Molly
@cobaltandindigo.bsky.social
Fiber & ceramic artist. Midwest US
I love spinning yarn from wool & natural fibers on spinning wheels & spindles, knitting, weaving & crocheting. My ceramic work spans colored clay, carving, printmaking & wheel thrown & altered forms. She/her/they.
I love spinning yarn from wool & natural fibers on spinning wheels & spindles, knitting, weaving & crocheting. My ceramic work spans colored clay, carving, printmaking & wheel thrown & altered forms. She/her/they.
I’m still here. Still savoring the joy & beauty of wool & spinning. Still looking for ways to make things better & doing my best to lift those up who need support. Still frustrated that no matter what I do, it doesn’t seem like enough to turn the tide.
Still not giving up.
Still not giving up.
May 7, 2025 at 11:27 PM
I’m still here. Still savoring the joy & beauty of wool & spinning. Still looking for ways to make things better & doing my best to lift those up who need support. Still frustrated that no matter what I do, it doesn’t seem like enough to turn the tide.
Still not giving up.
Still not giving up.
I’m enjoying a cozy night in scouring and drying this crimpy soft deep charcoal Romney cross lamb’s fleece by the fireplace. Sometimes the small things make a big difference.
April 1, 2025 at 1:48 AM
I’m enjoying a cozy night in scouring and drying this crimpy soft deep charcoal Romney cross lamb’s fleece by the fireplace. Sometimes the small things make a big difference.
Why yes, that is a giant baking sheet full of handspun yarn! My mom brought over a bin of yarn from my early handspinning years and I’m giving it a quick heat treatment since it was in the attic for a bit.
This is all from 15-20 years ago - so many great memories 🥹 & only 1/3 of the total!
This is all from 15-20 years ago - so many great memories 🥹 & only 1/3 of the total!
March 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Why yes, that is a giant baking sheet full of handspun yarn! My mom brought over a bin of yarn from my early handspinning years and I’m giving it a quick heat treatment since it was in the attic for a bit.
This is all from 15-20 years ago - so many great memories 🥹 & only 1/3 of the total!
This is all from 15-20 years ago - so many great memories 🥹 & only 1/3 of the total!
Blending fibers is such fun. I spun roughly equal parts soft brown Shetland, silky white Suri Alpaca, and springy crisp Rambouillet wool into a small sample & knitted a lace swatch today.
The resulting fabric has beautiful shine, drape, halo & memory. It would make a beautiful scarf or shawl.
The resulting fabric has beautiful shine, drape, halo & memory. It would make a beautiful scarf or shawl.
March 23, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Blending fibers is such fun. I spun roughly equal parts soft brown Shetland, silky white Suri Alpaca, and springy crisp Rambouillet wool into a small sample & knitted a lace swatch today.
The resulting fabric has beautiful shine, drape, halo & memory. It would make a beautiful scarf or shawl.
The resulting fabric has beautiful shine, drape, halo & memory. It would make a beautiful scarf or shawl.
A moment of peace spinning with this lovely #inglenookfibers top on a beautiful sunny day full of birds singing.
Wishing everyone a wonderful solstice, with more light each and every day here on out to banish the darkness. ☀️
Wishing everyone a wonderful solstice, with more light each and every day here on out to banish the darkness. ☀️
March 20, 2025 at 5:31 PM
A moment of peace spinning with this lovely #inglenookfibers top on a beautiful sunny day full of birds singing.
Wishing everyone a wonderful solstice, with more light each and every day here on out to banish the darkness. ☀️
Wishing everyone a wonderful solstice, with more light each and every day here on out to banish the darkness. ☀️
I had to remind myself today that as much as I love sample skeins, I have to label them or I will quickly find that the details are lost to time. Lots of cable plyed play lately!
March 5, 2025 at 3:11 AM
I had to remind myself today that as much as I love sample skeins, I have to label them or I will quickly find that the details are lost to time. Lots of cable plyed play lately!
My best friend is just as impatient as I am for this freshly scoured naturally colored Cotswold lamb fleece to dry.
March 3, 2025 at 9:14 PM
My best friend is just as impatient as I am for this freshly scoured naturally colored Cotswold lamb fleece to dry.
From the way back when files:
This was a spin from a super soft yet really frustratingly full of neps and noils batt of merino wool.
I dyed it and spun it up as a textured single that got plyed with a soft and stretchy nylon to create a fun yarn series.
Lemonade out of lemons! 🍋
This was a spin from a super soft yet really frustratingly full of neps and noils batt of merino wool.
I dyed it and spun it up as a textured single that got plyed with a soft and stretchy nylon to create a fun yarn series.
Lemonade out of lemons! 🍋
February 28, 2025 at 11:48 PM
From the way back when files:
This was a spin from a super soft yet really frustratingly full of neps and noils batt of merino wool.
I dyed it and spun it up as a textured single that got plyed with a soft and stretchy nylon to create a fun yarn series.
Lemonade out of lemons! 🍋
This was a spin from a super soft yet really frustratingly full of neps and noils batt of merino wool.
I dyed it and spun it up as a textured single that got plyed with a soft and stretchy nylon to create a fun yarn series.
Lemonade out of lemons! 🍋
Between making my 5 phone calls and doing my work things, I squeezed in a trip to a local farm today to meet some sheep and pick up 3 gorgeous Romney/Merino cross fleeces.
It feels so good to be spending money with women owned and run businesses and feeding energy back into my community.
It feels so good to be spending money with women owned and run businesses and feeding energy back into my community.
February 27, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Between making my 5 phone calls and doing my work things, I squeezed in a trip to a local farm today to meet some sheep and pick up 3 gorgeous Romney/Merino cross fleeces.
It feels so good to be spending money with women owned and run businesses and feeding energy back into my community.
It feels so good to be spending money with women owned and run businesses and feeding energy back into my community.
One of my first projects when I got back into ceramics a few years ago was making myself a matcha whisking bowl with a pouring spout. I have used it hundreds of times since it came out of the kiln and each time I craft a matcha latte it makes me smile. It’s far from perfect but it’s perfect for me.
February 26, 2025 at 7:43 PM
One of my first projects when I got back into ceramics a few years ago was making myself a matcha whisking bowl with a pouring spout. I have used it hundreds of times since it came out of the kiln and each time I craft a matcha latte it makes me smile. It’s far from perfect but it’s perfect for me.
Mini sample skeins of handspun yarn are my new favorite. This is 10 yards of Cormo spun from 1-2g of locks from my most recently scoured fleece.
February 26, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Mini sample skeins of handspun yarn are my new favorite. This is 10 yards of Cormo spun from 1-2g of locks from my most recently scoured fleece.
My last samples got a bit sticky after scouring even though they looked really clean so I suspected the lanolin was not getting fully removed with my hot tap water of 135F.
I upped the temp of the first scour to 160F using an induction burner and kept the following temperatures all above 140.
I upped the temp of the first scour to 160F using an induction burner and kept the following temperatures all above 140.
February 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
My last samples got a bit sticky after scouring even though they looked really clean so I suspected the lanolin was not getting fully removed with my hot tap water of 135F.
I upped the temp of the first scour to 160F using an induction burner and kept the following temperatures all above 140.
I upped the temp of the first scour to 160F using an induction burner and kept the following temperatures all above 140.
It’s clean 🎉! I am super happy with the new scouring process that I developed for this one.
February 24, 2025 at 4:46 PM
It’s clean 🎉! I am super happy with the new scouring process that I developed for this one.
A Friday fleece arrival meant I snuck in a few bits of play before facing the horrors.
This handful of white Shetland wool locks washed up lovely and lustrous and quickly spun up into a structured and personality filled yarn.
Weavette woven squares are great for small sample sizes like this.
This handful of white Shetland wool locks washed up lovely and lustrous and quickly spun up into a structured and personality filled yarn.
Weavette woven squares are great for small sample sizes like this.
February 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM
A Friday fleece arrival meant I snuck in a few bits of play before facing the horrors.
This handful of white Shetland wool locks washed up lovely and lustrous and quickly spun up into a structured and personality filled yarn.
Weavette woven squares are great for small sample sizes like this.
This handful of white Shetland wool locks washed up lovely and lustrous and quickly spun up into a structured and personality filled yarn.
Weavette woven squares are great for small sample sizes like this.
Throwback to a fun quick knit from handspun:
This is Entrechat knit from handspun Falkland for my niece when she was just a toddler. The colors just happened to line up so nicely with the texture in the pattern and I loved how it came together.
This is Entrechat knit from handspun Falkland for my niece when she was just a toddler. The colors just happened to line up so nicely with the texture in the pattern and I loved how it came together.
February 20, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Throwback to a fun quick knit from handspun:
This is Entrechat knit from handspun Falkland for my niece when she was just a toddler. The colors just happened to line up so nicely with the texture in the pattern and I loved how it came together.
This is Entrechat knit from handspun Falkland for my niece when she was just a toddler. The colors just happened to line up so nicely with the texture in the pattern and I loved how it came together.
Your feed looks beautiful in it!
February 20, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Your feed looks beautiful in it!
I can’t believe how ethereal and glowy this raw Cormo fleece is in the sunlight. It almost seems too angelic to scour and process. Almost. 😇
February 19, 2025 at 9:56 PM
I can’t believe how ethereal and glowy this raw Cormo fleece is in the sunlight. It almost seems too angelic to scour and process. Almost. 😇
Very soft and squishy! It’s from a Romney and Merino cross lamb.
February 19, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Very soft and squishy! It’s from a Romney and Merino cross lamb.
This basket of flicked, combed and handpicked locks of washed fleece represents the last six weeks of steady progress on preparing my current fleece for carding and spinning into yarn. 500g is pictured, 100g left to go. Next step carding this all into fluffy batts.
February 19, 2025 at 3:59 AM
This basket of flicked, combed and handpicked locks of washed fleece represents the last six weeks of steady progress on preparing my current fleece for carding and spinning into yarn. 500g is pictured, 100g left to go. Next step carding this all into fluffy batts.
The two support spindles worth of fiber spun over the last week and a half were united today on my favorite plying spindle, a vintage early model of the Golding ring spindle in carved walnut.
Even small actions, done as consistently as energy allows, do add up to progress.
Even small actions, done as consistently as energy allows, do add up to progress.
February 16, 2025 at 2:54 AM
The two support spindles worth of fiber spun over the last week and a half were united today on my favorite plying spindle, a vintage early model of the Golding ring spindle in carved walnut.
Even small actions, done as consistently as energy allows, do add up to progress.
Even small actions, done as consistently as energy allows, do add up to progress.
I made up some fresh blending board rolags to spin and they fit just beautifully in this colored porcelain teabowl that I made some years ago.
It’s grounding during these dark times to feel the threads of my creative practice interweave over time and remind my of my resilience and strength.
It’s grounding during these dark times to feel the threads of my creative practice interweave over time and remind my of my resilience and strength.
February 14, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I made up some fresh blending board rolags to spin and they fit just beautifully in this colored porcelain teabowl that I made some years ago.
It’s grounding during these dark times to feel the threads of my creative practice interweave over time and remind my of my resilience and strength.
It’s grounding during these dark times to feel the threads of my creative practice interweave over time and remind my of my resilience and strength.
I’ve known since high school that keeping my hands busy helps calm my brain and increase my focus. Desk spinning is my current favorite way to make Zoom meetings more tolerable and help my brain engage more effectively. This cotton is really meditative and this spindle just glows.
February 12, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I’ve known since high school that keeping my hands busy helps calm my brain and increase my focus. Desk spinning is my current favorite way to make Zoom meetings more tolerable and help my brain engage more effectively. This cotton is really meditative and this spindle just glows.
I’m onto spindle number two spinning this sari silk and purple wool blend batt. I’m finding myself wondering why my spindles have been so neglected when this process is so soothing.
February 9, 2025 at 3:23 AM
I’m onto spindle number two spinning this sari silk and purple wool blend batt. I’m finding myself wondering why my spindles have been so neglected when this process is so soothing.
These colors 😍! My niece (who I’ll be spinning this for) said it looked like Northern Lights. I think we could all use some bright dancing lights in the darkness right now and I’m so grateful - @skepticalg.bsky.social did such a great job with this custom order.
February 7, 2025 at 2:57 PM
These colors 😍! My niece (who I’ll be spinning this for) said it looked like Northern Lights. I think we could all use some bright dancing lights in the darkness right now and I’m so grateful - @skepticalg.bsky.social did such a great job with this custom order.
My kind and sweet and only occasionally rascally cat has been such a great helper. In fact he may love this lamb’s fleece just as much as I do! And I’m okay with that. I’m saving all of my combing seconds to make him his own little bed to remember this project by. 🧶🐈⬛
February 6, 2025 at 12:03 AM
My kind and sweet and only occasionally rascally cat has been such a great helper. In fact he may love this lamb’s fleece just as much as I do! And I’m okay with that. I’m saving all of my combing seconds to make him his own little bed to remember this project by. 🧶🐈⬛