Buttons and such

More dyeing . . . Now the yarns for the rug are ready and I have started weaving . . barely. Today I am adjusting the tieups on this new to me loom for a better shed. Then I can start weaving in earnest.

And we now have a robin who has taken up residence in the pergola. She started 3 different nests and I thought she had abandoned them, but she flew out when I was standing next to the pergola last night and scared the heck out of me as I was watching the raccoon in the neighbor's yard. 

And here is the raccoon. It was only about 6:30, so I thought it was early for him or her to be out and about but what do I know?

I have been going through boxes of "stuff". Stuff from my aunt who passed away a few years ago, stuff in my fiber closet, stuff I have just accumulated over the years to pass things on to people I know will enjoy them, or donate them.

I came across a shoebox, filled with little boxes of buttons and found these beauties. It's mother of pearl and abalone. There were 2 large buttons and 4 smaller ones.  They are gorgeous. I think I will have to sew something with handwoven fabric that needs some buttons.

    

More Color!

I did more dyeing over the weekend. The teal is darker than it looks on my monitor. I wanted gradations of color, so had 2 dyepots going with the teal. When I bought the Cranbrook, I got a lot of great yarn with it, and some colors that aren't what I would normally use.

 The yarns above on the left are overdyed yarns. The yarns below are the ones that I dyed over with teal.

I have one more color to dye this weekend and then I'll be ready to weave the rug!

Finding other fiber artists near me

The tapestry loom is situated and was already warped when I bought it. I think I'll let my granddaughters do some weaving on it until I am done working on the towels on my other loom. I just have to get to my wool yarn stash in the back of a closet! I've had one of my granddaughters staying for the summer in that bedroom, and had to push all my stuff to the back to make room.

Two of my other granddaughters are coming over today and we'll try to dye some yarn. Again, first I have to get to my dyes, and then get the big campstove out of the garage, which is currently storing some of my son's furniture, I don't know if it's doable or not!

I was reading an article in our local newspaper the other day about a yarn bombed tree in DeKalb, and found out there is a fiber arts collective that meets once a week at our local Barnes and Noble store. They are mostly knitters and crocheters, with a few spinners. I found the group on Ravelry and joined, and realized that there is a fiber arts festival down in Franklin Grove this weekend. It's less than an hour from here and if the girls aren't busy, we'll all head out to the fiber festival.

I get so caught up in the day to day grind, that I lose track of all of the wonderful events that are out there, and opportunities to meet other fiber artists.

Spinners, Weavers, Fiber Artists in DeKalb Illinois area?

I would like to see if there are other fiber artists in the area who are interested in starting a casual-type guild, meeting once a month or so to spin, share projects, etc. Let me know if you are interested!