Yum!

My handspun yarn from my previous life.

So, the knitting machines are in my studio now, stored with my wool roving, sliver and handspun. Here are a couple examples. The brown is from my black Romney ram, Mendel. The white is a Samoyed (dog) and Romney blend. I can't remember who gave me the Samoyed but it has to be blended with wool or it is too flighty. I love my big fat bags of wool.

a new old hobby?

My bulky machine used for hand-spun yarn

In the last month I have been cleaning my studio and selling miscellaneous items on eBay. Downsizing my stuff is in preparation for the move to our new home and my new (smaller) studio. We thought we would be moved by Christmas but apparently it is not meant to be because we are nearing the end of our fifth month of waiting for the building permit. Very frustrating.

My little Peacock loom went to a new home with a really interesting artist, Charan Sachar. Please look at his website. He chatted with me for a while and I've been thinking about our conversation. He said when his love of clay became a job, he needed a hobby.  He fell in love with knitting and is now exploring other fiber arts.

hobby 1 |ˈhäbē|
noun (pl. hobbies) an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure: her hobbies are reading and gardening.

In the brief visit with Charan, I was reminded of my old hobby when I worked at K2 Skis: raising sheep and spinning and knitting, both by hand and with my knitting machines.

Today, Jay brought my two machines from our garage into the studio for me to clean and sell and I remember how fun it was to work with them. The time may be coming for me to semi-retire from my painting job and have a hobby in my leisure time for pleasure.