SOCKS, ETC!

There were socks at 'sock it to me'!
Handspun yes!
Cheeto socks!
First pair of socks.
Socks on feet!
These two frames are from handspun, natural dyes for color used by re-enactment actor!
Socks from roving that has been split to give color range.
Lovely soft socks!
and then there were handspun scarves. This one from luxury fiber.
Needle felted finger puppets!
Handspun silk from friend's stash.
Sweater from handspun wool.
Nuno felt scarf!

Happy Days!!!

Smiling faces showing their finished projects.
One of the spinning circles.
Another wearer of lovely handwork.
circular shawl--out of print pattern--Christmas gift from sister--don't you wish for that sister?!
Art yarn spinner from Sarasota, FL.
Industrious spinners at their vendor booth (Skyloom Weavers).
Wearing a Twisted Sisters pattern shawl.
Tonni looking great in her lovely knitted shawl.
Fran, not only wearing a smile, but handspun silk crochet necklace.
Melissa with a happy face!
Char, from Illinois, showing off her illusion pattern knitted sweater.
Cheryl, from Oregon, showing off her Nuro sock yarn knit shawl.

It's ALL About the People!

What a fun group January Spin-in attendees are!! The venue is open, vendors bring fiber, attendees bring the laughter and fun! So, this week has been all about the people and the wonderful things they create.











more photos tomorrow!

Spin-in--'Sock It To Me'!!!

It's the beginning of our 22nd January spin-in--lots of spinners, vendors with wonderful fibers, visiting with friends, learning new techniques and just plain having fun. Donated door prizes from participants fill the table and spill over under and out around the table. And then there was the fiber!

Treadling away!

About two years ago, a fellow spinner friend gave me several small bags of lovely dyed cotton fiber that came from the textile mill at Texas Tech. These dyed fibers were an experiment for TT and they turned out beautifully. The fiber rested nicely and then it was time to spin them--aging had been appropriate time! Okay, so the fibers had been spun and there was another resting period--actually, they needed to tell me what to make and finally, it came to me when I saw Kris Knits beach patterns. Perfect!! So, taking needles to spun 4 ply yarn, these washcloths were created. They were fun to knit and now, this bundle of cloths will be presented to the person who started the process in the first place.

Bloomin' Garden

This post does not center around a garden theme. No, but by far, the hardest Bloomin' thing that these hands have ever accomplished! And many lessons were learned along the way. Stumbling through the internet is a favorite pastime and finding interesting and unique happenings is the highlight of this journey. Coming across the website Bloomin Workshop , the eyes feasted upon a free quilt-along. Now, how could one resist this opportunity to quilt along with one of the best? Of course, it was easy to jump on this bandwagon as it was year long process and project. Anita would supply the pattern idea each month and participants would just sew up their blocks to create a finished quilt by year's end. The project was a Medallion quilt--something new to learn and anticipate each month.
Okay, here is how you begin. Find your center medallion block. It must be 12.5"--well, that should be an easy task, but which block to make? It needs to be quite the focal point. Here is the block that was decided upon:
The first few sew arounds went along fine and dandy. Then one month slipped by and another and guess what, you are off schedule and there is the need to hurry to catch up with the group's progress. Chug, chug along is what this one was being called after a few months work. Stretch...... fit those blocks around the best you can. Then there was the month when there were bias blocks, lots of bias blocks and if you have to ripe (as in this case two times) the bias becomes slightly off--well, actually, big time off!
Finally, yes, finally, the whole was complete and bundled off to the quilter. Out of sight, out of mind, right? NOT! The quilter is having a rough time getting the top to quilt--why, well, it's because of all those mistakes in measuring and bias riping. My advice to her--just take out what you can and make the best of the quilting. Well, she is a saint! There was no swearing, no cussing, and hopefully, no talking behind my back about this quilt.... whisper, whisper..did you hear about that one medallion quilt she made?

The final project was an experience and the quilt along or chug along (in my case) turned out pretty good--thanks to one good quilter! and hopefully, if and when another medallion quilt is considered, the quilter will not shy away and say "never more".