Dyeing Supplies

Immersion Dyeing

Dyed Roving

What’s your favorite way to dye? Any cool techniques that you have to share? Leave a comment and tell us.

Time to share what you’ve been up to with your fiber this week.

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!

This weekend I am at SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair) in Asheville, NC. Today I am taking a class called “Painting with Wool”. Doesn’t that sound romantic? I will be taking pictures and posting them on Alpaca Farmgirl on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and eventually – here.

Now it’s time to hear what you fiber divas have been up to – Share your fiber adventures below in the Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival.

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!

I’ve been working hard to get my house and farm ready to put on the market. My friend Jodi made me go through my closet to straighten it up and get organized. You know what I found? I have a stash! As a newbie wannabee Fiber Artist I was so excited that I actually have a stash.

I grabbed all my various fiberlicious items and put them in see-through storage bins. I don’t have that many of them. However, I DO have a warehouse of fleece and gobs of yarn! If you haven’t written a blog post this week, consider taking a picture of your stash (or part of it) and linking it with Fiber Arts Friday. C’mon! Share that fiber-y goodness you have in the closet or under the bed…

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!
4. Double-check to make sure your link works and goes to the right page so it doesn’t get deleted.

Sheri is teaching a Beginning Spinning class here at our farm, Fairhope Alpacas, tomorrow. I am so excited to learn to spin. Today she plans to give me tips on dyeing, felting, and more. Sheri is also going to walk me through washing the fleeces. At this point, having over 100 fleeces to wash seems to be an insurmountable obstacle, but she’s going to show me how to do several at a time outdoors. The kids and I should be able to knock it out the first month of summer. (I realize I can send them out to be washed, but that adds to the cost with the washing AND shipping – I’m going to weigh my options at this point.) And in this economy, I am reminded every day to do more for myself and rely less on paying others to do things. (I’d love to have 6 employees, but that will have to wait for the economic upturn!)

It is my intention to blog everything I can and even take some video this weekend. So check back to see all the fiber trouble we get into!

Please tell at least one fiber friend and ask them to participate in Fiber Arts Friday! And be sure to mention Fiber Arts Friday in your blog posts and link to it. Can’t wait to see what you’ve got going on this week on your blogs!

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!
4. Double-check to make sure your link works and goes to the right page so it doesn’t get deleted.

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

Katie's crochet blanket

This week I interviewed an adorable woman from London, Katie Lee (@shinykatie to the Twitterati) who crochets. I have been interested in learning crochet, but I had some questions first. Hope you enjoy this interview. Stick around at the end for some other cool Fiber Arts blogs/sites. Please visit them and leave them some comment love.

Q: How long have you been crocheting?

A: I learnt when I was young (around 10?), started again in earnest when I was 15 and then really got into it properly in my early 20s. That was when I learnt how to read patterns and what the stitches were called – before that I just made granny squares!

A: For some reason I just can’t get as excited about knitting. Crochet feels faster and more fluid, it’s easier to carry on the train with you and it just feels less faffy. I love the old granny, ugly 70s feel of crochet – I’m a big fan of bright colours and blankets! But the downside is that crochet can be less versatile because it’s basically just a lot of knots. Crochet clothes are often ugly (not to mention misguided – all those holes can lead to bad things!) and can lead people to some serious lapses in rational thought (“Hey, do you like my woolen granny square swim suit?!”). Thank god What Not to Crochet keeps us all in check…

A: Blankets will always be current and relevant! (I’ve got one over my legs right now). And my grandmothers made things that I could only dream of (where did they get the patience to crochet with sewing thread?!). As well as making superior blankets, crochet is also much better than knitting when it comes to making toys – knitted amigurumi just aren’t as good. I reckon toys are pretty current and relevant too!

A: There are great how to videos on places like www.videojug.com and I’ve stuck some links on the sidebar of my blog, Good Hooking, that teach the different stitches. But really the best way is to grab a granny – or any other crafty type – and get them to show you. And – most importantly – be prepared to get really frustrated after about 15 minutes of trying. But stick with it, and you’ll be half way to making a blanket after 20 minutes. Oh, and don’t start with double crochet (US single crochet) – it’s boring and fiddly – start with a nice granny square made of trebles (US double crochet) – much more fun and you end up with something that looks like something straight away.

Thanks, Katie! I am looking forward to trying it out. If you crochet, please leave a comment with any other tips for beginners or interesting links about crochet. Happy Friday!

Now let’s see what you Fiber Artisans have been up to this week. Link your fiber blog posts to the Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!
4. Double-check to make sure your link works and goes to the right page so it doesn’t get deleted.

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.