New Website & New Ants in the House

Plants in the House | Webster Fiber Arts
| Annie

Hi folks,

The plants are in! In fairness to Mike, I should note that I only moved about five of the plants inside, then I had to leave for an appointment, so Mike moved the rest of them, including the big ficus trees. They are so heavy. We still need to do some rearranging, and we still need to let some ants find their way out of the pots and into the outdoors (or into the ant traps). I sprayed the plants down with a soap on Tuesday, but it didn’t do much for the ants hiding in the soil. Oh well. Here they are, in all of their glory:

Our Houseplants | Webster Fiber Arts

And one more new thing: this website! I have been doing work behind the scenes to get ready for the switch to this new site. I’m hoping this site will be a little cleaner, more visible to the internet world, and less work (and, honestly, money) for me to maintain. All of my handmade pieces are on Etsy now (you should go check out my shop), and I have galleries of them here. I’m still working on making galleries for all of the print-on-demand pieces, but the main focus of this site is the blog. I’m not sure the world knows that I blog as often as I do, so here it is, front and center. Hooray!

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Pumpkin Spice Cowl

Pumpkin Spice Cowl | Webster Fiber Arts
| Annie

Hi folks,

Oooooh, it is getting chilly here. We are supposed to have our first frost tonight here in Kansas City, which means I have a day of moving house plants inside ahead of me. We don’t use our dining room as a dining room. We use it as a place to keep our houseplants about half of the year. Unfortunately, we had some rain last night, so all of the plants are going to be nice and wet for their trip inside.

I have a new cowl to share with you today, one that is perfect for this kind of weather. This is the Pumpkin Spice Cowl:

Pumpkin Spice Handmade Cowl | Webster Fiber Arts | Etsy

Aren’t these colors wonderful? The pumpkin-y oranges, the squash-y golds, the nutmeg-y tans—they are all rich and wonderful. This is a lightweight yarn, so this cowl will provide more color than warmth, but if you are like me and get hot easily, this one is about perfect.

See more photos and purchase this cowl on Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Rainbow Blues Scarf

Rainbow Blues Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts
| Annie

Hi folks,

I have another piece that uses yarn I got on my field trip to Columbia this spring. This is the Rainbow Blues Scarf:

Rainbow Blues Handmade Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts | Etsy

I love the rainbow of colors in this wool yarn. It isn’t a traditional rainbow, but it hits most of the high points—red is replaced with pink, and there’s no green. Blue is dominant in this yarn, and I think it is just lovely.

See more photos and purchase this scarf on Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Caramel Royal Handmade Cowl

Caramel Royal Cowl | Webster Fiber Arts
| Annie

Hi folks,

The colors in this cowl say “fall” to me. They also say “candy” to me. This is the Caramel Royal Cowl:

Caramel Royal Handmade Cowl | Webster Fiber Arts | Etsy

I got this yarn on a trip to Columbia, Mo earlier this year. It is luscious and wonderful. The colors in it remind me of those Brach’s Pick-a-Mix Milk Maid Royal candies. I see the caramel color here, as well as the brown, orange, pink, of the chocolate, orange, and raspberry flavors.

See more photos and purchase this cowl on Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Broken Maroon Infinity Scarf

Broken Maroon Infinity Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts
| Annie

Hi folks,

How’s it going out there? It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in Kansas City—sunny and in the upper 60s. It is really starting to cool down. It is going to be time for cuddly scarves before we know it. And it just so happens I have a new one to show you today. This is the Broken Maroon Infinity Scarf:

Broken Maroon Infinity Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts | Etsy

I loom knit this piece with the same hand dyed yarn I used for my Maroon & Gray Neck Warmer. The long stitches in this infinity scarf make a diagonal stripe pattern that I really like.

See more photos or purchase on Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Parade Day Scarf

Parade Day Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts
| Annie

Hi folks,

As I type this, there is a wonderful man cleaning the gross leftover flood dirt out of our basement. We are almost done with the flood saga. Yay!

Today’s scarf goes back to a beautiful day in November of 2015, when Mike and I and 800,000 other folks gathered in downtown Kansas City to cheer our returning World Champion Kansas City Royals. It was an amazing day. I still kind of can’t believe we were there, since Mike and I are not really “go where the crowd is” kind of people, so when we decided to go, I knew that it was going to be a huge event.

Mike’s office was on the parade route, so I went into work with him early that Tuesday so we could park in the parking garage of his building. A lot if his co-workers brought their families with them for the event, so there wasn’t a whole lot of work getting done. There was mostly a lot of talking, introducing, and trips to the window to see how many people were accumulating outside (“a ton” was always the answer, and always correct).

While we waited for the parade to begin, I took to crocheting:

Waiting for the Royals Parade | Webster Fiber Arts

I didn’t get much more done that this, which was for the best because I pulled it out and decided to go with a different stitch.

We waited a bit too long to head down to the parade route from the office, so our early arrival didn’t equal good viewing. This is what I saw for most of the parade:

My View of the Royals Parade | Webster Fiber Arts

I could wiggle around a little and make out a few things. I saw the trophy (sort of), I got to squeal with delight when I saw a bit of Salvador Perez (he’s my favorite), and I saw General Manager Dayton Moore very clearly. Despite my shortness and lack of ability to see, it was still a completely awesome experience.

Then it took us like an hour just to get out of the parking garage.

Despite frogging the initial stitches I made on this one while waiting for the parade, I still associate this piece with that day. Here is the finished scarf. This is Parade Day:

Parade Day Handmade Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts | Etsy

Continue reading →

New Piece: I Hope Shirley Approves Shawl

I Hope Shirley Approves Shawl | Webster Fiber Arts
| Annie

Hi folks,

I really love this shawl! Like really love it. This is I Hope Shirley Approves:

I Hope Shirley Approves Handmade Shawl | Webster Fiber Arts | Etsy

Who is Shirley you ask? Well, I don’t know Shirley. She appears to be the mother of Stephanie, who is the yarn dyer behind The Hen House in Texas. I picked up this yarn at the Overland Park Quilt Show last year, where The Hen House was selling their wares (they had a huge booth with tons of yarn, patterns, kits, and quilting things, too). My favorite was this multi-colored yarn, sort of a muted rainbow of colors, called “Shirley’s Favorite.” Knowing this was Shirley’s favorite put the pressure on to make something nice—I always want to do the yarn justice when I make pieces, but this time, it was serious.

I created a granny shawl with the yarn because I love granny shawls and the skein had enough yards to make a good sized one. This piece is 54 inches across from tip to tip, which means you can wear it over your shoulders or around your neck bandana-style. I added a little picot edging down the sides of the triangle to finish off the piece.

And since this is Shirley’s favorite yarn, I thought I would keep her in the name of the shawl. I hope she would approve.

See more photos or purchase in my Etsy shop.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Cherry Cola Scarf

Cherry Cola Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts
| Annie

Hi folks,

Like the scarf I shared with you yesterday, this piece goes back about a year, too, though it has been complete for quite a while now. It fell through the cracks in getting posted, and then it fell through the cracks in getting blogged about. This is the neglected Cherry Cola Scarf:

Cherry Cola Handmade Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts | Etsy

I dyed this yarn using Wilton’s Color Right food dyes. I like using the Color Right dyes because they can be released from the bottle by the drop, so I can get some fairly exact colors without messy measuring, and they are food safe, so I don’t have to put on my mask, or worry about contaminating pots and pans or spoons or tongs or whatever when I use them.

You can see more pictures and purchase this scarf in my Etsy scarf.

Until next time,
Annie