It's AUCTION Season!

Well, we have been invited to partake in two community fund raising auctions!! One is a fund raiser for The History Center and I've been asked to donate a bag for their silent auction. EEK. After some deliberation I have chosen 'Black Beauty' as seen here for the auction...
This one was chosen for a couple reasons, first it is Halloween-time, hence the black; second, it has some historical merit. The bead on the front and two hanging on the side (not visible in this picture) were purchased from a merchant this summer at the Pike River Rendezous from a trader there. I hope it will fetch a fair price for The History Center. It's pretty nerve wracking to think of all those people scrutinizing my work.






The next auction is November 11th, for The Kenosha Women's Fund. They are a philanthropic organization that raise money to offer local scholarships for wonens' organiztions. Their event is called "The Power of The Purse" Pretty fitting that handmade felted handbags would be on the auction block. This is the bag that has been chosen for their event. I am not real happy with the photo quality~the colors are not true to the real thing. The bag is called "Squash Blossom" and is knit in two lovely shades of gold/amber/pumpkin and has a glass bead on one side. I neddlefelted the large polka dots in a contrasting turquioise and red. Those colors didn't show up very well. They look murky and the turquoise looks like a bright purple. eeeew. Lucky for me this bag will be on display at the Public Museum for a week prior to the auction. More nervousness abounds.
I will let you know how everything turns out.

It's been a very good year...

Well our first season with the Harbor MarketPlace has come to an end, and yes it has been a very good year. We have been fortunate enough to meet so many very nice people this summer. Some of our favorite visitors, Sunny and Jim have become good friends and I am hopeful that we will continue to have contact throughout the summer. Say "HI!" to Sunny & Jim...

We have also been able to conect with current and hopefully future knitters. All of the staff and volunteers at the market have been so nice to get to know. The vendors are so talented and great to associate with. I have to admit it has been a gas to explain the felting process to folks that stop by. People come to the market to enjoy the harbor and music and food each week and by the end of the summer so many more people have been forced to listen to me go on and on about knitting and felting and inventing new and wonderous projects. Thank you to everyone--- it has been a priviledge!

Chemo Caps

I just found out that the adult daughter of a friend of mine will be undergoing chemotherapy and will likely lose her hair. Many knitters have been making chemo caps for years and donating them to hospitals. I decided to do some online hunting for patterns and advice. Generally, caps need to be made smaller because of the lack of hair and yarn should be the softest available. Any pattern can be adapted and we've listed some sites with patterns on the sidebar. Patterns range from the "Classic" chemo cap to Wiggies, toques, turbans, skull caps, and Rasta caps. So... in your spare time consider making chemo caps for your local hospital or dear friend.

Check out the sidebar for a listing of free on-line chemo cap patterns (including the Wiggie).
- the "other" stranded sister

Playing with Color

Check this out... an online random stripe generator!
A... what??

Thanks to the members of the Yahoo "fulling_around" group and the sharp eye of my sister, Stranded Sisters would like to share a very cool online tool. Use it for designing your own striped projects or just have fun playing with color.

http://www.kissyourshadow.com/stripe_maker.php

Link is also on the side bar... have fun :-)