Asheville "Meet Up" Details

FINAL PLANS
Date: Saturday June 20th (Summer Solstice)
Time: 12:30 PM
Place: The Laughing Seed

Bring: A recent Show & Tell (could be a work in progress)

I can't tell you how excited I am to visit a new place and actually meet some virtual friends.

I made the meet up time a little after noon to give me time to attend a NIA class beforehand. The class is at 10:30 AM at Training Partners with Black Belt Nia instructor Anne Lowry. If you feel brave and want to work up an appetite, I'll see you there.

I haven't started to pack, but then I don't leave here until Friday morning. Yikes!

Gary has Visitors

Today Syne Mitchell and her son Kai came by to weave a bit of Mary Meigs Atwater's Horoscope Weaving. What a treat and an honor! Gary invited Kai to be the first boy to weave on him. Since I will be using this warp to cut up for swatches in my kits, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for a weaving experience.


I really love these pictures. Syne's sweater is one of the many cashmere sweaters I collected to recycle. It used to be white, so I decided to send it to Connie Rose to overdye. I thought it would be great fun to ravel a variegated --that was until I saw the sweater. It came out so beautiful I just couldn't take it apart. Sadly it didn't look good on me but, it was perfect on Syne, so she gets to "borrow" it until...


I noticed a teaching "style" I didn't realize I possess----spending 3 minutes talking to the person at the loom and then walking away. Hmmm

I've been thinking about "the woven mile" and wonder how long it took.

Photo Meme

I was just reading Tien's Blog and was charmed by the idea of looking at the 6th picture in my 6th folder. I liked the idea that she was not tagging anyone but invited anyone who was interested to do it. So I had to see what mine was. Here it is! The Blue Ridge Spinners and Weavers posing with their completed Horoscope Necklaces. It was a jolly fun workshop.

If anyone is interested in a "kit", let me know and I will create one (grin)

A Weaver at Quiltfest

My old friend Theresa called me in a panic. One of her 4 booth helpers was unable to help at Quiltfest this year. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to help set up, sell, and take down. The booth Bohemian Element was huge (triple size) and packed with luscious fabrics and embellishments from all over the world.

It was totally fun and totally exhausting.

And the quilts! This year Quiltfest was held in the convention center. It is a enormous space.
There were many more rows of quilts than I could fit in the picture, and the rows extended behind me as well.
I was so busy in the booth I didn't have much time to look around. The picture above was taken before they opened the doors to the public, so you don't get a feel for the crowds of people.

I only snapped a few pictures of individual quilts, and I am only showing the one below. It won for best use of color. I don't know if you will be able to see the unusual variety of fabric prints that create the shadows on the faces. Of course, I didn't get the name of the artist, but if anyone knows, please let me know and I will add it to the post.

Of all the customers that stopped by the booth, these two young ladies were most entertaining.

I'm still recovering. I'm just not as young as I used to be.

New Moon at Dusk

This is what I see from the roof of my new apartment. Notice the top of Seattle's famous Space Needle off to the right. Off to the left is the whole of the downtown. I did not have a wide angle lens, so I couldn't show you the whole panoramic view. I was going for color.

A Day Made---Before I Even Get Dressed

I am pleased as punch to receive this award from Laritza at YorkSett Arts & Crafts! Now I pass it on to ten bloggers who bring me happiness and inspiration.

BUT if you are a hyper busy individual and this award feels like an annoying chain letter, I promise happiness will not be snatched away if you tuck away your award and do nothing more than take a look at my blog and the others who are on the list.

The easiest thing would be to send the award to the very same blogs I sent the "nice award" to some months back because they do make my day. In attempting to expand my circle, know that every blog I subscribe to brings me ever increasing happiness and inspiration. I don't have time right now to give a detailed review of the selected blogs, but I know you will find a little spark in each one . In no particular order, check out the following:

1. Virginia A. Spiegel
2. Textillian
3. NZ flax weaving
4. Pleasant and Delightful
5. Karma-Free Cooking
6. Talking About Weaving
7. Leigh's Fiber Journal
8. Rosemary-go-Round
9. Fiberewetopia
10. Unravelling

Thank you all for making my day!

A Walk in the Winter Garden

When I first moved to the Northwest in January of 1980, I was thrilled to discover it was already spring. I believe many fail to appreciate the subtle beauty of a long slow spring (lasting up to 6 months and sometimes bypassing summer altogether). Walking through the Winter Garden uplifts the spirit and is an activity I look forward to each January.

From witch hazel
to hellebore

to plants too mysterious and fantastic to identify, what more could a "virtual gardener" ask for?

I'm sure some actual gardener out there knows the above plant. Mystery solved!
Thank you Karen.

Now back to the studio for some actual weaving.

Looking Back

I had a perfectly wonderful trip to California! The picture above is the part of Christmas dinner in which I participated. Roasted Vegetable Medley is what I call it, and the veggies are about to go into the oven. I will be happy to share the recipe if anyone is interested.

The entire trip seemed to revolve around food and not around weaving at all.

OK, more food! Here is the outside of Cafe Gratitude in Berkeley. I loved the food there AND the weaverly fence out front! Actually Cafe Gratitude is a lot more than just a restaurant. I ended up eating there 3 times, twice in one of their San Francisco restaurants. I wish they had one in Seattle. I'd eat there every day.


I spent a couple of days visiting with my step brother, Mark whose hobby is making chocolate confections. He is a famous landlord in Berkeley and gives chocolate to all of his tenants. Consequently he never has to put an ad in the paper and has a waiting list of people who want to rest his apartments.


Here is the Free Store! Don't you just want to move to Berkeley? Mark gave me so much chocolate I couldn't fit it all into my luggage. I shudder to think what will happen at my next Weight Watchers meeting.

Tomorrow I will be Looking Forward....
The vacation gave me lots to think about. I have already started dressing the loom. My goal is to have both looms ready to weave by the stroke of midnight on the 31st.

The Twelve Days of Weaving