Fiber Fusion 2014

Normally I don't *love* the antique machines.
This one, however,... stunning. 

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend.

This weekend marked the fourth annual Fiber Fusion NW, where fiber producers, dyers, knitters and makers-of-awesome-things all get together in little old Monroe, WA for a weekend of fibery goodness. There are judged competitions for raw fleeces and finished hand goods, and a huge marketplace for all of the above.

All in all, it's a wonderful event, and it draws a large crowd- I think this is my second year attending, and it seemed to be much bigger than the previous year. I also found out that there are two spinning guilds in the area- not just the one, like I'd thought. So, I've gone form hemming and hawing about whether or not I should join a guild, to which one should I join? Oh, the problems I have. (Eye roll)

The highlights of my day at the event were the Fleece Judging (Judged by Amy Wolf) and a class I took called "Beyond Braids: Color Ply with Hand-dyed Fiber" taught by Taryn Winegardner of Fiber Haven. This was some seriously good stuff; the class recap will likely be its own post altogether. If you're into fiber stuff, and want to learn a thing or two, see if you can find an open judged wool show in your area. (In the mean time, check out this free Craftsy class called Know Your Wool!) I know our county fair had one as well, but I missed it. Anyway, I learned SO MUCH in the couple of hours that I spent watching the judging- in fact, I didn't realize how much time had actually passed, I was so caught up in what she was saying. Fantastic!

Then there was the vendor area...and the fleece sale... making yarn isn't an inexpensive hobby. I did manage to show some restraint, however, and came home with a new braid of Huckleberry Knits hand-dyed roving (the colorway is called Allegretto" and it's the blues, greens and purples of a peacock's tail), a nice big bump of a heathered silvery-gray super soft Romney roving, and -get this- a second place winning fleece from the show. I had no intention of buying a fleece, but in addition to being gorgeous, the price was impossible to walk away from. I mean, really. There was no way I could sleep at night if I hadn't brought it home with me.

And last, but not least, were the people. I forget sometimes that there's a huge community of folks like me out there who like to do things that the mainstream considers "old fashioned". I absolutely loathe crowds, but going to events like this is actually alright by me. There were so many people there, in every possible age bracket and demographic, all  getting along because they share the same love for fiber arts, and making beautiful things. (Next up is Madrona, in February!)

What did you do this weekend?

Shop Update: Two New Additions!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the quiet, but I've been busy cranking out some new yarn for the Etsy shop. Check it out when you have a chance!

Onward and Upward

Happy Monday, everyone! It's going to be a busy day here, so I'm going to keep this first post short, for now. I've decided to take the plunge and open up an Etsy store; my personal goal is to get at least 15 items photographed and listed today.

Photographing things like yarn can be challenging, at best. Indoor lighting adds color casts that need to be corrected, otherwise the actual product photo turns out quite different than the "real life version". So, I'm planning to spend my morning fiddling with lighting and staging so that I can get the photos just right.

So, that's the scoop for now. I'll keep you posted!

Hiatus

hi·a·tus  noun \hī-ˈā-təs\:  an interruption in time or continuity :  Break; especially :   a period of time when something (such as an activity or program) is stopped. (Courtesy of Merriam Webster online: www.m-w.com)

Well, hello there! I’m sorry for dropping off for a while, but the work-life balance went a bit sideways on me. Things haven’t quite leveled off yet, but I miss this space and it’s time to get organized again.

We’re into the time of year that many of us folks in the Pacific Northwest affectionately refer to as “the dark days”. For as long as our days are in the summer, they’re quite short going into winter: sunrise today was at 7:16 am and sunset will arrive at 4:30pm. This translates to a bit of fumbling around in the dark, both before and after work, when it comes to taking care of the chores outside.

It’s also the time of year where our weather turns… well… soggy. I was going to say unpredictable, but let’s be honest: we can pretty much count on it being wet. Hollywood likes to paint us a little rainier than we really are (fact: we get fewer inches of rain per year than New York City) but it’s not too far from the truth. We’re the Evergreen State for a reason, after all! Before you start to think I’m complaining, I have to say that I’ll take the damp over months of snow, any day.

In truth, I do love this time of year. When spring starts coming around, I end up packing away my “inside toys” and focus on everything outside. But once the clocks change, I settle in and it’s all about making things. I’ve been spending quite a bit of time sitting by the fire with my spinning wheel these past few weeks; hands down it’s one of the most soothing hobbies I have, and definitely a favorite. Spinning is art, science and music all rolled into one happy little woolly package... so much fun! Spinners, you know what I mean.

If you don’t spin, but enjoy making things, I highly recommend giving it a shot. There are lots of (Free!) resources available on the internet to get you started, and a basic spindle is super easy to make. When I first was looking into spinning, I made my own spindle because I didn’t want to fork out the money for something I wasn’t sure I’d like. Now that I think about it, I’ll do a post on how to make a starter spindle, if anyone’s interested.

What do you do to get you through your ‘dark days’ of winter?