Carolina Fiber Fest

Carolina Fiber Fest hit Raleigh on May 18-20, 2012 and it was great fun! I met Kimberly Nicdao Villareal at The Buffalo Wool Company booth and she was very sweet...I enjoyed chatting with her about Bunnies and Family:0)
There was so much to see this year and, of course, you couldn't do it all in one day! So, I had to go back for a second look!

Of course, there were spinning wheels and lots of them!
This is the Ashford Country...great for spinning art bats, and the other two look like an older Ashford Traditional and a Kromski.









There was also lots and lots of fiber....

Dyed and Undyed Locks

Silk Cocoons

And yarn.....

Sari Silk

Silk

And Drop Spindles....

These spindles were at the Unplanned Peacock booth.  Let me tell you, they are gorgeous. PM her at her Facebook page if you want one....











These clever yarn bowls are from Sue Henshaw Pottery...this one was one of my favorites, with a pocket for scissors and tools....

There was even a nice lady who was painting sheep!

The artist is Conni Togel from Sheep Incognito.  So cool!

All this fibery goodness just makes me want one of these all the more....can't wait til the day I find one of these on my doorstep!

Tunisian Lace, Part II

Spent some time with this book last week.

It's Kim Guzman's Learn To Do Tunisian Lace Stitches. What fun! I came to this book with a pretty good background in crochet and with a knowledge of basic tunisian stitches. I also have made a couple of projects in tunisian lace. Last year, I made Tara's Tunisian Scarf by Ellen Gormley for my mother's birthday and I also made a few dishcloths a couple weeks ago from a pattern I saw on Knitting Daily.
This week, I made a few more dish cloths for Mom, (she loves them) to go along with her Mother's Day gift.
This book includes a DVD, which featured Kim, demonstrating all the stitches used to make projects in this book.  It has been a blast to learn them along with helpful tips to improve my tunisian stitching.  Of course, all of the projects are lovely and I wanted to try every one of the stitch  patterns, but with other work and a busy family, I was constrained to two. Here they are:

stitch pattern number 8, the white cloth, and stitch pattern number 10 in pink.  Please note that I went down a couple hook sizes. I used a size H tunisian hook because that's what I had. Really, a larger hook is called for when using worsted yarn and making lace.  Still, Mom says they are too pretty to was dishes with, and I have to agree with her.  Maybe she can use them as trivets?

Warm Summer Days...In May

At least, I am hoping that 90 degrees is as hot as we get this summer.  It has been nice for sitting outside in the early evenings to smell the honeysuckle blossoms and wave to the neighbors. Many of us have already started the southerner's summer ritual: work indoors during the heat of the day and come out in the early evening to walk the dog, work in our yards, or sit under the shade of a tree and drink iced tea.  Here, Emma is picking oak tails out of Juliet's fur...so cute!


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I've been swatching some lace patterns from The Encyclopedia Of Crochet by Donna Kooler

This one is called Spiderweb Lace.  I like it.
And I finally received Kim Guzman's Learn To Do Tunisian Lace Stitches. I have been contemplating the beautiful Bobbles In Blue Throw from that book. I think it would make a nice baby blanket....