Ugly Duckling Art Yarn and Time to Just Do It

Good Morning. Another sleepy day at the Wheeler house, but at least this morning the sun is poking through the clouds and the sunrise was gorgeous. I have to admit that, like many people, I have a very hard time with January. It's dark. It's cold. I just feel blah. Pretty much every January it's the same story. Some years I force myself to do a little more, some years less. I know that just getting started always helps. I need to create. I need to exercise. I need to get outside and get some fresh air and sunshine. And most of all I need to not feel guilty about all the things I should be doing and just don't have the umph to do. I guilt will bring me to a sliding halt every time. So this year, I'm just going to do it in the moment and not worry about all the "shoulds." Baby steps! Every moment is new--a chance for a new start, new resolve, new opportunities, new ideas.

My hope is to warm up my writing skills again and get back to blogging. I know that I've been very neglectful over the past year and a half. I'm always so distracted with life. My head is swimming with everything. It's time to add a little clarity and get some of it written down.

I'm finally bringing a little order back to my house after the holidays and have time to create a little. I've played with my birthday toy, a Louet drum carder. Time to use that big box of fiber that I brought home from Art Fiber Fest fall 2008. I spun 10 skeins of what I call "Ugly Duckling" art yarn. I just started throwing everything into the carder. It didn't really matter the fiber, the color, the texture. It all went in. The colors are definitely more muted than I typically work with, but I really like the way they turned out. The little flakes of color are so fun and the combinations a surprise. The majority of the yarns are a soft brown from a large amount of dark, natural fiber. I did concentrate the pink in two batts, creating a brighter base for all the color. I think my favorite is a soft cream with flecks of pink and green and even some bright sparkly green firestar. I spun them very bulky. I noticed it was a little harder to do since I have been spinning thinner and thinner. I had to make a conscience effort to not draft the fiber significantly. Four ounces of fiber yeilded about 50 yards each. They each have their own character and are fun to explore. For now, I'm putting them up in my Etsy shop, but as the perfect project comes along I will steal them for myself.