Delicious Silk Scarves from Thailand!

Wow! Over the week-end I had a woman stop in to find out about fibers and felting. Turns out she imports silk goods from the Far East and other areas and she happened to be on a selling trip to Minneapolis-St. Paul. She brought her goods in and I nabbed some really lovely silk scarves (like those in the pictures above). They have a very nice hand, and are quite an open weave. I think they'd be beautiful Nuno Felted! Some are tie-dyed, others are dip-dyed, and I bought a dozen to see if they're something you all might be interested in.

Heck, you wouldn't even have to Nuno them, they are lovely and drapey just as they are!

Bulb Sprayers

This is one of the Bulb Sprayers that have just come in. I have them in this blue, a dark green and an orange. They are amazing for wetting out your fibers when you are wet felting. The price is $24.95. I have them for sale on my Etsy Store (http://www.thefiberstudio.etsy.com/), and you can also contact me at the shop (612.822.1600) or at pamangier@comcast.net and I'll be happy to ship one to you.

Artists Trading Cards Class

This is a photo from the cover of the

Artist Trading Card Workshop book by artist bernie berlin.

This class is next Tuesday evening, April 14, from 6-9 with Kathy Coulter. Kathy has been playing with collage and altered art techniques for many years and you're sure to learn a TON about the process of creating these little works of art. For more information about ATC's (as they're called), do a Google search and you will be amazed!

No experience is necessary, just a desire to have fun and to meet others with like interests.

Finally, the Pre-Felts and Sprinkle Bulbs, More!

I am so happy to be able to tell you that the FIBRE FUSION FELBI PREFELTS have come in, as have the RUBBER WATER BULBS for wetting your fibers in wet felting!

The prefelts are so soft and they're very generous in size, approximately 60" x 80". I have them in 17 beautiful colors, from neutrals to earths to brights, and they are priced at $38 each. You can use them as a base for wet felting (and needle felting) and save a huge amount of time not having to lay out multiple fine layers of fibers. They're also perfect for cutting into shapes and patterns to incorporate into your projects, as some of you have done in the Felted Tote Bag Class for embellishments and flowers. I've also got some new colors in the SUPERFINE MERINO tops.

SPRING CLASSES, OTHER NOTES:

The BEAD EMBROIDERY CLASS (with Jennifer Diedrich) will be Tuesday, April 7, from 6 to 8:30 PM. There are still a couple spots open in the class for anyone who would like to learn how to embroider with beads on fabric! (And don't worry, even though I'm closed on Tuesdays, I will be here!)

The REVERSIBLE FELTED HANDBAG CLASS (with Leslie Granbeck) is coming up Saturday, April 11, from 10 AM to 4:30 PM and there are still a few spots available in this class.

And, finally, we need to get some of you to come out for the COLLAGE: ARTIST TRADING CARDS CLASS (with Kathy Coulter) on Tuesday, April 14, from 6 to 9 PM. I'll try to find time over the week-end to post some links you can visit to learn about ATC's (as they're called). I think a lot of people aren't familiar with them, but they are so much fun. It's art-making on a small scale, about the size of a playing card. You can do a Google Search for ATC and/or artist trading cards and you'll be amazed at what people are doing on these little pieces. You need absolutely no prior experience to participate in this class, and you will learn a TON about collage, distressing, and many other techniques you can use in altered art projects. Come join us for a soul-satisfying evening that is sure to open up a whole new world to you.

For information about all of our classes, go to http://www.thefiberstudio.com/. There are also photos of the Bead Embroidery example and Reversible Felted Handbag example on the "Classes" page.

FINALLY, don't forget to mark your calendar for SHEPHERD'S HARVEST FESTIVAL on May 9th and 10th at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. For more information go to http://www.shepherdsharvestfestival.org/.

Classes, New Items and Shepherd's Harvest!

Spring 2009 Class Schedule... I've got some of the classes on the website (http://www.thefiberstudio.com/), with a few more to come. New offerings are:

~Try It, You'll Like It! one day, 6-hour spinning class
~Drop Spindle Class
~Artist Trading Cards (ATC's)
~Bead Embroidery
~Knitting with Roving
~I'm still working on a few other ideas, so be sure to re-check the website. If you have any ideas for classes, I'd love to hear about them! Call 612.822.1600 or e-mail pamangier@comcast.net.

We've got lots of new items in the shop...

~hand dyed silk fabric for nuno felting, hand dyed silk hankies, silk caps and throwster's waste
~luscious 70% Alpaca/30% Silk top, hand dyed for us by Gale's Art, 4 lovely colorways
~a fresh shipment of hand dyed BFL and Black BFL in semi-solids and hand paints
~hand painted Merino tops, perfect for your nuno projects
~fresh shipments of our Corriedale, Merino solids and Harrisville batts
~custom blended batts

And, coming soon (next week?)...

~rubber squeegee bulbs for wetting your fibers, these are great!!
~Felbi prefelts and Superfine Merino Wooltops from Fibre Fusion in Australia

Remember to check out our Etsy store at http://www.thefiberstudio.etsy.com/ where you can order through PayPal (you don't have to have a PayPal account to use PayPal). And, as always, you are more than welcome to call the shop (612.822.1600) or e-mail me with your orders at pamangier@comcast.net. We always love to hear from you!

Save the Date: SHEPHERD'S HARVEST FESTIVAL

It's that time of year and our wonderful Shepherd's Harvest Festival is coming up soon! I can't wait! If you've been to the Festival you understand my excitement, and if you haven't been you should definitely make plans to attend!

Mark your calendars, it's Mother's Day week-end, May 9th and 10th, at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, MN. I'll be selling there again this year with my trusty sidekick Leslie, I'll post more in the days to come.

The Latest

I just don't know where the time goes, January has flown by!

New hand painted Targhee tops are in, lovely colorways. The New Zealand Corriedale Sliver and Merino Tops have been replenished, a great selection available. Hand dyed silk hankies are in stock again, and I'll have more Gale's Art hand painted BFL by the end of next week.

A new order of Cushing's Dyes came in yesterday, and the latest Quilting Arts magazine is in.

And just a reminder...Sunday, February 1, is SPINNING GROUP here at The Studio, 12-4. Hope you can make it!

I've got to scoot, I hope to post again soon.

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone. Hope your holiday season was bright and merry. Now it's time to get our noses back to the grindstones! Speaking of grindstones...New Year's Day was "Rock Day" for the Weaver's Guild of MN at the Textile Center. It's a once-a-year event and it's really fun. The idea is: after a season of merry-making and celebrating the holidays, it's time to get back to work! This was my second year at Rock Day and I love it. Virginia Parent is our gracious hostess, it's pot luck, and we spin, knit, weave, visit, eat, drink!

The 2009 Winter Class Schedule is online now, take a peek. We've put together some great classes (as usual).

Just a reminder that the shop will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays through the end of January (and possibly longer). We will maintain our normal Wednesday thru Sunday hours.

Spinning group is tomorrow. Of course it's gotten to be the joke that I schedule the group for a Sunday when the weather is inclement! (not true!) We'll see who the hardy Minn-e-so-tans are...we're supposed to get up to 4" of snow between now and tomorrow.

Have to run, hope you're having a great extended New Year's week-end.