Wow! What a year…2023. Yarn, fiber festivals, trunk shows, markets, yarn (yes more yarn), spinning, and making… The best part of my year is having the opportunity to chat with all of you in-person and online. It has been entertaining, uplifting, and educational. Thank you for all the great conversations, ideas, and project shares. A huge thank you to everyone who has visited and purchased something from my Etsy shop! It makes me so happy to be able to help people successfully start their spinning endeavors with the spindle kits. I know it’s working, evidence from all the lovely reviews you all are leaving. *warm fuzzies*
As we step into 2024, let’s keep in mind, that each time we spin and every stitch we create not only provides us with functional, useable yarns, garments, etc., it keeps us connected to tradition and like minded folks. Keeping our hands and minds busy with fiber grounds us, gives us purpose and a sense of accomplishment. I’m thinking, more must be better. Let’s do as much as our schedules allow. Let’s set our intentions to be mindful, creative, and supportive of each other in our spinning, knitting, and crocheting as we make our way through 2024.
Here’s to a year filled with cozy woolly fibers, handspun yarn, handmade garments, and community connections. Happy spinning and making in 2024! Cheers!
October 6th – 15th, 2023
Central Texas yarn crawl kicks off today. Head over the The Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas website to download the treasure map and preview participating shops. Visit shops, get stickers, enter to win prizes. Grab a yarn or two or ten along the way. It’s a great time to stock up for gift making and holiday prep too. Wouldn’t it be fun to visit all thirteen shops? What a great little adventure. I’d say a good challenge too. There will be some driving involved. Day(s) trip planning is in order. The shops range from Bandera to Bastrop and Georgetown to San Antonio. Each shop is different and you’ll find a variety of specialties on the crawl. So Much Fun!!
Fiber Fate will be at Farm to Needle Yarn Shop in New Braunfels for a Trunk Show and spinning demonstration all day Saturday, October 14th. Visit Farm to Needle Saturday, October 7th, for a Punch Needle Art Exhibit and Mobile Fiber Petting Zoo. I love this shop. It’s got a nice yarn vibe inside, a nice sitting area outside.
Not to distract from the yarn, but there is also a popcorn shop next door that has an amazing array of sweet and savory popcorn flavors. They have A LOT to choose from. I bought the the hot dog & ketchup flavor for my family to try and it was a hit. If popcorn isn’t your thing, and you need to take a quick refuel break during the crawl, there’s a coffee shop and other food options all within a minute or two walk of Farm to Needle Yarn Shop. Check out the the Gruene Lake Village website for details and hours.
See you soon!
I attended this outdoor gathering for the first time last year purely as a consumer. It was a lovely sunny day and I was eager to get out of the house to shop the small businesses and see what the heck was going on out there at the Blue Mule Winery. Lots of us where just coming out of our COVID lockdown at that point, eager to get out and about. Despite a tad bit of wind, it was a wonderful event with lots of yarn (of course) and other fibery things, music, classes, a food truck, and drinky-poos for some extra delicious relaxation.
This year, April 2022, I will be vending and teaching at this lovely event. I’ll have a variety of handspun yarns and spinning fiber – batts, flicked fiber, and washed fleece available.
Sign up for my Beginning Drop Spindle Spinning class and learn some of the basics of spinning yarn. My class starts at 10:30 am and runs two hours until 12:30 pm. It’s a great time slot! You read more about it and sign-up at texasyarnloversevent.com.
If you take my class, you will have plenty of time to get into the event and get your bearings and maybe even browse a few vendors on the way in. There will be plenty of time after to relax, get some food, drinks, sweets, shop, and enjoy the serenity of being away from the city and in the fresh calm outdoors of the Blue Mule Winery. In addition to the big outdoor tent area, there is plenty of one-off spaces to break for knitting, sharing with friends, or some cherished self time. It would not be weird to bring a blanket or a lawn chair to relax on. Hopefully, like last year, it’s another wonderful sunny day.
For all you knitters our there, there is a KAL! It is scheduled to start April 3rd. The knit project is by Designer, Morgan Wolterdorf. She announced the design on her Instagram account @morthunder. Follow her on IG and sign up at her website for additional information about the KAL. The final piece of the KAL will be done at the Texas Yarn Lovers Event, April 23rd, in person with Morgan. There will be a group picture of everyone with their project.
Texas Yarn Lovers Event – Saturday, April 23rd, 2022
Blue Mule Winery – 8127 N FM 1291, Fayetteville, TX 78940
https://www.texasyarnloversevent.com/
So much to look forward to.
Today is the first day of autumn – the Autumnal Equinox. It’s one of two days per year there are equal amounts of day light and night. Starting tomorrow, the sun will start rising later and the darkness of night will ease in a little earlier. Shorter cooler Autumn days are here.
I can see and feel the change here in Austin today. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more aware of this change than I am this year, today. As I hopped out of the car this morning for our daily school drop-off, there was a breeze, an almost cool breeze! Our summers hover around 100 degree with many days of high humidity. It can be somewhat oppressive and the heat gets exhausting. So, while a breeze seems minor, it was surprising and a big change from what we’ve experienced in many months. The air distinctly different from previous summer days. The air is lighter, cooler. Sweeping breezes have refreshed the air, making way for crisper fall, and soon winter, days ahead.
On this balanced day, it seems fitting to work outside. I’ll absorb the sun, listen to the trees, and smell the fresh air while spinning, while crocheting.
Wow, it’s here, December 2020. I’m sure we can all agree we’d like to kiss this year goodbye and hope for some semblance of normality sometime in the coming year. But let’s not get to far ahead. We have three and a half weeks left of this unbelievable year. Right now, it’s cold and winter is upon us and it’s the perfect time of year to snuggle down and enjoy working those warm projects. I know things get busy with the holidays, but this year many of us will not be entertaining big parties or dinners or traveling or even going out shopping for the most part. It seems like that means we’ll have some extra time on our hands. Hmmm…what to do… well, seems like a good time to 1) paint some rooms in the house, and 2) spend more time working on fiber projects. Always a good idea to spend extra time working on fiber projects. Are you with me on this? Let’s see what we can get done in these last few weeks. Sounds like I just challenged myself….
Hats are my favorite crochet project! They are fun, and for the most part, easy. It’s a quick, functional, easy to wear project. Oh so many patterns to choose from or get creative and make your own. I like to purchase patterns. In fact, so much so, it could become a problem. I have to keep myself in-check. “Etsy and Ravelry how you make my life heaven and hell all at the same time!!” (*shakes fist at sky*) Making up things is great and I can certainly improvise or switch up a pattern or make size changes when they aren’t given. But, ya know, I just like to sit down and follow a pattern and crochet along easily without having to figure it all out. It’s enjoyable and things get done. And there are some really good designers out there. Honestly, I think my forte more lies is the realm of spinning.
Speaking of spinning!! My favorite topic. December (and every month really) is a great month to dive-in and get those spinning projects done. Got a couple sitting around? It’s December, do it, wrap up the year with a nice handspun yarn or two on the books.
I have a seemingly endless number of spinning projects in the works. I can’t even count them all right now. My studio has dishpans, random bins, and pillow cases of wool everywhere! It’s perfect!! I’ll be whittling away at some of those dishpans of wool. Let’s see how many I can get done before the end of the year. I’m going to start with some Teeswater and Harlequin/Mohair blend.
Decorating the tree is one of my favorite Christmas time activities.
I hope you all are having a safe and happy holiday time.