I wasn't feeling 100% last night, so I decided not to weave.
Instead, I needlefelted to make a kind of "frame" and "decoration" to the piece (bottom piece).
The white roving is MN local alpaca 100%.
I can't think of any good name for this piece. Anyone?

The top image is "warp interlocking".
Thanks to Marie who visited me last fall and refreshed my memory.
Now, I really like doing it.
It probably took longer (timewise) to set it than weaving time which is really rare.
Though it's true.
I didn't do much with the weft to show the warp "interlocked".
I don't want to foget to do this warp interlocking anymore!

By the way, do you see what I mean by "warp interlocking" in the image? I hope so.

South Minneapolis Wool Market

It was held yesterday at the Susan Hensel Gallery.
I had a booth there with 5 other fiber artists.

Thank you for people who tried weaving on a loom I brought there.

The banner everyone tried weaving is now finished and is waiting to be donated to my friend in MA.

She will have an event to decorate bridges with 68 banners in her local park next month.

Yes, this will be one of 68 and I believe this banner is the only banner from Minnesota.

So that's why the banner is "Minnesota Banner".

The youngest person wove on this banner is 2 years old!!

The pictures above are a new vest I put it together for the event yesterday.

My friend Elizabeth tried it on. She came to see me yesterday.

She came to weave with me a whole week a couple of week ago with her daughter and I was working on the piece when they were here at the studio.

It looks very good on her, doesn't it?

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Our friend Martha who makes gorgeous felted hats told me to be a part of Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival a couple of years back.

This coming Setpember, we are going to be a part of it for the first time.
We are having a vendor space as well as holding SAORI classes.

We offered 2 SAORI classes and now they are both FULL!
It's still June and the festival is in September....
The class organizer asked me to add one more class.
YES, PLEASE!!

This event lasts 3 days (Fri-Sun) and I hear that this event is bigger than the one in Minnesota.

We are looking forward to seeing all the people in Wisconsin and Fiber people in September.

SAORI in IOWA

Dan and I went Adel, Iowa for the first time for "Iowa's Summer Sheep and Wool Festival" last weekend.
It took us over 4 hours to get there.

It was my first time staying in Iowa and it was first time for SAORI to be in Iowa, too!

There were faces from MN Sheep and Wool Festival, were faces from South Dakota Festival as vendors as well as customers I usually see them as vendors at other events.

It was so nice to see those people I know.

It was pouring rain both Saturday and Sunday mornings, but it didn't last all day, so that was good.

I taught one class on Saturday and Dan did on Sunday.

The people who took our classes are very special, because they were the first people tried SAORI in Iowa!!

A grandma and granddaughter took Dan's class told me,

"I was browsing many websites and found about SAORI for the first time a couple of nights before. And then I found out that SAORI was coming to the festival in my State!".

What a coincident!

Many people were surprised to see such a compact SAORI looms.

Thank you for people who stopped by our booth and took our classes.

We will be back next year, so see you next year!!

Shepherd's Harvest

Minnesota's Sheep and Wool Festival will be held on Mother's Day weekend.
This it will be May 8 and 9 at Washington Country Fairground.

We will be there as vendors and instructors.
We are teaching two classes; one on Saturday and one on Sunday.
I have just checked the festival website and both classes are already full.

Thank you!!

For those who were going to sign up but found out that it is already full, please contact us and come to our studio in Chaska.

If you have several more than 5 people and a place for us to bring looms, we are offering off-site classes, too.
Please contact us for details.
We are happy to travel in the Twin Cities area.

Anyway, it makes me happy to see that the classes are both full already.
Now, I need to focus on making items for sale.

I will bring something new this year.
We are there to offer you to try weaving at the booth, too.
Make sure you stop by at our booth and say "Hi".

Shepherd's Harvest Website
http://www.shepherdsharvestfestival.org/index.shtml

Flower Field Series

This is one of my new "Flower Field" series shawl.

I don't have any series in my SAORI. This is the only one so far.

I don't think I will have any series, but I really like this Flower Field color combination.

I have made 4 shawls like this this year so far.

I finished this one the end of last week for a show in Wisconsin starting this Friday.

My friend Martha took it with my other items today. Thank you for driving all the way to the venue Martha!

ideas, ideas.....

These days, I am weaving and needlefelting.

I started making piereced earrings by needlefelting. It is fun!

It is refreshing for me to do this because I don't need to sit on a loom.

A new yarn/fabric shop will open soon in Stillwater, MN and I sent a couple of dozens of earrings and 15 SAORI scarves a few days ago.

I hope people who come to visit the shop will like them!

http://www.darnknitanyway.com/

A day before, I started making needlefelting "snowmen".

I already made some needlefelting "christmas trees".

Yesterday, I got some grapevine wreaths and gluled a snowmen, stars and a christmas trees on a couple of wreaths.

I will get some bells to go with wreaths.

I love them! They are so cute!!

I am going to make many of them!

Would you like one?

Stillwater Debt!!

Stillwater, MN is a beautiful small town people visit all year around especially in the fall, you can see all the trees along St. Croix River are turning into red, yellow, orange etc....
You can take a river cruise, walk around downtown with many antique shops and other artsy type of shops.....
It is easy to get to if you are in Twin Cities area.
Yesterday, when I drove from where I live in the surburg, it took me exactly one hour. It's not too bad though.

A new yarn shop is going to open next month in downtown Stillwater called "Darn Knit Anyway"
www.darnknitanyway.com
I went there to show my SAORI scarves and my new creation "needle felted pierced earrings" to people who are opening the store.
They both liked them and one of them even bought one pair of the earrings at the site!!
I told them about SAORI and I can do classes.....
SO, I will be able to teach SAORI in Stillwater!!
People who took my workshop before and who are living in the area, it's good news for you!
Anyway, I will showcase my work.
The good thing about them is that I can put my contact info. and website.
They said, "We want people to find you directly through us." How Nice!

I am excited! At the same time, I have to weave and make more stuff!! It's okay, it's still FUN.

I will post some images of earrings. I am asking my friend to be a "ear" model. I don't have pierced ears.....I don't have pierced nose either.....

"Untitled"

I really like this!!

This is my first try for me to use roving this way.

This roving is from MN. I purchased this at Shepherd's Harvest last month. A lady who sold this was my next door one year at the festival. Since then, we meet every year and I keep visiting her booth to purchase rovings.

I was supposed to use this rovings for my friend's "Sea Turtle". Yes, I was going to make felted Sea Turtle for her, but I used it all for my SAORI Weaving, sorry K.

This can be either a winter shawl (wool 100%), a wall hanging.

Now, I feel like making one for me to wear. Yes, making a garment.

This wall hanging, shawl is now at the Mill District Arts Gallery, downtown Minneapolis.

Do you like this?