I am so fortunate to have such amazingly creative friends. And not only are my friends creative, but they are kind and generous. My friend Jill, whom I have known since junior high, makes beautiful jewelry. This week she surprised me with a gorgeous necklace made of faceted aquamarines and a hand-hammered clasp, as well as two pair of earrings, one made with blue topaz (which also happens to be my birthstone) and the other with aquamarines. And just like that I have my something new and something blue! I can scarcely believe how lucky I am. I really wish I could take a photo that does these pieces justice.   

My latest free project for Schacht Spindle Co. is now available by clicking here. Using a beautifully soft and squishy Habu wool, I wove a 2/2 twill using crammed and spaced warp threads to create an undulating effect. It's my favorite project yet, and I am quite sure I'll be wearing it as a big warm scarf once fall rolls around.

My guild, NOBO (North of Boston) Handweavers, inspires me every single month. Not only are they the loveliest bunch of people ever to assemble in a single room, but they are all so clever and interesting. Susan wrote a great post about our last meeting which you can read here. Our May meeting will take place at an alpaca farm. How much closer to fiber-y inspiration can you get than that?
 
I must say that I was totally blown away by a very special wedding gift given to me (and my sweetheart) by my fellow guild member and friend Kathie. She made this trivet for us, and I just can't stop looking at it. Last month, Kathie and her brother presented an array of fiber-related tools and other miscellaneous cool things they had made and embellished on their own. Kathie's brother is a blacksmith, and there was a bit of a steampunk feel to everything, which I think is so cool. Creativity clearly runs in the family. To have an original "Kathie" makes me pleased as punch. 

Yesterday was Patriots' Day. Originally meant to commemorate the battles of Lexington and Concord, it has morphed into quite the local holiday. In addition to battle reenactment, typically there is a Sox game (which we won handily) and of course there is the Boston Marathon. Back when I was as student at Wellesley College, this was quite possibly my favorite day on campus. By the end of the day one's hand was inevitably scummed up with an accumulation of goodness knows what from slapping the hands of runners passing by hundreds of screaming Wellesley undergrads through what is affectionately called "the wall of sound". It would take a couple of days for your vocal chords to recover from the exertion of screaming words of encouragement to the runner passing by. Apparently this year they were handing out kisses. Hmm...