now & ZEN

my laugh-in scarves will be selling in the berkshires this summer!!

I taught a great nuno ribbon felt scarf workshop at the hotchkiss school in lakeville ct last saturday. there was a grandmother/ mother/ daughter/ niece, a mother/daughter and an aunt/neice in the mix which made it really nice. As usual … ALL the scarves were beautiful. I haven’t seen any that weren’t beautiful yet. on the way home I decided to stop in great Barrington mass to see if I could find any new wholesale accounts. and there was EVERGREEN. Barbara, the owner happened to be there and loved my ponchos, so I’m sewing some up for the 4th of july weekend. then i figured i was on a roll, so i stopped in at the purple plume in lenox mass. the owner, judie, gave me a very cheery welcome and ended up wanting to carry my laugh-in scarves! I’ve been in the back yard painting up a storm on these gorgeous summer days. It doesn’t get much better than this!!

wow … more media attention! nice mention in the times union in albany NY

Anyone who has a fiber addiction will be in good company here.

http://blog.timesunion.com/fiberarts/

My friend Harriet Levy, an avid knitter and spinner, wrote a fun piece about the dangers of knitting. Pick up those needles at your own risk!

I must confess … after learning to knit at the tender age of six,

I went on to crocheting, then sewing, needlepoint, pottery,

dabbled in weaving,

stained glass, jewelry, driftwood, shells and feathers, beads.

then, knitting over-sized garments and bags to then shrink down to felt

… onto silk painting and hand-dyeing silk yardage

which naturally progressed to nuno felting and dyeing my own roving

and, oh ya, did I mention I just bought a spinning wheel?

look what first time silk painters did in my new class

Just goes to show … we are all artists if we can just step out of the way.

My new class is running Tuesday nights at Holyoke Creative Arts Center this fall. We will be exploring all things fiber, including nuno felting, hand painted silk scarves and custom dyed yarns.  I’m also teaching at WEBS in Northampton, Holyoke Community College and New England Felting Supply. My classes have been filling quickly, so I’ve added other venues.  Get your spot now!

Hand-painted silk yardage anyone?

Love, love, love creating this luscious yardage! When the weather is nice, I’m outside dyeing and felting. So inspiring being out in nature with all the great colors and textures. Can’t help but take my inspiration from it. Many are like Monets on silk! I’ve been offering my silks by the yard at New England Felting Supply and to my students when I teach. This stuff is so wonderful to felt on. I use it for my base in some of my scarves. I’m going to sew up some silk ponchos or wraps with it, too!

My nuno scarves are in on NANTUCKET!!

Just back from a great weekend visiting our new friends Rob & Carol Benchley. They are full time islanders, he a photographer, she a teacher. We had a wonderful work/play break of visiting galleries and boutiques and glorious bluff walks with the sweetest puppy … Rose.

And …………… I’m in on the island of Nantucket!!!

Met many wonderfully creative people. Beth English of Current Vintage, a great new vintage boutique and wine shop at 4 Easy Street, sent me down the street to a new place called Benji’s Boutique and we hit it off. Benji has a really funky mix of chic and sassy clothing. My stuff fits right in. Finally somebody who’s not afraid of color! She has a great location right off the ferry docks at 27 Easy Street.

And … before I hopped on the ferry, I had to stop in to see Cheryl Fudge’s new place at 23 Federal Street. She has the coolest stuff. Fun and unique fashions all created by her from thrift store finds.

Cheryl sent me across the street to Eye of the Needle. Then I dashed up to 25 Centre Street and popped into Ceri. I wish I didn’t have to catch the ferry, cause I could have spent the entire afternoon in theses places. Absolutely gorgeous stuff.

I finally started painting silk again!

Since moving into my new studio … everything has been everywhere.

You know … when you move – can’t find anything, stuff covering all the surfaces, parts of things all over the place.

well … actually its like that all the time. not just when i move

but ….. i did start to paint again

just rolled up my sleeves and did it

feels good to be back