Is this Scary?

Maybe not, but it is one of the strangest costumes I've seen. Of course, when your cell phone rings, you gotta answer - even if you are posing for Mom.

On the fiber front, I'm nearing the finish line for the 7 yard silk warp. The Sanuk Jacket may be finished in 2004 after all. I've been playing around with narrow inkle bands. If we're going to have to wear our IDs every day, then I want to have some variety. This one is 5/16" wide.

Is this Scary?

Maybe not, but it is one of the strangest costumes I've seen. Of course, when your cell phone rings, you gotta answer - even if you are posing for Mom.

On the fiber front, I'm nearing the finish line for the 7 yard silk warp. The Sanuk Jacket may be finished in 2004 after all. I've been playing around with narrow inkle bands. If we're going to have to wear our IDs every day, then I want to have some variety. This one is 5/16" wide.

The blog has been transferred to my own domain.

Time to Pay the Piper

I guess I shouldn't expect to go away for two weekends of fiber fun and not be absolutely swamped. A few 14 hour days are starting to pull me out of the swamp. I did, however, get a little time to ply this week and tonight, after I got home from judging the Homecoming floats, I skeined and washed the results of that plying.

I'm looking at the cardigans in the Best of Lopi and thinking that that my brown Romney x Merino will look good with the orange (grey dyed with magenta and golden yellow, on right) corrie and the painted Merino roving in the center. Maybe the red too. (The red and autumny yarns were part of my summer dying)

I've been getting the beading itch again. (Where do I think I'm getting all this time?) I put in a small order to Fire Mountain Gems for break away magnetic clasps to use on some inkle and card woven bands for my ID - I couldn't just order those - so a few beads are making their way towards me too.

Time to Pay the Piper

I guess I shouldn't expect to go away for two weekends of fiber fun and not be absolutely swamped. A few 14 hour days are starting to pull me out of the swamp. I did, however, get a little time to ply this week and tonight, after I got home from judging the Homecoming floats, I skeined and washed the results of that plying.

I'm looking at the cardigans in the Best of Lopi and thinking that that my brown Romney x Merino will look good with the orange (grey dyed with magenta and golden yellow, on right) corrie and the painted Merino roving in the center. Maybe the red too. (The red and autumny yarns were part of my summer dying)

I've been getting the beading itch again. (Where do I think I'm getting all this time?) I put in a small order to Fire Mountain Gems for break away magnetic clasps to use on some inkle and card woven bands for my ID - I couldn't just order those - so a few beads are making their way towards me too.

Rhinebeck Rocks!

At last, I made it to Rhinebeck - no weddings, no school events, nothing to stand in my way. What a wonderful festival, the crowds are infinitely more manageable than Maryland. Wider walkways and more BATHROOMS. I didn't have to stand in line once. For any MDS&W attendee, that should be reason enough to try out Rhinebeck (on second thought, don't, or I'll be lining up for the bathroom next year)

I arrived Friday night to find Carolyn already at the motel. Kate arrived soon after I did. Enough said - I'll let Carolyn tell the story about the motel, she does it much better than I.

Between catching up with old friends and meeting new ones I managed to acquire quite a conglomeration of things. A gorgeous Shetland fleece found its way into my possession, along with a to-die(dye)-for five pound medium gray Corrie fleece. Other finds were a copy of Marla Mallett's Woven Structures, a new burnishing brush for the carder, some Shetland roving, Lincoln roving, a supported spindle (my last try at cotton), a rush mat for felting, and tons of new ideas.



As all good things must come to an end, I started the drive home and crossing the Hudson River I was greeted with this gorgeous view. Since my camera was within arm's reach, what would any shutterbug do?



All right, folks, don't try this in your car! I wanted a picture without going through glass, so brilliant mind that I have, I zoomed down the window and started shooting out the side window (don't fret, I never took my eyes off the road) never thinking about those pesky physics laws.



Much better, huh?

For those who like the animals at the fair:

White and black Cashmere goats - this one was a little wary of me.

A gorgeous Lincoln getting a final go-over - here she is all done.

Kids 0 - dog 5. I watched five different kids, all ages, try to beat the dog in race that consisted of running up the length of the field and back. The dog even gave the kids a head start. No matter how quick I thought I was I couldn't catch him in a shot.

Rhinebeck Rocks!

At last, I made it to Rhinebeck - no weddings, no school events, nothing to stand in my way. What a wonderful festival, the crowds are infinitely more manageable than Maryland. Wider walkways and more BATHROOMS. I didn't have to stand in line once. For any MDS&W attendee, that should be reason enough to try out Rhinebeck (on second thought, don't, or I'll be lining up for the bathroom next year)

I arrived Friday night to find Carolyn already at the motel. Kate arrived soon after I did. Enough said - I'll let Carolyn tell the story about the motel, she does it much better than I.

Between catching up with old friends and meeting new ones I managed to acquire quite a conglomeration of things. A gorgeous Shetland fleece found its way into my possession, along with a to-die(dye)-for five pound medium gray Corrie fleece. Other finds were a copy of Marla Mallett's Woven Structures, a new burnishing brush for the carder, some Shetland roving, Lincoln roving, a supported spindle (my last try at cotton), a rush mat for felting, and tons of new ideas.



As all good things must come to an end, I started the drive home and crossing the Hudson River I was greeted with this gorgeous view. Since my camera was within arm's reach, what would any shutterbug do?



All right, folks, don't try this in your car! I wanted a picture without going through glass, so brilliant mind that I have, I zoomed down the window and started shooting out the side window (don't fret, I never took my eyes off the road) never thinking about those pesky physics laws.



Much better, huh?

For those who like the animals at the fair:

White and black Cashmere goats - this one was a little wary of me.

A gorgeous Lincoln getting a final go-over - here she is all done.

Kids 0 - dog 5. I watched five different kids, all ages, try to beat the dog in race that consisted of running up the length of the field and back. The dog even gave the kids a head start. No matter how quick I thought I was I couldn't catch him in a shot.

SOAR Report

Before I head off to Rhinebeck I better tell you all about SOAR.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first SOAR and will try to get back as often as possible, although it will be retreats only for awhile. I bought lots of silk or silk blends. I skipped Shadyside as I bought quite a bit from them this summer at Creative Strands. I hit Nancy Finn (Chasing Rainbows), The Silkworker (who sold out by Friday), Lambspun, and bought two gorgeous batts (1 lb. total) from Indigo Moon. I picked up some dyed Polwarth from The Rovings, a 4" weavette, Domino Knitting, a new niddy noddy, and some other things I can't remember.

My classes were all wonderful. I started out with Sharon Costello and made a cool felt necklace, but more importantly, I learned cool things like making frogs, buttons, earrings, etc. My Friday afternoon class was Cardweaving with Sara Lamb. I had a headache during Sara's class but I still got the techniques under control by the end. I'm going to try setting up the cards with my inkle loom.




Saturday I took Vivian Hoxbro's Shadow Knitting class. It hadn't even considered it until I saw the workshop displays Wednesday night and saw Vivian walking around with the coolest shawls and sweaters. She was a wonderful teacher and a delightful person. I went right to the market and bought Domino Knitting and will get Shadow Knitting as soon as it's published. We made a little square with a shadow heart and she gave us patterns for another square (so we can make a little purse) and a hat and scarf set. The top picture shows you the square shot straight on. The bottom picture is the same square shot at a 45° angle.

I finished up my classes with Deb Menz's "Never Enough Color". After a crash course in color theory - Deb explained that we got a semester class in about 20 minutes - we went over basic dye formulas. Then we got to try our new knowledge on three strips of roving. Great class and great end to the retreat.

One of the coolest things was the spin in on Saturday night. More than 200 people in one room spinning and talking (with a few bottles of wine and blenders of margaritas!). The lighting was great for pictures and I forgot to change the setting to low light, but I tried to brighten them up enough that you could get the idea of how many people were there. Spin In 1 Spin In 2 Spin In 3 I didn't really get the whole depth of the room, so you'll just have to use your imagination!

Now to pack some winter woolies for Rhinebeck!

SOAR Report

Before I head off to Rhinebeck I better tell you all about SOAR.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first SOAR and will try to get back as often as possible, although it will be retreats only for awhile. I bought lots of silk or silk blends. I skipped Shadyside as I bought quite a bit from them this summer at Creative Strands. I hit Nancy Finn (Chasing Rainbows), The Silkworker (who sold out by Friday), Lambspun, and bought two gorgeous batts (1 lb. total) from Indigo Moon. I picked up some dyed Polwarth from The Rovings, a 4" weavette, Domino Knitting, a new niddy noddy, and some other things I can't remember.

My classes were all wonderful. I started out with Sharon Costello and made a cool felt necklace, but more importantly, I learned cool things like making frogs, buttons, earrings, etc. My Friday afternoon class was Cardweaving with Sara Lamb. I had a headache during Sara's class but I still got the techniques under control by the end. I'm going to try setting up the cards with my inkle loom.




Saturday I took Vivian Hoxbro's Shadow Knitting class. It hadn't even considered it until I saw the workshop displays Wednesday night and saw Vivian walking around with the coolest shawls and sweaters. She was a wonderful teacher and a delightful person. I went right to the market and bought Domino Knitting and will get Shadow Knitting as soon as it's published. We made a little square with a shadow heart and she gave us patterns for another square (so we can make a little purse) and a hat and scarf set. The top picture shows you the square shot straight on. The bottom picture is the same square shot at a 45° angle.

I finished up my classes with Deb Menz's "Never Enough Color". After a crash course in color theory - Deb explained that we got a semester class in about 20 minutes - we went over basic dye formulas. Then we got to try our new knowledge on three strips of roving. Great class and great end to the retreat.

One of the coolest things was the spin in on Saturday night. More than 200 people in one room spinning and talking (with a few bottles of wine and blenders of margaritas!). The lighting was great for pictures and I forgot to change the setting to low light, but I tried to brighten them up enough that you could get the idea of how many people were there. Spin In 1 Spin In 2 Spin In 3 I didn't really get the whole depth of the room, so you'll just have to use your imagination!

Now to pack some winter woolies for Rhinebeck!

Off to Soar

I'm heading off to SOAR tomorrow, as soon as school lets out. No jacket, no vest, but not to worry - I'm planning on having lots of fun and getting in a little shopping too!

Off to Soar

I'm heading off to SOAR tomorrow, as soon as school lets out. No jacket, no vest, but not to worry - I'm planning on having lots of fun and getting in a little shopping too!

What if I Get Lost in the Woods?

Would anyone ever find me if I was wearing this vest?

I really wanted to complete something new for SOAR and Rhinebeck (it's all Claudia's fault), so I brought out the vest I started in Sharon Costello's class this summer. It needed a little fulling and a lining. No problem, I had the perfect lining right there in my stash room. So I worked on it this afternoon and now it's almost dry.

BUT - I was worried it was a little too bright. So when all of my kids ended up being here for dinner, I brought them downstairs to see the drying vest. (There's nothing like your 20something kids to give you an honest opinion.)

"You're going to wear that?"
"Did you get a new job as a highway flag waver?"

I love it, they love it (just not for wearing), but it sure is bright! When I brought it back from class this summer, I mentioned that I didn't know if I would actually wear it. Carolyn suggested I line it, not sewing the shoulders, and put it on a rod to hang on the wall. Now that fall is making its appearance, it's looking more appealing. Maybe I'll wear it at SOAR, then take out the shoulder seams.

Actually, I do have new stuff for SOAR. I did a lot of sewing this weekend, but it's all pretty nondescript, but needed, stuff. Two pair of pants and five tops - black, navy, burgundy, hunter green.

I'll worry about Rhinebeck tomorrow.

What if I Get Lost in the Woods?

Would anyone ever find me if I was wearing this vest?

I really wanted to complete something new for SOAR and Rhinebeck (it's all Claudia's fault), so I brought out the vest I started in Sharon Costello's class this summer. It needed a little fulling and a lining. No problem, I had the perfect lining right there in my stash room. So I worked on it this afternoon and now it's almost dry.

BUT - I was worried it was a little too bright. So when all of my kids ended up being here for dinner, I brought them downstairs to see the drying vest. (There's nothing like your 20something kids to give you an honest opinion.)

"You're going to wear that?"
"Did you get a new job as a highway flag waver?"

I love it, they love it (just not for wearing), but it sure is bright! When I brought it back from class this summer, I mentioned that I didn't know if I would actually wear it. Carolyn suggested I line it, not sewing the shoulders, and put it on a rod to hang on the wall. Now that fall is making its appearance, it's looking more appealing. Maybe I'll wear it at SOAR, then take out the shoulder seams.

Actually, I do have new stuff for SOAR. I did a lot of sewing this weekend, but it's all pretty nondescript, but needed, stuff. Two pair of pants and five tops - black, navy, burgundy, hunter green.

I'll worry about Rhinebeck tomorrow.

Aw, Come On!

Catherine beat me to it, but I still have to rant. Handwoven wants to get the word out about weaving. So what do they choose as the ONE question they spent months formulating?

"Given the physical, psychological, spiritual, and meditative qualities of weaving, would you say it is the new Pilates? What health benefits have you received from weaving?"

Bah! Back to the sewing machine ......

Aw, Come On!

Catherine beat me to it, but I still have to rant. Handwoven wants to get the word out about weaving. So what do they choose as the ONE question they spent months formulating?

"Given the physical, psychological, spiritual, and meditative qualities of weaving, would you say it is the new Pilates? What health benefits have you received from weaving?"

Bah! Back to the sewing machine ......