Fiber PHanatic

Bosque Fiber Fest products

2010-12-13T15:01:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was the second annual Bosque Fiber Fest. We attended as vendors. Had a GREAT time and sold some fun stuff. Here are some hand-dyed locks of Mohair. A few years back I helped shear Angora's for a share of the fiber and this is what came out of it.
Here is one of my carded Glam batts that has BFL, Merino and Angelina.
Here are two batts of BFL in Tangerine, Lime and Lemon colors.
This is Chinese New Year. Super soft BFL mixed with cherry red Mohair and some gold angelina
This is some handdyed BFL with blue/gold angelina and some Merino . I did all these with the thought that if they did not sell, I could spin them up or use them as felting projects. Sadly and happily they sold except some of the purple and the red.

There were some incredibly talented vendors. I really am sad this wasn't more well attended but am so glad we got to go and sell as well as do a little buying ourselves.

I Felt...therefor I AM....BUSY!

2010-11-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems like all I've been doing is FELTING - starting with the stockings (see the last picture) and then a few other little projects trickled in including this birdhouse decoration! I love this little bird!
Lots of personality on this little critter!
As I was working away at projects, I decided my table needed a few lower priced items. So these little ornaments and ladybug magnets came about. There is also a little pumpkin too but I didn't get the picture.

This is one of the Alpaca stockings for Four Pines Alpacas who traded the batting to make these stockings for two felted stockings.
And this little goatie is heading to Tennessee after Thanksgiving. Okay, back to felting, painting, spinning! Happy Thanksgiving to All!

New yarn hot off the wheel.

2010-11-21T19:17:00.001-08:00

Two new yarns hot off the spinning wheel. I really like both of these!

This one is from some lovely Mohair roving that my friend Terri gave me - It was shades of Cranberry, teal, and pinks. I spun up some teal silk and plyed it. Wow did that turn out stunning. I think I'm really liking the Silk/Mo blend. I have a ton of MO that needs processing - now I'm pretty sure I know what I'll be working on.
This one is some Hand-dyed Cormo in light brown plyed with some pinkish purple silk. I had leftovers of both and just used them up. I still have a lot of the pinky and teal silk left so I have a 3-ply brewing in my mind......

Crankin' out the projects.

2010-11-06T12:51:00.001-07:00

I finished this yarn not too long ago, I had bought some gorgeous handpainted BFL roving last year at Taos wool festival (actually, Espanola is where I got this, on the way home from Taos) and about 3 years ago traded some work for some fiber (Merino/Ramboulliet cross) with a friend of mine and this is what came of it - nearly 550 yards of sportweight yarn. LOVELY and OH SO SOFT this is. And it helped me with making a dent in my stash! I have this goal to use what is in the stash without buying more unless a project truly warranted the buy!

I was given some absolutely stunning baby Mohair that was handpainted in greens, golds, browns, blues and this also used some handdyed Cormo that was in the stash...result was 244 yds of lovely sportweight yarn...
My little one wanted to learn to needle felt so I picked what I thought was an easy project - a pumpkin! Well, I finished mine, she lost interest after poking herself too many times and breaking 2 needles. But it was fun to needle felt together.
And a goat friend in TN ordered two felted stockings from me for Christmas. here is stocking #1 - not quite finished but oh am I having fun doing this. I don't know why I don't do more because I really LOVE needle felting - painting with wool. I sure wish I had a lot of time and money because I have ideas just pouring out!!!! Better get to work and get MORE projects cranked out.

New Yarn - FINALLY!

2010-06-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am Finally spinning again - It's been WAAAAAAAY too long so now I"m in a serious creative phase again - there is not enough time in the day. This is 350 (or more really!) yards of 2ply yarn from Silver CVM and Silk dyed in emerald green/Violet and Turqoise. It is for sale but if someone doesn't snap this up I may have to use it in a weaving project it is so pretty. $35.00 +Shipping.

The OTHER new scarf.

2010-01-31T20:26:00.000-08:00

This is the last of the 3 scarves I recently worked on - still have some beading to do. This one I am having trouble getting a good picture of it. It is Coral dyed silk scarf with light purple, green, orange, and tan merino wool felted over a silk threat that was laid on in squiggle pattern. I will try to get a better picture but not sure if I can.
This does show some detail a little better but not much. These aren't colors I normally would pick or wear myself but the fact is - I LOVE THIS scarf. It also so happened that it worked for the Color Challenge our guild did - the display will go to CONVERGENCE a Fiber Arts Conference being held in Albuquerque, NM this year (they are online if anyone wants to check it out - just type in Convergence Albuquerque and it should come up) I've heard rumors that this is THE Fiber event to end all Fiber Events - classes, vendors, demos etc. SIGH!

Harvey House Show - Opening Day Part 2

2010-01-31T20:16:00.003-08:00

Here are some of the other exhibits from Harvey House. The local quilting quilt has a ton of beautiful quilts (This one and the next one are two of my favorites but there are so many gorgeous quilts you'll just have to go see for yourself!!!!
Especially this one - the Patchwork quilt has some of the most incredible embroidry on it I've EVER seen. REALLY, this picture doesn't even come close to showing the incredibly work that went into this quilt.
More yarn, Hats, Wheat Weaving and other Fibery Goodness!
And last but most certainly NOT least are two of the most talented folks I've ever met - the silk painters. These two ladies - Linda Walters and Sheri Reckers are incredible. I wish I could show you up close the GORGEOUS pieces they have.
These two costumes (Diamas on the left by Sheri and the blue/gold gown on the right by Linda) are stunning. They were for a sewing competition by Bernina (that will no longer be held sadly enough) I walked in to see these two and my jaw dropped. I love costumes and would so love to do costuming but yeah - who has time! Kudos for these talented ladies - they were 3 that were in the competition from the Albuquerque Area and this was an international competition - they were finalists. I'd give them blue ribbons both!!!!

Talent Talent Talent!!!!!!

Har

2010-01-31T20:16:00.001-08:00

Harvey House Show - Opening Day

2010-01-31T07:50:00.000-08:00

Harvey House exhibit is officially open and running. Yesterday was opening day and the traffic through there was really good. The displays for all the guilds were terrific as usual! So MANY beautiful things - shawls, felted goods, knitted and crocheted
Spun yarn, and wool/mohair etc for spinning.
rugs, wall hangings, retablos (in wool not wood). This GORGEOUS shawl was done by Bobby Dow and the picture just doesn't do it justice!

There are my goat milk soaps! There are pins, shawl pins, keychains, felted animals, purses, "paintings" in wool felt.....and more!

New Nuno Felted Scarves.

2010-01-30T09:03:00.001-08:00

Here are the two newest Scarves. One is dyed Hot Pink with Turquoise, hot pink and light pink dots and squiggles. The other is dyed dark purple with purple and teal felt (it is two sided - the pink is only one sided) that has been carded with some purple/blue angelina and gives it shine

This one is felted with a blend of Merino and silk so the dots/squiggles have a really beautiful sheen to it and it puckers quite a bit more the the other one.

Harvey House's Annual show starts today and these are heading down to Harvey House as soon as they are beaded. I am planning on taking the camara if I can find the batteries that were recharged too and taking pics of the displays. Harvey House is one of my FAVORITE annual shows. Several of my friends are asking me to join Las Aranas and be in a couple of their shows as well - Gracious me! Anyone who loves Fiber, Quilts, Embroidery, Beads or Silk Painting - Head South to this hidden treasure in Belen!

Another Weaving Project off the loom.

2009-12-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

After several weeks of utter frustration in the weaving dept. I've finally managed to
put the 2nd weaving project (Christmas present) to rest. Just need to wash it and
iron it. I'm so glad to have these two projects done finally and can move on to things
I would like to do for the Harvey House show in Feb.
This is my Mother in Law's handwoven scarf in brown cotton and the Painted Desert colorway. and the bottom one is my Sister in Law's table runner in coral, chocolate and multi/teal handspun.
I really love the colors together and am already thinking of OTHER projects to do with the tons
of yarn I have just laying around.......

More Stockings to hang by the chimney with care!

2009-12-19T19:11:00.001-08:00

Here are the last of the stockings. This one is by far my favorite and again is the inspiration to more creative endeavors. OH if only I had as much time as I have ideas .......Oh well. Seriously though, this was a blast.

Here is the the Christmas tree goat - Unfortunatley you can't see the little red ornaments all over the tree. I just LOVE being able to create! Thanks TG for giving me the opportunity!

More New Nuno Scarves.

2009-12-17T14:02:00.001-08:00

Today was a scarf making day. I dyed 3 scarves a few days ago - Two in a dark red/purple and one in brilliant blue. This is one of the red/purple scarves that is Nuno felted with brown, teal, and red/purple wool with gold angelina fiber.

Here is a close up of the red/purple scarf. I haven't named this one yet. It might get a name if I get inspired. Next step - beading the edges but first I need to wait until it is dry.

This is the brilliant blue scarf with wisps of tropical bright colors all over it

it is fun!!!!!

Close up of the colors used: tangerine, yellow, lime green, turquoise, hot pink and a little bit of purple. I wasn't really sure I like this one until it got close to being done. Now I love it. I'm calling it Miami Brite.

Fun Project.

2009-12-08T14:44:00.001-08:00

My knitting/spinning/weaving buddy Terri gave me a fun project to do - felt fun Christmas scenes on her stockings - Oh my goodness - this has been a blast!

Here is the closeup of the first one - an Angora goat eating the carrot nose off of a snowman. Really - the more I felt the more fun I have and I am enjoying the challenge of coming up with themes for each stocking that combine Christmas and goats/dogs

I wish there were more time in the day to do more fun stuff like this ! Off to finish more projects - with two Craft fairs coming up and Christmas breathing down my neck I have a lot to do and very little time to do it in.

I forgot my camara and Had a blast!

2009-11-16T16:14:00.001-08:00

This past weekend I drove up to the Jemez and taught 4 women to Lockerhook for the Jemez Valley Fiber Arts Group. The setting was LOVELY, the ladies were delightful and so quick to catch on! I couldn't believe how fast the day slipped by and most everyone got quite a bit of their projects done except one very ambitious gal who is doing a rug - not a hotpad.
I was also invited back in the spring to teach another class on Kool Aid dying, carding and
drop spindle if I can learn in time. Thankfully I sort of know how and I have 6 months to practice if i can lay my hands on a spindle which shouldn't be an issue.
If you live in the Jemez - I recommend this wonderful group and if you don't - check out their classes anyway. I know they've done felting, quilting and making rag rugs.
I wish I'd remembered my camara - the class was held at the Green Acres Permaculture Demonstration farm and is awesome. They live in a yurt part of the year and also rent out the yurt if someone wants to go stay up there. They also do permaculture classes and apparently grow tons of herbs, veggies and flowers. The property abuts the Jemez River and would be a dream property! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to live in a place like this and make the upper part of the main building a studio/gallery but we'd need a miracle for that to happen plus - I love it here in Bosque Farms and would find it hard to leave our property here and all of our awesome neighbors......so yeah, probably wouldn't happen unless it's a vacation home for us! OH where oh where is that rich relative who will leave us millions when they pass away?

Novelty yarn.

2009-11-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

I'm spinning again. I lent my wheel to my cousin in AZ and am seriously miss it but my friend and mentor lent me her wheel so I can be back to spinning until I get my wheel back. I hope they can bring it back over the holidays. I had some lovely black Alpaca from Four Pines Alpaca leftover from a different spinning project and I didn't know what to do, then as I was going through some of my stuff for a class I'm teaching this coming weekend
I found some odds and ends: about an oz of bamboo, silk hankies and some cotton sent to my from Exclusivelylindalee on Etsy.com so i spun it all u and made some Novelty yarn. It also gave me a chance to experience something new - spinning cotton. I've been told it's hard - NOT really. but then, I didn't think silk or bamboo were as difficult as everyone said either. I still prefer Alpaca and Silk to anything else.

This one is Black Alpaca with silk spun with coils. There isn't much but was thinking -hmmm - wouldn't that make an interesting and unique addition to a woven scarf.....

Here is the Black Alpaca, cotton and bamboo. Again, not much but enough to make a statement in some sort of woven scarf.....I think I feel a few more new projects coming on. I guess I best finish the table runner on the loom and get it off so I can weave some more fun and wonderful objects. CRACK that whip!

Taos Wool Festival

2009-10-05T08:41:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was Taos Wool Festival, I was able to catch a ride with some of the girls (Terri, Wendy and Myra) from my Bosque Farms fiber posse and the most wonderful chauffeur there is - George, Terri's wonderful hubby. Those of you who visited my blog last year know I came home with a LOT of stuff last year. I scrimped and saved and had the most fun blowing a wad I've ever had. This year, not so much. Between medical bills, loosing my cleaning gig and saving up for some trips I didn't have much to spend and my goal was mostly to get stuff for projects for christmas or for Christmas presents. So off to Taos I went as a tagalong. Okay, so I could not help spending a little bit o money but really - I did good. From top right to bottom left is my new treasure pile: the bag on top left is 40z of BFL roving for spinning called Tapestry - I just love spinning BFL so this was a WANT!!! Next is a 2.5lb cone of ?? tan for warping my loom - I've got a few christmas presents in mind for this and at a whopping $1 per lb. I didn't feel like I'd go over budget on this one!!! Next is the cone of salmon colored perle cotton - a little more expensive but it is for Christmas presents afterall. Underneath is Alpaca roving - felting projects in mind for this - I bought some of 3 different colorways: ?? River Valley, Thin Mints and Fudge (are you seeing a theme here? ) from LonesomeStone Alpacas. LOVE it!

I couldn't help but take pics of some of the critters there as well.

These are the two Pygoras (or Nigoras).

The baby alpacas - oh, if only I could bring one of these precious babies home with me.....(well, actually 2 since they need a buddy-)

And these two woolies I thought were babyAngoras but they had blue eyes so I'm not sure they were purebred but oh the soft fleece these two have - melt!!!

They were so precious I wouldn't have minded loading them up and taking them home. Thanks

girls for letting me tag along and play with you in Taos!!!!

Gallery Shots

2009-09-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Gallery Show at Tome Gallery in Los Lunas opened last Friday and I am finally getting some Gallery shots with some of the other work that is also on display there. Here are two of my purses - Hanging behind is the beautiful woven and sewn vest by my friend Mary of Four Pines Alpacas (she has a website and does some beautiful work!!!!)

Here are the scarves and the other purses by Deb Schwirtz who does a lot of other things: Felting, Nuno Felting, Cobweb Felting, Dichroic Glass, and weaving along with her Hubby Greg.

Here is my Lizard gourd and just to the left are some awesome purses by Jo Phillips - above the purses are her artwork - these are all felt but they look like watercolors!

Here are the felt pictures next to Tony's unusual handwoven scarf and purse - the scarf is woven with feather from her Sebastopol Geese who look like their feathers curl.

here is the rug and pillow and above it are felted critters and people by Greg, Pat Poole and the Scarf and purse by Tony as well as a lot of beautiful yarns created by

the Dows. The show ends this coming Sunday. I hope the artists have lots of sales and things go well for the gallery! Thank you Greg and Deb for inviting me to attend this show! I' m honored to be in a gallery show with the pool of incredible artists that are there also!!!!

More Gallery Items.

2009-09-11T07:21:00.001-07:00

Wow, this looks like a riot of color on the computer. This is a short scarf with matching pin - silk Chiffon Nuno Felted with Merino and Mohair which adds crimp and shine to the scarf. I tried to do a lot of fall colors so wine, orange, dark green and gold.

I LOVE this piece. IF it doesn't sell it is going up in my house. I think this is by far one of my favorites. I used a black fleece and added the cool combo color

roving to it and felted away getting this very nebulous (it actually reminds me of some of the photos the hubble has sent back from deep space) cloud of color on the dark background then the gourd piece is lightly sanded, woodburned and colored. I NEED MORE SHADOW BOX frames!!!!

a funky cool pin made from sculpey and felt.

Another one.

This is a dark brown Nuno Felted scarf with swirls of pastel colors.

The ends (not show here) are beaded with two rows of seed beads in a rainbow matte of blue/purple and rosy pink. I will be taking this load of stuff to the gallery a little later today for the show. NOW it is time to get busy for the Christmas show season making soaps and MORE scarves. We will also be working on the products pages of our website soon so you can check there often for items for sale. www.cbfnigeriangoats.com or feel free to email me

if there is something you want or would like to order something similar if an item is sold.

More Finished Projects.

2009-09-09T15:28:00.001-07:00

Nothing like deadlines to make you finish a bunch of projects.
I forgot that I had this purse partly done so I felted a flap and made a button for it. and it's done!

I still needed to finish two gourd trophies for the State Fair Goat Show so here are the two Reserve Champion gourds. This is the Senior Reserve Champion and below is the Junion Reserve Champion. I did a lot of felting yesterday and was able to incorporate the felting into the gourds.

I think this one is my all time favorite.

Sorry, this is a little hard to see but I had to tilt the camara to avoid glare - This is a petroglyph goat on a felted background in a frame with a piece of turquoise and a feather. It really does look pretty cool - in person. Well, I need to go felt a few more scarves.

Nobody Told Me....

2009-09-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

AAAAAAH - No one told me how much fun wet felting was. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I am having more fun than you can shake a stick at - Okay so this morning I woke up and the felting bug bit me hard. I wet felted all morning (and let the munchkins sleep in!) I had made these cool horses out of super sculpey (way easy and way cute!) and then put them on the felted background and framed them in shadow box frames and VOILA! This one is titled Spirit Horse - I have another one waitng for the felted background to dry and then I have two other felted backgrounds that go with Spirit Bear and Lizard. Once they are all done I'll post more but I was so PSYCHED I had to get one up. I also have a felted purse that is being worked on. I get more and more excited about this show the closer it gets. I still have several more felted scarves to finish up and of course the pictures and purses. I will try to take pics at the show too once everything is up and ready!!!!! BACK to felting I go!

Gourd - Lounge Lizards

2009-09-07T16:50:00.001-07:00

Okay - I finished another piece for the show this coming friday and finished beading another scarf - Lollipops! Here is the piece that I put aside nearly a year ago and worked furiously to finish up in time for the show. It is called LOUNGE LIZARDS and has 4 needle felted lizards on the gourd. I LOVE THE LIZARDS. They are to cute and they really all have their own personality. So this piece got me really fired up to do a lot more things......MORE to come later. This was so much fun! I have ideas for about 3 more floating in my head but first I need to bead some more scarves, felt and bead a few more AND finish another 4 pieces of felted art for the show. Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!! If I'd had half a brain in my head I would have had my friend Jeannie send back my felted hats and ski bands from Colorado but I guess I didn't think of it so she'll just have to keep them for her shows up there this year. I hope they sell. I had planned to get a lot more stuff done but it did not happen.

3 Lazy Lizards

2009-09-02T15:30:00.001-07:00

Here is the trio of lazy lizards I am needle felting. they are going to be attached to a large gourd (there will be more lizards as well!) I"m loving these little guys, they all have their own personality and face. AWWWWWW. ) I will take a picture of the finished piece after it is put together....this felting is too much fun!!!!
So if anyone is wondering - The Fiber Arts show runs from Sept. 11 to Sept 20 at Tome Gallery in Los Lunas. Please come see the show if you are able. I have my felting, nuno felting, and Lockerhooking there. This should be fun and the artists' reception is Sunday Sept. 13, 2009 from 2-4 - snacks and drinks provided.
Thanks Deb an Greg S. for inviting me!!!!

Busy at Fiber Phanatic!

2009-09-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

As you can tell from the pictures I've mostly been in my cave (aka living room) creating like crazy but haven't posted in a while. I was asked to do 4 trophies for the upcoming State Fair Goat Show (donation) so here are the two finished (sans clear coat to protect gourd). I do NOT like how the river turned out using stain so I'm trying to figure out how to fix it. These gourds are carved with Faux stone inlayed and woodburned wording and the goats are woodburned except the inlay.

This is a finished scarf which should be famous now since it hit the Valencia County News-Bulliten Caliente! section which features local artists, musicians, and other interesting stories from in and around the County. I was invited to be in the Never Felt Better Fiber show at Tome Gallery which opens next Friday (now you know why I'm in my cave creating like crazy!!!!) which is featuring Felt Fiber artist from Valencia County. This Nuno Felted scarf is shades of green/yellow and a teal with beautiful beadwork on the ends - I call it Avonlea

Another Nuno Felted Scarf for the show - still needs to be beaded.
This one is called Lollipop

And beading. I wanted to make beaded bracelets for my friend Linda and her two girls to thank them for all the help they gave me during Alyssa's treatments, and for organizing fundraisers and meals for us during her hospitalizations etc. I finished one a long time ago and here are the other two. This one is a turquoise blue with black swarovski crystals at either end. I love the way this one turned out. I sold one just like it recently to a gal in New Hampshire! I think that's the farthest my work has gone.

This is a new pattern I found in the recent issue of Bead and Button and boy does it make a pretty netted cuff. I wish the picture could show the beads upclose! They are a rainbow metallic seed bead that is in triangles and makes almost a wagon wheel pattern. Then I used two Czech firepolish beads in a rosey gold color that matches great!

And that's not all folks.......More to come!

Lockerhooked Pillow is DONE!

2009-08-16T07:23:00.001-07:00

I know some of you have seen the front view of this pillow but it is finally done both front and back and sewn together! I love the way this turned out.

The most interesting part of making stuff like this is getting ideas for your next project AND see what you'd do differently next time - Like making the design on the back bigger maybe using some more colored fiber!!!!!!

This project didn't take near as long to make as the rug did and I really like the way the pillow came out! I think I'm going to have to make another one.

YES, this is for sale!!!!! IF it is sold before Sept 26, 2009 it is $75.00 and $25.00 will be donated to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. After that it will be on my website for $100.00

Also, for those of you who buy soaps. I will donate $1.00 per soap sold to LLS between now and Sept. 26, 2009.

I have a lot made and will be making lots more so get your orders in now. I have cucumber, clary sage flax, jasmine green tea, strawberries N creme, pure & basic, rosemary, lavender, and will be making tea tree oil tomorrow.

New Yarn

2009-08-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have hardly spun at all since this ordeal with my daughter's cancer began so this last month I was inspired to start spinning again (oh yeah, and having my friend's LOVELY Lendrum wheel - DROOL< DROOL! has helped a ton!) . This is what I finished today. I don't have a name for it and frankly can't remember for the life of me what the multi colored stuff was - just that it had angelina in it and it might be Merino. The blue/green stuff is some BFL I ordered from Somerhill Farm - oh this is lovely stuff and I even have a project for it but at the risk of revealing a Christmas present I'll be keeping that hush hush for now......

New Lockerhooked Pillow.

2009-07-12T06:13:00.000-07:00

The front is done, and I have the back about 1/3 of the way done.
I really like the way this turned out and am anxious to finish it. First I have an order for two
bracelets that I need to get done. This pillow again is made from only locally grown and processed wool. I'm bummed because I contacted the lady I got the fleeces from and the one that produced all of the lovely white wool died. I love that wool! I blended it with a little blue
to get the mottled background and then used grey/brown shetland from my friend Sue, and the goat is out of dark grey overdyed blue/turquoise from the same lady that had the white wool.
I have to process a little more wool to finish the back of the pillow.

Two New Scarves.

2009-07-12T06:05:00.001-07:00

Here are my two latest Nuno Felted Scarves. The pictures don't make them look the right color. They are actually Cherry Red with Black Merino Fiber. This one is Carmen (yes, after the opera) It has gold Angeline carded into the black Fiber and then felted in. The beads are cherry, black and gold. Carmen sold yesterday!

This one is Opera - has a classy look to it and the felting is more simple. It is just in swirls. It has black and cherry red beading at the bottom in a simple pattern. This one doesn't have any of the gold. I really love the way this turned out. It is still for sale. I am about to have them up on my website as soon as I learn how to make the links work and how to publish it on the web. If you contact me before the website launch it is $40.00.

Price is $45.00 on website. (Ask for the Friends/Family discount if you are a friend/family!)

I dyed 4 more scarves the day I did these two so there will be more on the way soon. These two were for an order. I just wanted to give her a choice.

Spring Scarves

2009-06-01T08:07:00.001-07:00

Most of my new spring scarves are finally done - a little late but I still think they a beautiful! This one is sold. I made it for a friend who ordered for a birthday present. It is light green, yellow, teal with green beads and some crystal cubes.

This one reminds me of my roses in the front yard - If I knew the name of the rose I'd name it that but I don't know so I just call this one Orange Sherbet. It is yellow, light salmon orange and an orangy pinky color. with two rows of beading in yellow and salmon

This one is Plum. It is plum, pink and light blue with blue and purple beading. I love the way this one turned out.

Last but not least is Alyssa's favorite - Peacock. This has purple and a little teal with silverlined purple beads and freshwater pearls in purple at the edges. All are for sale except the first one which is sold (Thanks Pamela!)

Hows this for a riot of color!!!! I do take orders for these. They are $40 each - more if I use swarovski crystals in the beading. I have one more to finish for an order and while I was up in Pagosa I got a few "ideas" for new scarves so I'll be working on some new ones. But - I have soap, scarf and bead orders to get out first and then a pillow to finish.

BACK to WORK!!!!

Pagosa Fiber Fest

2009-05-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

One of the things we did while we were in Pagosa was going to the Fiber Festival!!!! First we got to see the sheep being sheared.

And love on the Alpaca Cria - AWWWWWWWWWW! Adorable!!!!!

If I could have slipped this precious baby into my bag and snuck it home I would have!!!!

Two beautiful Llamas - One Suri style and One Huacaya style. From Sharp's Llamas. I LOVE the silvery colored Suri Llama - They hummed for us!

And a Scottish Highlander Cow - Did you know that you could brush out their undercoat and spin it? This is a little bull (well, he wasn't that little) but he sure was cute!!!! Who they comb out and use the fiber!!!!

Notice there are no pics of fiber products? I actually walked away from this show with no FIBER!!! I know that comes as a huge surprise to everyone but I have so much fiber right now I don't know where to store it all - I am learning to excercise some self control and use what I have before I buy more (accepting gifts of fiber and yarn don't count under the self control part - Anyone is welcome to drop off anything that is useable on my front porch!! LOL - JUST KIDDING!!!!!) Truth be known I was broke (thankfully) and very tempted to I'm glad I left my credit card at home locked up and most vendors would not take out of state checks!

The Rug is done.

2009-05-08T06:00:00.001-07:00

For those of you wondering if I'd ever finish the Locker hooked rug. It is done (except for edging - I'm 1/4 of the way done with that). Here it is!!!!! I have decided to put it up for sale. The money will either be used to pay medical bills for my daughter or to put towards a new buck next year. Yep, that's right, It's going to be time to get some new blood in the herd. I adore Storm but with a herd as small as mine you need a new buck for new blood pretty quick. But medical bills come before buck so.....where it is needed, it will go. This is handmade using only locally raised wool/alpaca fiber. It is hard to see the colors (you can click on the pic for a larger view) but it is white, brown, dark grey and grey/brown mix. The goat is dark grey overdyed with Turquoise/Blue.
I am asking $400 for it and if you are interested, please let me know - the next one will be a pillow.
SPECIAL ORDERS ARE WELCOME!!!!

Grey, Pink and Blue Nuno Felted Scarf

2009-02-25T16:11:00.000-08:00

Here is the Grey, Pink and blue Angelina scarf! I love the way this turned out - SOOOOO Excited. We took it and the other one down to Harvey House for the remainder of the Fiber show!

Here is a good look at one of the hearts...

I beaded the edges with Silver lined bugles, Pink silverlined seeds and clear drops. I love the way this turned out and I hope it sells!!!!

I also found out while I was down at Harvey House that I've sold several skeins of yarn, a necklace and a couple of scarves. This has been my best HH show ever!!!! We still have 11/2 weeks left of the show and then we pick up the stuff on the weekend of March 7,

Another Nuno Felted Scarf!

2009-02-25T06:34:00.001-08:00

Wow - the colors almost look garish on this scarf - REALLY it is not has horrible as it looks - the colors are way more subtle - I probably shouldn't have put this against so light a back ground. I do LOVE how this one turned out though. It is really a cinnamon colored scarf with dark blue, gold, gold angelina and maroon with a tiny bit of olive colored Mohair

I beaded the ends with a very subtle row of metallic rainbow beads that complement the colors of the scarf well. Sorry these photos don't really give you a good idea of how nice this scarf looks. I've got another one ALMOST done - it's light grey with little pink and blue flash hearts on it. (seriously it's cute - not horrible!). I've got TONS of ideas for MORE scarves so I'm goin to have to get to work - but first need to order more scarves - these two are the last two from the last batch I ordered - I may have to bite the bullet and order 10 this time instead of 5 - since they seem to be selling well - also Fiber Fiesta is coming up and I'd love to enter one and the South Mountain Fiber Farm Tour is coming up in April so I'd like to have several done for that as well.

WEAVING!

2009-02-23T19:04:00.001-08:00

I am learning to use my new toy - the rigid heddle loom.
Kat gave me some lovely warp to warp the loom and I began weaving after Terri showed me how to warp and get started. this is very small compared to where I'm at now!!!!

Close up of the woven part. Good thing this is just practice - I have made a TON of mistakes. Teacher Myra said she'd make me go back and correct them but I don't think so now - I've gotten about 2 ft done on the loom - not happening!!!! I don't mind the mistakes and I'll just use it as a table runner for me!

Cranberry Swirl Mohair/Wool Hat.

2009-02-23T18:59:00.001-08:00

Here is my latest hat - It is another Wool/Mohair hat using Brown Sheep Co. yarn. i love this variegated yarn. It is really pretty. It looks more pink than red but it is really red with minimal pink on it. I love the way it turned out. It is for my Aunt in Nebraska. After I finished it last night I felted it - Nothing like a washer full of red fuzzies!!!!

I never know exactly how these hats will turn out - they are sometimes more fuzzy than others and sometimes the shaping is different even though I use the same darn pattern every time but this one turned out nearly perfect shape and VERY FUZZY!

You can really see the swirls in the Cranberry Swirl on this shot!

New Scarf

2009-02-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

Another fun and funky Nuno Felted scarf. This one is a dark reddish purple with some brown, light lavender and teal wool or Mohair felted on. This one is more bunchy that the past ones and gives it a lot of texture and character - I also bought longer scarves this time and I really like the new length. I would love to get a BIG one and do a shawl but I have to pace myself a bit. I have 2 more to complete and an order I need to do now.

I beaded the ends with cool rainbowy(muted) bugles and seeds and then added some cube Swarovsky chrystals for some bling. the light lavender mohair adds a bit of shine and the BFL (teal) adds a lot of texture and "curly" feel to the scarf. I really like this one. It will go to Harvey House as soon as I can make it down there.

News from those in the KNOW!

2009-02-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

I have it on good authority by one who witnessed the even that the beautiful (my favorite so far) scarf in Blue and Brown with swirls in SOLD. YIPPEEEEEEEE!!!! And by a lady who is quite the accomplished artist herself and does some of the most beautiful silk painted scarves I've ever seen (Thank you Cherie R!). What a compliment!!!!! I had a great compliment last year as well when a very very accomplished spinner/weaver bought some of my handspun yarn - and I was just a rank beginner!!!! Thanks TLG for the information - you made my day (week).

Blue and Brown Silk Nuno Felted Scarf

2009-02-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

I know I posted this scarf sans the Nuno Felting but I finally finished it off. It has swirls of a matching blue wool that has some brown Angelina carded into it.
I really love the way this one turned out. I took it and a bunch of other things : yarn, another scarf and beaded jewelry down to Harvey House in Belen for our annual Fiber Show. This year it will run for 6 weeks instead of 4.

More detailed look at the swirls. I am hoping several of these sell. I have one more almost done and 3 more to work on. One is on order and I have a class I believe this coming weekend. Should be fun - I am really enjoying the artistic challenge these present - they are great though.
UPDATE: - the Lockerhooked rug is nearly 2/4 of the way done - I will get an updated picture up this week I hope. ACTUALLY I am hoping to get it done and out to HH in Belen to the show but we will see if that happens....LOL!

NEW TOY.

2009-01-27T08:03:00.001-08:00

Due to some unfortunate circumstances of a friend I was able to get a small rigid heddle loom.

I would rather my friend be able to keep everything and go on - life as normal. But that isn't the case. I was planning on buying a similar loom this year anyhow if finances could be found but I was happy to be able to help out my friend too! But I told her she could have it back if her circumstances changed. SOOOOOO - tada here is the new rigid heddle loom. NOW - I have to learn how to use it....maybe she will begin teaching me today since we are getting together for a fiber processing afternoon!!!

RED PURPLE Nuno felted Scarf with beading

2009-01-14T16:53:00.000-08:00

This is the latest Nuno Felted scarf. It is a reddish purple dyed silk Chiffon scarf with purple/pink/brown wool and mohair felted onto it. It is beaded with brown metallic and lavender silverlined beads. These pictures just don't get the details I want despite using the new camara (I'm still learning!!!!!)

Another view - I love the color combos on this scarf. You can see some of the shine from the purple/pink/lilac Mohair on this view but darn if those beads just don't show up as much as I'd like.

Here is the scarf before beading and felting. This scarf is already sold but I have an order of scarves on their way and will probably try to make a similar one.

I will be nuno felting the brown and blue one tomorrow so I will be posting pics of it soon.

FARMDAY is finished. FINALLY

2009-01-14T16:47:00.001-08:00

Here is the final product of FARMDAY - after what felt like months of spinning (probably only about a month on and off) I finally finished all 500 + yards of this very lovely stuff. After washing it, it muted a bit and I REALLY like the finished product. The colors are beautiful.

Notice it almost looks nothing like what I originally spun. It is a two ply - the first skein is around 300 yards and the 2nd skein is slightly less that the first so it is over 200 yards but less than 300. I am putting it up for sale because while I have a project in mind for it, I think I like the BFL better that I will start spinning next week for that project. If it doesn't sell then I'll use it eventually!!!! IT is handdyed Brown Sheep Co. Roving 100% Wool Top.

Lockerhooked Rug - 1/2 done

2009-01-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

This is actually a little more than half done but you can really see the goat and the mountains taking shape. It is made out of different kinds of wool - I WISH you could see the color of the goat as it is the prettiest shade of dark turqouise blue over dark grey wool. The brown on the mountains is a cinnamon colored Alpaca.....I cannot wait until this is done. All of the wool on this run is (I am proud to say) Locally grown in the middleRioGrande Valley of NM. So when this is done I can say it is a totally NM product!!!!!

Scarves

2009-01-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Here are two of the scarves that I've been making. Both are handdyed
and the brown one is stitched with handspun, indigo dyed silk and then beaded with matching beads and crystals. I plan on Nuno felting this one for sure.

This one is hand-dyed Turquoise, and hand beaded with turqoise and gold beads. I am not sure if I'm going to Nuno felt this one or not. I do have another one I just finished Nuno felting and then will bead as soon as I can ...I will get pictures of it before it goes to it's new home as I LOVE the colors and want to "copy" it somewhat - at least the color combo!!!!

I HAVE been working!

2009-01-01T10:01:00.001-08:00

I know it's hard to believe that i actually am doing stuff! I have been working a lot on the other blog but i'm actually spinning and crafting too! These are all of the skeins of Chocolate on My Blue Silk Dress (thanks, Butterflygirldesigns.Etsy.Com) and Brown Merino/Ramboulliet cross from Molly (Thanks Wendy of JayWen Enterprises)

This is what I'm spinning on my loaner Louet (Thanks Jeannie of Darkwind Ranch) the awesome stuff I dyed not to long ago. While I've had a lot of suggestions, the one that most fits the Colorway was by Terri - FARMDAY - soooo perfect. Brown dirt, Green Crops and Blue Sky. Sounds like a perfect day on the farm to me....sigh, I wanna move to a bigger place and really farm.......but for now I'll be content on my little 1/2 acre farmette. (HA - like I need anymore work to do).

Here is a necklace I created (lots of great comments on this when I've worn it) Again, the photo just doesn't do it justice (new camara is really needed as Terri keeps pointing out to me) I wish I had a better photo of it. It is Dichroic glass, Czech Firepolish, Gold spacers and Crystal Bicones. PRETTY. This will actually be for sale once I get the Etsy store up and running but if you want it - let me know ASAP.

cool Nuno Felted Scarf

2009-01-01T09:58:00.001-08:00

Okay, seeing these pictures is making me want a new camars (LISA - I know how you feel girl!) I think this scarf is soooo cool but shoot you can't really see the details clearly and it just doesn't look the same. It is pretty, this is one of the ones that sold.
I need to get pics of the two that AREN"T sold and post them too and then i'll be doing a new one tomorrow.

Kind of a longer view - what you can't see is the cool beading on the ends, and the angelina and mohair has some sheen/shine to it. Just doesn't do this scarf justice.

Psyched!

2008-12-19T11:30:00.001-08:00

I wish I had pictures of all of them but i just sold 3 of my new Nuno felted scarves.
WOW, I can't believe it. $35 each and already sold them. I am so excited. Back to work on
felting since I have a show in February (the annual Harvey House show). Also have work to do on some "orders" So - work work work. I'll post the ONE picture of the ONE scarf I did get before they all sold.
WooHoo!

Roving - I LOVE this stuff.

2008-11-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

I just couldn't help but but another picture up of this roving. I am tickled at how this turned out and I just cannot wait to spin it up!!!! The colors are lovely and I love the way they work together. NOW I just need to come up with a catchy name for the colorway. REALLY don't know what to call it. Nothing has just jumped out at me like Johnny Jump Ups or Mixed Berries. I have other ones in my head all name but this one just HAPPENED!!! That' s what happens when roving just jumps in the dyepot and wants to be a certain color (or three).

Another Fun Dye Day

2008-11-14T15:51:00.001-08:00

Today I had a fun dye day. I just wanted to do some Silk Scarves so that I could begin my adventures in Nuno felting which I never got too by the way. While I was at it I threw in some beautiful white roving and this is what happened - Brilliant Blue, Emerald Green and Chestnut Brown.

Here is the circle tie dye scarf in Emerald

And the gorgeous Chestnut Brown one.

Can't wait to see these done!

First Peek at Lockerhocked Rug

2008-11-06T12:38:00.001-08:00

Here it is drawn out and about 1/4 of the way hooked. It won't look like what is drawn exactly as I have decided some elements won't work for it but it is a good start. I will take another picture soon since I am about 1/2 way now. It really is starting to take shape and the blue/turquoise I dyed for the goat came out EXACTLY the color I want it!!!! Too exciting. I dyed a dark charcoal grey roving a brilliant blue/Turquoise mix and it is so beautiful. OOOH, AAH.

Can't wait to post the finished piece.....but that will be another week or so - AT LEAST. This is most certainly a lesson in patience if nothing else. I just want to see it done.

More Lockerhooking

2008-11-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

So, curiosity got me on the web early one morning and I began looking up the history of Lockerhooking. Originally it appears to have been done in England using 6ply wool yarn but the expense of producing rugs this way was too time consuming and expensive for most folks. A man visiting England took the technique and supplies home to his mother in Australia, who began experimenting to find an easier less expensive way and came up with the style I learned which is to Lockerhook with roving. Indeed - EASIER!!!! I think Lockerhooking is one of the easiest fiberarts there is - Way easier than the British method of course. One would have to process the wool, spin the 6 ply and then lockerhook the rug! This method requires a minimal of supplies - Canvas, yarn (2ply works fine and I am using some of my early UGLY 2ply as it gets covered up anyway and some not so NICE wool) Roving, Tapestry Needle and of course a Lockerhook which looks like a Crochet hook with a needle opening on the back. Oh, and at least some geometric imagination!!!!! REally- you can draw on the canvas and then Fill in with whatever color wool you want. It really is incredibly fun. Are you guys bored with posts with no pictures yet? They are coming - I promise. But I want to do a little more work on the rug FIRST! You'll just have to come back - that's all!

LOCKERHOOKING!

2008-10-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Lockerhooking is a fiber art I've been wanting to learn practically since I began my fiber arts adventure. I have been doing so many other things that I sort of put it on the backburner. This Oct I was able to head up North to the Taos Wool Festival (sooo much fun!!!!) and there was a vendor there teaching folks to Lockerhook. After about 10 minutes watching her, I took the plunge and bought a kit that included all the tools needed, a book and then an extra yard of hooking canvas. Wahoo - on my way to a new adventure!!! So I took some time a completed the project in the kit which was a trivet. This is soooo easy! So I decided a BIGGER project was in order and I drew the background and have been getting the roving ready for hooking. I am seriously thinking a lockerhooking class is in order too! I think come the new year I will set a locker hooking class or two. INDEED! I will post photos of the project soon. I just got soooo excited about finally getting to learn something that I've been wanting to do and what a great way to be able to use up some rovings that I don't really want to use for clothing and some of my rather overspun or loosely spun beginner skeins of yarn - NOTHING needs to go to waste.
Keep posted for more Fiber Adventures - Lockerhooking supplies weren't the only things I bought up in Taos!!!! Besides - i am trying to destash or use my stash and not buy anything unless is will "get rid" of stuff I already have. Yep - lots of fibery adventures to be had.

Tye Dye Silk Scarf - DONE!

2008-10-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

This is the beaded fringe added to the Turquoise Silk Scarf. I couldn't post this until I gave it to my friend so here it is. It is beaded with brown frosted seed beads and Turquoise Silver lined bugles. I LOVE the way it turned out. Thankfully she loved it too. I also made an ankle bracelet to go with it. But also used magenta fire polish with silver and turquoise fire polish and black beads - darn if I didn't get a picture of that one. STORY of my life!

New Felted Wool Hat

2008-10-02T14:07:00.001-07:00

I'm sure after reading most of the previous posts most of you are surprised to see something not turquoise or brown or a combination thereof! I just finished this felted wool/Mohair blend hat (again using my favorite Brown Sheep Co. wool blend). In Ink Blue with a rusty red border. This too I feel is BORING so I am planning on some imbellishing and/or cool hat band. Not sure yet. But, nevertheless, here it is! It is available. I have two orders waiting for me now that I need to get hot on so this one will take a backseat until the orders are done. SIGH! Never enough time in the day to do everything.

Tye Dye Scarf

2008-10-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, this isn't done. I want to embellish this little gem a bit. But this is the tye dye scarf that went into the pot after the silk. It is sooooo pretty. I have it in mind for someone whose Birthday is next week - I hope I get it done in time!!!!!

And the Color is.......

2008-10-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

This may not come as any surprise to those of you who know me well. But yes, turquoise is the color. Thankfully I was able to get some dyeing advice from the dye expert at Village Wools (Thank you!) My intention was to ply this with chocolate brown alpaca but my friend Terri suggest something else and I'm pretty sure that is what I will do......A lace shawl out of the single! I bet it will be gorgeous! (Thank you Terri!) My dyepot was no where near exhausted (this doesn't take much time in the pot) so I threw in a Chiffon Scarf I purchased from Dharma Trading Co. I tye dyed it and I LOVE IT. See next post!

Anohter Spinning Project....

2008-10-02T13:39:00.001-07:00

Quite a while back I purchased 4oz of Tussah silk roving. I had no idea at the time exactly how far that would go but I began spinning a thin single. After about a week I finished the first skein. And I still had a lot left to spin. Sooooo, after nearly another week (not quite) I finished two skeins of the most beautiful, thin, silk skeins. And then I began to dream about COLORS. What to make this luscious stuff? I know some of you know what this turned out to be (colorwise) but the rest of you will have to wait to see......

2008-10-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

I bought this beautiful batt of bamboo and angelina in brown and turquoise. This stuff is so beautiful with lost of shine. It is from Butterflygirldesigns.Etsy.com.
I really enjoy spinning bamboo and seeing how the yarn turns out.
Here is is being spun up into a single. My intention is to ply with some of the soft Merino/Ramboulliet wool I have from my friend Wendy's sheep Molly. Love Molly. She has a nice staple length and some very soft fiber.

Here is the spun yarn. It sure made a lot of yarn but I haven't been able to find the time to count and find out the exact yardage yet. My plan is to make a jacket out of it. I do not have enough so I ordered to more batts from Butterflygirldesigns and have lots of Molly since I purchased a pound of her fiber and have been spinning it VERY thin.
Can't wait until I have a lovely jacket to wear!

Horse Quilt top.

2008-09-26T18:46:00.001-07:00

I recently finished this quilt top - I started it about 7 years ago or so. I did one for my son that has John Deere tractors and one that is for my daughter that is horses. Unfortunately a lot can change in 7 years - she doesn't like horses anymore! Boohoo.
The top is finished and I will work on finishing it up over the winter. I will put it up for sale to buy material for another quilt more to her liking (and more mature tastes.) If anyone is interested in the quilt please contact me at NMgoatgal@gmail.com. Top only will be $100. Once it is done it will go up for auction on ComeToTheFarm. If you want it finished before I put it up for auction it will be $200.

Netted Scarf

2008-09-26T18:42:00.001-07:00

Recently I finished this netted scarf, this was sooo easy a project but for some reason it gave me a heck time - Had to frog this like 4 times. But alas it is done.
It is in turquoise and purple silk and viscose. It has lovely fringe and is very classy looking if you can ignore the few mistakes. I love this scarf and just need an occassion and an outfit to wear it with LOL!

Chocolate on My Blue Silk Dress and Molly

2008-09-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

I just don't seem to be able to stop spinning. Quite a while back I had my friend Terry order me this Bamboo/Angelina from an Etsy store (Butterflygirldesigns.Etsy.com) and I just now got around to spinning the luscious stuff. And for once I actually have a project in mind for it. A beautiful netted Tunic sweater (which means now I have to get off my duff and learn to knit sweaters.
Here it is spun by itself. It is soooo shiney it reflects the light in the most amazing way. I wish the sweater was done but first I have to spin a bunch of Molly - the Ramboulliet/Merino wool I bought from my dear friend Wendy. I love this combo. It is so soft and silky it is amazing.
Here is the first skein prewash. It is 2 ply sportweight and is lovely stuff for a scrumptious sweater for the winter. (yeah, knowing me - next winter. BUT I digress. I loved this stuff and still have plenty of Molly left so I ordered two more batts of Chocolate on My Blue Silk Dress from Butterflygirldesigns. IF you are bored and LOVE handmade drop spindles - go check out her store - you won't be dissappointed - besides, if drop spindles aren't your thing - she has some beautiful spinning batts as well. Keep posted to see if ever make it to getting my sweater done - in the meantime I may just have to sleep with the soft stuff.
HMMMMMM.....

MORE Alpaca Silk Yarn.

2008-08-18T14:26:00.001-07:00

This is a 3 ply nearly sportweight yarn with 2 ply of Black Alpaca (Phineas from Four Pines Alpaca) and 1 of pink/blue/purple silk from ExclusivelyLindaLee.Etsy.com. Thank you two ladies for contributing to my spinning enjoyment. It came out to about 170 yards of lovely yarn though this picture isn't showing it for what it REALLY is. For those of you who are local - it will be down at the Valencia County Fair from Wed to Sunday. REALLY enjoying spinning Alpaca - some of the nicest fiber I've spun and Silk is right up there with it so this is the stuff spinning dreams are made of . IT is for sale but I have not priced it yet. Feel free to email me if you are interested.

Indigo Blues

2008-06-23T07:20:00.001-07:00

Our Fiber Guild put on an Indigo Dying workshop this past Saturday. Soooo, I took a skein of white Alpaca I had and a silk cap I had sitting around. We wore our old clothes and learned the history of Indigo and how to process it. (Yeah, I kind of felt a tad OUT of my league here) Also had a tour of Jaye's beautiful dye garden (darn I left my camara at home -so if you want to see you'll have to visit SpinKitty or TerriKnitsAnd blogspots to see

what other goodies there were to see) Here is the finished product

the silk cap and the beautiful skein of blue Alpaca. Beautiful Stuff.

NEW Fiber - Thank you Linda Lee!!!

2008-06-23T07:14:00.001-07:00

Like a kid in a candy store when this fiber came. Linda Lee at ExclusivelyLindaLee.Etsy.com sold me this incredible eye candy aka Silk Handpainted Hankies for spinning. There is 10 grams of Promise (yes - more Black Alpaca/rainbow silk on the way) and about 30 of Hankie Pankie (the purple/pink/blue) plus some tempting tencel and merino....and a little tickler of Tulips (yellow, light blue, light green, coral) Too much fun stuff so little time!!!!!!Thank you again Linda Lee for tempting me into MORE beautiful fiber. I'll be busy spinning up a storm.

Merino/Bamboo - Autumn Browns

2008-06-23T07:05:00.001-07:00

I bought 4 oz of custom carded/dyed bamboo in shades of chocolate brown, red and gold. I spun a lot of it up and then plyed it with some yummy Merino/Ramboulliet. This is some of the softest yummiest yarn yet. (WELL - almost - the alpaca/silk is mighty soft) I wish the colors really came through BUT you can

click on the picture and you can see more detail as the picture will enlarge. There is a lot more yarn here than I thought I'd get and it is fairly thin. Still not sure what it will be but I'll let you all know when it decides to be something!!!! The Bamboo came from Loop.Etsy.com and the Merino/Ramb. came from my friend Wendy's ewe Molly. LOVELY stuff ladies!!!!

Mystery Fiber Day - REVEALED

2008-06-11T07:11:00.001-07:00

IF you guessed I was caught red handed dying with Koolaid - you were right!!! Here are a sampling of the beautiful colors of wool my 4 year old and I dyed in our day together. I think we both had a ton of fun and want to do this again. wonder if we could get the 14yo and 10 yo's interested???? Who knows - Buy stock in Koolaid - this won't be our last time - My favorites are the purples and blue/greens. YUMMY!!!!!We dyed Brown Sheep Co wool top, BFL/Cheviot and some mystery wool I was given, and a bit of Terri's Mohair (in cherry red!!!) Can't wait to card and spin this stuff. Oh yeah, did I mention it smells yummy - when we were done, we sat back and had a nice cold glass of ........Cherry Koolaid - perfect end to a perfect fiber day with the kiddo.

What in the World Am I Up to?

2008-06-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

YEP - you caught me RED handed (Bwahaha) doing something today....
What does a Fiber Artist do when she is blessed with a day at home with only the 4 year old at home to HELP out? AND and inspirational visit from a fellow Fiber Junkie? Take a lucky guess!!!!
Also - For a hint check out TerriKnitsAnd.blogspot.com ! You can see what one of the local Bosque Farms Fiber Addicts is up to!

I've been BAMBOOzled

2008-06-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Not really - I began spinning one of my two new batts of Bamboo at the Fiber Farm Tour. WOWZA! This is Chocolate Liquer (spelling is wrong sorry!) from Loop at Etsy.com and it is stunning. I wish the spun up pic was better. My plan is to 2ply with some yummy Merino from my wonderful friend Wendy and her sheep Molly. This is gonna be some serious eye candy.

Fiber Farm Tour

2008-06-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

Forgot my camara but I had memorable day at the Fiber Farm tour in Edgewood/East Mountain area. Judy Tucker and Lora Kniffin at Prairie Wood Ranch invited me out to be a part of the tour and sell my goat milk soaps and yarn/ finished projects. Sounds like it was a success ALL the way around. It was so fun meeting so many Fiber folks, talking to people about their critters and demonstrating spinning. Also had the chance to help Lora sell one of her goats who I KNOW got a new GREAT home with Laughing Orca Ranch (see link on my Cornerstonenigerians blog). Lisa took home a beautiful blue eyed Mini Mancha who I think will be a real asset to her farm. Can't wait until Lisa is up to her elbows in milk and cheese!
Next year I'll remember my camara and take pics of the fiber and all the kids enjoying the baby goats including Judy's new Angora Caleb. So EXCITING!!!!

Prism Yarn

2008-06-04T09:25:00.001-07:00

Okay - not the best picture. This is the newest yarn. I plied 2 strands of Black Alpaca (from Phineas at FourPines Alpacas in Los Lunas) and one ply of rainbow dyed silk from ExclusivelyLindaLee.Etsy.com. I LOVE the rainbow dyed silk. Wish i'd bought more of that one. BTW - for those of you who like to spin from Hankies - I hightly recommend Linda Lee's AWESOME custom dyed hankies. They are BIG and the dying she does is really unique. I am going to throw this in the wash and I will get another picture when the skein is finished. She's super nice to work with too!!!! Thank you Linda and Mary - I really appreciate your "contributions" to my Fiber addiction. Also another plug for Mary at Four Pines - she gave our 4H kids a bunch of fiber for their newest project - they learned to make wet felted pieces so if I have a chance to finish soon I will take pictures and put them up.

Johnny Jump Ups - WASHED!

2008-05-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

Amazingly enough this is Johnny Jump Ups POST washing.

Skein one is the largest at 290yds. It is 3 ply and washed out to a pretty shades of purple with some greenish hues. Skein two is only a two ply of lilac and yellow which turned an almost mossy green with some purples total lenght is 256.8 yards.Skein 3 is what was left of the triple ply of the lilac, violet and yellow which for some reason turned a lighter shade of the purples/green - total yardage is 139.75. Odd that all of this came of the same dye lot - Ya never know what is going to happen! I guess that is the fun of this - the unpredictablility! I am going to wash the Purple Haze today and see what happens.

NEW Novelty yarn.

2008-05-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my artistic brain has been working overtime. I bought some lovely BFL/Cheviot cross wool from Lisa at Sommerhill Farm. I drum carded it with some dyed BFL lock (also from Lisa) and some Purple Flash Angelina. I spun up the batts (well, not all of them YET!) and then plyed with some beautiful purple silk I spun at our spinning silk workshot not too long ago. I LOVE this stuff. I haven't even taken it off the Niddy Noddy yet but it's beautiful stuff - I WANT MORE!!!!! I will be calling it Purple Haze. No Fiber addiction issues here - really! Johnny Jump Up is being washed right now, YES I finally finished spinning it and plying it. I wound up with 2 triple ply and found myself with quite a bit of yellow and lilac left so I double plied it and it's also in the wash. Pics later when it's all washed and dried.

BTW, I was given a niddy noddy and a Lazy Kate for Mother's day and I am buying some brown alpaca so look for a lot more fun novelty yarn coming your way. We will be at Prairie Wood Ranch for the East Mountain Fiber Farm tour the first weekend in June. We will have Fiber, finished products, goat milk soaps and will be spinning and maybe some needle felting while we are there.

Johnny Jump Ups Done!

2008-04-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

I finally got my first skein of Johnny Jump Ups done. I am going to be doing another run of it. YIPPEE.
These pics are terrible. I tried to get a good picture. Anyway. I believe it made around 290 yards. I will likely put this one up for sale - as my friend said - it is a process project. I just wanted to dye, spin, and triple ply - Success. I will be washing it this week.

Johnny Jump Up Continued - Spinning

2008-04-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

1, 2, 3. Here we go - I am spinning my rovings. The next pic will hopefully be of the finished 3-ply yarn. I think the yellow is a bit brighter than I had originally wanted but it's what i have and I've been doing it all myself for a learning experience. I have learned so much.

Johnny Jump Ups!

2008-04-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

So, I got an incredible idea from spring flowers (yeah - I know this is not original but I still want to see it through) I had the two purples dyed so I dyed a bit of roving yellow - and I am spinning up three bobbins and will triple ply it. I love spring and it will be fun to take something from start to finish. White roving, dying it myself, and now spinning and then plying.

This is SOOOOOO much fun.

Spinning Silk

2008-04-13T19:24:00.001-07:00

I am finally getting some spinning done. Our super friend Sue taught another Saturday spinning class for our Bosque Farms Fiber Addicts (BFFA)or is it Best Fiber Friends Always. Anyway! We learned to spin silk from hankies and roving (and caps though I haven't done that yet because I want to dye my cap/bell BEFORE I spin it). I am soooo hooked. I really like spinning silk. It really is fun. I thought it was HARD but it doesn't seem too hard to me and it is stunningly beautiful once spun.

HAHA attempt at Navajo Plying.

2008-04-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

I like new challenges - I tried my hand a Navajo plying with some hand - dyed Brown Sheep Co. Roving. I think it looks better in this picture than in person. I really enjoyed learning but wow did I make a lot of booboos. I am think this will be knit and then made into a pillow cover (felted) so you can't see the boo boos! By the end I think I did get the hang of it. Right now I'm working on spinning a yarn of my own creation (yeah - not really) that is two shades of purple and yellow - Johnny Jump ups were the spring inspiration. Can't wait. Also learned to spin silk - oh am I hooked. Next it's Bamboo - wait to you all see this stuff - it's incredible.

Some New Hats.

2008-02-25T06:41:00.001-08:00

Here are two hats I made on the Nifty Knitter round loom. I made one for my 4yo daughter and one for my 13 yo. daughter. I couldn't believe it when the 13 yo asked for one. They are both made out of leftover Lion Brand Homespun Yarn given to me by a friend. I am making more hats. I'd like to donate some of these to orphanages in the Ukraine or China.

PS - VERY easy to make and very quick as well - talk about instant gratification.

I DYED!!!!

2008-02-23T16:36:00.001-08:00

I took the plunge and dyed my roving. I bought a bunch of Brown Sheep Co. natural wool roving and dyed it with Jaquard's Lilac and Violet - totally love the colors but I'm a purple fanatic. I am beginning to spin it now and am sure I will have a lot of fun doing it.

Yep, dying is nearly as much fun as spinning - fun to see what colors you get. I want to do more but again, I have too much OTHER stuff to do and really need to finish up some projects.

The Silver Stuff

2008-02-23T16:31:00.001-08:00

I was given some lovely silver grey, soft fiber. Wish I knew what it was but I don't. I went to some fellow fiber fanatics - they all say think it is synthetic. I'm not a huge fan of synthetic but this is great stuff. I spun it thin and plied it with black tencel. Wow! I love it. It wound up being around 420 yds. I think it wants to be a lovely lacy openwork scarf. Will let ya know when I start - meanwhile I have other stuff to work on - like some purple and white to spin, some BFL/Cheviot to drum card, and several projects that need some finishing...- Too much to do too little time!!!!

MIXED BERRIES

2008-01-23T11:37:00.000-08:00

Here is what I've been spinning. I bought 8 oz of Louet Roving called mixed berries which is hand dyed 100% wool top.
I love this combo and wish I had more!! It is planning on being a part of a sweater for my daughter. I had to share this with my blogger buddies!

A few New items

2007-11-27T05:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a hat and purse I just finished. I'd like to say that they match but they don't. I couldn't find the red that the purse was made from so bought another red for the hat and they are different colors - the purse is a darker red than the hat which is more Cherry! Still, they turned out cute. I did sell a hat at an Arts and Crafts Fair 2 weekends ago - amazinly enough for the weather was in the 70s and these are WOOL! I have several hats up in Colorado for a show this weekend so hopefully they also will sell. The weather up there is MUCH colder!!!!

NEW Yarn

2007-11-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

I just can't stop spinning. Here are 4 of the latest skeins of Yarn. A friend thinks this is Shetland wool = it was given to me in roving with no tags or anything. It is heathered brown. I spun up two skeins of single ply, then I took a workshop on spinning a few weekends ago and learned to spin thinner yarn so I did and then learned to ply. The two skeins on the right are 2 ply and turned out great - HMMM, what to do with this yarn??????

Will keep you all updated on what comes from this. I am spinning some stuff now that I hate. I will ply it and see what comes of it. It is making bumpy yarn all on its' own and it is very course. I am in the process of buying some Border Leicester/Cheviot cross wool right now. I am having so much fun spinning the different types of fiber to learn. No complaints.

MORE Gourds for Fall

2007-11-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

Here are Several new gourds I've done recently. The sunflower birdhouse, the leaf bowl, the hummingbird christmas ornament, sunflower christmas ornament and a leaf birdhouse.

These are just some samples of what I'm doing. They are made using a woodburning tool and leather dyes. I LOVE the sunflower christmas ornament and the leaf bow. The leaf birdhouse isn't done yet. I still have to stain it and put the "coating" over it. These are NOT weatherproofed and are for decoration only. Christmas ornaments will run $15.00 and the the bowls and birdhouses (these aren't very big) run between $40 and $60. Hope you enjoy my gourdart!.

A Few More Felted Critters

2007-11-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a needle felted Nigerian Dwarf goat and a needle felted "tye-die" teddy bear in greens, purples and pink. Both are available for $15 each.

Thank you for looking

Needle Felted Angora Goat

2007-11-10T05:27:00.000-08:00

Here's the newest needle felted angora goat - this one is sold but you can see it better than the other one. I've gotta make these bigger! I will be adding a teddy bear and a Nigerian goat soon to the post. These are available by order only for $15.00

Wool Washing

2007-10-04T07:59:00.001-07:00

I have been washing the white and grey wool I was given by a lady locally. It is beautiful stuff. I also had been given some very dirty/matted mohair by a neighbor so I kept what was good and threw the rest away. Here is pictures of it being washed and dried - who knew a trampoline would be a VERY good place to dry wool - PERFECT. I am looking forward to finding the time and equipment to start carding. Hopefully by the time I get to spinning I will be proficient enough to make some really NICE yarn. Then, it will be on to learning to dye. Yep, definitely a Fiber Phanatic

Wool and newly spun yarn

2007-10-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here are before and after pictures of the first yarns I spun. YES, they are tight and curliqued but who cares, they have character and I'm learning. I LOVE it. The only wild thing is, the tan one turned greeny gold colored. It's actually a really pretty color - I like it better than the tan it originally was. Very fun.

I will be spinning some black tonight and weaving this stuff on a triangular loom to make purses out of. Too much fun to be had. I will be posting my wool that I cleaned today as well.

Out with the OLD, In with the NEW

2007-09-28T06:36:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to ME! The new wheel is here and the old wheel

is being retired to "decoration" status. It is an antique and it belonged to my best friend's grandma so it is staying unless one of them wants it (grandma or best friend) but won't be used. It is a neat wheel but limited in what I can do with it. Soooooo, the new wheel will take it's place. It is an Ashford Scholar. Ashford doesn't make it any more but it's a beauty, easy to use and they still make the parts for it (Thank goodness!) I will be able to ply my yarn and it's treadle folds up easily for portability so I can go to my spining group/Fiber guild meetings easily with spinning wheel in tow. Couldn't do that very well with the other one. Plus it is so nice to store. Can't wait to start spinning LOTS of yarn!!!

God is GOOD!

NEW - Felted Wool Pins

2007-09-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Here are my two newest projects - felted/beaded pins (lapel, brooch, hat) What fun that was to make. Now I have ideas just bouncing through my brain - If only there were more hours in the day to do all the fun stuff I'd Like to do!!! Anyway, check back often since I will be doing a lot more of these little gems.

I am trying to convince my kids to do them too since they are so fun and easy. So far no luck. My daughter is too busy learning to be a computer geek and my son would rather kill an imaginary enemy with his imaginary weapons. I don't think the 4yo is ready for this - needles are too sharp but we will be working on her learning to knit this winter. Gotta go work on one of my UFOs !

Little Needle Felted Nigie

2007-09-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

Here is my second needle felted Nigerian Dwarf goat (yes, she has a little udder too but you can't see it). I am working on another little Angora as we speak. I still don't like this one as well but will keep working on them. I want to do Pygmy goats and maybe even Alpacas etc. Dee's Menagerie. I just can't keep them around long enough to actually take a picture of more than one!! This one is sold and heading to Colorado.

My first skein of yarn

2007-09-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it - I spun my first yarn on my old creaky in bad shape wheel. i wanted to finish it before the new wheel gets here tomorrow and I spun the last of it today. It's lumpy bumpy curli Q-y but it's my first. My plan is to use the yarn to make a triangle weave purse. This stuff should look really cool felted so I am hoping to get a small purse with and I Cord handle.

Fun Stuff!

Goatie Gourds

2007-09-13T15:00:00.001-07:00

These are the latest gourds. The first picture is a trophy for the SWNDGC State Fair show. the second will be used as a prize as well but it is a pair of earrings (post style) and pin. I will be making many more of these for sale.

MORE Hats!

2007-09-05T06:38:00.001-07:00

I have to thank my kids for being my "hat heads" for pictures. Here are 3 hats made from Lion Brand Suede yarn. This stuff feels amazing (even though I usually hate working in "un-natural" fibers) It is so soft. I've made 4 hats out of Ecru and Chocolate or a mix thereof. Three of the hats have sold already! I'm working on another one now. It should be done by end of today and is Ecru. This yarn was given to me so normally I wouldn't have bought it but this was a good thing to have fall in my lap, it is very soft and warm.....Great for winter! I have one more hat not pictured that is purple and black cotton. Hope to get it up this week too!

The Finished Shawl

2007-09-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished Shawl with the peacock colored hat. The Shawl is made out of Lion brand Ribbon yarn in Copper Penny. I love the "fall" colors in it. The Peacock hat is made out of Cascade 220 "Heathers" in peacock blue. It is light in weight than most of the hats I've made from the Brown Sheep Co. wool/mohair blend. I love that it is 100% Peruvian Merino so it is still very soft without the Mohair.

Weaving Project

2007-07-21T07:27:00.001-07:00

This is my first project on the triangular loom. I am working on a shawl using Lion Brand Incredible Ribbon called Copper Penny. I love the luminous soft fall like colors in this ribbon. It is making a very drapey nice shawl. I am hoping to finish it in time for the Bosque farms Fair in two weeks. It is close to being done.

I will post a picture of the finished shawl when it is done but this will give you an idea of what a finished triangle on the loom looks like. Thank you Mary Curik of Four Pines Alpacas for teaching such an AWESOME class on weaving on the triangular and circular looms. I hope to have a project from the circular loom up on here soon as well, I'm working on it when I'm not working on this one!!!

Tulip Gourd

2007-07-21T07:22:00.001-07:00

I just finished this tulip gourd for an order - I love the way it turned out. I used woodburning and leather dye for the color.

I will seal it today and it will be off to it's new home soon. I hope to post a horse I am doing for my one and only riding student.

soon, it is almost done. I just need white and dark brown leather dye to finish it. I just love the way this one turned out though, it is one of my favorites so far.

Black and Red Hat.

2007-07-21T07:14:00.001-07:00

Here is a cotton hat I just finished. I think it needs some big beady flowery pin to dress it up but it is one of the softest hats I've ever made. It is out of Cascade's 100% cotton yarn (red) and some nice black cotton I was given (didn't have a label). Hope everyone likes it!!

The Felted Angora and Soaps

2007-04-25T06:43:00.000-07:00

This picture is of some of our handmade goat's milk soaps in Cucumber scent with a needlefelted Angora goat that was more fun to make than you can shake a stick at. I think I will be doing a LOT more of these.

They turn out so cute. I had to take a picture before this order went out so I had a record of the little angora.

Hope you like it!

Two More Hats

2007-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Two more hats. The one on the Right is another Mohair/Wool blend from Lamb's Pride. Unfortunately you cannot see the beaded design on it very well. There are light purple "sunburst" designs all around the hat. The other hat is made of cotton. Both are crocheted and ARE currently for sale. The Cotton hat will fit a bigger head than the pink hat. The pink hat will fit a small adult or larger child. Brim on pink hat can curl up all the way around.

I love doing these hats. I have another one done, that is on order from a customer but may go up for sale if she doesn't pick it up soon. It's red, so all you red hatters out there....

Grey Felted Alpaca Hat

2007-02-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

This is a hat that my sister in law ordered (Thank you Megan!) It is a charcoal grey felted Alpaca hat. I bought 600 yards of Prime Alpaca in Charcoal. I crocheted it double stranded for a little more bulk and it is sooooo nice and soft. I'm so excited about this as I've never worked in Alpaca before. It fuzzes a little differently from the Wool/Mohair I've been using but it is so much softer than anything I've worked with. I think I like working in Alpaca. Good think since my next project is that OZZY scarf out of Ozzy the Alpaca's Auburn wool!