Bunny updates and Spinning Info

The babies are getting bigger fast! I recently took one to the vet for a check up and flea preventative. She already weighs 3 pounds! They are 12 weeks old now. I picked up a new hutch for Peter, because we all know how rabbits are and this guy will be no exception. No accidental litters here. :O. Yesterday I brushed them all out and got them looking so cute. Even Easter allowed me to trim down her legs and get some mats out. She wouldn't allow me to take a picture, though. That was just too much for one day.

So here they are at their 12 week debut!

Wendy Darling

Peter Pan

Tinkerbell

I've also been working on some more alpaca and spinning some Tunis fleece for my contracts. I have come to love alpaca. I think I do it differently than most people, though. I love to card it and spin it woolen, which to me enhances the softness and spring of the fleece. But I don't spin woolen like most people. I strive for a uniformity that doesn't usually come with woolen spinning and to achieve that I use a draft and hold technique. I'm thinking a video may be in order to explain this. 

In other news, we're gearing up for a new school year. This is always an exciting time for me. I can't wait for school to start so that I can spring the new curriculum on my kids and see what they think about it! Of course, I'm dreaming if I think they'll ever be as excited about it as I am, but it's good to dream.

They're so fluffy!

I've been looking to increase my little rabbitry - and therefore wool production - since I got Easter, my first angora. I drove 6 hours to Florida and 6 hours back to pay $20 for a rescue bunny. It's been a learning experience, to say the least.

The other day I was on one of my Facebook groups looking at all of the adorable baby angoras for sale, wishing that some were closer to me. Georgia is not a great state for angoras, especially in my mid-eastern position. Too hot, I think. I was headed to a show in Augusta this weekend, just to see if someone had babies for sale. Then what to my wondering eyes did appear? Three little bunnies that all live near here!

I knew for sure I was interested in at least one of them. I excitedly sent a text to the poster and when she called back I asked tons of questions. Told her I was definitely interested in one of them, and when I showed the pictures to my husband, he told me we should get all three! Talk about an excited woman! Couldn't quit smiling the rest of the afternoon! See all the (!!!!) lined up there?

So in 3 weeks I will be making another trip to pick up 3 of these little rascals. Now, time for the cuteness overload...

Red-eye white

Pearl

Blue

They don't have names yet, of course, but the captions are their color distinctions.

Do you have 8 seconds?

As I was trolling through Facebook the other day something caught my eye. Humans now have an attention span of 8 seconds. Which is a second less than a goldfish. It took me about 7 seconds to read those first 3 sentences. Which also means if I don't "catch your attention" in those first three sentences my chances of you hanging around for the rest of this post are fairly slim. You still here? Good. 

I like social media. I genuinely like connecting with people all around the world. Facebook is mostly friends and family, but I also have multiple groups where I connect and make friends with people I normally would never talk to on the street. Twitter is boring to me, but give me an hour or two of Pinterest any day! And why is this? For the reasons I listed above. We're distracted to the point where most of us are running around in a daze and checking our phones 150 times a day. I'm just as guilty of it as anyone else. Shoot, some days I have to force myself NOT to check Facebook instead of reading my Bible study or immersing myself in a good book. 

That's also why I think so many of us no longer engage in the arts. We want a quick fix - like those handy tips we find on Pinterst - and to start selling our products which may or may not be sub par to someone else's because we actually took the time just to make it, not perfect it. Maybe we don't want to sell, but instead we want to just make something quick for a dinner party or a little decor in the house.  However, very few people have enough concentration and determination to become very good at something. 

When was the last time you thought to yourself, "Hey, I would really love to learn how to ______" (fill in the blanks here) but then started thinking about all the stuff involved in learning that skill. Those things then pile up and you just throw your hands up in the air and walk away? Or maybe you have a craft room (desk, cupboard, area) full of supplies for projects you started, and never finished? Sound familiar? 

My friend and I were talking about this the other day. And it sent me on a journey of thinking long and hard about why I do these things myself. I get bored repeating the same thing over and over. If I hit a plateau where something is about as good as it gets or has very little left to learn, I leave it behind. So I learn something new. There really is nothing wrong with that, because I do continue to do something until I have exhausted its potential to awaken my mind. I work hard and plod away at things (self-taught knitter, crocheter, spinner, quilter here) until I learn them. I definitely have an attention span longer than 8 seconds when it comes to pursuing a new craft. 

Many of us do not, though. If it takes more than an hour or two to learn, I think many of us will just cast it aside until we have the time. And usually, we will NEVER find the time. I mean, there are a lot of 8 second occurrences throughout the day, right? Things are constantly vying for our time and attention, and the less we spend on each one, the more we can get done throughout the day. It's ok, I get it. 

Now I know that this has taken wayyyy more than 8 seconds to read, and for that I am truly sorry. If you have made it this far, I feel quite honored! My whole point of this blog post, though, is that crafting can help us get back to a more reasonable form of concentration and a longer attention span. When I took up spinning I did not realize the level of concentration it would take not only to learn it, but to continue practicing it. Every length of fiber needs to be checked for uniformity. Yes, I know there are art yarns. I don't like them. I don't make them. That's a post for another day. So I can listen to audio books (yay audio books!), but watching a movie or anything that takes my concentration away from the actual process is a challenge and my levels of accuracy fall drastically. 

I can knit and crochet while watching television. Yes, I can even talk and carry on a conversation as long as I am not counting something or following a chart. A vanilla project could even be worked on in church with my full attention on the pastor (if I was ever brave enough to do such a thing) and still hear every word he says. When my hands stay busy, my mind stays engaged. 

Engaging your mind and increasing your attention span will also help you in other areas of your life. You will miraculously remember your friend's favorite color or your spouse's birthday because you listened to them - and not just because Facebook reminded you. You will engage in conversation verbally. Your mind becomes sharper and you may even be able to drive without running a light, forgetting to use your blinker, and turning without the assistance of a GPS. 

My challenge to you is to try it. Pick something, anything, that you have wanted to learn how to do (woodworking, knitting, crochet, spinning, scrapbooking, quilting, gardening) and do it. Don't think about what it will take to do it. Do NOT think about the hours you do not have to learn it. Just do it. And this is encouragement for my friend, as well. Turn off your phone, your notifications, your computer, the television, or take a vacation day. Whatever it is that distracts you, remove it. Life will go on while you learn, and think of how much fun it will be to check all of those posts and likes when you do return to social media. You'll also find out how little there is to care about on social media. 

Or you could miss what Sally had for dinner that day...tragic, really. 

Dragons Unicorns Fairies and Mystical Beasts

Back in March I decided to leave work because all of my children came home to homeschool. It has been quite a busy adventure! We will continue with it through next year as well. I started a blog based on our home education plans and projects called Little Lyons Homeschool. If you're into home education, why not stop by and take a look?

In other news...

I have also given up my quilting business, Freckle Dots. I still run an Etsy store in which I will post any sewing and/or quilting projects I have completed and that are up for sale. However, I am no longer doing custom tshirt quilts. It just became too much of a hassle, too big of quilts, and not enough time to invest in them.

Spinning also became a new passion in my life to add to the eclectic tendencies I already have. And I'm not talking about spinning as in a bicycle. Spinning as in making yarn from wool, cotton, and many other fibers. I bought a little bunny by the name of Easter. She is an English angora, pretty as can be, and mean as a snake. She's a rescue bunny, and I had no idea what I was getting into when I got her. I was told she was a good wool bunny, which she is, but her first year of handling was obviously traumatic and she's not the friendliest thing. But I still love her.

She also takes horrible pictures! Here she is between the barriers
I set up for her so she could play out on the porch. She loves to find
little hideaway places. Shh..you can't see her. 

I intend to use her fur to spin wonderful angora yarns. Of course, everything is harvested humanely and I have no intentions of maiming or otherwise mistreating her. Her fur will grow very long in just a few months and it is more of a necessity to prevent her from dying from wool block than it is an animal use things. Yet, admittedly, beneficial to me as well!

In view of my new passion and positive feedback I've received on my yarns, I also started a business called Mystical Beast. Mystical Beast is a little different because I not only sell the yarn, but every yarn also has a story (Get it? Yarn? Story?). I am inspired by the colors that I spin, the way things seem to come together as it is stretched into a fiber, and becomes an entirely new creature when plyed and set. I have always loved writing. I may not be the greatest author in the world, but I think I can pen a fair prose when prompted.

So far I have up only a couple of yarns. Each has a story that comes with it. The stories are just snippets of impressions, scenery, or the creatures they represent. All will have a mystical theme of some sort, involving fairies, dragons, unicorns, or the places in which they live.

So you can find me here, of course. I will not be changing the blog name because it is now a domain name. I think everyone pretty much understands that things on this blog are subject to change with or without notice, but one things remains the same - my passion for crafting.

You can find me on Facebook, Ravelry, Google+, and Big Cartel. I hope you will check me out on these sites, follow or like or whatever.

I also would like it if you could check out some of the folks that helped me get to opening a new store. Art of the Spin on Facebook and Etsy is my batt supplier for the two yarns above. Style Point Design designed all of the logos, headers, and avatars for my shops. I always want to give credit where credit is due! 

Wheel Love

*contains paid affiliate links

Happy Valentine's Day world. Nope, still not a big fan, but I love all of my readers and followers, so gush, gush, kiss, kiss.

Now that that's out of the way...

Last year I made it a resolution to learn how to spin. I spent part of my very short summer vacation trying to learn just how to do that. All I had was a spindle from Craftsy and another I'd obtained from somewhere else I can't quite remember. Anywho...it didn't work out too well. I did spin some fiber, but the spindle was frustrating to me because of the back spin, the constant starting and stopping, the multiple coordination skills involved... Basically, I just decided it wasn't for me! 

So I went on about my way, feeling that I had at least tried something new. But there was an empty place in my heart. A place that could only be filled with wool. Wool spun into yarn. And I wanted to do this special spinning using a traditional wheel. Which, in the world of wheel spinning, is called a Saxony. There are many different styles available; everything from modern electric spinners and pvc wheels, to more traditional castle and Norwegian styles. They all pretty much do the same thing, but it depends on what you're willing to learn and what you find attractive. 

I love the look of an old-style wheel. Rumplestiltskin always fascinated me (straw to gold? yes, please) and Sleeping Beauty is my all-time favorite Disney princess. Yes, I have some femininity in there somewhere. I even have a daughter named Aurora, though my intention was not to name her directly after the princess, it was just a happy coincidence. So I searched long and hard for my perfect match. Bearing in mind I only had around $450 to spend. I finally found her. 

I chose a Kromski Interlude for many reasons. 

A. She was priced just right at sale price of $460. These generally run around $529.00. I picked mine up at the Woolery on sale, so keep your eyes open. You can still pick up the smaller "Prelude" for about $399 unfinished at KnitPicks.com. 

B. She was beautiful. I would have to stain her, since the sale price was only reasonable on the unfinished style, but I could pick any color I wanted and bulk up my wood staining skills. (no, it wasn't fun. yes, I would do it again.) She was also in the traditional Saxony style I wanted without the huge price tag. 

C. The Interlude is a good beginner wheel. Easy to learn, single treadle, single drive, good size bobbins, and a good low to high ratio with expansions available for faster flyers. 

D. It's size means that I can travel with it fairly reasonably. The wheel comes off easily and remounts just as quickly. So I'm looking for that perfect, secluded place where I can meditate and spin. 

So after choosing my wheel, I was so pleasantly pleased with the customer service from the Woolery, their super-fast shipping, and excellent interactions that I have to put a little plug in here for them. They're on my list of go-to places for future shopping, since they carry a lot of accessories and wool.
It took me 2 days to stain it after I got it.

Out of the Box and ready for staining

 I chose a light pecan to go with the floor in my craft room.

Partially stained. 

After staining it, I used a lot of Yosemite Sam cussing, a video on YouTube, and the instruction manual to put it together in about 3 hours. I could do it in probably 20 minutes now, but I had NO IDEA what all the pieces were and where they went, so it was difficult to say the least! If I had to do it all over again, I would do a "dry run" on assembly, so I at least understood where to put everything and what portions should NOT be stained before they are put together. That was one of my downfalls, because I had to sand off some of the stain. The pieces are perfectly fit and even a 2 layer stain causes problems.

finished and put together

I also purchased a video on Craftsy called *Foundations of Spinning. It was fantastic and helped me learn not only how to spin, but about my spinning wheel.

The results of my first roving hank spun

 I'm about half way through it right now and have spun 2 1/4 bobbins from some roving I had on hand. Yes, you can find 100s of free videos online and countless books, but I always find that my Craftsy videos give me the most information and help me learn how to do something right! Plus, there's no searching around for it, it's just right there when I sign in. 

3 bobbins full 

First time the roving went ON the bobbin

The yarn isn't pretty and perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's taken me about an hour a day over the course of a week to get to this point. Not too bad, really. I was getting much better by the end of the third bobbin and spinning more consistently. Now I get to learn to ply!

If you really want to do something, and your heart desires it all of the time, you CAN do it. It takes practice, dedication, and persistence, but that's all in your desire to learn it. Anything you really want to do, and find worth doing, you can learn. 

Big Changes, Knitting Shawls, a Craftsy Sale, and Art, of Course

Good day to you all! There have been some major changes in my life as of late. First of all, I'll be closing down my t-shirt quilts for a while. I'm just tired of peanut butter sandwiches and want to explore some more exotic tastes. An eclectic person like me finds it somewhat difficult to continually pursue the same thing day after day. The joy is gone, so now I must move one.

With that comes the pursuit of something new! And I'm very excited about it. I decided it was time for me to go back to work. So after a few weeks of filling out applications and taking those repetitive employment tests, I found a great job through a Facebook contact of mine. It is working with students at our local art center after school. It's only part time and minimum wage, but I love it! The kids are great and I get to be in a teaching position at least in some aspect. I also get off all of the school holidays and the summer. Unless, of course, I can find something else to do there during that time...

On top of that, I'm also assisting with our Charter School's drama class. I also work with students there in an extracurricular session and the teacher has some really cool things planned. I don't get paid for that one, but the benefits are amazing.

A possibility also exists - pending approval from the governing board - for me to teach a knitting class on the last 3 Saturdays of the month at our library. I really love being involved in the community and some of the main social centers of our little town. Being an avid book lover, working at the library and teaching knitting is awesome. Can you tell I'm geeking out a little?

So with the possibility of teaching a knitting class, I decided it was time to step up MY knitting prowess and take another Craftsy course. After learning how to spindle From Fluff to Stuff this past year and working on Stupendous Stitching as an addendum to art quilts, I decided to head back over to Craftsy and take a course on Lace Shawl Design. I have been designing some hanging plant baskets lately and publishing patterns for them. Lace shawls (really lace in general) always intrigue and fascinate me though. So I thought this would be a good direction to take my newest pursuits and continue to produce some patterns!

Right now, Craftsy is having their Dog Days of Summer Sale and ALL CLASSES are up to 50% off until August 11, 2014. I just bought the Lace Shawl Design class for $14.99. It is normally $49.99 - so that's more than a 50% savings. If you've been itching to take a new class or explore deeper into a craft you already know, now is the time to do it!

So here is the announcement:

August Big Course Sale at Craftsy: Save 50%! (sponsored post) Don't miss Craftsy's Dog Days of Summer Sale happening now! Enjoy up to 50% off ALL online classes! Take advantage of big savings today. Hurry, offer expires August 11, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT. Shop now and save! And I hope you take advantage of it. There is nothing like learning a new skill or improving on one you already have. I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't take advantage of it myself!  Here's to you, my friends. May you be ever artful and happy in life.  I am a paid affiliate for Craftsy.com and clicking on any banners or links in this blog post will take you to the Craftsy site. The affiliate commissions add no extra charge to you whatsoever. I will never recommend a site or a sale that I have not first tried and am happy with. Thanks!

Saturday Musings: Resolutions Report

So how have your new year's resolutions been going? Have you had successes or failures? Are you still working on them and not giving up, or did you call it quits by January 15?

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have to say, I'm actually pretty happy with what I've done so far. I had a lot of plans and resolutions, and I've tried working on some of them throughout this month. I posted about also keeping up and organizing my blog better. I haven't given up on any of them, except maybe the Christmas craft one. I've been doing other crafts, though, so I can't say it's entirely a loss.

My list of resolutions was to

1. Learn to spin by wheel and spindle,
2. To make at least one Christmas craft every week  
3. To save money 
4. Spend more time doing outdoor activities such as gardening, hiking, biking, camping, etc. 
5. have all of my Christmas shopping done by November

While I have not yet attempted spinning, I did finish watching my Craftsy class Spindling: From Fluff to Stuff. I took a lot away from the class and have two skeins of roving and a spindle ready for when I have a moment to try it.

Saving money? Yes and no. I'm trying the 52 week savings plan and hoping that I can keep up with it. The first few weeks after Christmas are always very tight for us financially. Which is why I'm trying to save money. So if I can break the catch 22, I'll continue to save. Power bills go up from the cold, we have bills that have piled up because we bought Christmas instead, and my husband loses a good chunk from not working overtime on the holidays. I DID catch up and threw a little extra in the savings account last week, though!

Did I mention it's been cold? With ice piling up this last week, I've been a little hesitant to go outside and attempt any activities. Brr. Biking in 23 degree weather? No thanks. It will get done once it heads back up to the 60s and 70s, though.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net/ Paul Brentnall

Of course, along with those bills in January, I really haven't done any Christmas shopping, either. But I have Pinterest lists and ideas, and getting ready to do a few layaways. I still have 10 months.

One of the things I'm most proud of, however, is that I have kept up on my blog posts for the past 3 weeks! I'm so excited about some of the things we'll be doing. I really hope that you take the time to try out some things I post about and that this blog will become more interactive. If you've missed any of the posts, just click on the page links in the header and find what interests you.

I did dispose of my intent to do a blog for Sunday. A day off sounded much better. It also gives me a day to work on the rest of the week's posts. I've missed the deadline on a few, but the posts are there!

So I'd love to hear how your resolutions are coming along. Did you lose 2 lbs? Get something organized? Spend some time with family? Attempt a new craft?

Please comment below and let me know how you're doing! The worst that can happen is you'll get encouragement to keep on going.