12.15.13

the holidays have pretty much arrived and some of you (not ME this time) are still scrambling to finish up some works in progress for the big day.  i, myself, have gotten my projects in the mail to anthony in oregon and deni in colorado.  i'm really not much in the christmas mood this year, so i don't plan on doing much decorating.  i have a string of lovely twinkle lights in the window and that may be all the decorating i do!  tom was hinting around about not putting up a tree, so if he wants one, we may run out and pick up a live tree this week.

laura mcguire (aka crazy sock lady) had me itching to make a pair of socks BUT i found a boot sock pattern which uses size 5 needles and worsted weight yarn!  (woohoo)  i used dream yarn in a red/green color way and made a pair for anthony (size 13 shoe) - the colors seemed appropriate given that his birthday is christmas.  i decided to time myself to see how long they would take.  given his size, it took 6 hrs and 40 minutes to make one.  13 hrs for a pair is nothing to the year and a half it took me to make anthony's other sock in sock yarn!  

ha ha  turned out i had pretty much yarn left, so i made myself a pair out of the leftover.  i was pretty sure i wouldn't have enough to complete them, so i knitted the heel and toe out of a different color.  they are very comfortable and being 100% wool are nice and warm.  i figure if you were making a 'normal' size sock, you could definitely get two socks out of one skein of dream yarn.  now crazy sock lady herself has been converted to the boot sock.  she is working on several pair!  we aren't surprised at all.

welcome knit chicks!  we have a new wonderful group of ladies in our midst!  linda, susan, beth, judy, marlene, and ruth learned how to knit only last month and have been going crazy ever since!  beth made a beautiful baby sweater and hat set; linda felted a couple of purses, scarves, wine cozy; marlene made too many scarves and neck warmers to mention; judy knitted a hat and scarf set, a drop stitch scarf, felted purse, and is now finishing up a scarf for her hubby, and susan felted a purse, some fingerless mitts, and a scarf.  believe me, i haven't listed all of their accomplishments, but it warms my heart to see people so enthused about knitting!  below is a picture of beth's beautiful granddaughter wearing the sweater grandma made:

betsy ohr's naughty knotty knitters had a 'high tea' at the greensburg art center for their christmas meeting.  everyone brought their own tea cup and we had some traditional english treats, including the bakewell tart, eclairs, shortbread, lemon squares, nut rolls…. need i say more?  14 ladies enjoyed this day and we're all appreciative of betsy's efforts!  for some reason, unbeknownst to me, betsy asked ME to make the traditional bakewell tart.  (oh no - why ME???)  it was actually fun to make - a pie crust with a filling made of almond meal, eggs, sugar, and butter!  there was an added layer of jam between the crust and the filling, then sliced almonds were scattered over the top.  definitely different  and not too sweet.

i don't know what everyone else is working on at this point (other than crazy sock lady now making boot socks), but i am working on a pattern called the holden shawlette.  alicia lund had made one and was wearing it at the tea party.  it was SO beautiful and she assured me it was easy.  (see the photo above with the 3 ladies?  gudrun, betsy, alicia - alicia is wearing her holden shawlette) .  here is the link:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/holden-shawlette 

SO of course as soon as i got home, i found it on ravelry (it is a FREE pattern by the way) and began to knit it.  alicia's shawlette was a beautiful heather green; unfortunately what i wanted was a shawl with an ombre look.  i looked and looked at the shop til i drove myself crazy and settled on an alpaca sock yarn in beautiful oranges and greens; however, you know how sometimes the yarn looks so different on the skein than when its wound?  this is what happened to me.  didn't like it at all - it came out a bit stripey - NOT what i envisioned.  back to the drawing board.  i started searching on the internet for ombre yarns and almost ordered some.  then i had a V-8 moment!  i have that beautiful kauni yarn which blends from one color to another exactly how i wanted it to.  sock yarn OFF the needles and kauni on.  i chose color EU which goes from red to orange to yellow.  at this point i have about 120 stitches on the needle but i have to work up to over 300!  

yesterday with the snow gently falling outside, a fire burning in the wood burner, homemade tomato sauce on the stove and a peach cobbler in the oven, i happily sat with my wool boot socks on and my yarn in my lap watching a corny christmas movie…. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh how can you not love winter?

forgot to get pictures of the critters but i promise to for the january newsletter.  we have a couple of new roosters and they are so friendly and lovable - one of them follows tom around like a puppy.  maybe grizzy is reincarnated already?

upcoming dates:

monday december 16 at 1:00 alyssa buchanan's jump ring bracelet class (which had been postponed due to weather - hopefully it will finally happen!)
december 19 dollies xmas party at pasqualino's murrysville
saturdays dec 21 and 28 craftique fiber art group at craftique in gbg
shop open fridays dec 20 and 27
no KA til january

holiday reminder:

friday, december 20th, we will be celebrating a low-key christmas here at RaggZ.  stop by for a cup of mulled cider and a homemade christmas cookie or two!  nothing extravagant, just a good reason to wish each other a merry christmas in person!

happy december 26th birthday to nancy m!

let me remind you that a gift certificate from RaggZ is a great gift for your knitting friends or a set of hiya hiya short tip interchangeables, or a skein of beautiful yarn!  

coming soon to the shop:  beautiful handcrafted wooden skein winders made by a local craftsman.  then when you buy yarn from the internet or a shop who doesn't wind the yarn for you (WHA???) you can take it home and wind it yourself!  stay posted - hoping they will arrive in january!

spread the love!
t

12/1/13

happy december to all!  i hope everyone has recovered from the thanksgiving feeding frenzy.  our thanksgiving was small but a little sad, as we lost griz, our 13 year old shepherd, the tuesday before thanksgiving.  he had a great week prior to his death, as he was able to go up on the farm every day with tom.  monday evening, he was acting listless and his back legs were really beginning not to work.  he passed quietly mid-day tuesday with tom by his side.  tom took it really hard, as griz had been his constant companion.  when griz was a puppy, he went to work with tom every day at the machine shop.  after tom retired and we bought the farm, griz accompanied tom to the farm for chores so we are confident he had an exceptionally good life and knew he was much loved.  he is sorely missed - our house seems so empty but i know he and raggz are reunited and running and playing again patiently waiting for us to join them. 

now on a happier note, i want to thank everyone who made the ligonier country christmas market a great success.  now i can breathe easier, as the only place i will have a few of my things is the log cabin christmas show which continues this friday through sunday (dec 6, 7, and 8) located on hay lane in murrysville.

raspberry hill alpacas is holding an open house this saturday and sunday at the farm on harrison city road, near shramm's market.

on saturday december 7, the greensburg art center is holding another open house from 1-4pm with free gift wrapping, cookies and hot spiced cider!  their snowflake showcase offers many different handmade items and is worth checking out.  

if you need more info on any of these above shows, please contact me.

several of our knitting friends are in the process of becoming new grandmothers.  cathy rosensteel's first grandchild was born tuesday in virginia and diane mogul is eagerly awaiting the good news from her daughter in new jersey as well.  congratulations ladies - we want to see pictures.  (a FEW pictures - NOT an entire album please).  wink wink

dont forget, a gift certificate to RaggZ is a great present for that knitter/felter in your life, available in any denomination with no expiration date!  the hiya hiya short tip needle sets are flying off the shelf at the best prices in town.  i sell these sets for $55, while most other places sell them for over $70.  shop around and you will see!

i hope everyone's christmas projects are complete or well underway.  i am working on another pair of the felted clogs for my son's girlfriend.  all i have left to do are the double bottoms, get them felted, then ship them out.  i am thinking of sewing tom another heavy lined overshirt.  i've made him about five of them and they are getting worn, so i think its time to make another. 

i got a wonderful surprise at the ligonier market saturday.  when i first started at the market, i met two wonderful ladies - a mother and daughter - from south hills of pittsburgh.  what impressed me at first was that the mother (probably around 70 at the time) purchased several purses from me but they were always funky, out-there purses.  i asked her if they were for her grandchildren and she indignantly said "they're for ME!"  (i have since learned to keep my mouth shut).  anyhow we all became friends and they visited me once or twice a summer.  the last time i saw them, mom was wearing oxygen and moving pretty slowly.  i dont know what her illness was exactly but there they were stopping by to say hello.  she also wanted to give me some of her old yarns and knitting paraphernalia because she was not longer able to knit.  several months ago she passed away under the care of her loving daughter.  well the daughter contacted me last week to see if i was going to be at the christmas show and i said i was.  she said she wanted to drop something off.  she showed up with a wreath her mom had made for me decorated with knitting objects (yarn, tape measure, one of my business cards, needles, buttons, felt flower).  they had wanted to come to my shop to deliver it but got too ill to make the trip. it brings a tear to my eye and a smile in my heart every time i look at it.   

rhonda pegg was kind enough to drop some books by monica ferris off at the shop to be shared with you.  these stories all revolve around fiber and rhonda said they are an enjoyable read.  you are welcome to stop by and pick one up to read and pass it along to someone else who will enjoy it. 

happy birthday this month to jean r (december 5), marlene s (december 7), and dari m (december 15). happy birthday ladies and remember during your birthday month to come and use your $5 off birthday certificate!  forgive me if i already mentioned this, but i will not be giving out those little cards any longer, thus saving paper and ink.  just stop into the shop during your month and cash in!  its much easier for me to keep track this way.

november's door prize winner is linda maher! 

now that my big shows are over, i am in the process of re-arranging the shop and doing some much needed cleaning.  i may even decorate a little for christmas.  jennifer penrose, of antiqued country, dipped some twinkle lights for me and i'm anxious to see how they will work.  i personally do not like to decorate this early but i may give in this year since my shop is in total disarray anyhow!  i will be adding a big selection of roving to the front porch  for all you wet and needle felters out there.  i purchased a lot of hand dyed roving at the indie knit and spin, as well as curls.  i have roving from the shetland sheep farm i visited in oregon and icelandic and leicester longwool roving from the lavender fleece in michigan.

the only class i have scheduled right now is the jump ring bracelet class which will be this monday, december 9 at 10:00 at the shop.  still a seat or two available.  (see website for details)  plans for upcoming classes include the re-scheduled snowman purse, felted sheep, and some wet felting projects.  so stay tuned for more info!

upcoming dates to remember:

thurs, 12/5  knit wits meet at noon at the bean (the newbie group)

fri/sat/sun 12/6-8 log cabin christmas show

sat/sun, 12/7-9 raspberry hill alpaca open house

mon, 12/9 10:00 jump ring bracelet class at raggz*

tues, 12/10 knitters anonymous 1-6 at the shop**

thurs, 12/12 purlin girls meet at noon at the bean (oldie group)

fridays, 12/6 and 12/13 shop open 10-6

*see details for this class on the website raggzifberart.com

** note new hours - i will close at 6 NOT 7 from now on.  for any

    working girls who need later hours, just let me know.  no one

    ever shows up this late anyhow but i am happy to accommodate

winter on the farm is always a challenge.  that cold snap we had forced the goats to grow a very soft, thick layer of fur.  they look so adorable and feel so toasty, even in the coldest weather.  i'll take some pictures of them and our new roosters for your enjoyment next time.

hope to see you all soon!

t

11/15/13 two days late!

this is indeed my busiest time of the year with past holiday shows as well as upcoming shows.  the mock's open house was a complete success and i know that everyone who attended (vendors AND customers) had a great time!  now i'm getting ready for the ligonier market christmas show on november 30th and the following weekend the log cabin christmas open house and market (november 29, 30, and dec. 1, then again the following weekend december 6, 7, and 8) located at117 hay lane in murrysville.

as you may or may not know, i carry a beautiful oregon yarn called imperial yarn.  the owners of imperial stock ranch are good to their animals and the environment, something i feel is very important.  they send out a newsletter each month and this month they had big news:  

Ralph Lauren designers are using their yarn to make sweaters for Team USA to wear in the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics.  Ralph Lauren called on more than 40 made-in-America partners to create its collection for Team USA for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.  Imperial Stock Ranch and Imperial Yarn is one small story in the making of the Team USA Olympic uniforms.  to read more, check out the link below:
http://www.ralphlauren.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=28870006&ab=int_102913_HP_HERO_1_M_MADEINAMERICA_EXPLORENOW

this is great news indeed and good to hear someone is finally utilizing american made products.  lets hope more big names follow suit.  try finding items made in the USA anymore - its not easy, that's for sure.  KUDOS to imperial yarn.  come check it out at the shop soon too.

check out this link if you havent already - its cute:

http://www.stashknits.com/1/post/2013/11/top-ten-things-every-knitter-should-do-once.html

happy late november birthdays go out to judy b on november 17, and jan g on november 26.

check out the adorable hats my friends bobbi and andrea of darn cute yarn crocheted:

oscar never looked so good!  they also do tons of other characters - check out their facebook page "darn cute yarn"

or contact me if you're interested in something in particular.

on saturday november 16, i attended the indie knit and spin in regent square.  this is the third year for this event and it is well attended by fiber fanatics from near and far.  i purchased some beautiful handspun yarns as well as hand dyed rovings:

some of this beautiful yarn and roving came from jennifer galantine of willow mist boutique in latrobe.

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER:

thursday, nov 21 noon - purlin girls coffee bean latrobe

friday, nov 22 - shop hours 10-6

tuesday, nov 26 - KA at shop 1-7

tuesday, nov 26 - 6:00 close knit girls panera murrysville

CLOSED BLACK FRIDAY! please stay home or shop local!

saturday, nov 30 ligonier christmas show 10-3 ligonier YMCA*

*come visit all the vendors you loved to see last summer one final time before hibernation begins!

my final class of 2013 will be the jump ring bracelets taught by alysa barnhart of clementine on thursday dec 5 at 11.  see details on my website:  raggzfiberart.com

last month's door prize winner was maia olivenstein.  maia is a regular here and i know she'll be happy to know she won this month's prize!

i am once again felting a pair of slippers for my son anthony.  yes the son with the size 13 foot!  monte remembers well the first pair i made for him because they were so huge!  check out the before and after pictures below.  dont mind all the fuzzies on the floor in the before photo - that is my studio and I'VE BEEN BUSY!!!!  i knitted them with lopi yarn, my personal favorite for felting with, as it is so thick and fuzzy.  he picked the colors!  very fuzzy! 19" sole before felting and 13" sole after.  and yes they are the same size - just doesnt look like from this perspective!

Happiest of Thanksgivings to you all!  i am very thankful for my wonderful life, good health, perfect kids (!!), and friends like you!

yikes its hard to believe its november already.  i dont want to even consider how many days are left til christmas so i will put my head in the sand and just plug away.  i, myself, am getting ready for my two biggest christmas shows, the work of our hands open house and the ligonier market christmas show.

'The Work of Our Hands' is the mock's second annual open house located at 5807 torrrance drive, export pa 15632.  basically on this side of murrysville with an export mailing address.  this year the mocks are featuring no less than 18 local artists.  last year this open house proved very successful and you are all invited.  the hours are 10-8 on friday, nov 8, and 10-4 on saturday nov 9.  there is a facebook page called 'the work of our hands' as well so check it out.

Ligonier Country Christmas Market annual show has a great track record and you will see only your market vendors here.  the show is saturday november 30 from 10-3 at the ligionier YMCA.  again another good place to shop for the holidays.

Greensburg Art Center is hosting their annual Snowflake Showcase

featuring local artists as well.  the show runs from november 16 through december 21.  the opening reception is november 16 from 2 to 4.  light refreshments are served and its always a good time.

i would like to encourage everyone to shop small, meaning buy from local businesses and craftsmen.  enough money goes out of this country on a daily basis.  lets keep the money here and support local!  speaking of which, jennifer gallentine opened willow mist boutique last september in latrobe (right across from the library).  jennifer features many varied items.  she is having a christmas open house on december 5th.  check out her facebook page 'willow mist boutique' for details and hours of her store.  all of her items are handmade by local as well as artists from all over the country.  you will recognize some of the artists' work there - donna charlesworth and her daughter have items there, the mocks have cards, wool pumpkins, wooden goodies, etc.  check it out! 

WHAT'S NEW?  

more beautiful rovings on the porch as well as sparkly beads from jesse james - perfect for embellishing a scarf or felted project/

please note that the next two fridays, the hours will be shortened:  on friday november 8th, i will be open 10-1 so that i may attend the mock's open house, where i will be demonstrating spinning yarn and on november 15th, i am hosting a private event for the pittsburgh felting club; therefore the shop will be open to the public from 10 to noon only.  sorry for any inconvenience.  i am always open by appointment so if you need something, just give me a shout.

CLASS UPDATES:

the wet felting bowl class was a smash with many varied bowls and even some hats!

of course kay was showing off with her needle felted apple!

and we learned a lot at dottie's beaded pendant class with branch fringe.  we still have a little work to do to finish our pendants but that doggone peyote stitch is harder than it looks (for me anyhow!)

i was lucky last tuesday to get a visit from laurie ball-gish of the lavender fleece farm.  laurie, daughter mikalah, and her friend chris and were on their way to the coverlet museum in bedford then onto virginia for a leicester longwool sheep association meeting.  laurie wanted to pop in and visit the shop and was kind enough to deliver more of her delicious leicester longwool and icelandic rovings and yarns.  i am planning on obtaining a few leicester longwool and icelandic whethers from her next year and will make the trip in july when the little ones are ready to be weaned.  she also informed me of a great fiber festival in that area that i plan to go to as well.  i also purchased one of laurie's handmade knitting bowls and another of her lovely curly woven rugs - this time in all white! dont like to rush winter away but i'm really looking forward to july to see her farm, attend the fiber fest, and get some new babies!!

today was a fun day at the shop - more customers than chairs and coffee mugs!!!!!  yeeha!  below is kay showing off her extra long crocheted christmas hat and judy with her very first knitted project - a lovely soft scarf with fringe!  great work ladies!

 

upcoming events:

sunday, november 3 TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK 1 HR AT 2 A.M.*

thursday, november 7 purlin girls latrobe coffee bean 12-3

friday, november 5 shop open 10-1

monday, november 11 greensburg fiber art meet up 2:00 panera

tuesday, november 12 KA at raggz 1-7

friday, november 15 shop open 10-12

*we gain an extra hour of knitting time!  woo hoo

UPCOMING CLASSES:

wednesdays november 6, 13, and 20th felted snowman tote*

thursday, december 5 alysa's jump ring bracelets*

* see website for details please

happy birthday to  eva p and carole m on the 15th!  have a sweet day ladies!

if you're looking for a good cookie recipe for the upcoming holidays, and if you love salted caramels, try this one:

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks of Butter, softened

1 Cup of Sugar

1 Cup of Brown Sugar

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon of Vanilla Extract 

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour

1 1/4 cups of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

2 teaspoons of Baking Soda

4 tablespoons of Milk

1 b ag of Dark Chocolate Morsels

1 bag of Rolos Chocolate Covered Caramels

sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs and the vanilla.  Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and beat until mixed.  The mixture should be thick and difficult to manipulate at this point.  Stir in the milk and add the chocolate morsels. Refrigerate the dough for a few hours so that it will be easier to manage.   The caramel might leak through to the pan so save yourself clean up time by lining a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. 

When the dough has chilled, take a golf ball sized bit of dough and wrap it around an unwrapped candy.  The cookie will spread as it bakes, so I usually only put a dozen on each cookie sheet.  Sprinkle each cookie with a few grains of sea salt.  Bake for about 10 minutes.  The cookies will look very soft when you first take them out of the oven but they will be perfect when they cool down.

  

YUM!

correction

change of plans.  i will no longer be at the mill house cafe in johnstown this friday, october 25th; therefore the shop will indeed be open regular hours (10-6).

happy mid october to you all - enjoy those beautiful bursts of color coming from the sugar maples!  this photo was taken in portland oregon:

its hard to believe that ligonier country market is over but it does give me time to relax and not have that deadline looming over me.  unfortunately, though, i am a deadline-oriented person, as i love to work under pressure (yes a procrastinator).  i am happy that i have several classes running at the shop between now and mid november and am looking forward to trying some new wet felting techniques.  i am working towards an open house in murrysville on november 7 and 8 as well as the ligonier market christmas show on november 30th.  more details on both in the next newsletter.


i am lucky enough to be included in a trip out to stramba farm this thursday to do a felting play date with barb grossman (pittsburgh knit and crochet founder) and a group of girls who belong to the greater pittsburgh fiber art guild to play with the huge felting machine.  we will be making centerpieces for the upcoming pgh knit and crochet show in march.  i've always wanted to see how these huge needle felting machines work so i am very much looking forward to learning and creating.  (pictures next time)


my last program at seton hill was fun - 
rhonda pegg showed me how to marbelize with shaving 
cream and fabric paint, so away i went.  the ladies did 
some gorgeous prints.  we then marbelized a mat to 
frame their favorite print in.  it was so much fun.  
i am thinking of trying it with fabric!

this is evelyn with her creation.  she's always so
colorful!

UPCOMING CLASSES*

wet felted bowl class:

tomorrow (wednesday october 16) will be the first of two wet felted bowl classes.  i have eight signed up so far but only four paid, so there may be room for one or two more if you're interested. 

dottie's beaded pendant class with branch fringe:

re-scheduled for thursday october 31st at 11:00 a.m.  still room for one or two more here.

sock class:

laura mcguire's sock class begins thursday october 31st at 7 p.m. and continues for three consecutive weeks.  sorry for the upside down photo!

snowman purse class:

this class begins on wednesdays november 6 at 1 p.m. and runs for three consecutive wednesdays.

*see the website for photos and details on each of the classes.

what's new?

JUL - some beautiful new shawl pins
JESSE JAMES BEADS - i have ordered an array of some beautiful beads to be worked in with knitting, crocheting, and felting
BROWN SHEEP - more seconds yarn in many colors and weights from worsted to bulky in orange, cream, sun yellow, turquoise, oregano, dark mahogany, and feather gold.  also some new variegated lambs pride worsted (the yarn i use for the sunburst placemats) in eucalyptus leaf, grassy knoll, forest shadows, tormented teal, elderberry wine, blue skyways, wine splash, dreamy night, and silver streaks.*

*the mill has increased their prices somewhat, so that increase is reflected at the shop as well (but you still wont get them for this good a price)

i have made three more of the sunburst placemats using the cranberry swirl (the color beth used) and another periwinkle.  i plan on using several of the new variegated colors to make several more for my upcoming christmas shows. they are very enjoyable to make and i've done enough of them now, i rarely have to look at the pattern.

where's raggz?  

friday october 25 i will be at the mill house coffee shop in johnstown so please note that i will be closing at 2 p.m. that friday.  this coffee shop is relatively new to the area and features local artists each friday evening.

schedule of upcoming events:

wednesday october 16 close knit girls at panera 6-8
friday october 18 there will be a lunar eclipse
friday october 18 shop open 10-6
tuesday october 22 knitters anonymous at the shop 1-7
thursday october 24 purlin girls at noon at the bean
friday october 25 shop open 10-2* NOTE EARLY CLOSING TIME
october 31 HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!



ever wonder how to use that lovely pagewood farm garden party yarn (or any other artsy fartsy yarn that is usually a little more costly)?  check out this shawl that eugenia knitted.  she added a row of garden party here and there and was able to stretch that yarn out to make three shawls.  the body of the yarn can be knitted in anything else really but these flowers make a lovely statement.  this cuts down on the individual cost for each shawl as well.










maia's mother in law, roz, has been working on a little 
coverlet for her great granddaughter.  roz has been here visiting 
from florida and knitted this coverlet with crystal palace yarns - cuddles for the body and rave for the ribbony stripes and outside trim.  
it still needs to be blocked.  she was very proud of her 
accomplishment and anxious to see penelope bundled 
up in it.

happy october birthday shout out to  lougene w, diane m, deb s, mary l, and alicia!  dont forget to come to the shop to get your $5 off birthday certificate!!

hope to see you all soon!

happy october everyone!  fall is definitely in the air and i am in my glory watching the leaves change, munching fresh local apples, and wrapping myself up in a sweater.  now if those darn stinkbugs would just go away, things would be perfect!

october 5 is ligonier market's grand finale so try to come out and sample some of the wonderfulness there.  it has indeed been a very good year for me at market and i am sorry to see it all end.  but time to get busy with several christmas shows and even making a gift or two.

on sunday, september 29th, i was fortunate enough to go to the shenandoah valley fiber festival.  it was a smaller festival but full of good stuff.  i found some extremely artful handspun yarn and wonderful roving.  also met some great people along the way.  these are always a good time.  i even ran into an old fiber friend - melody weed from river ridge fiber works.  i met mel at the waynesburg fiber fest about 5 years ago and fell in love with her wonderful yarns and creative knitting.

i also came across quite a few curly mops there like me and i felt right at home.  all we had to do was look at each other and bust out laughing because only those of us who deal with hair like this understand it all!  they also had a little spinning contest there and there was a little girl no more than 8 or 9 spinning away on a spinning wheel made by a man who decided he could make one out of things he could find at a home improvement store and by golly he did!  the only part that was not from the home improvement store was the bobbin.  i should have taken a pictures.  i'll be certain to go again next year.

WHAT'S NEW?
some new sizes in hiya hiya needles PLUS 60" cords for those of you who are brave enough to learn the magic loop (i'm still waiting for beth to teach us).  speaking of beth, i appreciate her telling me that hiya hiya carried these accessories because i didnt even know.  i also purchased connectors for making your cords longer as well as adapters which allow you to use your small cords on the large needles.  i also stocked up on regular point protectors, panda point protectors, tape measures, safety pins, and cable stoppers.  thanks beth for the heads up.

i've been doing some rearranging at the shop.  the porch is no longer the sale bin.  had to make room for roving now that i am going to be getting into wet and needle felting more and teaching some classes in this.  so for now, the sale bin is in hibernation until i can find a space for it, which will most likely be upstairs.   below is a photo of just a smidge of the wonderful fibers migrating to the porch!

i am a member of the international fiber art guild, the greensburg fiber art meet up group, and the greater pittsburgh fiber art guild.  the latter has just formed a felting group and we have been meeting in pittsburgh once a month.  its been a great experience and several of the members are actually well known felters so i know i will learn a lot.  on october 17, we are heading up to stramba farm in wampum to play with her huge needle felting machine and we will be making centerpieces for the pittsburgh knit and crochet festival.  it should be a great experience and a lot of fun and i'll keep you posted.  if any of you have an interest in wet or needle felting, you need to become a member of the greater pitt fiber art guild to join.  let me know and i will steer you in the right direction.

october 11 is i love yarn day AND its a friday so come  celebrate with us as it is also a friday and the shop will be open.  there will be special treats for the occasion.  stop by and see!

DATES TO REMEMBER
saturday october 5 LAST ligonier country market 8-noon
tuesday october 8 KA 1-7 at the shop
thursday october 10 purlin girls meet at noon at the bean
NATIONAL KNITTING WEEK!  october 14-20
shop open fridays 10-6

UPCOMING CLASSES:
wet felted bowl class at raggz wednesdays october 16 and 30 (see website for details)
NOTE:  dottie's jewelry class on october 17 has been rescheduled - date to be announced soon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO sheila mckeever (the 11th) and karen staab (the 12th)!  have a GREAT day ladies!

til next time!

mid september update

thanks for another wonderful birthday everyone.  friday at the shop some of the girls surprised me with a cake and gifts and i spent saturday morning at country market being totally spoiled!  (i'll get back to low carbs soon!)  you all made my day super special and i realize how very lucky i am to be blessed with such beautiful friends in my life.  this year, since i turned 59 and this is officially the beginning of my 60th year, i am going to take a photo a week so that on my next birthday (the BIG one) i will have a 'flip book' of my 60th year.  i tried to do this a few years ago but at that time was trying to take a picture a day.  bad idea - no one wants to look at 365 pictures, but i think 52 is doable.  so for those of you who constantly have new grand-baby pictures, its pay back time!

WHAT'S NEW?

with fall officially arriving in a few days, i recently received some leather leaves beautifully crafted from homestead heirlooms, maker of high-quality leather handles.  multi-colored oak leaves and bright green pumpkin leaves are  perfect embellishments for a fall purse or a felted pumpkin.  i have some which have been fashioned into pins for a coat or sweater as well. 

what else is new?  custom peg looms made by pat kintigh.  these looms are very versatile.  you can weave rugs, placemats, table runners, and even scarves.

  pat makes these looms in various sizes.  the loom pictured is 36" but they are available in 12" and 24".  this is a great way to weave a project without the expense of a table or floor loom.

i've said it before but now is really the time to start working on christmas gifts!  someone mentioned that there are only 14 weeks left - i dont know who spends their time counting but it will be here soon so better get started.

birthdays:  birthday greetings to jana kula on the 26th, dottie westerveld o the 29th and linda sue on the 30th.  and belated greetings to sherry on 9/7 (sorry baby cakes!).  

dates to remember:

wed, sept 18 close knit girls - panera murrysville 6-8

tuesday sept 24 1-7 KA

thursday, sept 26 noon purlin girls at the bean

saturdays, sept 21 and 28 craftique fiber art group 9-12

shop open every friday from 10-6

upcoming classes:* 

thursday, october 17 

dottie westerveld returns to teach a beaded pendant class with branch fringe.

 

wednesdays, october 9 and 23rd

wet felted bowl class**

*see website for complete details, which will be posted within the week.  advance registration is required, as class size is limited.  

**option to have a daytime and evening class

where's raggz?  

ligonier country market every saturday from 8 to noon through october 5

flax scutching was a lot of fun last weekend.  the weather was beautiful and although i was only a vendor on sunday, it was so enjoyable listening to great music, including cathy rhoades who imitates patsy cline and enjoying the sounds of the hit and miss engines.  got to see a lot of old faces there as well.   

i recently completed two computer classes on dying silks and hand weaving the silk or turning it into hand-made knitting materials. i hand wove a small scarf out of the silk and also knitted one as well.  these photos show what i have made out of them so far.  the photo on the right has the silk being knitted along with yarn while the photo on the left is all silk fabrics.

 toodles!

september 1 2013

august came in like a lamb and went out like a squirrel!  three baby squirrels came into my life, one right after the other...  it was like having a baby again waking up for middle of the night feedings. i was thrilled that paula's mother and dad got to see them here at the shop.  we have about six playful squirrels in our yard who amuse us on a regular basis and i had JUST made the comment that i had never seen a baby squirrel.....  so watch what you say! although one little guy died, the other two have gone to the animal refuge in youngwood so i am hoping if they survive, they can be brought back to my yard for release.  it was a fun learning experience indeed.

september is one of my favorite months of the year - not just because its my birthday month but it means that soon fall will be here and then my favorite season - winter!  i have never been a fan of hot, humid weather and september gently reminds me that it will all be over soon and the beautiful colors will soon be appearing on the trees.  i feel blessed to be another year older and another year happier. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES go to donna on 9/6, beth gray 9/10, and ali mock 9/13.  have a great birthday month girls!

donna's one year anniversary for her cancer diagnosis was august 21 and to celebrate her beating the odds, we had a party for her at the shop last friday.  we coupled it with shirley taylor's birthday and a great time was had by all. 

 



NEW STUFF IN THE SALE BINS ON THE PORCH at long last.  i've been so busy with wet felting, i hadnt really been going through yarn stash, but i'm back to de-stashing again, so come on out and start digging!

WHAT'S NEW???

pagewood farms garden party and gossamer yarns.  garden party is a delicious thick/thin yarn with larger, three-dimensional flowers; and gossamer is silk chiffon ribbon with flowers needle felted here and there.  both will make a really special project. 

                                




i did a woven scarf with garden party:

august 25th was a fun day for me.  i got to meet laurie ball-gisch, owner of the lavender fleece farm in midland michigan.  i made a trip to ohio because she was making a trip to ohio to pick up some leicester longwool sheep.  since this saved me a few hrs of driving, i met her there and purchased some of her icelandic fleece and a rug she had hand woven for me out of the leicester longwool.  i also purchased some of her lavender products made on her farm.  such a nice lady and i will be heading to her farm next year to purchase icelandic and leicester longwool lambs and i will have my own flock of beautiful sheep.

                     

 ALSO on august 25, for those of you who dont already know, i got to meet my half brother, rich.  i only found out i had a half brother and half sister (who lives in nebraska) two years ago, shortly before my mom died.  he lives near where we met laurie so the day was double delicious!  here we are!  

dotty's bead class held on august 29 here at the shop was fun and informative. we learned how to make a spiral rope and we all had much success.  classes like this not only teach us something new but we realize we can apply the priciples to other crafts, such as making a purse handle out of larger beads with this same method.  dotty will be teaching a beaded pendant class with branch fringe in october.

dates to remember:
monday, 9/9 fiber art meet up group at panera greensburg at 2*
tuesday, 9/10 Knitters Anonymous at the shop* 1-7
thursday 9/12 Purlin Girls at monte's 12:30 (rsvp to monte please)
saturday and sunday 9/14 and 9/15 flax scutching stahlstown
*these events are open to everyone

WHERE'S RAGGZ?

ligonier country market every saturday from 8 to noon
september 14 greensburg art center - 'different dimensions' show art opening from 6 to 8 (all three of my items juried into the show... woohoo)  my first art show ever!

mileage contest ends!

well the drama is over.... drumroll.....  the mileage contest was won by none other than..... purse guru KIM MCGUIRE!!!  kim is the lucky winner of a skein of her choice from either pagewood farms, imperial yarns, or mountain meadow.  she guessed 6,527 miles.  see the odometer photo below for the actual miles from my july excursion:

and last of the photos - i promise!  remember the five kittens i had at the shop in july?  well, here are the two i have left.  they are so cuddly and adorable.  dont have names for them yet but am open to suggestions.

happy knitting and felting!  hope you got to see the andy warhol knit the bridge project, as it will be dismantled this week some time.