Art Batts--I Finally Broke Down

I really like planning. Maybe sometimes I'm not very good at executing, but planning I'm good at. I like research, and I like thinking. When it comes to art, I've always approached projects with a plan, once I'm comforatble with a plan, then I can let go a little, but I at least start with a plan.

That quirk is very evident in my batts. Tidy, well planned, I keep detailed notes about color weight and order so that both batts in a set match, and I know what will happen when a spinner drafts them out.

Dappled Sunshine--Shepherds' Friend Romney BattThis one will stripe if you pull strips from the side and are careful to draft them in order. OR, you can roll the whole thing and pull to blend the colors in one roving. My notes read: red: 5 oz, orange, 5 oz., gold, 5 oz., teal, 2 oz., brown, 1 oz. Batt order: r, b, o, t, g, o, r, t, g, r, t, o, r, g.

Tidy Dappled Sunshine Batts

Planning: it's fun. But I have to face the harsh reality that it's not always appealing to everyone. Spinners are a crazy, wild bunch!

Art batts are the thing. I admit, I love looking at them, I love touching them, I love spinning them. I even love making them. So why have I waited so long to start making them for my shop? Because you just can't always make much out of them. I really like offering enough wool for a complete small project to my customers. My carder can only make about a 2 oz. batt, and art batts are impossible to make identical.

They're also always full of lots of different breeds and non-animal fibers, while my goal is to help spinners learn the characteristics of each breed. And I'm just not a sparkly kind of girl; I'm not sure if I'll ever do bling in my batts. I may break down there too, but not for a while.

And, there's something else I have to admit. They kinda feel like cheating. I mean, they're not completely a no-brainer to make; I chose colors within the same family and add a pop here and there of something else, but they just feel too easy. And, I really can't tell a spinner what they'll produce.

But I broke down and did it! I've made a set of four art batts from my studio scraps and they're getting posted over the next few days. Here's a sample:

Sloppy,fun art batt named Anita

Another view of the anarchyOf course, I had to have some plan, so I gave them a new name. They're Sassy Batts in my shop. And I'm naming each one after a sassy lady in literature, history, film or pop culture. Anita is after Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter; it's a book series by Laurell K. Hamilton. One of my secret pleasures.

I may even loosen up and extend this new approach to my Shepherds' Friend batts. I think I could simply weight some dyed locks and throw them into the carder willy nilly.

Maybe.

If I think about it really hard first.

It's Fiber Arts Friday and Crafty Friday, so have fun checking out everyone else's blogs for some great inspiration!