class offerings sept - dec 2008

Hello, everyone! I wanted to put up class information from Gale's Art studio so if you are NOT interested in my FABULOUS classes....stick your fingers in you ear and go "LALALALA" for this entry :>)

email is galesart@mindspring.com or 404-457-4015 . I am in ATLANTA area.

Sept 12 , 13, 25, 26 "Acid Dye without Tears" 10:30 to 4 pm $85 4 students

(last chance this year to take this class)
In this class you learn the basics of color mixing and you will take home ½ a pound of your own original hand painted fibers when done. You can choose to dye 8 oz Blueface roving OR 8 oz of wool yarn OR a 4 oz/4 oz combination of roving and yarn. Also included with the class fee are 6 bottles of premixed Acid dyes solutions in primary colors for you to play with at home, along with instructions for small batch color graduations and Gale’s down and dirty color test system. Many of my students have time to dye extra materials that they bring from home as well as the fiber provided.

Felted Mosaic Scarf class $60 (4 student per class)
Friday Nov. 7, 2008 10:30-2:30pm playtime till 6
Saturday Nov.15, 2008 10:30-2:30pm playtime till 6
Saturday Dec. 6, 2008 10:30-2:30pm playtime till 6
A one day class takes raw, dyed wool and shows you how to create a wonderful, felted scarf. It looks complicated but it isn’t. Best of all, it will make a wonderful gift during the holiday season. Instruction and the creation of one scarf should take about 3 to 4 hours with the free option of after class “play” time should you wish to stay in the studio and create a second or possibly third scarf. Wool and felting supplies for the first scarf are included in class fee.

Inlay Purse / Knitting Needle Case $60 (4 students each class)
Saturday Nov. 8, 2008 10:30 to 3:00 playtime till 6
Friday Nov. 21, 2008 10:30 to 3:00 playtime till 6
Friday Dec. 5, 2008 10:30 to 3:00 playtime till 6
This one day class is devoted to the design development of a large piece of decorative flat felt. Students will learn how to make pre-felt sheets for felt inlay as well as adding interesting artistic details with silk and nylon fibers. The finished, colorful flat felt is suitable for a small purse, a knitting needle case, a book cover or many other things. The first flat felt should be completed in the time allotted but students are encouraged to stay for “play” time to create additional gift items.

cable guy...er....girl

Well, I have a secret confession to make.....I can dye, I can quilt, I can felt and I can spin but I CAN’T KNIT WORTH A HOOT! There I have said it and I feel sooooooo much better. Maybe I should join KA (Knitters Anonymous) but that is probably for people who are hopelessly addicted to knitting. I am more like a special Olympics knitter .... Sigh......I know it sounds a little odd but although I love to spin, my knitting skills leave something to be desired. Someday I might be brave enough to show you all the Quasimodo Sweater, or maybe not. But “never give up and never surrender” is a motto I try to live up to so I vowed to improve my knitting this year. That is why I am happy to show you what I did yesterday..... CABLES!




I found this really neat book at the library called Tweed by Nancy J Thomas last Wednesday on my “art day” and I thunk it was neat! I even learned how to create a tweed yarn on my wheel (but that is for another blog entry). So I came up with the great idea of Spinning some of my own tweed to knit into something. I thought this scarf was just about my style but I have never cabled before.
Enter knitter extraordinaire, Eve B, who came by last Tuesday and showed me how to make a CABLE. Thanks Eve ! (by the way, that Spice cake you accidentally left behind...you will never see it again. Sorry but it was very yummy)
You might notice, gentle reader, that I have placed a smiley face over the model. I would like to say it was to preserve his modesty but really he looked a little creepy on that park bench.... “Hey little girl-want some YARN?” gale

To the Batt cave!

Hey all, on Friday I was a little restless so it was “to the Batt cave!” I got out my drum carder, hauled out a big pile of fiber and settled into a serious afternoon of batt making! Really it is so much fun to do this stuff.... I bought my lovely drum carder from a fellow PHG guild member on Distaff day 2006. I was thinking to my self- “Self what have you done?! That was $350 that could have gone to your holiday credit card bill?!” but Self never listens to me if it means passing up a cooooweeelll fiber related item. So I brought it home and smuggled it into the studio before Mr. M saw it. That was not easy as it weighs like a gazillion pounds. Don’t ask me where I hid it....

With my lovely drum carder, I can make some great batts. Just in case you are not familiar with the term, let me explain that a batt is how wool is blended either with itself or with other fibers in preparation for spinning. Spinners take the batt and create yarn out of it. You can also take batt and felt it but most of mine goes to spinning. I usually create 4 to 8 oz of batts before I want to change the color. Being a dyer allows me the rare joy of combining practically any colors under the sun. When my fiber cup runith over, I head for the batt cave!

Above is a picture of some of the fibers that I could choose from. On the table are wools, mohair, silks and nylon fire star in various colors. In the background is my drum carder with a batt in the in tray. Next you can see a fibers eye view of the fiber going into the drum carder...OH NO MR DRUM CARDER PLEASE DON’T EAT ME !!! (ok gale have a sick sense of humor)


The next picture is of a particularly wonderful combo of fibers I put together. Starting from the left there is a soft merino grey wool, a sapphire blue nylon fire star, a multicolored tussah silk and then a little sapphire blue mohair.. And then the final product of a grey blend with shadows of green and that wonderful sapphire blue....YUMMY.... I named this one “Misty”




There are no hard and fast rules to drum carding but here are a couple of insights that a novice might find helpful-
The more you blend, the more blended your fiber- I like to send my fibers through the Drum carder only once or twice as I am interested in keeping the yarn chunky and full of texture. You can clearly see the silk and nylon against the wool. If you Card it more, your fiber mixture becomes more and more blended and your yarn is a finer mix. This is a spinner’s personal preference.

Some fibers are harder to blend then others- I find bombyx silk and mohair to be very resistant to blending. I often have to work longer with these fibers.

Don’t put too much fiber in at one time. If you are finding the cranking difficult, back off the amount of fiber in the tray. Your drum carder will thank you.

I really enjoyed my batt day! Next time I do it, I’ll try to include more before and after pictures. I just got so excited that I didn’t spot and take too many shots. Soooooorrrrryyyyy my bad. GALE

Yesterday I dyed.......

I am still in awe about this blogging thing. Just think 'lil ole me on the wide wide net! cooooooweeeeelllll! I have updated my profile and included a pic of me and my dear hubby,"the mysterious Mr. M", at a beautiful national park near by our home. whatta guy :>)
After 3 months of officially being a "professional dyer", I am still having a great time. I especially enjoy walking into my studio in my jammies with coffee in hand first time in the am and thinking "what will I dye today?" what a hoot!
(Of course, I don't' dye in my jammies......)
Yesterday was spent dyeing up some black blue face roving in "Fruit Salad". I also did some merino in this great solid color that I call "Winter Berry". It is just this wonderful holly berry red that I discovered a few months ago.
My wonderful friend and knitter extraordinaire, Eve B, was scheduled to see me yesterday but she was "a fountain of mucus" (her words not mine) so we had to reschedule. I am hoping she gets better soon. So I dyed instead.
Today, I am running away from home with my sketch book and a brown bag lunch for an "art day" out. A girl has got to get her inspiration for somewhere...more later if it gets interesting.....

hey hey look at me!!

I am Blogging and I didn't think that I could...ha ha. I am not going to make a long entry today as I was not prepared to do anything but I will say that I think this is way cool! gale