classes | Thespunmonkey's Blog

Remember when I used to tell you when I was going to be somewhere?

Yep. Me, too.

So, I cleaned some old junk off the sidebar and made up a pretty little list…it’s a place I plan to keep neat and tidy and…get this: updated. I know, I know…this is coming from the gal who forgot to even post a reminder about Baz Biz over the holidays. This is a bit of that Forward March I’ve been feeling…it’s a new year. And it’s shiny. Gonna keep it that way.

Here’s a breakdown of now thru June…busy, busy!

*this Saturday, March 26th!* Brattleboro Winter Farmer’s Market from 10am-3pm Post Oil Solutions @ the River Garden on Main St in Brattleboro, VT. Please join us for the last Winter Farmer’s Market of the season!

*May 6 from 6pm-9pm and Saturday May 7 from 10am-6pm* Twist Fair @ the Northampton Center for the Arts in Northampton, MA. 60+ fabulous vendors. VIP passes are available for early admission on Friday night.

*Saturday, May 21 from 10am-3pm*
Jamaica Fiber Festival @ the Jamaica Town Hall, Jamaica Village, VT. Local fiber folk with their wares, alpacas and bunnies, oh my!

*Saturday, June 4th from 10am-6pm*
Queen City Craft Bazaar @ the Union Station at One Main St in Burlington, VT. This one is a new event for me with 40+ juried Vermont indie crafters.

The task for April is to work hard on the Dyeworks and Lounge, hopefully to have an opening celebration sometime in May. So far, we have lumber for all the work tables and shelving and C may begin work on that important piece of the space as soon as tomorrow. I cannot wait to see how it all comes together…

Oh, and there’s this: CAMP PLUCKYFLUFF VT! I can’t think of a better way to christen the new workshop space than to invite Lexi back for another round of Camp Pluckyfluff. It’s happening the weekend of June 25/26, people, and I also can’t think of a better time to come and play in VT, so…sign up! Advanced and first-time students are welcome. Go HERE and scroll down for registration details.

And and and…April 9th I will be teaching a workshop on cobweb felt at Knit or Dye in Brattleboro, VT. Contact Rachel at 802-258-9100 to sign up!

Whew! I think that’s enough for now. Time for tea.

Yesterday, we had our third swarm in two weeks.

This time it was a bowling ball-sized clump up in the pear tree. I didn’t get a picture, as it would have involved getting up on the ladder without protective gear, but C was able to clip a branch with about one third of the bees attached. He placed it in his hand-built skep and while we ate our dinner, the rest of the clump moved right on in!

It was mid-afternoon when the swarm was noticed, and so there wasn’t any time to lose in hunting down another box. C whipped up this skep in less than thirty minutes from a woven basket we used to keep toys in. Since we didn’t have any cow manure on hand for a more traditional variety, C mixed up a little plaster to cover the outside of the basket, set it on a base that provided them with an entry/exit point and voila! Home Sweet Buzzy Home.

As of this morning, there is not a bee left in the pear tree, and only a few still lingering on the rose arbor.

The box and skep are now ocupado and we have a stack of books on beekeeping from the library.

In other news, I am likely to update the shop this weekend…there are tons of wool bits for crafters, perhaps a few yarns. I am hoarding for several reasons, however…MDSW is coming up, where Cloverhill Yarn Shop will have my wares, Purl Jam is opening up in Califon, NJ with a selection of Monkeyspun, and Bazaar Bizarre at Maker Faire is fast approaching. I will do my best, though, to keep the shop in order, and also to provide Urban Fauna Studio some fresh yarns. In the meantime, I will be teaching an art yarn workshop there this weekend and will be scheduling felting workshops as well as new installments of the SpinLab series of classes. Contact me to sign up for the newsletter if you are local to any these areas and would like a reminder! And please let me know if you have any special requests for workshops in the SF or East Bay Area.