Spindlerella and the Road to Obsession: Part I (I'm thinking I can explain myself in 3 nicely spaced parts...good for all of us)

All I wanted to do was find some nice sock yarn. Nothing more. Sock yarn. Nice sock yarn. I believe this was in January, prior to my birthday (at the end of the month). I mention this only because my birthday was the exact moment I clicked a PayPal button and became an obsessive lunatic in regards to wool. Good times.
I was so looking forward to taking that crocheted sock class in February. I purchased the above sock yarn at Loop where the class was held (these are the socks I made following the class from Smoosh yarn from the store...made for Townsend, modelled by me and most frequently worn by me because why wouldn't they be?Hmmm? And BTW...I dismantled my in-class socks, which were disastrous because I am a loose crocheter, but I am getting the hang of it now). Anyhow, all I wanted to do was find a nice skein of sock yarn on Etsy. Something one of a kind. I mean really, it wasn't as if I was going stop with the socks, right? I knew this because I covet all those knitted socks everyone makes, but I don't knit. Don't want to knit (mean babysitter experience making learning to knit NO FUN AT ALL). I crochet (good Mommy experience teaching me to crochet in a car with a bent hairpin and dental floss FUNFUNFUNFOREVER). But, who can "just find" something on Etsy? If you are primarily a visually stimulated person...Etsy can be like a crack den or a casino or some sort of all-you-can-eat-$9.99 buffet for the crack addict, gambling addict or food addict, respectively. It can be all consuming. Art and shopping. There's definitely a way to justify that.

So, I am browsing around Etsy, looking for sock yarn and come across this...which is definitely not sock yarn.
I remember I stopped breathing for a moment. Notsockyarnnotsockyarn. I thought (and still think) this is the most glorious 34 yards of art I have seen. It looked like an all-encompassing landscape of the country from west to east , north to south. It just triggered everything inside me. Crackish.

After secretly coveting it for a couple of days, I convo'd the seller, who is now known to me as the fantastic Monte McBride, and begged that she reserve it for me until my payday...which was also my birthday. She replied that she could not resist so many "pleases" in a row and a birthday. Who could honestly? And so it began. I thought "how could someone make something so fantastic? I want to make something so fantastic and useful but does not actually have to be utilized". That seems to be a thing with me, have you noticed? Appropriate something traditionally functional and make it into something non-functional, save for beauty which makes all our spirits sore. Oh...maybe it is functional then (that was just a snide comment for those who think art is a waste...I have met a few lately and want to functionally kick their teeth in...that wasn't nice but I could see it happening in my mind and which helps me keep that ever-pleasant look on my face. Scary, huh?).

Behold...another Monte McBride creation in my collection, felted and vibrant wool skein. Hanging on my wall with the other. Only to be admired, never walked on or worn on the head or about the neck, if I have anything to do with it and presently, I do.

What now our heroine ponders? Well, spend all wee hours of the morning learning about how to spin yarn, of course. And about those who make these incredible art yarns. There are so many artisans on Etsy and among my favorites (Monte is my most favorite because her work is so peaceful and calm and reflects the landscape so well and that is where my heart is, in the land) like Loop (no relation to our local yarn shop), Vicky Hunt (no relation to me, the heroine), YOKnits, SpunRightRound, Jazzturtle, Atomic Cube, and soooooooooooo many more. Lots of them also regularly create beautiful batts for spinning and just to look at them is like looking at sculpture or paintings. I don't think I could bear to spin one of those. Well, I bet I could. And for art yarns...the queen of them all has got to be Lexi Boeger aka Pluckyfluff...I held my breath again when I found her website. Holy expletive.

But, first things first. I thought if I am really going to do this I should learn the basics to make balanced hand spun yarn and learn to control the wool in its various forms. Plus, purchasing a wheel right now is not in my budget, but I could make a spindle, totally old school. Actually, I could make about 9 spindles (that's how many I have made out of a variety of things...it's just got to spin baby). I have crowned myself SPINDLERELLA. Oddly enough, lots of spinners call themselves Spinderella in forums, but my spelling of the tag wasn't taken on Ravelry (I just signed up and haven't done anything yet...baby steps). Yeah for me.I found this great website Joy of Handspinning and it is chock full of information. Love it. Through it, I found various videos, one in particular by Abby Franquemont on spindle spinning and away-i-go! Like a fish to water. Of course that leads to requiring wool and there are so many breeds and forms to get your spinning wool in and hence the biggest obsession...THE WOOL.

That's the end for now. Next up: WOOL...the end all be all and it isn't just for yarn. It is all a means to and end with the art, you know. I must walk the studio assistant and make something to take for dinner at work and get myself together so I can last into the wee hours and then come home and not sleep more. YES!

Winners Are...

Well, even though my friend Mutope was not awarded the artist residency and did not garner the most votes in the "American Idol" portion of the "program" (ugh...it sounds just as bad as it did about over a month ago) I am still giving away two bundles for the few who were good enough to go through the hassle. I haven't embroidered them yet (THEY AREN'T DONE, DON'T WORRY WINNERS).

I am so out of whack from my various work hours and staying up all wired and sleeping strange and whinemoanwhinemoan...you name it. Anyway, above are the unfinished bundles waiting to be embroidered. Oh, yeah. The winners (I emailed them) are Leonie and Jeannie. I can't remember and don't feel like looking up the winner of the whole residency thing, but as I recall she is a very sweet person and quite a reknown artist. Her work is very popular around here and there are only kind words to say about her. Gosh, I wish I could remember her name. Someone will tell me or I will eventually look it up. I'm so out of it. I proofread this and OK...I couldn't be that lazy and disrespectful. Katie Musolff is the winning artist and I wish her all the best andI have only heard good things about her. I wish I could say that much about myself...I'm not sayin' I'm just sayin'... I would have taken proof pictures of the drawing and the cool half finished hat I pulled the names out of, but once again...I am just not up to blogging speed. So sad. I will recover. I'm like that broken ballerina that came back after two years in the 2008 documentary Ballerina...I think it is 2008. See...I'm spending my wired up after work hours and mornings watching everything on Netflix and pretending I'm sleeping but actually carding wool and spinning...oh yeah baby. Wait until I do blog again...lots of stuff happening. See that picture up there? Yeah, I spun that stuff on my homemade spindle (a dowel and a toy wheel). I am obsessed but still not motivated enough to take enough pictures and write a really good post or two. Soon. The prima ballerina will be back and better than ever. Yikes, that is too much of a set up. Rewind. Erase. Lower those expectations. Aghhhhhhhhhhhh. I should really attempt going to sleep. But, the Snow Lion of Tibet is calling (Netflix). Oh, that is the studio assistant snoring. Ooops, my bad.

Thanks to everyone hanging in there with me on this blog. You are better than I . Hope you all are living smoothly as you are able.