When I was young, I hated my last name. I was the butt of many jokes and mean nicknames by the boys in school. In fact, one boy, William, was so mean to me in the fourth grade that my teacher stood us facing each other, and told me to slap him! (Can you imagine this happening today?) Being the mild-mannered (but obedient) girl that I was, I gently slapped him. The teasing never did stop until, perhaps, high school, but by then I was a confirmed last name hater.
My last name? Dyer.
This seemingly innocuous last name was transformed, by the imaginations of many young boys, into all kinds of interesting epithets. "Dyer-EE-ah" was very popular over the years, as was "Diaper Dyer", "Clothes Dryer", etc. These nicknames were all somehow figured out by the local boys, no matter what school I went to, and I went to many, while growing up. Over time I really came to hate my name and wished many times that it were a simple last name, like Anderson or Taylor. Or, better yet, a name that evoked the idea of Old Money, like Hastings or Windsor or Chamberlain. Anything but Dyer, please.
When I was in my 20's, I lived in Mexico for a year, and my last name was, legally, Dyer-Dupuis, according to the tradition in many countries of using the father's surname, followed by the mother's maiden name. I liked this, because at the time I identified more with my mother's side of the family, and I liked her pretty French name. And I also liked the fact that Dupuis (doo-pwee) was the last name of the two in this format, and was more often remembered than Dyer. So when I returned to the States, I kept the name. When I got married I took my husband's last name Sylvia, although I have missed my hyphenated last name over the years, especially when people accidently use 'Sylvia' as my first name.
The name Dyer is of English origin, and most likely the first 'Dyer' was literally a dyer in his community, and so would have become known as 'John the dyer' or, as time went on, simply, 'John Dyer'. And he was, most likely, a wool dyer, because in those parts wool would have been a mainstay in the wardrobe of most people. So the name is of entirely respectable origin, and it's a shame that a few mean boys would have ruined it for me.
My profession today? Dyer.
When I first began dyeing wool, the irony of my maiden name was lost on me, because it had been a long while, by that time, since I had been a Dyer. It wasn't until fairly recently that I realized that I had come full circle in the history of my own family name, and I have finally come to appreciate it in the end. My father has passed on now, which I regret because he always felt bad that I hated our family name, and it would be nice to tell him that I am now proud of the name his family passed down, and that I have returned to its roots, carrying out a craft that is almost as old as time, really (although I hear there is one profession that is older . . . ).
I enjoy the fact that what I do is, with a few modern changes, essentially the same craft that others have developed, perfected and carried out as a trade for generations, and I like it for the same reason that I love singing old hymns from the 16th century--there is a connection with generations before us which in many other ways has been lost in our modern society. With the whirlwind of our technological advances surrounding us everywhere, I find it comforting to walk into my kitchen, put a big pot on the stove and stir The Wool from white into a lovely grey-green, just as my very first ancestor did so long ago.
Showing posts with label rug hooking wool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rug hooking wool. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Woolin Rouge
While I'm on the subject of wool quilting (in the post below) and giving a tip of the hat to my customers, I must include a mention of Sylvia Gauthier, who has embarked on a venture with two other women, called Woolin Rouge, to provide kits for quilting and applique. Their designs are very whimsical and she has bought a number of bright colors to include in their kits. Feel free to visit her excessive-compulsive sewing blog! Their designs incorporate both cotton and wool, and I think they are taking the craft to a new place, which is exciting! Her writing is entertaining, as well!
Since I first started doing wool applique 10 years ago, there has been an explosion in this craft. It started with penny rugs, and I remember that my friend Marcia and I lamented that there was no good book out on the subject of penny rugs, and we even dreamed of doing one ourselves -- definitely a dream for two women with six little kids between them. Well, that era is gone. Since then, several books have come out, and many, as we did, saw the potential to applique nearly anything in wool, beyond circles, especially because it does not ravel, so the edge does not have to be turned under. So now there are many wool applique artists out there, and a number of books.
There are not the prints available in wool as there are in cotton, but wool has an earthy feel and texture that cotton just doesn't have. So each has its advantage. Sylvia tells me that wool quilting is growing rapidly, and I have seen this myself. As I cruise around the web, I see quilt artists that have begun to include wool in their work, or they have decided to switch entirely from cotton to wool. At Woolin Rouge, they use a really cute mix of both cotton and wool. There is no end to the variety out there. As for me, I am a 'Wool Forever' girl.
I still hope one day to create a book on wool applique with my friend Marcia. We have both been through breast cancer since she first introduced me to The Wool, and for me that is a real bonding factor. She is also a wonderful artist and an amazing wife and mother, who somehow finds the time to do it all with grace and aplomb, while still having time left over to be a good friend. Yes, there is still a book out there for us to write, and trust me--if we do one, it will be good!
Since I first started doing wool applique 10 years ago, there has been an explosion in this craft. It started with penny rugs, and I remember that my friend Marcia and I lamented that there was no good book out on the subject of penny rugs, and we even dreamed of doing one ourselves -- definitely a dream for two women with six little kids between them. Well, that era is gone. Since then, several books have come out, and many, as we did, saw the potential to applique nearly anything in wool, beyond circles, especially because it does not ravel, so the edge does not have to be turned under. So now there are many wool applique artists out there, and a number of books.
There are not the prints available in wool as there are in cotton, but wool has an earthy feel and texture that cotton just doesn't have. So each has its advantage. Sylvia tells me that wool quilting is growing rapidly, and I have seen this myself. As I cruise around the web, I see quilt artists that have begun to include wool in their work, or they have decided to switch entirely from cotton to wool. At Woolin Rouge, they use a really cute mix of both cotton and wool. There is no end to the variety out there. As for me, I am a 'Wool Forever' girl.
I still hope one day to create a book on wool applique with my friend Marcia. We have both been through breast cancer since she first introduced me to The Wool, and for me that is a real bonding factor. She is also a wonderful artist and an amazing wife and mother, who somehow finds the time to do it all with grace and aplomb, while still having time left over to be a good friend. Yes, there is still a book out there for us to write, and trust me--if we do one, it will be good!
Friday, May 21, 2010
My Dyeing Articles
I have three articles on ezinearticles.com now, on the subject of dyeing, using primary colors, liquid dyestock, metric equivalent and percentage-based formulas. I have one more to write. These thoughts will ultimately be turned into a book, but for now I am covering some of the basics with these articles.
Article I - An Overview of My Methods
Article II - Equipment Needed
Article III - Carrying Out the Methods
And I found a kindred spirit, who is as exacting as I am when it comes to dyeing, maybe even more so! I have not met her, but I like her already! Here is an entry on similar methods on her blog, with some great photos.
Article I - An Overview of My Methods
Article II - Equipment Needed
Article III - Carrying Out the Methods
And I found a kindred spirit, who is as exacting as I am when it comes to dyeing, maybe even more so! I have not met her, but I like her already! Here is an entry on similar methods on her blog, with some great photos.
Friday, May 14, 2010
A Little Project All For Myself
As I get my business off the ground, I am getting the old urge to do some projects, and to do some sketching for future projects. Even a busy life can't squelch the creative urge, I guess. It feels good. Long ago, I did a pillow with a theme of the Garden of Eden, and the serpent in the tree, to tempt Eve. As a result of this temptation and fall of Man, God decreed that man would have to work by the sweat of his brow (depicted by the thorns growing into the garden from the side) and that he would ultimately die, instead of living forever, depicted by the words in the piece. It's a theme that is meaningful for me.
Recently, I pulled it out and spruced it up. Applique pillows do suffer from wear and tear over time, so I redid a lot of stitching. It was enjoyable work, remembering all my motivation when I did the piece.
Penny Rug Wool
Recently, I pulled it out and spruced it up. Applique pillows do suffer from wear and tear over time, so I redid a lot of stitching. It was enjoyable work, remembering all my motivation when I did the piece.
Penny Rug Wool
Fulfilling My Potential
When I was young, I did quite well in school, and in fact won several scholastic awards during high school, graduating near the top of my class. I would have been at the very top, but my extra-curricular activities were way more fun than homework! I don't say this to brag at all, because I regard any intelligence and ability that I have to be a gift from God -- something that He just poured into the top of my head, snapping the lid shut and saying,"There. Go enjoy that".
I tell you this because after high school I did nothing with all this talent. I went to the local community college, and finally became a hairdresser, never even completing the courses that would have at least earned me an AA degree. For the next few years I starved in that profession, because, as many will tell you, doing volume services is usually what brings in the money, unless you are at the top of the field and can command a nice dollar for every service. I was way too nitpicky and careful in my cutting and other services to ever do volume. There is certainly nothing wrong with the field of hairdressing, but when I look back now, understanding more who I am, I realize that, with some encouragement back then (which I didn't have) I could have gone to nearly any college in the country and become, perhaps, a medical researcher. That is something I would have been really good at, and who knows? I may have played an important part in discovering the cure for a disease, like breast cancer. Is it too late for me to still do this? Well, at 51, maybe not, but I am beyond wanting to do it now. I have a husband, three teens, a business, and a household that I barely have time to run, as it is. Taking on a major career would take away too much from them now, and I'm not willing to do that.
But to digress a bit. I got out of hairdressing and into office work at an investment advisory firm. I did not make the money that the college graduates at the firm did, doing the same work. So while I did make better money, the lack of degree cost me many thousands of dollars over the years I was there. I got married, and went overseas with my new husband, again doing administrative work. When we came home I continued in that vein until we had our first child. I wanted to be home with her, so I returned to my hairdressing work, opening a shop in my own home to be near her. Eventually I simply got tired of doing hair, and closed the shop. Next, I did some cooking locally for extra money, which continued through a major move about 10 years ago. Since that move, I have worked in banquet service at a local hotel for about 8 years, and I have done some catering, as well.
Two years ago, I developed breast cancer. Fortunately, it was found at stage 0 and my prognosis is excellent, but the whole experience, which was difficult, gave me pause to re-evaluate. (For more on breast cancer, please see the link to my breast cancer blog in the sidebar.) I realized that the common theme of all my 'jobs' up until that point was that they were all on The Path of Least Resistance. I had never really taken the time to evaluate my ability, and find the thing that I would enjoy and be good at -- I always chased the dollar. I won't get into great commentary on the subject, except to say that for me, this realization brought regret. I love my life as it is, and I know that all the decisions I made earlier in life, right or wrong, brought me to where I am today. So from that standpoint, I don't regret making them. On the other hand, I feel a sense of having squandered the abilities that were given to me.
So I finally did take the time to evaluate what I love and what I am good at, and to formulate a plan to find work that would take those things into account. The one thing that I love most is hand dyeing wool. So I began to imagine a business doing just that. In the past, when I had imagined having my own business, or inventing something and selling it, or some other hairbrained scheme, I always became discouraged by not knowing where to begin, or by not having enough money to invest, or by not wanting to have a storefront that required my presence many long hours each week. Fortunately, the internet is at a stage now where many of these roadblocks are removed. And I realized, looking at the wool already available on the web, that no one was offering what I, myself, wanted -- many colors in one place, and the ability to buy many small pieces in the colors of my choice, at reasonable prices.
All of this thought and planning lit up my mind. I wrote down pages and pages of notes and ideas. For the first year of the business, I worked many long days, in fact one night I worked clear through until the light of day to reach a goal I had set for myself. I felt on fire to get my ideas up and going. At first I planned to offer about 400 colors, but as I worked on more and more formulas, they organized themselves in such a way that I concluded I would need to use them all if I wanted to offer a complete selection of colors, which I did. And I wanted to offer all those colors in enough values to make shading possible in any color. Simple math made me realize that I was looking at offering at least 1,100 colors, and I felt very hesitant about this, which started to paralyze me, as I tried to plan what my business would look like. So one day I sat down and evaluated my hesitation to offer all of the colors I wanted to. I concluded that I was concerned about all the work needed to keep that many colors organized, and I decided that my desire to offer as many colors as I wanted trumped any fear I had of organizing it all -- I knew I could do it, it would just take more work, which I was not afraid of. Once that was decided, I kept any color that I felt was worthy of being in the collection -- which basically meant that it was not too similar to the color next to it.
And, yes, it was a lot of work. It took a full year to develop the formulas, name them, organize and document them, and photograph and upload them onto the web. And with that many colors, there were lots of little discrepancies to deal with, and I am now working on going back through every single color to resolve those. When I am done I expect to have a perfectly organized collection, with accurate graphics, interesting descriptions, and a complete inventory. Only then will I turn my attention to the fun part -- developing ideas and formulas for specialty colors, working up patterns, doing shows, and even writing a book on color formulation, a subject on which I hope I have a lot to contribute, after all the color studies and dyeing I have done.
So at 51, I am finally fulfilling some of my potential. Is it medical research? Nah. But that's OK. If I can aspire to making a difference in the field of wool dyeing, I think that will be enough for me at this stage. Maybe my lot in life is to make small and personal differences in the lives of others -- both those that I know personally, and those that buy my wool and enjoy it in their own home on the other side of the country. (I really do get a charge out of knowing that others are enjoying my wool.) And it's enough that I can get up in the morning and spend the day doing something I love, while being home when the kids and the Hubs get home from work. My house is still a mess, but I never was a good housekeeper -- as the business grows, the first thing I will treat myself to is some maid service -- more thoughtful evaluation has led me to understand that this would be an excellent use of my resources!
Hand Dyed Wool
I tell you this because after high school I did nothing with all this talent. I went to the local community college, and finally became a hairdresser, never even completing the courses that would have at least earned me an AA degree. For the next few years I starved in that profession, because, as many will tell you, doing volume services is usually what brings in the money, unless you are at the top of the field and can command a nice dollar for every service. I was way too nitpicky and careful in my cutting and other services to ever do volume. There is certainly nothing wrong with the field of hairdressing, but when I look back now, understanding more who I am, I realize that, with some encouragement back then (which I didn't have) I could have gone to nearly any college in the country and become, perhaps, a medical researcher. That is something I would have been really good at, and who knows? I may have played an important part in discovering the cure for a disease, like breast cancer. Is it too late for me to still do this? Well, at 51, maybe not, but I am beyond wanting to do it now. I have a husband, three teens, a business, and a household that I barely have time to run, as it is. Taking on a major career would take away too much from them now, and I'm not willing to do that.
But to digress a bit. I got out of hairdressing and into office work at an investment advisory firm. I did not make the money that the college graduates at the firm did, doing the same work. So while I did make better money, the lack of degree cost me many thousands of dollars over the years I was there. I got married, and went overseas with my new husband, again doing administrative work. When we came home I continued in that vein until we had our first child. I wanted to be home with her, so I returned to my hairdressing work, opening a shop in my own home to be near her. Eventually I simply got tired of doing hair, and closed the shop. Next, I did some cooking locally for extra money, which continued through a major move about 10 years ago. Since that move, I have worked in banquet service at a local hotel for about 8 years, and I have done some catering, as well.
Two years ago, I developed breast cancer. Fortunately, it was found at stage 0 and my prognosis is excellent, but the whole experience, which was difficult, gave me pause to re-evaluate. (For more on breast cancer, please see the link to my breast cancer blog in the sidebar.) I realized that the common theme of all my 'jobs' up until that point was that they were all on The Path of Least Resistance. I had never really taken the time to evaluate my ability, and find the thing that I would enjoy and be good at -- I always chased the dollar. I won't get into great commentary on the subject, except to say that for me, this realization brought regret. I love my life as it is, and I know that all the decisions I made earlier in life, right or wrong, brought me to where I am today. So from that standpoint, I don't regret making them. On the other hand, I feel a sense of having squandered the abilities that were given to me.
So I finally did take the time to evaluate what I love and what I am good at, and to formulate a plan to find work that would take those things into account. The one thing that I love most is hand dyeing wool. So I began to imagine a business doing just that. In the past, when I had imagined having my own business, or inventing something and selling it, or some other hairbrained scheme, I always became discouraged by not knowing where to begin, or by not having enough money to invest, or by not wanting to have a storefront that required my presence many long hours each week. Fortunately, the internet is at a stage now where many of these roadblocks are removed. And I realized, looking at the wool already available on the web, that no one was offering what I, myself, wanted -- many colors in one place, and the ability to buy many small pieces in the colors of my choice, at reasonable prices.
All of this thought and planning lit up my mind. I wrote down pages and pages of notes and ideas. For the first year of the business, I worked many long days, in fact one night I worked clear through until the light of day to reach a goal I had set for myself. I felt on fire to get my ideas up and going. At first I planned to offer about 400 colors, but as I worked on more and more formulas, they organized themselves in such a way that I concluded I would need to use them all if I wanted to offer a complete selection of colors, which I did. And I wanted to offer all those colors in enough values to make shading possible in any color. Simple math made me realize that I was looking at offering at least 1,100 colors, and I felt very hesitant about this, which started to paralyze me, as I tried to plan what my business would look like. So one day I sat down and evaluated my hesitation to offer all of the colors I wanted to. I concluded that I was concerned about all the work needed to keep that many colors organized, and I decided that my desire to offer as many colors as I wanted trumped any fear I had of organizing it all -- I knew I could do it, it would just take more work, which I was not afraid of. Once that was decided, I kept any color that I felt was worthy of being in the collection -- which basically meant that it was not too similar to the color next to it.
And, yes, it was a lot of work. It took a full year to develop the formulas, name them, organize and document them, and photograph and upload them onto the web. And with that many colors, there were lots of little discrepancies to deal with, and I am now working on going back through every single color to resolve those. When I am done I expect to have a perfectly organized collection, with accurate graphics, interesting descriptions, and a complete inventory. Only then will I turn my attention to the fun part -- developing ideas and formulas for specialty colors, working up patterns, doing shows, and even writing a book on color formulation, a subject on which I hope I have a lot to contribute, after all the color studies and dyeing I have done.
So at 51, I am finally fulfilling some of my potential. Is it medical research? Nah. But that's OK. If I can aspire to making a difference in the field of wool dyeing, I think that will be enough for me at this stage. Maybe my lot in life is to make small and personal differences in the lives of others -- both those that I know personally, and those that buy my wool and enjoy it in their own home on the other side of the country. (I really do get a charge out of knowing that others are enjoying my wool.) And it's enough that I can get up in the morning and spend the day doing something I love, while being home when the kids and the Hubs get home from work. My house is still a mess, but I never was a good housekeeper -- as the business grows, the first thing I will treat myself to is some maid service -- more thoughtful evaluation has led me to understand that this would be an excellent use of my resources!
Hand Dyed Wool
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
It's Coming Along
Business is good. I know I am striking a chord with my clients -- selling many colors and in smaller pieces is something they have longed for, as I have. It feels so good knowing that I have so many people who are happy to come to my site and love what they see. I don't have to talk anybody into buying something, as I have had to do in the past with other ventures. I have a product now that absolutely sells itself. I try to maintain a very high standard in how I dye the wool, how well it is fulled, how consistent the colors are, how well I answer questions, and how quickly I ship. Nobody's perfect, but I try to come close! I am in the process now of fine tuning graphics to make sure they match the actual wool as closely as possible. Most colors are in good shape, but I will keep at it until I can sit back and say, "There is nothing left to change".
My financial drought is coming to an end, so that means I can finish making capital investments into my little business, including a good supply of wool and dyes, and some equipment that I need for the next steps this year.
Dog Collars
My financial drought is coming to an end, so that means I can finish making capital investments into my little business, including a good supply of wool and dyes, and some equipment that I need for the next steps this year.
Dog Collars
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