I’ve been playing with making color palettes from random photographs. This one ended up on a colorway that I called Pink Agate (although the more I compare the picture with the crystals I have, this looks more like a Rhodocrosite):
50/50 Merino Silk Blend
This is silk chiffon dyed for the feltmakers in mind.
Hand Dyed Silk Chiffon
They are both listed in my shop now for purchase ; )
I’m a few days late, but nonetheless here is my March desktop calendar. Better late than never, right?
To download it, click on the image and go from there. Happy March!
Thank you to everyone that participated in my giveaway! My favorite part was reading your wonderful comments. You guys are cool! To choose the winner I used Randon.org. And the winner is:
Number 187! Congratulations at55plus! I will be contacting soon you regarding you mailing address.
The weather was in fact wonderful! Whew! I was nervous about having a rainy and cold day, but the day was sunny with a nice warmth during the day and afternoon. We received visitors of all ages and from all over the Bay Area. One of the most fun aspects of doing these fairs is meeting people that support handmade, but not necessarily know much about fiber, so they come up with the most interesting questions.
I really love these ceramic coffee mugs made by Dana Hooper.
Ceramic bowls by Marlie DeSwart
I have one more show to go. The next show will be held in San Francisco at the Bazaar Bizarre at the Concourse Exhibition Center. More info to come…
And the quote of the day:
I want to share a few pictures of my samples for next month. I’m excited because I haven’t been contributing to the Phat Fiber Box for the past two months and also because I’m sending samples of my Teeswater Combed Top which is a new fiber in my shop.
Spinning Teeswater is like spinning Wensleydale. The staple length is usually about 6 to 7 inches long for the combed top, as for the locks, they measure between 10 to 12 inches long and sometimes even longer than that. The top has a softer handle than Wensleydale, and much similar to the silkiness of Mohair.
And so, the theme for the month of September will be “Enchanted Forest” and the name of my colorway is “Forest Path”. I tried to recreate the colors of the Douglas Fir and Redwoods that grow around my area up in the mountains.
If you don’t know how to get hold of a box, you can sign up here: Phat Fiber Box, and you will be notified when the boxes will go on sale. If you don’t know about the boxes and you would like more information, go here: Phat Fiber Samples
Is funny, I have a lot to share and I just don’t know how to start. How about with some pictures of my roses.
I never get enough of them.
And this is how 1,500 yards of hand spun yarn looks like:
This is a custom order for a client in Texas. I finally mailed it yesterday and I’m praying that she would like it as much as I do. The fiber was wonderful to work with. Polwarth has that “je ne se quoi” difficult to describe. It has a softness similar to merino, but seems to be design to withstand tougher wear. Polwarth is a cross of 75 percent Saxon Merino and 25 percent Lincoln. The breed comes from Victoria, Australia and it was developed about 100 years ago.
I have to be very careful when I handle wet warm Polwarth roving, because it tends to felt easily, however, I haven’t done any nuno felting with it. Maybe my next felting project will be with Polwarth.
Finally I would like to share a little video that I made with some still photos of the Tug of War that happens every year in my town. Enjoy it…
My new fibers haven’t had a chance to get posted here. Since… 3 weeks ago? The list is going to be long!Remember if you are interested on any the fibers, click at the picture to get redirected to my shop.
Too Darn Hot ☀ 100% Corridale
Urban Myth - Blue Face Leicester
This is a color that I like to repeat once in a while.
Sweet Dreams ~ 100% Blue Face Leicester
Blue Face Leicester is my new favorite fiber to spin with. It is very soft and very easy to spin with.
Labyrinth - 50% Merino, 25% Bamboo, 25 % Tussah Silk
This is a new blend for my shop. This is really nice stuff!
Gold Rush ~ 50% Merino, 25% Bamboo, 25% Tussah silk
Great fiber to felt with.
Sea Song ~ Blue Face Leicester
Autunno ~ 50% Superwash Merino, 50% Tencel
This fiber is very soft and drafts so easy.
Infinity ~ Blue Face Leicester
Summer Rain ~ 50% Superwash Merino, 50% Tencel
Secret Garden ~ Blue Face Leicester
Flaming Heart ~ 100% Corridale
Eclipse ~ 100% Corridale
Green Tea ~ 100% Wensleydale
Green Tea Sold
Robin's Nest ~ 50% Merino, 25% Bamboo, 25% Tussah Silk
Wild Carrots ~ 100% Merino
Wild Carrots. Sold
Mushroom Hunting
Tropical Storm ~ 50% Merino, 25% Bamboo, 25% Tussah Silk
Birth of Venus - 100% Wensleydale
Birth of Venus. Sold
I said it was going to be long!
“The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.”
~Rumi quote
Oh well, when was the last time I posted something on my blog? Last week? It has been busy. And when Keith has one those diverticulitis flare ups, everything else goes on hold. He has to go into a liquid diet until he feels better. And for me, I get a bit anxious. Just because last year he spent nine painful days at the hospital. Pretty scary stuff! But meanwhile, I was able to finish my socks! My very first pair of socks!
I’m not that trilled with my choice of colors, but that’s what I had available at that time. The heel flap came out a bit longer, but I will know what to do next time. I’m looking forward knitting another pair, but this time will be with superwash wool; something that I will be able to trow in the washing machine without worry that it will shrink.
This month I’m participating again on the Phat Fiber Box Sample and the theme for this month is Ocean. I got so inspired by the idea, that I started playing with blues. Blue is a color that I don’t tend to work with a lot. I feel more comfortable working with reds and browns. But the little blue bug got me and I started dyeing some fibers and yarn in blues.
Oops! It seems that my drying rack is collapsing. Any way. So, for my samples I’m using local wool that I got from Cherry Ridge Farm in Sebastopol. The wool is such a pleasure to work with. Beautiful Corridale with a staple of about 8 inches without even pulling the curl! And so soft! I’m having a good time dyeing it and carding it.
I also add some Mohair curls that I got from the same farm. And of course, some sparkle. Angelina Fiber in blues (yes, more blue) and some Firestar Fiber.
I was able to get batts of about 3 oz each.
And here are my final samples! Ready to be mailed!
