I’m having a hard time believing that it is really November 6!! The summer is gone. The leaves have started to turn and the air is crisp! I’m even a year older! It was a whirlwind of a summer because I taught every month in a different place!
I started my summer back at Dream Come True Farm. This is my second year there, and it’s become an annual tradition (Yes, there will be a next year too!!) This year we spent the first day prepping fiber and spinning creative and textured yarns with techniques that POP when woven!!
The second day we spent at our looms!! I showed a couple cool warping techniques, and then we spent the day weaving with our newly spun yarns. I showed some fun weft techniques as well, including slits, windows, clasped weft, inlay and supplemental warp, as well as design concepts and adding additional textural elements like crocheting right onto warp!
In July, I headed up to one of my favorite places in the world, Maine. I taught at a wonderful shop, PortFiber, located in Portland. I love Maine for lots of reasons, one of the strongest because my parents used to bring me to Bar Harbor every summer when I was a child (as my grandparents brought my mother…) and I learned how to eat lobster when I was 4. So coming back to Maine was extra special, because it holds many happy memories. And hello- THE FOOD!!!
Portland was a 2 day workshop, where the first day we spent doing all sorts of fiber prep, and the second day we spun lots of fun yarns!! I started the day with one of my favorite group building exercises- spinning blindfold!
I spent a few days after the workshop hanging out with my friend Jackie, who works for the wonderful company Swans Island. SI weaves amazing blankets from all Maine wool. They also have yummy knitting yarns, and they use both natural and acid dyes. Their indigo and madder root skeins make me weak in the knees. Jackie was their head dyer, and now teaches amazing natural dyeing classes (I’m trying to get her booked here in NC!! Keep your eyes posted!)
Jackie brought me to spend a few hours with the head weaver at Swans Island, where I showed her some fun saoristyle techniques. It was great doing clasped weft on their big 90 inch air assisted shuttle loom!!! BAM!!
OH.. and of course there was FOOD!! As much lobster and clams as I could stuff in my face.. 
August brought Jackie and I back together for the Twist Festival in Quebec. I was thrilled to be back with my friends Amelie and her amazing cashmere goats!!
I taught 4 days of awesome classes, and there was an AMAZING market!! It was hard to remember that I had a weight limit on my suitcases!! The most incredible thing I saw in the market was Amelie’s wheel that was covered in yarn! Breathtaking!
And I always have a wonderful time with Amelie and Sven and their super fun goats!! I have never spun any cashmere like what is produced from Amelie’s goats!! I think it’s because they get cookies and kisses every night!
It was an amazing summer of weekend workshops!! I’m working on my 2015 schedule now, so if you want me to come to your area, drop a line and we’ll see if it’s possible! I am looking forward to what the next year has to come!!