It’s hard to believe this past week was only my second week at The Twisted Purl… I’ve learned SO much in such a short amount of time.  Thanks to Cyndi, I’m already comfortable with a number of terms and pieces of equipment that, just two weeks ago, I didn’t know existed.  I feel as though I’ve been initiated in to the secret world of fiber arts, and I’m loving every second of it.

Tuesday, after discussing a number of important topics– namely women entrepreneurs and haunted mansions– Cyndi put me to work practicing and perfecting techniques I learned last week.  I relied on trusty old ROY-G-BIV to make several carded batts, and labeled many many felted soaps.  Although the above tasks are somewhat repetitive, I sincerely enjoy them.  In truth, repetitive tasks tend to be my favorite.  There is peace in the process, in addition to that lovely feeling I get when creating anything with my hands.  In the short time I’ve been an intern, I’ve already noticed that after a morning of creative activity at The Twisted Purl, I face the rest of my day with a calmer, more joyful attitude.

On Thursday, Cyndi taught me a few methods for dyeing and painting wool roving.  As usual, I was hesitant about choosing my colors, and unconfident in my final product.  I am, however, excited to see how they look as carded batts and/or spun yarn! Cyndi said that if she has time, she might spin one of them this weekend (ahh!).  Although I’m a little worried, I’m not too worried, because if it’s really ugly we can just sell it to my mom. I don’ have a picture of the first roving I dyed (which was very “Springy”), but the second is pictured below in the shape of a pizza.

And here it is again, steaming to set the colors:

 

My favorite roving I dyed, though, was a solid color “in-bowl” experiment.  It turned out (I think) to be a nice lavender.  We shall see! Also, while all of this dyeing was going on, Cyndi managed to learn how to arm knit and made a scarf using the technique. I can’t keep up with this lady! Next week, she is going to help me make a more “artful” carded batt, and my homework is to come up with a theme to base the colors on.  (Check out Zoe and Cyndi’s Monet yarn, it turned out so beautiful!)  Time to start looking around for inspiration–

Kate

In the summer of 2013, a good friend (and phenomenal potter), Chris Massingill, suggested hiring an intern to help with the constant workload.  I had never thought my business would qualify, basically because I work out of a home studio and it’s just me.  I always thought of internship being for huge corporations…like Google.  She assured me that all sizes and types of businesses hire interns.  She worked for a potter, one summer, mixing glazes right out of a home studio.

Being a big planner, I had to do my research and of course, put together a kick ass intern program.  There were a couple of things I knew up front.  There’s really not a tremendous profit in what I make.  The internship would be unpaid.  Okay, so that made me feel pretty awkward.  “Hey, how about you come into my house and do some work for me, but yeah, I’m not going to pay you!”  *gulp*  So with no money being offered, this internship must be a mutually beneficial relationship!  Yeah, they are working and doing some of the remedial tasks associated with running a business, but this would be fun and very educational as well.

The program consists of 8 sessions (which can last a week or several weeks).  There is a different focus each week and the intern learns all types of tricks and tips while being here. I’m passionate about fiber arts and yarn, and yarn, and did I mention YARN?  I wanted to partner with like-minded folks and pass on the passion.  Also, let myself be inspired by their creativity and energy as well!  This internship is a partnership.  Each intern is learning how to dye fibers, create carded batts, felt, and spin. Additionally, they learn what it is really like to run a full-time craft business.

Last Thursday was the first day Zoe played with dyes. I was so pleased with the outcome!  There were several colors needed for felted soaps but after that I told Zoe to have fun and paint whatever colors she wanted.  I shared with her a few techniques including a couple different ways to lay out the fiber and explained how the colors do bleed together.  Once the fiber got over freezing, defrosting, and drying, I couldn’t wait to turn it into yarn!  Above is photographs of both the hand painted roving Zoe created and the finished handspun yarn I made over the weekend.

As the weeks go by, please keep an eye out for blog posts from both our interns, Zoe and Kate.  They will be sharing about things they are learning and their journey with The Twisted Purl.  I adore my intern partnership with these two girls.  They have lots to say and you’ll love hearing from them too.  Also, there will be lots more from me on all the fun things happening in the studio. We will have a few really big announcements soon too!  Will share more as soon as I can.

Hello everyone, I’m Kate.  I hail from Kansas City, Missouri, study at Hendrix College, and, thanks to Cyndi, I AM THE TWISTED PURL’S NEWEST INTERN.  Yesterday concluded my first week at the Twisted Purl, and what a wonderful week it was. Let me break down a bit.

Day One:  I must admit that in addition to my overwhelming excitement, I was a tad nervous for my first day.  Although my passion for fibers (&  all things sheep) is fierce, I tend to be rather shy and quiet in new situations.  I needn’t have been nervous (duh), and as Cyndi spun a lovely skein of yarn before my eyes, I gradually stopped freaking out and began to enjoy the awesomeness that is the Twisted Purl studio.  Warm and colorful and crazy in a good way– that’s how I would describe it. Cyndi introduced me to the materials, equipment, and products of her business, and to finish off my first day I helped cut some labels for the felted soaps and portion off 4oz balls of yarn to be dyed later that afternoon.

Day Two: Woo! Carded batts! I learned how to use the drum carder! Cyndi started me with a rainbow batch, then bravely let me choose my own colors. (A secret: most of my art background is in charcoal drawing and black and white photography; color has always sort of scared me (so many possibilities!)).  Anyway, for my first solo batt, I blended yellow, peach, lavender, violet, and a reddish-purple.  To my surprise it turned out beautiful and springy and I loved it very much.  (I would show you but Cyndi stole it and wrapped it around some soaps before I snapped a photo, darn her.) I made three more, pictured below with the rainbow one we started with.

 

And that’s that! I feel addicted to craft already, and, needless to say, I can’t wait to make some more. I have a feeling I’ll get the chance in the weeks to come. Until next time–sheeps, hugs, & coffee mugs,

Kate