Historical fiber in the Mid East

On a trip to Israel: I knit in public for WWKIP (world wide knit in public day) and visited the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Cultures meet

                        Spindles and needles for weaving BCE  over 2000 years old

  Spindle weights and flax

 

 

SOAR 2012

Do you spin? SOAR is having their 30th Anniversary retreat October 21 – 27 in Tahoe City, California. Would you like to to take your fiber knowledge for a spin? At this autumn retreat you will have the opportunity to increase your spinning skills.

Spinning is all about the making of yarn. With 16 teachers to help you obtain the knowledge and improve your techniques, you will find yourself spinning and creating beautiful hand spun. Yarns, that is. Register now for workshops and lodging choices.

To find out more…

Founders May Fair at New Pond Farm in review

Harris Hawk

The 27th Founders Fair was a great success in celebrating spring and the new growing season. The sun was shining over the 102 acre property located at 101 Marchant Road West Redding, Connecticut 06896, 203-938-2117. There were little girls all dressed in pretty sundresses wearing crowns of May flowers in their hair. The boys were excited to see the animals and try their hand at all the activities.

Find out more about this wonderful day.

Preppers: knitting bug-out bag essentials

True Preppers are people preparing for a catastrophic event, possibly even a doomsday scenerio. If this is all new to you, you have had your head too deeply into your knitting. Don’t worry, by the end of this article you will be prepared. You may not be prepared for the end of the world but, you will be prepared for an unexpected wait in a hospital waiting room, an evacuation due to flooding or even waiting for AAA to come fix a flat.

Cafe Press has a bumper sticker that says it all,”I am developing a post apocalyptic skill set”. The goal of a Prepper is self-sufficiency. Knitting today, spinning tomorrow. Maybe it is time to learn to spin. Then you would have no shortage of yarn to knit. You could trade some yarn back to the sheep farmer for more roving.

Continue reading Preppers – Knitting your way through an emergency – Hartford knitting

Pantone set the colors for spring

When Pantone splashes a color, people swatch.

Spring 2012

 

Whether you are a fashion designer in New York or a fiber artist in New Haven, you take the time to know the color trends. This spring, the color of the season is Tangerine Orange. It is out there and getting noticed. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®, says the pick of colors for spring 2012 convey energy, optimism and the promise of a brighter day. Here’s more…

Knitting Daily TV was not picked up for this season

What to do about it…Knitters need to step up to the plate and write an email to audiencecare@cptv.org. Contact Connecticut Public TV and let them know you would like them to put Knitting Daily back on television. They have dropped this show from their schedule after many years… more

The modern quilt wrap in the photograph is a free pattern from Interweave.

And the Bride wore wool

                                                                                           Louise Fairburn was wed in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire in a dress from her rare longwool sheep. It took 67 hours for a spinner and dressmaker to create. The cost is approx $2250 US.

RARE BREED WOOL

 

• The Lincoln Longwool is the largest British sheep, developed to produce the heaviest, longest and most lustrous fleece of any sheep in the world.
  
• Its versatile fleece was the basis of eastern England’s prosperity until the coming of cotton and the breed was exported around the Empire.
• It is now one of Britain’s rarer breeds, classed as ‘at risk’ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, with fewer than 1,000 registered breeding females in the UK.

 

wool

 

 

 

Sheep to Yarn in three workshops

New Pond Farm at 101 Marchant Road Redding, CT 06896-1824
(203) 938-2117

Sheep to Yarn in Three Workshops

Wednesdays: February 2, February 9, February 23

10:30 –  11:30 am
If you love fiber or have an interest in learning to produce your own yarn, you will enjoy these classes. This three-part series will introduce you to raw fleece from our own Icelandic Sheep and cover each step as it is transformed into hand spun yarn. During the first session, you will learn about washing, carding, and drumcarding wool and you will have a chance to try your hand with a drop spindle. During the second class, you will make your own spindle and create your own yarn. The last class will teach you to dye wool. No prior experience is required. Fee per class: $10/member, $12/non-member.

Reservations are required. Please call New Pond Farm at 203-938-2117, email Kristen@newpondfarm.org or visit http://www.newpondfarm.org to sign up online.

Spring-brings new color trends

The new colors for spring are here. If you knit, weave,spin, sew, crochet…the look for spring is airy, light, diaphanous, ethereal. The look will be classic with a modern twist. It sounds as if all body types will enjoy  the final product. 

Don’t throw out everything in your closet that isn’t this. Make a few accent pieces that are in this color-scheme and work it into your wardrobe.

Grey will be your neutral. Have fun.

Million dollar knitted dress

Forget banks…with the interest rate at a low…shred it and wear it.Here is a close-up.
“Pulp Fiction-Fuller Art Craft Museum” displayed this dress as the result of a paper dress challenge. The museum is located in Broxton, Massachusetts. If you are interested in spinning your own, to knit or crochet a dress, sweater or scarf…you can start with newspaper. In “Spinning-give it a whorl” click on “yesterdays news” and get step by step instructions. 

Would love to see your results.