I am hoping to use this blog as a place to share with my fiber friends, current projects, new handpainted fibers and hand-dyed yarns. Also, I will report on my travels to various fiber events and products produced by small, unique fiber artists. It's really important to me that knitting, weaving and handspinning continue, and I endeavor whenever possible to get people interested in these arts. There is something very satisfying in creating something from one's own hands.

Had a great time at Stitches West with my friend, Pam. The marketplace was fun, of course, and we saw lots of friends. Took some classes, and just hung out. Made some selective purchases at HABU, Toots Le Blanc from Oregon, Moving Mud shawl pins and some pygora roving from Peppermint Pastures. I resolved during the trip to get my blog up and running, so I am posting a picture of a tumbling block scarf I am knitting with Handmaiden's silk and seacell. It's quite lovely and knit on a Size 3 needle.

In January, I did some dyeing with my friend, Lynne, when she was visiting. Here are some rovings that I handpainted with her. These two are a blend of extra merino/bombyx silk, which I spun and then plied the two colorways together, one of my favorite things to do.

Last week, I decided to try my hand again with a baby camel/tussah silk blend. I did several rovings of this blend, and here is one that I decided to spin up. The colorway is plied on itself. This is one of my favorite fiber blends.

The fun thing about this blend is that the fiber starts out a honey beige with streaks of white silk and the colors come out differently than on a white roving.

The most current handpainted yarns I have been working on are a blend of 40% silk/60% kid mohair (a laceweight yarn) and a beautiful silk boucle. The inspiration for these pastel hues is the sea and its environs. There will be lilacs, sea glass, corals, sea grasses, pale yellows and aquas. I hope to have these available through my very favorite yarn shop, La Petite Knitterie in Ladera Ranch, the first week of March. (www.lapetiteknitterie.com) Here is just a sampling of these yarns, the corals and pale yellows. These will be wonderful for the renewed enthusiasm in lace knitting. Also, they are a great compliment to the new cashmere/silk yarns that our friend, Melissa Sheppard, has just brought in to La Petite Knitterie.

As part of this blogging experience, I hope to have a link to fibers and yarns that I will have for sale from time to time, but that will be for another day. My hand now trembles, as I go for the "publish" button. Was I successful in my first posting? I hope so.