Portrait of a Fiber Artist

This is not actually a portait of me as a fiber artist. I mean, that's my picture, but it's to show you the work of another fiber artist, thespunmonkey
(www.thespunmonkey.etsy.com). She made that tangled nuno felt scarf I'm wearing. She used to live in Vermont which is where I first saw her work. Rachel and I went into a fiber store in Brattleboro (Knit or Dye) and saw a basket of art batts full of sparkles. They only had one blue one or we probably would have bought more.

The next place I saw her was on Jacey Bogg's art yarn video "Sit and Spin" and I thought, "Hey, I `know' her!" I can't remember if I found her blog or her Etsy shop first but I visit both frequently. It's funny . . . when you find someone you identify with on some level you feel like you "know" them, even when you don't "know" them. I guess that's how people feel when they read my books, because they say the same thing; that they feel like we're already friends.

Anyway, I decided to treat myself for Christmas and I went to thespunmonkey's shop and chose a tangled nuno felt scarf. I LOVE it!!! I wear it with all kinds of stuff and can't wait for spring/summer/fall when I can wear it with tank tops and T-shirts. I dunno, just wearing it makes me feel like a fiber artist. I find that in general scarves, more than any other item, have that effect. Maybe it's their wildness, their color, their what-the-hey abandon, but scarves are totally creative. (I guess it could just be my French showing . . . ) And even skinny scarves add a bit of warmth indoors when you wear them as an accessory. What I wanna know is why did it take me so long to figure this out???

Anyway, I love being part of the fiber creating crowd. I love wearing stuff I've created and I love wearing stuff other people have created. It makes me feel like I'm part of some universal, ongoing creativeness. And the colors . . . well, the belated discovery of color is a whole other post. I mean, I'm all for Shabby Chic, cottagey whites, but by the time I discovered fiber art I was like a starving man. Give . . . me . . . color . . . or I perish. It's amazing too how much the excessive use of color spurs you on to even more abandon in your creativity. And for us perfectionists that's revoluntionary.

Citizens of the world unite! Create art! Wear art! And be colorful! You are so commanded. :^)

Finding Fergal

We've been playing a new game lately. It's called "Where's Fergal?" Waldo has nothing on Fergal, but then, Waldo doesn't have fluffy bunnyfeet which make it very easy to sneak past so that one minute you think he's in the kitchen and then you hear a "Oh, hello, whatcha doin' Fergal?" from the living room (or the hallway, or the one of the bedrooms) or Max will go scuttling off like he's been bitten because he "sees no bunny, hears no bunny, eats no bunny" and the easiest way to do that it to make sure you are nowhere near the bunny.

I thought we'd have trouble with "accidents" when I started bringing him upstairs for extended periods, but so far the only time he's had an accident was when Rachel brought him up one morning and thought she'd cuddle him for a bit and he settled down with a disgruntled look on his face and promptly peed. Otherwise there aren't even any bunny berries to pick up. He's practically better housebroken than the cat and definitely better than Angus.

He hops all over the place, but we've been trying to keep him away from the tree (he seems to understand that he was a Christmas present - from Lucas, as he informed me when he dropped him off - and likes to hang out under the tree.) Trouble is the tree is shedding. Badly. And there's nothing like angora fur for picking up tree needles. It takes FOREVER to get them out of him.

I caught a picture of him (above) playing with a toy that came out of one of the Christmas crackers and eating some banana on his rug. I tried to get a really cute picture of him sprawled out on it moments before, but there was some angora fluff in front of the camera lens and the picture was blurred and then Max barked and Fergal took off. He has a cubby space that he likes to chill out in when he's not on his rug.

I was thinking last night about it being New Year's and how it was almost a year ago that I had a dream of having a farm and animals and now, here we are a year later and I do. Is that not the greatest??? I am very blessed!