Wool Room Music - Bowerbirds

This week I wanted to feature an amazing band called the Bowerbirds. They're a trio from North Carolina, made up of Beth Tacular, Phil Moore and Mark Paulson. They're considered "nu-folk", a genre which I'm loving at the moment. I found them on YouTube originally - I'll share the first video I saw of theirs here. Their sound is warm and so rich, with beautiful vocal harmonies and a gorgeous instrumental combination of guitar, bass drum and accordian. Other songs I particularly like are "My Oldest Memory" and "Bur Oak", both of which are from their debut album "Hymns for a Dark Horse."  Here's "In Our Talons" - enjoy!

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Featured on Etsy's front page!

My Caramel Diamond in the Rough fingerless gloves were on the Front Page of Etsy this morning! Unfortunately I missed seeing it, but I found a screen shot on Flickr to share. It's always exciting to be on the Front Page. Big thanks to pixelcurious for including me in this gorgeous treasury!

Check back shortly for the relaunch of my Etsy Monday feature!

Wool room music - Blitzen Trapper

I've scored a sweet ipod touch for my birthday (thanks Mom)! My old nano gave up the ghost a while ago and I've been without an mp3 player for way too long. I'm very excited, and to celebrate I thought I'd kick off a new little blog feature. Music is my other passion, and I'm always seeking out new bands and artists to get into. I thought I'd share my newest finds (and old favorites) once a week for you all to check out if you'd like. I'll put songs up in the form of YouTube videos, because that's the fastest way to jump right in and listen!

Today I'll start with the very first song I listened to on my shiny new ipod. The band is called Blitzen Trapper, and the song is called Furr (from the album of the same name). They do have other good songs too, but this one is just amazing. For whatever reason, this is the first song I wanted to hear when I turned on the new ipod. I've also included the lyrics after the video (click link to full post). Feel free to comment, let me know what you think, or recommend new bands. Hope you enjoy it!

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Black Mustard is now on Facebook!

I've set up a Black Mustard Fiber Arts fan page on Facebook! I'm still poking around to see how it all works and setting things up, but feel free to check it out and if you like, become a fan! This is a great way to get updates on new products, blog posts, promotions and more right to your Facebook homepage.

Click the screen shot to visit the Black Mustard fan page - hope to see you there!

The story of my model search

I thought I'd share the story of how I found my new model for my Etsy pictures with you all. I think it'll be of interest either to other Etsy sellers or designers who are looking for someone to model their work, or just to anyone who needs a little inspiration when it comes to stepping out of your comfort zone. Here's how it happened...

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New for Fall!

I'm very excited to have listed the first of my new Fall items in my Etsy shop! Thanks to my wonderful new model, Isis Wright, I now have some great pictures to show them off. It's hard to resist the temptation to list them all at once, but in order to be noticed among all the great artists on Etsy, it's better to spread them out a bit. Here are the first two, which went up in my shop yesterday and today!

Cream Baby Alpaca drop stitch scarf

I can't even begin to describe how soft this yarn is! It is pure luxury against your skin. I plan to make more of these in quite a few colors in the next little while!

Brown Alpaca/Kid Mohair lace shawl

I love Fall colors, and this shawl is perfect for keeping out the chill now that the nights are getting colder. I used a razor lace pattern (one of my faves) to add some feminine detail without making it too frilly. We also photographed this shawl in olive green, which will be in the shop early next week.

I am so glad to have found Isis and I seriously cannot stop knitting now! I'll be writing more soon about how I met Isis and the great things that can happen when you step outside your comfort zone.

My first shoot with Isis Wright

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with model/actress Isis Wright to photograph my new pieces for Fall. I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to have someone of her beauty and talent to represent my pieces! It was an absolute treat to work with her, both in terms of the shots we got and the vibe we had with each other. I was a little nervous to meet and shoot my first "real model" but she is such a genuine person and really seemed to enjoy wearing my pieces, and I felt extremely comfortable with her. I am looking forward to working with her again in the future, and my mind is racing with new project ideas! I thought I'd share a few of my favorite shots from our session. I'll start listing these pieces in my Etsy shop this afternoon, and continue over the next few days! I could say a lot about each of these photos, but I'll let them speak for themselves.

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Wonderful Warm Earth Tones on Etsy

I was able to snag a treasury on Etsy last night and I thought I'd share it here as well! I'm a huge fan of earth tones, especially this time of year.

In other news, I think I've secured a new model for my knitwear! I'm very excited :)

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Late night knitting success and a blog feature!

I stayed up knitting till 3am last night. I'm liking this enthusiasm! I've had some delicious chunky Baby Alpaca in my stash for a while and I wanted to come up with a project for it. It's the same yarn I used last year for my button up cowls, but I've always wanted to use it for a full-length scarf as well. I wanted something simple that would showcase this amazing yarn and accentuate its softness. Yesterday during my brainstorming session I decided I would try a simple drop stitch scarf. I cast on and finished last night (hence the 3am bedtime!) and was very pleased with the results.

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Getting back on track

This is just a quick post because I'm really trying to get in the habit of blogging regularly. Hopefully the quality of the posts will improve once I get back in the swing of things! I wasn't able to photograph my knitted shawls and neck warmers on the weekend as I'd hoped, but they're all blocked and ready to go. I probably won't get another chance until this weekend now, but in the meantime I've got my mother-in-law's camera to familiarize myself with. And I've cast on for another cowl, so I'll get that ready for the weekend as well.

Last night I finished another pair of gloves and put them up in my Etsy shop this morning. I really enjoy these gloves as a quick and satisfying knit. I've stocked up on all the colors I used last year so I can restock the shop with those while I'm waiting to photograph the new stuff, as it's looking a little bare. Then, I think I'll pick up a few more colors of the merino I use for the gloves and try out a new pattern I've been playing with. There's no such thing as too many gloves this time of year I think! Here's the pair I finished last night.

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Camera set-backs, power knitting and yarn store excitement

I am so ready for Fall. We've had a couple of cooler days and I've been bit by the knitting bug again, big time. I've been working feverishly on new items for my Etsy shop... and then staring at them in frustration because I don't have a camera to photograph them. My camera bit the dust during the summer when I was at a music festival for the weekend. It didn't get damaged, it just stopped working. It won't turn on now even with brand new fresh batteries. Apparently it's a common problem with this model of camera (note to self: research technical issues before buying next time). The good news is, my birthday's coming up in less than a month and a new camera is at the top of my wish list. The bad news is that my birthday's still almost a month away, and I'd really like to get my Fall pieces listed now (insert foot stomp here)! Luckily my mother-in-law has come to the rescue. She's lending me her sweet digital SLR camera to use this week! So now I'm getting excited - I'm weaving in ends, blocking and getting props ready!

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My first single-ply yarn!

That's right, I finished my first singles yarn and I'm pretty proud of it! Ta-da!

I've been wanting to try making a single-ply yarn but I've put it off because I found it pretty intimidating. I know that to make a decent singles yarn you need to treadle slowly, and I tend to spin at quite a brisk pace. So I didn't know if I'd be able to achieve a nice low-twist yarn. But lately I've been working on being okay with making mistakes. Coaxing myself to try new things even if I can't be sure I'll do them well. I had just received some gorgeous BFL dyed by Kristin at All Spun Up on Etsy, and I couldn't wait to spin it. The colors are quite dark and they're over-dyed on ecru and natural brown mixed BFL so I thought it would be a good fit for a single-ply yarn. I had a feeling that using this for a 2-ply might muddy the colors a bit. Here's a picture of the roving (borrowed from the Etsy listing).

The stars aligned and I managed to produce a yarn that I'm really happy with, especially for my first try. Don't get me wrong - I still love a good squishy, sproingy 2 ply. But I can't believe how soft and fuzzy this yarn is! And it symbolizes a personal triumph for me - I conquered my inner perfectionist who normally would've chickened out. And especially with such gorgeous fiber - I admit I was a little reluctant to risk ruining it. But I pushed on anyway and I'm so glad I did!

Considering it's my first single-ply and the colors are completely "my" colors, I think I'm going to keep this one. This is the first yarn I've spun that I really can't quite bear to part with. It's hard to imagine it with the heat we've been having but I think I'll make a pair of mittens for winter. I want to make something that makes use of the fluffiness of the yarn. And it only gets cold enough for full on mittens a few times a year where I live, so I'm thinking they'll last me forever! I'll be sure to post pictures of them once they're done (probably in the Fall).

I can't wait to try another singles yarn! I'm pretty excited about this so you may see a few singles skeins in my shop soon (although I also just finished the 2-ply SW Merino I've been working on, which will be hitting Black Mustard Colorworks tomorrow). I think I'll make a few more that are pretty uniform in thickness like this one until I get comfortable with the speed, and then I'd like to try to spin a nice even slubby thick-and-thin singles yarn. Wish me luck!

Recharging... with Art!

Lately I've been finding myself in need of some serious recharging and renewal. Without really doing it on purpose, I ended up withdrawing from all the things I normally love doing (knitting, spinning, blogging, etc). And I think it's because I'd managed to turn my hobbies into "work" in the sense that I was starting to feel guilty and stressed out if I wasn't doing them almost all the time. I was putting so much pressure on myself, by turning ideas and goals into obligations and deadlines, until I just had to take a break for a little while. For the last few weeks I haven't done a whole lot in the way of crafts for my Etsy shop - instead I've just been letting myself do whatever interests me. And now I can see things from a different perspective and I think this is exactly what I needed to help breathe new life into my shop and my craft. So, here are some of the things I've been up to...

I've been watching tons of videos on YouTube about art and keeping an art journal. There are lots of great videos and channels dedicated to art but the one that caught my attention first and served as my gateway into the world of art-themed videos was Suziblutube. I especially love her Art Journal Playshop videos, which offer prompts, ideas and inspiration for journal pages. Her enthusiasm for art is so infectious that I had to go out and get a journal for myself. Another really great one is Willowing. Her videos weave together art and spirituality and present the idea of an art journal as therapy, which is exactly what it's been in my experience.

I've been keeping my journal for about 2 weeks now and I am surprised at how much I love it! I've never really considered myself an artist in terms of visual art - I never even had much of an interest in making art. But I have been enjoying it on so many levels. Because of the fact that I didn't know anything about drawing and painting when I started this, I had no expectations of myself at all. It has been so wonderful to allow myself to be a beginner again and to be okay with making mistakes! It's shown me that I need to show myself patience and kindness and compassion, which is something I think I've needed for a long time. I've heard it time and time again - if you're not willing to make mistakes you can never make anything original. There have been moments while I'm painting in my journal that I've gotten so absorbed in the process that I don't even worry about the outcome, and that is something I have not felt in a long time. I'm hoping to bring this same attitude to my knitting, sewing, spinning, etc. because I really do love it and I miss being excited about filling up my shop coming up with new ideas. I think that's going to be the key to getting my enthusiasm back. Trying new things, and being willing to make mistakes. I've got some yarn I don't mind wrecking - it's time to get bold with my knitting!

Anyway, here's a little slide show of my art journal so far. There's only a few pages but I thought I'd show you what I've been doing...

Another thing that really appeals to me about these women on YouTube is that they seem so honest and they share so much of themselves. This is something I've struggled with - finding a balance between being professional in my Etsy shop and sharing personal content on my blog and elsewhere. And with the art I've been making I find I'm able to be more candid because I'm not trying to make a business out of it. And the interactions I've had with some of the other folks on YouTube have been so very authentic and satisfying that I plan to bring some of that transparency into my shop and my blog as well. Right now I'm all about integrating the various facets of myself into a whole representation of who I am and what I'm passionate about. Because afterall, isn't that what drew me to Etsy and the idea of sharing my work online in the first place?

So, I'm going to focus on trusting the process, relaxing into it and being patient with myself. I have lots of great ideas and if I don't get around to them all this season, I'll just have to save them for next year... and trust that the time will be right then. When we exert too much control over the direction we take we can end up missing out on some great twists and turns. Basically I'm beginning to realize that if I stop thinking of my life as being compartmentalized into work and play, productive or non-productive use of time, etc. I can look at everything I do as having value and helping me get to where I want to be.

Now I'm itching to get back to "work" on my Etsy stuff with a new sense of perspective. I'm going to start with spinning because it is in itself a very meditative process and I think it will be a great way to gently get back on track and get myself motivated to do more. I'm about half way done spinning some SW Merino that I dyed myself - one of my very first attempts (the green one) and then I'm going to dive into this amazing roving I got the other day from All Spun Up on Etsy. Isn't it gorgeous?

I can't wait to get back into the swing of things. I'm so glad I gave myself this time to reflect and recharge.

Official Guide to the Black Mustard Newsletters

As promised, here is the run-down on the various newsletters available through my mailing list. This is to let you know what will be covered in each of them so you can decide which ones interest you. Feel free to sign up for any (or all) of them by entering your email address in the sign-up form over in the right sidebar. Just leave the boxes checked for the newsletters you'd like to receive and uncheck the ones you can do without.

First we have the general "Monthly Newsletter". This is a basic update that lets you know what's happening at Black Mustard Fiber Arts and Colorworks. It encompasses both shops, so you'll find information about new products from knitwear to handspun yarn to new types of hand-dyed fiber. This is also the place to find out about sales, promotions and contests. Also, check out the "What's coming" section of the newsletter for a teaser about the next month's theme or focus. This newsletter will be sent out on or around the 1st of each month.

Next up is the "Handspun Preview". This is for anyone who'd like to receive a heads up whenever I have a new handspun yarn available. Generally I will send this alert out the day before I plan to list the yarn in either of my shops. It will include pics of the yarn and all the stats, along with the date and time you can expect to see it in the shop. Yarns spun from my own hand-dyed fiber will be for sale at Black Mustard Colorworks, while those from fiber dyed by others will still go into the original shop. This newsletter covers both.

And finally, for the new shop we have the "Hand-dyed Preview". Much the same as the yarn alert, this newsletter will let you know when I plan to have new hand-dyed fiber in the shop. Following the same format, it will have pictures, a listing of fiber content, and the details about when it will be listed. This one will only apply to Black Mustard Colorworks.

Well, that about sums it up! I'd be glad to hear any questions or feedback anyone has about these newsletters, or ideas for future editions. Thanks for reading!

Kettle Dyeing!

This weekend I tried kettle dyeing roving for the first time. It was so much fun and I learned a lot from my first trials. I was familiar with the basics going into it, and I'd previously tried painting rovings, with decent results. I consulted a few online tutorials, primarily this one from Earthwhisper Fiber Arts. The most important advice I got from reading this was to add each color separately, letting each one exhaust into the fiber before adding the next. Reading that was a bit of an "Aha" moment for me because I'd always wondered how you can use multiple colors in the same pot without them mixing into a brown soup!

I have to say, I prefer this method of dyeing to painting. It requires much less space and overall I think it's quicker. My blue in the first roving (pictured above) separated into its 2 parts during the dye process, resulting in some pink that was not planned... But that's okay. It was a really good learning experience. I dyed 2 rovings, both SW Merino. I plan to spin them up so I can get an idea of how they'll look, how they'll rinse, etc.

Roving #1 - blue, green, pink, purple and gold with lots of white

Roving #2 - greens, browns, gold and yellow/orange

I can't wait to see how these spin up! I'll be doing another bunch of dyeing today, so expect more pictures to follow.