Craftstravaganza 2007, done!

Craftstravaganza 2007 is done! It was a beautiful day and tons of people came to see the 90 vendors, musicians and participate in workshops.

I had an absolutely wonderful day! So many people came to visit during the day, telling me lovely things about my yarn. Thank you for all the support I appreciate it greatly.

Here are some photos of the event:

Crafty Planet

Hazel and Melvin

My Friend Jess

Small Motor Designs

Small Motor Designs necklace

Me at my table

My table

my table again


Shop Update 5-1-07!

Crazy April!

Craftstravaganza is approaching and I am so excited. I did a head count of skeins the other night and I'm feeling that this time I will really have a good amount. I am focusing on handspun yarn, local (yarn comes from a farm in MN) hand-dyed yarn, hand-dyed yarn and spinning fiber. Right now I should really be making batts, but that can wait til Sunday.

I am about to run out the door to my SPCM (Saint Paul Craft Mafia) meeting. I am so glad to be working with such a great group of craft artists. You will definetly be seeing more of us soon!

Here is a hint of what will be at Craftstravaganza






Have a great weekend, I won't be writing for a little while. Going to Florida (with all my girlfriends) then hopping to New York (yarn shop hopping and a little work), then Craftstravaganza! It's going to be a wild couple of weeks.

Craftstravaganza! 2007

April 28th, 2007 will be the second Craftstravaganza! This is a great craft fair being held at the Minnesota State Fair grounds. Come to the Fine Arts Building and enjoy great crafts, music and workshops.



For more info go to www.craftstravaganza.com

psss.... Aisha Celia Designs will be to your right as you enter throught the front doors.

Special Delivery!

Well, things are going very well for my little business. I just purchased a lot of supplies and they have started to arrive. I ordered 60 skeins of yarn from Great Wool. They are a local farm here in Minnesota. I am going to start dyeing it all tomorrow. Here is a pic of the huge box.



Then yesterday my package from Hello Yarn arrived. I ordered one of her sampler packs. I have been spinning for three years now and have taken every class I can get my hands on, but I still am not familiar with "exotic" fibers. It has these fibers: cotton denim, ginned cotton, hemp, tencel, tussah, hand-dyed superwash merino, cotswold, alpaca, camel down, cashmere, mohair and more! It totals 12.5 ounces of spinning fun!





More is coming this week! from Paradise Fibers, Copper Moose and a yarn company! I am so busy, and so happy.

New pics of my older favorites

Celia's Fiber Mania

This weekend was full of wonderful fiber and tons of snow. You see I have started a new facet to my business. With a lot of support (pushing) from local felter Marie Mayhue, Roseanne (she owns Rosebud's Cottage) I have started selling hand-dyed wool. Yesterday I started the huge task of dyeing 5 pounds of wool. I am getting my wool from a local farm in Alexandria. I am hand-dyeing this local wool and then packaging it.

I almost forgot to mention, on the day I ordered my 5 pounds of roving they were shearing their flock that weekend. So, I got 2 pounds of the most beautiful fresh fleece!

The beautiful Rambouillet wool


Fleece on the left, roving on the right


Preparing the dye


A couple of dye pots


Viola! after 8.5 hours here is a photo of some of the finished roving



Starting March 5th, 2007 you can find Celia's Fiber at:

Borealis Yarns
The Yarnery
Rosebud's Cottage

and hopefully meny more shops soon!

my new flickr account

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18143977@N00/

The Cable, Bobble Hat is Done!!

I finished! Just when I thought it was never going to end. I have to say that I do love it, but I won't do it again. I used Lamb's Pride worsted, 1.25 skeins. I really like the little cable that runs along the brim and the top edge. The seed stitch really pops when put in the middle of the diamond cables. Any ways it's probably the most intricate thing I have ever knit. Yea! for knitting challenges. If you want to knit this fantastic hat here's the info: Fiber Trends, Braid & Bobble Hat, AC-60.






Come to The Mall of America next weekend for KNIT OUT. I'll be there teaching knitting! For more details, www.knit-out.com

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.