No Coast Craft-o-Rama!

I got in! I got in! I'm so happy to have this awesome oppurtunity. This is a great one day craft sale held in Minneapolis at the brand new Global Market. I went to the event last year and was blown away by the turn out! It was crazy and hard to get around, that's why they moved to a larger venue, I think. So, between Camp Plucky Fluff, Craftstravaganza and No Coast Craft-o-Rama I'll have no problem keeping myself busy. Yeah!
(Click on logo to go to the website.)

Spinning Camp!

Oh, I am so excited! I signed up for Camp Plucky Fluff with Lexi. Yeah!! It's two days of spinning crazy-fun yarns. It's held at her family's vineyard in Placerville, California. I can't wait! It's September 23rd-24th. I don't know if anyone actually reads this, but if you do and you're a spinner you should join us. Check out Camp Plucky Fluff . Here is a picture from the vineyard!

Jumbo Skeins are great!

This is a big one. I purchased a bunch of Merino at the Sheperd's Harvest Festival. I dyed 4 ounces and spun two singles, which then became this 2 ply skein. It's 328 yards! I've never spun a skein with this much yardage before. It took about 1 1/2 days, and a lot of patience.

Hidden Valley Farm and Woolen Mill

Here are two new skeins. I been spinning everyday in preperation for Craftstravaganza. I like how these turned out, I might not be able to part with the dark one. I purchased these fiber at the Sheperd's Harvest Festival from Hidden Valley Farm and Woolen Mill. I enjoyed spinning her beautiful mix of coopworth and silk. I'll be putting in another order very soon!

Saturday Harf

Today was a great Satuday. Besides the fact that it's a 3 day weekend, there was also a sale at one of my favorite local yarn shops. Borealis Yarn Shop is having a 3 day sale, and let me tell you it's dangerous. I went early this morning and got there minutes after the door opened. I have to say I didn't spend as much $ as I was thinking I was going to. I mostly got things for my Secret Pal 8 buddy and a couple of skeins to finish my Harf. But, I'm sure I'll be back before this long weekend is over.

I also got to do a little bit of dyeing today. They are all Merino and each weigh 4 ounces. They turned out great...if I may say so.

I thought since my blog is called Aisha Knits and Spins, I better post one of my knitting projects. I've been working on my Harf for a little while now and I'm almost done. The funny thing is, I'm finishing it on a weekend were the tempeture is 90 degrees! Here is a picture (above). I'm knitting it in Diameito, it's 70% Wool, 30% Alpaca. I used 4 balls and the pattern comes from Spincycle Yarns.

I have the spins!

Here are a couple of new ones. I have kind of been sticking to the basic spinning techniques. I haven't been doing my regular style. But what is "my regular style"? I am working on Navajo Plying. As you can see in the skein with the autumn colors.

Sheperd's Harvest Festival

Today I went to The Sheperd's Harvest Festival!! It was great. My mom and I went and met up with a couple of my friends. We spend 5 lovely hours there today. We saw almost everything. Two barns full of vendors, llama barn and the sheep breed barn. Here's a picture of the stash I got today and a couple pictures of the festival. I'm going back tomorrow for an Intermediate Spinning class. I'll post more about that later.

It's later now and I'm home from my great class. It was taught by Jerry and Loretta Pedersen from Blackberry Hills Farm. I learned how to Navajo ply, spin cotton, flax, mohair and dog hair. Here are a coule of pictures from my class.

Also, here are some of the vendors I really liked: Great Wool, Wool n' Weave Fiber Arts Studio, Riverwinds Farm (715)667-3499 they have great price on Merino, Hidden Valley Farm and Blackberry Hills Farm.

Spincycle Yarns!

This handspun yarn is awesome! I just got my delivery from Spincycle Yarns today and inside was this beautiful yarn. It's 100% Merino, 120 yards and it's called Ishtar. I have been meaning to ordering something from them for awhile. By looking at their very nice website you get a feel for this team of spinners. Here's a quote from they're site: "We hand-dye each batch of fiber to reflect the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. All of the yarn is spun on our foot treadled wheels, as we rock out to music in our studio. We travel to market, shows and sheep/fiber farms in a station wagon powered with bio-diesel, a veggie oil based fuel. For all other missions we ride our vintage cruiser bicycles. We are committed to bringing you funky, fresh yarn, to keeping your knitting original, and to delivering the knitting inspiration!"

I also got the Harf pattern, it's a hood and a scarf. I will post a picture when I'm done with it. The picture of the tattoo was on they're website. The sheep with the pirate patch and knitting needles is they're logo. Thank you Spincycle for my beautiful yarn and very cool pattern!

Secret Pal 8 is almost here! I decided to sign up for this very cool "club". They pair you up with a spoilee and a spoiler. Over 2 1/2 months you spoil a stranger and someone spoils you. Now this is a knitting thing, it's not completely random. I'm excited for it to get going. I have to post the answers to my questionaire so my spoiler can find it.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I love to knit with unique handspun yarns. My favorite wool in the whole world is Malabrigo. I don’t like synthetics.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? My mom made me holders that roll for all of my crochet hooks and knitting needles. She’s awesome!
3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I’ve been knitting since I was a kid. I would say I’m intermediate level.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No, but I should look into that!
5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Lavender and Rose Water, but not together.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I do have a little bit of a sweet tooth. I love milk and white chocolate. Mostly I am a salt person.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I knit and spin. Right now I’m really into spinning. I work at a bead store, so I really don’t need any beads. I also like to sew but I haven’t done it in awhile.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like all kinds of music. Right now I have the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in my CD player. I guess I like pop/rock/indie rock.
9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? Colors I like a lot: Turquoise, Olive Green, Fuchsia, Sea foam Green. I’ve also been getting into more natural colors.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I live with my boyfriend and his cat Sophia.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I live in Minnesota so I wear all except for ponchos. Not that I’m against the idea.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Bags, hats, scarves and funky accessories.
13. What are you knitting right now? Flowers
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I like Straight and circular the same. I like wood and bamboo.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes
17. How did you learn to knit? My mom taught me
18. How old is your oldest UFO? Um..I've been working on a vest for my dad since December:( I keep getting distracted.
19. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving
20. Is there anything that you collect? Drop spindles and yarn, but not on purpose
21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get
your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Geez I’m not sure. I have subscriptions to Spin Off and Vogue Knitting.
22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Cables
23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am not a sock knitter
24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) July 21st

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has finally sprung here in Minnesota! This is a yarn I've been working on for awhile. The fiber is from the mill ends I purchased. This is a wonderfully soft yarn. I picked up the leaves at Paper-Source I'm lucky enough to have one of their stores close by. It took quite awhile to wire on all 100 leaves. It was worth all the work, I'm very happy with how it turned out.

If anyone is interested in a fiber swap, click here.

Spring Dyeing

I got some dyeing done yesterday. I'd been waiting for my package from Brown Sheep Studios. I bought 4 pounds of they're mill ends. I am very happy with the quality and I can't wait to get more.
I'm using these new dyes called Landscape. The brand is from Australia and I love the colors. They're very simular to Country Classic Dyes but with a wider varity of colors.

Craftstravaganza!

I'm so excited for Craftstravaganza!! I am one of the lucky 67 who got into this fabu craft show. It's Saturday, July 8th at The Minnesota State Fair. You can check out the website for info on all the vendors and more details, www.craftstravaganza.com. So mark your calenders!

On a side note...I have a ton of yarn to spin before then! But, Sheperd's Harvest Wool Festival is in a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to getting some fun new fiber. We have quite the fiber community here in Minnesota. I'm looking forward to meeting some folks and spending a weekend up to my chin in fiber! If you want to check out the festivals website it's www.sheperdsharvestfestival.com

Spring Moss Handspun with Habu accents

Here is a skein I made tonight. It's 53 yards and is amazingly soft. It's Merino plyed with Habu novelty yarns. I picked up these Habu yarns on my last trip to New York. They have a beautiful showroom in the garment district. It's hard to find but worth the trip. You can check out their website at www.habutextiles.com

New Wheel

Yeah! My new wheel has arrived. My lovely parents got me my new Ashford Traveller. She is a single drive, double treadle beauty.

This wheel came at the perfect time. I recently got accepted to the Craftstravaganza (www.craftstravaganza.com) and set a goal for myself to have 100 skeins for the sale. Well with this new wheel I'm going to have a blast meeting this goal.




Maybe you have to be a spinner to understand this... I find myself just gazing at it sometimes.

Aisha Celia Designs walks the runway!

Aisha Celia Designs hits the runway!

On April 1st, 2006 my designs were showcased in a fashion show at The Minnesota Museum of American Art. There was a great showing and we all had a great time. I can now check Fashion Show of the list! CHECK

These photos (click on photo to enlarge) are of my tank top, scarflets and accessories. It is all hand-dyed, handspun and handknit. The necklace is felted beads by RachelMarie. You can see her beads, yarns and more at www.knittydirtygirl.etsy.com. Thanks to Maddy, Rachel, Emily, Colie and Julia who did a great job modeling these pieces.

Look at that great smile! My models were the best!

Photography by Noah Bucher, www.candidstreet.com