Class Has Ended / Winter Has Not Yet Begun

Firstly, may I say I owe a debt of gratitude to the individuals who signed up for the needle felted doll class at the DAI. Wow! I hope that you had half as much fun as I did. The creativity, playful spirit and individual talents and tales of this group made the experience a real joy for me.

As is always the case, whenever textile enthusiasts, craft persons and/or artists get together everyone is bound enjoy learning something new and fascinating. It is also always nice to reaffirm that this fiber addiction I suffer under is not a rare affliction. Certainly a fiber addict can recognize other fiber addicts... and I did.

P.S. I failed to add Alden Amos to the list of resources. I got that wonderful turkish drop spindle from his shop a few years back. He also wrote, The Big Book of Handspinning. I love this book! (And, there are people who aren't a bit interested in spinning who love this book for the way it is written.) Best foot notes ever! http://pweb.jps.net/~gaustad/spindle.html Look for the Turkish (Macedonian) spindle and, if you get the chance, have a perusal of that book of his.

Bitter Cold Weather and a Great Web Find!

It is still Autumn here in the northwoods. Ha, ha. I have already survived the lactic acid burn of the first few snow shoveling adventures and recovered (sort of). I'm ready for the next big drop of white but, wouldn't mind a few more days respite. The pickler for me are those sub-zero temps. I'm talking farenheight here: 17 below zero. With only 5 more days of Autumn I have the feeling this winter is just going to fly by. Again, ha, ha.

Here's a web site that will warm you: http://www.davidgrote.com/
Beautiful paintings, beautiful gardens, and LOVELY, LOVELY Icelandic sheep. Certainly, from my perspective as a fiber fiend, there is much that can be said for a breed that produces two coats at once each with completely different attributes and oh, the natural colors!

I had the good fortune of meeting this multi-talented artist and hand spinner recently. I tell you, there are fascinating people in this part of the country. I'd probably meet more of them if I wasn't in my woolen fortress of solitude playing with fibers every free moment of my life. But, that's probably not going to change any time soon. The bitter-cold winds howling outside only make a studio full of bags and bags and bags of wool a more inviting cocoon. No, this is not just the addiction talking. Wouldn't it be fun to have a transportable fiber studio that was also a yurt (house of wool)?