Stash Enhancement

Not that I need more fiber, but Great Lakes Fiber Festival gets me every time!

Ready-to-spin fiber:

Gradient Merino/silk top from Fiber Optic

Big Bundles and some spiffy sock yarn from Rivers Edge

And a Shetland lamb's fleece that I just couldn't resist. About a 6" staple, no weak tips, just enough lanolin to make it spin like buttah.....

Photos don't include the light blue, royal blue and red dyed flax top I found or the silk thread (200 yds per spool!) for plying.

We ran into (several times as a matter of fact) two friends from my guild, and Linda was also bitten by the same Shetland fleece vendor. Fred Maier has really nice fleeces. And now that I've let the cat out of the bag, you'll all run to his booth next year and buy him out before I can get there, right?

It was a beautiful weekend for fiber shopping and we all had lovely time.

Spring Flower Fever has struck!

I've been overjoyed at the spring flowers everywhere. Perhaps it's because the deer ate my hibiscus buds just before they bloomed, and 'trimmed' my rhododendroms severely this winter, but I NEED some color and scent this spring. My Easter azaleas (Husbeast and sons know that I love spring flowers and buy me some each Easter) are in the ground and have survived several frost warnings. A good friend brought me a bunch of blue hibiscus yesterday to cheer me after the deer damage to my own. And the one flower the deer don't seem to like for dinner are the wood violets that cover large portions of our lawn. So I went a little crazy in the studio last week and tried to reproduce some of my favorites, although I'm not quite sure how to mimic hibiscus flowers. Here's my results, available in my Etsy shop:

Wood Violets

 

Azaleas

And the thick 'n thin yarn spun from one of the batts, which will also appear in my Etsy shop as soon as I print a label with weight, suggested needle size, etc.

Azaleas yarn

And don't forget the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster, OH. Tomorrow, April 30, is the last day to sign up for workshops and there are some great classes this year.

Storms, new spinning fiber and teaching venue

What a lovely spring surprise we had this week! Wednesday evening we had some severe storms pass through and a tornado touched down about 50 miles away, destroying/damaging about 90 homes and the local high school. Twice, the storms brought hail to my house and rain puddles in the lawn where they shouldn't be because the rain came so fast and hard that the ground couldn't absorb it all. Photos of the front yard and outside my kitchen porch:



Just before the storms hit, the mailman delivered my Phatfiber contributors box. (If you're not familiar with Phatfiber sample boxes, click here.) The theme this month was Sweet Shop and it looks like all the contributors are definitely sweets lovers! These are my contributions (clockwise starting in the upper left)--Cherry Divinity, Peppermint Twist, Licorice Cherry Swirl and Lollipop Lollipop




And last, but by far not the least important news, I'm teaching at the Great Lakes Fiber Festival this year! Spinning a Consistent Singles is scheduled for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning we'll be working on Plying a Balanced Yarn. I love this show and have allowed myself time on Saturday morning to shop. Great vendors, lovely town, nice festival location, and really good lamb sandwiches! See you there?