I'll never mess up again? I hope so, but I'm not gonna count on it. And it's okay. I enjoyed the time I spent at my sewing machine, making a finished product from what started out as fiber from my sheep and goats......or at least trying to! And I'll get it done eventually. I'm not going to stress myself out getting it ready for the farmers market I'm doing on Sunday- if it's done, great, but if not that's okay too. I guess the point I'm trying to share with you is that we need to not be so hard on ourselves. It's okay to make mistakes, to not do things perfectly, to walk away when things get stressful. Fiber arts are a part of my life that I truly enjoy - I can't let experiences like today take that joy away from me.
