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!