The beauty of handspun: Rose Quartz on Stones That Heal

Handspun weft.

Be still my heart.

I slowly spun my way through making this weft for almost a year between other projects. This slow process has been so infused with intention and prayer. Transmuting a fluffy cloud of fiber into an orderly and aligned thread is such a natural pairing for imbuing healing energy and prayers into that yarn. Countless hours of meditation and prayer while I spin, preparing myself for a second postpartum experience and putting all the prayers and energy I can into the yarn. The fiber for the weft is a blend of 75% super-soft merino wool and 25% viscose from roses in a Rose Quartz colorway. 
Rose Quartz is a stone of unconditional love and support, tenderness and healing, nourishment and comfort. It is the ideal ally for that so-vulnerable and so-sacred postpartum period. It reminds me of the heart melting moments when I am able to see past the daily trudge of parenting and I fall so deeply and exquisitely in love with my daughter all over again, those moments when it is crystal clear to me that I would do anything for her. Rose Quartz carries that sort of energy and love, but here it is for you. My prayer is that this wrap carries that same sort of love I have for my daughter and wraps YOU in it. 
 

I recently shipped this wrap off to its home, where I know it will be loved and appreciated and will snuggle sweet babies.  This wrap marks the end of an era, just as that era was really beginning for me.  While my personal piece on Stones that Heal also features a handspun weft, and I am mid-spin on the weft for a wrap for our sweet new baby daughter; Rose Quartz was the last baby wrap I'll be able to sell with a full weft that I spun myself.  With the federal regulations governing baby carriers in the USA now fully in effect (google ASTM-f2907 if you have no idea what I'm talking about and are curious), my fiber combinations will be limited to those that have gone through third party testing at a lab facility.  While I'm a little sad not to be able to sell my own handspun baby wraps, I'm so so so thrilled that one of my fellow weavers at Cauldron & Cloth also happens to be the master mistress spinner behind The Woodland Pixie and will be handspinning an exclusive yarn line to be used in our babywraps starting later this year!  

And if you follow me outside of the babywearing world, you may start to see my own handspun appearing in more and more things like blankets(!) and scarves and accessories.  Maybe even a skein or three for the knitters out there? Who knows! 

Next on Stones that Heal : magical wefts for some very special cowls

I'm really excited about the next batch of pieces that will be coming off of the Stones that Heal warp.  The warp itself is hand dyed supima cotton, and is inspired by a selection of healing crystals and stones that are particularly good allies for the postpartum parent.  While these stones were selected for their energetic qualities with the intensely sacred and vulnerable postpartum period in mind, they can be supportive allies at other life stages as well!  The warp is dyed in the colors of Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Moonstone, Chrysocolla, Lapis Lazuli, Larimar, clear Quartz, and Flourite.  Invoking the energies of these stones : unconditional love, spiritual protection, inner growth, empowerment and inner wisdom, strength and protection, physical and emotional healing, clarity, and the ability to neutralize negativity and stress - has been such a beautiful part of the process of preparing this warp.

I've been collecting wefts for this project for over a year now, and I'm so excited to see them come to life.  The next batch to be woven on this warp will be a series of cowls with hand spun wefts.  I sourced spinning fiber inspired by healing crystals and stones from some of my favorite fiber artists, and spun it for this project.  I love that these pieces are combining the energy and artistry of the fiber/dye artist with the time of deep intention setting, prayer, and occasional spellwork that is my process of hand spinning wefts and merging it with all the love and magic that went into the warp. 

As an added extra and amazing bonus, I had the chance to collaborate with a friend and fellow maker on unique and gorgeous bracelets to accompany each hand spun piece.  Lavender Pumpkin curated stones that match and complement the woven stone(s) and hand-knotted these enchanting bracelets that I'm honored to be able to send along home with the cowls.  

There will also be a number of hand dyed but commercially spun wefts becoming cowls...  keep an eye out in the Etsy shop in a few weeks (or follow along on Instagram!) for those listings.  If any of these hand spun wefts below are calling out to you, be sure you're subscribed to the newsletter and then just hit "reply" if you want to claim one of these pieces of magic before they are offered publicly.  Exact measurements and prices won't be available until these pieces are off the loom as I plan to simply weave until the hand spun yarn runs out, but I expect them to be generously deep single loop cowls.  

Moonstone is spun from a merino/alpaca/bamboo/silk blend for a divinely soft and lofty yarn.  I know and use moonstone mostly as an aide to intuition, helping tap into the deep wisdom and knowing that resides in our blood and in our wombs; it can also help to ease emotional stress and stabilize wayward emotions.  It was this second part that lead me include moonstone as a part of the warp design, but it is the energies of intuition and psychic enhancement that I spun into this weft.

Lapis Lazuli is spun from a merino/bamboo/silk/sparkle blend that beautifully mimics the variegations and striations in the stone. Lapis is a strongly protective stone that is adept at helping to release stress and anxiety, leaving a sense of calm well-being in their wake.

Tanzanite is a blend of merino/silk/sparkle in shades of purple that will absolutely shine on this warp.  Tanzanite is a psychic aide, helping enhance intuitive capabilities, and is also balancing to the physical and emotional bodies. It also happens to be one of the birthstones of those who are born in December, making this piece the ideal gift for the purple-loving Sagittarius in your life.

Serpentine is spun from a blend of Finn/yak/silk/sparkle for a slightly textural but so soft yarn.  Yak fiber is the shed undercoat of yaks and is both ultra soft and ultra warm.  Serpentine as a stone kept coming up when I was researching stones for postpartum : it is powerfully healing and protective and is associated with the root of the body.  I'm intrigued and fascinated to see how this darker moody green will play on the soft jewel tones of the warp! 

For any fellow spinners who are interested in such things, you can get your own Moonstone, Tanzanite, and Lapis fiber from the amazing Jill at Hipstrings.  The Serpentine is from Inglenook Fibers but appears to be sold out.  Their Aventurine blend is amazing though, and will be the weft for my personal piece on this warp!