Happy Mabon to you all! This is the Autumnal Equinox and although it is still warm most days here in the southern part of New Mexico, the days are noticeably shorter. My favorite change in the seasons here is in the grasses. The wild grass along the roadside and trail have long seed heads that turn rust and brown as the grass leaf parts turn an old gold color. We don't have many trees and the ones we do have don't do much color dancing. Mesquite celebrates autumn quietly. In the park where I walk the Cottonwoods are a dull brown and leaves already carpet the ground, too much rain lately for a golden show. But Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year and I'll take brown leaves over green any day. It is time to celebrate the harvest and get out those great scarves and shawls to wear. Sometimes we are the colorful leaves in the gathering. Blessings to you all.

Folly is defined in the dictionary as any foolish act. There is something about knowingly committing a folly that is like a daring chance -- you know it may not turn out well but it is hard to turn your back on an idea once it forms. Recently a woman approached me with an idea for a project. She had some yarn she just could not bear to throw away but she had tried knitting with it and wasn't getting very far. She warned me the yarn was old but since it was 100% wool it seemed like it might be salvageable. I agreed to look at the yarn and see what might be done. When I went to pick it up I was floored to find that this yarn is older than I am (40+ years). The little yellow sticker declares that the yarn came from Kress - a store that has been out of business for many years, but it does have a pedigree 100% Italian Mohair. It even came with the nifty free pattern shown at left - don't you love her hair??? Who could resist a challenge to finally put that yarn to use? Knowing the mohair could only be used as the weft, I choose a Donegal tweed in cream and rust for the warp. The variegation in the mohair made an interesting square type pattern once it was woven. Of course being mohair I brushed it once it was finished and the whole thing is now very fuzzy. I will present it back to her as a shawl this week and one can only hope she still likes the yarn after all these years. The mohair and wool is so warm that we will need a blizzard before she can wear it -- but hey that is all part of folly, sometimes you just have to love what comes your way.

September is beginning with a flourish! The temps here in Eastern NM this morning were mid 50's and I wanted to dance around and celebrate the end of hot weather. Fall can't be far behind.

A celebration of autumn oranges with undertones of blue -- this short sleeved jacket vest has a handpainted warp of pearle cotton and a weft of cayenne tencel. The tencel gives the garment beautiful drape and the hand dyed warp moves the colors subtly from burnt orange to blue and bronze. The lapel has a twisted braided fringe with bronze faceted glass beads. This will be my entry into our local art show that takes place in October.

Have you ever fallen in love with color? Maybe that is the advantage of being a fiber artist, color is all around and in a variety of sensual textures. In July I fell in love with hand-dyeing cut velvet silk scarves. They are all over my house right now as I get ready to take new inventory to the gallery that represents my work. There is something a little Arabian Nights about having scarves draped over every available surface. I feel elegant beyond my usual weaver-spinner persona.

I have been reading the new book "Foolsgold" by Susan Wooldridge who also wrote "Poemcrazy." These books are about accessing the creativity that makes life as an artist hum along like gas in the tank. While I will probably never be much of a poet, I am always interested in how other creative people tap into what they do, where their passion comes from. Surely being an artist is all about passion. These two books are lifesavers and have opened doors for me that seemed firmly closed. They gave me the desire to blog again and write on every available surface - all the ones not currently covered in silk scarves! Thank goodness for authors like Wooldridge and if you get the chance to read these please do, and then write and tell me what you think. Write and tell Susan too, I think she likes to hear from us.

A gift for a friend. Summer is underway and the show I worked on for so many months will come down this week. It is time to pay back the people who helped and supported all of us in getting things to look wonderful. This short sleeved vest/sweater is made from novelty yarn that is acrylic and has long eyelash fibers that hang out all over. It is woven in plain weave and made from two panels sewn up the back and on the sides. It is an easy way to make a garment that is forgiving to most body types. The orange/purple scarf is silk that I dropped in the dye-pot this week along with some yarn for a new warp.

Today I'm trying out the solar dyeing for wool yarn that was featured on http://knitty.com . It involves putting all the ingredients in the pot (with glass cover) out in the sun until the temp inside reaches 250. Since it is 90+ here in NM right now, it shouldn't take too long. You can find more detailed instructions from Symeon North who wrote the article and also featured it on her super website http://pippiekneesocks.com.

Summer blessings to you all!

OK I know I am not the most intelligent person around but it has taken me several weeks to figure out why my blogger and google account were suddenly in Chinese and get it to change back. Has anyone else had this happen? What is with this crazy program???

Here is a silk recycled sari scarf that I've been working on. The colors are great. I used this image when I ordered new business cards from http://www.moo.com In case you don't know about them, they are a company in the UK who makes little cards the size of a stick of gum. You can upload your own photos to be printed and they will put your contact info on the back of the card. 100 cards for $19.95 and that includes shipping. They are great quality cards and the service is quick.

Happy weaving!

Today is the full moon of April and things around town are as strange as it often seems to be when the moon is full. It is like our emotions are plugged into some extra energy source and things come out that never should be said! This scarf was made for a friend of mine who needed something to wear to an upcoming opening with a turquoise blouse and a multicolored skirt. I tried to match the colors with the novelty yarns and then wove them using the 6 dent reed on a four harness loom. The scarf has very nice drape and looks snazzy even though the yarn was not all that expensive and came from Hobby Lobby. Don't you just love their yarn? I love their sales!
This one turned out well enough to inspire me to do some more for the upcoming show.