Good morning and happy Friday to you!
What a difference a week makes! We went from Arctic temperatures to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and now we’re back to pretty standard temperatures for North Texas at this time of year. I’m so grateful for heat and light!
This week is Show and Tell week, and I have some lovely projects from my customer friends to share with you.
I also want to share the March club colorway inspiration painting and tell you about my latest shop update.
Show and Tell
Let’s start with Show and Tell.
This first photo shows Natalie with her hand-knit Monet’s Water Lilies scarf and her matching Van Gogh skirt.
The scarf is her own design. Here’s a closer view:
Next up is a pair of fun socks from JoDee:
She used the Honey Badger pattern by Irish Girlie Knits and my Be My Valentine colorway. I love the variation in color and the adorable pattern in the socks, don’t you?
This next item is a work in progress by Alden. It is the lacy front panel of a top she is knitting using Beautiful Universe on Sparkly Merino Sock.
Alden summarized last week’s weather perfectly when she emailed me:
“Your trial of ‘Winter in Alaska’ has expired, and we now return you to your regularly scheduled ‘Winter In Texas!'”
I loved that! Thanks, Alden!
Next up is Meagan’s crochet project. The pattern is called Nardis, and it’s by Shannon Dunbabin. Meagan used my Autumn Leaves colorway to make it.
Here’s a closeup of Meagan’s beautiful work:
…and here is a photo of the whole shawl:
The last project I have to show you this week is this beautiful shawl by Donna. She crocheted it and designed the pattern too. She used two skeins of Little Black Dress on Sparkly Merino Sock.
We didn’t have quite as many projects as we sometimes do, but each one is so beautiful! Thank you all so much for letting me be a part of your fiber arts journeys!
Shop Update
I also wanted to tell you about the shop update this week. I have more things than I can show you in just one newsletter, but I’ll include a few highlights.
Just yesterday, I made my two favorite Jane Austen colorways again for the first time since last spring. You can see Marianne (left) and Lizzie (right) here with my new Marigold yellow in between. Wouldn’t these three make a great shawl together?
I’m not sure if Lizzie would have put up with Marianne’s self-absorption, but just as Lizzie said about Darcy, she improves with time.
I also made Mint Julep and Monet’s Water Lilies for the first time in quite a while. On the top left is a new colorway called Blue Sky. Wouldn’t these look great together? You can find all three right here.
I’m a little frustrated to tell the truth. The dye I use for my North Wind colorway has changed to the point where it looks green instead of blue. I’m not sure if it’s the latest batch of dye or a change in the water or both, but until or unless I get it figured out, I won’t be able to make more North Wind. Blue Sky is a little cooler than North Wind but still quite lovely.
I have not forgotten all of my fellow spinners this week. I dyed up a new top blend made of 70% BFL (incredibly soft BFL) and 30% SeaCell. SeaCell is made of seaweed and eucalyptus, and it’s naturally cooling, breathable, and chocked full of vitamin E from the seaweed.
March Club Colorway
The last thing I want to tell you about this week is the March club colorway. When I first found Lois Mailou Jones last year, I had trouble deciding between two paintings. Last August, I used her painting, “Fishermen at Port Au Prince” as the inspiration for my club colorways. This time around, I’m choosing “Les Vendeuses de Tissue.”
Jones was a talented painter who spent much of her life living in Paris because there she could be taken seriously as an artist. The fact that she was both Black and female made that difficult here in The United States in the early part of 20th century. She spent her later years living in Haiti with her husband, and that is the setting of many of her most famous paintings like this one.
This painting is perfect for spring. The title, “Les Vendeuses de Tissue,” means the fabric sellers. I see so many favorite colors and can’t wait to get started.
That’s everything for today. I hope you find joy in the fiber arts this week! Stay well!