The idea was conceived one afternoon over a cup of coffee…

Three friends; three artists; three shop owners; all working with the same material in three unique ways. The idea was simple – follow four ounces of fiber on its path from one artist to another and share the details of its transformation along the way.

You all know me, so let me introduce you to the others:

The spinner: Jill Draper Makes Stuff

The crocheter: Hodge Podge Farm

As The dyer I am simply the creator of the spinner’s palette. I am pretty easy to spot in a crowd; just look for the the blue fingernails and dye stained shirt. I work with a small collection of powdered dye pigments to create an ever-growing collection of  dye recipes. Once mixed the concentrated dye-stock is cataloged and stored for future use.

Sold by the pound, I often  purchase large bales also called “bumps” of commercially combed top. When considering which fiber to choose for the Follow the fiber project; the choice was simple – Merino! It is perhaps one of the most popular fibers; soft and delightfully squishy it is perfectly suited for the intended spinner and final project.

There are countless dyeing techniques and each is as unique as the product it yields. Thoughtful of the type of wool as well as the spinning techniques that could  be used I choose to use a crock-pot to introduce the heat necessary to set the dye.

The tools for dye application can be as complex or simple as you wish, here, dye is applied with a recycled water bottle:

Once the fiber is dyed and cooled it is rinsed to remove any residual dye and neutralize the acidic solution used in the dyeing process. Careful attention to the handling of the wool is required to prevent any undesirable felting at this stage.

Thoroughly rinsed the fiber is set to dry for a few days…

After days on the drying racks the fiber is weighted and bundled into “chains” using a finger crochet technique. The chaining creates a braid that enables The spinner to visualize how the colours pair with one another. Once chained the fiber is photographed using both natural lighting and daylight bulbs to ensure that the image accurately represents the colours used.

And with a little assistance from Photoshop – the final result:

Once bagged and tagged the fiber has reached the end of it’s journey in the ITW studio.  The palette is complete and ready to be delivered to the talented hands of  The spinner.

To Follow the fiber – head over to Jill Draper Blogs

For those who have not yet ventured over to the ITW Ravelry forum to partake in the call for inspiration images – you might want to wander over there and see what is going on.

With only one day left to vote for your favorite inspiration image I figured this to be the best time to share what this whole ITW-SAL idea has blossomed into…

So, tomorrow night, just after 10:00pm I will announce the winners. Yes, there is an ‘S’ on the end of that word. There will be a total of three winners chosen. The first place image will be the source of inspiration for the first spin along, the second place image will be the source of the next spin along, and yes, you guessed it, the third image will be the source of the third spin along! Let’s look at our new 2010 SAL schedule.

Jan-Feb Spin along Dates:
Sale dates: 1/18 – 1/22
International orders ship: 1/25
US orders ship: 1/28

Jan-Feb SAL winner randomly chosen on 3/22

Mar-Apr Spin along Dates:
Sale dates:  3/15 – 3/19
International orders ship:  3/22
US orders ship:  3/25

Mar-Apr SAL winner randomly chosen on 5/17

May-Jun Spin along Dates:
Sale dates:  5/10 – 5/14
International orders ship:  5/17
US orders ship:  5/20

May-Jun SAL winner randomly chosen on 7/12

So then, what happens after all of that? We start a new round! A new contest is opened in June for the second half of the year!! But, let’s not talk about those dates yet…

Just had to share…

Twenty-seven pounds of hand painted fiber bagged, tagged and ready to list in the shop on  1.12.2010 at 10:00pm EST!

Happy New Year!!

So let’s talk about a fiber club.

I have been wracking my brain, asking people for their opinions, researching what is out there and I am still undecided on what is the “best” practice to run a club. When I commit to the club I want to be absolutely certain I am prepared for the responsibility that accompanies it.

So I had an idea, an idea that will help me to truly comprehend what is involved in releasing a large quantity of a single colourway on a single day to a large group of recipients…

Let’s have a spin along!!

The idea is simple, over the next two weeks I ask that each of you post an inspiration image on the ITW Ravelry Forum. And during that time, I ask that each of you vote (with a click of a (LOVE) button) for your favorite image – feel free to invite friends over to the board to cast their votes as well. At the end of two weeks I will review the votes and use the image with the most votes as an inspiration image for a colourway to be made available for sale the week of January 18^th-22^nd. The fiber will then ship the week of January 25^th-28^th.  Exact dates will be posted in the forum as things progress.

Like most fiber clubs and spin alongs, the final colourway will remain a surprise.  The fiber type will be decided and announced prior to the sale date.

Oh, and I failed to mention – the individual who posted the winning image will receive a 4oz braid of the spin along fiber as their prize free of charge!!

Let’s see, what other details are important. Oh, yes, the actual spin-along! Once the fiber has been shipped and received you will each have two months to spin up your fiber and share your results in the ITW Ravelry Forum. On March 22^nd I will randomly choose a winner to receive a yet to be decided prize!

Questions? Feel free to ask HERE, I am almost certain I missed some details…

So the studio looks a bit more like a studio then a dumping ground! I just wanted to let everyone know that the shop has been updated with the remaining inventory from Rhinebeck.

Next on the infamous To-Do list – Carding!!

Friends,

This is going to be short as I need to start and finish the recovery effort after the non-stop preparation for the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival. So, just a couple things…

The shop will reopen on Tuesday.

Wednesday I will be in the studio carding and dyeing.

And there is more. But those are topics for another day. Most importantly I needed to write this post to express my gratitude and appreciation for each and every person who supported me this weekend. You folks are just awesome.

Thank You – I love you guys.

Things have shifted into a ‘nother gear at the ITW studio in preparation for the NYS Sheep & Wool festival in Rhinebeck NY! So, until I have some pretty pictures or momentous announcements, I leave you with the details on where to find ITW at the festival:

Show/Festival: NYS Sheep & Wool Festival

Dates: 10/17 & 10/18

Directions: HERE

Booth Location: 39 A, B with the Ulster County Handspinners

Oh, hint of what I have been up to this past week…

Family photo of two pounds of 64’s merino wool top in the ‘Minotaur’ colourway to be released in September along with the release of the Phat Fiber Sampler!

Individual pictures are available for viewing on Flickr. Or feel free to check the ‘Photos’ page for the slide show – that is if you want to – it is your choice really.

I am just so excited about this batch because it is the largest batch of painted fiber to date. Plus I figured out how to effectively and efficiently dye up a full pound of the same colourway at a time !! Think phrases like “a sweaters worth of fiber” or perhaps “Phat Fiber Sampler”  or my personal favorite: “ITW (Into The Whirled) Fiber club” …

I am off from work today! Well, sorta.

The summer has been a whirlwind of way too much work. So I decided that I needed a day off to play catch up. I wanted a three day weekend, but a co-worker beat me to the punch.

At this point in the summer – a day off is a day off!!

So what does one do when they take the day off from work ? Work some more of course! Well, I am not sure if I can call dyeing “work”. Granted I loose way more sleep to dyeing then I do my 9-5 but I assure you – I am not complaining!!

Here is a picture of what I spent my entire night “working” on:

Now I am off to run some errands

…because that is what you do when you have the day “off”