Happy Thanksgiving

We are heading into the holidays with a small ice storm! School in Wabasso is getting out early today and then we have a four day weekend! Yippee! We plan on spending it visiting our families and helping the Canby Presbyterian Church serve turkey dinner to the community. And winterizing the farm. And weaving, I hope! I recently moved my large Glimakra countermarche loom and have it warped and ready to weave again! So exciting! Silk shawls for Christmas anyone?

Have a Happy Thanksgiving all of you, and may you be as grateful for all of your blessings as I am for mine!

Studio merger

This October, I married Joel McKinney and we are happily busy merging our lives and our studios. Joel is a fantastic sculptor, painter, architect, jeweler, designer, tile maker, and all around artist. We are now living on his farm near Walnut Grove and adding my fiber skills to create a new paradigm for ourselves at Blackhawk Studios. Look for great things to come in the future!

New Weaving, new opportunites

Again it has been a long time between posts! I moved the retail store to another new location last Thanksgiving Day and am still turning around three times to get comfortable! I now have 1 floor loom, 2 tapestry looms and 2 spinning wheels and a rigid heddle loom there, all with projects lined up. We won't even talk about the knitting I have planned!

I have lots of exciting things happening in the "Art" sector of my life. I recently attended the Creative Capital "Professional Development Program" workshop in Wilmar with filmmaker Ela Troyano and revolutionary artist Dread Scott working as discussion leaders. Fascinating!

I have also been accepted into the "Work of Art" workshop series being presented by Springboard for the Arts of Minneapolis. I start the first of 10 classes next Tuesday evening at the SMAHC offices in Marshall, MN. The goal is to develop a strategic plan to have a profitable career as an artist.

Speaking of the SMAHC offices, they have recently been remodeled and now have Gallery space. I have been asked to be their second featured artist. My show opens on July 7th and will be up for viewing for 3 months. The reception is the evening of July 22nd, so come and say hi!

Naturally, I am desperately trying to get some brand new, never been seen weaving done for this show. The one pictured above is a rather large tapestry using all hand spun yarns. Let's create some stress in our lives! Wish me luck!

NCFF

It's late Wednesday night and the house is asleep - except for me, as usual. September is flying by, the first day of Fall has passed and the weather obligingly turned quite cool and wet. However, last weekend we had 3 lovely sunny days in Watertown, SD at the North Country Fiber Fair! I got to connect with old friends and catch up on some spinning. I usually attend as a vendor, but this year I just brought my wheels and sat in the spinning circle. I got to wander around and look at the lovely yarns and fleeces and go with my daughter to see the sheep get sheared. It was nice not having to rush around trying to get a booth set up. I did spin the fiber sandwich and turned it into a bit of a fiasco when I tried to navaho ply a VERY energized singles. I couldn't get the wheel to draw in fast enough, so I shanghaied a fellow spinner and my dad to help wind it in as I got the yarn off the bobbin. I guess the resulting yarn was not too awful, but I didn't get it wet, and it went to the silent auction and then disappeared. Maybe it will turn up next year in a project?!!

Now I am turning my attention to the first weekend of October and the Art Meander! I am spending the next week only working on my own projects to sell in Milan that weekend, like this silk "Flower Basket Shawl" I knitted from the Fiber Trends pattern. Since I have quite a docket of custom work lined up, that's a little scary - I hope it pans out! Now to bed to be rested for tomorrow! Night ALL!

Saturday Sale

Today is Hwy 75 King of Trails Day in Minnesota. This route has been designated as an historic scenic drive and today people all along the KT are having sales, shows, and other events. Here in Canby there is a craft show at the Depot Information center and museum. The Lund-Hoel House will be open for tours (don't miss this one!) and Briar Rose Fibers (that's me!) will be having a yarn sale in the parking lot. My daughter is also having a rummage sale, and there will be lots of shoes, kid's clothes and toys to buy. So get out and go for a drive along our beautiful King of the Trails!

pulse warmers

Friday and I just spent way too much time on etsy.com browsing all the lovely wrist and pulse warmers that are for sale there! They are easy to knit and attractive, keep your hands warm without getting in the way of typing or texting or ipod use. I came across a pair that had been gifted to a friend when she visited Sweden recently and she kindly allowed me to take a picture. Aren't they lovely? I did find similar pairs on etsy knitted by a Lithuanian knitter, but may have found the actual knitter of this pair on Ravelry by searching projects. Get inspired! Make a pair for yourself - I think I will! I want to use handspun yarn in mine... :-) Some of the notes on the fine weight beaded pulse warmers say that they string anywhere from 350 to 1900 beads per wrist! And the one lady is selling them for only $26.00 US. Back to work - rainy day today and my brain is telling me to go back to bed. More coffee!

Back to the BLOG

Hello everyone! Sorry for my long absence from this blog. I've had a busy few years. I've moved the store three times, trying to find a space that I can afford and is still viable for the business. I'm pretty sure that this one will stick. The visibility is great for the retail and parking is so easy! Drive right up to the front door. I also like having the studio at home, so I do a lot of the heavy lifting there. I just sent my daughter off to 5th grade, and am trying to settle into some sort of work routine. I'm still weaving for Kelly Marshall in the cities, so pound away on the heavy rep weave table runners and placemats. I'm also getting ready for Meander the first weekend of October. I also have a variety of smaller projects that I'm making for people and for sale. Occasionally, I even attempt some art work, and am embroidering on handwoven felt with silk and copper wire. I've been doing lots of interesting knitting projects - check out the website to see some of them! At home, I'm busy with five (yes, five!) new cats, the dog and the angora rabbit. Never a dull moment here, and always a furry face to love! Well, back to the loom! T.