We're Moving...

Well, Blogger has given me a great start to my blogging life, but it is time to move on. I have purchased a permanent blog URL, The Fiber Forum (http://thefiberforum.com/). I hope you will join me there as I continue on my fiber journey.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year filled with fiber-filled fun!

Don't Get Stressed...

It is very easy to get stressed out this time of year with all the things to do. Visit family, shop and wrap, attempt to finish projects for gifts and so on. It is enough to make you crazy.

Let me give you a word of advice...don't. Find things to help keep you calm. What do I do? I drink tea, use my grounding oil and shop online. When I crochet gifts for people, I remember to keep it simple and remind myself that it is the thought that matters, not the difficulty level of the project.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! And remember to stay relaxed!

An Exciting Event!

This isn't directly related to fiber arts, but it is exciting nonetheless. Glenn and I have self-published our fly tying booklet, Ten Flies, Simple Ties. We debuted the booklet at the International Fly Tying Symposium this past weekend and it sold out! There is one crochet fly pattern, so there is some fiber arts in it.

It would make a great gift for your favorite fly angler, so if you are interested in purchasing, you can go to www.reelsimpleflyfishing.com to place an order.

Fish on!

I've Been Memed!

So Vashti from CGOA came up with this great question CGOA-related questionairre:

1. 1. Begin by including a link to this post and a link to the person who tagged you.


2. Answer the above question (Are you crocheting something that you would not be crocheting if you were not a CGOA Member?), or more broadly this question: "How has your experience of crochet been changed by your CGOA membership?" Give a single one-line answer, or more for extra credit.


3. End by linking to 3 (or 5, for extra credit) other bloggers among whom you'd like to see squirm publicly with this challenging, yet strangely satisfying essay question.

Soooo, here are my answers:

1. I was memed by the amazing fiber artist, Myra Wood.


2. The CGOA has given me wonderful friends (like Myra!) and opened my eyes to all types of crochet. I also had the opportunity to attend Professional Development Day and have a great mentor (again Myra!) from whom I have learned so much I could never thank her enough!


3. Here is who I am meming!
   Prudence
   Carol
   Noreen
   

Etsy Shop Updated!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have uploaded new images of my handspun yarn and beginning spindle kits for sale at my Etsy shop! You can check it out at: http://www.alvb1227.etsy.com/.

They make great gifts for others or yourself!

I look forward to hearing from you!

The Coat of Many Scrumbles Now on Display!

The Coat of Many Scrumbles is now on display at the Wearable Art and Gift Show at Peters Valley in Layton, New Jersey. Today is the start of the show and I am very excited to have these beautiful pieces on display in my home state! The books discussing the project will also be on sale. I will be going up to Peters Valley for their open house on December first.

Crochet With A Purpose

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought it would be important to remind crocheters and knitters that there are plenty of social stitching you can do to contribute to the "greater good."

Two groups I make chemo caps for are St. Clare's of Denville, NJ and the Sparta Cancer Center in Sparta, NJ. I would suggest each stitcher find a group that is in their community and contribute using your crochet or knitting skills.

Click here for a great link to several different chemo cap styles for men, women and children. I hope you will consider social stitching in your future. Together we can al make a difference.

Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. I again rode up to Jill Deal in Milford, PA with Alisa from the NJ Fiber Fanatics discussion group, where we picked up the bus to the festival. I can't tell you what a great time I had!



I had my usual "list" of purchases I had in mind, which included a Golding Spindle. I picked up a beautiful Decorative Ring Spindle that I just love! I also had the opportunity to spin on one of Golding's wheels. What a dream! I also picked up a Debra Doyle crochet hook. It is not only a great hook but it is just goregous!

I also had the chance to meet Susan from Susan's Fiber Shop, who is carrying my spindle kits. It was great to put a face to the email!
The only item I was unable to find is a good started lap/tapestry loom. Ah well, the search continues.

Another great step!

I am very excited to announce that my spindle kits are now being sold by One Planet Yarn and Fiber! This is a great step in my professional fiber career. Lis, who owns the company, is a great person and owns it with her sister.

They have great products and I hope you will consider checking out their on-line shop.

Where did the summer go???

Now that September is here and the Labor Day weekend is nothing but a memory, I really wonder where did the last month and a half go? I am sure I am not the only person thinking that today as kids (and teachers) head back to school.

I have a LOT to bring up to date, so I'll focus on Knit and Crochet Show that took place in July in New Hampshire.

Glenn decided to go, which I was VERY happy about! It was a great opportunity meet and chat with new friends and crochet pros. I attended Professional Development Day, which was full of great information. I also attended a pattern writing class with Marty Miller, which really helped teach how to write good, easy to understand patterns.

The Free Form Guild booth was wonderful as always and Myra did an awesome job organizing everything!

We received a lot of great feedback from people who were just introduced to free form by our display. Everyone has such wonderful talent in this group and it is a real honor to be a part of the group.

Glenn and I also had a chance to get away for a few days. We drove to the seacoast, which was just beautiful! We also had a chance to go fishing in a great little country stream. No trout, but plenty of little bluegill were willing to play!

Another great moment was when I did a spinning demo on the show floor. It was a great time and I was already asked to do another one next year!

Freeform was well represented at Saturday night's fashion show and hangbag silent auction. The top three fund-raising handbags were all from members of the Free Form Guild. There were also several wonderful garments from several guild members.

It was just a wonderful time and I can't wait until next year!

Chain Link 2007

Last week I attended Chain Link 2007 in Manchester, New Hampshire. All I can say is WOW! The International Free Form Guild had our annual booth with this year's challenge: Air, Water, Earth, Fire. It was wonderful to see everyone and Myra Wood did a wonderful job (again) organizing everything!

My wonderful husband Glenn joined me and was a great sport going to all the different events and we still had a chance to get in some fishing!

Friday night was the annual Free Form Guild dinner. What a great time we had! We all took turns signing our newly published guild book. We all felt like celebrities!

Both Friday and Saturday I gave spinning demonstrations on the show floor. It was a lot of fun and I was already asked to do another demonstration next year!

I also wore my free form shrug in the fashion show and Glenn was able to pop a few shots.

I can't even begin to say what a wonderful and educational time I had! It was great to see all my crochet buddies and I can't wait until next year! I just walked away from the week completely inspired and my creativity at an amazing level!

My next big project complete!

I have just completed assembling beginning spindle kits for sale. I am very proud of this kit and I know whomever uses it will just love it! The kit includes a spindle, one ounce of clean fiber and a Simple Spindle Spinning booklet that I have written. The booklet provides clear explanations and descriptive photos.

Each kit is $10, plus $3.50 shipping/handling. Please email me with any questions.
You can check them out by going to my website: http://www.alvbfiberart.com/, and click on the Spindle Kit page.

A Renewed Interest

About a week or so ago, I gave a spindle demonstration to a group of girl scouts. They absolutely loved it and when I went to demonstrate my wheel, they could've cared less and immediately went back to their spindles.

On the way home, it made me realize that I never really gave spindle spinning a chance. I quickly jumped to my Rose early in my spinning career.

Once I got home, I pulled out my "Cheap Sheep" from Grafton Fibers and started spinning on it. What a wonderful feel it gave me. Since then, I have filled just about every spindle I have with yarn and purchased two more.

As much as I love my Rose, I think I have a new found confidence, and joy, on my spindles.

Spin on,
Andrea

Three Down, One To Go

I am still working on my Freeform Guild Challenge. Last night I finished "fire." This one was my biggest concern because it is not part of my usual color palette. I must admit, however, I was very happy with the way it turned out!

My last element is "water" and I saved, in my opinion, the best for last. These are my colors and I have been picturing what I will do in my mind's eye for weeks. I plan on starting that today.

Off to scrumble!

A New Challenge

Each year, the International Freeform Crochet Guild selects a "theme" for a group project. The scrumbles that are made are displayed online, as well as at the CGOA conference on the east and west coats. This year, the theme is "The Four Elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water." There will also be a second theme, called the "Tree of Life."

The "official" description for the two challenges are as follows:
The Four Elements exhibit will consist of four wall hangings made from scrumbles interpreting each of the four elements. These pieces will be fairly flat so that they can be joined in one fabric. Of course, surface embellishing is fine. The Tree of Life/Peace exhibit will be a display of three dimensional FF pieces that will hang from the limbs of tree branches. Each of those pieces should be suitable for hanging. Most importantly, each piece you make, although using yarns of your choice, must include a Gold Thread. The overall theme of the shows and of our International FF group is one of Unity and a common thread.

The way I started out was by selecting different yarns for each scrumble and bagging them together and labeling them as each element. Last night, I completed the first element, "air." At first I really didn't like it. I didn't think it was "creative" enough. But in the end, I was pretty happy with it. I also found out something about myself. I tend to be very geometric when working freeform pieces. The more I thought about it, the more I remember as a child when I would doodle, I would always build off of geometric shape like a triangle or a square. Interesting.

Eventually, I will post the link to every one's scrumbles. I hope you like them when they are posted later this year.

Snow Day!

Well, my hand is finally on the mend and I am enjoying a snow day at home. Valentine's Day has brought quite a snow/ice storm and Glenn and I both had a day off today. I did some "real work" this morning and then we just watched tv and napped.

I haven't tried spinning yet since my hand injury, but I have been able to start crocheting with larger yarn. The small stuff is still somewhat hard to hold for me. I have been busy making chemo caps for group donation to St. Clare's Onocology in Denville. The Primadonna Crocheters are hoping to donate 50 caps by early March. I have made six so far.

We have a lot of fun at our monthly meeting, so if you live in the area, and would like to join, click here to get more information!

Back to enjoying the snow and making chemo caps! I hope you all have a wonderful snow day!