Pile of Craft is quickly approaching, and as you can imagine I’m pretty busy getting things organized and making things as quickly as my fingers can possibly move, but I wanted to take a break to give some updates and remind you of some other on-going projects.

Wire-shank-backed buttons covered in handwoven cloth. A limited number of sets are available in my online shop, but I’ll have many more to choose from at Pile of Craft and Artscape this summer, along with (hopefully) some other new products.

My Yo-Yo Quilt project is slowly progressing, and I’m updating the blog regularly with every submission. Above is a submission I recently received from one of my natural dye workshop students. As soon as I get more progress done on the actual quilt, I’ll post pictures of that too! If you go to the blog, you’ll see I haven’t exactly been flooded with participation, so if this seems like something you’d be interested in, please sign up or help spread the word! Storytelling and fabric are both very powerful things, and I’d love to get more exchanges going.

One more thing that I haven’t been advertising too much is a blog I started to chronicle, in a way, the work I do as a library assistant performing repairs on damaged books. The Endpapers Collection is a digital collection of scans of the end papers I have to clean out of old books before they can be repaired. Getting rid of beautiful paper in order to restore the integrity of the binding can be painful, but I love seeing the paper live on in this way. I only update as often as the books need repairs, but I would love for you to check back in with the blog; if you’re already on Tumblr, it’s easy to follow!

From the Collection

Oh, and one last thing. It seems to me that a lot of people are using Facebook these days, so if you don’t follow me on Twitter (you should, I’m a hoot! – if you like library jokes!), you can now become a fan of A Fiber Circus on Facebook. Many thanks!

P.S. Do you have a Facebook page for your business? Let me know, and we can be friends!

In other spending news, I made a huge leap (business investment!) and purchased this little guy:

It’s a Schacht Spindle Co. 4-Shaft Wolf Pup, and  I purchased it from a really delightful company called United Art and Education. I want to give them a big thumbs up because they offer great discounts and from my experience, they have a super customer service team. In 2-4 weeks, this little baby will be mine.

And with good reason. Two looms will will increase my productivity and will help me be a better weaver. Currently, with one loom + too many projects queued up, sometimes I find myself rushing through things to get myself to the next warp. I make changes for the sake of finishing something faster, and while my vision is never the same from start to finish anyways, I often wonder if my work suffers because of this. Two looms means more projects getting done more quickly, so I can work on production and personal work simultaneously.

This is all leading up to the answer to the question, why do I need to be more productive all of a sudden?- It’s Time To Mark Your Calendars!

Saturday, June 16th
Pile of Craft
2640 St. Paul, Baltimore

I have the distinct pleasure of having been juried in to the Charm City Craft Mafia’s annual Pile of Craft. I am very excited and honored to have the opportunity to sell my work alongside many Baltimore artists and crafters I’ve admired for years. It’s a little over  a month away, and it’ll be here before you know it!

July 20-22
Artscape
Brown Center, MICA, Baltimore

This is the second year the fabulous MICA Staff and Faculty will be selling their handmade wares during Artscape, Baltimore’s annual huge, free, fun arts festival. What makes our group the best, besides all the awesome stuff for sale? You can shop in sweet, sweet air conditioning in MICA’s Brown Center.

More updates leading up to these great shows will follow, as well as hopefully a few more exciting announcements.

Happy Spring!

I was very honored to wake up this morning and discover that I had been chosen to be the featured artist of the day over on TheCraftStar’s Facebook page.

TheCraftStar is a new online marketplace for handmade goods and supplies. They have yet to launch, but you can read more about the service by following the link above to Facebook or by following them on Twitter @TheCraftStar.

You can purchase the featured fabric here, and more is always available upon request!

Click above to view the project blog. It will only be updated as often as I get submissions, so submit away!

The Project

A separate blog for the project is on its way!

I am so excited to share this new product in my Etsy Shop! Each fabric covered button uses a remnant of my digitally printed fabric, both from my Circus series and my rug prints.

Each aluminum button is backed with a wire shank and is safe to throw in the washer or take to the dry cleaner. I’ll be making a lot more soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

If any of my readers are on Pinterest, please feel free to follow me and let me know if I should follow you too! (Click on the picture above to see my pin boards!) And don’t be shy- if you see something on my site or my Etsy that you like, feel free to pin away!

Four strand braid.

Ends and closure secured by wrapping and weaving thread around the leather. The loop is just tight enough to ensure the bracelet won’t slip off, but it’s easy enough to put on by myself.

Leather, linen, and wax linen thread.

___

Add a little charm…

I had a little late night inspiration after I completed the bracelet earlier today. I bought this little turtle in a boardwalk bead store many years ago. I think he is well suited to top off this project, don’t you think?