Don't try this at home!

Monday I decided I needed to add a little lift to the color of my hair so I bought the Garnier kit to add a few little skinny streaks of highlights. YIKES! The gloves were so clumsy I couldn't get little pieces of hair and then a big blob of stuff fell off the application comb and left a wide clump of color instead of a skinny streak. Plus instead of a golden highlight (as described in the booklet) I got orange streaks...ORANGE!!! It was hideous! So after my chiropractor appt. I drove down the street to a shop I've never been to before and don't know anyone who has ever been there, but I took a leap of faith. When I walked into the shop it was bright, clean, neat, tranquil, had a little bar with complimentary coffee, tea, and water with thinly sliced lemons and oranges floating lazily in the lovely silver cooler, there was a hint of classical music hovering in the background. I felt like I was home again! Aaahhhh.....I spoke to the receptionist. Well actually I almost cried "HELP" to the receptionist and, knowing that I was taking a chance, I asked if anyone in the shop had time to do a color repair and a haircut. She perused the computer screen with a combined look of pity and horror on her face. Meanwhile, I was doing my best poor puppydog face. She tried gently to tell me she wouldn't have time to squeeze me in today, but possibly tomorrow. I screamed in my head! I CAN'T GO ON THURSDAY. I HAVE A DENTAL CLEANING APPOINTMENT AND I CAN'T GO TO THE DENTIST LIKE THIS! Okay, calm myself, you can do it Jody....I was prepared to leave and come back the next day when the dear girl asked me to wait a minute. She left to speak to the owner Sherry, bless her heart, came back and said there was a cancellation, if I would like to see Breanna, she would give me a consultation and see what she could do. IF I WOULD LIKE! I almost bowed down and kissed her feet! And I have to say all the ladies in the shop were very tactful. No one pointed fingers and laughed, although it would have been perfectly warranted. And in no time at all, Breanna was hard at work fixing the awful things I had done to my hair. Now one thing I forgot to mention is that it has been about four years since I have been able to find a hairdresser I like. And believe me I have been looking! So desperation makes one do funny things. But I felt confident in Breanna's hands. She was young and pretty (I didn't hold that against her) and I could tell by the way she touched my hair and moved it around that she knew what she was doing. We talked about my ability to style my own hair and I told her the most compliments I ever got were when I cut it myself. And believe me I listened for the snickers as the person walked away and there were none. So I guess they really liked the cut. Anyway, we decided together to go with lowlights and a smooth assymetrical haircut. Two hours later Breanna and I were thrilled with the results! My hair is now back to a normal color with warm, caramel lowlights and the cut is the cutest I have had since my eight year stint with my favorite Kelly (who got married and had kids and moved away, WHAT'S WITH THESE GIRLS? DON'T THEY KNOW THEY ARE THERE TO TAKE CARE OF US!?) Breanna was so impressed with her own work, she was miffed that she hadn't taken a before and after photo. Not that I would have let her take the "before" version. The best part of all is that I have found a new hairdresser...for now. She just got married in December! DARN!

Interview with the artist

Here is Kathleen with one of her knitted gems.

And here is the Blue Ribbon Winner!
If you look a couple of posts back you will see the one about Kathleen winning a blue ribbon for her hooked rug at the Newtown Hooked Rug Show in Connecticut. I asked her about the work that went into making one of these beauties and was surprised at the answer. It was quite the undertaking, not at all like going to the craft store and choosing a canvas and the cut pieces of wool in the colors you need.

Kathleen took lessons from Anna Walsh of Delmar, New York back in the 1950's while she was also raising five young children. She took advantage of afternoon nap time to work on at least five different Currier and Ives still life designs. She said someone would draw the design outline in black on burlap and then the canvas had to be tied with old nylon stockings onto a wooden frame, which Kathleen's husband, Tom, made for her. Then the real work began. Kathleen took old clothing and cooked it on the stovetop in Tide detergent to remove all the color. She said the whole house would smell like cooked laundry! Then she had to use a special kind of dye and make the color swatches she knew she would need to color, shade and highlight the subject of her hooked painting. Those swatches became the pallet to which Kathleen referred when dyeing for the actual rug. When she finished dyeing the fabric , she then had to run it through a device with cutting wheels of different widths to get the desired width strips for hooking. It took Kathleen about three months to complete her Blue Ribbon Masterpiece.

Before her husband retired, he had one of her art pieces hanging on the wall of his office. Her children and her sister have some also. One time, Kathleen's daughter, Pat, was browsing through an estate sale and found a print of one of the rugs Kathleen had hooked. So as a surprise gift to her, Pat had it framed and Kathleen still has it with the rug.

We should have known that Kathleen would win a Blue Ribbon. She won first prize for an art project all the way back in 5th grade while growing up in Kansas. Kathleen we would love you even if you didn't win a Blue Ribbon. That just puts the icing on the cake!

Feel the Fiber, Smell the Fiber, BE the Fiber...

It was a glorious day at the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, New York. The air was crisp and cold, the sunshine was warm. Elaine, her friend Jill, and I arrived at 8:45AM before the all traffic jams.

We pushed on, head first, into the wonderful world of colors and textures.
Elaine and Jill were absolutely giddy with delight at the prospect of all the selections.
My first purchase was a cute little angular scarf pattern. I was trying to start out with some restraint. HA! That didn't last long!
We saw cuddly soft baby alpacas...
regal llamas....
the sweetest little sheep...
cutest little lambs....
and the most beautiful colors of all were from Mother Nature herself.
We stopped in to say hi to Karin as she worked the Sliver Moon booth. She's on the left advising a customer on some yarn selections.
The rovings were dyed with breathtaking colors. If I were a spinner I could easily be tempted.
Some of the ready made garments were spectacular too.
I was sidetracked watching the spinners working their delicate craft.
And saw a mother/daughter team trying out some modern looking wheels. Start them young!
The live entertainment by a Peruvian Pipe band was a perfect compliment to the excitement in the air.
We stopped for lunch of delicious pot pies and lamb sandwiches. But this wasn't it! LOL! Someone was dyeing wool with all natural ingredients.
The talent overflowed everywhere as can be seen here in these hand felted blossoms.
Handmade baskets were everywhere too. I had a hard time walking away from this booth.
We stopped for a moment to admire the babbling brook, which even at the end of the growing season still looked beautiful and inviting.
And I have no words appropriate to give justice to the beauty of this gossamer lace shawl.
By 12:30PM we had seen all there was to see, touched all the fiber our hands could handle, and admired some of the most beautiful handmade sweaters, shawls and scarves that fellow knitters wore to the celebration. It was time to go home, although the pull was strong to stay a little while longer. There is something special about the art of creating. It brings the best out in people. And the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck is the best!