A Great Time at TNNA!

WOW! What a great time I had in Columbus at the TNNA yarn & needleart market. There is always so much to see and nice people to connect with. This year I taught two classes...I was so excited. I did a flat needlefelting class in which the students made gift card holders.   The second class was sculpting with fiber. We made a Jack-o-lantern. They seemed to really enjoy the projects. I am already thinking to what I want to teach next year!

Of course what would be a yarn market without lots of yarn to look at. The trends this year seem to be migrating back to novelty yarns. Bling is also back but in subtle ways. The fashion show was amazing! Fitted garments are still the trend. The evening gown was stunning.

I took some classes too. One on dyeing....look for a workshop on this before summer is over. I talked extensively with Schacht Spindle, the company I bought the Cricket Looms from. There will be workshops offerred for this as well...coming soon.

We are going to be closed for a much needed vacation July 4-7th. We will reopen on July 11th as usual....Happy Fourth of July!

Tunisian crochet

Hello,





Well, once again I have gotten behind in my writing...oh how time flies. Since my last post about TNNA I have been doing Tunisian Crochet. It was something I learned there last year. It has finally caught on at the shop and two weekends ago I held two classes. It is such a fun and easy technique. One lady I have spoken with from the class already has her scarf done. I will be holding more classes on this technique and posting some pictures of projects you can do with it.

This past weekend I was able to attend the Pittsburgh Knit and crochet festival. It is always energizing to see so many beautiful yarns and fibers! It was exciting so see new funky and glitter yarns. Those who know me, know I love to glitz it up! I had the pleasure of meeing Steven Berg from the Yarn Garage! What energy.....I am currently working on a project using Plymouth Yarn's Joy Prism. What fun....it's like knitting with a ribbon instead of a yarn but it is very easy. I can't wait to show off the finished product. I was pleased to meet a lady who does really cool things with the continuous weaving method. This is something I do and you have seen the looms in the shop. The pieces were very wearable and stylish! Of course there were so many yarns....and yarns....and yarns....of every kind and color! My head is just spinning right now as so many projects are going through my head. Look for some of these new yarns and projects to show up at the shop!!!!

New Things From TNNA

I had such a good time at TNNA in Columbus, OH. There was so much to see and so many different kinds and colors of yarns!!! I took some really great classes and met some awesome people. Deciding what not to buy was the big question. I had my list and started down each aisle. I did pretty good until I hit aisle three. My list suddenly got longer as I took in all there was to see. By the end of the first day I was exhausted and my mind was on overload! When I got back to my room I laid everything out on my bed and sorted what I had done and what I still wanted to do the next day. I am happy to say that I did not go overboard but there will be plenty of new yarn and rovings to look at over the next few months. I am looking at stocking looms and spinning wheels in the fall. If you have an opinion on this I would love to hear it. It has been awhile since I designed a new Baltimore Album in wool so have been working on that. There will be some in wool applique and I am trying some in needlefelting to see how that will look. I am excited and have only just a short time to get so much done before returning to my teaching responsibilities in at the end of August!

Weaving & Spinning

I have been working hard to finish this shawl I have had on the loom for several weeks. They are all a good idea when you start but about 3/4 of the way through you begin to wonder "why did I start this project". It will be beautiful once off and I am so close to putting on the fringe. I have been spinning for a new shawl and am eager to try this new idea. I am finally using the new Clemes spinning wheel I bought at the first of the year. It has a very Large Jumbo Flyer & bobbin and I am using it to ply my singles together. It is working great. Of course I am also trying to clean and throw out stuff...but get side tracked with creating!!! Well off for some more cleaning!

My Pillow Weaving

Hi,

Well my pillow did not get finished but wanted to share a picture of the top anyway. I have always wanted to try this weaving with fabric. I used my felt and just started cutting. This is a patriotic time of year so wanted to do something red, white and blue. You will find it on the porch in one of our new lawn chairs. Stop by and see the collection and enjoy some time chatting on the porch. We have a lovely space hear. Yesterday we were watching the chipmonks scurry around and we have a mother bird with babies in a nest in the rafters of the porch. She was not happy that we were setting there and could not get back to her babies! Well on to finish my Forget me not Pillow.

Happy Creating!

Sheep

Greetings!

Well, it has been a long hard winter! I can not believe it has been this long since my last post. But it is finally starting to look like spring is coming. Many things have been happening in the shop...more yarn...more projects...and a nice new look inside. I will be posting some pictures in the coming days.

For Christmas I asked for a sheep...one that was easy to take care of. I wanted a wood carving of one for outside the shop. So in January when the weather broke we got the log to the man who make carvings using his chain saws. Finally two weeks ago we picked it up. I think it is really CUTE!!! Dresses up the place a bit. Check it out...

Bag Pattern

Well I have done it! My Classy Bag pattern is finally done and ready to print.

I have learned alot about using a digital camera and publisher in this process. I will be debuting it at the Chautauqua Quilt show this weekend. It has been a stressful couple of weeks but after this weekend I hope to get back to the creative side. There is a fiber and quilt show in Meadville in October and I want to showcase some new fiber items. I hope that you will stop by my booth at Chautauqua. I am in the Hotel lobby...so you can't miss me. It will be a great weekend with Eleanor Burns coming as the main speaker. So I am off to finish some things and I will talk to you after the show!

Anita

Spinning & Weaving!

I can't believe how fast the summer is going now. Soon I will have to think about going back to my full time job of teaching at the University...no more playing for awhile then. And playing I have been doing. I wiped the dust off the spinning wheels and have been trying my hand at some chunky spun yarn. What fun I have had doing this. I dyed a whole fleece into three different colorways and getting ready to spin up some for the next scarf I am making. I also purchased a new rectangel loom. After several trials to get going I finished my first one. Check it out:

I have another one on the loom and am spinning some wool and silk to make another one. They really do up pretty quickly. I am surprised but I like it. Well off to finish knitting a purse that needs felted for a class project. More to come later!