I am very excited about some upcoming fiber events here in Maine that I plan to attend. Perhaps I will see you at one or all of them too.
The first one is the 14th Annual Maine Fiber Frolic. The Frolic is scheduled for June 7th & 8th from 9 am to 4 pm at the Windsor Fairgrounds, Rt. 32, Windsor, Maine. There is an extensive list of workshops to participate in and the vendors are extensive. The event is rain or shine. I have only attended it one weekend and it rained both days, but we (my sister and I) still had a great time. I took some weaving classes that weekend, purchased some amazing fibers and mingled with furry, four-legged creatures.
The next one I plan to attend is the 1st Annual Maine Alpaca Experience. Obviously, since it is the first one, I haven't attended it before. It is scheduled for June 21st, from 10 am to 5 pm at the Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm, 141 Crosby Brook Rd., Unity, Maine. There will be lots of cuddly critters, seminars, tours, and more. I'm not sure what "more" is, but I know that they sell their products, so most likely you can bring home something fabulous!
Are you planning on attending either of these events? Are there other Maine fiber events that you are excited about? Please leave a comment about events you are excited about. Maybe I will see you there :)
Still Yarn Crazy!
Friday, May 30, 2014
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Cough, Ouch, Cough, OUCH!
I have caught some type of creeping crude and it is roosting in my lungs. It has been plaguing me for a week and half so far and every time I feel like it might be getting better, it lets me know that it has some kind of Vulcan death grip on my lungs. (If you are a Star Trek fan and I have in some way attributed the death grip to the wrong alien culture, tune in to reality.)
Last week I coughed so hard I pulled the muscles in my right side. The pharmacy Angel (that's how I will always see her now) recommended cough syrup with codeine and it seemed to help at night and the muscles are hurting a little less. BUT, I don't want to get to dependent on the stuff, so last night I didn't take it. About 3 am I pulled the muscles in my lower left abdomen while coughing and gasping for breath. So I am not responsible for the codeine influenced content of this blog.
I have missed far too much time from work because of this crap. I haven't felt like working on much of anything for crafts, or doing much of anything, for that matter. I just can't maintain focus. What I really want is for this respiratory infection to be completely gone by Tuesday morning so that I can go to work and do my job. I am willing to give the rest of today and Memorial day over to the illness to mess with me, but that's it. Enough is enough.
Three paragraphs of whining later...
I finally reintroduced myself to my Ashford Traditional this weekend. It has been longer than I can remember since I actually spun on it. Friday, I pulled it out, dusted it, oiled it and apologized for the neglect. A long time ago, I had started spinning some fiber that was not so good, but it was free and there was a lot of it so I just kept telling myself to stick to it and turn it into something good. Well, that mindset wouldn't let me put anything else on the wheel, but I didn't like what was on it so I didn't spin it. My very wise and beautiful friend, Melody, told me life is to short to knit with bad yarn. I feel she would be fine with me extending that sentiment to spinning and fiber.
Out with the bad fiber and in with heavenly spinning in the form of HaldeCraft Pencil Roving in the weathered wood colorway. 4 oz. of BFL that almost spins itself. I spun for 30 minutes on Friday and for 45 minutes on Saturday. I am hoping that I can incrementally work my way out of my ADD Crafting Funk. That isn't a professional diagnosis. Simply my personal observation. Perhaps there should be some proof of this purported spinning:
Even though the spinning wheel was neglected for too long, I have been spinning on a few spindles during this ADD Crafting Funk. Actually, spindles are one of my favorite take-along projects. Unfortunately, I rarely finish spinning what I have on my collection of spindles. Sounds like the focus for another post.
Still Yarn Crazy!
Last week I coughed so hard I pulled the muscles in my right side. The pharmacy Angel (that's how I will always see her now) recommended cough syrup with codeine and it seemed to help at night and the muscles are hurting a little less. BUT, I don't want to get to dependent on the stuff, so last night I didn't take it. About 3 am I pulled the muscles in my lower left abdomen while coughing and gasping for breath. So I am not responsible for the codeine influenced content of this blog.
I have missed far too much time from work because of this crap. I haven't felt like working on much of anything for crafts, or doing much of anything, for that matter. I just can't maintain focus. What I really want is for this respiratory infection to be completely gone by Tuesday morning so that I can go to work and do my job. I am willing to give the rest of today and Memorial day over to the illness to mess with me, but that's it. Enough is enough.
Three paragraphs of whining later...
I finally reintroduced myself to my Ashford Traditional this weekend. It has been longer than I can remember since I actually spun on it. Friday, I pulled it out, dusted it, oiled it and apologized for the neglect. A long time ago, I had started spinning some fiber that was not so good, but it was free and there was a lot of it so I just kept telling myself to stick to it and turn it into something good. Well, that mindset wouldn't let me put anything else on the wheel, but I didn't like what was on it so I didn't spin it. My very wise and beautiful friend, Melody, told me life is to short to knit with bad yarn. I feel she would be fine with me extending that sentiment to spinning and fiber.
Out with the bad fiber and in with heavenly spinning in the form of HaldeCraft Pencil Roving in the weathered wood colorway. 4 oz. of BFL that almost spins itself. I spun for 30 minutes on Friday and for 45 minutes on Saturday. I am hoping that I can incrementally work my way out of my ADD Crafting Funk. That isn't a professional diagnosis. Simply my personal observation. Perhaps there should be some proof of this purported spinning:
Even though the spinning wheel was neglected for too long, I have been spinning on a few spindles during this ADD Crafting Funk. Actually, spindles are one of my favorite take-along projects. Unfortunately, I rarely finish spinning what I have on my collection of spindles. Sounds like the focus for another post.
Still Yarn Crazy!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Flippin' Crazy!
I have admired the beautiful lace motifs of tatting for some time. Last summer I purchased some tatting needles, but never bothered to do anything with them. Then this past weekend a lovely friend of mine, Tami, was shuttle tatting while we were in a Google+ Hangout. I asked tons of questions and wandered several tatting supply websites. An hour or so later and $29 poorer, a shipment of shuttle tatting supplies was on it's way to my home from Be-stitched.
To my delight, the rather small package arrived yesterday. I tore it open to find that the rather small package wasn't even half full. Apparently I won't need an entire craft room for this craft, like I do for my other yarn crafts! Inside was 3 different shuttles, a picot gauge, and 2 balls of tatting thread (the third ball I ordered is back-ordered).
New toys means off to you-tube we zoom. I watched several different videos, but never could get a good view of the infamous "flip" that they all referred to as necessary to success. I was so frustrated because my double stitches looked so nice, but when I tried to cinch up the ring, it wouldn't slide. I suspected that the aforementioned flip was the problem, but still no idea wth they were talking about.
Wondering if I have finally found the first craft that I cannot begin to comprehend, I went to the craft room in search of the tatting needles from the previous summer. After all, there is more than one way to tat! One quick video series later and look what I made:
So, now I have proved that I can tat, but niggling in my brain is the fact that I gave up on shuttle tatting. Back to the videos I go, desperately searching for the elusive "flip". Kelly Petkun to the rescue. Her KnitPicks tutorial series had the view that I needed. I finally see the flip. I very awkwardly do the flip. I need a lot more practice before I flip in public. This is flippin' difficult!
If anyone has tutorial suggestions to help me learn, I hope you will share with me in the comments. Thank you!
To my delight, the rather small package arrived yesterday. I tore it open to find that the rather small package wasn't even half full. Apparently I won't need an entire craft room for this craft, like I do for my other yarn crafts! Inside was 3 different shuttles, a picot gauge, and 2 balls of tatting thread (the third ball I ordered is back-ordered).
New toys means off to you-tube we zoom. I watched several different videos, but never could get a good view of the infamous "flip" that they all referred to as necessary to success. I was so frustrated because my double stitches looked so nice, but when I tried to cinch up the ring, it wouldn't slide. I suspected that the aforementioned flip was the problem, but still no idea wth they were talking about.
Wondering if I have finally found the first craft that I cannot begin to comprehend, I went to the craft room in search of the tatting needles from the previous summer. After all, there is more than one way to tat! One quick video series later and look what I made:
So, now I have proved that I can tat, but niggling in my brain is the fact that I gave up on shuttle tatting. Back to the videos I go, desperately searching for the elusive "flip". Kelly Petkun to the rescue. Her KnitPicks tutorial series had the view that I needed. I finally see the flip. I very awkwardly do the flip. I need a lot more practice before I flip in public. This is flippin' difficult!
If anyone has tutorial suggestions to help me learn, I hope you will share with me in the comments. Thank you!
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