Kalispell fiber artist Judie Overbeek is a spinner, weaver and dyer. She began weaving over 35 years ago with a two-harness table loom and an armful of acrylic yarns.

She began spinning about four years later in Australia while living there for two years. The women in the local guild taught her to spin on a drop-spindle and showered her with wool from their personal flocks of merino and merino cross sheep. Eventually one of them loaned her an Ashford spinning wheel and she was on her way.

After returning to Montana in 1977, Judie joined Alpine Weavers and Spinners, a guild of fiber enthusiasts, and has been a member ever since, enjoying the benefits of connection with talented and committed people locally and throughout the Northwest.

When weaving to sell, Judie produces only four items per warp varying the weft threads and weave structure to create four different pieces. Although this is not the most efficient "production" weaving system, it ensures that when Judie sells her work as art, each piece will be unique. This is also true of her dyed silk/velvet scarves. She has a small weaving studio on the top floor of her home and does all her dye work in the kitchen! Her spinning wheel sits in the dining room, at the heart of the house, and she spins whenever a few moments are available.

Adding a powder room is functional and fun. As long as you have 16 or more square feet you can fit one beneath a staircase or tuck one in an unused corner. They are convenient for your family as well as company. If space is limited you can use a small pedestal sink or corner sink instead of a traditional vanity This might be the perfect situation for a pocket door. You can keep the same flooring that is in the house or add a tile or slate floor.

While you'll want to keep the same style as in the rest of the house you can add your creative touch. Try using a darker shade of one of the colors in your house like red, dark green or blue or eggplant. This is just the place to use a vessel sink in an antique table or cabinet. Look in stores and consignment shops for the perfect mirror or sconces. Baskets can hold towels or you can add an attractive shelf above the toilet if you're tight on space.

An archaeologist was digging in the Negev Desert in Israel and came upon a casket containing a mummy. After examining it, he called the curator of a prestigious natural-history museum. "I've just discovered a 3,000 year-old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!" the excited scientist exclaimed.

To which the curator replied, "Bring him in. We'll check it out." A week later, the amazed curator called the archaeologist. "You were right about the mummy's age and cause of death. How in the world did you know?"

"Easy. There was a piece of paper in his hand that said, '10,000 Shekels on Goliath'."