MAMA gots new shoes!

 I bought myself a new pair of shoes yesterday. They are Dansko Professional in Red Patent leather. I got them from Richard N's Shoes store in the Miller Hill Mall.  They are so bright and shiny!! I love them.  All the "boys" in my life have had the exact same comment, "There is no place like home!"  They just don't get style and fashion! Dansko shoes are a bit pricey but well worth it!! They are made in European sizes, they have a great round and deep toe box for wide feet like mine. They also give fantastic support for standing all day.  I own at least 4 pair, some of them I have had and worn for 10 years or more!!! you should check them out. They also come in really fun and funky styles!

Fiber Art Scarves

 Fiber Art Scarves.

Bags of yarn I am going to use.

The process for making a fiber art scarf is really fun. First I lay out long sheets of Sulky.

SULKY WASH AWAY STABILIZERS

• Temporary Stabilizer
• Easy Removal with Water
• Great Transfer Medium
• Ideal when you do not want any stabilizer to show on top or bottom

Sulky Solvy, Sulky Super Solvy, Sulky Ultra Solvy,Sulky Paper Solvy, Sulky Fabri-Solvy and Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy (click on any of the links to go to Sulky webpage.)                      It come in rolls about 6 inches wide.  I lay out a sheet of it about 5 to 6 feet long, depending how long I want my scarf. Don't forget about fringe.  They look great with long fringe at each end.  I lay some pieces long and straight and some I curl all around. When I have enough strands laid out I wrap the sulky around to meet itself and pit it together, I use safety pins for this instead of straight pins; this just holds the strands in place while I am sewing.  To make it easier to transport to my sewing machine I rolled them all up to look sushi rolls.  I then used sparkly thread for some of them and thread that blends in for others, to sew random grids throughout the entire scarf.  The sewing can be in straight lines or wavy lines, you want to make sure you hit all the little bits that are sticking out so there are no loose pieces. I used a medium zigzag stitch to do this.  I sew up one side and down the other, then wavy lines across the entire piece.  I pull the pins out as I am sewing so I do not break a needle, well at least more then one.  After the pieces are all sewed up you take them to a sink and run warm water and swish them around. Yes, swish is a craft technical term. The Sulky just dissolves away and the hang them up to dry. you may need to fluff (again, technical term) the fibers some after they dry.  I am selling my Fiber art scarves as well as a few other items at Art in The Alley in Superior WI. You should make the trip over there!! It is well worth it.  If you are looking for some unique art or wearable art this is the place you want to check out.

I lay out the fibers on a table.

Here are several of the yarns and ribbon I am using.

Several fibers scarves all piled up.

Some ribbon and sparkly yarn for scarf.

This is a scarf all laid out on the sulky,
 ready to be pinned together then sewed.

All my materials.

One of the scarves all wrapped up in the sulky,
after it has been sewed. It now needs to be washed.

Grid sewed through the scarf.

Here are some completed scarves.  They are now hung up to dry after the sulky is rinsed.

Close up of a scarf section.

Green Scarf

Scarf rolled up, it looks like sushi.

All rolled up.

close up of a blue scarf

My trip with Sparkly Baubles was a wonderful success. We tried to go to the new yarn store opening in Rochester, MN. Major bummer!!!  It does not open until next week. It is called Hank and Purls Creative Nook and Knittery.  It looks like it will be a great place for classes and to hang out and knit.  I hope we can make another day trip down there to check it out.  We then moved on to Stillwater, MN.  Where we went to Darn. Knit. {Anyway} Yarn store.  It was a nice little shop with lots of different yarn.  I was on a hunt for some sock weight and saw lots I really liked but did not find one the just jumped off the shelf and screamed PICK ME.  We had lunch at a little pub called Mad Capper Saloon and Eatery.  It had some great atmosphere. There was a bar with MN sports memorabilia, there were also hats or I guess you would call them "caps" all around.  My favorite was the little red Fez. There were other assorted items hanging from the ceiling, a boat, a bike, skis, all of these things sort of fit in the "sports bar" theme; what really intrigued  me was the wooden gnome sitting on a swing.  OK, this one we had to ask the waitress about!  My guess was someone brought it in and said "I have the perfect thing for the bar!"  The waitress told us one of the regulars, (you know, like Norm) came in with it one day and said "You have to put this up!"  Haaa I guessed it.

We left the quaint little town of Stillwater and headed over to Mahtomedi, MN. There we went to Lila and Claudine's Yarn and Gifts. It was the only place I took a photo cuz my phone was going dead and I forgot the rest of the day, OOPS.  This is a photo of the HUGE ball of yarn and knitting needles they have outside of the store.  They have just expanded and opened the upstairs of the shop as well. There were lots and lots of cool gadgets, wall hangings, bags, and of course two floors of yarn.  I found some great sparkly yarn in the "Bling Room" I can use in my holiday fibre scarves.  It was a little bit of a struggle to keep Sparkly Baubles on task in this place! She was distracted every time she turned around.  A few hours later we hit the road for home.  I got a little crocheting done in the car before it got too dark to see.

On the Road Again....

I have had wonderful feedback on the mitten post. Thank you to everyone who has agreed to also help this worthy cause.  You can drop hats, mittens, scarves off with me at my Dynamic Massage location or Yarn Harbor.  I have had a really really busy week trying to get some things done for some upcoming deadlines. I can tell you more about these things soon.  I leaving town with Sparkly Baubles this afternoon. We are going on a short road trip. I will tell you all about the quilt and yarn shops we find along the way. I hear there is a new Yarn store opening in Rochester MN. I will check it out and give you the details next week.

Kids Closet of Duluth

Have you heard of Kids Closet of Duluth?
a clothing program for young Duluthians attending school
Located at:  Bethany Lutheran Church, 2308 West 3rd Street, Duluth MN 55806 Phone: 218-722-4533 Fax: None at this time

From the Kids Closet website: Kids Closet of Duluth is a 501(c)3 non profit serving low income Head Start and Elementary School children living in Duluth with clothes needed for regular school attendance.  With the help of this most generous community, we furnish each child with a full set of winter outerwear, including boots and 4 outfits suitable for classroom use (one new and 3 used).  We stress a welcoming atmosphere for parents and clothes that are attractive and durable.
Free clothes for Duluth school children in early childhood thru fifth grade who are in need. We outfit your child for school - gym shoes, socks, underwear, school outfits and winter outerwear, including boots. All donated locally for local children, we have both new and good quality used items. We serve by appointment only so apply early in the school year for best results. You are welcome to return in spring for more shoes and spring clothes. 


Please click on the link to learn all about the incredibly worthy cause!

At the quilt retreat I recently attended I brought some fleece remnants and a very simple pattern for fleece mittens. They take about 10 minutes to make.  I put out a call for the quilters to make me a pair at some point over the weekend. I received 26 pair of mittens that I handed off to one of the dedicated volunteers today. She was so pleased to see them and especially boy ones.  They have lots of need for boy stuff, most donations tend to be geared towards girls.         








If you are interested in making some mittens please contact me at Joellegalo@hotmail.com and I can email you the very simple pattern we used. it takes just scraps of fleece, a few inches of elastic and about 10 minutes of your time.  They can also use hats and scarves, You can send them directly to kids closet or to me and I will get them delivered.  They collect all year but as the temperatures start to drop this is the time with the most need.  Thank you!!

Sparkly Baubles and Zoom Zoom

I have two friends I travel with most of the time.  They have both asked to have their names changed to protect the innocent.  (Personally, I don't think either of them are all that innocent but who am I to cast stones?)  I have decided to call friend 1 "Sparkly Baubles" She is easily distracted by shiny objects. OK Really, who among us isn't? She sort of kept her focus at quilt camp but it is only because she worked on lots of different small projects. She brought several to do, that did not however stop her from finding more fabric or patterns she could not live without. She did how ever complete several of them.  One of them was a project she had started about 4 years ago. But hey that deserves a piece of chocolate!! A completed project counts no matter how long it takes!
 Friend 2, I am calling "Zoom Zoom",  She is always on the go! When ever I talk to her she is in her car coming or going somewhere. Remember the car commercial "Zoom Zoom"? That is her!  I am surprised she was able to sit for three days at the quilt camp and work on projects.  Wait, I do seem to remember her coming and going a few times.  Now I know why she had her own car, she needed to escape and hit the open road for a bit.
I myself brought many projects to do and completed them in record time so I had to go buy more fabric to make more.  We stayed up way to late, and got up way to early, sewed for too many hours at a time, ate too much chocolate, drank too much caffeine, laughed till we cried, and all in all had a wonderful time!  Can't wait till next time!
Stay tuned for further adventures with "Sparkly Baubles and Zoom Zoom".