Sat and Sunday were a whirlwind. I was so lucky to have gotten some nice ribbons in the skein and garment competition!   I entered some skeins of handspun, my SAORI woven skirt and the shawl I wove in Atlanta, and a woven triangle scarf. I also entered the felted bag with locks I made last Spring! It was nice to get the pretty ribbons!!  I included a slideshow with the garments and skeins, and their ribbons.

It’s a special weekend because I get to see friends that are often only seen at shows!!  Things can get really crazy and it’s fun to have some time with friends.  I don’t get to see these folks enough, so I do really love these moments we all have together- even though they can be brief and sweaty hugs.. they are special.

Of course there was shopping and cute animals!!  We pet lots of sheep and scored some yummy fleeces!  I did quite well, and scored some amazing icelandic, fine wools, bfl/wensleydale, leicester longwool (both a beautiful grey and white) and some super LONG wensleydale!! I will be offering fleeces on the FB page for those who want my “shopping skills” but couldn’t make the event. If you are looking for something specific and I will check my loot and see if I can share!
Of course I picked up my yearly supply of beautiful fluffy mohair roving from Peavine Farm. This year I got 20 shimmering colors.. so you’ll see some new ethereal cloud batts in the shop soon!!

And NOW the Summer craze begins!! I am still going to be in Holland, teaching 2 workshops at the end of June, first few days in July!   Because things are so busy.. I’ve started dyeing, carding and spinning  to get ready for Stitches Midwest in August in Schaumburg. There are still spots left in my corespinning class on Thursday, so feel free to join in and spin if you’ll be in the area!!  My booth will be in the same place in the marketplace as well!  I look forward to seeing old customers and meeting new ones! I’ll have some new products and NEW patterns this year!! We are extra excited because Vithard Villumsen will be joining us this year at Stitches, so we’ll have his stitchmarkers for sale in the booth as well, along with his patterns (and some new ones) that he’s written for Jazzturtle Yarns!  Before we leave, Vithard will also be doing a Trunk show at Downtown Knits on Friday August 2nd, and teaching a couple classes early the next week! I will post the exact classes when they are solidified! Vithard will also be teaching at a LYS in the Chicagoland area when we are there as well!!

Before we leave for Stitches, we are teaching on the Friends and Fiberworks cruise to the Bahamas… and after Stitches we are heading to Quebec to teach at the Twiste Festival!   it’s going to be QUITE an August!!  Then we get home and I have 2 months to get ready for SAFF, while also going to teach in TAOS the first weekend in Oct!!  WOW!

With all that, there will be many updates in the shop!! I have some new product lines to share.. including 2 kinds of ROLAGS- textured art rolags for spinning funky yarns, and smooth lifesaver rolags, carded from ethereal mohair and sparkle in long colorstripes.  I have also opened a NEW shop for my Textile Couture! All the things I’ve “made” from my yarns and fibers can now be found here! I’ll be updating that shop as well this weekend with more SAORI woven bags!!

I’ll hope the weather is finally warm and the flowers are blooming where you are! Things are starting to heat up here! Let the summer begin!

The show itself was fantastic. It’s so great to see old customers and what they’ve created, and it’s just as great to meet new customers! This year the new items were the handwoven tote, market and project bags and the amazing garment patterns.  Everyone was so excited about the sweaters and the tailspun shawl.  Of course there was lots of yarn- bright tailspun, funky corespun, extreme twists and NakedSpun.. and lots of it went to new homes!

After Stitches South I spent a day weaving with Denise Prince, at her studio, HanDen Studio in PeachTree City.  Denise and another studio had a SAORI booth right next to mine at Stitches South. It was wonderful to watch all the new weavers sit down and fall in love with the loom that I am so in love with myself.   I splurged on some beautiful silk cone sets for a new project I’m working on and 2 pattern books. I can’t wait to start creating more garments from my woven cloth.

At the studio, Denise taught me how to wind my own warp, then thread the reed and heddles with the tabletop threader and cross holder, and then how to beam my own warp.  This was my “main” reason for coming to the studio and she is a great teacher.  She also taught me the 3 color clasp weft technique, which brings 3 colors into one weft pass.  It’s not surprising that my first warp would be my “soul” colors of violet, plum, royal blue, turquoise, teal, lavender and complementing colors. Denise was so lovely to let me dive into her precious silk stash- so the cloth I wove is almost 100% tussah silk! It has amazing drape and saturated colors.  I can’t wait to make it into a garment!

After I finished weaving my cloth I headed down to Florida for the SWAY Art Yarn Fest.  I was the most excited about this part of the trip, because not only was I teaching and vending, but I was going to get some good hang out and vacation time with some of my favorite girlfriends.  I picked up Heather in Tampa and we slept at my sister’s in St. Petersburg. She and her boyfriend took us for oysters and stone crab claws for lunch and we headed down to Sarasota.  We hung out and recharged at Deb’s amazing shop, Picasso’s Moon. It’s a mix of antiques and yarns and fibers all so beautiful.  If I was local, I would live there.

After some hang out time we went and picked up Lexi from the airport and went for oysters and drinks. Oysters were a theme of this vacation! I love Gulf Oysters and I think I topped 6dozen over the course of the week.  After a few drinks we said our goodnights and planned to meet in the morning.

The next day was our scheduled vacation day. We were all working so hard up to the event, it was a much needed stressfree day.  We had fun at the thrift stores- finding treasures and hilarity.

We spent time at the beach- There is something extra special about Siesta Key. The sand is fine and super white- voted one of the whitest beaches! The water flows from the Gulf and is warm- inviting for a dip.

We found lots and lots and LOTS of shells. Whole sanddollars and pieces of conch. When the tide was low there was a sandbar where we could just walk and swim and dive for the best shells we could see.

We went for frosty beach drinks that were strong and cold and fruity (and more oysters) then a trip to Deb’s shop and back to the beach.  That evening was spent with dinner at Deb’s fave local seafood joint (more oysters) and a few more drinks on the beach before bed.

Friday morning we had an early morning beach trip, and some post beach mini donuts (with yummy toppings like cheesecake, boston creme, peanutbutter and chocolate)

I then headed to the shop with Deb and spent the day blending fiber with an art hackle and blending board from MoonSong Ranch and an Ashford Wild Drum Carder. There were lots of interested folks that stopped by for the fun.

That evening there was a book signing and reception for the weekend’s event. We had a nice time visiting with new friends, and it was nice to see Arlene who had just arrived for the fun.

I got my “booth” set up as well during the reception. I had a table and Deb had given me some beautiful baskets and antlers to add dimension and layers to my display. I had yarns and batts and locks ready for people to spin the next day.

That night was a few more beach drinks and a few more oysters and then we were off to bed.  Saturday morning was raining, so no beach trip..   We headed right to the workshop where Lexi spent the day teaching.  There were more than 50 wheels in the room and everyone was eager to learn!

Saturday was the Leather and Lace auction as well. The yarns were auctioned off in lots of 2-3 yarns and each lot sold for more than $100!! In total more than $1000 was raised and the proceeds will support 3 sheep for a year at the Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Saturday evening it was chilly so no beach, but a few more drinks and oysters.  Then Sunday was one more awesome day of teaching. I brought out the new Majacraft Loom and Lexi taught a few more techniques. By the end of the day people were happy and tired and their eyes were twinkling with inspiration.
Sunday after class we made a B-Line for the beach one more time. We let the water wash away any last stress we’d been holding onto- knowing it was our last dip.  We had one more night of amazing food- the best we had had all weekend. We had one more evening of drinks- some excellent martini’s.  Then we had to say goodbye to our vacation, to the beach, to Panama Gary our local hilarious drunk guy….

And now I have 25 batts to card and send to Jolene for Maryland Sheep and Wool next week! Renee is coming from Chicago and we’re going to spend some good time with Arlene.  Then after Maryland I’ll have a huge update in the shop and will buckle down and write write write a couple projects I’m working on. And I’ll dive headfirst into this huge new endeavor I have planned.  SO many great things happening!! It was wonderful to have a few days to just relax with my favorite girls.

See everyone next week at Maryland Sheep and Wool festival!

The next weekend you’ll find me at the SWAY Art Yarn Fest and retreat in Sarasota Flordia! This is going to be a special weekend because it’s a creative get together with all my friends! I will be teaching wild fiber all day at Deb Lambert’s amazing yarn shop Picasso’s Moon. I’ll have a couple drum carders, blending boards and an art hackle to play with! Come have some fun and we’ll prep the fiber to spin during the weekend. Cost is $20 plus materials (feel free to bring your own fiber!)  Then Sat and Sunday is the main event with Lexi Boeger teaching and a bunch of wonderful vendors providing fiber and inspiration and also the Leather and Lace Challenge Auction! I will have some blending boards, batts and locks (including undyed extra long teeswater)  available too!

Then I’m home for a week to recover from what is going to be an eventful 2 weeks.. and then it’s off to the big one- Maryland Sheep and Wool! You can find me, and my yarns and fibers at the CloverHill Yarn Shop booth in the Main Barn! I will be at the booth on Sunday, and walking around the fest Saturday! I can’t wait to see everyone there!!

Getting all the fleeces into the car!

I love the Spring. It’s A LOT of work to prepare for, no doubt! But these festivals are where I get to see my friends and meet new ones. I get to meet customers and see what they’ve created with my fibers and yarns. I get to meet the sheep that provide me with my fibers and I get to stock up on wonderful fleeces..  and I get to enjoy this community that I love so much!!

I hope to see you at one of the fests this Spring! If not, I will be updating the shop when I get home with all NEW goodies including a bunch of new unannounced things I have in the works..
I hope the sun is shining where you are!

The first one on the schedule is coming up this April in Atlanta GA! I will be teaching my, Corespinning for Funk and Function workshop at Stitches South! I’m very excited because this is the first creative spinning workshop on the Stitches roster! I’ve gotten such a great response at my booth and so many people have asked me to teach, they are giving me a chance! SO- you asked for it, so please come spin with me this Spring!  You can sign up at the Stitches South website!   The bonus for this workshop will be added time spent on how to use these creative yarns and there will be patterns provided with samples available for discussion.

I will be attending the SWAY guild Art Yarn festival, the weekend of April 19-21. The tentative plan is for me to teach Wild Fiber on Thurs or Friday before the weekend portion of the event begins. I will post more as the details firm up.  Cost TBA, Students are  encouraged to bring fiber to use and share with the group.

Carding!

The next new workshop on the schedule is hosted by Dream Come True Farm and Pam Blasko! June 15 (Sat) I will be doing a full day Wild Fiber workshop! We’ll be carding creative batts on multiple drum carders, carding rolags on blending boards, and combing and pulling roving off an art hackle.  The next day is an optional Spin In where we will spin our prep’d fiber while sharing our tips and techniques in a communal learning setting.  Cost for the Wild Fiber day is $100 plus $25 for a catered lunch and dinner.  Spin In portion is free, but participants are encouraged to bring fiber to use and share with the group.  Spaces are limited, so get your registration in as soon as possible.

I am extremely giddy to be heading back to Holland so soon! The full details are yet to be worked out, but it looks like I will be giving 2 sessions- Friday June 28-Sunday June 30, and the second session beginning the evening of Sunday June 30 running through the next week.  I will post as things are confirmed, but I can’t wait to get back to my friends across the Pond!

I am thrilled to be heading up to our Northern Neighbors for the Twist Fiber Fest in Quebec, Aug 23-25.  Friday I will teach my full day, “If you Dream It You Can Spin It” class. This class is a more advanced creative spinning class that focuses on the process of yarn design, from prep all the way to your spin. I’ll also be teaching on Sat and Sunday 4 short half day workshops, including Tailspinning and Wild Fiber Prep.  I will post when registration opens and you can watch the Twist FB page for updates.

Also new on the calendar- Spinning to WEAVE at WeavinPlace SAORI Style!!  I
I am SO excited to be heading down to the Gulf Coast to do a fun workshop with a lovely SAORI Studio about an hour north of New Orleans in Folsom LA. This is a special THREE day workshop , Friday Nov 15 through Sunday Nov 17.
The first two days of the workshop will focus on creative fiber prep and spinning textural yarns that look especially spectacular woven. We will corespin and then add elements like elastic and wire to the cores, we will tailspin wild locky yarns,  we will spin loopy boucle and other funky plied yarns. On the third day we will take these yarns to the SAORI looms of the studio and teacher/host Jenny Pelc will lead a day of weaving instruction. We will see how these techniques work with these creative and textural yarns.  I will have the new Majacraft Dynamic Heddle Loom available for use as well.  Accommodations are available onsite.  Spaces are also limited so please see WeavinPlace for registration info.

I am working out the details for a workshop with Madison Wool in Madison CT for the early December. The focus will be on creative expressive weaving on all styles of looms. Participants are encouraged to bring a loom (RH is preferred, but triangle or rectangle will work) Date and cost is TBA

Finally the last new workshop is actually for next year! I have been booked to teach a 2.5 day workshop for the Tropcial Flordia Weavers Guild Annual Spring Conference, March 15-17 2014! This is a special comprehensive workshop called “The Journey Through Creative Spinning” and will be an inclusive workshop of creative fiber prep, and textural spinning techniques from corespin to tailspin, bobble to chain ply. Registration will open up next winter.

There are still spaces available on the Friends and Fiberworks Fantasy Fiber Cruise July 26-Aug 1. Registration has also opened up for the Carolina Fiber Fest! I’m teaching there all weekend!!    Of course I’ll be back at SAFF in the fall with some new workshops!!  I’ll keep everyone posted as details are confirmed.

Ayesta made a fantastic video highlighting the Holland workshop last summer. Check it out for a taste of the fun we have!!

This weekend we will celebrate it’s stay at Downtown Knits in Apex. Friday 3/1 from 6:30-9pm  and Sunday from 1-4pm feel free to come by with your needles or wheel and have some fun with us. I will be doing a mini trunk show with yarns and fibers available as well!!  And you know we’ll have some refreshments too.. because it’s not a party without something to nosh on!
If you can’t join us this weekend, the collection will be at the shop until March 8.  Be sure to shop by and check it out!

Downtown Knits is 122 N Salem Street, Apex NC