Well, Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat was really awesome in spite of some unusual coincidences.

First, I was going to take off for Tacoma Wednesday morning when we got a snow storm! I dropped the kids off at school, which is in a very hilly area. I was re-routed to the Washington State University campus where they made us wait until the snow cleared the hills which are at the entrance and exit to the campus. The kids school (The Gardner School) is on the East side of the campus. I waited for about an hour and a half for them to clear the streets so I could escape to Madrona.

Here's the view from the deck (not too bad here) and then the view at the WSU campus where I was stranded.

Of course, as it is here in the Pacific Northwest lowlands, the snow melted by noon. So, I finally got out to Madrona.

On Thursday I took class with Anita Luvera Mayer. Anita is an internationally recognized weaver and versatile fiber artist, designer and author. She was first introduced to weaving in 1955 when her mother-in-law gave her a floor loom as a wedding gift. Her focus on weaving contemporary garments began in 1972 and she has focused the last 12+ years of her work about women's stories. Although she still weaves, her creative fiber work has evolved to include many types of innovative surface design techniques as well as incredible beadwork, embroidery, freeform knitting and crochet. Anita's garment collection, Women of the World, featuring ethnic designs from the traditions of many countries, is currently touring galleries in the US.

Here are some pictures of her garments. We got a fabu up-close-and-personal look. My favorite one is the first one pictured here. It's called Renewed/Reborn.

In Anita's words...

"Recycling cloth fragments by stitching them into a whole cloth has been practiced in Japan for centuries. The resulting garments represent to me a profound story of perseverance and survival experienced by many women as they attempt to find their way in this life. We life in a youth-oriented society, and I want to share and celebrate the joys of self-discovery that come with age. I believe that gray hair, lines on the face, and gnarled hands signify that a woman has had a full and challenging life, and with the years has gained knowledge and wisdom. Renewed/Reborn is my tribute to our worn exteriors, and, on the reverse side, a celebration of the beauty within."

Does this not sum up my life right now? Finding my way in this life? I am about to turn 43, entering middle age and celebrating the changes I've had over the years, and the one's I've more recently made. I've had many careers, worn many hats and I'm looking forward to what the future is going to throw at me. I often cry in classes that move me and there were many tears of joy in Anita's class. She's so inspiring, beautiful inside and out.

Here's more of the garments...

I don't have a printed card of this piece, but she talked about all the anonymous women that did handwork and lived full lives. This piece celebrates anonymous women. All the doilies that she uses in her pieces were hand made. The photographs she got in antique shops and various other sources.

Here's another piece with her handmade scarves in the background. I apologize for not knowing the name of this piece.

On Friday, I taught Introduction to Double Knitting. The class went well. I had a typo in my pattern, but thankfully, the students found it. On Friday night, I went out to dinner with friends and wasn't feeling too hot. As it turned out, I got a virus and had a fever, chills, etc. Not fun. I was worried because I had two classes to teach on Saturday. Saturday morning I woke up, and the fever was gone replaced by cold symptoms. Must have been a 24 hour bug.

Saturday's classes went well. I've taught them both a bunch of times, so I really relaxed and enjoyed teaching this year. They were Yarn Substitution and Going To The Dark Side (Knitting with Your Opposite Hand).

Saturday night's speaker was Franklin Habit. He was a hoot! Very funny man and I share his love of ancient knitting books and patterns. He has a great blog. Here's the link to Franklin's blog.

And of course, I purchased some items in the market from Morgaine, the owner of Carolina Homespun. I purchased a beautiful, handmade weaving shuttle and a niddy noddy (can you believe I didn't own a niddy noddy?).

I absolutely love teaching at Madrona Fiber Arts retreat. The students are enthusiastic, very knowledgeable and challenging. This year, I'm teaching three classes; double knitting, yarn substitution and a class I call "Going to the Dark Side" - how to knit with your opposite hand. I'm also teaching beginners in the rotunda on Friday. I love teaching beginners and seeing their "ah ha!" moments. The retreat begins Thursday, February 17th thru Sunday, February 20th.

I'm taking class on Thursday with Anita Luvera Mayer - a fiber artist. When people leave a class with Anita they say "She's changed my life". At this stage in my fiber arts career, having left yarn shop ownership, I'm ready for and embracing change. I'm taking "Play with Surface Design" where we will experiment with surface design on fabric and come home with samples of each technique experienced in class. Since I just started weaving I like the idea of painting my finished cloth, learning how to applique, burning felt and foiling my work. Anita is Thursday nights speaker and with have her extraordinary garments with her. Her garments have toured galleries around the country.

On Friday and Saturday, I mostly teach, but I'm looking forward to seeing friends and doing a little sightseeing. I have to make a stop at the Museum of Glass.

The Hotel Murano is beautiful. Here's a picture of the Lobby and one of their rooms. The hotel itself is a museum with different glass artists showcased on each floor.

The market is really great, catering to knitters, weavers and spinners. One of my favorite yarn shops, Churchmouse Yarns, is in the market this year, as well as Carolina Homespun, owned by the lovely Morgaine Wilder who helped me to start my weaving journey last year. I also love Toots LeBlanc and Black Water Abbey Yarns.

The hotel is within walking distance from the Museum of Glass and Tacoma Art Museum.

The Chihuly Bridge of Glass is a 500 foot pedestrian bridge that links the Museum of Glass to downtown Tacoma. Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and his work is phenomenal. You have to go and see it!

Read Syne's blog post at the link below.

http://www.weavezine.com/weavegeek/good-geeky-fun

Love this!

On Sunday, Linda came to teach our first weaving class. Everyone is on the road to weaving their scarves. There were a lot of good questions and samples brought to the class. We needed to better familiarize ourselves with a couple of the looms. All in all we had a lot of fun and the next class meets in two weeks to discuss finishing techniques. Here are some pics.

My little guy started weaving yesterday. He's making a bag for his beloved "Fluffy Bear". Fluffy bear is special. He's made out of alpaca fur and is the softest toy on the planet. He will show you Fluffy bear if you ask him when you're here. Fluffy bear likes white and light blue, so that was why those colors were picked.

Frost is a perfectionist even though he knows his parents mess up on a regular basis. When I tell him it doesn't have to be perfect, he gets frustrated with me and tells me to "be quiet mommy". I'm so happy he's discovering the serenity of weaving.

Well, my silk and mohair shawl is finished and boy, did I learn A LOT!!! First, never warp your loom with mohair. The fibers stick together when alternating between up shaft and down shaft. Next time, I'm going to use Blue Sky Alpaca Silk for the warp and the fluffy mohair for the weft. Even though it was trying, I went slowly and separated the fibers when I had to, to the tune of a 12 hour shawl.

It took me about 45 minutes to warp the loom, about 10 hours to weave and another hour to finish it with the fringe. It is beautiful and I love how the two colors of mohair blended for an ethereal silver-blue. And, it's really warm due to the silk. Here are all the pictures. It's nice to be a novice again!

This last weekend I went to a Madrona Summer Workshop with Susanna Hansson on Rovaniemi Mittens. This continues my study of Baltic and Scandinavian knitting techniques. This Finnish Lapland technique class combines intarsia knitting and weaving. The Sami are mainly weavers, but some knitting is incorporated into their native costuming. Here's a picture of the Sami people of Rovaniemi.

This type of colorwork is like nothing else I've ever done in my 35 years of knitting. First, there are bobbins, just like intarsia, and each color (besides the main color) is held on a long needle above your work. You work in the round in the main color, and add the bobbins as you need them, in a particular order determined by the colors you choose and the color pattern. In the photograph on the left, you see my work in progress and the bobbins being held above the work on a long, straight needle.

This method echoes the back strap weaving of the Sami people. Here is a photograph of a Guatemalan woman weaving backstrap method. I did not find a photo of a Sami weaver.

Here is a picture of Susanna at the workshop. She's a fantastic instructor and very passionate about her work.

We learned how to add braids to our knitting. Here are some examples. On the left, is my sample swatch. Middle and left are swatches Susannah completed.

We learned how to finger weave a cord. It's much more substantial that I-cord and I like the look better.

Here are some examples of finished mittens and wrist cuffs.

The gauge of the mitts we made were 8.5 - 9 sts per inch. Here's an example of gage that was correct and gage too large.

If you're interested in learning about these knitting techniques, I'm going to do a demonstration in October. The demonstration will be on Rovaniemi and Bohus techniques. Susanna gave me permission to hold a demonstration at StitchCraft. More information about the upcoming demonstration will be posted in our October newsletter. Please go here to add yourself to the newsletter email list.

Well, I warped the loom again this weekend and decided to make an ethereal shawl. I'm using Kid Silk Haze in Pearl and Heavenly. I'm so excited to get it finished. Did you know that weaving takes up less yarn than knitting or crochet? It's also rhythmical, and being a dancer, right up my alley. I'll post pictures when it's finished. It's done in plain weave and I'm beating it lightly so as to not crush the mohair halo. The first picture is right after I warped the loom.

There's a new Knitscene in the shop. It's the fall issue. I'm really loving some of the patterns in this one.

Our friends over on Bainbridge Island at Churchmouse Yarns and Teas have their own pattern line. These are great accessories. One of my favorites is the linen stitch scarf below.

Weaving is here!!!! We just started our first scarf project using Rowan Handknit cotton and Paigewood Farms Alyeska. Here's a picture of the work in progress.

We're weaving with a Schacht 20 inch Flip Rigid Heddle Loom. The looms come in 15 inch, 20 inch and 25 inch weaving widths. These looms are perfect for making towels, table runners, pillows, scarves, placemats, belts and more. The Flip is portable - it folds in half and is easy to take on a trip or a class. We have it on a stand in the shop, which can be purchased separately. All the looms we carry in the shop can use yarn right out of your stash. The looms are really simple to warp (the pink and green yarns that run vertically through your weaving).

If you do not want to invest in a larger loom, we carry the Cricket Loom. This has an 8 inch weaving width and is perfect for scarves and other small projects such as coasters and small handbags. The Cricket comes in a kit with everything you need to start weaving, including some yarn. The Cricket's are very small and portable.

Here are a couple of other projects that were woven by our instructor Linda G. If you are interested in taking a rigid heddle loom workshop with Linda, please call us at 360-993-2200. We're hoping to have a workshop date set for late summer. You have to purchase your own loom before the workshop begins. Our looms are set up in the shop so you can try your hand at weaving.