AN EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

A couple of weekends ago in Torrance, Ca. 

was the 

Southern California Weavers & Hand Spinning Guild's Annual Show,

and since I missed last year's show,

 I thought I might have to check it out and see if there was anything new.

One of my favorite booths was Wooly Walkers.

Una (owner) uses hand spun yarns and hand felted pieces

 to create beautiful punch rugs with embroidered areas.

This piece is her booth banner which is to die for.

One of these days when I am rich  LOL

I'd love to commission her make me an ARTISUN banner.

I just love how she uses both felt, yarn and other goodies in these works.

Another booth that grabbed me 

was the hand made wooden spinning and weaving tools.

I love products that are lovingly crafted from beautiful hardwoods.

And below,

this gal was using resins to create tiny leaves and flowers to embellish with.

I bought a sweet little set and gave them to senior Haphiba Kwon

for excellence in hand stitching on her Felt Basics piece

that I posted a couple of days ago.

She also was re-purposing vintage finds into necklaces and pins.

I might have both one of those. 

and maybe a few yards of antique trim as well. hee hee

And then I can't go to this show

 without stopping to say hello to my dear friend and mentor

 Lori Lawson of Capistrano Fiber Fame.

Lori was decked out in one of her glorious silk wraps that she had eco-printed.

And check out those adorable kitties in her basket.

Of course I couldn't leave without taking one home.

His name is Milo,

and the yarn is hand spun and hand knit by Lori.

Then off we went to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro.

Did I mention that I dragged my husband along for the ride?

He is such a good sport 

and would follow me thru the gates of hell

 if that was where I wanted to go  LOL

to a huge warehouse called CRAFTED.

One of my favorite things here was a banner that hung from the ceiling of the warehouse.

It was made entirely from recycled blue jeans into this large fish.

Pretty darn cool, 

right?

But it was Peggy Zask's Gallery space that stopped me dead in my tracks.

She is sculpting horses from a variety of found objects,

and using clay as her base foundation.

I must have spent at least 45 minutes with her,

chatting and trying to pick out my favorite piece.

This is the incredible beauty I settled on.

I just adore everything about it and have it sitting on my desk at school.

 It has inspired me to create a new assignment for my 3-D students.

What do you think???