Little Mountain Fiber Studio

7th Grade Felted & Stitched Sunburst Mat

2012-03-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

In 7th grade we explore felting for the entire school year. We explore many different felting techniques and ways to embellish felt. This sunburst mat is the first flat piece they create. It takes many many seed stitches to cover the mat, but the finished texture is beautiful.

Close up of sunburst mat with seed stitches

Mat before felting

Another finished mat

One of my favorite places

2012-03-02T16:26:00.003-08:00

This is one of my favorite pottery shops! I love the bright colors and interesting shapes.
In the warmer months they have lots of pottery set up outside. The atmosphere is wonderful.
They are located in Londonderry Vermont. Stop by if you are in town or visit their website!

Putting Scraps To Good Use

2012-02-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

I like to encourage (strongly) my students not to waste fabric. I have caught many students over the years ready to cut a pattern out of the middle of a piece of fabric!? what are they thinking? Anyway, to encourage them to be thrifty I used all the scraps from the eighth grade shibori dyeing class to make an art quilt which can be used for many things. (see earlier blog for pics of the bags they made) It was a good faculty meeting project to keep me focused after a long day of teaching. Not my favorite color, but the traditional color for 1st grade handwork bags. Sometimes it's good to step away from what we like best. I found myself really looking at pink and what the experience of Pink is for me.

1 inch squares stitched by hand with little running stitches
using leftover scraps from shibori dyeing

Last of the scraps- I used every bit of the fabric

Fifth Grade Knitted Socks

2012-02-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

The main project for the fifth grade is a knitted pair of socks. They are knit with worsted weight yarn and anywhere between size 6&8 dpn depending on how tight, loose the student knits. It is their first project with double pointed needles and following a written pattern. I use a yarn with both wool and mohair which makes the yarn a bit more durable. This is the last year for knitting in the curriculum, a bittersweet year for me.

My teaching sock sample has each part of the sock a different color so the children can clearly see where they are in the process and how it looks

Student socks and sock pattern book that I easily made by stitchhing the pages together with a book binding stitch called stab stitch

2nd Grade Gnome Party

2012-02-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

One of the main projects for 2nd grade is a knitted gnome. This project is a wonderful opportunity to introduce purling and decreasing. It is one of the first projects that requires knitting separate pieces and sewing them together. When all the gnomes are complete we have a party! I set up a large play scene with caves, snow hills and gardens for the gnomes to come alive. we have gnome Sundaes( whipped cream and blueberries) strawberries, cupcakes, and hot chocolate. The children have a great time and are happy to finally bring their gnomes home for keeps.

Enjoying a woolly campfire

Sledding and climbing with finger knitted ropes

Some Favorite Fibers

2012-02-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

I love to create very fine felts for curtains, lamps, and scarves. One of my favorite mixes is a merino/tencel dyed with several colors. Don't let looks deceive you, they felt up beautiful. The sheep shed in NH creates this mix and I love to pick through the many color blends at both the Maryland sheep and wool and the NY sheep and wool festivals.

My favorite merino/tencel mix for fine felting

Samples of fine felt from rovings above
light as a feather!

Iooks beautiful illuminated.
This is a close shot of a lamp I made titled Whimsical Rose.

Purple things in the garden

2012-02-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

Two days of 63 degree weather in Jan/Feb! I can't believe it is actually winter!
Daffodils are coming up, and my bleeding hearts are peeping through the soil.
Here are some more things I miss from the garden. Purple and more purple.

Butterfly bushes and butterflies

Purple iris- gifts from a neighbor

Purple coneflower

These flowers open in the morning and close at night!

Missing the garden

2012-01-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, I am missing the garden already and we really haven't even had much winter yet! I think I will begin planning early this year. Here are some pics of things I miss.

Sunflowers swaying in the wind

Sundyeing

Baskets full of sunny cosmos flowers

The path to the gate

Felt and Embroidery

2012-01-23T16:29:00.001-08:00

Sometimes when I am testing out new felted yardage designs I make small sample pieces. These pieces are great for small projects and playing around with embroidery and bead work. Sometimes I just play around with needlefelting and scraps of leftover yarns from knitting projects. I often collect several stitched samples which I combine to create larger pieces. They also make great book covers.

8th Grade shibori (tye dye)

2012-01-20T06:24:00.000-08:00

The first project my 8th graders make when learning to use a sewing machine, is a handwork bag for the 1st graders to keep their knitting in. This year I decided to teach the class a little about shibori which is really what tie dye comes from. They loved it and want to dye their aprons when they finish sewing them! We really had trouble stopping and were grabbing stray scraps of fabric from around the classroom just to keep going.

Muslin bags are wrapped and clamped for dyeing

Samples of wrapped, stitched, and clamped shibori

completed bags with some 1st grade plant dyed knitting

Sixth Grade Dolls (in progress)

2012-01-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

Sixth grade dolls in progress from this years class. The children are well into their soft sculptured dolls. First the head was formed and stitched, than a pattern for the body was drafted with measurements similar to a sixth grader.(lots of math) the doll is sewn with tiny back stitches and many different sewing techniques. Most of the hair will be added with a crocheted cap, but some might embroider the hair right onto the dolls head. The last step is hand sewn clothing. Boys and girls both make these soft sculpture dolls. In drawing and painting the children learn to work with the human figure, why should handwork be any different?

Forming the head

Stitching the cotton skin fabric with tiny stitches

Dolls waiting for embroidered faces and hair

Completed dolls made with a younger child's measurements

A place to store/dry dye plants

2012-01-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

So what to do with all those lovely plants that filled the garden this past summer... I have a small shed that has shelving and a great drying rack from Ikea. A local farmer/woodworker made drying trays for me from old screens and salvaged wood. They are great for stacking when I am harvesting flowers on a daily basis. I also lay out a large door screen and prop it up on bricks to let air flow all around the plants. When plants are good and dry I pack them in metal tins or brown paper bags with the name and year written on the side. I also dry seeds and put them in jars and tins as well. It's good to keep them out of direct sunlight and in a dry place once packed up.

Drying shed on the left.

Inside drying shed

Drying racks from local farmer/woodworker

Sixth Grade Hand Sewn Animals

2012-01-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

In Waldorf schools across the world sixth grade students hand sew soft sculpture dolls and/or animals. In order to create a soft sculpture animal the students begin with a drawing which they learn to turn into a sewing pattern. The animal is a three dimensional animal not a flat pillow, so gussets and other details are added. My favorite part of the project is adding the spots, stripes or other markings with embroidery, applique, or needle felting. My students have made everything from ermines to elephants. In my next post I will show some dolls.

A silk giraffe getting it's spots embroidered

Cow with needle felted spots and a tiny hand sewn utter!

Flannel elephant standing on students hand sewn/ embroidered handwork bag

Take a look

2011-12-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

In an older post about Blues I mentioned a creepy spider that took up residence in my weld patch. I tried to harvest around it but lost more weld to seed than I wanted to. All this just to keep the spider happy. Well I found out it is called an orb spider and is not dangerous.. just looks it. Was almost 3 in tall! Makes a really cool zig zag section like a lightning bolt in the middle of it's web. See if you can find it in this picture from my very full weld patch.

Plant dyed student work

2011-12-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

I plant dye all of the yarns that my little 1st and 2nd graders use. The colors are beautiful, and are harmonious no matter which ones are paired together. The colors are easy on the eyes and have a nourishing quality to them. The children love to find little flower petals or leaves and pieces of roots in their yarn, and enjoy calling out the plant names that their color choice comes from. I wish I had the time and help to dye all of the yarns used in my classes but......

Plant dyed yarns for 2nd grade

2nd grade crocheted recorder cases with plant dyed yarns. The stripe pattern helps with reinforcing the 2x table forward and backwards and the children are beginning to learn to use light and dark colors in a more conscious way.

3rd grade crocheted hat with plant dyed yarns. No written pattern is used, instead the hat is tried on again and again as they increase or decrease stitches to create a hat that fits their head perfectly. The hat is crocheted from the top down.

Black Walnut

2011-11-29T18:41:00.001-08:00

I am sooo lucky to have a black walnut tree in my yard because I always have plenty on hand to dye with. My neighbor once offered me money to cut it down because it was such a dirty tree and made his yard dirty. I told him no way that walnut tree was the cherry on top when we chose this property! I told him to just throw them back over the fence. He did and almost got my Pomeranian Bronnie right on the head. Wear gloves if you decide to peel the hulls off or your hands will be brown for awhile. Sometimes I just put them in a bag and drive over them with the car. You don't need a mordant with black walnut so have fun experimenting with various fibers. Oh and they have a delicious lemony smell when green.

Looks like spaghetti and meatballs

From chocolate to tan I love all the shades

*Magical embroidery*
don't know what insect made these marks
but they look just like sewing stitches

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

2011-11-25T19:16:00.001-08:00

In 2004 I had carpal tunnel release surgery on both of my hands! It is a repetitive stress injury that causes pain and numbness in the hands and arms, especially the thumb, and first and second fingers. I couldn't button a shirt button anymore and was constantly dropping things before I had the surgery. One day I walked into a classroom of 26 3rd graders with a basket of yarn balls. I dropped the basket and the balls of yarn scattered everywhere! The children all gasped at the same time. That was it, I had to do something about it. I still get the chills when I think of that day. Please read up about carpal tunnel syndrome. You could save yourself a lot of pain and stress. I will never be the same again but I can do most things in moderation. Please take breaks and learn some good hand stretches. Lets enjoy our work and keep ourselves healthy!!

Stitching I did after a long recovery as a way to cope with
carpal tunnel release surgery.

Another art quilt to remember all the Doctors and professionals who were there to help me through it all. THANK- YOU !!

Baskets and Felt

2011-11-19T18:59:00.001-08:00

Sometimes when I am weaving baskets and don't have any dyed reeds for color patterns, I felt little ropes with leftover wools and add them to my baskets. Basket weaving is in my blood and family lineage, but adding felt is new. I am glad to keep tradition alive and to make it mine in today's world.
osda da tsalagi

Treat basket for lucky critters

Random work

2011-11-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

I have been VERY busy at school lately and have not had any time in my studio, makes me a bit crabby but I'm ok. Sooooo here are some random pics of things I have worked on in less busy times, and a couple more pics from my yarn dyeing this past summer.

My handpun from icelandic, shetland, and alpaca fleeces

Handfelted & stiched piece titled "Blue Cornchips"

Title says it all

Think I know what this is but hmmmmmm

Delicious madder root dyed wool yarns

More cotton pics

2011-11-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Many cotton bolls were about the size of walnuts and beginning to pop when the creator decided we needed snow in October! I quickly rushed out to harvest the largest bolls to bring them in to dry. (about 65 big ones)
It takes about two weeks for the cotton to dry out enough to really open wide. so far they look good and are sooooooo soft. When they are fully dry I will spin them into yumy yarn and post the pics.

Walnut size cotton bolls before the storm

Drying out in the warm house

Starting to pop

Still Popping and look there is that 5 pointed star again! It is amazing how many plants have this star.

Cotton patch in the snow. Good thing I harvested when I did.

The Blues & Greens

2011-10-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

The last colors I usually dye for the season are the blues and greens. This year I mostly used Japanese Indigo from my garden and Indigo powder. The greens started out as either osage orange yellow or weld.
There was a huge creepy spider in my weld patch this year that I was not about to disturb so I used more osage orange this year than usual!

Japanese Indigo-you can see the blue forming in the larger leaves

Blue Skeins drying on the line

Various shades of Indigo

Greens mostly from weld and Indigo

Blue indigo on left-white indigo on Right.. a chemical process to remove oxygen. When yarn is removed from the pot it is green like the jar on the Right. When the oxygen in the air hits the yarn, it turns it back to blue.
Magical to watch!

Japanese indigo flowering

Left- Japanese Indigo * Right- Weld/Japanese Indigo

My studio

2011-10-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

I have come a long way to get to this studio. For many years my studio was in the bedroom and tucked into closets. Then I bought a large shed 10x12, no heat and an extension cord from the house for lighting. I had to leave it behind in NY when we moved south. Now I have a seperate building with heat and electric close to the house, all I need now is water and I will have it all. How lucky I am now, but believe me I am working for it! Anyway I don't get there as often as I would like due to my teaching schedule, but sometimes you can find me there at 1am after dreaming about an idea that I have to get up to work on!

In Summer

Didn't get too much done that day!

Back of the studio

My handspun yarns, handwoven baskets and a felted skirt with all natural colored wools

Front of the studio- felted curtains and lamps

Plant dyed and cool- Aid dyed yarns and my favorite merino/tencel felting fibers

Felted yardage,scarves, illuminated felt lighting in background

Close up of natural colored felt from skirt above

Do you think I have enough yarn? Never!!!!

Plant dyed Reds, Pinks, and Purple

2011-10-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of recent reds, pinks, and some purples. I played around with brazilwood and madder to get a lovely red. Brazilwood is really hard to find because it has been overharvested and takes a long time to replenish. I will be testing out other sources for red in the future. Don't love using those poor little cochineal bugs either. Enjoy!

madder root dyed wool yarn and wool felt

Madder root and Brazilwood dyed wool yarn and felt

Madder and Brazilwood for a nice red

Purples from brazilwood and a bit of washing soda

Brazilwood used many times and still giving color!

Wool fabric in the dyepot with madder roots

My Classroom

2011-10-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

View from the kitchen side of the room

Some of the awesome things the children get to learn to make

The white horse is my daughter Lynnea's from when she was in 3rd gr. (now a college girl in elementary ed. program)

Baskets of goodies.. yarn,wool,threads

8th grade sewing/weaving loft they LOVE having their own space!

Here is a peek into my classroom! It is early in the year, but soon it will be bursting at the seams with students work on display and in progress. I especially love having the felting work in progress out for the other classes to watch the transformation. This is where I spend a lot of time during the school year, so I like it to be neat but full of life. Children (boys and girls) in grades 1 through 8 come to work here 2x a week for 40 min. Believe me they always complain when it is time to stop and ask regularly if they can please have a whole day of handwork!

My summer dye kitchen

2011-09-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

In the summer I do all of my dyeing outside in a beautiful secret garden. It is an inspiring place to sit and relax while the pots are cooking. I have some dye plants scattered among the perennial garden so sometimes the harvest is within reach of the dye pots. We have a 70 foot pine tree that gives lovely shade in the afternoon and the pine needles are nice for weaving little baskets.
I have a thing for tiny buildings and tree houses. I would love to have a little village of tiny buildings for all different fiber related activities like a spinning hut, weaving room, felting lab etc..... I HAVE TO come back in my next life as a fiber person again, I just don't think I can do it all in one life!

Early morning light at the start of a day of dyeing

My basic set up.. outdoor sink, electric burners, 3 step rinse buckets, drying rack.

peeking in the window!

Sooooo lucky to be surrounded by a beautiful garden while waiting for the pots to do their magic.

I think I caught the sunshine

2011-09-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

Yellow dyeing with osage orange, weld, and cosmos flowers is like catching the sunshine! a lovely relief from all the storms and flooding.
My lucky 1st and 2nd grade students will be knitting and crocheting with these yarns in a couple weeks.

Cosmos flowers

wool yarn dyed with cosmos flowers
both from the same pot, a little bit of baking soda in the pot turns gold to orange

osage orange sawdust gifted from a small local mill

Cosmos on left * Osage orange on right

Sunshine!!

something else

2011-08-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

Me and my pets! Yes I have people family too, but that is for another post!

Me crawling in the cotton patch

Teddy(bear) my little toy pomeranian. Had his first birthday in May.

Teddy and Bronnie looking for peanuts in the garden

Bronnie Teddy's brother and a full size pom. 2yrs old next month!

My chubby Annika on grandmas lap. Just turned 12

First grade knitted kittens waiting to go home with their little knitters

Pippi Longstocking- Annikas sister also 12!

Room for a dye garden ?!

2011-08-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

Don't have room for a dye garden you say? Well check out these pics and think again! Sometimes you have to think outside the fence.

These weld plants are growing inbetween the cracks in the patio bricks. I guess I dropped some of the seeds when I was plant dyeing last year. A happy accident because now I can harvest right next to my dye pots! Weld gives a beautiful lemon yellow!

Japanese indigo planted next to our little fish/frog pond. Has lovely purple pink flowers in the fall, and will self seed if you let it.

Purple cabbage. I have let the bugs enjoy a summer meal because it is for the dyepot. Why not make friends with the buggers in the garden occasionally.

Sunflowers for the dye pot and the birds! Does not give yellow but tans and browns with a bit of a green tint.

plant dyed fabrics and wool rovings

2011-08-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

Although I absolutely love plant dyeing yarn, I also dye lots of other things as well. I always try to save and have ready different natural fabrics to add to my dye pots. I especially love handspun cottons and linens, but I have been known to run in the house to grab t-shirts, socks etc, because there is more color left in the pot that I don't want to waste!
Dyeing wool roving is a bit tricky because it can felt a lot faster than yarn, but the possibilities are endless for what you can do with roving such as spin, felt, wrap animals or dolls. needle felt etc.... enjoy a sampling of some of my goodies!

Plant dyed wool and pearl cotton thread for embroidery

Plant dyed cotton fabrics- Osage orange, brazilwood, indigo,black walnut

Plant dyed wool roving, indigo, Japanese indigo, logwood

Weld, Osage orange, cosmos yellows and logwood and cochineal
Pastel collection for doll skins and woolly golden birds

Cotton

2011-08-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Finally after planting a bit late and hoping for hot weather(got it) my cotton crop is blooming! Growing cotton takes a long time, and I really am a bit too far north for cotton but I grow it every year anyway because if conditions, are right it does well.
*The flower goes through three stages as you will see in my pics. It opens yellow, turns light pink, turns darker pink and curls into a rose bud type shape, and then falls off. All in about a day or two. Now the cotton Boll begins to form. In about 30-45 days I will have cotton popping out of the bolls! I only grow enough cotton for my own spinning and to share with my 2nd and 3rd grade classes because it is such a hit or miss crop here. I use NO chemical sprays or anything but my cotton picking fingers if I find unfriendly little buggers chomping on my cotton. The bolls are sweet and ants love them! Any questions?

Freshly opened cotton flower

turned to pink!

Dark pink, ready to drop.

my cotton crop with sunflowers in back

a boll popping from last year.

*More pics of cotton and cotton yarn to come*

up close

2011-07-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Dyers coreopsis flower- gives a beautiful golden yellow

Inside a Rose of Sharon flower

When is the last time you looked up into a tree while lying in the grass?

A giant sunflower bud getting ready to bloom soon. Look close it has a face, big lips and a nose!

One thing you will notice in many of the pictures I take is that I have a passion for photographing things up close. To look into the middle of a flower or at the eye of an animal is quite revealing. It is like looking into someones eyes and asking... who are you? Take away the distractions of the hair,clothing etc.. and look into their eyes or where a flower is formed and you will get a sense for something different. Think about it... and enjoy my photos!

Weeds!!!!!

2011-07-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how the weeds love this 100+ degree weather!! It is hard to find time to weed when it's hot in the day and the evening!

Another amazing thing about weeds... they are like chamleons. In the weld patch the weeds grow tall with rocket type stuff on the end and almost identical leaves. Last year another plant that looked liked my indigo plants .. but had thorns grew in the patch. They even had a blue tint to the leaves. It is a good thing I have been doing this for awhile or I might be pulling the plants and dyeing with the weeds!

Yellow and pink cotton flowers with my studio in the background

A beautiful five pointed star zucchini flower...yum!

Japanese Indigo leaves before flowering

This awesome greenhouse is from the Princeton Waldorf School garden. I want one!!

what is this blog all about?

2011-07-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

I will be sharing my amazing journeys with growing, harvesting, and dyeing with plant dyes, as well as various fiber arts I love to create. I will have sneak peeks into my classroom as well. During the school year I am a handwork teacher. Check back often because it might take me a bit to get things going full steam!

Beautiful Plant Dyed Yarns

Japanese Indigo Pot green before it turns blue

Dyers Coreopsis