Felting

Felting Supplies for leaf shapes. Handdyed corriedale, bowl of hot soapy water and leaf shaped cookie cutters. I hot water felted the fleece into the shape. Rinsed it out and let it dry.



I then put it back in the cookie cutter and needle felted it around the edges to define it more and added some details for the stem and veins. Turned out pretty cute!

This is so fun - creative and relaxing. There is something about hot soapy water and fiber that is so fascinating. I thought these would be cute in a wreath for the door or a decoration on a birthday gift package. They could be made larger for a coaster. Anything!!!

I finished one pumpkin hat but forgot to get a photo - I'll add it tomorrow. I started my sons sweater last night out of Karabella Aurora 8 - It's a top down pattern - I sure hope it fits. The last one I made him was too bulky so he wouldn't wear it.

I had such a great weekend at the shop. I am discontinuing Rug Hooking supplies so I was finally able to consolidate them into one small book case and move out that big piece of furniture. I'll get a new photo up here soon. It really opened up the shop and looks so much better. We were able to put a little table and chair in its place for knitting folks.

I'm still scraping and washing the wall paper paste off the front entry hall. This is a job I can only do for a couple hours at a time. Between my sore knees and my elbow I'll be lucky to get it done by Christmas. Yesterday I had planned to paint the railing on the deck cuz it was dry outside but my daughter needed help with the babies so I scooted over there. Oh darn, such a hardship! Ellie is just about walking - she is trying so hard to catch up with Josh.

Sunday night I went to see an old friend give a bible study on his 3 favorite verses. Craig Johnson is now the Bishop of the ELCA Synod in Minneapolis. He's a great preacher and storyteller. The best I've ever heard. We worked together probably 10 years ago at TLC in Bloomington. I helped with the Sunday School Education and he was Sr. Pastor and my other friend Kari Lyn was Youth Director. We had a great time working with these kids. At any rate Craig did not disappoint us with his Bible Study. It was a real treat to see him again. His wife Cindy is co-director of a program to help children with crisis, like sending Camps to kids in the wake of Katrina's disaster. It's called Camp Noah. I have also working with Cindy and she is a firecracker advocate for Youth. It is always good to connect with these two.

I then came home to watch "Desperate Housewives". What a neighborhood these women live in! Is real life that complicated???

Last evening the shop was open late. Matt came over to knit for awhile. He's busy with his new company. He and Mike started their own and they work out of the house. It was good to see him and kick back and knit. I was working on the vest for the vest class. I'm disappointed because no one has signed up yet. Barbara stopped by with two new shop samples she finished. They are beautiful. One is out of a Baby Lama/Silk blend and the other out of the Angora/Merino blend, so people can touch and feel them. Laura also stopped by to pick up some yarn for an auction she's having and Ginny picked up her yarn from Louet that has been on order forever. She's very patient. It's so good to see friends at the shop when I'm working. Shirley also stopped by, she's joining the sock class. It was a good Day!

Happy Knitting!

Completed Projects

YES! I finished my sister's sweater! I steamed it yesterday and will add the buttons and send it off to Phoenix. I used City Sheep Pattern designed by Kris Olsen "Bulky Sweater"pattern. The original was made of Pt. 5 yarn by Collinette, which I wear in the shop alot. This one, my sister chose Italia Fingerpaints by Plymouth- I made it larger so I think it took 7 skeins (132 yds each) 3 sts/inch - I made it larger than the original because my sister wanted it longer. I sure hope she likes it.

I also finished this little cell phone purse last night - It's made out of Loft from Skacel - it comes in great varigated colors and felts beautifully. The pattern is from Black Sheep Bags. These can all be purchased at the shop.
You can get two of these cute little bags out of one skein. Cute Christmas gifts for the younger crowd.

I also completed a Mission Falls scarf that has been in the works for a couple years. I don't carry their yarn at this time but we're redoing the pattern in Alpaca Silk from Skacel. It's beautiful and has the same colors as Mission Falls. It's knit in the round on 4 needles so you don't have to weave in all the ends and it is striped in 7 rows of each color. Very long and very cute. I'll try to get a photo up here soon.

So, I feel great! It's so good to get a couple projects completed. I still have several to work on so not to worry!

I have noticed some strange behaviors lately while driving home. There was a bicyclist riding her bike yesterday. She had on a fleece vest, covered with a rain slicker, jeans, tennis shoes, helmet and backpack. We were stopped at a light and she reached into the drain gutter as she was waiting and picked up a discarded water bottle and took it with her. I'm still pondering what she was going to do with it. Can you turn those plastic bottles in for money? or was she going to reuse it?

I had lunch with my friend (we have known each other at least 45 years) Kathy. It was her 60th birthday this month. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory at Southdale. Great salad and no cheesecake. I'm so proud of myself for passing that up. We're all turning 60 this year and it's not been too traumatic. At least we're all still healthy. Sixty is not what it used to be. It really is the new 40.

THEN, I went to the my daugher's house and had dinner with them -cheese ravioli and some great bread. Josh helped his mom make this but he wouldn't take a bite of it. Ellie was shoving it down-mostly covering her face and hands. Josh is two and he won't eat just anything anymore so he makes a great production out of not eating what you'd like him too. He squinches his face and covers it with his hands and you'd think we were trying to poison him. Well, he also made dessert - Cookies and Cream pudding, SO, he did take one bite of pasta to pay for the pudding. We then played toss the ball of yarn around the room. It's a fun game and they get all tangled up in it. I had a bulky yarn with me so it was easily untangled and we even played jump rope with it. My daughter jumped and he turned. So, after I had gotten them sufficiently wound up, I left to go home and fix Dan some supper and fell into bed about 8 PM. Jenna called around 10 PM as usual, to talk about her day! I think I listened pretty well.

I even forgot to set my alarm but woke up at 6:30 am anyway. No knitting last night.

Mid September

Sandy's sweater - almost finished-I'm Using City Sheep pattern by Kris Olson
I just lenghtened it about 3" because the original came to the waist, which is cute but my sister wanted it longer and she's a little larger on top so we added a couple inches. The yarn is Paint Box - lovely but expensive - good thing I own the shop - she gets a discount!
It is so gorgeous in Minnesota in the Fall. I was at the Arboretum today for a photo shoot with the grandchildren. Sherry is the photographer - she has a studio in Shakopee - does fantastic photos. It was a perfect day for photos and the grandchildren were perfect, of course. I cannot wait to see these proofs. I'll probably have to line my walls with photos soon; maybe wallpaper would work!

The Arboretum would be a great place to sit and knit - we may have to consider it for an event. What fun! I'll get right on that along with the Knitting bookclub!

It has been a busy week inside the shop and outside the shop. Last week I finished painting the living room and I love it. It's a grey/green. Perfect. I also RIPPED off the wallpaper in the front entry hall and now have to wash off the paste.

We had the Korean dinner party for #2 daughter and it was a success. I completed her scrapbook up to high school, but still have family vacations, sports and few other categories to complete. Then I have to start on the other two children.


I'm still working on the sweater for my sister. I should be done by now but I've gotten side tracked with Josh's scarf, mittens and hat, Ellies hat, a sample sock out of trekking, which I really like, by the way. They have another sock yarn called "Step" and it has aloe Vera and jojoba in the fiber. It's great for the dried out cuticles. I'm also working on the vest sample for the vest class, and the infamous shawl for Jeanne. Eventually I'll get them done.

We have lots of new yarn in the shop and I'm itching to work up swatches. Wool/Bamboo from Classic Elite, the Alpaca Silk from Skacel is lovely and the new varigated from Aurora 8-Karabella. Check out my website www.creativefibers for updates.

I'm hoping to felt some little gnomes for Christmas gifts from the new book "Pixie Felts using the felting Needle". It's an expensive book but the figures in here are too cute. She has gnomes, pigs, bunnies, evergreen trees and the most adorable faces on all of these. Nancy helped me make some felted pumpkins and snowmen from the patterns designed by Marie Mayhew. They are adorable, very fast and easy. The snowmen come with accessory patterns. They are made up in the shop and hopefully a photo will be here soon.

I also received a new book from Ashford this week, along with new fiber colors. ( we are totally stocked with fiber) The book is called "Carding" and is really great! Good instructions on carding, blending colors, color combinations, blending fibers and patterns for projects.

I'm also working on Pumpkin hats for the grand babies to wear to the pumpkin patch. I have one half done. It is so cute - Fibertrends pattern made with Aurura 8 (the only yarn I put next to my grandchildren's skin).

I have done no spinning lately and miss it - maybe tonight on my deck with a glass of wine. Sounds like a good way to wind down the week. It's 80 degrees and dry - just perfect.

I can totally justify not working on my house if I have knitting or spinning to do. It's wonderful, no guilt (it took years to get here). Have a great weekend!

Coffee Shops

I understand coffee shops are great knitting places. I love the Dunn Bros coffee house off Hwy. 4 in Eden Prairie. It's a renovated historical house and they have done a great job with renovation. Many book clubs and social clubs meet here. I tried a knitting night on Wednesday night this summer. This is how it turned out.

Yep! Just me and my friend Sue took the photo. She's not even a knitter.

I don't know where all the knitter's are in Eden Prairie. They must be someplace because I have customers from here. Maybe I'll try again this Fall. It was a lovely place to knit. I got a lot done, no interruptions.

We had another exciting day by the shop. Someone ran into a small pickup on the street and took out his back end. The car sat there for a couple days and I thought it belonged to the people who lived there. Well, today the tow trunk came and took it away, so maybe it was stolen. Makes a better story. Shelley was tending the shop when all this excitement happened. She was watching the beauty parlor traffic.

I was at the farmer's market picking up fresh vegies for a stir fry I intend to make this weekend. (I'm also hoping to get my living room painted. It is supposed to rain so I figured I may as well work inside.) The market was great. Not very croweded at 10 am so it was easily navigable. I bought raspberries, beets ( I love this beet salad I had at Mannys last winter), small potatoes, zuchinni, onions and 3 colors of peppers, and of course corn on the cob. I love going down there because I feel like I'm getting a deal!

In the afternoon I was looking out the window and saw this young man go running by and thought to myself, " I wonder why he's running?" A minute later, my neighbor Min was out there looking for him. He was probably 6' and she's like barely 5' and she's trying to find this guy who ran off without paying. Help Min out and have lunch at Kwans next week.

The rest of the afternoon was relatively quiet. I sat outside dreaming of when the new place will open across the street. "Maude's Place". It should be about December. I'm knitting a pair of socks with some yarn we'll be getting soon called "Trekking" with new needles from Blue Sky Alpaca. They are a special wood which I cannot find the name of right now and the needles come in a cute little case . Hopefully I'll get a photo soon.

I've also decided to make both the grandchildren a pumpkin hat from fibertrends for fall. They are so cute. A customer came in today and said she has made all her children and grandchildren these hats through the years. What a great idea! Like I need another project.

Have a great weekend and keep knitting!