PEI, Anne Of Green Gable Quilts and Blustery Weather

Hello Everyone,   My fingers have been vey busy stitching for the last couple of months and unfortunately I am behind in visiting with my blogging friends.  The project that I am working on is due February 1st'  I am very hopefully it will be done in time.

During the meantime I am also planning our wonderful  upcoming trip to PEI in July. Karen My Long Time Friend from Ontario who also use to live on PEI a vey long time ago has given me some inforrmation too.  Karen does not have a blog. My new friend Gail from NB Canada has been very helpful in many ways and we now have our confirmed reservation at "Green Gable Cottage".  Gail has a lovely blog called "Quilt,Knit,Run, Sew"  please have a look. From my last posting about PEI
 "Linda from Stitching Lines"  and Karen, "Sew Kaaren-ly Create" have also been helpful.  You can see Karen's very lovely prize winning "Anne Of Green Gable Quilt" created a couple of years ago on her blog.  On Karen's blog you will also find a photo of the "Patchwork Quilt Tsushin" Japanese Magazine with the wonderful PEI Lighthouse on the front cover along with the most gorgeous "Anne Quilt"  This issue is filled with everything PEI and their quilts. The next 6 photos below are some of the Anne's Quilts. I think they are all truly beautiful.  I ordered the Japanese Magazine from
 "Center Diamond Quilt Shop" in Cannon Beach Oregon  see it below.  I also purchased this PEI DVD from Amazon and it was so lovely to watch.

Below is a photo of another Flower Dorset Button I created recently.  I think I will use it as an embellishment to the in progress "Crazy Quilt Of My Dreams".

The photo below is of my first needle weaving attempt.  It will be included in the project I am working on for the February 1st Exhibition.

For the last couple of years I have been mainly creating crazy quilt projects. Judith Baker Montano new book called "Fibreart Montage" is truly lovely.  Last year I was introduced to Tilda's Books.  "Sew Sunny Homestyle" came out last August and it also has some very lovely patterns in it to create.

Below is a couple of very lovely "Rose" buttons I received from a Dear Friend in Australia.  They will also go on my Hearts and Roses Crazy Quilt I am working on.

My Husband created the two bird feeders below. Our winter birds are enjoying the protection and the food after our blustery very cold and abundant snow fall last week.

The stitching project I have been working on has the theme of "Winter Wonderland" and you can see all I need to do is look outside and I have all kinds of inspiration.

Last evening I could not put down the Patchwork Quilt Tsushin Magazine. Oh, how I wish I could read Japanese. It has so many "Beautiful Anne Quilts" that were so awesome to look at.  I plan to take heaps of photos while visiting PEI so I can come home and create an "Anne Quilt" too.  The Japanese Magazine also took many photos of Lovely Businesses on PEI whose owners had made all kinds of truly beautiful quilts. They were a delight to look at. I will have to make it a point of discovering and exploring all the "Quilt Shops on PEI".

Back to stitching My First Online Project!  Thank You All for visiting my blog and leaving your lovely messages for me to read.  Much appreciated.

Hugs,

Prince Edward Island and Pressies

Hello Everyone, We wish you all a very Magical, Happy, and Healthy New Year.

I have been ecstatic about the most glorious news for the last several months because my sweetie has granted me a life long wish to go and visit the home of "Anne of Green Gable on PEI". Why this coming year because I will be turning 60 yrs old. I can hardly believe that number. I remember clearly saying I would never turn 40 and now I am soon to be sixty. My sweetie has made the last 5 years of my life so magical. So I should not be surprised that this dreams will soon come true. I order the above free DVD from the island tourist department and it arrived a few days ago. When we played it for the first time tears came to my eyes it made me feel so happy inside. It is only 11 minute long but I quickly understood the "The Island Effect" and I am still humming to the moving music. Isn't the photos of those Lupins just glorious. I can hardly wait to see and smell those lovely blooms.

My Sweetie "Knocked My Socks" off when I open my Christmas pressie. Yup, I got a new HP Pavilion DV6 Notebook. It has so many things on it I will be learning how to use this computer for ages and ages. This is my first blog posting with it. When I downloaded these photo it took only a second. My Dell ( which served me well for 7 years) would take forever. VBG It is wireless but I much prefer my "Mouse"!! lol

Below are some gifts I received from my lovely neighbor in Germany. Ulla and her family was so kind and wonderful to me while I was living there. They plan to come and visit us for the second time again in 2011 which we are really looking forward too.

I also received these lovely gifts from a dear friend in Australia and the very artistic ATC came from my dear friend in the UK. I Thank You all for these lovely gifts.

I have order Lucy M. Montgomery Journal 1 because another Anne's fan suggested I do. It has been order and I really look forward to reading it. We will be driving to PEI so I plan to explore every inch of PEI. Most important I want to visit all those special places Anne made so famous. I hope to chat with the people of "The Gentle Island" and share the excitement of their Island with them. If any of my readers have been to PEI or live on PEI I would love to chat with you. Thanks.

Hugs,

Happy New Year to All Our Family and Friends

Hello everyone, I hope everyone had a very lovely Christmas Holiday.

The last few months has been hectic but I've found a wee bit of time to create something I have been planning to make for some time. First I bought this lovely Pale Pink Rose Toile fabric back in April when I was visiting the Paducah Quilt Show. A few months later I discovered "Laurie Charming Designs" and her absolutely wonderful "Hearts and Roses Push Pins and Refrigerator Magnets". I've had them since summer. So I finally got a nice bulletin board and put them all together. Here is the results. I love it. What do you all think??? It will go into my sewing room after I paint the walls this same lovely pale pink color.

This photo show an up close of the Lovely Hearts and Roses Push Pins.
I received this "Lovely Friendship Calender" from a Dear Friend in Australia. Every month is full of lovely photos of blooms and china. It is one of the prettiest calenders I have ever seen and it has the most wonderful "Friendship" quote every month to read.

I believe everyone know what a big fan I am of Anne of Green Gable. My Dear DIL Jenny called PEI and order this 100th Anniversary Ornament for me along with a couple of other gifts below. I love them all.

Jenny also bought me a PEI Travel Book. I plan to read this from cover to cover.

Jenny also order this lovely "Anne of Green Gable Wind Chime". It will be hanging from my Gazebo as soon as Spring gets here. At the moment with all the heaps of snow we have it is difficult to imagine Spring yet.

I have admired Victorian Christmas Cracker for sometime. This is my first attempt of creating one. The focus fabric is called "Christmas Greeting, Flower Fairies" from the estate of Cicely Mary Barker. I let my stitching imagination be inspired from this lovely piece of fabric. I gave it as a Christmas Present filled with goodies for a Dear Friend.

Below is the Christmas Cracker I received. It was created with lovely Bangkok silks fabrics and embellished in very pretty stitches and beads and such .

I also received some Lovely Treasures from another Dear Friend in The Netherlands. I plan to use the "Rose Buttons" on my Crazy Quilt that I plan to start working on again in the new year. I truly love the Beaded Pendant and the beautiful folded Christmas Ornament and the very lovely fabrics.

I also received a couple of "Beautiful Post Cards from a friend in the UK". I just loved the wool felted flowers and rolls that I received from my friend in Australia.

I had my Christmas Catus for many years and it has been at my Mom home for some time. I finally brought it home with me at Thanksgiving. I took some Vitamin B tablet and dissolved it in water. I then diluted it with another glass of water and then gave it to my Christmas Catus. I could hardly believe it immediate went from very sad looking to blooming within a month. Isn't it just beautiful. Hopefully next year I will have many more blooms.

Two days prior to Christmas we received lots of rain. Then on Christmas Day Night it started to snow and it has not stopped yet. Below our "Lovely Two Bird Feeders" My Sweetie build for me and they are being smothered in snow. They are filled with lots of food but No birds are to be seen. I think they are all snuggled in Pine Trees trying to keep warm.

And this is a photo of Our Winter Wonderland today. A bit overcasted but the sun came out a bit later.

My Sweetie and I would like to wish all Our Family and Friends a Very Healthy and Joyous New Year. I look forward to chatting with all my blogging friends next year.

Hugs,

Merry Christmas To All Our Family and Friends

I was very fortunate to have met Heloisa from Brazil this year on Stitchin Fingers. We fast became Good Friends. Heloisa stitches some beautiful creations and she sent me the above lovely card called "Christmas Lady". The card is truly beautiful. I also received some very pretty buttons too. Thank you very much Heloisa!

I also swaps Dorset Buttons with Jinann from Virginia. I think my Christmas Dorset Buttons are absolutely beautiful. Thank you very much Jinann for creating them for me.

I have fallen in love with creating Dorset Buttons. The top one I called a "Snowflake Crosswheel". The two larger "White Dorset Buttons" are Singleton with my touch added. I especially lile the pink flower one. I used a Woven Picot Open and Closed stitch to create them. It is the first time I have ever used this stitch and I really loved the look of it. I put a pink pearl bead in the center which I think really make it special. The small pink Dorset Button one is called a Star Shirtwaist. This is my first attempt and I found it a bit more difficult. I am going to have to perfect this technique.

I also created these Dorset Buttons too. All three were given as gifts.

I have been admiring some Art Envelope on Stitchin Fingers so I decided to try and make a Christmas Art Envelope too. This is a close up of a Poinsettia with beads.

This is a photo of the inside of the Christmas Art Envelope.

This photo shows the whole front of the "Christmas Art Envelope". I really enjoyed making it. It went to my new friend Heloisa in Brazil.

I called this needle felted Post Card in red, "Christmas Dance". I added lots of snowflakes with beads and metallic threads.

Another needle felted Post Card in Pink, also called "Christmas Dance"! I also added more snowflakes beads and lovely metallic threads to make it sparkle. I used all lovely Icelandic Wools on them both.

I made this Silk Ribbon Christmas Post Card for us. It symbolizes what a "Wonderful, Precious, and Cherished Life I have with My Sweetie".

Our Christmas Tree this year. We decided to put it in the corner this year to give us more room for family to gather about. It is decorated with hand blow and painted German Blue Ornaments along with special ornaments made by my friends.

Today the sun is shining in Michigan. At the beginning of the week I could not even see the fence from the front window we were having such an dreadful snow blizzard. We got 14 inches of snow. Thanks goodness some of it has melted from the sun and rain. vbg

I feel very fortunate to have met so many wonderful friends blogging. To me Friends are Like Flowers. Each could stand alone on it own beauty. But group together each enhances the beauty of the other.

My Sweetie and I would like to wish everyone a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas and A Very Happy New Year.

Hugs,

Christmas Fairy Post Card

Heather my Dear Friend from Canada and I decided to exchange Christmas Post Cards this year! We coordinated opening them together Tuesday evening. Heather especially loves fairy but I had NO idea my pressies this year would have a Fairy theme. This beautiful Christmas Fairy Post Card is pictured above. The thread painting is incredibly exquisite and the silk ribbon embroidery Poinsettia, lovely fairy gown and Dove are truly stunning. Look at her dainty 3 D fairy wings. Heather is truly an artist and you can see more of her lovely art work on her blog at "A Cherish Life"!

I created a Brazilian Embroidery Christmas Tree Post Card for Heather. I used all Brazilian Floss and added lots of beads and put some pressies underneath the tree.

Here is the other lovely things I received from Heather. A DVD called "Fairy Tales" which I plan to watch with my sweeties at our usual Friday Night at the Movie! I am really looking forward to watching it. On the back it say that it takes place in England during WW1. I love anything that would be based in the UK. Please note the Refrigerator magnet. We both have the same feelings about kitchens. LOL

I love Roses and especially Pink Roses and this gorgeous Journal is based on Cicely Mary Bakers lovely garden fairies. The "Rose Fairy" is so beautiful on the front of the journal. Inside Heather wrote me a Lovely Christmas Message and tells me I can use this journal to write down all my inspirational thoughts and idea for creating in it. Heather also wrote me the most lovely poem.

"She sat there on my hand a tiny Fairy thing.

I couldn't believe my eyes and then she started to sing.

A voice as delicate as an angel its lilt caressed my ears like no sound I'd ever heard it near brought me to tears.

I closed my eyes and listened a song so sweet and airy to my memory I commit the melody of the fairies".

By Heather Johnsgaard

Thank you Heather for writing this very lovely Poem into my Journal for me to read. Our Friendship is very special and I feel very blessed to have you as a friend.

Hugs,

Art Council of White Lake, Stories Behind The Quilts Show, Giveaway

Alison Lang Art Doll called Robirda Penguin is pictured above. It was created from felted wools and antique fabric. There was a glass blue egg inside of the necklace pouch around Robirda Penguin's neck.

My Dear Friend Heather is having a Lovely giveaway at her blog called, "A Cherished Life". Heather has made many creative and beautiful Ornaments. A few of her beautiful Ornaments are pictured above.

The above photo is of Alison Lang, Fiber Artist that displayed 2 of her quilts at the Art Council of White Lake, gallery in Montague for the last couple of week. This past Saturday the art council had nibbles and fondue for all the visitors at the show.

I was asked to display three of my quilts. The above photo is of the Autumn Leaf Fantasy Wedding Quilt I made several years ago for my son Shane and his wife Jenny.

This photo is of "The Alaska Quilt" I made back in 1994 to 1996. It was the first quilt I ever made.

This quilt is the second quilt I ever made. I called it "Quilted Sea Tapestry" and was made for my oldest son Mike and his wife Kari.

Some photos of other quilts that were displayed at the show.

This was the first time I have ever displayed my quilts in public. I was anxious about it but all the quilts were well received by the public. We all had a lovely time chatting about our quilts and art.

Hugs,

Dorset Buttons: Splendiferous

For the last couple of weeks my fingers have been very busy stitching and creating Dorset Buttons for projects and friends. I bought "The Dorset Feather Stitchery" book a couple of years ago from the UK Stitch Magazine. Inside this book it explains how to make these lovely buttons along with heaps of lovely Dorset Feather Stitches. The above photo is the "First 5 Dorset Buttons" I have ever made.

In the recent issue Vol 8 Issue # 04 of Crazy Quilt Magazine Online, Diane Mugsford from British Columbia presented a written Workshop to the Fraser Valley Needlearts Guild newsletter on how to create these fantastic Dorset Pin Buttons. Through Kerry Leslie ( click on Kerry name to get to her lovely blog), Diane graciously allowed her pattern to be published in our CQMagOnline Mag. Diane's Dorset button resembles a flower bouquet which looks very similar to my "Roses and More Roses" top left. Thanks Kerry, I loved this pattern.

Also Marion Howitt of the UK has a website called "Dorset Buttons" and has a 16 page booklet called "Fact File" giving detailed instructions on how to create many Dorset Buttons. I bought the Lovely "Fact File" Booklet from Marion. It is very very nice with very detailed instructions for some unique Dorset Buttons. I highly recommend it.

The British Button Society has a website that show some very lovely Dorset Buttons too. I especially loved the "The Christmas Tree Dorset Button" by Marlene Bramman. I gave the Christmas Tree Dorset Button a go and a photo of it is on the top right. I added lots of beads and a wee star at the top.

The last row shows Three Dorset Buttons in the traditional designs. The shade of Purple Dorset Button was the very first one I ever made then the Green one and lastly the Peppermint color one.

In this photo I show you the different types of threads and yarns I used to create these buttons.

(1) Roses and More Roses Brooch, was made with White "Paton's Silk Bamboo Yarn" with a 2 inch plastic ring. The Trio Embroidery Flosses I used in creating the roses were 50% Silk and 50% Wool made in Switzerland. This floss is very soft and lovely to stitch with.

(2) My Christmas Tree Dorset Button Brooch, was made with Red "Paton's Angora Bamboo Yarn" with a 2 inch plastic ring. The tree was created with Green "Paton's Silk Bamboo Yarn" and then I added beads and a wee star at the top.

(3) The Shade of Purple Dorset Button was made from #8 DMC Perle Cotton with a 1 1/4 inch plastic ring.

(4) The Shade of Green Dorset Button was made from #8 Finca by Presencia. I also added Madeira Metallic thread to the inside to add sparkle to it. It was made from a 1 1/4 inch ring.

(5) The Peppermint Dorset Button was made from # 20 Lizbeth tatting cotton and I used a 3/4 inch ring. I enjoyed using all sizes of threads and yarns and each came out having a very unique look. I really like them all.

The reference books I used are the "50 Heirloom Buttons, by Nancy Nehring 1996 which is out of print but can be bought through http://www.amazon.com/

The Dorset Feather Stitchery by Olivia Pass was first published in 1957 and reprinted 9 times. I bought this book through the UK "Stitch Magazine". See below photo.

I also recently bought a novel called "Burning Bright" by Tracy Chevalier. It takes place in the French Revolution-era London ( 250 year Anniversary of William Blake birth). He comes from Dorsetshire. It is a lovely book and I am only on Chapter 6 so lots to read yet. I will let you all know what I think of it when I have finished it. Has anyone read this book?

I love the "Stitch Magazine" and I have been reading it for several years. The above photo is of the most recent issue (#61) here in the states. I was so excited to see it in Joann's on Friday. I have been waiting for it for weeks and weeks to arrive. I could hardly believe that I got the last issue in stock they usually have several copies on hand. The reason for my excitement is that my friend Michala (Kayla Coo) from the UK lovely wool embroidery art was on the front cover. Inside she created the 4 Season in Felt. There is no better word that I can describe Michala Art than "Splendiferous!!!!! Congratulation Michala!!

I truly enjoyed creating "My Dorset Buttons". I plan to create many more. I would like to add allot more beads to them in the future to give them more sparkle. Hopefully one day I will become more proficient in creating them and then I would be keen to trade with others.

Today in Michigan it was 70F unbelievable for this time of year. Huge Very Big Grin!! Usually we are seeing snowflakes flying by now. This great weather is to last the whole coming week. Lucky us. But I am sure the snow is not far off.

I would also like to Thank You All for visiting my blog and leaving your lovely comments.

Hugs,

Autumn Wool Felted Purse and Glorious Autumn Colors

Hello Everyone, HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Michigan where at the moment we are soaking in Autumn's most brilliant hues. We've had heaps of rain so the air has been cleansed by the cold and rain. This year it seems like with us getting so much rain and wind the lovely Autumn leaves have been stripped earlier and they now lay like hand prints on the ground.

My sweetie has worked in between rain and wind storms picking them all up with the lawn mower. Even today he has worked for endless hours at this task. But before the wind and rain brought down all our Lovely Autumn Colors I took some pics posted at the end of this post.

The above beautiful hand dyed wool from natural garden dyes I brought home with me from Germany 5 years ago this week. In the last few weeks I have started using it. The above photo you will see three wet felted ball I made from these lovely wools. I have been very busy stitching trying to get some of my Christmas projects done. It seems like this year I am behind in everything.

I took some precious time recently to create a wet wool felted purse. I have been wanting to create one for several years but never seem to know exactly on how to go about it. In September I took a wet felted class and learn so very much. Kelly Brandt taught me how to make wet felted wool slippers which I will post about later when I finish them. I learned the techniques in this class that I needed to create this purse. I used the lovely nature dyed wools I had brought home with me from Germany that the "Wool Lady" dyed. The Autumn leaf I needle felted.

In the above photo you can see I created a wet felted flower and added a wee lovely button to it.

The above photo shows the inside of my Autumn Purse.

Isn't this "Burning Bush" grand colors glorious. Unfortunately, it is not in my garden but when I look out my front picture window I feel very privilege to be able to enjoy it grandeur. It is in the neighbor's back yard across the street from us. It must have been growing for many years to be so huge in size.

This is our Norway Golden Maple. It set off to the right side of our yard and when it is in its full color and the sun is shining on it is incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately all the wind and rain has left the branches looking like skeletons. Maybe that is appropriate for this day is Halloween.

The next season will soon be upon us. It has already snowed in the upper part of Michigan. I read a wee lovely poem I thought I would share with you all. It reflects exactly how I feel about my friends.

Every FRIEND is like a "Snowflake" unique in beauty and design. Each sparkles in a different way, some are playful, some refined. But, unlike fragile snowflakes that fade when the sun appears, friends grow yet more beautiful with every passing year!!!

I wish you all a lovely Autumn. I also want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who always leaves me wonderful and kind messages to read.

Hugs,

Earth Loom And A Beautiful Deck, Gazebo

My Sweetie and I both loves nature and wildlife and we feed our birds year around. This past summer I discovered a book called, "Zati, The Art of Weaving A Life" by Susan Barrett Merrill. In this book Susan helps her readers understand the centuries-old metaphor, entertains us with beautifully written archetypal stories, and guides us to a more fully understood life of love, awareness, and healing. This book has stunning photos coupled with eloquently written text help open doors to our inner thoughts and coax our inner and outer lives into synch, and show us that peace is possible. I showed "My Sweetie" a photo of the "Earth Loom" and he told me he could create one for me. It is 10 foot high and 5 foot wide and he made this in two hours. Isn't it wonderful?

In this book there was many different kinds of "Looms" shown. I fell in love with the "Earth Loom". It is a living symbol, planted into the ground and the weaving are a gift of friendship. Earth Looms may be made with indigenous materials and my husband and I chose Sunflowers, Cornstalks, Cattails, Autumn Leaves in which the birds and squirrels can feel off of during the winter months. This afternoon my sweetie and I both weaved in our findings from nature and truly enjoyed this art of weaving.

This is an up close photos of the bounty of nature we weaved into our Earth Loom.

My Sweetie is a very kind, caring and giving person and a very talented wood artist too. Last summer he renovated our screen-in sun room and created it into a living space that we can now used 7 to 8 months of the year. The next two photos are of the finished deck and gazebo. Then the rest are the photos shows the process of how he created this wonderful project for us.

This Spring we decided to add on a small porch off the sun room which turned out to be a lovely deck instead. I mentioned in passing that I always dreamed of having a Gazebo so I could sit outside even when it was raining and listen to the sounds of nature and not get wet. "My Sweetie" said, if you would like a Gazebo and then we will add a Gazebo too. I could hardly believe he was serious but he truly meant it. "My Sweetie" started this project the middle of May and finished it the middle of September. He created this lovely Deck and Gazebo all by himself working on it after work for an hour or two and on weekends when we were not busy with family commitments.

While "My Sweetie" worked on the Deck and Gazebo I decided to add a couple more flower gardens around it. Then with the help from my Mom we created the patio block sidewalk along the front and side. Now this was really hard work but we did it together. I will never forget how wonderful it was to work with my mother on this project. We actually finished it while there was a misty rain coming down.

This is a photo of "My Sweetie" hard at work. How he ever did all this work by himself is beyond me. He is such a very talented wood crafter.

We only had a couple of weeks in September to really enjoy our new deck and gazebo but plan to have lots of family BBQ next summer.

I give thanks everyday for my wonderful husband. I feel very blessed that our lives came together. WE will be married 5 years this coming November and I hope we have many more wonderful years to spend being together.

Hugs,

Natural Dying and Having Great Fun at International Day of Felt

The past couple of weeks I have been very busy doing some experimenting with Natural dying with Black Berries on several different kinds of material. I used some lovely Icelandic wool and curls which turned out a pinkish lavender color. The curls did not seem to take the Black Berry very well. I also used plain muslin and cheese cloth and some laces which turned out to be a very pretty muted lavender color which I really liked allot. The process I used to dye my fibers is called "Making Natural Dyes from Plants-Pioneer Thinking" and is explained below. My friend Jasmine in the UK at "Nature Whispers" shared this site with me.

In the left pot I prepared my fibers by simmering them in hot water for one hours in 1/2 cup of salt to 8 cups of water. To make the dye solution double the amount of water to berries. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour. After the fabrics and wool was simmered in the hot salt water bath I rinsed them with warm water.

Simmering!!!

This is what my fibers looked like after 24 hours of soaking. I then washed the fibers in my kitchen sink with mild soap and cold water until the water was clear. I then dry the fibers over a small drying line outside. Then I iron the fabrics and lace. A few weeks ago I also dyed some muslin with Blue Berries which turn out to be a muted shade of Lavender too.

I really enjoy creating wet wool felted balls. Above is a photo of the Blue Berry dyed muslin and my wee wet felted wool ball from Merino Wool.

October 3rd was "International Day Of Felt". 2009 was designated by The United Nations as the International Year of Natural Fibers. Felt Makers around the world celebrated by joining together and displaying their lovely felt.

I traveled to visit "Barbara at Marr Haven Wool Farm" in Allegan Michigan who was hosting an event to celebrate The International Day of Felt. Above is a photo of Barbara in front of her shop standing beside a lovely wet wool felted banner in beautiful shades of Orange. Barbara also created the lovely wool hat she was wearing along with the knitted vest. Thanks Barbara for hosting this wonderful day for us.

At the door of Barbara shop were corn stocks with very colorful Autumn Leaves wet felted by Barbara.

Above is some fibers I bought from Barbara Fiber Shop. I also bought the book called
"Water Color Felt Workbook by Pat Sparks". The other two books I bought at the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival a couple of weeks ago.

The above photo was taken inside of Barbara's shop. Lots of very lovely fibers.

Here is a display of very beautiful wet wool felted jackets created by Sue Pufpaff. Sue owns "Pufpaff's Fiber Processing Mill".

This display of very colorfully and lovely scarfs were created by Barbara. I truly enjoyed my day of felting and shopping. It was really great spending time with very creative felted maker who willingly shared their felt making talents with us all. Thanks to all.

I am feeling a bit sad that I have been so busy I have not had time to visit my blogging friends site or even stitch. We are going away again this whole weekend to visit with my family on the East side of Michigan. Long drive!! I hope to get back with my blogging friends next week. I have missed chatting with you all.

Hugs,

Northern Michigan Wool Festival: Sites and Sounds

My Sweetie and I went our annual Up North Get Away weekend, and we had such a great time. This year we decided to take in the "Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival" in West Branch Michigan. Unfortunately, I did not have any time to take classes but I hope to next year. This was the 10th year for the wool festival and the location at the Ogemaw Fair Grounds was wonderful. Above is a photo of some of the lovely wool roving's and threads I bought. I have plans to wet felt some Christmas pressie from it. The white glittery ball of wool is not really wool at all but it is called "Firestar" which is similar to angelina fibers. The bag of light beige and white wool is 50% Baby Camel and 50% Bleached Tussah Silk Top and Oh, it is so very soft to touch. I bought it from "River Edge Weaving Studio". The purple, blue and mixed pink wool rovings all have "Firestar Glitter" in it. I bought the white wool roving at "Woolderness Fiber Arts Studio!

The above photo is of Elizabeth and her business called "Vibrant"!! Elizabeth dyes her wool from natural plant dyes. The wool rovings I bought were dyed from "Black Eye Susan", and Beets. They are truly beautiful vibrant colors. The wool is from Blue Faced Leicester sheep.Elizabeth is in the red top. I really enjoyed chatting with her about dying with plants.

The above photo was taken at the booth of "Zeilinger Wool Co." from Frankenmuth Michigan. This purse was made from a old wool sweater that was felted in a washing machine and the motifs were needled felted on. I thought it was a very neat looking purse.

This photo is of some very lovely hand dyed wool roving.

"The Flower Lady's Farm and Woolery" is located in Levering, Michigan. Kim had numerous lovely needle felted items to buy along with hand dyed wools and hooked rug kits.

I thought the use of wool roving to weave small wall hanging was a great idea.

The photo above is an over view of the vendor mall in Building Number 2.

The Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival was celebrating their 10th year. I thought their cake was very artistic.

They also had a demonstration area that showed us all how to do weaving, spinning and dying which I really enjoyed allot.

Outside this wonderful Folk Music band was playing lovely music for us all to listen too.

I have never seen a pumpkin that had such a unique skin. Loved it.

On the Fair Ground they had restored an old "Log Cabin Church". I thought it to be very beautiful.

They also had a "Weaver's Cabin"!!

This is a photo of the outside area of the festival.

This Alpaca is looking very grand and proud with a wee sweet baby goat roaming around pestering him.

A beautiful Autumn scene to make you all smile. It was a glorious weekend and the best part was spenting quality time with my sweetie.

Hugs,

Shepherd's Rug Class

I did not have a photo of me braiding my three stripes of roving in the class but Letty the teacher sent me one from her collections of photos. You have three pieces of roving, which could be three different colors or any combination you would and they should all be a different length from one yard long to shorter. You take the three stripes of roving and by using a clamp attach the three pieces all different length to a table and start braiding like you would your own hair. When you get to the end of the first short stripe of roving take another long piece of roving approximately one yard long and add it to the short piece of roving and then continue to braid until you get your desired length of braid. Hope this helps a bit for you all that would like to give this a try.

On August 13th, I attended the "Michigan Fiber Festival" in Allegan and took a class called "The Shepherd's Rug"! Letty Klein and Ann Brown both co-authored the book called "The Shepherd's Rug" which they used in their classes. This wonderful book can be found by clicking on the hyperlink Letty Klein and Ann Brown above. There were 19 in our class and learning how to use wool roving and braid it into a rug was so much fun. After I braided 10 yards of wool roving using two shades of pink and a natural brown color our teacher put them into a laundry bag and took them to the local laundry mat where she washed them in hot soapy water and then dry them in a hot dryer. What you see above is what 10 yards of braiding looks like after my long braid was felted. We then started stitching the felted braids together by using waxed linen thread. You can see I still need to finish my project.

These are the beautiful colors I decided to use for my Shepherd's Rug which I bought from Letty. These are one pound balls of roving.

This is a photo of my teacher Letty Klein with the white jeans and her assistant Jan in the pink top. They both were wonderful teachers.

This is a photo of some of the hundreds of rugs Letty has created from wool braided roving. They are all truly beautiful.

While at a flea market in Germany I came upon this lovely very old spinning wheel. The lady that previously owned this spinning wheel was going into a nursing home at the age of 95 and her son was selling some of her things. He told me that this spinning wheel was bought for his mother when she was a young bride and that his dad bought it from South Africa. All those white wee specks you see are Ivory. Isn't it truly beautiful. I will always treasure this spinning wheel even thought I have no idea how to spin. I just love looking at it and knowing the history behind it warms my heart. Can you imagine how much wool this dear lady spun on this spinning wheel over the years. I also bought the wool rug the spinning wheel is setting on from a weaver at a Christmas Market in Germany who told me she used 100% New Zealand wool to create it. It is so nice and warm to walk on. They are also very easy to clean. Letty told us in the winter when the snow is deep and dry she takes her wool rugs outside and lays them in the snow. Letty then pounds both sides of the rug and then shakes the snow off. They are now nice and clean. She told us these wool rugs will last forever.

This photo is an up close photo of this lovely antique spinning wheel. When I bought it I paid 90Euro for it. I have no idea what its worth would be. If anyone has any idea what its value may be I would love to hear from you.

This photo was taken at a Easter Market in Germany which was located in a Castle not far from where I lived. It was the first time I ever discovered a lady teaching needle felting wool. "The Wool Lady" had heaps of lovely things she was selling and she gave me my first needle felting spot right there at the Easter Market. I instantly fell in love with felting that day. The Wool Lady told me she dyed all her wool with things from nature, like onions, flowers, berries, and roots from plants too. I bought some beautiful wool from her in lovely blues, yellow, green, and orange.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Shepherd's Rugs class and the wee story about my cherished spinning wheel and The Wool Lady.

I wish you all a wonderful week. Here in Michigan we have been experience a lovely Indian Summer with very nice sunny days and very mild temperatures in the 70F. The Autumn leaves are now just turning a wee bit. More photos of them to come in future posts.
Hugs,