A different fiber art

I had the great fun to join a couple of friends from my old workplace at the Sisters' Quilt Show today. They had been in previous years (they are quilters), but I had never gone. It was a good opportunity to catch up and see some beautiful work..

The first things that caught my eye, though were not quilts, but wood carvings. Absolutely stunning work:

 The different colors are primarily in the wood itself (except for the manes and tails, which were stained).

And then there were the quilts - I don't know how many there were, but they were everywhere. Hanging from buildings, many hundreds, I'm sure! Here's a sampling (with some detail shots):

I really love the starry night one - I'm contemplating (urged on by one of the friends I was with) doing a dye series based on fine art paintings. I currently have one color-way that is very popular (Water Lillies) that is based on the Monet painting. I need to search out some others.

Just before I left to hike back to my car (the traffic was really nuts, so I just parked about 1/2 mile from town and walked in), with the thunderheads building, we saw this lovely:

 Now there's a color-way! The lighter areas in the wings are actually a lovely butter yellow - the compliment of the flowers. I'll have to work on this one!

I have been knitting, and completed a shawlette by Romi Hill, her Maia from the Pleides e-book. I used some 2-ply merino superwash fingering weight yarn that I dyed. This shawl calls for knitting in beads. I didn't put them all in, and had a heck of a time finding the "right" ones, but the turquoise crystal beads that I used work very well, I think. They also give a really nice weight to the edge of the shawl. It was very easy to block - I just patted it out on a couple of towels - no pinning needed!!

I think I'm hooked on these little shawls (I'm working on another) - they're perfect for the ADD person that I am - highly visible progress and very fun to knit!

Unfortunately, the progress at the loom has stalled, but I'm working on getting unstuck...

I'm having internet constipation...

Which means that I can't upload pictures from home, and they're such a part of the story, you know!! I'll go down to Starbucks tomorrow and upload and catch up...

Promise...

Where does the time go?

When I last blogged, I was talking about moving, finding untold treasures, and knitting.

I'm still moving (a month later - moving a farm sucks...), still finding treasures, and haven't been knitting because I've been busy working, too (paychecks are a good thing...).

There have been fiberish happenings, however. Back in November, I was able to bring my Mom's 1970 Ashford Traditional wheel home. On the way home, it suffered a cracked hub, which I was finally able to fix. Glue and screws are wonderful things. This wheel also boasts an original Woolee Winder, along with a couple of extra bobbins, which is very cool.

This is important for the wheel to be functional, as it is vastly more portable than my Country Craftsman (which I really love). Since the High Desert Wool Growers' Fiber Market Day was 3/31, I needed to have it to spin on during the day. I have a booth there every year - it's usually fun, but this year, with moving, etc., it was more of a chore. I didn't replenish my yarn inventory, since I was reluctant to spend more than $500 on fiber and yarn, which most likely would get added to my stash, rather than purchased by someone else.

This year's booth was mainly filled with 8 oz. roving bumps of natural fleeces that I had processed by Creekside Fiber Mill in Lebanon, OR. They do a wonderful job, and I actually sold a couple.
The big sellers were weaving yarns from Mom's stash. I finally decided that I just couldn't see myself using them, and they needed to go. They were priced in the bargin basement, and I sold about half. I need to find homes for the rest (though LindaLou has put dibs on the linen...).

This year, there were lots of people, but not a lot of buyers. This validates my decision not to invest precious funds in additional inventory - the economy is NOT recovering...

But, after frantically trying find a drive band for the wheel (I was successful), I got a lot accomplished... I spun about 4 oz. of Dorset/Suffolk roving (and plied it Sunday) - it's beautiful. I got this from Becky, in a trade for a hat. Spun long-draw, on the smaller whorl of the flyer, this roving wanted to be yarn, and practically spun itself.

 I really love it, and have about 3 lbs. As some of you may know, things don't stay white in my house very long - I see this being dyed as complimentary yarns for other projects, since it's so white! Someone else likes it too - meet Art!

I'm getting the "Loom Room" set up - both looms, all the books, and fiber tools are here. I have turned the walk-in closet into fiber storage, with wire cubes holding the roving. I need some more cubes, I think...