Here Comes the Sun

 Now that the sun finally came out for a few minutes, its time to get the dye pots going.  I purchased 2 BFL fleeces this year, along with my left overs from last year and the mohair, silk, icicle and all the other bits and pieces that I have.
Actually it began with green because I am planning on making Luka a blanket in the fall and I decided to over dye some of my plant dyed yarn with chartreuse because he wants a green blanket. That dye pot kept me on the green journey.
First I used emerald green (left side) and when it more or less was used I added more wool and it absorbed the blues left in the dyepot. Then I added yellow and got the middle colour. Since i have already dyed all these colours once, I thought by mixing and adding to existing dyepots I would get new colours...Looks like its going to work. The next colour choice is blue. Luckily the weather report says the sunshine is finally about to arrive.

Ok..Truth...will I really finish this?

 There are some projects you start because you have an idea and want to try it out....but...part way through you realize you don't like it.Are we obligated to finish it?...Absolutely Not. I started this baby sweater...loved the colours...hated the yarn. Then one day my coffee spilled on my mittens that bled onto my knitting and left a red stain on both the yarn and the knitting. This was, to me a sure sign to stop.
I am a yarn snob and I realized that I have to love the yarn to finish the project. I can buy a cute acrylic sweater, but I can't buy a hand dyed superwash merino one,  made in a yarnlike Madeline Tosh. Now that there are so many        beautiful superwash wool yarns,

I don't want to knit in a synthetic fibre.
Sure people say they don't want the wool to irritate the baby, but very few people actually have a wool allergy. A wool allergy consists of being allergic to the lanolin in the wool. Most people have an ïtch factor" problem and that can be resolved, for a baby, by using a yarn like Madleine Tosh or Mulberry Yarns which are superwash merinos. Merino is the softest yarn available.
Needless to say, the orange and yellow baby sweater will never be finished...
On the other hand, I have been working on this crochet blanket for years....still love it, the yarn is cotton and I know |I will finish it when the right       reason comes along.

One Hundred Felted Soaps

I did a 100 felted soaps to be used  in gift packages for the opening of the BO.TTEGA The Bottega is a modern farm inn set against the backdrop of beautiful South East Kelowna. I was given  a white alpaca fleece from their herd to use. I mixed it with some fibres that I had in the colours green and teal. The alpaca was beautiful, soft and fluffy. It would be awesome to spin up and knit into something.
This was a fun project to do. 100 soaps seemed like a lot while I was felting them...took quite some time..but in the end they all fit into a shoe box. 

Abstract Paintings UBCO BFA Grad Art Show

The Right Path is a Journey 4'x6'

Depth 40"x40"

The show opened on Tuesday and I sold these two paintings on the first day....It was so exciting. The larger painting is a multi-layered abstract with a felt ball attached to it. The second painting is also an abstract with multiple layers of colour and texture. I called it Depth to compliment its counter part which was Surface.I was thrilled to pass them on to someone who will enjoy them and hang them in their home.

Getting Ready for the UBCO BFA Grad Show

 We spent the day cleaning up the sculpture studio, putting away all the stuff and bringing in the lockers from the hallway. The lockers will be the backbones of our walls which we are building tomorrow. We patched the holes on the walls and painted them white. Joshua and Tony dragged in all the drywall for me...couldn't lift it myself.
It is truly amazing how the place transforms....and how much garbage there is to be thrown out.

All the tables and chairs and junk is hidden behind the lockers

This ladder saved my life...Now I can hang my work.

This will become my white box gallery space.

This is Jennifer's space

Twenty Twelve

The UBCO 2012 BFA Graduation Exhibition is coming up on April 21, 2012 at 7 p.m
Come and join us

The Stories we Tell

My Installation piece for my 4th year BFA show is about the stories women tell when they gather to knit, crochet or whatever. If you would like to share a story with me....I would love to hear it.

 Contact me at coloursparks@gmail.com 

or check out my website for samples.
http://judithmueller.weebly.com/stories.html