Spot of Completion

"Completion: The act, process, or result of completing," Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary

I finished it, finally. The long and joyous project, from lamb to purse! Did you ever hear it put that way? Remember, I start with a lamb, grow it up, have the wool sheared off, wash it, card it, spin it up into yarn which I might or might not dye......

...then weave the yarn into fabric. Then I have to decide how I will fashion the hand woven fabric into whatever I have dreamed up. The Chinese fabric with the butterflies helped me decide how I would use this hand woven fabric. After weaving many yards of fabric from my hand spun and hand dyed wool I finally cut it off the loom....

...and into these sections to enable me to fashion a purse.

Close-up of the purse. I had originally thought to use many beads and baubles to embellish it, but ended up with deciding the fabric lining and handwoven fabric needed only an old pin that had been in my jewelry box to finish it.

The end result,completion, modeled by my daughter, A.Joy, to show the proportions of the purse. I still marvel that this started with a lamb.....

Spot on Winter Weaving II

~Above is a picture of a table runner I wove a few years ago. It is woven out of an acrylic/cotton yarn someone gave me a large supply of. This was an experiment I decided I liked. I hand stitched some discreet beads at the hems on the ends of the table runner. As you can see, our table is quite long and if I want a particular color or design to fit the table I need to make it myself.~

~Here is my scariest moment in weaving....cutting the fabric off the loom. After all the work in threading the loom, then weaving, I will cut it off. I need to make sure the ends of my project will stay secure and not unravel as I cut.~ ~Ta dah ! 10 + yards of woven fabric rolled out on our hall floor. The chunks of yellow and white you see are filler . I fill the areas between my fabric with tulle I have left over from different projects. You can use paper towels, nylon stockings, I used to use Pendleton wool ends too. The areas filled with tulle are reserved for tying the ends of the fabric off into tassel type knots, or sewing and hemming, etc. There is no need for me to use my good yarn for 'fill' that will have to be unraveled later.

~Close-up of the tulle filling at the end of my table runner.~

~Here I am pulling the tulle filler out. See how weaving the tulle in tightly makes it look so small and rope like ? Later I will flatten out the tulle and use it for gift wrap bows! So many uses, so little time to create.~

~I wove some small pieces of fabric for the sides of the purses I am making. Since I do not want fringe on the side pieces I am sewing the ends to prevent them from unraveling until I piece together and sew the purses . Like my old sewing machine ? My Grandmother got it from my Mother, and gave it to me when I was first married. It is a Sears Kenmore, circa 1955. It works great, and I have the old button holer and attachments. A sewing machine repair guy told me not to get rid of this...they don't make them like this anymore he said. Well worth keeping up! I know I love it and use it often. ~Here are the woven pieces for another purse.My favorite fabric, because it is blue. If I were to own a shop or eatery, it would have a name like" All Things Blue", not sure how that would fit in with an eatery though...blue dishes? Blue is a color that just draws me in....

~The woven pieces for another purse. I have some really pretty silky fabric for the lining of this purse.~

~And last, the pink fabric! I bought some pink Chinese silk type fabric a few years ago, and it has stunning turquoise and blue butterflies on it. That is the lining I have in mind for this purse. I have also set aside beads and embellishments that I am excited to add to these purses. I don't have a fixed plan though, my work kind of helps create itself as I go along. I have no trouble tearing out my work if it makes me unhappy. There is no joy for me to see a project that hurts my eyes to look at. I have been known to throw away, tear up and discard such projects. I don't give away or sell projects I don't like, although some have found their way to being dog beds!

~I will post pictures of the purses I make from this weaving later, as they are finished.~

~"Moreover, I must make my creation good and honest and true, so that it may be a credit to me and live after I am dead, revealing to others something of the pleasure I found in its making. Then will my creation be art, whether I be poet or painter, blacksmith or cobbler, for I shall have labored honestly and lovingly in the realization of an ideal." C.Valentine Kirby I would like to add to these words..."whether I be poet or painter, home maker and keeper, blacksmith and cobbler, or gardener and cook, mother and wife, neighbor and ?, for I shall have labored honestly and lovingly in the realization of an ideal.....for my Lord and Savior all my life." Blessings: honest work, people to love and serve with joy, blue!

Baa Baa Pink Sheep, with Spots !

~Time for another spot on wool...you know, the stuff that my spotted sheep produce . Well, to get the wool to make all the woolly stuff , like yarn, felt, rugs.....well, I start with these. (below) My spotted, Jacob sheep. They're kind of cute aren't they ?~I am going to show you how I combine fibers to make batts of wool for spinning into yarn or felting. I start with the gray wool, shown below. The gray wool is the black and white wool of my sheep, combined . You know, black and white mixed make...gray ! I dyed some of my gray wool pink. I will be carding ( combing or brushing ) the dyed pink wool with some Angora fiber. The Angora is from a goat, a very pretty, long haired goat. Here you can see the original gray fleece, next to some of the pink fleece and some white Angora. ~Here are batts of dyed pink wool,(the pink rolls of fiber that look like cotton candy) sitting next to my little drum carder. The carder will comb or brush together the Angora and the pink wool. ~Close up of the wool being rolled through the carder. I laid strands of the Angora on top of the pink wool and rolled them together through my drum carder. It is fun. I still think it is like magic to take the wool from my spotted sheep and turn it into amazing batts , just waiting for me to create yarns and rugs and woven fabrics.

~See the flat batt of wool I have loosened from the back of the carder ?~

~I roll the batts of wool off at the back. Look at the batts of wool piled up beside the drum carder. The possibilities are as limited as my imagination...and that is not too limited. I have ideas and plans for this pink wool. ~Pink and lustrous and just waiting for me. This wool calls me from afar. The Angora adds the luster that the Jacob alone does not have. ~I felted a bit of this wool tonight. This is my first time felting and I will write more about that process at a later date. Then, I began to spin my pink wool.....I think after I spin up a bit of it I will weave it into a funky, pretty fabric that I have planned to make into..... ~.....more little purses! Won't they be nice ? I already have some Chinese fabric for lining, and beads and buttons to decorate the purses. ~ I am so happy and blessed to have the opportunity to create things using the wool of my sheep. Do you have outlets for your creativity ? Does your heart sing when you are happily busy expressing yourself in some special way unique to you ? Cooking, sewing, knitting, writing, gardening, painting, photography ? "Creative work is play. It is free speculation using materials of one's chosen form." Stephen Nachmanovitch

Spot on Fiber, Fabric, Bazaar Fun !

~I am getting ready for the bazaar this weekend and there is a lot to do.~

~Aren't the colors and textures here just lovely ? Of course I am a bit biased about them. I wove the nubby fabric with the shell buttons on it from some of my homespun Jacob wool, and some funky yarns I picked up here and there. I finally decided after months of thinking about the fabric, just what I was going to do with it. (Above ) Here I have assembled various things I have collected over the months and years..and I will use my handwoven fabric, along with some Chinese fabric I just love, and turquoise shell buttons to make....

~A small purse just the right size to carry a cell phone, a driver's license, maybe some money and a comb or lipstick. Nothing much. This is meant to be a small purse for lightweight carrying. Here I have lined some of my handwoven fabric with the Chinese butterfly fabric. I spent a lot of time just looking at the Chinese fabric. It is so beautiful I did not want to cut it, but I did. ~Here above is one of the two finished purses I made. The handle is also made of the same yarns and is long enough to sling it over the shoulder and have the purse hang at the waist .

~Miss Marple is bored and decides to take a nap while I work on the other purses.~

~Here is more fabric I have woven of my yarn and some funky yarns. I have placed it with some beads I found a few years ago and some shiny gold fabric with leaves on it. Looks like a good mix, so I create 2 more purses.

~Close up of the beads.~

~Here is the lining stitched with the handwoven fabric. (above) ~

~The almost finished purse. I have yet to hand stitch the handle to it, but I like this little bag.~

~Miss Marple is awake, I have finished 4 little purses for the bazaar. Set up time at Lake Lawrence is tomorrow( I mean this afternoon), and the bazaar is Friday and Saturday. I have a lot left to do, Miss Marple has mischief to get into, guess I'll get to bed . I need my sleep. I think I like making little purses, and if they don't sell, why, I know I would really use the turquoise one , and the other one with the gold heart button, that one would go well with my little black dress... ~Our daughter has started a blog, 'A.Joy At Home', click on it in my sidebar and read the story about "cars going to heaven?" and also, read about "Turtle Love", it is a funny and true story.....a love that endures even now !