Tying Heddles for my Inkle Loom In the book Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson coins the wonderful phrase: making license plates. It refers to the idea that a small part of a project is creative, innovative work, and then the rest is a lot of repetitive grunt work- making license plates.Fiber arts has more than the usual… Continue reading Making License Plates and my Better Demons
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In the words of Inigo Montoya,
I hate waiting. From The Princess Bride I especially hate waiting when I've planted older seed and those seeds have a 7-10 day germination period. What if the seed was too old? What if they don't sprout? How can I have old seed? I collected the seed from the 2019 planting, didn't I? Yes. Then… Continue reading In the words of Inigo Montoya,
There and Back Again: Mirkwood Gandalf Spindle Review
I'm a Tolkien lover. I wrote my first Hobbit fanfiction at age 8, though it was less fanfic than a chance for my mother to explain about plagarism. When I learned about Mirkwood Arts spindles, I had to try one. But, I was scared of the crown. There's an option for a more traditional tapered… Continue reading There and Back Again: Mirkwood Gandalf Spindle Review
Bailey’s Fleece: Romney
In April 2018, I bought a beautiful Romney fleece from Lochan Mor Farms in Cato, NY. It was a bit muddy, but we'd had a "build an ark" rain all spring, and it rained in the days before shearing. The shearer did an amazing job, so there wasn't much I needed to do before… Continue reading Bailey’s Fleece: Romney
Natural Dyeing with Acorns
Acorns are extremely versatile. They are full of tannins which will dye plant fibers a pinkish-brown. With an iron dip, the pinkish-brown turns a pretty grey-black. The color you get will depend upon the fiber you are dyeing. In this project, I'm dyeing a 60% linen/ 40% cotton blend. Linen takes a bit longer to… Continue reading Natural Dyeing with Acorns
Spindles In the Wild 