Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall...

So - a few weeks back I fell off a chair at work ( and no I wasn't standing on a wheeled chair trying to dust cobwebs off the ceiling). I landed on a recycle bin ... and broke a rib. Turns out it is definitely a "no laughing / sneezing / coughing" matter. I am s l o w l y healing.

I am now afraid to go outside because of the snow and ice,

I am afraid to ride my bike.

I am afraid of falling...

I think I am getting old.

On VA-Ca-shun!

A little birdie told me so...

Out-of-office-reply: 

sheepless is currently out of the office. I will return...

So good morning! Yes I am on vacation  f i n a l l y!  I tend to wilt in the heat so my prefernece is to take a bit of time in the spring and fall (and winter) rather than during the dog days of summer.

I don't like to repeatedly post my apologies about not blogging (perhaps because that implies I think that someone out there is actually reading all this hooey). After awhile even apologies can become meaningless in their redundancy. So lets just move along folks!

In terms of my blog I've been spending a good deal of my recent efforts trying to simplify things. I went through a brief period of time when "free blog"  meant starting new blogs. One for photos, one for cycling, one for quilting (which is now more of a craft journey blog) and lastly my general all purpose day to day stuff blog. I also tried to transfer all my old stuff from my typepad blog - which has proved be be daunting. I was a bit anxious about just cutting the cord (pulling the plug?) on that one - as it was my "baby". My very first real blog. But time moves on...

So the first thing I did was clean up my personal space in blog land (no easy task) and I am down to 3 blogs :

• sheepless snaps (set up for photos only)
• sheepless in suburbia - (here)  in which I blog about the day to day minutia that resides in my head
• stitch cat studio - which is my "process blog" for pretty much whatever is my "craft du jour" (more about that later).

I'm currently doing a "room reno" for all my stuff (moving once again from the underbelly of the house (in which I have loads of space - but no natural lighting) to the main floor (a little room with heart and big bright beautiful window). Since I am no longer hauling spinning wheels and looms all over the place I think the little room will actually work this time.

So... Stitch Cat Studio?  What the heck is that? Well that's what you get when you announce you want a cat - and the response is "only by death or divorce"...

The Old Guy apparently is most definitively not a Cat Guy. When I was a kid we had a big old second hand Tom Cat named "Clean Dreams" (presumably christened during a hippie haze induced state by his previous owners). My mother (who was also a self professed non-cat person) went from dismay to devotion in all of about 60 seconds when  "Cleany" turned out to be a prolific mouser and solved a whole host of problems. So having said that - I believe that it isn't so much that one isn't "a cat person" as much as a haven't found the "right cat" person. After all - if I only had a "purse pooch" as my understanding of what a dog is all about  - I would have to say I am not a "doggie person." And I already know that I am. 

Historically I've also been known to be a "birdie person".  My first "pet" (not counting the turtle I begged for when I was 7) was a little turquoise & white budgie named Fannie. She was a lovely bird and she lived with me in "my first real apartment." I was celebrating my independence. It was a "no pets allowed" environment. I guess birds didn't count as a pet. First designated as my "back up pet" until I could get a "real one"- she quickly evolved into my beloved "Fannie Bird." She would start singing "pretty birdie" as soon as my key turned in the lock. I did let her fly around unrestrained. She liked the curtains best. She never made a mess - except once (down the back of a friend's alpaca sweater). We had a very happy relationship and I was heartbroken when she died.  I never had another companion until "the dogs took over came along". 

But back to Stitch Cat Studio. I was looking for a new name for my "process crafty blog" and as I was perusing the blog-o-sphere I realized that lots of studios and offices have cats. Big cats, old cats, little cats, long hairs, short hairs, tabby's you name it. Lounging on quilts, snuggling into balls of yarn - sunning themselves in the glory of your sewing basket. 

Of course they don't show them jumping from bookcase to bookcase like the banshee from meow hell or doing their business in your stash (which I have heard of)... ugh! It was at this point I realized that while yes I do want a cat - perhaps what I really need is a "virtual" cat. And so  Sheepless Quilts was revamped and is now Stitch Cat Studio.

After all it is only fitting - I am sheepless in suburbia because I have no sheep. Therfore I am stitch cat in my studio - because I have no cat!

Moving' on up...

Long time no write! I'm in the throws of moving my studio from the bowels of the basement to the little room with a view.  Life is full of compromises and this  is one of them. Lots of space with artificial light (downstairs) vs tiny space with a nice big window (upstairs).  So after six months in the former I have decided to go with the latter.

PS: hexxie quilt still in process and after receiving my new book "Feathering the Nest with Vintage Inspired Quilts" it's getting much grandeur all the time.

Whip stitching through the mountains

Stage 16 and 17 took us through the Pyrenees and I'm finally over the half way hump on my top. At least the centre. Now that I've got a whip stitch groove going, I'm thinking of adding more hexxies around the perimeter. But we'll see.

TD - Fabric stage 6

TD Fabric - stage 6 - the strip stitching of hexxies continues....

In other news...

Who knew that summertime could be such a hot bed of activity in my quilt-y world. Firstly it seems almost all of my LQS are offering discounts on fabric. Some as high as 40% off - granted you have to buy a metre or more - but none the less that's a great deal. 

Nextly (is that even a word?) I've been taking another beginner quilt class -  this time with the primary objective of learning more about my new sewing machine. The first thing I've learned is that as much as I love it - it's h e a v y and b i g and not at all p o r t a b l e ... 

Well that's all for now folks! Keep on stitching!

TD - Fabric'12 stage 3

I've finally started sewing the hexxie strips together. Almost finished joining strips A&B.

Fibre Week 2012

So last weekend I was away ... as in " away from it all." I packed up all my cares and woes aka ten bags of much loved books and magazines which I've been desperately wanting to destash - threw my trusty 1960's folding bicycle  aka "the Cinzia Creamcycle" on top and headed towards Olds College to  wrap myself in 4 days of fibre-y goodness... Fibre Week!

This is my Fibre Week 2012 pictorial (with a smattering of narrative here and there) as sometimes a picture really is more than a thousand words... 

Meet Michelle - also known as spindleprincess on twitter. She's an Olds College Master Spinner graduate and instructor. When she isn't travelling, teaching, blogging or spinning - she organises all the submissions for workshops for the upcoming Fibre Week. She must be doing a marvelous job because Fibre Week has been growing by leaps and bounds recently with attendees coming from all over North America - and even further (more about that later).

This is Jen. She too is a Master Spinner graduate and instructor. She has been teaching the prelude to the Master Spinner program "Beginner Spinning". This is where future masters and enthusiastics are hatched. She feathers their nests with loads of ideas, skills, and fibre samples - then gently pushes them off the edge to watch them take flight... and most of them go directly to the merchant mall. Where they buy loads more fibre and bid on fleece (because no beginner spinner can have enough stash).

There were a wide variety of classes this year. Everything from japanese knitting, lace design, humble hook crochet,wool judging and felting to spinning & meditation. I think I must have been focused on felting this year - as most of my pictures are from these classes. (Above is the Pug Purse).

Lots of great hand felted purses came out the "Here's Looking at You" class by Tracey Kuffner.

"Illuminating Ideas In Felt" by Sharon Costello also resulted in many glowing faces (excuse the pun).

Below  is  Frazzlehead's magnificent "hair tamer" which she designed from her "coils & beehives" yarn which she spun last year. (Not sure who would want to tame a mane like that - it's spectacular!)

As many of your know - I have drifted a bit to the dark side (as in hand stitching and quilting) and lo and behold looked what showed up! This is a terrific quilt made by Kathy (below).

She related that she found a batch of tea towels she thought were perfect to make a scrappy quilt - so she just decided to  in her words "whip something up." And so she did.

This is a closeup of the quilt front and back. (Give it a double click so you can get more details of the towels).

I started this post with "Fibre Week has been growing by leaps and bounds recently with attendees coming from all over North America - and even further."  And here is a little story. This is Karen Workman (above). Prior to May 24th of this year - I really didn't know who Karen was. One day I opened my inbox and found an email with the subject header: "Volunteer." Now normally I might think this is something that has slipped through my SPAM filter - but it was right around the time when I was setting up the Fibre Week Volunteer roster for this year. (I am the FW volunteer coordinator).  Soooo - I held my breath - clicked the button - and prepared for the Trojan Virus of Doom to erupt or discover that a relative who I just spoke to is being held hostage in a foreign land and needs me to send him all my credit card information.  Well was I wrong! Enclosed was a lovely email from Karen offering to volunteer. She had never been to Fibre Week before - but just happened to be visiting Canada from her home in New Zealand.  Well what a stroke of good fortune. And as even more luck would have it - we were in need of a keynote speaker (due to unforseen circumstances). And Karen gladly stepped up. As it turns out Karen is already an established feltmaker in her own right. And she treated us to a wonderfully entertaining, insightful and enlightening presentation entitled  " How I sold my Landskin Wrap for $2000" 

Above is just one of Karen's magnificent felted pieces. It has reminded me why I saved all my felting books from the "Great 2012 sheepless books & Magazines Destash".

And last (but certainly not least) Fibre Week is an embracing environment where people share their knowledge and passions freely with others. The pave ways, decks, solariums, condos and dorms are  awash with positive energy. It is much more than just a conference - it truly is a retreat.

Many, many thanks to everyone who attends and supports Fibre Week. My special thanks to all the volunteers new and experienced who help each year - it couldn't be done without you!

My good morning view - handmade pottery yarn bowl by Heather Edwards - wrapped in a hand knit woolen embrace shawl by Deb - a perfect beginning and end to my everyday.

Weave, spin, knit, dye and sew - happy!