well, what have you been up to anastasia? hmm, maybe not as much as i thought. you'd think being jobless would free up a lot of time to just focus. but then you want to buy the materials with which you've envisioned a piece, and find that there is a downside to being without a job; a serious lack of funds. then you think, "what about that stock of stuff i've been building up for the last few years?", and you find that your tastes have changed somewhat.
or perhaps, i just like the thrill of ordering something, the suppressed excitement of knowing that something is in the mail, the joy of finding a package waiting for you on the doorstep, the exhilaration of opening a box, and admiration, which lasts ever so slightly in the passage of time, of your new acquisition before the urge to order something else takes hold of your senses. ugh. i think i have a problem. or, rather, an addiction. join the club.
then, there's other things which arrive in the mail which aren't so welcome; bills. with the lovely bit of financial reality i receive in the mail every month, i'm beginning to realize that i can't be as free with my heart's desires, that the old piggy bank ain't giving out one more dime. i could be over come with bleakness and dive into a deep pit of despair and depression, or, i could start looking closer to home for material to work with. you know, *cough* the cats, or something.
which brings me to my latest undertaking, spinning cat fiber yarn! i'm calling it turkish van fiber. sounds fancy, huh? well, they are decadently soft, these two kitties of mine. and they really love getting combed, plus they come in three colorways, auburn, black, and white, which mixes up to a greyish yarn color once carded. so, i've spun the cat hair onto a bobbin, and plied it with wool left over from my felting days (which weren't all that many now that i'm being honest with myself), and created a lovely mottled french grey yarn which is surprisingly soft. 
i'll admit it though, i really enjoy spinning, and keep wistfully gazing at the pages of ox, alpaca, linen, peace silk, vicuna, qivuit, and guanaco fiber available these days on the internet. but, thankfully for my sagging wallet, i haven't pressed the purchase button yet. sigh. i want a job. a workroom assistant to a costume designer would be nice, or to work in a couture house sewing by hand for hours, or attaching sequins to a stage outfit, any of those would cause me to hyperventilate with happiness. oh, i don't know, one can dream i guess.
4 comments:
Wow, impressive you could make that out of them!
i'm happy to have thought of it! i've come across dog fur as yarn, but cat fur doesn't seem to come up as an option. i don't know why not; it is a short hair, but no shorter than cotton, which is easily spun. i paired it with merino to add structure and to felt together a bit. the merino is a bit scratchy, but once they were plied it's very soft now.
I love the cat hair yarn! How sweet and inventive. Is it hard to spin? I have a Russian Blue cat with shorter hair and I'd like to try it but can't imagine his hair actually spinning and working that way. Ps your kittys are beautiful!
it's really not that hard, here's what i did: comb the kitties with a human hair comb, card the hair clumps, make a rolag, overtwist the hair by letting out 1 inch segments at a time while spinning. then i plied it with merino wool to add structure and to help the yarn felt a little bit. full by dipping in lukewarm water, and soak for 15 minutes, roll out the excess water in a towel, and slap the yarn while still damp on the counter to create a bit of fluff. have fun with it, let it get chunky in areas, and don't worry about it falling apart, just keep feeding the spinning bobbin.
when my cats were kitties they would get dreadlocks on the hindquarters where the hair was longer, so i think that's a good indication if their hair can be spun well. thanks for the compliments, they love attention!
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