Even the back...

of this needlefelted landscape is pretty. In fact I think I like it every bit as much as the front. Maybe more?

It's a little more impressionistic, a little less defined. Hmm, this would make a neat teacozy. Speaking of teacozies, I am working on the sample for a class I hope to teach. My biggest worry is making sure I have enough little sticks to use as a handle... and making sure they are not harboring six-legged visitors.

Soft Alpaca

Here is the alpaca project, a little wimple, or neckwarmer, in a funny lace pattern. I don't really knit lace, but it is an attempt. I sometimes come up with a different count than I should, so I know I have done something somewhere, but darned if I can find it. I don't dare rip back, don't know how on lace without losing it completely, so it will have some errors, but I will probably be the only one who knows that. My obsessive self wants to correct, but I am forcing it down. It will still serve to warm my neck, and look pretty. When I do the armwarmers, I will use a denser lace, that should make it easier to see errors and rip back. I will let myself be a little o-c with those.

Too cute!

Not too much to show, but I thought these two were cute enough to make up for the lack of fiber...

Mmmm, Fiber!

So the power outage in my studio had one good result... I spun up one of the fleeces I got at Montpelier. A beautiful chestnut cria hogget, it spun like a dream, just an easy singles, spun a little tightly to ply. It is about 1000 yds per pound, and about 10-12 tpi on average. I have found a beautiful wimple pattern, and may have enough left to make fingerless gloves.

Today I spent several hours at G Street working on the needlefelting attachment. I did a sampler, and a landscape. Gee, the back of the landscape is beautiful! Bernina's attachment fits on any of the newer machines, it simply has to have a wire thread guide, the metal hook kind doesn't let it attach well. It works like a champ, much easier than the very lightweight felting machine I tried at a friends house, I can't remember the brand, but it was a whole machine that cost roughly the same as the attachment for Bernina. Having a heavyweight, mostly steel interior really makes the Bernina easier to use. I haven't tried them all, but will write my opinions as I do. I am so strongly pro Bernina, I won't ever buy another brand, unless it is an antique. The DC motor powers through everything. Okay, no more free ads for Bernina, but I do love them.

The sampler and landscape both have a variety of fabrics on a felt background. I used silk, nylon, cotton, poly taffeta and organza. Even a tissue lame! I could learn to love this!

Since I now have power in my studio ( a short in the light fixture in the hall), it is time to take the tower of stuff off my cutting table and reorganize my studio. Again.

In other news, my Marine son is currently living in a villa (very small) in Clark Airfield PI, manning the satellites in pursuit of bad guys. You go, Josh! Meghan is slogging along in retail, persisting in paying off her debts and hoping to go to design school when she is flush. More power to you Meg, you make me proud!

Homecoming

I went to the US Naval Academy's homecoming this weekend... they didn't fare so well against Pitt. The score was 42 to 21. But I keep it all in perspective by remembering that there are no free rides at the Academy, high GPAs and no reduced class loads during the season. I know a couple of the Pitt ball players will go on to play pro ball, but most will go on to sell used cars or some other ordinary job. Every one of the Navy players will be driving one of these! Doesn't feel so bad now...

Share the Chance

Oh boy, Kris Hubick is having a fantastic giveaway on her blog. Lots of goodies, lots and lots! Visit her here, and see for yourself!

Aren't my little guys cute? They look so innocent... don't believe it! Last night between 1030 (when I went to bed) and 0200 (when I think I finally got to sleep) they ran around, sounding like a whole herd of rhinos, and leaping onto the windowseat, then onto the bed (and me) around the room, down the stairs, around the kitchen and living room, and back upstairs. Aack! Today at work will be a long one!

The Weekend

Oh a good weekend, a fun weekend, a productive weekend! Besides a little housecleaning, I just concentrated on carding and spinning one of the alpaca fleeces I bought at the sheepdog trials. I took the smaller, cria, fleece, 20 oz. I got it all carded on my Louet mini roving carder, and spun up about half of it. Maybe a little more. It was so warm and balmy outside that I did alot of the carding and all of the spinning outside, helped of course by my 2 funny kitties. I am spinning a pretty fine yarn that I will ply with itself to use in a shawl or maybe a hood/wimple. I am ready to start on the second bobbin, and hope to finish it over this week. It is so soft, I spun it with a medium draw, semiworsted style. Oh it is lovely I tell you, lovely!

Color color color!

Oh I do like color! This is a bag from the new book out, Exploring the Latest Trends in Mixed Media Art, authored by 4 women from my yahoo group New Techniques in Mixed Media. The little beady things are scissors fobs, I made a bunch and brought them into work ( G Street Fabrics) so we can all sport blingy scissors. Fun!

My studio currently has no power, so this weekend will be a spinning and weaving weekend I think, The electrician will be out next week. Ugh. Oh, getting pics of the bag was tough... both cats were fascinated!

Working Woolies!

This weekend is the Montpelier Sheepdog trials, and accompanying fiber fest.... love those puppies! I got my bordercollie fix, and will last a while now! It was mostly novices that were running while I was there, and those youngsters were entertaining. By 4:30 the sheep were pretty fed up with the whole thing, and were not easy to run. The last dog I saw run was half bordercollie, half bearded collie... imagine a bearded coat on a border body! I came home with 2 alpaca fleeces, one cria, one yearling. They are lovely, one a rose grey, the other a red and charcoal, my cats were fascinated by them. I also contracted for two icelandic sheep fleeces. They will be shorn at the end of October. They are cute puffballs, both will be hoggets (first shearing) and softer than the usual icelandic. Ah, a good weekend all together! My project for the fall is to spin all four fleeces, then in the spring or summer to build a warp weighted loom. Perhaps I can weave on it by fall. My first project will be a rectangular shawl, who knows after that.