now & ZEN

My San Diego Workshops were great!!

As I was traveling 12 hours to san diego I wondered … what am I doing traveling across the country to do this?? I had never met Lisa before, she found me on facebook and summoned me to california to teach her nuno feltmaking.

I’m so glad we took the chance on each other and planned a felting party at her home in Chula Vista. Her family welcomed me with open arms and made me feel right at home. Special thanks to her daughter Sophia for giving up her mermaid themed bedroom for me!

The back patio made a perfect felting studio and everyone, as usual, made gorgeous scarves.

The next day I had another workshop booked in La Mesa at two sisters & ewe yarn and fiber arts. Jane, the owner, is a natural and will be including nuno felting as one of their many offerings. Again, as you can see, gorgeous scarves!

I spent my last day wandering up the coast to peddle my wares. I am now coast to coast! My work is being offered at Mila in La Jolla, a very upscale boutique located next to George’s, which I’m told is the best restaurant in San Diego. I ventured on to Solana Beach where the rest of my inventory is happily at OMG Goddess. Everyone has been telling me that my stuff would be great in California … and now you can get one of my laugh in scarves the next time you’re in San Diego!

The Fletcher Farm Nuno Felting Weekend was absolutely magical!!

I am still riding on the huge wave of creative energy that just kept building the whole weekend at Fletcher Farm in Ludlow VT!  I had eight beautiful ladies that did some incredible work!

Three of the staff were in my class … Layne Herschel – Chairman of the Board, School Committee Director, Laurie Marechaux – School Executive Director and Jane MacKugler – Camp Director, and we had a great time. They are a real treat to work with!

Here is Laurie’s scarf before:

and after

For more photos of the class look HERE.

I met so many wonderful people! Too many to even list, but here are just a few …

I stopped in at ChapterXIV,  a cool little boutique right on the main drag in Ludlow. Very funky and original clothing.  They are now carrying my nuno scarves and I’ll be working up some special hand-painted silk garments for them. The owner, Willow, is very sweet and has an incredible talent for attending to shopper’s needs. She lets you wonder off into the multiple,  connecting rooms of gorgeous garments and then seems to suddenly appear like a fairy god mother just when you need her! It’s a must see if you’re driving through town.

And after you’re done shopping … don’t forget to stop in at The Pot Belly Restaurant and Pub for a great meal and really friendly folks. Owners Barbara and Rich are very warm and genuine and their hospitality radiates throughout the place. I made a beautiful nuno scarf in coral hues before I left for Vermont, and apparently I was making it especially for Barbara even before I met her, cause she liked it so much she bought it right out of the back of my van!!

Oh ya … and one more great place to mention. For all you knitters out there and even anyone that loves fiber should stop in at Six Loose Ladies. How could you not with a name like that? I hear they’ll be offering a tee shirt soon … can’t wait!

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!!

nuno ribbon felt scarf workshop with nancy dorian

Saturday, february 27th 2010 9-4pm at holyoke creative arts center

Shake off the winter doldrums and join me at the holyoke creative arts center for a day filled with COLOR and creative energy!

Using Nuno felting techniques, be prepared to be elated as you transform layers of silk, wool roving, ribbon and novelty yarns into gorgeous flowing fabric. In this one-day workshop we will cover layout, felting, fulling and finishing creating your own art-to-wear! No felting experience necessary.

You can register at www.holyokecac.org/signup.htm or call (413)532-0465

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?

we had a great nuno felt workshop at WEBS

My class at WEBS filled quickly, so we added a one day workshop on sept 20 to accommodate the waiting list. what a wonderful group of talented women! everyone’s scarf is absolutely gorgeous. I still have space in my tuesday night class at Holyoke Creative arts. 6-8pm $45 plus materials.

Fall line-up of nuno felting classes and workshops

My fall schedule of classes and workshops is growing everyday.

I will be adding them here on a regular basis, so stop in often to see what unfolds!

2009 workshops

saturday, sept 26
• ribbon felt scarves •  10-4pm
alchemy initiative
www.AlchemyInitiative.org.com

saturday, oct 31
• ribbon felt scarves •  9-4pm
new england felting supply
www.feltsupply.com

classes

mondays, sept 14 – dec 14
• knitting •   6-8pm
holyoke creative arts center
www. holyoke cac.org

wednesdays, oct 7 – 28
• ribbon felt scarves •  6:15-8:15pm
holyoke community college
www.hcc.edu/

thursdays, oct 22 – nov 12
• ribbon felt scarves •  6-8pm
WEBS
www.yarn.com

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!

people just can’t get enough of this felting stuff!!

COOL HUH?!

These workshops are soooo FUN!  And it seems that people just can’t get enough of them. Every time we offer a nuno ribbon felt scarf workshop at New England Felting Supply it fills right up and we end up with a waiting list. So what do we do? We schedule another class of course!

it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 and voila the finished product!

Well, there is a lot of rolling, massaging and adjusting in between there. About 4 hours worth. These scarves do take a lot of elbow grease and determination to bring to completion. An average scarf can take anywhere between 6-8 hours. Quite labor intensive, but it’s a labor of love and look at what you get!