I’ve been working on a couple of new things…
Here are the “Raga” yarns. Named for a Sanskrit word that means literally “color, hue, beauty, and melody” and ALSO the term for some really nice Indian music— they are mostly cotton yarns that are complex and so textural. The process of making them is a bit long, but results in a yarn that isn’t too primitive and also very strong and balanced, structurally speaking. I really like it, and hope you do too.  I am dreaming of great summer bags made from it!

I’m getting plenty excited about the upcoming homespun yarn party.

This year’s is taking place on March 27th, and I am honored to be a part of it once again.  I have been dyeing up a STORM of fiber.  The next 2 weeks will be a frenzy of spinning and making beauty to sell there.  Please come out and visit if you are a fiber aficionado– it’s one of my favorite local events, and a good warm up for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival coming up in May!

Here are the particulars from the site–

About the Homespun Yarn Party

What: Yarn Party! Check out local yarn vendors, sit and knit, meet new people!

Who: All your favorite local yarn dyers and spinners, plus some extra crafty goodness! And all our knitting/crocheting/spinning friends (you!) of course!!

Where: from 2009-2011: Historic Savage Mill 8600 Foundry Street, Savage, MD 20763 | Just off I-95, plenty of parking! – – check the main page for this year’s date and time

When: Usually the last Sunday in March, 12 PM to 5 PM – check the main page for this year’s date and time

Why: Who needs an excuse to get together and craft?! We wanted to get together and spread some fiber love!

In addition to some great crafty vendors, we also have:

• free lessons on knitting, crochet, spinning, and maybe more
• fabulous door prizes to be given away throughout the event
• weather-permitting, a sit and spin/crochet/knit area out on the deck

And we collect knitted and crocheted items for local charities!

Admission is FREE!

Things are pretty much the same with Miss Chloe.  She has settled back into her old meds.  We return to Reston this Friday to see if Dr. A will make any changes.  It is all sooooo. slooow.  The meds take so long to show if they will benefit at all.  The Doctors … well, are so busy.   We are working on some additional options and now have a case manager to help in the crawl towards wellness.   Phone calls today might mean help in a few days or few weeks.   Lists are long. Improvements are so tiny, if  they come at all, and hope is so hard to believe in.  Alas and alack– it is the only way right now.   We’re all hanging in just waiting for a grain of sand to shift and movement towards the positive.  Spring is coming– those few nice days were great, weren’t they?  Got the windows open and made friends with a few more stink bugs.  Going to get the garden catalogues out soon and start to think on this years growings.  Also this years groundhog hunting, else the growings are in vain!

Keeping busy– Chloe is still drawing loads of eyes, writing art-letters, keeping at her school work, and skyping with her cousins.  Lil has been sewing and is about to begin embroidering some dish towels.  She is also getting ready to play cello at her first public appearance!  Very excited about that.

I’ve been doing lots of dyeing and spinning.  Went to a small show last weekend and had a nice day.

Jim has been making some amazing tiny dioramas and was a “Pick of the Week” online and made Flickr’s explore.  Check it out.  I think his new stuff is awesome. ( photo stolen from jim’s blog)

More news as it happens.

Family Art planned for this weekend.

Here are some  days…

What else? Scones. ( In her Coraline sweater)

BOB!

Sometimes…

Other times…

Lil in with the faeries

DAISY!

Pigs in a blanket

Wool for dinner, again.

On “special” last week at Trader Joes

Play it 20 times!

The Indie Artist Celebration

Secret Equipment.

ESME!

Again with a DAISY!

Prickly snoogling.

I am getting ready for a fiber festival on the Easter Shore of Maryland.

I’ll be teaching a class on Sunday at the Upper Room Studio– More on that next post.

Have a great day!

Here is the scoop from the museum site:

Annual Fall Textile Arts Festival!

VENDORS 2009

Misty Meadow Alpacas
www.mistymeadowalpacas.com
Handpainted yarn, roving, Dorr Mill wool, alpaca fiber rugs, and rag rugs

Seaside Siren
www.seasidesiren.etsy.com
www.lollishops.com/seasidesiren
Felted wool bags and jewelry

CrewelWhorled
www.crewelwhorled.etsy.com
Embroidered jewelry, buttons, and ornaments

LuckyGirlz Alpacas
Live alpacas! Alpaca products and nature materials jewelry by Green Dog

Daye Dreams and Postage Stamp
Soaps, lotions, and giftbaskets

Home Sweet
www.homesweetbyhand.com
www.homesweet.etsy.com
Textile company specializing in block printed, environmentally friendly fabrics and home goods in original designs

Pizza Shoppe Inc.
www.crisfieldpizzashoppe.com
Pizza and other food

ALA Church
Hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks, etc.

Coastal Cottage Soaps/ Liberto’s Art
www.coastalcottagesoaps.com
www.libertosart.com
Handcrafted natural bath soaps, laundry soaps, dog soap, crocheted spa cloths, dishcloths, and hand-painted canvas floorcloths

The Fine Needle
www.fineneedle.com
Snow Hill’s local yarn store

Return to Splendor
www.dmvtatter.blogspot.com
Tatted items, knitting accessories, hand-dyed cotton threads for tatting, drop spindles
Upper Room Studio
www.upperroomstudio.blogspot.com
Handmade fiber creations, spinning and knitting equipment, fibers, etc.

Sage & Thistle
www.sageandthistle.etsy.com
Native American and Southwest style jewelry, including dreamcatcher earrings, beadwork, stone necklaces, dreamcarchers, and sterling silverwork

Gregory Road Handspun
www.gregoryroad.etsy.com
Lovely handspun yarns in a variety of fibers–alpaca, superwash, a variety of wools, and more.

Heidi Wetzel
www.heidiwetzel.com
Traditional and contemporary baskets that are utilitarian and decorative, and woven wall hangings.

Bead Obsessions
www.beadobsessions.com
Knitting with beads demonstration from 10am – 2pm

Shelby B’s Designs
Stitchmarkers, handpainted yarn, and roving, some inspired by Harry Potter
www.shelbyb.etsy.com

Bizzie Lizzie Creations
Handcrafted bags, purses, totes, and accessories
www.bizzielizzie.etsy.com
mybizzielizzie.blogspot.com

Generations Tie-Dye
Hand dyed tie-dyed garments and accessories, including baby/layette, children, adult, scarves, scrubs, playskills, and more
www.generationstiedye.etsy.com

Sand In My Stitches
www.phototw.etsy.com
Hand-painted yarn and stitch markers

Wooly Bear Beads
www.WoolyBearBeads.Etsy.com
Hand-made felted bead jewelry

Teresa Levite Studio
www.teresalevitestudio.etsy.com
www.teresalevitestudio.artfire.com
www.store.teresasdesk.com
Hand-dyed fiber (wool, silk, bamboo, etc) and yarn, commercially dyed spinning fibers, drop spindles and spinning wheels

Society for Creative Anachronism
www.spiaggia-levantina.org
Demo of Middle Ages fiber arts and clothing

ALL ARE WELCOME!!

I just can’t seem to post with any frequency– but I will catch up eventually.

You can be sure that life is stomping ahead full speed, whether or not I am taking pictures and writing about it!

The past 2 weeks have been ruled by my return to Montessori School of Pouring and Polishing.  It is nice to be back amongst my ever inspiring co-workers there.  These weeks also marked the return of my very own poppets to school.  That is exhausting enough!  We’re all doing fine; adjusting our internal and external alarm clocks. 

I wanted to let you know that along with all of the life stuff to catch up about, there are also some fibery happenings.  I’ll be at Hampden’s Lovelyarns 4th annual Trunk Show this coming Saturday.  I am so excited to be a vendor and also to see the lovely fibers sure to be there!   I’ll have a bouquet of handspun yarns, a caboodle of hand blended hand dyed batts, and oodles of rovings and other fuzzy oddments.  Here is the announcement straight from the Lovely Source.  Please come out and play!

Also ahead in October–  A fiber festival in Ocean City, MD and a spinning class in said hamlet of fiber!  Stay tuned!

Lovelyarns Trunk Show

I’ve been so crappy about taking pictures and  blogging.
Here are a few shots from the road thus traveled.  Be on the lookout for more soon.  And flying pigs, probably.

I will do my best!

Shangriladidah on 94th st.

Lily’s learns to KNIT!

The new family member– Bob the budgie– bequeathed to us by the neighbor Bob, who is not a budgie.  Here is the Bantam pecker who roams his yard, is NOT our pet, and drives all of Reisterstown crazy.

The Mid Atlantic Hedgehog Show

Both girls got awesome ribbons for being awesome Jr. handlers.  It was a fun day.  Sort of like a hedgehog pageant and olympics rolled into one!

The Artscape and peanut adventures ( see Jim for more)

Lastly, here’s Punkin all doozied-up.

Look for me and my dear friend Chris when you see this–

See you at the Yarn Party!!  There is a MAP of vendors– I’ll be at booth 28~~ selling fiber and FREE HUGS!

xo

Gnomegarden was featured on the HYP website today.  I am getting so excited for Sunday!  Here are the details on the great big giveaway–

Just leave a comment here telling me what your dream yarn or fiber would look like– You can describe it literally, or by mood, or color, or metaphor.   You can post a picture or reference that you’d like to see inspire a yarn, I am game for anything.  Here’s the deal.  I will choose a winner at random next weekend ( so that all the new friends from this weekend get a shot).  The winner will get that yarn or fiber created for them.  At least 4oz of squooshy love from the gnomegirl!  You don’t have to be present at the Yarn Party– though I will be so glad if you come.  I may also award a honorable mention purely subjectively on the comment that most inspires my yarny heart.

Ok, that’s all for tonight.  Please try to make it to Savage Mill on Sunday if you can– there will be so much crafty wonderment to behold.  Please say “hi” and introduce yourself  if we have not met before!

More tomorrow!

Dawn

Here are the stats, straight from the site–

What: Yarn Party! Check out local yarn vendors, sit and knit, meet new people!

Who: All your favorite local yarn dyers and spinners, plus some extra crafty goodness! And all our knitting/crocheting/spinning friends (you!) of course!!

Where: Historic Savage Mill |8600 Foundry Street, Savage, MD 20763 | Just off I-95, plenty of parking!

When: Sunday, March 21, 2010 – 12 PM to 5 PM

Why: Who needs an excuse to get together and craft?! We wanted to get together and spread some fiber love!

In addition to some great crafty vendors, we’ll also have:

• free lessons on knitting, crochet, spinning, and maybe more
• fabulous door prizes to be given away throughout the event
• weather-permitting, a sit and spin/crochet/knit area out on the deck

And we’ll be collecting knitted and crocheted items for local charities!

Admission is FREE!

I can tell you that this is the most amazing day of fiber fun and community!  I am delighted to be a vendor there again this year.  I will have loads of hand spun and fiber–batts & rovings– to tempt you.  Please come enjoy the day with us!

I also happen to have a few photos in their contest.  Voting is open until this Friday– go vote for your faves, there are some lovelies!!  You can see them on  here.

I’ve got 30 pounds of fiber in my Rumpelstiltskin-world right now.  More news and photos to follow!

xo Dawn

I really enjoyed the Maryland one.  It was a little different than Spoutwood’s festival, but really nice.

Here a some highlights–

The Gypsy Nomads were MOST awesome! Again, this is another festival, but one of their songs.

So we sat and needle felted and spin span spun.

visited with friends, and made some new ones!

We had great neighbors!! Check out their awesome wares!

Goblin Road made some great leather corsets and these wonderful Gobbler dolls.

Emma of Creative Procrastinations had a highly addictive booth full of magical items– I’ll post her link once her website is open.

Creative Procrastinations was founded in the tradition of the Arts and Crafts movement which valued handcrafting and believed that everyone should be able to own beautiful, original things. Handmade beaded jewelry, fairy wings, fairy houses, fairy gardens, trinket boxes, journals, scrapbooks, hand-painted toys and a variety of other handcrafted items.

Fiber tomorrow, get some rest!