Close-up of a wool “rolag”* waiting to be spun
Every summertime we know it is coming – the season of harvest and pruning and . . . Local Fiber Festivals!
We are big fans of attending OFFF, our local fiber festival. Of course, the many vendors get our attention. It is also filled with demonstrations, barns full of animals and if the weather is cool enough – attendees dressed in sweaters and scarves- it is like a fashion show!
Here is the contact information:
- What: Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (OFFF)
- www.flockandfiberfestival.com
- When: September 22nd and 23rd
- Where: Clackamas County Event Center
By now, it is starting to show that we put a lot of thought into our art supplies. This is especially true concerning annual sales events. The months leading up to OFFF are when we take stock of our supplies, really enjoy planning future projects and measure what is needed to finish works-in-progress that outgrew estimated boundaries (restraint can be a tough concept!)
Years of impulse buys have added up to enough brown fiber to spend the whole winter spinning it, perhaps into spring as well! But, that’s the luxurious project with daydream designs and plans that grow and change each year. While this may not be the year I actually spin the yarn, it may be the year I resist the temptation to buy more brown fiber. Well, let’s not be too hasty with that declaration!
What is exciting are the “what if” plans we have of all the other colors of the spectrum.
This is the start of a blog post series inspired by the photography exercises we created from the process of making color study exercises as we took inventory. Why? Well, we heard that exercise is good for you!
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Photographs
- Top photo is wool prepared by carding and formed into a roll*, called a “rolag” before spinning.
- All other photographs are singles and plied yarns on spinning wheel bobbins.
- The last photograph is really 4 copies of the same photo flipped, playing with the idea of “Z” and “S” twists, terms used to describe the direction of twist in yarn.