Hi folks,

Some weeks are a slog, and I was fully prepared to ride the coattails of last Friday's (glitchy) newsletter launch with a week where I wasn't sure what direction I was going.

I'm happy to say that's not the case.

While last weekend's camping trip ended up being a bust, and a certain parcel company is ruining my life one delayed package at a time, it's been a pretty steady stream of progress since we packed it in and headed home.

Last Saturday, I scoped out a local craft fair as a future vending opportunity, and I was pretty pleased with it. Depending on booth cost, it's a nice location, not a far drive, and has good foot traffic. It's also not massive, so it would be a good starter show if nothing else. This weekend I'll be attending a night market, and next month I'm planning on going to a show up at the Mt. Charleston lodge to see how that venue is set up.

Living in Vegas, Mt. Charleston gives everyone a great opportunity to escape the summer heat. It's generally about 30 degrees cooler up top, so they can still have indoor/outdoor shows in the heat of July while the city itself is melting.

Of course, before I start applying for anything of that nature, I need to build up my skills and my stock!

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On the craftier side of the house, I really got down to business on some projects this week. My two Harrisville Shetland and handspun yak/merino/silk pieces -- a scarf and a table runner -- have been languishing on the work table for what feels like a couple months, just waiting for wet finishing. I realized about a month ago that I really cut the fringe too short to twist, and I could either wreck my hands twisting it anyway, or make my peace with having loose, fuzzy fringe. Today was the day, and they're drying on the rack right now.

Cue my better half scrunching his nose and saying, "It smells like lanolin in here."

I also crocheted a panel and a half of a boxy cropped tee, made with some deep stash handspun. I'm really pleased with it so far, and I've come a long way with my crochet consistency.

With Tour de Fleece* coming up, my spinning wheel and espinner need to be cleared for July's projects, so I spent some time winding and soaking some skeins that had been sitting on bobbins. There's a two-ply, a chain-ply, and two mini two-ply skeins. I still have some white alpaca to ply and a fractal spin to finish, so I'm not out of the woods yet, but there are fewer things on the docket.

* Tour de Fleece is a fun spinning event that follows along with the Tour de France cyclists as they race. You can learn more in the TdF Ravelry group, and several of us have created a streamer-centric team called Cyber Fibers as well (available on both Ravelry and Discord), if you're interested in joining!

In the weaving world, progress has been made on Big Yellow. Standing (okay, dancing) at the loom has been really good for me both physically and mentally, and the bright colors and rapid color changes keep me focused.

The big news in the weaving world, however, is that my Artisat floor loom is fixed! I've been in contact with Leclerc over the past few weeks to find a solution for my loom being out of square. On Thursday, I received replacement parts to build a new beater. They had built it at the shop and tested it on their display model, and then took it apart again to send to me.

Y'all, it works.

It turns out I had some twisted and/or warped wooden parts from the get-go, and swapping them out did the trick. I'm thrilled, and I'm already threading the warp that's been hanging on the back beam for three weeks.

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Outside of the craftmosphere, I made a bit of a snap decision last weekend and traded in my Gretsch Streamliner electric guitar for an Ibanez tenor acoustic. The electric had really just been languishing there, and I've wanted a tenor since before I bought the electric in the first place. I don't talk a lot about music in this space, but it's somewhat of a healing activity for me, and I'm happy to show you my complete family of stringed instruments. From left to right, there's a Lanikai tenor ukulele, an Ibanez tenor guitar, and an Ibanez concert acoustic. I love them all, and I play them all.

I think that's the first time I've typed "I play" in regards to guitar, rather than "I'm learning." Huh.

(I'm definitely still learning, but I'll stop to acknowledge the step forward.)

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And lastly, my ZZ is sprouting a new Z. 🌿

I'll be live on Twitch this Saturday at (or before) 9am PDT for coffee and crafting, and I hope to see you there! Bring your projects, your questions, and your stories, and we'll have a nice little morning together.

Take care,

🌺 Liz

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P.S. While I'm not working on anything using their yarns at the moment, I do have affiliate codes for both Crochet.com and Knit Picks. If you like the content I make, whether here, Instagram, or Twitch, and you're in the market for yarn, feel free to check them out. If you purchase using one of my links, I will receive a small commission, but you won't pay any more than normal.

P.P.S. I adore Knit Picks' Hawthorne Value Packs and I'm scheming about a way to use some for future weaving projects, especially that green one.