May is Hemp Month

Ok, I have no idea whether it is or not. But I did make some of these for the upcoming Garden Gallery & Gifts show, June 5 & 6, in Broad Brook, CT.

All made of hemp and cotton.

This red one is at Swift Waters.

I also made some guitar string pendants. They are just sitting in my studio, waiting for me to put them on chains and put them in the store.

This one, however, did make it over to Swift Waters. I like the ball ends.

So, I actually have been busy lately with weaving, planting the garden, and playing my guitar. I've learned "Sweet Lorraine" by Patty Griffin, of course, sounding nothing like her and still working on better strumming. But I'm loving it!

Patience . . .

It may be a virtue but I'm running pretty low on it these past few days. Back on a slow internet connection until . . . whenever. We'll see.

However, I will post my latest here:

Magenta Palette scarf

This scarf was fun to weave. The warp (yarn going the long way) is tencel in jewel tones. the weft (horizontal) is a wool yarn from Koigu, which has so many handpainted color combinations. It's a beautiful yarn and I'm glad I had some to use in this scarf.

Today I'll work on things to take to Swift Waters tomorrow.

Let The Chenilles Begin!

I just dressed the loom with a striking black and red chenille yarn. The chenille scarves have begun! No pictures yet. However, here are more pictures of a set I finished this week.

Lost handwoven scarf. Tencel and merino tencel.

Lost handwoven scarf

Lost handwoven scarf. Yes, I was feeling very sad that day.

Fiona handwoven scarf. Tencel.

Fiona handwoven scarf.

Fiona handwoven scarf.

Fiona handwoven scarf

Black Like My Heart handwoven scarf. Tencel and alpaca/silk.

Black Like My Heart handwoven scarf.

Black Like My Heart handwoven scarf (same bad day).

Lost is in my Etsy store and the other three will be sent to Silver Circle Studio, Swift Waters, and Indigo Lily.

Yes, I Am Still Here

Working, working, working! And loving it! The Farmers' Market (September 20) was a great success for me. Great weather, lots of traffic and sales. It was so good, infact, that I never got a chance to leave my booth to go check out all the rest of the fibery goodness at the market!

Buffy was a hit. I thought she would be shy - sometimes she runs to the corner of her cage when I bring new people to meet her. But she just check out her surroundings (hay - check. water - check. food - check.) then sat right down and enjoyed all the attention, pettings, even the dogs who came up to see her.

Just got set up in the booth, now relaxing.

Nice picture of Buffy in the afternoon light. Photo by Dorothy Drobney.

Some of my knitted and crocheted cuffs and bracelets (on a beaver pelt, with antlers). Photo by Dorothy Drobney.

More items on display, including some stitich markers from Gwynevere Creations (my sister, Shannon). Photo by Dorothy Drobney

Two week old baby angora bunny a couple of booths down from me. SO CUTE!

This is my latest handwoven scarf, Lost I think it's one of my favorites.

I'm back at the market this Sunday, for Squashtober Fest! And I'm still cranking out more scarves this week for Swift Waters, Indigo Lily, Silver Circle Studio, and my Etsy store. Stay tuned!

Busy, Birthdays, and . . . Beer?

Well, no beer yet. Of course there are festivities on the horizon:

Today is my step-son's birthday! We'll be having a little dinner and cake here and then he will be off continuing his birthday celebrations, I am sure. He's a great, I want to say kid, but he's not! Anyway, he could probably set up a great, stylin' party for you, if you wanted. Happy Birthday, Sean!

And then my husband's birthday is on Saturday. One of his favorite birthday celebrations would be to go on his boat, but it looks like it will rain that day. Plan B has been requested and I am awaiting some suggestions from him.

The boat I like to call Locked and Loaded but it has no name. I took this picture last weekend when we were at Mystic.

On the business front, I had a great day at the Farmers Market last Sunday! Thank you to all who stopped by. I got a couple of custom requests and lots more ideas. Plus, a beautiful, warm, sunny day helps, too!

I put this in Swift Waters last week and it sold already!

And I dropped this off a couple of days ago.

AHHH! Must get to work! I love it!

Loaded

Not me! I've put a bunch of things in my shop this past week. I just got a request for some placemats from my sister-in-law and I'm working at Swift Waters tomorrow and I'm working on another crocheted flower necklace to take over there.

July Handwoven Towels in Stars and Dots

April Handwoven Towel

Handwoven Remnants Note cards in Yellow and Magenta

Silk Stainless Steel Handwoven Bookmark

Little Birds on a Branch Blank Journal

On a Wing and a Prayer Bubble Necklace

Tumultuous Week

Peace to Dorothy Korkuc, a neighbor on the street where I grew up. I'm praying for peace and comfort for her family and friends.

Peace to Tara, a very good dog and companion to my mother. I'm praying that my mother finds comfort.

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I got a call from Swift Waters saying they've sold out of all my crocheted jewelry!

And Indigo Lily wants to see more of my things! I'm working on stuff! In fact I just took two runners off the loom yesterday. I'm hemming them.

This is made with a 40/2 natural colored linen warp and "shosenshi" paper (linen paper) from Habu Textiles. (I love that store so much that I had Matt take me there as a birthday present a few years ago.) The linen paper is washable, just like any other yarn.

I'm very excited about this. One will go to Indigo Lily and I will send a picture to my sister in Memphis to see if they may be interested in it at a local gallery.

My next weaving project will be some red, white, and blue towels. I will begin measuring the warp after I've decided on the color layout.

More upcycled fabric ideas! And more crocheted flowers! I think I will make some with the linen paper. cool!

New in the Store and Inspiring Creativity

I've got two new summer scarves in the shop. They debuted at the farmers market and now they are in my Etsy shop.

Rose Handwoven Summer scarf

Willow Handwoven Summer scarf

Here is something I could really use - herb tags. I grow some herbs and dry as much as I can but after they're hanging up for months, dry and crispy, I can't always tell what they are. Catnip is an exception. I always know which herb is catnip when I stick it in front of the cats' noses. Oregano? Lemon balm? Not so much.

So I came up with these herb tags to hang on the herbs as they dry. There are so many herbs, that I only made a few but can happily custom create others! Put them in a clay pot with seeds as a housewarming or teacher's gift.

Herb Tags for Herb Drying

I'd like to send a shout out to the creator of Thursday Sweet Treat, Natasha, who inspired me to set up a similar challenge on a bi-monthly (or so) at Swift Waters Artisans Co-op. Everyone gets busy but sometimes we need a little fire to get us going. I hope this will inspire people to challenge themselve to create or finish a project for:

Red, White, and Blue!

This will bring new items in the store and for the display windows in time for July 4th. Red, white, and blue and America never go out of style!

Now I need to get working on my own project!