Knitting Novice

I started knitting just a few months ago, and am crazy about it!  Even though I can't do much beyond the basics, I love learning and trying out new stitches.  The hardest thing for me is learning to read a pattern, as it all seems to be a jumble.  I'm getting there, though, with a little help from my friends Betty, Barb, Judy and Ann. (Now I just have to convince Sharon and Darleen to join the craze!)

A hand-wound center-pull yarn cake

One of the things I just learned was a great way to hand-wind a center-pull yarn cake, using a #50 knitting needle as a base (you could also use an empty toilet paper roll or paper towel roll).  Here's a link to the Youtube video where I found this easy technique.

Here's my beautiful new yarn bowl,
for holding yarn balls as you knit.

 I ordered this lovely glazed stoneware yarn bowl on Etsy, from Hilal at New Moon Studios. I wanted a slightly larger one than what she offered, so she made it specially for me.

Now it's back to knitting and learning!

Teaching can be fun!

Last week I had the joy of presenting my lecture, "You Mean I Can Mail This?" at the Baytown Area Quilt Guild in Baytown, Texas.  This is such a friendly and welcoming guild that I enjoyed myself thoroughly, both before, during, and afterwards.

This one-hour lecture is about creating and mailing fiber-art postcards, which I have been doing for years.  It's so much fun to both send and receive these tiny works of art!

My dear friend Sharon Dixon, of Katy T-Shirt Quilts, accompanied me to be my "right-hand man," and also enjoyed the hospitality of this very fun guild.  Here are a couple of pictures from the evening.

Here is the display for my lecture,
"You Mean I Can Mail This?"
featuring fiber-art postcards received
from many friends, as well as my own.

This next picture is a bit fuzzy, but it was the best that Sharon's dear hubby could be expected to do with my cranky little camera.

Earlier that afternoon, Sharon and I
discovered that we like the same shirt!

Tracy Williams, Program Chair of the BAQG, posted this very nice write-up in their Newsletter:

Linda Teddlie Minton is a mixed media fiber artist who works out of her San Antonio studio. She often creates her own hand-dyed, painted, and manipulated fabrics for use in her art quilts.  

Surface design has led to further explorations in hand-crafted jewelry, watercolor and acrylic painting, as well as beading and bookbinding.  She has had work published in Karey Bresenhan’s book, Creative Quilting: The Journal Quilt Project, as well as in Quilting Arts Magazine.  Her small fiber-art group, FiberVoices, has also been profiled in the Quilting Arts October/November, 2013 issue.

She shows and sells her work in several Texas galleries, currently at The Copper Shade Tree, www.coppershadetree.com.   Her past and current work can be seen on her blog at http://fiberreflections.blogspot.com. 

Linda’s current passion is for small thread-painted pet portraits, and actually enjoys getting her hands messy with paints and dyes.  (She has virtually no paint-free t-shirts left in her closet!)   When asked how she balances her personal and professional life, she sometimes answers with a quote from Alice in Wonderland … “I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.”  Join us for a wonderful evening with Linda Teddlie Minton.

Thank you so much to the lovely Baytown Area Quilt Guild (especially to Program Chair Tracy Williams), and to my sweet friend and running buddy, Sharon Dixon.

"The Visitor" by Susan Fletcher King

My friend Susan Fletcher King has her Dinner @ Eight entry shown in the most recent Quilting Arts Magazine, and her image of  "The Visitor" art quilt is highlighted in today's issue of Quilting Daily. This is a fabulous piece, especially in person ... look for it at the Exquisite Moments exhibit at the Houston International Quilt Festival in a few weeks!

The Visitor
by Susan Fletcher King