First week in the new shop has come to an end and it was great. We already feel very at home in our new place. There are still a few bits to gather at the old location and we'll work on that over the next few weeks. Lots of you were already able to come and visit and I hope that lots more of you will come and see us in the next couple of weeks. It's really great.

In the midst of all this I spun some yarn. I like this skein the best. It was my Spunky Eclectic February club color. I had two 4 ounce bundles. I split one of them down the middle and spun two bobbins and plied. I still have the other 4 ounce twist in the shop next to the skein so you can see the difference in the spinning.

There were some new rigid heddle weavers born this week and some new spinners are coming right along. Then on Saturday I went to Spinner's Flock - my spinning guild and came home with a new present for myself.
Well, not home. It's at the shop. The wheel is 42" in diameter. it needs a couple of somethings to help it work a little better but all of the parts are there and it's lovely.
This wheel was originally made in Michigan and I just love it. So much to do this week but I do expect to get sidetracked by working with this girl:-)

The Move!

It's been a big weekend and it's only Saturday night! But it's moving weekend and so we had to get to work on Wednesday night.
There were a few leftovers from the last shop that was in the space that we wanted to get rid of. Mama's Milk doesn't really fit our shop but luckily there were some cans of leftover paint so all of the touch up work could be done.
There was also a little scene glued to one of the window shelves that needed to be scraped off the best we could.
And a nice papier mache tree in the back that needed disposing of. The boxes on the floor are tile samples from Lousmith's company. It's fantastic stuff but as they were sample boxes we had boxes and boxes of tiles that don't match.
So Lou did the bast he could to cover the pretty hideous tile that was already there.
Much better, don't you think? I think it looks pretty fantastic. If you like it you can get it at Home Depot. Just sayin'.

On Thursday Chelsea and I did some more moving and touch ups and then it was time to get ready for the concert I had been looking forward to since March!
Cyndi Lauper did not disappoint. Abby and her family came up for the show and I conveniently scheduled the move to coincide with their visit so I could get some extra help!
The last time I saw Cyndi Lauper in concert was over 15 years ago when I wasn't yet married to my darling. He got us tickets to the Chestnut Cabaret in Philly and we were right up next to the stage. Best show I ever saw.
This show was just as good but it was almost all songs from her new CD which is all blues. Fantastic. her voice is just perfect for the Blues. The show was at the Motor City Casino which has a nice little concert hall. I don't think there was a bad seat in the house though I was VERY happy with our up close seats.

We stayed over at the hotel there and headed back to pick up the UHaul so the serious moving could begin.
I think half the truck was taken up with bags of fleece. Abby took some photos of moving the wheels in the back of their truck but they are too tiny to put up here. If you are interested and are on Facebook, they are in her Mobile Uploads folder.
After we got almost everything moved, the fiber in the front went onto the shelves pretty quickly. Abby and her Fam headed off back to Southern Ohio and we kept working until about 7:30 PM when we couldn't take it anymore..
This morning we were back at it. Lousmith had one more bit of flooring to lay and various other jobs that I didn't trust myself with. Jillian and Carla with their two delightful daughters came to help with the unpacking progress. I got no photos of them because I forgot!
Amanda came right at lunch time and stayed the rest of the afternoon until the final bits were arranged and organized.
But the real hero of the week was Chelsea. She knew exactly what to do and where things were to go. When I got sidetracked she shoved me back on the tracks.
And finally it is all put back together. This is the classroom which holds a few wheels and most of the weaving stuff.
As well as the new wall O'Fleece.
The front room is gorgeous.
Fiber and Fiber and Fiber.
And Fiber
Little Buster was very worn out by the whole experience.
The CTTC (Center for Traditional Textiles Of Cusco) have their own prominent display.
And there are still spindles galore.
And Chelsea is quite proud.
The shop will reopen with the same hours on Tuesday July 6th.
Amy King will Christen the new place with a Spin/Dye Class on the weekend of July 23 (which still has a few spots available, by the way)
August brings Galina Khmeleva for Russian Spindle Spinning and Orneburg lace knitting.
Micheal Cook is coming with Silk Reeling and...
We will have our Grand Re-Opening party on September 18 which is World Wide Spin in Public Day.

I am thrilled with the new space and hope that you will all come in and check it out soon. Bring your wheel and spin with me and Chelsea for a while if you can.

Hooray for Maggie!

Two of my favorite things about my spinning store. I love teaching spinning. I do. And I love being able to have top quality teachers come to my store. This past weekend was Maggie Casey. She is the author of Start Spinning and the star of the DVD by the same name. She also is one of the owners of Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins in Boulder, Colorado.

I've taken some classes with her at SOAR and knew in advance that she is a wonderful teacher. Patient, and kind and she knows how to say things in a way that just make sense and put the student at ease.

Friday night was long draw. There were lots of break throughs and lots of fun.
On Saturday we learned about spinning colored fibers. How to take already dyed rovings and tops and make them into whatever you like. How to blend colors, how to line them up, how to move them around and make them behave so that they are what you want in your project.
No dyeing was necessary to get the outcome we wanted.
Chelsea checked her Facebook and played with her Nintendo DS. hhmmmm.

Sunday morning began with a bit of naughtiness and ended up on a raucous not. We were learning how to spin Big and Lofty Yarns. Chelsea was not at the shop and I did a poor job of getting lunch to the shop in timely manner.
We thought of a few uses for these fat yarns while we were spinning them.
Some of us struggled to give up control of every inch of yarn.
Maggie showed us how to beat up our yarns to make them more stable.
And in between the laughing we listened and learned a lot. If you have an opportunity to take a class with Maggie, any class, do it.
In the midst of all this I did a little spinning. This yarn is four Abby Batts in the New Black colorway. It is a three ply. About 412 yards and about 34 wpi. I need a project for it.
This is 4 ounces of Romney dyed by Amy King in the Threesheeps colorway. I have 12 more ounces of it. It is a 2 ply, about 112 yards and 8 wpi. I like this yarn a lot. I should probably spin the rest.

Right now I'm working on spinning the February club shipment from Amy and working on my shawl...plus there's the moving that is happening this upcoming weekend. Not worried at all. Nope.

A Month!

It's been too long between blog posts. Time just gets away and then another day goes by. So we'll just talk about many of the reasons I have been sidetracked from the blogging.

The photo above is from the Howell Memorial Day Parade. The band is the Howell High School Band. I love this band. The mascot is the Highlander and the band actually has bag pipes. I do like the sound of bag pipes. I really do.

After Memorial Day I was busy getting ready for my classes at TNNA. TNNA is the big yarn convention that takes place in Columbus Ohio every June. Yarn and needlework shop owners from all over go there to check out what's new and what's up as far as yarn and needlearts goes. I taught a class about how to teach beginning spinning and how to add and market fibers to your yarn shop.

I taught on Thursday and Friday and the market opened on Saturday. I was only looking for a cotton sliver supplier. I found one. A great one. I bought 7 shades of organically grown cotton which should come to the shop around September. I also found several other fantastic items that will be coming over the next few months. Some naturally dyed fibers, some Merino that feels like cashmere, some Lantern Moon goodies and interchangeable needle sets that I was quite impressed with. I also brought home all of the fiber in the Abstract booth. ALL of IT! I posted it in the webstore if you wanna see.

Also, when I got home there were Wildcraft Spindles and Blue Moon Fiber Arts Fibers! All on the webstore
While I was at TNNA I was busy. Meeting with great people and shopping and eating ice cream and talking some more. Miriam Felton's new book will be out soon and I ordered some. Shannon Okey's new book is out and I ordered some. Dinner with Teva Durham and Miriam. Dinner with Jillian Moreno and some people from Storey Publishing. Breakfast with Kimberly Reynolds and XRX. I think I sat on Carol Sulcoski's lap (or I dreamed it). I went to the Ravelry party which was crazy! Hugs with Amy Singer. Sleeping with Abby. Harassing Dave from Louet. There are people I am forgetting. There were so many people! So much fun and so much exhaustion and so much hurty feet.
At the end of the weekend I met this lovely lady. I don't know her name but look at that tattoo! She knitted the doily and took it to the place and they put a picture of it on her arm. Amazing.

In between all of this I have been working on a somewhat secret project.
The Spinning Loft is moving. 102 South Michigan Avenue, Howell will be our new address. It's bigger. With a separate classroom. Amy King will be our first out of town teacher in the building.
I love the space and so does Chelsea. So we will be closed from July 2nd to July 5th while we move and arrange and get ready for business in our new spot. Not far from the old one but much better. Plus, the coffee shop is just across the street, more parking, and restaurants all very close.
WE CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!

Also, this:

Projects and more Projects

So Denny made her way from Toronto this past weekend to talk about warping. I think the topic scared people because the class was very small but 2/3 of weaving is in the warping and knowing the tips and tricks of the process can make weaving so much more enjoyable. And Denny does know the tips and tricks. It was a fantastic class and I think those who came went home ready to tackle their looms again with a happy attitude.

I missed most of the class because the shop was very busy on Saturday. I got to talk about Navajo weaving, bast fibers, spinning wheels, raw wool and all the stuff I love.

On Sunday I did something I rarely do...I skipped church.

We went to the shop and started the warping of the Alpaca I had wound a few weeks ago.

7 yards. Of lace weight Alpaca. 32 wpi. It is pretty hairy and sticky. A job that should have been 15 minutes...

took 5 hours. The lease sticks wouldn't glide through because the yarn would stick and tangle and we had to undo each 3-4 inches by hand. 1000 ends of warp.
We stuck with it. I wanted to quit so many times but Denny reminded me of where the yarn cam from and how she suffered with cancer for so long and that I could manage this for a short time.

In the end we did it.

Now I will thread the heddles and sley the reed this week. Just a simple twill but in the end it will be worth it.
I've also been working on my first shawl design and it is coming right along. Looks better in person. When the triangle is finished I will choose some kind of lovely edging for it I think.
And finally, in November Maggie and I will be travelling to Peru for Tinkuy which will be a conference of North and South American textile artists. The above is Maggie's fortune she got from the Chinese take out the other day. We all got a kick out of it.