Oooh, the Possibilities!

I have been having a lot of fun lately with my wool and felting needles. I have become a little obsessed with this lately. It is a lot of fun, and very forgiving! If you make a mistake, just tear it off and do it over. It doesn't take much wool and is very relaxing. The possibilities are endless. Just check out Pinterest.
There are so many really remarkable examples and ideas there. It is unbelievable what some people can create!

So far, Arachne Yarns and More has presented two classes on Needle Felting. Both have been well received and I have requests for more! One student went home and went a little crazy! she came back for more wool and needles. I asked her to bring some of her work with her. I was totally amazed. She has really been busy! I can't believe how good her work is in such a short time!.

Speaking of classes, I have been working on the schedule for next year. In January and February, I will be presenting two knitting classes. A lot of people have asked for a class on Fair Isle knitting so that will be one of them. The other will be a class on basic beginning knitting. They will both be held here in Clinton, MN so if you are in area and interested, check the Arachne Yarns Facebook page for information and registration.

I am also planning on more knitting and felting classes next spring. As we get into warmer weather and plants start to grow up here in the frozen north, I am also planning some Dye classes. Classes will include gathering dye stuff from the local landscape and preparing the fibers. I am looking forward to these classes. I have had a lot of requests for them and I think they will be a lot of fun.

I hope you can join in the fun. If you can't or are not in the area, follow along with the us on the blog. I will be hopefully showing more of the classes as well as new ideas and information.

Needle Felting Class

Arachne Yarns and More hosted the second needle felting class yesterday. Everyone had a lot of fun! It is amazing what was created by first time felters!

Participants learned how to form and felt a firm body and wrap that with colored wool. We then added the faces and created the nose and cheeks. Noses were especially fun... As the picture shows, each gnome has its own distinct personality. We then added the hats, beards, mustaches and hair. Each gnome then got a bell in his cap and a hanging string.

All those who attended the class went home with a set of felting needles, a foam felting pad, a rolling stick and a completed gnome. Several participants were already talking about their next projects. We discussed some good supply resources and some of my favorite needle felting web sites.

I decided that it was time to start scheduling classes for next year. So far, January's classes will be on Fair Isle knitting. February's will be on Two at a Time Toe Up Socks. Since Easter is so early this year, we will be needle felting bunnies and Easter goodies in March. Watch the Arachne Yarns Facebook page for more information on classes. I have lots of fun ideas. Your suggestions And comments are always welcome. You can leave them in the comments on this page, or you can put them on the Facebook page.

This is the last post before the Holidays.  I wish you all a warm wonderful time with family and friends. Also, the very best wishes for the coming year!

What's Happening..?

i just finished up the sale at the St. Lawrence Church in Milbank, SD. I met a lot of interesting people there and at the other sales I have been at. I love demonstrating and talking about spinning and dyeing with people who want to learn about it. This is unfortunately my last sale of the season, due to medical issues. I have been teaching some classes and will continue with those for now.

I taught a class in October on knitting in the round on two circular needles. Each participant received two sets of needles, 150 yards of wool yarn and a pattern I designed especially for the class. The only requirement was basic knitting, cast on, bind off, knit and purl. We learned how to cast on with two circulars, how to manage the yarn and the stitches, how to increase for a thumb gusset (we made fingerless mitts). Everyone enjoyed the class and several report they have finished both mitts!

A couple weeks ago, I taught a class on needle felting.
It is my latest passion. Everyone received a set of felting
needles, felt pad, and wool to play with. We felted
Christmas Gnomes. It was a lot of fun. I am planning
to do this class again in December.



I have taught myself to knit socke two at a time on a magic loop, using a very long cable needle. I am currently working on a pair of toe-up alpaca socks. They take a bit longer, but surprise! They are both done at once! Finally, I may get two matching socks! I have lots of one-of-a-kind socks. I have a real problem getting the second sock knit! I can see where this would be an excellent way to knit mittens, socks, and sleeves and anything else that you want to match closely. You are knitting both at the same time. Same mood. Same tension. Same increases and decreases. And, best of all, when you are done with one, you are done with both!

I am planning several more classes this winter. Next spring and summer I will be teaching dyeing outside. I am hoping to do some extended classes. We can hunt and pick our dyestuff one day and dye the next. Lots of interest in those classes.

For now, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Harvest Festival at the Big Stone Apple Ranch

This was the weekend of the Meander..the Upper Minnesota River Art Crawl. There are over 45 different artist studios to visit from Beardsley to Granite Falls, MN. In past years I have traveled the countryside for three days taking in as many studios as I can. This year, I stayed in one place, the Big Stone Apple Ranch for the Harvest Festival. It was a new experience for me as a vendor.  The Apple Ranch is located 15 miles north of Ortonville, MN. It is set on the shores of Big Stone Lake.

The the Harvest Festival ran both Saturday and Sunday. There was lots of good food and fun. Live music and face painting added to the festive atmosphere. The Apple Ranch grows several varieties of apples, including Honey Crisp, Fireside, Cortland, Haroldson, and others. They also have fresh pressed cider, pies, jams, jellies, and a lot more. There were lots of goodies to eat, including a lunch wagon. Other vendors were selling home made cookies, pies and donuts. Mmmmm! There was lots of fresh produce, and lots of other items for sale.

 
Logan Johnson of Chasin' Alpacas was on hand from Rosholt, SD. He brought along a few of his friends. The kids (and adults...) had fun watching and feeding the alpaca. Logan had sells alpaca yarns as well as rovings. The yarns were beautiful. The rovings had my name all over them...

I am explaining to my friend, Nancy, just how lovely theses alpaca rovings are...demonstrating the wonderful softeness. I can't resist. One of the joys of working (did I say working...I should have said 'playing') with fiber is feeling the fiber...

I had a lot of yarn on hand and some finished items for sale. It is always fun to talk to all the people who come to the booth. Many people have never seen a spinning wheel or seen anyone spinning before. I love talking about my craft. I also like to let others take the wheel. Men and children are the most interested in trying it out. This young lady was the best new spinner on this particular day. I was amazed at how quickly she picked it up. She was a natural!

She tells me there is a spinning wheel in her grandmother's attic. I hope she gets it working. I gave her my number if she wants any help getting started.

The weekend was a success. Lots of people came to the Ranch to look around and buy things. I was invited to demonstrate at a craft sale on November 1st at the Ortonville Community Center. Sounds like fun. Check out my facebook page (Arachne Yarns and More) for a complete schedule of up coming events.

Dye Results

I was busy yesterday dyeing some yarn. I had some new things to dye with and was curious as to what the results would be. This is a photo of the results. Furthest left is Marigolds. Next is a mushroom called Dryad's Saddle (Polyporous Squamosus) over-dyed with Sumac. The lightest yarn is Dryad's Saddle alone. The one on the right was dyed with just Sumac. All the yarn was pre-mordanted in 8% alum. The Marigold had an iron after bath.

I had some Marigolds in my freezer that I had been collecting over the summer. I collected the flower heads, including the calyx. The Marigolds were the mid-sized plants with 3" orange flowers. I put the frozen flower heads in a dye pot and covered them with water. I boiled them for about 45 minutes. I then let them steep until cool enough to work with and strained the liquid, added a bit more water to the pot to accommodate the wool so it could move freely. I brought the pot to a low simmer and held it there for about 45 minutes. As I periodically checked the dye bath and wool for color I noticed some green developing. I decided to try to enhance this by making an iron solution to add to an after bath. I created the iron solution be soaking some rusty nails in a container of 2:1 white vinegar and water. I added a small amount if this to the dye bath and let it cool. The color change was significant.

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Next, I strained the liquid from the Dryad's Saddle. This had been soaking for a number of days in water with 1/2 cup of ammonia added. It was a fairly dark liquid.

I was hoping for more color, but was not unhappy with the light ecru color I obtained.
(Third from the left above).

I then filled a pot  half full with sumac cones. The ones that I used were bright red and sticky.

I covered them with water and boiled this for an hour. I cooled the liquid and strained it through several layers of cheese cloth. I simmered some wool from the mushroom bath to overdue it. I also added freshly mordanted white wool. There was a difference in the depth of color between the over dyed yarn and the yarn dyed in just sumac. (Second and fourth from the left above).

All in all, I am happy with the results that I got. I will definitely use these again for dyeing.