Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Festival

Midwest Fiber and Folk Fair -- Grayslake, IL -- July 16, 17, 18, 2010. A WONDERFUL place to spend a day. Here's a link to some photos -- if you are in the area, do go. It was fantastic and I did come home with some wonderful items.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gramsmac1/s

ets/72157624517022338/show/

Yarn Ball Winder & Yarn Swift

Received my Yarn Ball Winder from KnitPicks today -- it is great - I used it with a very reasonably priced Yarn Swift that I got off eBay  ( eBay #280488065848) and in no time, I 

had a wonderful, neat, pull out ball of yarn.

I had a lot of fun using the "stick" (Nostepinde) to wind yarn balls, but my wrists began to ache -- so the Ball Winder is a very welcome addition.

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Beautiful Sky .... Severe Weather

Although there are tornado watch/warnings -- have had the strong wind and heavy rain -- the sky was beautiful.  Hope your monitor will show the gorgeous orange/pink colored clouds.  They were so very beautiful. Here's a couple pictures -- enjoy.

New Plum Scarf Begun....

The gray lace crochet scarf (see previous post) was fun to do .... so since I had some lovely Plum colored yarn from Knit Picks, decided to begin another scarf.  Depending on your monitor, the plum color is fairly true and I love it.

Two 2010 Graduates

This June, 2010, we have two grandsons graduating.

Luke is graduated high school and Drew graduated 8th grade.  

Congratulations Luke and Drew -- we are very proud of you and 

all our grandsons.

  

June 4, 2010 -- Progress

Scarf finished on Saturday, June 12, 2010
84 inches in length




Last night I worked some more on the Lace Scarf -- it is now 38 inches long and just about ready to begin work on the second half. Need to attach to "top" neck area and work the other half in the opposite direction. A very light weight, airy, scarf.

June 9, 2010

I have managed to add about 12 inches since this photo was taken. I hope to have time in the next few days to get this scarf finished. It is turning out very nice -- will be hard to "gift" this one -- may just have to keep it 

for myself LOL.  But, I did received a lovely yarn order from Knit Picks 

so will be able to start another as soon as I want. Forest green, plum or a gorgeous variegated purple.

Another Beginning ....

June 2, 2010

           ... Another new project - I began this last night --- about 5 inches of the projected 84 inches --- the 3 terrific         hooks are the different size hooks used on this lacy scarf. It feels very delicate in the sock weight yarn...

  

Today I also received my first yarn order from KnitPicks -- I am very pleased with the color, quality and price of the yarn.  Shipping was prompt and I know I will order from them again. This lovely yarn is 'gently' variegated. It is a fingering weight Merino wool with nylon. This will be made into a light weight, yet warm, lace shawl.

My Wonderful "Heartwarming" Gift.......

Heartwarming gifts are gifts given and received "out of the blue" 
and from the heart.  This is the heartwarming gift I received yesterday. 

A framed "Daybreak" print from an original painting by Marie Mason 
it is 18x24 inches of love - just look at that beautiful dog

My love and thanks to the giver -- I will cherish it always. 

Look what came to "Live" at our house...........

I am so excited and thrilled.

For a long time I have wanted to learn how to spin ...

now,  hopefully, I will be able to learn.

My new addition is an Ashford  "Joy"  Spinning Wheel

It is beautiful, folds up and fits in it's own travel bag to go where ever I go.

First two photos of my new beauty, the last photo is of a huge bag of carded wool 

that came with the wheel  for me to practice with -- and the middle photo is publicity photo.

   

Past Week Happenings......

What a fun few days.

FedEx brought a package, compliments of dear friend Lynn. The darling sheep is a tape measure, three fantastic buttons (she knows my love of different buttons) and a absolutely fantastic necklace that she made for me. WOW, with friends like this, life is good.

Also I spent time using my new N crochet hook from Wolfenwoods --it is a dream to work with -- and I have a good start on a new shawl in the basket weave pattern.

Click on photos to enlarge

Thanks for the dance....................

-----THANK YOU FOR THE DANCE -----

Last night was grandsons concert at his school. The theme was Broadway Musicals -- he did great in his classes song and dance routine -- then, just as I was leaving their home for Elgin, he asked me for a dance -- we have done this before and it is always such a delight -- the photo was after we finished the dance, just saying "Thank you for the dance". Isn't it wonderful? I KNOW how lucky I am with my 7 grandsons -- they are all so precious and special -- and to have photos like this one keeps the memories alive for us all. Thanks, Aim for the photo ( It is wonderful having a photographer daughter to catch these special moments) - thanks C-man for the dance. Love you all. PS the smiling face in the background is my handsome son-in-law.

A Bit of Crochet

I am having fun with my beautiful new crochet hooks -- completed 2 shawls -- each is 72+ inches in length -- and the red shawl/cape is almost done -- 5 more decorative shell rows and then the edging -- all these were made (being made) with my wonderful new hand made wooden crochet hooks -- they are so wonderful to work with

The red shawl/cape is being created with with the smooth elegance of the hook pictured above -- the hook was created by William Barnes of Graydog Woodenware 

The tow shawls above were created with this lovely hook it is a 

WolfenWoods Original and made by Max Wolfen, woodcrafter

A Fun Place to Visit...............

I thought it would be fun to share this uTube with you. It is from the opening night of   Billy Elliot  in Chicago. If you can stick with it until Jesse Jackson quits talking  (he's really there less than a minute -- but Jesse never misses an opportunity have his face filmed LOL)   anyway, right after Jesse, on the left side, you will see a lovely lady photographer  taking pictures of the four Billy's and Sir Elton John ---  that lovely lady is our daughter, Amy. For a change, the photographer is in  the photo. CLICK HERE for the short video For anyone who might not know, Amy is a professional photographer in Chicago.

Gifts Great & Small

It is the time of year that "March of Dimes" holds their annual fund raiser.  Once again DD and family will be walking the walk.  Times are tough, but many small contributions is as great a gift as one large.   To see the personal story of how our family got involved, click here:  Drew's Story

Peu de Sac

Another little cell phone case  
(peu de sac = little bag)  
this one I made for friend, Lynn.  Thanks for the French title for them, Lynn -- they sound much more elegant as a "Peu de Sac" than as a cell phone bag LOL

Billy Elliot the Musical -- Oriental Theatre, Chicago

Daughter Amy, her mother-in-law Cindy, and mom (me LOL) went to the April 3rd matinee of the 

performance BILLY ELLIOT.  See an earlier post for more.  It was a delightful afternoon. This photo was taken 

as we departed the van to see the musicial, BILLY ELLIOT, at the Oriental Theatre, Chicago, IL.

       Jackie         Amy       Cindy

More Cell Phone/Camera Bags

Just added a few more bags -- a couple still need buttons
 -- fun to do --
next week on to something more challenging :-)

The bags are made large enough to hold and 

iPhone with Mophie attached

Giuseppe Bausilio as Billy Elliot, Oriental Theatre, Chicago, April 3, 2010, BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL

(Click on photos to enlarge)

                  

                                    

"Billy" photos above and below:  ©Amy Boyle Photography

   

Yesterday daughter, Amy, treated me  and Cindy, her mother-in-law to the most wonderful afternoon. We all attended a matinee performance of Billy Elliot the Musical at the 

Oriental Theater in Chicago, IL.

What a talented group this is. We were blessed to see Giuseppe Bausilio as Billy. This was his first time in the starring role and what a talent he is -- his personality and performance capture the audience. Later we all had a wonderful family dinner. Delightful day.

For more photos of the Four Billies, check out the following link and scroll until you find them.

They are charming boys and the photos capture that.

AMY BOYLE PHOTOGRAPHY
CHICAGO, IL
email:   info@amyboylephotography.com

I also came across an ABC-TV Chicago news interview with Giuseppe Bausilio -- the very talented 12 year old who we saw in yesterday's performance of BILLY ELLIOT in Chicago. Thought you would enjoy it too. What a charming, talented young man.

www.youtube.com

www.youtube.com

I'm Back.................. :-)

The last few weeks have been long and stressful.  Thanks to all my family and friends for words of encouragement.  Now I hope to be back to "things as usual".

(Click on photo to enlarge)

During the past month+ I have kept head and hands busy -- albeit with very simple projects -- the idea was to stay occupied with the familiar.  Here's a bit of what I did.  A few more pot holders and seven of the nine little cell phone bags -- I chose bright, cheery colors -- the bags are just large enough to hold a cell phone, driver's license, credit card -- the idea being something simple to grab on the way out the door and yet not cumbersome. There is a button on each with a loop for fastening -- just to be sure the cell phone doesn't slip out.  All of these pieces are made from 100% cotton yarn -- and each takes less 
than one ball of yarn.  

Next project will be.....................

CRAZY SHORTCUT QUILTS

Came across this lovely book and I just had to have it.

I am so glad I ordered it -- Marguerita McManus and daughter Sarah Raffuse have published a wonderful

book -- it is easy to understand -- clear directions and as a big plus, they also have wonderful video tutorials accessible on the internet -- I can hardly wait to finish up a few small projects so I will be able to work on one of the quilts described in the book.

I will try to share the process with you all and if you have made a quilt from the book would love to hear from you and see photos of your quilt.