Vendor Show Season!

It is that time of year again for Arachne Yarns and more. I am going to craft sales in the area. I have cut the number of shows I go to down to three this year due to the opening of the store. Here is what my booth looked like last weekend at the Wheaton Craft Show in Wheaton, MN.

The next show will be in Milbank, SD at the St. Lawrence Church on November 18.

I will be at the Ortonville High School on Saturday, Dec. 2nd.


There are several more classes coming up at Arachne Yarns and More in Ortonville, MN.
On Saturday the 11th, from Noon to 4pm students can learn to knit. Just the basics. We will cast on, knit, purl, and bind off. I have several patterns to work with which demonstrate several types of designs to be created with just these few stitches. Students will receive a set of size 7 knitting needles, yarn and handouts on the abbreviations and diagrams of the stitches.

On the 15th from 6pm to 9pm we will be learning to spin wool into yarn using a drop spindle. All the students will receive a drop spindle and roving to spin. Students should pre-register for any classes they want to attend at Arachne Yarns on Facebook or at tessie1506@gmail.com.







On the 16th from 6:30-8:30 Erlys Sis (Ease Fiber Designs) will be on hand to teach a class on needle-
felting. Students will go home with a pendant and a brooch that they can wear themselves or give as a gift. This will be a fun class and we are fortunate to have Erlys available to demonstrate this felting technique.

I hope your can take this opportunity to learn a new skill. These are the last classes that will be offered this year due to the Holidays. Watch the newsletter for classes starting again next January!

The store will be official as of this coming Friday, November 10. At noon there will be a ribbon cutting! Stop in and help us celebrate if you are in the area!

Opening Downtown!!!

 I am so excited to announce that Arachne Yarns and More has opened a bricks and mortar store! We are located in the south side of The Ortonville Flower Shop at 132 2nd Str. NW, Ortonville, MN.

Finally, a place where customers can come and browse, shop, get help with knitting and crochet questions or take a class.

The store hours are Tuesday- Friday from  10 pm to 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am to Noon. Classes will be offered in many different things.  Currently, there are classes planned for October and November in knitting, crochet, needle-felting, weaving and chip-carving!

I am working on new handwoven items, hand dyed yarns, and homespun yarns. Stop in to see what is new! There are three classes scheduled so far for this month and a couple in November. More on the way. Also, starting in November, there will be a knit along every Tuesday afternoon from 1-3 pm. For November, we will be knitting a shawl. A pattern will be provided. There will be fresh coffee and everything is free. Stop in and knit and chat for a relaxing couple of hours.

Downtown Art

This weekend Arachne Yarns and More, EASE Fabric Creations, Cathy Mueller Art and Callie Howell were open for a three day event in downtown Ortonville, MN. It was a very busy weekend in town and we had a lot of visitors!
















Erlys Sis, (EASE Fabric Creations), does amazing things with fabric, wool and found objects. She is so incredibly creative and always surprises me with her latest creations. She makes the most wonderful 'Spirit Dolls'. She also does quilting, needle-felting, thread sketching, and so much more. She has wonderful scarves, wall hangings, cards, and many more items for sale. Great for gifting or decoration or even wearing! A must see.

Cathy Mueller is a watercolorist and also works with pen and
ink. I have one of her drawings on my
wall now and am constantly eyeing more! Cathy has been painting for many years and creates beautiful paintings as well as being an excellent teacher. I am looking forward to her classes!

Callie Howell, also a painter, works with acrylics, oils and epoxy. She has a style of painting that is very different from Cathy's and her paintings are all very unique. She has some exciting abstract paintings, a 'must see' exhibit. Locals may be familiar with her work from her exhibits at Ortonville Area Hospital.













Through out the weekend we had a 'Make and Take' section where visitors could weave a mug rug, paint a picture, or needle felt a pendent or bookmarker. All these activities were free. We had a lot of budding artists participating! The tables were full almost all the time!. We also sold kits that they could buy and do at home if they found a new passion.

Pillows! Pillows! Pillows!

Just in time for fall sales! I decided a while back that I wanted to make some hand woven pillows. I ordered a whole bunch of 14" and 16" pillow forms. I finally got around to making some pillows with them.

All the pillows are wool, except one so far that is llama. The really fun thing about making pillows is that they don't take tons of yarn and yards of warp. Each one is like a new canvas to 'paint' however the mood suits! I have a lot of small amounts of yarn that are not enough for large projects, but perfect for pillows. I usually start with some idea of the colors I want to use and maybe a weaving technique I want to use, and that is about it. Then, I let the rest happen! Making pillow is also a great way to test a pattern, experiment with different drafts and tie-ups, etc. Lots of fun and a great learning tool! They are big enough to get an idea of how the pattern works without committing a large amount of yarn or expense. And, they are pretty! They don't take long to hand stitch together. I do all the sewing by hand. The pillow forms are polyester.

These and more will be for sale at the fall shows. 

Needle Felting Class

Today was a good day in class! We only needed two band aides all afternoon.

Arachne Yarn presented a needle felting class at The Smallest Art Gallery in Ortonville, MN this afternoon. Only two wounded souls. Lots of little creatures were created. Gnomes and snowmen. Each one different. Each one with it's own personality.

Each student received a set of three felting needles, a block of foam for a felting base, and enough core wool and colored wool to make three little critters.

Things got serious once we got started! It didn't take long until everyone figured out that you can talk while you felt, but you also have to pay attention or the needle bites! We learned how to make a basic body shape and how firm to make it. Then we worked on some of the finer techniques such as forming a circle, making flat felt, shaping pieces, and attaching pieces.  Beads, embroidery thread and sequins were provided to decorate the little creations.

 

 All the felters had fun and enjoyed making their very own, very unique gnomes! Several of the felters said they thought that they would continue to felt on their own. We also talked about possible future classes.

Handwoven Purses

Just the right size for your money, phone, maybe a comb, sunglasses, etc. Very light to carry and very fun. Each purse is unique. Each has a braided handle, Velcro closure at the top. Each is about 8-9 inches square and each is unique!

Price: $30.00 plus shipping.

These charming little purses come in many different color combinations. Many of them have embellishments on them including buttons, shells, beads and other found objects.

DOWNTOWN ART

I am getting ready for a large show and sale at the end of September. Myself and two other artists have rented a space on the main street in Ortonville for the weekend of Sept. 29, 30, and Oct. 1. The four of us will be sharing a large space to display and sell our art. It should be a fun weekend.

Eryls Sis, Cathy Mueller and I were together for the Sisseton, SD Fine Arts Show this summer. We were together with about 19 other artist from the area displaying and selling many different art forms.

Erlys Alley Sis is a local fiber artist and owner of EASE Fiber Art. She is a very fun artist to follow. She is always surprising me by coming up with new fabulous projects. She incorporates fiber, fabric, threads, wire, found objects and more into her unique designs. Erlys is the founder of the local quilt guild. She had taught many different types of art including thread sketching, needle felting, weaving and more. We are in a knitting group together as well. I have custom spun yarns for her that she then incorporates into her designs. Just yesterday she showed me her new 'Spirit Dolls'. They are amazing!

Cathy Mueller is a painter. She uses several mediums, including watercolor, oils, and pen and ink. I don't currently have a photo of her work, but I was very impressed by the work she showed in Sisseton. I bought one of her prints. It is a pen and ink drawing of a street she used to live by in another town in Minnesota. It is a beautiful addition to my living room. Cathy sells her beautiful paintings as matted, framed pieces, cards, or individual prints. Her art is not something you want to miss.

I will have all my latest weavings there. Several wearables, purses, hangings, scarves, table runners and more.

Through out the weekend we will also have a table of 'Make and Take' projects for anyone who is interested. All the supplies will be available to make several different art projects including a woven 'mug rug', a needle felting picture or a watercolor card! This is what I will have for a make and take. This small weaving is only about 4" square. It is done on a  4 1/2" X 7" loom. Takes just a little time to make and you can put your coffee cup on it! The make and takes are free for anyone who wants to spend the time. Kits will be available to purchase as well so you can use your newly developed skills at home.

We will be open the following times:
 Fri. Sept 29,  10-6                                                                                                                                            
 Sat. Sept 30,  9-6
 Sun. Oct 1,    9-4
       
Hope to see many of you at this wonderful weekend event! There will be a lot going on in the are due the Meander (Upper Minnesota River Art Crawl) that is being held that same weekend. This is the annual studio crawl that runs from Clinton MN, to Granite Falls, MN. There are 39 artists studios to visit as well as a lot of fun places to check out along the way. Enjoy~

Teaching Kids to Weave with Straws

I recently had the opportunity to teach a class on weaving with straws to some young girls. The class lasted three hours and the girls weren't ready to leave! We had so much fun playing with the different colors of yarn and beads. The girls were fast learners and had lots of fun making bracelets. They went home with what they made, plus they took extra straws, beads and yarn home so they could continue to weave.



First we learned how to make the 'loom' out of drinking straws. We each took four straws and cut them off about 6 inches long. We cut off the bendy part of the straw. Then we cut four 18 inch lengths of yarn. The girls had fun deciding what color yarn to use for the warp. Then we threaded a strand of yarn through each straw. We left about one inch sticking out the top. We folded that over and taped it to the straw. Next we laid the four straws side by side and taped them together at the bottom. We tied a know in the end of the threads going through the straws (warp threads).

Next it was time to pick the first weft thread. We tied that to the first straw making sure the knot was in the back. Time to start weaving, over-under-over-under- and back again. 

The girls had fun picking new weft colors and adding beads. We tied new colors onto the old color making sure all knots were in the back. We added beads by using a small crochet hook to thread them onto the weft yarn.

Each girl finished several projects. Here is some of the finished work!

The girls were having so much fun that they didn't want to leave when the class was over! Each girl took their finished projects home as well as some extra straws, beads, and yarn so they could continue weaving at home. This type of weaving can be used for bracelets, belts, bookmarks, and more. The finished strips can also be sewn together to make scarves, potholders, etc. It will be interesting to see what they create with what they have learned.

My New Inkle Loom!

About a week ago I was wandering around in the Salvation Army store with a friend. I always check the craft section out. This day, there happened to be a brand new, still in the bag, with instructions Inkle Loom. I knew what it was because I had seen them before. I had never really thought of owning one due to the limited weaving width. I wasn't into making belts... The price was only $5.00. I figured I didn't have to use it too much to get my money back, so I bought it.

It just so happened that at that time I was busy weaving purses to sell at upcoming shows. It dawned on me that even thought the straps I could weave on the inkle loom would not work for the current project, I had projects in mind for which this kind of weaving would be quite lovely.

I set out reading the instructions that came with my loom and managed to get it warped with little difficulty. I made the heddles out of a tough nylon string.  I used some cotton that I had around to warp the loom. I used a mercerized cotton weft. I chose a patterned warp that would give me a nice design and colors that were easy to match with others. I started weaving and was surprised at how fast it actually goes! I expected it to be much slower.

This is the strap I am currently working on. I plan to use it 

on a large wool bag I am going to be making with alpaca 

roving. The roving will be several different colors, but all natural. I think that the magenta in the strap will look nice on the natural hues of browns, black, white, and grey. My strap is now over half done. I still have to weave the bag. When I am finished, I will post a picture so you can see the finished project. 

Meanwhile, I have learned to keep an open mind. I always thought an inkle loom was more trouble than it was worth. Although I would not want to weave on it a lot, it is a relaxing break from my other weaving. I plan to experiment with several other weaving techniques to add interest to the bands I weave. I also like that I can weave in my recliner....

These looms generally retain for between $110-150. I can't complain about the price of mine! 

Weaving Class

I just finished teaching a weaving class at The Smallest Art Gallery in Ortonville, MN. Gallery owner Kathleen Marihart hosted the three day class. She participated between customers. Students learned to make their own loom out of cardboard. We also learned several different weaving techniques they will be able to use to design and create their own weaving projects. everyone had a great time and all the finished pieces were wonderful!

 The gallery was open to the public while the class was being held. Several shoppers and 'lookers' came in during the class. We may have to do a second class due to the interest shown by the people coming into the gallery and watching this class!

Katy was the youngest weaver. She is almost 18. Katy has some alpacas and angora rabbits. She likes to spin her own yarn with a spindle. She had a lot of fun with the class and brought along  lots of good ideas and things to add to the weaving like feathers and beads. 





Katy managed to finish two weavings during the class!

Sue is a quilter most of the time. She was looking for something a little different. You can see her design skills from quilting in her weaving She made good use of the different weights of yarn, sticks, feathers and beads that were available. She was able to incorporate some of each in her weaving.

 Her use of materials was fun to watch. Her tree was especially nice! She also found an interesting piece of wood to incorporate.

Kathleen, who is primarily is a watercolor artist, had lot of fun with the class as well. She waited on the shoppers between pics. She also made a mad dash to the lake to find sticks and pieces of wood and bark to add to our weaving. She was busy with customers during some of the demonstrations of techniques and created a few of her own! I think she has the hang of it and she plans to continue weaving. She is also interested in learning to weave on a ridged heddle loom. I feel another class coming on...