With that in mind I decided I needed to figure out what I was going to do with my three bags of fiber, before I had six bags of fiber! I know it's not until next May that more arrives, but the months are flying by and I know how easy it is to put things off so I made some plans.
When I was in Oregon I used a drum carder to make some beautiful batts of fiber, so I knew that was the next step so I headed off to my favorite little wool store in Navasoto, WC Mercantile and spent Friday afternoon with Stephanie. She's the owner and she knows her equipment and fibers, so I had a fun and educational afternoon and four Saturdays of classes added to my schedule.
I started yesterday with a drop spindle class with her young teacher - Katie! I had met Katie at the fiber show in Seguin and she's a 21 year old wonder! She knows more about fiber and what to do with it and I was excited to take a class with her. She's the one that taught me how to use my hand carders while standing in a booth at a show in about 15 minutes!! That's a teacher. :) This class was a prerequisite for the class next week - Intro to Your Spinning Wheel. No I haven't bought one yet, but have two, yes two, picked out. I will be using them both at the class next week to determine which will be headed to Brazos Hill Lane in the near future!
The third week is Art Yarn A_Z! Creative Spinning: From Dye-pot to Bobbin! with Diana North.
That's the big crazy yarn with all the goodies in it and I can't wait! The entire thought of carding this fun batt and then spinning it into this amazing weird yarn makes my heart race! This class will help me make my decision on my drum carder (type) and my first wheel, which I believe will be the Country Spinner.
And the 4th week is with Katie again - this class is "Beginning Fiber Prep! Much of this I've learned at shearing or in Oregon, but I haven't washed fiber and I know I will learn much that will help me use my three bags full!
And so today I decided to play with fiber and needle felt myself a coffee cup sleeve - you know that cardboard sleeve they give you at Starbucks or Caribou to keep us from burning our fingers - well I've started using a reusable cup from Starbucks at home and needed a sleeve and didn''t have a ready supply so I made my own! Now that was a gigantic run on sentence, but I'm leaving it. After all, it's also how I talk! haha
So, here's two pictures of my new sleeve - I added black felt letters JAVA to the sleeve and forgot to take a picture before I felted the ends together! This was quick and easy to make and it works great! Going to make more of these - if you would like to have one, drop me a note or leave a comment. We'll see what happens!
Be back soon - with fiber and spinning stories!
