A Gift

I've always wanted a studio where I could make art and be inspired by the mess that is my creative process. Over the Thanksgiving holidays my sister came to visit and this is the story about how she jumped in without being asked and made my dream of a working studio come true. Just before she came to stay I had a door put in the garage to allow access to a workshop that had been built onto the house by the previous owners.

This window became a door. See the junk piled high inside?

It was at this point when my sister arrived and saw the new door and wanted to know what the plan was. Well, the workroom was just crammed with boxes and lawnmowers and junk from when we moved here two years ago. I had the door put in but was thinking it would take me about six months on my own to sort through the stuff and move it into the garage propper and then paint and set up the working studio. My sister is a whirlwind of energy and she jumped into the project and moved things out and started painting. At first it looked like this....................

Yes, that is my sister Jeralyn working like a crazy thing making this clean enough to paint and move into. After several days of painting, during which time we catered a Thanksgiving dinner for 11........ It looked like this..............

It may look spartan but it was clean and ready to go. Jeralyn went back to the west coast and I started moving into the studio to work. Part of it looks like this now.............

More pictures soon but I wanted to share what an enormous gift this has been to have a work space set up and ready to go anytime I can get there. You can see that the Louet drum carder is front and center on an island in the middle of the floor where much carding takes place.

This Sunday I am teaching a carding class at My Place Jewell  from 10-1pm. It is the shop and studio of Susan Jewell and is located at 140 Wyatt. You can sign up by calling 575-639-1616.

November

I love November. The light here in New Mexico in November is like fine wine, it is rare and you can almost taste it. The shadows are getting long and it is nippy early and late and the temptation to have a fire inside or out is great. This is on my front door:

Yes, I did make it myself and I'm happy with it and my neighbors (who are somewhat conservative) should be Thrilled it is not covered with little witches and flashing lights, but just looks mundane and like a Normal Autumn Wreath.

And This is what I have been working on for the next Ramble which is Tomorrow! This project is as close to sheep to shawl as I ever get. I bought the raw wool and washed it and dyed it and spun it into yarn and then knitted this shawl with it. The locks are Blue Faced Leicester from up near Albuquerque. The dyes are kind to the environment Acid dyes and are colorfast and lightfast. Those of you who know me personally will be totally surprised to see any kind of knitted project actually finished from my two hands. I am one of those people who loves to start knitting projects but then quickly looses interest and moves on to another knitting project. That is why I make yarn for a living and don't sell knitted items. Anyway this beauty will be on sale at the gallery (Quillin Studio and Gallery - behind COAS on Water St) until Christmas. If you see it and want to own it, send me an email.

You can see in this final picture that my loyal assistant was supervising every step. She rolled in the grass on her back as I snapped pics. It is good to be an old dog helping Mom outside in the November sunshine.

October Blessings

One of the great blessings of October is that it is finally cooler - we have survived another summer in the desert. Things can begin to happen again since the temps are not over 100 every day. Las Cruces is blessed to be in that liminal space between desert and agriculture. We have great views of beautiful mountains and also the restful green of the pecan orchards that grow along the Rio Grande. One of my good friends who lives just down the road in El Paso listened to me earlier in the summer reminisce about my childhood in her fair city and in particular about my Grandmother's backyard. My Grandmother had a very green thumb and grew many interesting things. One I remember best was a vine we called Queen's Wreath, that I have since learned is also called Mexican Coral Vine. My friend had one of these vines mailed to me! It has been busy growing and flowering and in general reminding me of the kind folks in my life.

The bunny has been busy this summer mainly trying to stay cool and lounging around on the tile floors. He is too smart by half and has figured out how to use the dog door. This is Harper after his last clip just a couple of days ago. This was the first time I clipped him with scissors instead of plucking him. He hated to be plucked and who would blame him? His hair did not come out easily and his skin was tender from the whole ordeal. Satins are supposed to be plucked but this one needs to be sheared. We are all different.

You can visit me at the Las Cruces Farmer's Market Saturday mornings from 8-12. I am across from the Rio Grande Theater.

Kits Are Coming!!!

Autumn is just around the corner (some of us are counting down the days!) and new SCARF and HOODED COWLS are coming. Where? With me to the Farmer's Market and also on my Etsy shop HERE The first kits going in today are four Hooded Cowls that knit up super fast and easy.

If you can cast on, cast off and knit you can make this easy pattern. The textured boucle is commerically spun and hand dyed by me to match the Corespun that is all hand dyed and hand spun by me. The patterns are easy to read and are included in each kit. The cost for kits are $35 each with $3.50 shipping and handling. If you pick it up at the market you save the cost of shipping. Special orders for specific colors are being taken now with kits for special orders shipping in about a week. Premade kits, like the ones in the photos are ready to ship now.

And of course what would an update be without a picture of Harper, the CFO (Cheif Fiber Officer) who is looking fluffy again from the last molt. It has been too hot for his comfort even though he is a house rabbit and he is also looking forward to fall coming.

August Heat

It has been super hot at the Farmer's Market downtown. Lots of vegetables and lots of people. I am taking a short break from the Market for a couple of weeks. New yarn is available on my etsy site Here There is a lot of new corespun skeins to add some zip to your projects. I am also busy dyeing up more silk ribbon. If you have a color you want, email me and I'll see what I can do.

Southwest Spinners Retreat

It is finally the end of July and time for the Southwest Spinners retreat held each year at the Methodist Assembly Camp in Sacrameto, NM. We gather for classes and time to spin with other like minded fiber fanatics. I will be in Sacramento this weekend and not at the Farmer's Market in Las Cruces - look for me back next weekend across from the Rio Grande Theater.

Harper recommends a little fiber with your yarn..............

Back to the Market

After being gone from the Farmer's Market for a couple of weeks due to the heat around here, I will be back tomorrow July 2nd - Across from the Rio Grande Theater as usual. We have had quite a spell of hot weather here with a week and a half over 100 degrees, some of that right around 110. Even I don't want to touch wool yarn when it is that hot. Of course my A/C has been in and out this week, mostly out so I've had to sequester the Bunny in a cool place. He is happier now that things are pretty much back to normal and he can help around the house wherever he wants. Here he is rearranging cones of yarn on a shelf. He likes to be able to get up on things, you will notice that he is at table height.

Here he is hanging out in front of his condo waiting for me to bring him his evening salad. Is he seriously fluffy or what? He is molting right now and the angora coming off him is 3+ inches long. Really nice fiber. He would be front and center in my affections anyway even without the fiber but it is an amazing bonus, four times a year. Right now he is really glad to be getting rid of it.