Alive

Ok....so today I may our (Threads of Kindness) quarterly delivery to the Alive residence.  What a wonderful welcome and so appreciative for everything we do.  Thank you to all the wonderful women who give their time, patience and care to make these precious gifts.   If there is anyone reading this who is not already involved in this charitable group, please let me know and I would be glad to add you our list of great women.  The link above is our ravelry group, join and start knitting....we would love to grow as the need is so great.

Fibre Salad

Ok....so this weekend I attended "Hands on Color: Fibre Salad", a spinning workshop by Lynne Vogel.  So much fun was had by all ( I think)....I know it was by me.  We were at the DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, TN.  Upon signing up, my goals were to learn a couple of spinning techniques; spinning from the fold, long draw and spiral plying....I was successful, but didn't realize how much more I would walk away with.  Learned so much about fibre, so new techniques, solidified what I knew, met great people and saw so much creativity at work.  Was a good (and non-technical) break. 

Just a few pictures of people and fibres.  Just gives a whole new meaning to traveling wheels.

This is what happens to spinners after sitting at a wheel all day....need to rest your back while checking your email.  Sorry Jan, but I LOVE this picture....

DuBose was beautiful and we had great weather. I did get so sit outside to knit a bit and the grounds were quite pretty.

The circle of sharing...

Reminder to come out to see Jan and I at the Middle Tennessee Festival this weekend....

Odds and Ends

Ok....so the weather has broken and with it, the cicadas are active in my yard for the first time this year.  Perhaps I'm lucky they're just coming now, or maybe unlucky that they're just coming out now.  Either way...they're noisy and flitting about.






I'm getting ready for the Middle Tennessee Sheep, Wool and Fiber Festival in Dickson, TN May 27th and 28th.  This will be a first for me and certainly for the new Blue Leaf Arts.  I'll be sharing a booth with Jan, Daily Fibers and looking forward to having a great time, meeting new people and visiting with old friends.  Come out and see us.




I have also finished another hank of beaded yarn.

Also, I'm going to be taking a class from Lynne Vogel called Hands on Color this weekend, that I'm really looking forward too.  New spinning techniques, fibres and people....yippppeeee!!!  More to come.

Well, it happened, I finally finished the linen stitch scarf out of mini mochi.  Now I loved doing the first one and finished it fairly quickly, so I thought, why not do it again....why not indeed....omg...I started this September with the intention that it would be a great project while on vacation last fall.  I've been slowly knitting on it ever since.  I finally just decided it was wide enough and put it out of my misery.  It turned out beautiful, don't get me wrong, but enough tiny linen stitch for now.  I remember working on it in Garden City, NY while sitting outside, drinking a starbucks, waiting for Kathleen.  Two children (Bella and Henry) were so fascinated they sat with me and we chatted the entire time.  What a great day and a great memory with this scarf. 

Lastly, I have a photo of the charms for my finished work for blue leaf arts.  Let me know what you think.

See you at the festival.

Back to Knitting

Ok....so I do knit.  I know you think I don't anymore...that I just spin, but I do.  Here is the proof.  And a little spinning as well. 

The first is a small scarf from Malabrigo sock yarn...love this stuff.  Beautiful colorways and so soft.

The second is a great and unusual pattern by Teva Durham that was fun and turned out great.  Love the bulky look and feel.  Also, the Berroco Campus yarn is so beautiful...black, brown, beige, white and gray...lovely.

The Birth of blue leaf arts

Ok....here it is, blue leaf arts is the name I'll be selling handmade, handspun products under.  I'm working on getting the details taken care of, but having the name and logo is a big step for me....huge considering how long it took to hatch this one.  I have also added a tab to the blog which will soon be active for announcements.


I have started the etsy shop although there is nothing posted there yet, but here is the link http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueLeafArts?ref=pr_shop

Also, Daily Fibers (Jan) and I will be sharing a booth at the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival the last weekend in May.  Check it out.  We’ll have handdyed BFL (regular, dark and mixed), Merino, some sock blend, some locks and sock yarn AND handwoven shawls, scarves, beautiful cards and handspun yarns!

So, I would love your feedback...

Swirling Into Mother's Day

Ok....so I made it clear that Mum was here for a few days...my how they fly.  We've been going, going, going....but such nice weather (although we're back to summer now, no more spring for us) and so many groovy things to do.  If you get a chance to check out the TACA Spring Arts and Crafts Fair do...really great as usual.  Yesterday we visited the Franklin Farmer's Market....one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning.  Today, after yard work, we're resting.  I gave Mum a break and she's napping....poor thing.  This visit has been amazing as they always are. 

The clinker is that the water heater exploded into the garage yesterday and is now off.  Will be calling the little man tomorrow to come have a look.  Pray that it's not too bad.  I tried to get Paco to look at it, but he just shook his head when he saw what I was asking.  It's a good thing he makes a killer margarita.

So, off to relax with Mum.  Hope all you Mum's out there are having a great day....you all deserve it more than we can show.  I love you, Mum.

PS....some gorgeous natural fibre from Gale's Art. 

Announcement

Ok....Mum's here.  That's it.  Yipppeeee!  Tonight is a facial with Cyd and Korean dinner.  More adventure to follow.

Spinning Myself Sane

Ok.....so not really, but it sounded good on paper.  I've been doing a little spinning and a lot more knitting, which has been great.  So much wonderful fibre and not nearly enough time.  Here are a few new handspuns for a dreary day....

The first is spun from a batt made by Jazzturtle.  I blended part with a blue mohair and another part with just a simple yellow cotton.  Two very different results that I think will compliment each other.

Next comes a really interesting Salmon and brown mixed BFL from Daily Fibers Jan.  I was sort of taken with the colors but not sure that they would ply together well.  And, once again I was wrong.  The hank turned out beautiful and so very soft.  Lovely addition.

So this next hank was something I kept calling mallard duck....great fall colors that reminded me of a duck.  Now not so much....not sure what I was thinking at the time.  I decided to spin it very thin and ply with a rayon that seems to be bringing out the color.  The fibre is merino...soft, lovely merino.  I have a lot of yardage of this one, so I'm rolling around what I can knit with it....what fun.