Beth’s Shop & Luke at the Wheels

Beth shows off her wall of wool

Last week I needed a rescue — the silk I ordered couldn’t be here in time for my class. What is a teacher to do (beside plan better???)? Well, instead of paying exhorbitant shipping fees, I decided to see if Beth at the Spinning Loft could help out. I was relieved to learn that she could so Anneliese and I went on a field trip to Howell. Bless Beth for seeing us “by appointment.”

When we arrived, we discovered the cutest little shop nestled into the first floor of a craftmen-era home on the edge of the business district. How could a spinner not be in heaven surrounded by wheels & spindles & roving & top & fleeces & batts & fluff? Everything is touchable and colorful. Her 7-year old daughter, Maggie (who attended SOAR on a scholarship) makes batts for sale in the shop and is already a spinner. Yes, we brought a Maggie Batt home with us. Beth is also active in the on-line spinning community — check out her work at Spindlicity. I had the pleasure of spending three days with Beth and Janel (founder of Spindlicity) at SOAR – watch for a write up on that soon. At any rate, it was good to see Beth again and especially to see her shop. Visit Beth’s website to sign up for her newsletter and you’ll read about all the terrific spinning instructors she brings to town (don’t be surprised to see me there when Abby Frankuemont comes to town).  if you are feeling in need of a wool fix, stop and see Beth. Heck, make it a road trip and come and see us, too!

Last month my grandson (and his mom and dad) came for a visit. Here’s a couple shots of Luke enjoying first Saturday spinning – and his first look at a wheel. It’s never early to fall in love with spinning!

 

A Busman’s Holiday

I remember attending a class with Betty Forsythe, former owner of the Spinning Loft in Howell. We were taking a spinning class from Margaret Stove. When she introduced herself, she said she was taking a busman’s holiday. I.e.: taking a spinning class on her off time. I felt a bit like that yesterday as Pat Kreiling and I wound our way to SOAR (Spin Off Autumn Retreat) yesterday. Our goal was to hit as many yarn shops as possible between home and DuBois, PA. Well, the first three we tried in Cleveland were empty storefronts. Bummer. A sign of the times, I suppose. After that we learned to call first. In spite of losing that time, we managed to have enjoyable visits at two shops.

The first was also in Cleveland: Fine Points in the Lamphere neighborhood. It has a very inviting presence, don’t you think? Inside the shelves were bursting with yarn. There was more yarn upstairs as well as artsy clothing (yum!) and jewelry. The shop ladies were helpful and nice, but I had a hard time getting past the explosions of color coming from the well-stocked bins. I did, however, manage to hone in on a display of Habu yarns and got a small ball of silk to accompany some Noro I have in my stash that will one day be . . . something!

After visiting Fine Points we decided we’d better head for points east so we set Stella (she’s our GPS guide) for Grove City, PA. Wolf Creek Yarns turned out to be a very pleasant surprise for me. The owner, Terri, and I were talking and I felt a “familiarness,” but she’s the one that said, “Don’t I know you?” My thought immediately turned to TNNA and I remembered teaching her and her husband to spin two years ago. This past TNNA I felt really flattered when her husband sought me out to tell me that he had continued with his spinning and now had two wheels. We enjoyed a rather long visit – in spite of arriving near closing time.  VERY nice folks.

We met the shop dog, admired their small (well, compared to our space) but well organized and stocked shop, and drooled over scads of hand painted yarns. Even though I spend hours in the dye pot, I still lust after well designed yarns. I bought a skein of sock yarn for the sock knitter in my life (don’t tell mom!). Even on the computer screen, the colors are very appealing and calming. Here’s a couple more photos from Wolf Creek:

 

Today we have about four more hours to drive before arriving in the Poconos for SOAR. The drive through the rolling hills/mountains just beginning to be tinged with the colors of fall has been splendid. Once we get there, it will be niceto be immersed in the atmosphere of “everything fiber,” catch up with old friends and make new ones. Tomorrow I start a class on cut pile weaving with silk instructed by Sara Lamb and Pat has a color class with Vivian Hoxbro.

 

4th Annual Art Show a Real Success

This year we had nearly 90 entries – an increase over last year and our efforts raised nearly $1400 for breast cancer research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Kudos and thanks to all who participated. It was inspiring and fun.

For me, the art show is always a walk down memory lane. Many of the projects I remember when they were just a sack of yarn. I saw the projects come in and out at various stages on the needles – for knitting help, during social knitting or just to show your progress. Even though you knit it, I feel a sense of pride, too!

Our Grand Prize winner is Sybil Williams for her paired handspun skeins. The colors are incredible and her skill and design sense are evident. The judges awarded her a perfect score for her work. We gifted her with our traditional prize of a handspun, hand dyed, hand woven shawl made by Heritage volunteers. Here the shawl is modeled by Jacque because Sybil could not make the award ceremony. The skeins are also pictured (but, I must admit, the photo is a bit fuzzy but it is all I have). Previous Grand Prize winners are Joy Stimac, Lisa Demian, and Sally Pituch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other winners were:

First Project: Neenah Iyer and Nancy Throne

Handspun Woven: Martha Yan.

Hats & Handbags: Kyle Hughes and Jill Bastian

Scarves & Shawls: Lisa Demian

Socks and Mittens: Lyn Sippola and Sally Pituch

Sweaters: Sherry Nowakowski and Linda Lapinski

Most Artful: Jacque Hodges and Dorothy Dusenbury

Prettiest Skein: Sybil Williams

Staff: Anneliese Pruett

Felted: Joyce Gasiok

Woven Wearable: Barbara Konopka

Note: if two names are listed, the first won people’s choice and the second scored highest with the judges. If only one name is listed, they scored highest in both categories.

A special thank you goes to Sue Walton, BBAC instructor; Molly Fletcher, CCS instructor; and Pat Kreiling, Master Knitter. They spent a lot of thoughtful time judging.

If you didn’t get in to see the show, you’ll appreciate these photos of the show – not every piece is pictured, but most are. The first photo is Lisa modeling her Wrap Me Up shawl in our hand painted yarn. As usual, she departed from the pattern a tiny bit, but the spirit is still there. The pattern is from Knitting at Knoon and is really fun to knit because it is knit modularly with each module being a different pattern stitch. Click on the images for a larger view of the photos.

                     

Finally, thank you to these vendors for their very generous prizes:
Arnhild’s Knitting Studio
Berroco
Brown Sheep
Bryson Distributing
Chiao Goo
FiberSphere
Henry’s Attic
Himalaya Yarn
Interweave
JaggerSpun
Knit One, Crochet Two
Louet
Mountain Colors
Muench
Nancy’s Knit Knacks
River’s Edge Jewelry
Russi Sales
Schacht Spindle Co.
Schaefer Yarn
Skacel
Some Knit Required
Supreme
Swedish Yarns