God and Wool

Working with wool helps me to feel connected to God. When you wash sheep fleece for spinning yarn - it turns pure white as soon as you dip it in the warm soapy water. When I would prepare the fleece for spinning, it would make me think about the profoundness of God's Word in Psalm 51:7 - because the fleece would turn whiter than snow!

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me,

and I shall be whiter than snow."

It's not only one of the most perfect fibers to work with too, but it's also warm and protects us from the elements - just like God! When you work with the wool, it brings a sense of connectedness to Him. Working with wool can also help to bring you toward healing and wholeness. My friend had cancer and she started needle felting and working with fleece at that time. She mentioned that it was therapeutic for her to work with the wool and made her feel connected to Him.

Blind people can learn to spin yarn. Isn't this profound? Maybe not having to see as the yarn is spun can teach us something about faith!

Working with wool also gives you a sense of accomplishment, that you made something that has a purpose. Maybe God wants us to realize that He created us with a purpose too.

As a knitter, I feel it is a privilege to work with wool and I thank God that I learned how to knit, especially since it is the reason why I quit smoking cigarettes just about 25 years ago!

Stay Inspired! Don't be stressed; be blessed!

Wool and Prayer

Working with wool helps me to feel connected to God. I've often thought about the profoundness of wool. It's not only one of the most perfect fibers to work with, but it's also warm and protects us from the elements.

Whether you knit, crochet, felt, spin, weave, make rugs, or sew, just the act of working with wool is calming. It brings a sense of connectedness to God. Working with wool can also help to bring you toward healing and wholeness. It also gives you a sense of accomplishment that you made something that has a purpose. We have been compared to sheep in the Bible. Maybe God wants us to realize that He created us with a purpose too.

As a knitter, I feel it is a privilege to work with wool and I thank God that I learned how to knit, especially since it is the reason why I quit smoking cigarettes just about 25 years ago!

Stay Inspired and Have a Happy New Year!

• I have a special request: Please pray for my sister Karen, as she has an appointment with a surgeon this Friday, 1-2-09. Be sure to stop by Her Blog. You will love her creations!

Visit my other blog for inspiration: InHisFavor

Pink Felt!

Happy Pink Saturday!


Please be sure to check out the blog "How Sweet The Sound" to learn more about Pink Saturday. Thanks to Beverly for starting Pink Saturday!

It's another pink neck warmer this week, but this one is felted! It's so warm, light and easy to wear. I made it using pink dyed fleece, needle-felted and wet-felted, and then after fulling and drying, it was finished off with an unusual black button from Portugal. It will be featured in my Etsy store (http://pafiberartist.etsy.com/) this weekend.



I'm in a craft show next Saturday and in the final stages of building my inventory. I hope that it's busy! My Etsy store will be closed next weekend, but will re-open on Monday, 11/17.

I hope you are enjoying the music today by Kirk Franklin (Imagine Me) and Mary Mary (Thank You).

Have a nice Pink Saturday!

Felt Like Pink! Happy Pink Saturday!

Happy Pink Saturday! Thank you, Beverly from How Sweet The Sound, for creating Pink Saturday. Please click on this link to visit Bev's blog and visit the numerous Pink Saturday postings.


Today, I'm doing a felting demo to show how to make a Pink Felted Neckwarmer. I hope you enjoy it. It's done in the wet felted technique.

First, I took black wool felt that is very soft and added hand-dyed fleece pieces in the colors of shocking pink and mango, as well as a wool and silk yarn meandering throughout.

Next I placed the entire piece on top of bubble wrap, sprayed it with hot soapy water, put a layer of plastic wrap on top, rolled it up with the pool noodle, tied it all together with old knee highs, and rolled it back and forth a few hundred times to get the felting process under way.




You know it's starting to felt when you do a check. Unrolling the bubble wrap you can pinch the fibers to see if they have meshed together and interlocked. Also, the fibers begin to poke through to the other side of the piece. If not, just roll it up again and roll, roll, roll!

Next comes the fulling process, which is a process of repeatedly dropping the piece onto the work surface to helps the fibers to interlock and shrinks the felt a little more.


Finally, after letting it dry, blocking the piece, making a button hole, and sewing on the black button, here's the Pink Felted Neckwarmer!



It will be available on my Etsy shop sometime on Saturday morning. This is so soft, light, warm, and pink of course!

Also, today my sister Karen (from Karenharveycox.blogspot.com) and I want everyone to please visit our friend Judy's etsy shop. It's called JuJuzBeads's.

Judy makes beautiful pink seed bead peyote bracelets for breast cancer awareness. She is a breast cancer survivor herself and actually it was during that time that she discovered her hidden talent for bead weaving. Her bracelets are beautiful and she is such a survivor.

Judy had to go through a double mastectomy yesterday and my sister and I would like to encourage those of you who have an Etsy shop to please go to Judy's shop and heart her. She needs much encouragement. Please pray for Judy to have a speedy recovery and to continue to have faith and courage.

Thank you and have a nice Pink Saturday!

Seasons of Yarn

It's that time of year to start knitting, crocheting, and weaving. When you have lived in Vermont for as long as I did, the seasons of yarn crafts were something to look forward to. When it starts to get cold and there's the first snow, you need to stay warm and knitting is a great way to feel cozy and warm.

It's life transforming when you are able to attend a knitting bee in an old Vermont farmhouse, eat pumpkin soup and homemade bread, drink tea, and -- of course -- you knit something! Click, click, click go the needles, conversation, crackling fire, warmth, the smell of apple pie, and snow flurries!



Above you will see my latest fun-and-easy-to-wear neckwarmer, made with Noro 100% self-striping wool. Noro yarn is made in small batches in Japan by a very regal and nostalgic wool designer. Each batch is unique and special.

Also, take a look at the skinny scarf shown below. It's so soft and fluffy, light and warm too. This scarf is definitely a show-stopper! Very pretty and fashionable too. It's knit with turquoise alpaca yarn and calypso eyelash yarn, which creates a fun texture.

Including the fringe, this scarf measures 82" long by 2" wide. Wrap it around your neck a few times to create a fuzzy neckwarmer, wear it as a sash, or simply tie a French knot for a Parisian look.



If you have the time, try taking a knitting or crocheting class. You can learn to make beautiful gifts for your family, friends, and even yourself! If you want to see more of my items, please visit my etsy store at pafiberartist.etsy.com.

Have Some Coffee and Rugelach

There are so many artists and crafters who love having a nice cup coffee while they create. However, it's life transforming to include a nice piece of rugelach every once in a while! I love this food combination so much, that I decided to needle felt the two of them. The rugelach turned out to look like cinnamon.




I think the Corner Cafe Bakery makes some of the best rugelach in town. But don't forget to try the recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook . It's also excellent!


Bon appetit!