The Swell Season

Tomorrow I'm heading for Seattle to catch The Swell Season perform at The Moore Theater. Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard of The Frames  and pianist Marketa Irglova (who make up the band The Swell Season) starred in  the movie Once together and also wrote the soundtrack. I caught this film last time I flew to Seattle for ArtFiberFest in October. I'm a huge Frames fan, so finding this movie on the inflight digi-player en-route to Seattle was AMAZING! 

Printed Matter

These are the prints I made in a block printing class I recently participated in... I've already sold one of the fish prints in our local Whale Fest art show this week. The star fish I plan to frame vertically in a series of prints matted together in one frame. I haven't decided if I'm going to put four prints together to make one long dramatic piece, or three and leave the fourth as a single print to sell.  I have two more prints where the starfish are darker in the middle. Those I plan to mount horizontal as shown above in a single frame.

Silver Lining

So... I went to the thrift store looking for inspiration and found some silver sparkle threads to deconstruct. The shirt I shredded and the sweater unraveled and brutally ripped apart...

which created this wonderful, glittering pile of crimped fiber that I love, love, love.

Combined with merino/silk, wool, angelina and novelty yarn...

and wildly carded on the drum carder...

creates these decadently soft metallic batts that I'm dying to get spinning on. I've got some bits to add in during the spinning process and some complimentary threads for plying.

Art + Yarn

I can't believe I forgot to blog this:

This is the amazing package that I received in a seasonal swap from Australian spinner Wooldancer in early February. I sent her my "Spring Eternal" yarn (the one with the branches and bird nest) in exchange for this autumn inspired work of art. This was so worth the wait!

Bling!

I fell in love with these and had to have. They got me thinking about textile peices I'd like to sew and embellish... I love the feel of natural stone.

Farewell Yarn Shop

It's officially official: I have sold The Rookery to local fiber artist Chris Lynch. The deed was done on Monday March 31st. I would have blogged it sooner, but it took me awhile to get my laptop online at home, and as a result I have lots of pic's and stuff to share. At the moment I am still trying to settle in to a life without retail and make space at home for all my fiber and stuff I had stored at the shop. I am super excited for Chris- she's amazingly talented in so many mediums and I think she'll bring that energy and creativity to the shop and take it to the next level. I can't wait!
I know I could have used spell check when making that sign...

I neglected to take a pic of my favorite part of the shop: The fiber corner!

Sigh... I'm going to miss that couch. Best couch ever. So comfy...

Interviews with Lexi of Pluckyfluff

Just finished listening to this insightful and endearing podcast interview on CraftSanity with Lexi of Pluckyfluff. It's a meaty interview- so you might want to grab a coffee, beer- whatever you prefer- and get your wheel going. If you're an instant gratification sort of person, or just short on time right now and need a quick fix, you can check out Studioloo's online magazine for a printed interview with Lexi that covers similar ground...

We are trying to organize a Camp Pluckyfluff Alaska 2009 here on Kodiak Island. If you think you might be interested in partcicpating, please visit Lexi's website and email her. This has potential for being one seriously wicked weekend. BTW Lexi if you read this... you can swear like a sailor while you're here and no one will notice. Also: speaking your mind, or the first thing that pops into it, is socially exceptable... and... no one will hold it against you if you crack a beer with your breakfast.