Celia's Fiber

Today was a very busy day! As you can see I finally got my act together and got Celia's Fiber packaged. Also my blank greeting cards are ready to go. My SHOP got a much needed update as well. If you would like to carry Celia's Fiber at your shop please contact me for wholesale information.

Celia's Fiber, 1/4 of an ounce. These packs are great for your next felting project.


My mom was the one who talked me into doing greeting cards. I'm glad she did because I think they turned out great!


more of Celia's Fiber


You can find Celia's Fiber at Borealis Yarn Shop in St. Paul or on my website.

6 Degrees of Fiber

January has finally hit here in Minnesota. I have to say that I don't mind it as much as some. Look what I just did, I started by talking about weather! Ah, that is the most Minnesotan thing you can do.

Well things are going well. I've been getting a lot of work done. My drum carder is spinning at top speed and my wheel can barely keep up with my speed tredling. I am taking on an employee which is very exciting. It seems that I can't get enough stuff made, enter LISA! She will be helping me prep fiber 1 day a week.

I am also talking a class at The Yarnery again. This time it is Cables and Bobbles. I am having a great time and learning alot. My friend Becky from Small Motor Designs (her link is in my LINKS area) is also taking it. We have so many plans brewing.......... Here are some pictures of some of my latest skeins and my cable-bobble hat.

I hope all is well for you and you're staying warm where ever you are.







Keep your eyes open for Celia's Fiber coming soon!

Camera fixed, drum carder un-clogged!

Alright, let's see here. Mondays are MY work day. I don't work at my 9-5 job on Mondays, I work on my yarn business. It's a race every Monday to see if I can get even more done this Monday. I would have to say that today was a success! I got my camera back from Canon today. It seems that the digital cameras that have AA batteries are a little touchy. I also got the guts to take apart my drum carder with some help from the online support offered by Louet. It really wasn't that bad. The best part is I got the clog out and learned how the thing works. After that I made 14 batts!

Here are some photos of new yarn, new batts and my un-clogged drum carder.

This one was made out of all those lovely left-overs you get off the small drum on your drum carder.


I purchased this roving from Susan's Fiber Shop. It's romney, alpaca and silk.


Some of the batts and my drum carder.

Camera broken

I don't have any pictures this post. My fancy NEW camera had to be sent to the manufacture. I put in a new battery and the screen said CHANGE BATTERY. Any ways after a lot of batteries I sent it to be repaired.

I don't have a lot to report in the world of spinning. I have been playing with some new fibers. Baby alpaca and baby camel. I got thesed on my last trip to CA at Deep Color. It is this amazing little shop in Kensington. The disappointing part is that they are open limited hours and don't ship. So, if you happen to be there when they are open make sure to check it out. I have also fallen back into a couple of "comfort methods", slubs and singles.

I have become addicted to taking classes at my local knitting shop, The Yarnery. I took socks, 2 color knitting, and now cables and bobbles. It's a garenteed way that I will finish a project. Also it's fun to hang out with dorks like myself.

I have been enjoying the two color knitting a lot. I would almost say that I am obsessed! I will post hats when the camera comees back.

When that's it for now.

Happy day!

Susan's Fiber Shop

About a month ago I traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to a few reasons. It was my nieces 2nd birthday, Thanksgiving and to take a little trip to Susan's Fiber Shop.

Susan's Fiber Shop is a wild experience. I brought along my brother and my niece. When you pull up to the farm you see her flock of Romney sheep. We went into her shop, which is a small metal building on her land. There is so much of everything you could think of in there. Yarn, books, fiber, wheels, drum carders, niddy noddys, looms, beads and more fiber. We had a great time while we were there. She was having a great sale, I received 45% off my purchase!




www.susansfibershop.com

Shop Update

Hey All,

Between No Coast Craft-o-Rama, the Weisman Museum event and trying to get my shop updated, I have been spinning every waking minute! Keep your eyes open this spring for a new line of Hand-dyed yarns.

Also Craftstravaganza announced their 2007 date, April 28th. This year it will be held at the Fine Arts Building on the fair grounds. Jenna and Andy are great organizers and will put on a great art fair. You can check out the website at www.craftstravaganza.com

I did a shop update this evening. So, take a look and remember there is still enough time before Christmas;)

www.aishaceliadesigns.com

No Coast was a blast!

Thank you to all who were able to come out for the No Coast Craft-o-Rama. It was a smashing success! I sold out of my handspun by 5:00pm. I met so meny great people. I can't wait for next year!

4 Days until No Coast!

Here are a few photos of some recent skeins.

The world of yarn is exploding!

Things have been so exciting lately. I taught my first class at Crafty Planet and it went so well. Trish and I already set up the next session. It is going to be February 18th and 25th. I cover the basics of using a drop spindle, then for the second session I allow enough time for everyone to try out my wheel. We have a great time.

The Weisman Museum on the University of Minnesota campus invited me be part of an event in December! It's December 9th and is a evening of food and discounts on the gift shop. I will be set up there, spinning and talking about my process. Also, selling my yarn (if I have any left after No Coast).

Then there is No Coast Craft-O-Rama! It's getting very close. All of my friends are helping work my booth so hopefully I'll be able to go explore all the other artists goods.

So...sign up and learn how to spin at my class, come to the Weisman and don't forget about No Coast (really how could you).

November is here!

Ahhh!! No Coast Craft-o-Rama is just around the corner. I have been spending all of my free time spinning and dyeing. I can't believe it's already November 9th. I am so excited to be part of an amazing craft art movement here in the Twin Cities. The Saint Paul Craft Mafia is a wealth of information and connections. I just wanted to post a little hello and let you know I'm still here. I purchased a new camera and will post photos soon, I promise.

If you don't know the No Coast Craft-O-Rama is being held at the Midtown Global Market on December 2nd. You can check out the website at www.nocoastcraft.com

Spinning at Crafty Planet

I am so excited to teach my first drop spindle spinning class at Crafty Planet in Minneapolis. It's November 5 & 12th, we are going to learn a lot and have a great time. Sign up now! there are two more spots available.

No Coast Craft-O-Rama is getting closer. I have been spinning and dyeing 2 full days a week and every other minute I get.

Camp Plucky Fluff & Deep Color

Wow! Where do I start? Well, I have been here in Los Gatos, California since Thursday. I drove up to Placerville on Saturday for my class with Lexi Boeger of Plucky Fluff (www.pluckyfluff.com). We spent all day Saturday and Sunday spinning at Boeger Vineyard, it was great! Lexi taught me a lot of really cool techniques. I mostly went to Lexi's class becasue I had fallen into a comfort zone in my spinning, The last 6 skeins I made were all 2 ply and simple. I definetly got shaken out of my comfort zone. I will post some photos when I get back. If you ever get a chance to take a class from Lexi I would definetly recommend it.

Here are a few of the yarns I made:










On Wednesday I drove up to Kensington which is right outside of Berkeley. I had heard of a fiber shop there called Deep Color (www.deepcolorstudio.com). It was a beautiful store. They do alot of their own dyeing with natural and chemical dyes. I got some natural color merino, baby alpaca, baby camel, mohair locks and hand-dyed polwarth.

That brings us to today. I am going to teach my sisters how to knit hats. Which is a great excuse to go to my favorite yarn shop ever, Knitting Arts in Saratoga.

Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival!! Pictures and Fun!

This last weekend my mom and I jumped in the car and headed for the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. We started our fun filled weekend with two all day classes on Friday. I took Spinning Medium and Big Yarns and my mom took Natural Dyes. The picture above is of some of the folks in my class. We learned alot from Carol, she is a wonderful teacher.

My mom dyeing in her class.

On Sunday morning I took my second class, Playing with Plying. It was taught by Stefania who was also my mom's natural dyes class teacher. We had a great time and I came away with balanced yarn!

Stefania

This bag of Shetland wool is from Bramble Wool Farm. On the left is my new basket! It's made by Lantern Moon. I definetly think I got the best one.

This pink Corridale is from Stefania. It is dyed with natural dyes and is amazingly soft.

I purchased some boucle from Yarns by Design to dye. I also finally found Fleece Artist roving. I've been looking for this for a little while. The picture definetly doesn't give is justice. It's this wonderful meld of natural greens.

One of my favorite vendors was there Hidden Valley Farm. As always they had they're awesome Coopworth.

I brought back so much good stuff that I couldn't possibly post it all.

Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival

I'm running out the door heading to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival! Lots of pictures, stories and contacts coming soon!

New Yarns!

This skein is my favorite out of this last batch. I bought hand-dyed roving from Sweet Georgia and absolutely love the color!


I call this one Chocolate Cherries, it's 150 yards. I also bought this roving from Sweet Georgia Yarns.


This one is 196 yards and Merino.


Orangina! I used the very cool technique of Navajo Plying on this one. It is a smaller skein, 72 yards.

I finished my first sock! Now I just have to finish the second one and I'll post a picture.

Socks, Secret Pal 8 & Spinning Jewels

I'm taking a sock class at The Yarnery. I'm so glad that I finally decided to get help from a professional. After quite a few failed attempts it's nice to have a pro to show me. I decided to use Koigu for my first pair of socks. I've never knit with it before and I absolutely love it! I just finished the cuff and ankle, next the heel!


My co-worker Sue made me these amazing rings. They are a set of three that I wear together. They have words all around the bands. DYE, SPIN, TWIST, SPUN, DRAFT & PLY. Sue is a very talented silver-smith and I love how the rings turned out. If you would like some rings for yourself with your own words contact me and I'll pass your info on to Sue.


Thank you to my Secret Pal! I received a great package last week. The blue hat is really cute and fits well. Plus, who doesn't love Cascade 220. Thanks again!

Dyeing in the heat & my studio

Well, it's been hotter then hot here in lovely Minnesota. It's puts a crap on my spinning. It's not very fun to handle wool is this weather. The top picture is of the 12 sock weight skeins I dyed on Monday. I'm really happy with how they turned out. I've been experimenting with my dyes. Adding more or less water to the powder to create different saturations.

The second picture is of my studio. I love my studio. I just bought a new mac and am loving every minute I can play around on it. As you can see it's a small space, but perfect for me!

I almost forgot....I have a website now, www.aishaceliadesigns.com make sure to check it out. One of my favorite pages is the Links and Resources page. I have put some of my most favorite websites.

This monday is another big dyeing day. So, I'll update again soon.

100 Degree Coils!

It's been hitting 100 degrees here in Minnesota, and yes I have been spinning in this horrible heat. I should also add that I do not have an air conditioner! The last time I moved I decided that I didn't need it anymore (what a fool).

Today I grabbed my Handspun Revolution book by Lexi Boeger and decided that it was finally time to try out some of her designs. This one is the Super-Coil on page 51. I can't believe how much yarn it takes up. See, you take a single and thread, you ply about 3 inches then you push the single up towards the orifice. I used maybe 60 yards of left over singles and got 15 yards out of it when I was done. Once I get my Jumbo Flyer for my Ashford Traveller I will be doing this one again!

Craftstravaganza 2006 is done!

Craftstravaganza was great! We arrived in the morning to a relaxed atmosphere, had a cup of Peace Coffee and started to set up. Around 10:30am I did a short live tv interview on our local WCCO morning show. They asked a couple of questions and then had me spin. It was pretty funny! (The pic above is of some knitted samples I had on display to show the yarn in action)

This is a photo that was taken later in the afternoon. As you can see, there's not much left!

This is a pic of Andy (one of the wonderful organizers of the event) and myself. Cheers to all the great people I met and a fantastic day!

Craftstravaganza is here!!

Tomorrow is Craftstravaganza!!! Make sure you are there. Minnesota State Fair Grounds 9am-4pm. There will be 68 crafty vendors, music, food and wookshops. So, get there early.

I will have a huge table full of my crazy yarn. I will also have a selection of hand-dyed yarns. I will be showing a few pieces knit with Aisha Celia Designs yarns. Ahhh!! I am so excited. I can't wait!!