Featured Artist: Maiysha Somers-Jones of Zebisis Designs + Giveaway!

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MSJ-ZD SelfPublisher’s Note: Today’s featured artist was destined for fiber stardom. Maiysha Somers-Jones comes from a long line of artists, knitters, doll makers, and musicians. Maiysha keeps herself busy with her husband, two children, and a fiber business pumping out vibrant, hand-dyed, rovings and breathtaking,  semiprecious stone encrusted drop spindles for her Etsy store. Though Maiysha is fully committed to satisfying her customers, she is all about creating pieces from the heart. And it’s clear from her work… her heart is beautiful!  I’m personally rather hooked on her incredible painted mulberry silk roving and so, I am super excited to feature Maiysha.
Spin Artiste (SA): Hi, Maiysha!  How did all this fiber business come about for you?  
Maiysha Somers-Jones (MSJ): My mother taught me to knit when I was around 8. I did a number of arts and crafts growing up, sold jewelry in a local shop, sewed handbags, wove baskets. MSJ-ZD CorespunWhen I was 25, my gran asked me to go with her to a knitting group that her friend Kathy led. I knew Kathy was a spinner and made a deal that if I could learn to spin, then I would go.  Kathy sat down at her Louet S-15, spun for about 10 seconds as I stood over her, and then handed me the length of BFL top, and said “Here. You try.” Then she walked away. That was pretty much the extent of my spinning instruction, and it was perfect. She let me take the wheel home, and I was off. I bought some silk with noil roving on Ebay, watched a Youtube video on Navajo plying and fell in love. That was when I knew I was really hooked.
My grandmother makes the most beautiful knitted and fulled hats and sells them at shows all over the state. MSJ-ZD Colorful BraidShe had traded one of her hats for a nuno felted scarf, and I was in love the moment I saw it! I loved the puckering of the silk, and after finding out the scarf was only WOOL and SILK, I decided I HAD to do this. I bought the book Uniquely Felt, and some silk chiffon scarves from Dharma. Determined and rovingless (…topless? lol) I took commercial yarns and untwisted them, pulling staples apart to felt with until I got a few bags of Merino top to play with. Kathy brought me powder pink, gray and black combed top.  I am a huge fan of black (my wardrobe is mainly this color), but carnation pink is not really a color I would select of my own free will. Though I was happy to stop pulling yarn apart, I was uninspired by the very small color selection I had to work with, and got it in my mind that it would be exciting to be able to dye my own fiber, in the colors I wanted to work with. I was also stuck with only white silk chiffon to nuno felt with, and that wouldn’t suffice.
After a brief rendezvous with Rit (the only dye I had access to in my tiny island town), MSJ-ZD Rug 3I went back to Dharma, online, and selected some small jars of Jacquard, and then went and ordered myself a set of stainless steel pots for kettle dyeing. The first thing I dyed was a rolled hem chiffon scarf, just to get my footing. Then, that powder pink top went directly into a pot of rich purple dye.
I was smitten. A few months later, I listed my first spindles on Etsy and sold two the first day. I was off and running.
SA: With such an early start to fiber art, it’s no wonder you are such a skilled artist. I know your mother has played a large role in your fiber journey and you once mentioned you inherited your mother’s sense of color. Tell us how has your mom’s sense of color influenced yours?
MSJ-ZD Rainbow FibersMSJ: My mom has always been an artist. She lives and breathes color. She makes a living from her art, working as an architechtural drafter and designer and selling her paintings, drawings and prints. She also is a “color consultant”. That means she will come to your house, armed with thick color chip portfolios and help you choose colors for your home. She is really good at it.
She would often have chips of color lined up in groupings on the wall so she could see them in morning, afternoon and incandescent light, and consider them during different moods. Her preferred medium is oil pastels, which are thick, rich and always saturated, (even the tints). She showed me how to understand color and color combinations. MSJ- ZD All Blues 1Understanding color is visceral for me, not mathematical. This probably has something to do with why I am so averse to weighing dyes and reproducing colorways. This feels very mechanical and takes the joy out of it for me. Part of what I love about creating colorways is starting fresh on each length of top, seeing what emerges when all is said and done.
SA: I’m so envious of your understanding of color…I once heard or read that if you don’t understand color and you are trying to produce art, it is like taking a trip without your luggage — you are going to have to go back for it!  But, what naturals you and your mother are.   You clearly had a fabulous artistic upbringing. Your mother is not the only other artist in the family. You have said, “I come from a long line of what I would call brilliant artists, musicians and creators, and can only aspire to own a style and creative energy of comparable essence and magnetism.” Can you tell us more about this?
MDJ-ZD Fiber MosaicMSJ: My mom’s art has been very influential in my life, but everyone in my family has art in their soul. My maternal grandmother, Hurshelleen is an amazing porcelain doll maker, seamstress and knitter. Her husband Brian, my grandfather, is an proficient tier of flies. My father is a bass guitarist of the avante garde variety. His mother Connie, a knitter, rug hooker and needlepoint artist, and my late grandfather, Bill was an amazing vocalist, a drummer in his younger Army days and much to my grandmother’s chagrin, picked up new skills effortlessly. He once brought my grandmother to a painting class, and while he waited for the class to be over, painted a beautiful, impressively accurate painting of a church and garden in oils. He had never painted before. My sister is the coolest kind of flautist one can be, and plays in Phish-esque jam bands.
SA: Wow, talk about a family full of artists! I love what you said about your family, that they all have “art in their soul.” Now let’s talk about your work; your colors are amazingly vibrant! What is your goal when dying a piece? 
MSJ-ZD Dyed Bundles 2MSJ: Thank you! I want my colors to be saturated and intense. The color combination must feel right. I like colors to blend into each other at transitions. And, there can never, ever be any white spots left.
SA: That’s ironic that you say that…I just did a whole blog post over at www.fiberygoodnees.com about white. What is your favorite method of dying?
MSJ-ZD Hand DyingMSJ: Hand painting, hands down without question. I will crock pot dye semi solids for batts and rolags, but in the event the dye doesn’t permeate the fibers well enough, and I find the dreaded white spots, it’s on to the painting table before they hit the carder.
SA: I know you grew up in Mount Desert Island, Maine, which is a beautiful place, and you left only to come back. What brought you back to your hometown, and would you say the island has provided inspiration for your work?
MSJ: Summer.  Summer always brought me back. San Francisco, San Diego, Key West… I waited tables in high volume, individually owned restaurants, fine and casual fine dining restaurants. MSJ-ZD OutsideI always knew I had a great job waiting for me when May rolled around. MDI is beautiful in the summer, my family is here, and this feels like home. It is awful here in the winter, though.  Cold, snowy, dead. A ghost town. Two extremes, 6 months on, and a long 6 months off. When I was young and restless, the winters killed me. They are still hard, but this is a wonderful, safe place to raise children with good schools and kind people.
And yes, I am absolutely inspired by the beauty here. How could I not be? I try to remember how lucky I am to live here, and to appreciate the beauty I too often take for granted.
SA: I can sympathize to a degree…13 winters in Western, NY…I fled because of the winter.  But, with crappy winters comes amazing summer.  It’s no wonder that you love to work in vivid colors.  I love your semi-precious stone whorl drop spindles! What motivated you to start making these spindles?
MDJ- ZD Hand SpinMSJ: I wanted a small, lower cost alternative to a spinning wheel to offer with my fibers, as early on in my fiber journey I planned to do craft fairs and art shows locally, as I had with jewelry and handbags. I have always had a connection to semi precious stones and sterling silver and I had most of what I needed to start making spindles in my stash from my jewelry making days. It was really a natural progression.
I ended up not doing any craft fairs and kept my work online, but spindles were the beginning of my online Etsy life.
MSJ-ZD StoneSA: How do you determine what stones to use for your spindles?
MSJ: I am a big believer in making things that I believe are beautiful. If I am working on something my heart is not in, I believe you can feel it in the final piece.  So, as unscientific as it may be, I pick stones I like. The same goes for the colorways I paint and the batts and rolags I card. I am less interested in offering a wide range of colorways, pastels, natural/undyed colors, you will RARELY see those in my shop. I create what I love, and I hope that shows through in my work.
SA: Your passion for what you love most definitely shows in your work! What are you hoping your customers get from your drop spindles?
MSJ: I hope people get a tool that is as beautiful as it is functional. A tool that they love to use as much as they love to look at.
MSJ-ZD StudioSA: I’m sure your customers would all agree that your spindles are just as pretty as they are useful. What can you tell us about your studio space?
MSJ: Well- my studio space is kind of everywhere in the house. I have stations set up in several rooms. I would like to publicly thank my sweet man for his endless tolerance of my art in every room. The kitchen/dining room are one big room, and there is room for a table for eating and two 8 foot tables end to end. This is where I hand paint my fibers. The 5 burner gas stove is frequently mostly occupied by my 33qt canning pots, where I steam my fibers.
We also have a butler’s pantry that I use as a dye mixing station. It has a 5 foot counter, sink, and tall dye-filled cupboards above it. MSJ-DZ Pink RovesThe house we live in has two living rooms, so one is a kid’s room, and the other is my computer/shipping room, which we call “Mommy’s Area”. I have my Supercard, both wheels and my undyed bumps of top in there, and this is where Jeremy and I sit together and watch TV in the evening. I can never just sit and watch though, I am always working as I “relax”, separating long locks, working on the computer, making spindles etc.
The master bedroom is also half fiber, with my photo taking set up, two more tables end to end for product in the in between stages, my poly tubing rolls and impulse sealer (where I make my own bags), my Louet Classic carder, my blending boards, a Fancy Kitty blending board, The Beast my massive blending board (2.5 feet long and 1 foot wide), and most of my carding fibers. The bedroom has a fantastic walk in closet that is home to my extensive collection of Angelina fibers (I am a sparkle hoarder), back up gallons of Unicorn Power Scour and Fiber Rinse, more dyed fibers and raw fleece and exactly zero articles of clothing.
MSJ-ZD Blue Fiber in HandSA: I believe you have the most spacious “studio” of anyone I have interviewed!  What are your favorite tools of the trade?
MSJ: I am a big believer in having the right tools for the job. My Patrick Green Supercard is an absolutely amazing carder. 98% of what I card is fine fibers, including lots of silk, and this carder cards them perfectly,  every time.
I bought a Louet Classic to cover the other end of the spectrum, textured art batts. The Supercard is great at smooth, the Louet is great with texture.
I really love my blending boards. MSJ-ZD Hand CardingI was skeptical at first, but I am undoubtedly addicted to making and spinning rolags and love the control I have over color placement and texture when using my boards.
I bought a teaser board from Fancy kitty- it is a little piece of carding cloth attached to a board and you clamp it to your table. You use it to flick the ends of your locks on before spinning or carding them. This little tool has increased the quality of my carded work SO much.
I adore my Majacraft Aura. On its own it is a phenomenal wheel, and it is responsive and infinitely adjustable. I also got the lace kit to go with it, and WOW. A perfect case of “right tool for the job”. I have spun lace on my Louet S-17 and on the Aura’s regular set up, but the lace kit is like spinning thread at the speed of light. I spin fat lockspun yarns, beehives and super bulky cabled yarns, but I also spin “frog hair”, and everything in between. It took me a little time to find a wheel that truly does it all, but I have finally found my wheel soulmate. A top loading washer and double basin sink are high on my list. I swear by Unicorn Power Scour and Rinse.
MSJ-ZD Self at BoothThese is more business related, but worth mentioning- my Dymo Labelwriter 4XL (thermal printer for shipping labels) is SUCH a great tool to have. I don’t know how I lived without it. No ink cartridges, no smearing ink, self adhesive labels- and Endicia. Never waiting in line at the Post Office to mail packages is PRICELESS. My poly tubing rolls and an impulse heat sealer for making bags. Excellent investment. An excellent, accurate scale. Another really important tool on the business side of things. Also my Canon Rebel T3i and my Corel photo editing program are absolute necessities.  Good pictures are so vital for online shops!
Oh, and I have a Rigid Heddle Loom that I REALLY like, but I am lusting after a Saori loom.  I NEED it. I am not sure anyone can ever have enough fiber tools!
MSJ-ZD Self and childSA: I am right there with you.  I NEED A SAORI LOOM.  We should start a club for that!  You mentioned you have two children, who you adore. How do you balance being a mother and an artist, and do you see an artistic future for your children?
MSJ: I LOVE being a work at home mom, though sometimes I think it would be easier to be able to go somewhere 10 hours a day, concentrate on what needs to be done in a quiet orderly workplace, and then have specific set hours to relax and enjoy being at home. I don’t know if my kids will be artists when they are adults. My daughter is very creative, and does truly impressive drawings and loves sculpting with most anything I will let her tape together. She will make funky cool people and animals out of drinking straws and marbles and loose fibers for hair.  And scotch tape. LOTS of scotch tape. We buy rolls of tape by the dozen.
 MSJ-ZD DrawingMy son already has a very cool drawing style (which is interestingly much like mine was, when I was a kid), and can sculpt a very convincing mustache out of playdough. In real life, he is actually Iron Man. His imagination is truly boundless, and he is a method actor by nature. When he commits, I may spend a whole afternoon with Tony Stark. If the arts are in his future, it may just be acting. I don’t know if they will be artists when they are adults, though it would be cool if they were! As long as they feel free to do what they love in life, I am OK with that.
 It can be hard to balance the shop- creating, photographing and editing a thousand photos per update, spending hours listing spindles and fibers, keeping up with convos, emails and social media, packaging and shipping orders… I am very meticulous when it comes to the way I do things. Well, I actually have a bit of OCD, it was quite severe as a child, but now it manifests as perfectionism. MSJ-ZD White YarnIt can be a blessing and a curse. I can’t do things halfway or halfheartedly, so most things take me longer than I would like. I have always had a very hard time with rules, structure and schedules, which can make my obsessive need to do everything “right” even more chaotic and crazymaking!  It is a constant battle, finding the right balance between being a mom, being truly present with my family, keeping the house from looking like a tornado blew through it, while managing every aspect of my business, especially at times when one part of my life needs more attention than another.  When it comes to my shop- it is all me, all the time. I have no help, and if I did, I don’t know if I could relax and let go enough to benefit from it. The precise equation for perfect harmony is something I may never know, as life is an ever changing, ever evolving landscape. It’s a work in progress.
MSJ-ZD Silk ScarfSA: That is so true…it will always be a work in progress… If you were a dyed roving, what color combination would you be?
MSJ: That is really a tough one. My favorite or “signature” color is a limey-olivey-chartreause, or as I like to call it (affectionately) “Bug Gut Green”.  You will see it in a lot of my work. My favorite colorways change, though, depending on mood. Some days I’m a jewel toned rainbow, (I strive for rainbowy-ness), and some days I am a deep sultry peacock colorway.  Recently I have been a copper, rich brown, teal and vertigris colorway  I suppose, so I’d say that would be me, right now.That could change any moment, though.
MSJ - GiveawaySA:  That copper/brown/teal/vertigris colorway is spectacular!  I am so happy I stashed some of that. But, one of you reading this is very lucky because Maiysha is giving away your choice of hand painted A1 Mulberry Silk Brick or 4.4 oz. Rainbow on 50/50 Superwash Merino/Tussah Silk Top.   
To enter for this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post letting us know what you are doing to fight the winter doldrums if you live in a cold climate or what you are doing to enjoy fibery goodness if you live in a warm climate!  Additional entries for sharing on Facebook, Twitter, etc. — just leave a comment letting us know that you did.  Deadline to enter is Sunday, January 19th, 2014, 5 PM.  Please make sure to include a valid email address so that I may let you know you won!! 

93 thoughts on “Featured Artist: Maiysha Somers-Jones of Zebisis Designs + Giveaway!”

  1. I am a huge fan of semi precious stones and to see them used in this way in marvelous. I have yet to learn to spin with a wheel or drop spindle but it is on my bucket list to accomplish this this year. I live in Ontario Canada and have been knitting and crocheting like crazy for a new granddaughter. Love to work in the bright primary colour I have seen in the article.
    Thank you for leading me to this page.

    Hugs
    Julie

  2. It was wonderful reading your interview with Maiysha! I felt like I was right there in the studio with you and observing her moving around. Thank you for sharing so much of your life and creative process Maiysha. Many times I peruse your Etsy store for color inspiration. I found fiber a few years ago at the Common Ground Fair here in Maine browsing the Wednesday Spinners tent, maybe you were there. I was attracted to this beautifully multi colored hand dyed, hand spun and crocheted Mohair hat from one of the spinners. Julie was my first fiber artist to connect with. And from there fell in love with fiber!! My niece asked me for a warm hat the beginning of December, the northeast has been so cold this winter. So I figured I could take a break from one of the larger projects I am working on for my kids, an afghan and a sweater. Using my stash of dyed mohair lock spun yarns that I have accumulated for the last few years, and adding smoother spun yarns, I just started playing around with textures and colors! Voila’, a hat is made! It’s been fun and satisfying to see a project complete in less than a week too. I have finished 4 hats in 4 weeks. Thank you Spin Artiste for allowing us a glimpse with Maiysha, I have really enjoyed your article. All the best, Susan

  3. I love the green woven piece. Are you also weaving? I am sure that they are your colors. This seems to be the year that I have gotten back into weaving. My loom is in my bedroom (not very convenient) but watching the fabric with shifting colors distracts me from the gray outside. This winter could be over already!

    Lovely article and great color work!

  4. I am spinning some beautiful 15.1 micron merino/angora blend for a shawl for myself and knitting a never ending enterlac scarf. I am watching the birds at my feeders, in particular the red-headed woodpeckers that come to my suet feeder. I am staying inside where it is warm and dreaming about summer and my veggie garden.

    Thank you for this most interesting interview, she certainly inspires me to continue with my fiber work.

  5. I loved reading this! I have seen you active on Facebook as a fountain of knowledge so I loved this opportunity to get a peek inside your world 🙂 in the winter we have very cold, snowy weather, so I let myself play with my favorite colors to keep spirits up. I usually try to branch out with mixing in colors I’m not crazy about, but not in the winter 🙂

  6. Lovely, lovely, lovely !! your blog is so inspireing. the colors of your yarns and fibers are just breathtaking. i love bright colors , they make me happy, especially during the dreary winter months. I work out of a one room appartment and am so jealous of your beautiful studio 🙂 .I definitely will be following your blog from now on. Thank you for sharing.

  7. An Inspiring story and Maiysha’s creations are absolutely beautiful.
    We have a long cold winter here and I prefer to be cozied up by the wood stove either spinning or knitting.

  8. I just loved reading this colorful article! It gets so cold and snowy up here in Saskatchewan, Canada and staying inside can get stressful..so I like to play with my fibers just for inspiration thereby keeping my spirits up..and reading fabulous articles on what other wonderful artisans are doing 🙂 I try to learn a new craft as well..this time felting little animals which my daughter loves 🙂

  9. I was so excited to see this interview with Maiysha! She is one of my favorite fiber artists! She is knowledgeable, intelligent, caring and kind. Not only does she inspire me to create in my fiber world, she truly is a woman that inspires me to be a better person.
    I am so proud I can call her a friend… <3
    Thank you for this peek into your life and business Maiysha!
    Love and respect!
    And thank you for the interview Arlene!

  10. Fantastic interview! I’ve always been a fan!!

    I’m fighting the winter cold with bright colors and dyeing/spinning wool that makes me smile. I’ve learned that life is too short for shoddy fleeces, so I’ve been working with higher end raw materials. 🙂

  11. Love your beautiful work. Love the Rainbow colors. I’m making hats and scarves with some pretty yarn to shake the winter blues. Sharing on Facebook.

  12. I work in my studio with a view of the river and the creatures that come to visit. I love movies and will often take a slow project and sit and watch a movie while I work. I love the purple/ blue combinations of the yarns and would so love to create something beautiful with those yarns.

  13. Wow, love those hand painted fibers. I spin – wash – crochet or knitt, spin – wash – crochet or knitt, spin – wash – crochet or knitt and just keep on adding pieces to create free form shawls. I could spin all day long! Bonne journée!

  14. Good article. Beautiful dye jobs. Am making articles and writing up patterns for my upcoming website and Etsy. The busy work helps balance the trepidation I feel for the biz side of things.

  15. Great interview! Maiysha is an incredible talented as well as kind, funny, and interesting person!

    As far as winter doldrums go, I’ve been attempting to beat them by working on very colorful projects both with carding and spinning as well as knitting and crocheting. Am mainly working on some scrap memory blankets using all different-colored odds and ends of yarns, both commercial and handspun.

  16. Amazing! Thank you so much, Arlene, for introducing us to such wonderful creative people. I’m enthralled with Maiysha’s intense and saturated colours. They are what I look towards to help get through winter, although winter isn’t really here in Budapest yet.

  17. I truly enjoyed this interview! It is always incredible to see a view of the Artist behind her stunning work! I have recently been drawn into Spinning and decided to that to cure my dreary, rainy wintertime blues I would add a Spinning Wheel to my home and expand my Artstic horizons! Maiysha, your eye for color and the saturated blends you create are phenomenal!!! Thank you for your creations and and I look forward to having the pleasure of Spinning a few of them!!!

  18. Loved your story Maiysha, I love reading about how people find their creative voice! And I do love your rainbow fibers! I can see myself rescuing one and giving it a new home here in my part of Norway!

    This winter i Norway has so far been rainy, and a lot warmer than it should be! Today we got snow, but I think it will melt again really fast. My new fibery love this winter is my brand new Hansencrafts mini spinner in Padauk, and I figured out how I can spin and read a book at the same time with my new friend! So in the last week I have spun 4 oz of frog hair Masham while reading through 900 pocketbook pages!

  19. Hi! I am very fortunate this winter to be spending it with some of the most creative and captivating people. I am a textile arts student who is dabbling in dyeing, weaving, spinning, tapestry, surface design and all sorts of goodness. The most wonderful thing about school is to not only play and discover my own taste but also to see what others come up with. The colours can be so mesmerizing we all walk away drunk from colour. I find to get myself through these long rainy months I make sure to go outside for a walk. As most of us spend majority of our time indoors I find just having a simple walk can inspire me so much. That colour or texture comes out in my work. And as the seasons change as does my colour palette. I find your article very inspiring and as someone newly discovering the wonderful world of fiber it is always a pleasure to read about someones journey. So Thank You, Just Beautiful Work!

  20. I also love some rainbows. I’m taking lots of pictures, using bright colorways, trying to stay away from too much in the dark/cold end of the spectrum (which is HARD, I love blue & purple!). Also lots of time looking at pretty things online that I covet or want to create, and thank goodness for Etsy!

  21. Such lovely colors and those spindles are phenomenal! 🙂

    I fight the winter blues by getting out and exercising and knitting with bright, fun colors!

    I will also share this on facebook and twitter.

  22. What a lovely story of her love of fiber 🙂 I’m actually just learning to spin which seemed like a good idea since we have long, cold winters.

  23. I particularly love the blues you achieve!
    I live in Tuscany so the weather is not too cold, but we get the doldrums just the same there is nothing like a colourful cowl in a bright ha d spun yarn to fight those midwinter blues!

  24. I love the colors, absolutely beautiful. I live in CA so have not had the freezing weather experienced elsewhere. I have been going through my stash, spinning and knitting. I just got out the drum carder to make some batts.

  25. Kimberly Darling

    Wonderful, intelligent and articulate interview on Maiysha. Her sense of color is incredible. I have purchased from her and she is also very professional.
    I have been avoiding the sub-zero temps here in Iowa, by spending most of my time in my fiber studio. I promised a friend that I would not produce anything more until I got my etsy shop set up for sales. So the studio time has been devoted to product photography and writing the novelettes that go along with them. My studio has made me less obsessed with leaving Iowa for better weather.
    Thank you for these fabulous glimpses into other fiber artists. Take care.
    Kimberly

  26. I love saturated colors, yours are so beautiful. I also wNt a Saori loom. I have been going through my stash , spinning 50/50 merino silk top and knitting. Finally making a sweater for the hubs.

  27. It is funny how we can seem so connected to people we don’t know through their art, I am in dreamland everytime I go to your site or etsy, your colours speak to me. and you seem like a lovely lady! Thanks for filling my days with bright magical fibers. This winter I am playing with Merino roving for the first time and firestar, which I’m sure you have an abundance of 😉 I to love rainbows, and bright colours.

  28. Wow, there is so much pretty on that etsy page.
    I started spinning last summer and I’ve been working on learning to use a drop spindle lately (I know, backwards). I’m not convinced about using them yet, but they are beautiful things.

  29. I live in Virginia, so we really do not usually have extreme temps in the summer or winter. We have even had some 60 degree days this winter and I have been able to get outside and do some dyeing. My mission this winter is to spin yarn with more bling! Sequins, metallic thread, angelina, etc.

  30. I live in the MIdwest and we have had Snow and Freezing temps. I am used to it though as I have lived in this area for most of my life. But it got really cold and knitting is what helps me to relax and that is what I do when I need to calm down. I do some sort of knitting most everyday (even in the Summer). Lately I have been doing shawls and blankets and hats and scarves.

  31. I’m currently working on finishing the yarn (100% alpaca navaho plied) for a baby blanket that will go to my new brother or sister when they’re born.

  32. Great article and wonderful colors! I love the deeply saturated colors, especially in dull, dark, dank New England winters. I also love semi-precious stone, so I’m off to see your spindles. I’m spinning the doldrums away today.

  33. I adore Maiysha and her work. I have been a fan and customer for years, and a friend for almost as long. To beat away the winter doldrums, my husband and I just took our kids on a weekend getaway to an indoor water park! Usually, I spin (Maiysha’s) rainbows for that purpose. <3

  34. I feel a bit of a fraud as its mid summer here in Tasmania so rather than beating the Winter Chills I am looking for cool places. It is a great time to clean fleece and dye however and as my paid work is still on summer break I am managing some spinning with a few new challenges. I love your inspiration.
    Cheers Jen

  35. I love Maiysha’s fibre. I have tons and tons of fibre I have bought from her on etsy. One day I have to spin them and knit myself a cardigan 🙂

  36. Living in Toronto we have had quite the winter so far – power outages and a disastrous ice storm. So I sit in front of the fire to keep warm and spin on my Canadian Produstion Wheel – Victoire.
    My toys don’t need power!

  37. I’m fighting the cold winter months by knitting a sweater for myself, washing some sheep fleeces, and dyeing some fiber. I love MSJ’s work. I have several of her fiber pieces.

  38. Kathleen Powell

    I love Maiysha’s beautiful fibers and her artistry is inspiring.

    Wintertime in Florida is my favorite time to spin. I can take my wheel outdoors camping or on the patio and enjoy the weather while making beautiful yarns.

  39. Hi Maiysha, the bright colours you use make me very happy, bring me light in the wintertime!
    This winter, I am gonna make some high slippers and some more shawls in bright colours to keep my whole family happy and warm from top to toe!
    Maybe I can have time to make myself a coat from the swap pieces I got last year;)
    Nice to know you!
    hugs from holland, Dea

  40. I’ve spent time cleaning out the holiday chaos from my fiber studio. Now it’s ready to spin and weave the winter blahs away.
    Saturated colors are a challenge that would be fun to work with. I’ve long equated them with kiddie crayons and Rainbow-Brite stuff, but lately I’ve seen fiber artists handling these colors in a new way that intrigues me.
    The copper-verdigris color way is stunning!

  41. I LOVE Maiysha!! She is a fountain of knowledge!! My plans this dreary winter in Michigan include working with a lot of color and honing my skills as a “batt builder”

  42. Great interview, very informative! I’m knitting with lots of color this winter, I try not to knit with grey this time of year.

  43. I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, which is normally warm (and was 73 yesterday). However, we have had a very cold winter for us (lows in the teens with blowing wind). spinning is always fun regardless of the weather. But I’ve also just learned needle felting and I am making my first little animal, an alpaca named Moonstruck. Would love to win and appreciate the opportunity!

  44. rose marie dowling

    I am so very pleased Maiysha to see you honoured for your talents & gifts. You give so very much to so many. Your natural gift for seeing the colour spectrum as you do, then relate it to fiber. You create so much beauty for us to use in our projects. I know that the items I have created from your rainbow fibers has brought much joy to those I have gifted them to. I thank you for your talent that has enabled me to create for others.

  45. I live in Charleston, West Virginia & it has been an extremely cold & wet winter so far. We have dealt with frozen pipes, busted pipes, as well as the Chemical Spill that has left us & everyone in the 9 counties without water for 5 days now. It’s not been a fun winter so far at all but we just deal with it & hope it doesn’t happen again. I am IN LOVE with the long locks I recently purchased from Maiysha just a few weeks ago & I even put them in a special place…I’m treating them like they would break or something they are so beautiful. I would be SO HAPPY if I were to win such a wonderful giveaway. Thanks for the opportunity & Good Luck to everyone!!!!!
    Thanks,
    Carrie L. Pugh

  46. Kristine Jorskogen

    I love her work! And this silk is amazing!
    I’m currently very busy with school, but I am knitting some extra long legwarmers to keep me warm over workout leggings or under dresses/skirts! Can’t wait to have them done 😀

  47. Stephanie Van Housen

    Beautiful fibers and spindles! To combat the winter cold I am spending free time with knitting, weaving and spinning friends, talking and laughing and making pretty things. We’re all in this together and everything, even -40 wind chills, are better shared with friends, fiber and good coffee!

  48. This was a fun interview and my first introduction to Maiysha. What a neat person she is and so inspiring!
    I live in north central Washington state. We have been the banana belt this year, and I feel so for those living in the cold east. We love to spin and I am learning to knit, crochet and weave. LIfe is never boring with 39 alpacas and 3 angora goats!

  49. I’m in Maine and went to school with Maiysha. She has always created beautiful things. I have been making hats, pillows, and blankets. I have never used hand spun yarn but I would love to.

  50. I really love Maiysha use of color! She is a very talented artist! I live in North Carolina and I spin on a daily basis. I like to work with natural fibers from Jacobs sheep. I also knit a lot too!

  51. Michelle McCann

    Wonderful talent in a young artist! Mount Desert Island has a rich artistic heritage. I learned to spin with Kathy also!!! Good luck to you!!

  52. I TOTALLY get you on the winter thing! Living in Iowa my whole life has forced me to put up with just over 40 of them and I’m not a fan either..lol. I discovered spinning about a year ago and as soon as fall hits, I try to look around me and take as many pictures as I can so I can use those color combinations when I’m dying my wool. Fall is beautiful here, but also a reminder that my least favorite season is on the horizon. When I’m stuck in the house looking at the gray outside, I work on dyeing fiber to bring back the fall for a couple days. Or I find pictures of all of the beaches I’ve been to and try to replicate that in my dyeing as well to bring a little summer into the house. As much as I don’t like winter it does give me a perfect excuse to stay in the house and play with fiber and yarn all day so it can’t be all bad. Congrats on your article! I loved being able to take a peek inside what goes into a successful fiber business and read about how you started. Eventually I want to quit my stressful job and start my own business so I’m just soaking it up like a sponge until I get the nerve to take the plunge!

  53. What a great article! thank you!

    My life is now.. all about fiber… weaving, spinning, dyeing, blending, knitting, crocheting and designing… today I am blending 3 shades of alpaca: magenta, purple and hot pink. for a lumpy bumpy yarn… -or- if the sun decides to shine, I will be warping my loom with a lovely color/pattern gamp for cotton towels.

  54. Maiysha always creates such beautiful goodies, and her rainbows make me smile! Fascinating interview, loved being able to learn a little more about her.

    I spend most of my time spinning yarn and creating fibery goodies for others to play with. I’m also currently knitting a shawl from my handspun… to keep me warm in the cold winter months!

  55. I live in northern MN and this winter has been a tough one. Spinning, knitting and reading always help to make winter bearable. I’ve been a fan of Maiysha for quite a while. Thanks for a great article!

  56. Maiysha,

    Your work is stunning and you deserve to be a featured artist. I love your vibrant colorways, they are beautiful beyond words. Best wished for a successful year and life.

    Sharing on facebook as well

  57. I am staying in spinning lovely fiber by the fire to fight the cold dreary winter. I loved this article. Mayisha’s products are fabulous!!!

  58. Love, love, love Maiysha’s work! Posting on Facebook and Twitter, too. Let’s spread the word. Great article!

  59. I would love a hand painted silk brick. haha I have been spinning some pure white to match the lovely white of the snow outside. I was enthralled last night when I was out milking the goats and looked down and saw several perfect tiny snow flakes that had settled on the cuff of my sleeve. they looked just like the ones that a child would cut out from paper and tape to the window. normally you don’t see individual flakes like that and they were so beautiful. yup that was what I was doing as I was milking the goats. admiring my snowflake covered cuffs.

    I shared it on FB on my personal page as well as my FB Fan page for Alba Ranch and my Twitter.

  60. AMAZING! I adore the saturated gem colours, they have always been my favorites andgems/gemstones like malachite, azurite, ruby, emerald, sapphire, carlnelian & deep purple amethyst…Ahhhhh.
    I have been keeping warm and knitting socks in warm colors to chase the chill away. I even knit a pair in a summery cotton colorway, it was a nice change.

  61. Angela Dotsenko

    I’ve bought a lb of the most beautiful Mulberry silk. Plus she’s got a giant variety of add ins. sharing on FB

  62. Is she still in business? I have been trying to get a hold of her to buy more silk brick and her Etsy website is gone and she has not updated her Instagram in a long time. 🙁
    I am worried about her… or maybe she is just taking a break for a while….but then why would her Etsy be gone for good? 🙁 🙁 🙁

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