I was invited by one of my favorite makers, Ine of
A Picture Book Mind to join her in a Creative Blog Hop where we answer four questions about our creative process. I found out that we had taken almost the exact trip in Norway just one year apart- (of course that peaked my interest) I was very flattered to be asked by her. You can read her interesting post about her creative process
here.
What am I working on?
I don't consider
Mountain Girl Yarns as work, because I am one of those "creative types" and dyeing yarn is just too fun to call it "work".
My kids call me a color wizard always stirring a steamy pot of color...hands always an unusual shade of violet or red from dye. At times the kitchen is just one big yarn, colorful bubbly, steaming pots mess, my wood cabinets have little splashes of dye here and there...
This summer I was dyeing a lot of variegated yarn, now I am going into phase 2, solids.
Solids are wonderful in themselves but also mixed in with the variegated it creates depth and other interesting design.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
My whole day is filled with color... I observe it most all the time. Does it work, how does it make me feel...how can I relate- or not? Can I use this in my house, my yarns, my landscaping, color really effects my day and my mood.
I think all yarn dyers differ in some way- because is hard to replicate a dye bath. I'm not really concerned of what others might be doing it's more important that I am original and that expresses who I am, not trends. When people see my yarn I hope they want to knit with it and create something of their own, hand made.
I allow myself as an artist to make mistakes and learn from it, I throw caution to the wind and experiment...that's when beauty emerges if you don't get in it's way.
Why do I create what I do?
My grandmother Ninna....it's all her fault. She taught me how to knit when I was 6. I grew up in Scandinavia and that was thing to do- you just knit...that's it. My mother and father met at the Textile institute in Boras Sweden, she became a very talented fashion designer always creating with different types of textiles, I grew up with fabric... and it doesn't help that I am born in the year of the " Sheep" in the Chinese horoscope, I guess fiber is in my blood.
We live in "
high tech" world and I enjoy creating something "
low tech", something tactile and 3 dimensional. Soft yarn that runs thru your fingers that wonderfully warms your heart. Always on the search for different fiber combinations in yarn...something I would like to knit with. What I knit with is what I sell....I wouldn't sell anything I wouldn't buy....there is so much out there to choose from, but I like to keep it simple.
Knitting is Zen for me it calms my mind and find knitting "koselig"...dyeing yarn is just an extension of that + I always have a stash to knit from :)
How does my creative process work?
As an early riser my head swirls with fresh ideas and color combinations, I can't wait to get to it. Yarn is like a blank canvas, endless possibilities here, there is no formula or set way...I change my mind a several times because color has energy, it is very exciting to work with. Dyeing all happens in the kitchen, my pots are simmering with dye baths and yarn goes in. Once satisfied with the color way the yarn gets washed and hung out to dry in the mountain air.
I am known to levitate once a lovely colorway has been created. I enjoy this immensely!
This is important...because you can become a machine and just produce to keep up with demand loosing sight of the beauty and love you once created...unfortunately this happened with Magnolia Hand spun...overload and poor planning on my part.
Nature here in the mountains of Montana has a lot to do with my creative process...fall foliage, slight nuances of grey in an overcast day, the blues of the mountain the shades of green and saffron from the Tamarack , a field of wild flowers how it all just is one big symphony of beautiful color...it inspires me to make and create...
anything but ordinary.
Thank you again, Ine for the opportunity to answer these questions. I've nominated 3 other creatives I greatly admire and you can expect to see their posts up in the next two weeks: Sian, Leigh and Ruby.
Joining
Ginny and
Frontier dreams
