Spring in the Desert

 People who live in places where there is rain and green growing things often ask me what spring is like here in the desert. Here in the Mesilla Valley it is pretty green from this time of year until about November when fall happens all at once in about three weeks. We have pecan orchards here and a lot of agriculture along the Rio Grande so things do grow a lot. This looks like a year when most of the yucca around will bloom. In my own yard there are plenty of flowers from iris to roses -

With our climate and lack of rain any and all flowers are very appreciated. We have had our share of brown sky days this spring where there seems to be more dirt in the air than on the ground and the winds blow 50mph or more. Today there is a turquoise sky and the flowers seem happy for a lack of wind. Wherever you live may your spring be a rare and wonderful thing.

Weaving Revisited

It has been a long time since this blog has talked about weaving. Spinning and dyeing have taken over for several years, but just recently weaving came back into my life. I began to think about how colors would play together in a warp and weft. The big loom is in storage so the smaller loom is having to do duty until I can find more space. The wonderful studio my sister helped me set up back in November is packed with all my fiber production from roving and spinning to sock yarn dyeing. Here are some pictures of where I'm working:

In this bottom picture you can see one of the new weavings that I will be taking to the Ramble this Friday at the Studio off of Water Street here in Las Cruces. (From 5-7 in case you can't remember - at the Quillin Studio and Gallery behind COAS bookstore)
This is a better picture of the art yarn and drum carded batt that is currently on the Ashford Country Spinner - what a great workhorse that spinning wheel has been.

For those of you who took my class in Corespinning last summer at the Retreat in Sacramento, NM - we will be having another class in using drum carded batts to create art yarn with lots of locks and novelty yarn this summer. It is the last weekend in July up at the Methodist Assembly Camp (contact me for more info).
And finally for those of you who wanted to see the weavings I'm just finishing up - they are a celebration of color and texture for spring.

May your days be full of creativity and warm sunshine. Blue vest is sold. Contact me through email if you are interested in the pink one. Thanks.