My Newcomb Weaver's Friend

I weave my Fleecyful Rugs on this Newcomb loom. My Aunt Jeannie found this loom when she lived in Lynn, Massachusetts many years ago. She gave it to me, well, quite some time ago, in the days before the Internet. 

So, I first set it up by trial and error. I've had it set up in several different configurations. I've taken it down moved it and reassembled it many times. Sometimes I mark the parts with masking tape to make it easier to put it back together. 

This week, I had someone message me that they had a friend who had acquired a Newcomb Weavers Friend and was attempting to assemble it. 

I said I'd be glad to take pictures of mine and how I have it set up and share them. 

I'm not saying this is the right way, but it works for me and I've woven several hundred rugs on this loom. 

If you have any questions, please either leave a comment or email me. 

And now I need to get back to weaving. 

 Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour is September 13-15, 2013. 

Visit our studio and sign up to win a hand-tied broom

In July, Shawn came up with the idea to thank our wonderful visitors at the Ozark Folk Center by giving away one item from each craft shop each day. The crafts people all thought it was a great idea and outdid each other creating wonderful items to give to the lucky winner of each day's drawing.

You might win a Turkey Wing broom similar to this one if
you enter the drawing at our Common Threads Studio
September 14-16, 2012.

Since it was his idea, Shawn took the responsibility for doing the daily drawing and over the month, he developed quite a patter. One of the early lines he came up with was, "Now ya'll know one of the conditions of the drawing is you must bring me presents to win." Then he'd pause and look over the crowd. "You didn't know that was one of the conditions?"
At that point, somebody either in the crowd, or one of the crafts people who knew the schitck would say, "No, it says here that you must be present to win."
And Shawn would go on to say how that was a typo, but he'd just have to abide by what was printed.

This is the first year Shawn will be offering his award-winning brooms at our home studio during Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour, September 14-16. To encourage people, especially those who have been here before, or (gasp) folks who aren't interested in sheep, to stop by, Shawn will be giving away one of his beautiful Ozark Turkey Wing brooms during the Tour. The drawing will be Sunday, September 16 at 4:00. You don't have to be present to win, we'll be happy to call you and you can either come by and pick up your broom, or we can mail it to you. However, you do have to physically come to our Common Threads Studio in Mountain View to enter the drawing.

Shawn also makes broom tying tables in his workshop.

So, check out the Studio Tour web site for the directions to all the fine studios and take a few minutes to swing by ours and at least congratulate Shawn on his National Craft Broom win and enter the drawing for one of his unique, hand-tied brooms.

Of course, if you want to feed the sheep, look at my shawls, handspun yards, bright dyed fibers or enter the drawing for one of my rugs, I'll be here too.


Hope to see you this weekend.

Win a Fleecyful Wool Rug

This coming weekend is the Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour September 14-16. Now in its 11th year, the tour is a free, self-guided driving tour of 30 artisans home studios within 30 miles of the Mountain View Courthouse Square. It gives visitors a rare chance to see working artisans in the environment that inspires them. And it gives you a chance to purchase unique items directly from the person who made them.

As long as the weather is good, all my Fleecyful Rugs
will be on the porch during Off The Beaten Path Studio
Tour, so you can shop for your perfect rug.

We've been doing the tour for several years now and have made many friends of the folks who visit our studio. This year, I want to say a special "thank you" to our friends.

Many of you know the rugs I weave from my sheep's wool. These Fleecyful Rugs are incredibly comfortable, durable, washable, and unique. Each rug is a one-of-a-kind, woven from an entire fleece that one of our sheep took an entire year to grow. Every dollar we get from the sale of these rugs goes back into the care and feeding of our rare Jacob Sheep and Angora goats.

Boomer says "Thank you very much for buying Fleecyful Rugs so
I can keep my girlfriends."

I've been weaving steadily this summer and have a good selection of rugs ready for buyers to choose from at the Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour September 14-16. Now I need your help to get the word out about these rugs.

To thank you for sharing the word, I'll be giving away two rugs at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 16.

There are two ways to win -

1. Come by our Common Threads Studio and sign our guest book, leave a good contact email or phone number, check the box that you want to enter the rug giveaway, and tell us who recommended you visit our Studio.

2. Be the person who is most listed in the "Who recommended that you visit our Studio" column.

So, plan a girl friend's weekend trip to Mountain View, bring your husband for a fun weekend getaway (there are lots of places to hike and fish if he isn't into crafts) or if you really can't make it to Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour, send all your friends and tell them to bring you back cool stuff.

You just might win a really awesome rug for helping promote this creative group of artisans and beautiful area of Arkansas .

The best broom makers in the USA are mine

This year my partner Shawn and my daughter Lena were invited to send brooms to compete in the Arcola Illinois Broom Corn Festival.  Arcola is the broom corn capitol of the world, where I understand that modern broom corn was developed in 1859. It still is home to several top US broom manufacturers. The first prize for the champion broom was $600.

Shawn Hoefer, reigning champion craft broom maker. See
how he weaves the color twist up into the plait.

Elena Larson's broom won honorable
mention.

So they worked all summer on their ideas for these special brooms. The brooms could be artful, but they had to be a working broom. Shawn went through several prototypes for his winding, twisted plait broom with a swash that he did with autumn colors that he dyed to match the handle that he had polished from a really nice hickory. Lena's showed off her incredible attention to detail with a blend of colors and a fine herringbone plait on a really gorgeous hand finished handle.

Detail of the fine stitching, plaiting and color blending that mark Elena's brooms

They shipped off their brooms a few weeks ago and I didn't hear any more. But yesterday afternoon, we were sitting in a Thai restaurant in Mountain Home when Shawn pulls out his iphone and says, "The broom judging should be finished." He got quiet and handed me the phone. Out of all the broom makers in the nation - Shawn Hoefer was first place. and down the line, Lena was 4th. We have the nations best broom makers right here.

I'm so proud of my broom makers. and this year, for the first time, Shawn will be offering his brooms for sale in his Studio during the Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour. Come by and see the broom maker in his native habitat September 14-16, 2012.

Feed the sheep

Tillie says "Fill the bucket for the pretty goat?"

We still do a few shows every year. I love to weave and spin the fleece from my sheep and angora goats and make beautiful rugs and shawls. Shawn is a fantastic wood carver and world-class broom maker. Lena's talents are across the board, right now she is focusing on making great brooms. All these items will be at our Common Threads studio on our farm in two weeks. Most facets of my life are now involved in getting ready for Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour. At work, I'm trying to make sure all contingencies are covered so I can be away for three days.

Fantasia says, "I'm too elegant to beg for food."

And here on the farm I'm trimming toes, seeing who needs to be sheared this fall and generally making all the critters pretty for company. I'm also mowing the paths (yes, we did get a little rain out of hurricane Isaac), cleaning up the accumulated junk, trying to decide what to do with the garden and prettying up the sights and site.

In the studio, I'm frantically finishing projects and working on getting a new warp on the Newcomb so that I can demo weaving during the tour. I have about 25 rugs finished, as well as about a dozen shawls and a couple dozen skeins of yarn. I've dyed up lots of pretty bright colored mohair locks.

We do Studio Tour for many reasons. I love to share our crafts and critters with people who are interested. I love to make things, and I don't like to accumulate things. I like to share the comfort and happiness of our farm with people through the items I make from the fleeces my critters grow. I enjoy being a part of the circle of the animals on my farm connecting through me to people in the city. And, we need to make money to buy feed for the sheep and goats. My sheep get to live long, productive, comfortable, beloved lives because I use their wool to make things that people buy. I do spin  straw into gold, it just takes a few extra steps and at least a year.

Hocus Pocus, now you love sheep.

 In an average year, we buy 300 bales of hay. This is not an average year. Every penny we make at shows, in the Arkansas Craft Guild Gallery and at Christmas Showcase goes to feed and care for our sheep and goats. This year, with feed prices so very high, we are asking our critters to be ambassadors, as well as growing fleeces. I think they can do both at the same time. They don't mind, as long as the food keeps coming.

I'm thinking of making "Feed the sheep" trading cards and running "Feed the sheep" promotions.
Which of these girls would you like to see on a trading card?
Who is your favorite sheep?
Collect all 30 sheep and goats.... What do you think?

Leave a comment here with your favorite sheep and I'll send you a trading card when I get them printed. Share the information about Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour with your friends. We'd love to see you here at the farm, and I'll say "thank you" for the sheep.

Henna and Harley, the dairy goat twins love their grain

Fritillary says, "Fluffy little butterfly
goats have to eat well to grow good fluff."

At 13 years of age, Thyme eats
special pellets. She doesn't
have any front teeth.

Finesse says, "THBbbbbbt!"

Basil is granddam to most of the flock and a loving mother.

Boo -boo is super serene, perhaps to make
up for her name.

Gobi looks so goofy she makes me laugh. Her fleece is so
soft, I'm currently weaving a shawl on the triloom with
yarn I spun from her first shearing.

Heather likes hay. Heather likes people who feed her hay.

Hanna is quietly growing into a beautiful ewe.

Higgs! Don't forget Higgs! Higgs will give you hugs.

Demi says, "look, my feed pan is empty, again!"

Pondering giveaways

August 2012 is the month of giveaways here in my little corner of the Ozarks.

First, Shawn had the idea to give away an item each day in the Craft Village at the Ozark Folk Center State Park as a way to thank our visitors for coming to see us. Every craftsperson was very generous. Some created unique items just to give away. Others donated several items to give to visitors on their featured day.

Almost every item went to someone who appreciated and loved it. There was one 13-year-old-girl who was visiting for her birthday. When she won the turquoise earrings designed and created by Linda Widmer she was ecstatic. Her parents agreed to let her get her ears pierced that day as a birthday present.

Nita Reuter of Hot Springs, Arkansas, loved the broom made by Shawn
Hoefer that she won in the August Craft Village Giveaway.

Or Nita Reuter of Hot Springs who just glowed with happiness when she won the Tom Turkey Wing broom made by Shawn. "I've been praying so hard that I'd win," she said. "I've never won anything in my whole life." She hugged her broom around the whole craft village for the rest of the day.

These little presents have added a bright spot to our quiet August days.

Then along came the Arkansas Women Blogger's Unplugged (#AWBU). There were giveaways on top of giveaways. Every session started off with drawings for items donated by sponsors. Every attendee received a bag of gifts from sponsors. Every woman there got a free pair of boots from Country Outfitter and is getting another free pair of boots to give away on her blog. (sneak peak - I'll be giving mine away in October). Obviously, free giveaways are a good way to promote your business, product, web site or blog.

With this experience in mind, I am working on creating a giveaway to promote the Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour.  The tour is coming up Sept. 14-16, and I want to get as many people as possible to come to as many studios as possible - including ours. I want to get people to pick up the tabloid publication that talks about the tour and has each artisan's contact information. I want to encourage people to visit and get to know these talented artists. I'm just not quite sure how to put it together, yet.

If you have ideas for a giveaway that would work to promote the tour, let me know. I think I'll go weave a bit before bed. My brain gets its best ideas when I let it go off to play while I weave.