Creativity becomes an instinct if you use it often enough. Because two of the sheep are too young to produce thin wool this year, the mill made it into roving.

We had more roving than usual, and Maria and her pal Emily got creative and came up with the idea of turning the roving into increasingly popular Dryer Balls, which go into a clothes dryer and eliminate the need for those sheets of paper.

Dryer balls help prevent laundry from clumping together by tumbling between lawyers and separating fabric. The movement of the dryer balls against fabrics can also help fight wrinkles, prevent static and soften clothes.

You roll the roving up into a ball, push it into pantyhose or socks, and put them in the clothes dryer. Maria also mixes the colors a bit, she is, after all, an artist.

I had never heard of dryer balls and had no idea how popular they are until I looked online.

So today Maria is offering some for sale. The first batch sold out right away.

Since she doesn’t know how many she will have and already has a lot of orders, she’s selling them directly and not through Etsy.

Check out her Dryer Ball video here.

If you are interested, the dryer balls (I was allowed to try making one, but it came out looking like an egg, not a ball, and I was taken off the assembly team), you can contact her at [email protected].

The Bedlam Farm Dryer Balls cost $15 for a pack of three-plus $5 shipping for three or more. Maria says they are selling quickly, so if you want one, I’d get them soon.