Project Packing

I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I always have my projects picked out before I do any other packing. I may have left on a trip without underwear before, but I’ve never left without a project. My process usually goes like this: I get really excited about seven or eight projects, but […]

The Original Fidget Spinner

I read a fun story the other day from the ABC affiliate up in Portland, Maine. To help elementary-aged kids focus, they are encouraging them to crochet during class. Of course, I think this is fantastic. I’ve been crafting to focus in class since high school, and it’s the only thing that got me through […]

Shearing Day

You may recall that Marci and I adopted an alpaca last fall, and last Saturday was shearing day! It’s quite an event, the shearers and the farmers are there, and Marcia (Reba’s farmer) had some members of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine Camelid Medicine Club come to help out, too (which I […]

Ply Away

The Kansas City area fiber community is really lucky. Jacey, the creator of Ply Magazine, is one of us. So for the past four years, her international spinning event Ply Away has been held at Crown Center in downtown KC. It’s a great event, featuring the world’s best spinning instructors, a vendor market, and the […]

MOPACA

Last weekend was the annual MOPACA show at Hale Arena. It’s always a highlight of my year, because it always falls around my birthday. Alpaca goodies make great birthday gifts! Of course you get to see alpacas! They’re so adorable: There’s always a great selection of vendors, too. Here’s what I walked away with this […]

Let Me Finish Vol. 2

Last week, I showed you my finished projects from the Fiber Treasures retreat, and now I have two more! These are the yarns I spun on that Sunday: And here’s what I made! Two cowls! The pink one is my lock spun yarn, loosely using the Escarpment Cowl pattern. I essentially knit a triangle shawl […]

Let Me Finish

I have always been the idea girl and never the finish-to-completion-before-starting-anew girl. I get really excited about starting a project, but then I usually find something new or get bored and I move on to the next thing. If I never had deadlines, I’m not sure I’d ever finish anything. Which is why I’m happy […]

…and Funky Yarns

And on the second day of the Fiber Treasures retreat, we spun funky art yarns. First up was add-ins, which I had done before, but it’s always fun to try it with new things. And boy, were there things! Teri and Christine treated us to a whole bar of fibers, beads, pompoms, feathers, flowers, sparkles, […]

Fauxlags, Fractals…

I can’t think of a better way to spend a frigid weekend than tucked away learning new spinning techniques. The Fiber Treasures retreat this year was call “Fauxlags, Fractals, and Funky Yarns,” and we covered a lot of ground on all! Fauxlags are a fun way to prepare a combed top that gives you a […]

Ready for My Close-up

You guys, I’m going to be in Ply Magazine! I got to demonstrate how to wind a cop on a Turkish spindle: perfect ball and God’s eye methods. It was a super fun shoot, at Yarn Social (have you been there yet? It’s an amazing shop). In addition to posing for photos, I just spun, […]