Sunday, July 10, 2011

Winding my weekend......into one skein of thought

 Most of you probably know I snuck out to the Midwest Folk and Fiber fest in IL two weekends ago? I had to reflect on that weekend, it was so packed with fun! Fun people, fiber and classes! Where should I start??

I got to spend the weekend with my good friend Ellen- at her Palace Ellen on the lake! It is such a cozy, quiet cottage- I hope to spend some time there with her again very soon- thank you Ellen for putting up with me!

I took 3 classes, 2 with the famous Jacey Boggs! She and I go way back and it was wonderful to meet her in person! She is a wonderful person and great teacher. I learned to corespin, work with beehives AND did NOT learn to spin boucle. Grrr. No fault of Jacey's, just cannot GET it. Need to practice practice and practice some more- right Jacey?

Be sure to check Jacey out- she has a new book coming out this fall along with a new handspinning video. You can find her at http://www.insubordiknit.com/ . She also offers weekend classes all over the USA and the world. If she comes to your area sign on up- you will love her!

I also got to meet friends that the sheep have known for sometime, again, great to see all of you in person! Hugs all around!

I also met Conni Togel of http://www.charisma-art.com/ - I swear she is painting my own sheep and the things they think up. Conni used to have a flock of sheep and had to re-home them. Now they inspire her paintings. Just too cool!

The last class Ellen, Diane and I took was Stefania Isaacson's spinning for socks class. It was awesome and so is she! I have to practice and get the blends right- but am on my way. You can find her at http://www.stefania-spins.com/ !

I learned a lot there, and as you know I can go on and on. (but I will try not to!). Diane taught me to use a support spindle, and made me one to take home. She also suggested I use my wallpaper brush as a burnishing brush for my batts/carder. That is the best tip I have ever had for my carder! Now I am able to card up 10 ounce + batts- even including alpaca! My carder is so great, but it had a bad habit of spitting alpaca all over the room. Not good, but we have that all fixed!

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday- and thank you again to all the people who made my sneak away weekend so special...

Later today the sheep are going to update the website- hope to see you there! http://www.homesteadwoolandgiftfarm.com/

We are over halfway to coating our entire flock! You guys are awesome! If you'd like more info about our Coats for Sheep FUNdraiser, please have a visit:
 http://www.gofundme.com/coatsforsheep

Smooches from the sheep!

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