Roc Day Fiber Sandwich

Never mind that the overnight temperature was 30 degrees below zero. On Saturday, January 9, Roc Day at Groton's Community Center went on as scheduled. 29 fiber artists from North and South Dakota and Minnesota gathered at the Groton Community Center for a day of spinning, great eats, and visiting.

I've always wanted to be part of a "fiber sandwich" creation, and this was my opportunity. Thirteen of us brought fiber in roving, batts, and spinners web to be layered into the sandwich. Here Jessica and company layer the many colors of fiber.


After the sandwich was complete, it was layered into 13 sections. Each contributor brought home 5 colorful ounces. Can't wait to spin mine!


A highlight of Roc Day was a side trip to Kelly Knispel's Dakota Carding and Wool. Kelly has a fabulous new building on her farm to house her commercial carder and provide space for scouring and dyeing natural fibers. Kelly has a wonderful eye for color, demonstrated in her house blends of spinning webs and handspun yarns. We are fortunate to have such a great business close by.

Making Zipper Brooches

Inspired by those on Etsy, my hand-sewn zipper brooches were an immediate sell-out at Winterfest. Since then friends, relatives and I have been on the lookout for vintage metal zippers. On Thanksgiving vacation, the family put an extra 40 miles on the car, driving to thrift shops between Aberdeen, SD and Waseca, MN. I'm learning that some colors, like reds and black, are hard to come by. There's an abundance of zippers in 70's oranges and golds. I love making these brooches, especially picking out the color combinations for each.

The brooches are all hand-sewn- no hot glue involved. The downside is that I get very sore fingers from pushing and pulling a needle through the zippers. Have never used a thimble, but may have to give it a try. These made wonderful Christmas gifts!

Aberdeen Winterfest 2009

Our holiday arts and crafts show, Winterfest, takes places every year the weekend before Thanksgiving. This is the one show I participate in. It's fun to be part of the annual event, enjoy the music and food, and visit with friends and neighbors.


I so enjoy looking on my work of the past year with a feeling of accomplishment. I'm grateful for the opportunities to be creative and do what I love to do.


I've worked at trying new, original designs this year. The display is beginning to have it's own "Betty" look, and I've gotten great comments and sales on the new designs.


This year we "bit the bullet" and purchased a canopy and lighting for the display. My husband, Skip, adds the expert lighting and set-up touches.

Urban Meets Prairie

Taking photos of the Prairie Muffler with my youngest son, Ryan, as a model was great fun. We drove around Aberdeen, in search of the perfect background.

These shots were taken in front of an old brick warehouse along the central railroad tracks. You can see part of the stenciled lettering of "FLOUR".

The best part of the photo shoot was seeing what a handsome young man my son has grown into!

"B" is for Baktus

One of the blogs I enjoy reading on a regular basis is, "The Nerd and the Needles" by Strikkelise, from Norway. Her Baktus scarf pattern has really caught on, with hundreds of photos of finished Baktus' (should I say, "Backti"?) on Flickr and Ravelry.


Not being the speediest knitter, I made the Baktus using a yarn over (drop stitch) on round 3.

The Baktus in these photos was knit on US size 11 needles, with 2 different colorways of Katia Jamaica, yarn held double throughout. I like the interesting neutral-colored stripes that resulted.

Once again, credit goes to sisters Heidi and Mari for the beautiful photos.

New Fashion Cowl: Betty's Prairie Muffler

Missoni, 2009

Oversized cowls, like these in the Missoni collection, have made such a strong fall fashion statement this year.

I wanted to put my own stamp on a cowl design:
-one that buttons, rather than pulls over the head;
-that is long enough to be wrapped once, twice or thrice;
-that is sturdily crocheted to maintain shape.

The result is Betty's Prairie Muffler!

Here are some wonderful photos of the Prairie Muffler, taken by Heidi for my Etsy shop. The model is her sister, Mari. The photos are taken on their family farm in Frederick, South Dakota. Isn't the rural setting a perfect backdrop to show off this new accessory!



The top three cowls are crocheted in Cascade 128 Tweed. The bottom two are in Kertzer's Northern Chunky. Watch for the Prairie Muffler pattern in my Etsy shop after the holidays.

Summer Accessories

When I think of the perfect summer accessory, I think of a white shawl- something that can be dressy or casual, something to provide a bit of warmth in air conditioning.

I crocheted this shawl from Freedom Cotton, using the "My Blue Jeans Shawl" pattern and adding a scallop edging. The shawl was originally intended for my Etsy shop, but I just couldn't give it up!


I've been wanting to find a project for Louisa Harding Fauve yarn. It's soft and slightly stretchy. Knit this garter stitch cowl- a quick and easy project that suited the yarn perfectly. The flower is knit from Harding's Kimono ribbon.