Stitches is over!

WOW! We were just rushing around trying to get our act together to get on the road to Stitches 2013 and here we are home again. The larger booth worked out well, giving us room for 2 new circular racks to hold the new RedFish Silk Sock yarn, which seemed to be a hit as it's mostly gone.

The iPad is the choice of computer when we are on the road and I am going to learn to keep with me so I can take photos to post. I haven't figured out how to transfer photos from my phone to my iPad. Always some thing to learn, or remember.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Home in Acton

Stitches Day 3

Day 3 just zoomed by, no time to play. Tonight too tired to think.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Santa Clara, CA

Stitches West Day 2

Stitches officially opened to the public today with tons of knitters rolling through the vendor hall like kittens after balls of yarn.

As vendors, we get in the vendor hall 2 hours before the public to tidy up our booths and restock but of course we shop. I found a really cool new toy at the Clemes & Clemes booth. They make really beautiful, high precision spinning wheels and equipment and came out with a blending board for making batts and rolags. I don't spin but I do felt and this little board makes perfect little batts for pre-felts which lead me to do one of my very favorite things - "Hotel Bathroom Felting".


Remember this is a dark bathroom so the photos aren't premium but you will get the idea. We made the batt in the Clemes & Clemes booth, I will get photos from them tomorrow. The batt is RedFish 50/50 silk and superfine merino and it's now in the bath tub and I have wet it with dish soap and warm water.


The batt has been pre-felted using a fiberglass screen until it holds together nicely.



Now I roll it using bubble wrap. I have moved from the tub to the sink area.


Next is the wadding up and throwing it into the sink to get it as hard as I want it.



Kitchen sink with lemon water.



Little soak and a clear water rinse.



Squeezed out in a towel.


Hung to dry.

Tomorrow I will take it back to Clemes & Clemes to show them what their new little toy helped to produce.

Just to let you know, I don't always carry screening and bubble wrap in my suitcase but it just happened that my friend Lisa took a felting class today and let me borrow her stuff. Thanks Lisa.

No hotel bathroom was destroyed during this project.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Location:Santa Clara, CA

Stitches West Day 1

All the hard work is over! Day 1 is always set up for six hours and sell for 4, makes for a long hard day, but we get to see a lot of friends we haven't seen for awhile.
For the last 5 years, on set-up day, a woman has pulled her little station wagon up to the dock to sell the best home-made tamales I have ever eaten, today she didn't come. I, along with many others were disappointed. I hope she is OK.
No pictures today, I will try to remember tomorrow.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Santa Clara, CA

Stitches West

RedFish DyeWorks first trip of the season and we start out with an ice storm and closed roads but after we got through the Grapevine we had smooth sailing to Santa Clara. The almond trees in Northern California are usually blooming when we come to Stitches but this year they hadn't even started to bud out. Maybe on the way home.
We have a booth and a half this year, splitting a booth with John Marshall. We have 50 square feet extra, the truck is stuffed to capacity, it will take longer to unload but we have the same amount of time to setup. I might have to work!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Gold St,San Jose,United States