I have been keeping very busy! Between my day job, the yarn business, teaching and my many volunteer gigs I have been spinning like a top. Here is a photo from my trip to The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival last month. More stories and pictures soon! 

Where do I even begin? Going to knitting camp with my friend Gretchen was fantastic! For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about here’s a little background. Knitting Camp was started by Elizabeth Zimmerman thirty-five years ago. Knitters come from all over the world for a long weekend in central Wisconsin to learn more about knitting. Elizabeth Zimmerman passed away in 1999 and her daughter Meg took over the camp. I am so happy I had the chance to have this wonderful experience and look forward to going again.

The photos below are of the sweater table at camp. This HUGE table has most of Elizabeth and Meg’s sweaters, shawls and hats. Also the sweaters and hats from Joyce Williams book Armenian Knitting. Being able to touch them and see closely how they were constructed is very helpful when thinking about your own knitting.

At the last minute I was invited to attend Meg Swansen’s Knitting Camp! I will have photos and stories when I return. Until then KNIT! 

I spent 4 days in New York with a handful of my closest girlfriends recently. We had a great time and many memories were made. On the last full day in NY I took a class with Linda Labelle. Linda is the owner of The Yarn Tree in Brooklyn and the author of The Yarn Lovers Guide to Hand Dyeing. The Yarn Tree is a yarn and fiber shop in a beautiful two room store with a workshop studio space down the street. We spent the whole day with Linda learning the ins and outs of acid based dyeing techniques. Linda is a great instructor, thorough, precise and anticipated every “glitch”. She is a huge inspiration for me and my business. I finished the yarn from one of my previous post.

The Shepherd’s Harvest Festival was this past weekend! Fiber farmers and vendors from all around the Midwest converge on the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year. This year I came home with a ton of fiber and a new wheel. This is my new Schacht Ladybug. I have been spinning with it since yesterday and absolutely love it! 

Thank you to all of you who attended Craftstravaganza and Crafted Together. They were both great events and I had a lot of fun. Mondays are usually my days to spin for resale, but today I made myself yarn!  Here’s what I have been working on.

Every time you have another craft fair there are a few feelings that happen. One being the feeling that you’re running out of time! You’re forgetting probably 27 things that you’ll remember the second the doors of the craft fair fly open and people are running towards your table. You also remember that the attendance, weather and general mood of the day cannot be decided completely by you. Then you remember why you participate in craft fairs: they’re so much fun! Meeting new people, seeing old friends, laughing a lot, and talking to so many people (I lose my voice after every fair) and supporting your fellow crafters.

See you Saturday! P.S. The photo up top is of my Wooly Batts. If I do say so myself, they’re fantastic!

Craftstravaganza 2008 is only 1 week away. I have been very busy spinning, dyeing, blending and doing general show prep. Craftstravaganza is Saturday, April 26th from 9-5 in the Fine Arts Building at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

Hope to see you then!

I love my new hat! This was one of those instant gratification projects. Finished in just a couple of hours. I purchased the handspun yarn from Hobbledehoy. She makes beautiful yarn and brilliant fiber batts.