festivals! workshops! elections!

Happy election day! The months of nail-biting are finally about to end, and I'm excited because it means there'll be one less thing for me to fret over. Amidst all the election anticipation, I've been busy preparing for and traveling to festivals. The most recent one I attended was last weekend's Southeast animal fiber fair. It was spectacular, and I plan on returning next year. I met some wonderful people, including Britney of the knit witch (I brought home one of her gorgeous yarn bowls and have been using it ever since), and Nanney Kennedy of Seacolors Yarn.
I'm so thrilled with all of my SAFF purchases, which included a new kokovoko spindle, a 1-yard mini niddy noddy, yarn from the plain & fancy sheep & wool co., and from brooks farm.
Of course, I couldn't leave a fiber fair without picking up a couple of fleeces. I knew I wanted to find the perfect romney fleece while I was there, and I succeeded. On the first day, while wandering the main sales area, I found a farm that specialized in romney sheep, and pickup up this lovely 7.5lb charcoal fleece. It was one of only a few fleeces they had on display, and after spending no fewer that five minutes with my hand submerged in this beauty, I knew I had to have it. I've washed about a pound of the fiber, and it's turning out gorgeously. Once all the dirt and lanolin is out, it's a soft charcoal gray with cream and brown tips. It goes perfectly with the small kid mohair I picked up at the fleece sale. The curly little locks were too cute for me to pass up, and now that it's washed, they're extra lustrous. I'm working on carding some of the romney and mohair together for a spinning project that will eventually become a cabled sweater. Who knows; maybe next year I'll be entering the finished piece into the garment contest at SAFF.
My two new fleeces have invigorated my love for fiber prep. Working with a beautiful raw fleece is such a joy. When I've finally finished that sweater, I have a feeling I'll wear it often, and if anyone asks, I will be quick to take credit for the fiber preparation, spinning, and knitting that went into its creation.
As much as I'd love to dwell in the fiber world forever, I'm also making big plans in the book arts segment of my life. This week, I've been preparing to teach a geltin monoprint holiday card class at One Night Only Artique in Tuscaloosa. On Sunday, my co-teacher and I practiced the techniques we'll be teaching and how we'll be structuring the class. I made about a dozen prints with textures, cutouts, and a little bit of painting. This is one of my favorites.


I'm looking forward to teaching this weekend, and if all goes well, I'll be teaching a similar workshop for kids in the spring.
I'm also going to be leading a pamphlet-making activity during Thursday evening's Art Night event to advertise the printmaking and other upcoming workshops. If you're in town, stop by One Night Only any time after 6:00pm and make a pamphlet with me!