Out of the Box

(Disclaimer:  this is a totally fiber geek post.  Just a warning.)
Yes, Pluckyfluff workshop this weekend put my brain on "explode" with new ideas, techniques, and color possibilities.  Lexi Boerger came to town to inspire eighteen or so of us for two full days at The Shabby Sheep shop in Uptown.
This tumble of crazy skeins is my source of new inspiration.  First we carded crazy batts by NOT planning a thing, grabbing colors and sparkle unfamilar to sandwich in between layers of lightly drafted roving.

Then we spun it into skeins that express the wild abandon of the whole thing.  If that wasn't enough, we then Navajo-plied the lumpy bumpy skein for this result below.  Note:  The batt above was not the start of this skein.  I'm not that organized.

 The next favorite thing I learned was core spinning.  I so want to master this but I am not a natural.  It will take time in the chair.  This was core spun and then that core spun again around a thin strand of commercial mohair.  This little skein has lots of "energy".  That's Lexi's deplomatic way of saying "over twist".

 The batt below sits on my studio work table asking me to spin it into a core spun piece.  I just have to get up my nerve for that humbling experience again.
My carder is all clamped back down on the table just waiting for me to toss crazy materials into it's coarse teeth.  This week should be fun.