Saturday, May 29, 2010

Last Saturday was the Barn Bazaar and it rained the entire time.  I think we even had some hail / snowflakes.  It was crowded but we moved from booth to booth at a more rapid pace than usual.  Ron and Judi from Serano Alpacas in Post Falls were there with their beautiful yarns and fibers.  It was their farm my black alpaca Oso Negro came from.  They have been such a huge help to me I can't say enough nice things about them.  My friend from Olympia is still visiting with us and we have been planning a weaving project for her.  She will weave it on my little Dorothy Loom, being able to take it home with her.  Its nice and portable, suitable for carrying with you, so she can take it to weaving classes.  Yesterday we dyed some wool yarn she will use for her first project, maybe it will be a scarf or several table scarves.  With a 21-yard warp she will be able to decide exactly what she wants.  We handpainted a warp I had already wound before she got here, in all the colors of her house.  Here is a picture of the individual counted skeins being painted.  And another picture of it drying to show how they look after 'cooking' and drying.  A huge difference.  Today we will get the loom warped and hopefully will have time before she leaves next week to do some good practice sessions.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

This morning is clear, sunny and cold.  We've had so much rain lately everything is green and fresh.  Today we are off to eastern WA for the 2Women Barn Bazaar.  I love summer!  So much to do, so many places to go.  I hope the rain doesn't return until tonight.  Just received some of the most beautiful wool from LaTeaDaDesigns.  They are white Cotswold locks.  Marti sent me a sample of some silver gray and of course I couldn't resist ordering that too.  The plan is to blend them with something else but not sure what right now.  Then spin it up and do some handpainting on the yarn.  I've been looking for some silver or light gray for quite a while so I can't wait to get this.  I also went to Paradise Fibers the other day and bought some nepps in cotton and tencel.  This should blend well with other fibers to give the handspun yarns a nice tweedy appearance.  Not sure when I will get to these as I have so many projects going on, as usual.  I'm hopeful to get the painted warp on the Herald this coming week with the help of my friend who will be here for another couple of weeks.  We took Pete, our little foster kitty, back to Priest River Animal Rescue shelter yesterday.  We all hated to see him go, he is so cute and very gentle and sweet but my daughter picked up four more motherless bottle baby kitties to take his place.  She will be very busy for the next month or so, that's for sure.  We're taking them with us today so she can feed and care for them. 

Sunday, May 16, 2010



I've been dyeing silk scarves and yesterday finished a big project.  On one of the scarves there must have been something that prevented the dye from working properly so it ended up with light colored spots.  I have covered them up with a painted design of a fish with bubbles, it turned out pretty well.  Not sure if anyone else will like this, but what can you do?  I had a friend and her family over last weekend to learn spinning and it was so much fun.  They did a good job and took spindles and some hand painted wool home to practice on.  I love teaching others to do the thing that I love so much.  Another friend is coming to spend some time here on the farm and wants to learn to weave.  Woohoo!  Have I got some beautiful warps we can dress the Herald loom with while she's here.  We have been friends since high school and I can't wait to see her again.  Finally getting a handle on all the spring yard work.  I had to hire someone to help weed and she's doing a great job!  Everything is starting to look much better.