Loading Up on Fiber

Probably not the kind of fiber you think! Last Saturday morning I drove up to Grants Pass to do a little browsing at FiberMania. I hadn't been since the first year they launched it and it is fun, but I have to say I was a little disappointed. The first one, while smaller had a greater variety of goods. Granted, this is an Alpaca event, but I missed seeing the animals and I missed seeing a good variety of other fibers available. I'm kicking myself even more for not jumping on some beautiful local angora yarns and blended fibers I saw at the first show. There were much less interesting knitted items, lots of the commercially done Alpaca socks and gloves (every booth had them and they were all the same) and much less hand dyed roving and yarn. But there were bright spots! Eugene Textile Center sets up a pretty big booth with all sorts of fun stuff. I tried a few spinning wheels they had ready to go and bought a multicolored braid of 50/50 merino/silk. While I was there one lucky wife was getting a first spinning wheel as a gift from her husband. An Ashford Joy! Perfect.



 I did find some wonderful things along the way with a little digging. The three natural colored balls of roving are Alpaca and silk. The white ball is cashmere and silk, the blue and green braid is BFL/Bamboo/Silk. I will have some fun stuff to spin this coming winter that's for sure.

My weaving studio is looking quite perfect.



 Both looms are up and weaving. Here is a peek at one of the towels on Nora.

Hot pink and bright orange!

The Gilmore Gem has been cleared of it's overshot warp (gifts sorry), and warped up for a scarf. I have not done a scarf in years! Gosh it was fast and easy from measuring to warping and threading.
There are certainly more planned and some with my handspun.

We had our first snow.



It didn't last long but I'm hoping we will have a healthy snow pack this year. Fingers crossed. The boys enjoy the colder weather. Their coats are getting dense and the bugs are gone. I've even caught them running and playing. Here they are begging for the carrot pieces I have in my pocket.





Lots of turkeys this year, pecking and scratching in the gardens and under the bird feeders.





Precious little has gone on in the sewing salon. Two makes actually but only one I have pics of. The other got snagged off of Rhonda the mannequin and worn before I snapped pictures. Oops! This one though is a beautiful cotton Japanese double gauze,



 light and surprisingly warm.



One of my favorite fabrics this year although it can be a little difficult to sew. You need a fresh sharp needle to avoid snagging the under layer.

Parting shot: A Hazel Nut bun.