March 2015 Trade Needlework show in Nashville!!!

 This was the very best show. Way more vendors and

many more shops. People came from far and wide, even

with the horrid weather back east.

Ink Circles Booth at Nashville

 I was so happy Tracy sold out of a lot of patterns. She had about 9 

new patterns and they went fast.I wanted the "Get Kraken" and 

she wouldn't let me have it until the end of the show. She of 

course sold out and lucky for me, we found a pattern when she

was packing up! Love the Fresian samplers! This is a very funny 

version of the battle of 1694 in the Greenland sea. 

All lives were lost trying to trap the Sea mermaids.

It says in Dutch "And thus began the epic battle and no man 

escaped his watery grave".  * or maybe I just made all that up!

 I especially love the tiny ship on the monsters tail! 

Colors are fabulous Gloriana silks.

So we must all get Kraken!!!

The Green is Holly Jolly Mandala show special... sold out

Gigi Ries of Belgium,  brought a real Tappan cloth  originally from Sumatra, to show us the
style of Tracy's Big Red Ship (mine in progress on the right)

Tracy's wee "Cover Story", a take on overshot patterns
Note my handwoven Lacy scarf, underneath.

5 floors worth of shops!! in the 160's

So many shops I couldn't even see them all. The buyers figured they
had 8.5 min in each shop if they saw them all!

Summer House Stitch Works red work... Beautiful!!!

Summer House Stitch Workes "Post Cards"

Barbara Hutson's Queenstown samplers of which I bought
Mercedes Ospina, the red, and the Dutch lower right.
She has done wonderful reproduction and lucky me, I got
to meet her, and she is lovely!

An old Antique from the Needle's Work Antiques

Very cute "Freebies" from Ink Circles, Summer House Stitch workes
and Hands on Designs.... Tracy's buddies all in cahoots.
I have the patterns!!!

Gigi's ancient antiques from Belgium

Heartstrings booth, next door to us!

Eye on the Sparrow by Beth Twist

This is the Stitch Along on Sampler World that  I have started. How 
fun to see the original!!! It is so much more beautiful in person!!!

 This is my favorite picture.... MY STASH... how fun!!! I got 
2 of Barbara Hutson's Queenstown samplers, The Cardinal Points of
Long Dog with the threads at Gentle Arts Sampler Threads, and Gigi
hand carried the Ariadne magazine with a pattern I want from Belgium!!
She is such a wonderful friend. I really wanted an old Friesan sampler
pattern.

Gigi brought her fantastic wall hanging of
Renato Perolin combined designs!!! Can you believe it?
This is about 5 feet tall and was hung in the hotel lobby.
A real show stopper.
A very fun time was had by all and I got back at 11:48pm after 12
hours of flying and plane transfers! So tired today, but at
least I don't have to go to work. The best part of the show was
that I got to visit with my daughter Tracy and grandson Paul for 5 days!

Spring spinning in Redmond....it is 65.. therefore... "spring"

Our spinning guild met at our local library.
Lovely room, bright and sunny, with very
nice murals. That's me in front of the
unicorn... having fun now!! Note the
cool 3D bobbin!! Christmas present from
dear daughter Tracy.

Diane in her brand new sirkler sweater she just finished!

She is a star pupil and did the whole sweater perfectly!

Back of Tracys sirkler sweater in dark turquoise

lots of spinning = FUN on Valentines Day

Close up of new 3D bobbins!! every color has a different pattern

Aker works makes the #D printed bobbins in every color 

of the rainbow, for all the spinnning wheels! 

In a whole lot of patterns.  How fun! They work too!!!!    http://www.akerworks.com/bobbins.html

Hitchiker scarf I made for dear daughter Darcy for Christmas

My friend Carrie modeling a cap Randee made for her grandson!

Our one horned buck scraping off the velvet

We have had a whole lot of deer lately. 5 bucks in a group one day,

6 does another and a new baby a few days ago. They never stay in

one place long enough for a picture.

The 3 sisters on Valentines Day
snow level is melting away!!! Not a good prognosis for summer water

Sister in December from our house,
snow level is much lower

Here is what I am working on now! I know, lots of projects, but I am

rewarding myself with new starts as I finished the big long term 3 last

summer.

My daughter Tracy's {Ink Circles} Big Red Ship of Life
I have 40 ct lakeside linen vintage sand and Gloriana silk Schoolhouse Red

My new teppe (wall hanging or table runner)
I am using Norwegian linen warp and Prydvevgarn wool

Humble beginnings of : His Eye is On the Sparrow
vintage country mocha 40 ct and Gentle Arts Sampler threads

Another Tracy {Ink Circles} design: Blue Morpho
only 3 days in, with Gloriana silk and Legacy PTP 36ct linen
I wanted something easier to see to take to Nashville. I
am going with Tracy Feb 26 for the TNNA!!! Yeah!!! I
will be sure to take lots of pictures of the embroidery at the show

3 New Patterns and Beautiful Fall Day for pictures

I have 3 new items finished, now have pictures and patterns are partly
written!!!  I feel like I am getting something accomplished now I have 
my new bionic lenses and cataracts are fini!!!
First a new sweater now called" Old World Garden",
formerly "chickenwire", well it does have chickens and lots of
"wire". But friends made fun of the name!

Mollie and Harley the dog

Next a hat to go with Berit's Double Hearts. I like this one the best of
all the hats I have made. I love the 5 points. it fits perfect too.

Harley enjoying the picture taking! He is a very cute little guy!

And last my "Demon Locust" Mittens. You may think it is just a grasshopper

but it is adapted from a really old (18th century) Transylvania

embroidery pattern, and they say "Demon" like in Revelations.

See the little locust on the thumb?

Love the new green in the Finullgarn with the beautiful moss in my yard!!!

After my friend Mollie was kind enough to model for
me again, I went to the next farm of my friend Michele and visited
her Angora goats and sheep. They are in the middle of the breeding
season and pretty dirty, especially "Thorn" the big
Angora Goat buck, wait until you see him at his dirtiest!!
Quite the contrast with the clean little babies.

Thorn with his big beautiful, dangerous horns
He has gorgeous fleece and is a great stud, under all the dirt!!!

Thorn has been a very bad boy. He broke out of his fence
3 times and escaped into the hay barn where he munched!!!
You should see the big gate hook he broke!!! I would
NOT go in his pen for anything. He does have gorgeous
children though!!

Baby angora lamb, maybe a child of the Dangerous Thorn

This is a "blue" baby angora lamb

Some Gotland cross sheep, great fleece, nice sheep!!

Peanut, beautiful Angora "red" baby goat
this fleece just shines after it is washed, very silky!!!!

The black faced sheep in front is a Blue Faced Leiester/ Gotland cross and
will have marvelous fleece

Now I am spinning and weaving so much can you
see why I love living in central Oregon with all the beautiful fleece?
More than I could use in a lifetime!!!
It is sure fun to have friends with real farms! After a bit my friend
Michele, (her sheep and goats) is going to make a webpage and sell
some fleece, yarn (hand dyed) and such. I will make it known when it happens.

Spinning Retreat of "Tweenies" at Prarie City Oregon

Some of us from our NWRSA spinning guild get together for

a Retreat in between the normally scheduled meetings, thus the "Tweenies"

was formed. This time we drove east to the lovely little town of Prairie City

to visit our friend Ginger. She is part of a co-op that is "Roan". It is a 

sweet little coffee shop with house hold decorative items and hand woven/

hand spun items woven by Ginger right in the shop. I have pictures of some

of her special garments below. She can't keep them in stock! but will

take orders.  What a special place to work!!!

The weather couldn't have been nicer.

Spinning in front of "Roan"

Old church becomes new Community Center for Quilt Show

This Saturday was also a Quilt show at the above picturesque church in
 front of the Strawberry mountains.

Handwoven/ hand spun shrug by Ginger

Her loom right in front draws the customers!!!!

Another wonderful one of a kind wrap

Teresa of "Skeins" knitshop in John Day ran away to be with us for the afternoon!
Skeins Yarn store and Kromsky Dealer

Nice article about this shop!

Spinning inside Roan

Still spinning at Ginger's house
For once I did get a LOT of spining done!

Wee "Z" supervising the spinning

We had a wonderful relaxing weekend. I only had to cook one meal! Yeah.

(much rather be knitting or spinning!!!)

I recommend Prairie City for a fun vacation get away. Lovely

quaint old town with quite a lot to see.

Progress on my new "Big Red Ship of Life"   the newest pattern by Tracy Horner
Ink Circles

 I started this embroidery only at the beginning of August. Warning!!!
 it is addictive. I just can't put it down. Using Gloriana Schoolhouse red
and a few other colors on Vintage Sand 40 ct by Lakeside linens. Tracy
designed it after the early 19th Century Tampan ship cloths of Sumatra.

1st Pretty much as the pattern below

 Here is what I just finished and am now working on:

2nd with new colors

3rd teppe where I made up the pattern from an old photo in Norway

1st made Telemarksteppe   Pattern by Laura DeMuth in Handwoven

My finished, framed, Past and Present after Karen Kluba's pattern

My version of Pot 4 Dickie
Julia Line/ Long Dog Framed!!!!