More new yarns!

So, it was definitely a weekend of spinning! Besides going out for a late lunch/early dinner on Saturday, I spent most of the weekend spinning. I already posted what I finished on Friday and Saturday, so here is what I did on Sunday. All of these pictures were taken before "setting the twist" . .

Tangled Up In Blue handspun yarn--this one was spun from a carded batt from the Yarn Wench! I plied it with blue thread. It is my favorite of the weekend, I think:

Then, I spun up the 8 oz of handdyed wool I had from The ArtsAtEaglesFind, colorway called Tequila Sunrise. The first 4 oz were split and spun into two art yarns, including one new Hello Kitty skein!


And, the second 4 oz were spun into a "two ply with flair", meaning a two ply with tons of handdyed Romney and Cotsworld locks spun in! The locks were dyed by the Yarn Wench.


I feel alot better, now, that I've got some spinning done! I've got some plans for specific yarns this week (once I get my box of fiber from the Yarn Wench--she did another huge update on Friday and of course I couldn't resist. I tried, really, but ended up with lots of new fiber and a couple of them are going to be spun up right away!). I'll also be doing some knitting (still have to finish that shawl as spinning definitely took over the weekend!).

Saturday Night Special!

I forgot to add that I am taking part in the SNS - Saturday Night Special thread on etsy! Since I won't be participating in August due to shows, etc., I've got a great special for tonight, good until 2 am CST.

"22% off you ENTIRE order! The discount will be taken on your TOTAL, including shipping!

Please put SNS in Notes to Seller section and wait for a revised invoice via paypal, or if you do pay right away I will refund the difference."

To see my etsy shop, CLICK HERE!

Spinning!

So, last night I spun for 6 hours! Woohoo!! I also spun today! Since I plan on spinning some more tomorrow, I wanted to post the pics of what I've got done so far!

First, I spun up the Spunky Club Fiber of the Month. This colorway was called "Celebration" and is Shetland wool. Here is a picture of the two skeins of single ply yarn I spun:
You can see more pictures of the individual skeins HERE on FLICKR!

Then, I spun up some dyed merino wool I got from insurbordiknit. This fiber was supposed to be another flower yarn, but I really didn't think it matched the flowers I had quite right. So, I did a simple boucle-type yarn--spun a thick/thin single of the merino and then plied it with hand-dyed novelty yarn (novelty yarn is nylon and hand-dyed for me by the yarn wench!) Again, here is one picture but more can be seen on flickr:

Then, today, I spun up a two-ply yarn from gorgeous, soft, handdyed Falkland wool dyed by the Yarn Wench. She called it "Violets Against Women". This skein is 246 yards.

Well, that's it so far. I'm hoping to have more to show on Monday morning!

Spinner's Block . . .

So, this week has been a little tough. I've been experiencing what I am calling "spinner's block"! I have all of this amazing fiber, yarn, thread, etc., just waiting to be spun up . . . but whenever I go to spin something . . . I just get . . . paralyzed. Like, I'm afraid i won't do the fiber "justice". I won't make something "good enough" out of the gorgeous fiber! I look at it and instead of having the inspiration to just *know* what it wants to be (ie., two-ply, single, art yarn, boucle) i sit there and debate it and in the end don't decide anything!? I know it's silly. I know it will pass. But, because of this I haven't spun anything except for one yarn this week. (More on that in a minute!) Instead, I've been knitting (a little) and resting. Which is a good thing since my hands/wrists and even my arm has been bothering me all week.

SO, yesterday when I got home from work . . . Scott was watching Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire . . . and when it ended he said, we should go see the new one. Since i've been feeling so "blah" and figuring another night of no spinning would be good rest for my hands, I said, okay, let's go! So we went to a 4:15 showing--perfect! The theater was practically empty and of course the movie was great! I even still technically got home with time to spin, but instead we watched lame tv (ie., Rock of Love with Brett Michaels) and I pretty much went to bed early.

I feel ALOT better today and am convinced I WILL get some spinning done this weekend! I also have a shawl that is about half way done so that should get finished tonight (I hope). I do have 3 shows in August, so I should get going on getting some more things knit up for those shows. I've now got *3* fibers ready to go--received the Spunky Club fiber of the month this week so did prep that last night. I still don't know what any of them want to be but I've decided I'm just going to start spinning and see what happens! :)

In other news, I DID finish a yarn this week. It is a two-ply that I spun up for a librarian friend. Here are some pictures:
It was spun from handdyed Falkland wool from the Yarn Wench, of course! Speaking of, rumor has it she is doing another HUGE update today sometime!! Don't forget to check it out!

And, despite the no-spinning, this was a good week--I sold one of my favorite yarns (this one), sent off a "Christmas in July" swap package for a WIST member, relisted some yarns with new pictures, finished one summer triangle shawl, and got lots of wonderful fiber and yarns!

Flower Bomb Shawl

I've got to share some pictures of a shawl that was hand knit with my Flower Bomb yarn! This shawl/wrap was knit by Chris, who makes absolutely gorgeous felted bags, which she sells on ETSY HERE! As you can see from the pictures below, she also knits other items, too! She bought my Flower Bomb yarn recently and made this amazing wrap with it:




It really is a wonderful thing to see yarn I spun knit up by someone else! And, this is the first time I've seen a flower yarn knit up! Very exciting!

My mailman hates me . . .

Yesterday was a great mail day! I received my Yarn Wench Yarn, my yarn from Luxe, and some Cotswold locks from aspenmoonarts! Here is a pic:

Unfortunately, I couldn't really play with any of it as 1. I was really tired and 2. I already had a project I needed to get started on. So, at least I did get some spinning done, but I ended up falling asleep early so no knitting. The yarn I'm working on now is going to be a two ply, and I finished up one bobbin of singles last night. If I can stay awake, I plan on finishing it tonight . . .

Weekend recap . . .

So, this weekend was Harry Potter Weekend, I guess! I didn't get any spinning done, but I DID read Harry Potter AND knit a few things!

Friday, I did some knitting, and this hat was the result:

It is knit by me with Yarn Wench Yarn! Speaking of the Yarn Wench . . . I was a very bad girl on Friday . . . I couldn't resist . . . she is having a sale on her handspun yarn . . . so of course, I had to buy the one I've been wanting since she first posted it . . . Raspberry Floozie! Can't wait to get it and knit it up! (I also bought another one, and ONE fiber, but oh my, I could have easily bought so much more, but I MUST STOP!!! :) )

Anyways, on Saturday morning we did our normal run to Sam's Club . . . and they had the Harry Potter book . . . so even though I was expecting my copy in the mail that day . . . we bought a copy so my boyfriend could read it, too . . . so, we got home and he started reading right away! I said, TELL ME NOTHING!!! :) Even though I've been spoiled for every other book, and usually don't care, for some reason, for this last book I wanted to know nothing before reading, no spoilers, nothing! So, he read, and I knit . . .

My book arrived around 10:30-11am. I started it almost immediately and pretty much read straight through and finished it around 1am! So, that was the reason there was no spinning done on Saturday . . .

Then, on Sunday, I was just . . . drained, I don't know . . . reading the book was sort of . . . draining for some reason. So, I didn't get much done, except for some knitting. I decided I needed to knit some more of MY OWN yarn up, so I took "Galway Spring", two skeins I had spun from handdyed wool from the Yarn Wench, spun in two novelty yarns, and plied with thread . . . and I knit them into a hat and a scarf! Here are pics:


These were my main accomplishments of the day, though I did also get some more promo keychains made up and knit a little on the shawl I started on Friday.

I will do some spinning tonight, though, as I am going to spin up a yarn for a fellow librarian friend. But, I do think I may be doing a lot more knitting for the next couple of weeks as I've got a lot I want to try and get done before my shows in August. (lightweight shawls, light scarves). We'll see, though . . I've got so much beautiful fiber just waiting to be spun!

Quickie . . .

I don't have much time, but wanted to at least . . .

1. Mention that there will be a YARN WENCH UPDATE today! And, she's hinting of another sale?! I spent way too much last time and have spent alot of $$ this week on other business-related expenses, so not sure I'll be able to partake in this one . . . but . . . that doesn't mean YOU shouldn't! Check it out HERE probably this afternoon!

2. Post a pic of the yarn I was working on this week. I'm not very happy with the pictures and will be taking more today when I get home from work. But, for now, here it is:

It is handdyed Falkland wool from the Yarn Wench--a colorway she called "Cruiseline", though I am thinking about naming the yarn "Mermaid's Cove", though I'm not quite sure it fits now that the yarn is done. The two skeins are probably about DK/Worsted weight yarn, though I haven't done the WPI yet. Two skeins, one 338 yards, the other 176 yards! Similar to my "Patience" yarn!

I also started knitting a hat last night out of this yarn from the Yarn Wench. I didn't get very far, though, as I went to lie down on the couch by my kitty . . . and promptly fell asleep! So much for getting more done last night! But, it's Friday and we have no plans this weekend (well, except for reading Harry Potter!) so I should get some more spinning and knitting done . . .

but now it's off to work!

Catching up again . . .

So, I guess it's been a few days since posting . . . I went to the wedding last weekend in Minnesota and ended up getting back later on Sunday than I thought which kind of threw me off and I've been remiss in updating here . . .

The wedding was very nice! She had absolutely *perfect* weather, seriously. (It was indoors, but still.) An absolutely beautiful day! The ceremony was short, sweet, to the point! The dinner was fabulous--you know how wedding food, well, may tend to be kind of bland? Well, not this one! It was a chicken dish, but wow, it definitely had a zip to it! Very good! The reception was fun, as receptions always are! Lots of dancing . . . and of course a little drinking . . . and lots of silliness. Unfortunately, the only picture I took was of the wedding cake!?! I'm just not used to having a camera so I didn't really take it out! Here's the cake, though:

As you can see, they had a Mickey/Minnie theme going (the invitations were also Mickey & Minnie!) and the color scheme of black and red, as well. The cake was also very yummy!

Had a little time on Saturday before the wedding to finish knitting this hat:
It is knit from handspun yarn from mistressbatty at battysboutique.etsy.com! It was spun on a spindle, which is very impressive! I love the colors and while I do really like it, I did list it on etsy here.

Then on Sunday the ride home was getting long so I pulled out some of my handspun yarn and knit up a scarf! This is Midnight Valentine and matches the hat I did previously. The yarn was spun by me from handdyed domestic wool from the Yarn Wench, and I also spun in several novelty yarns and plied it with thread . . .here is the scarf, though the pictures are a little lighter than the actual color:


Also, last week before leaving, I did finish up some yarns. I posted about the single ply yarns which are now all on etsy, but didn't post a picture of the "Pink Lemonade" yarns I spun up. There are two skeins, one 98 yards which is just a boucle with lots of added sparkle, and the other is 58 yards of art yarn with novelty yarns spun in. Here is a picture of both:
For more pics you can check out my flickr here!

It's been hard getting back into the swing of things this week. I haven't spun anything, though I did begin spinning up another fairly thin single last night that is destined to become a two ply. I have about 8 oz and probably did about 3.5 last night. That first bobbin will definitely get finished tonight and I'll start on the second. I'm hoping to have it done on Thursday night. The wool is handdyed Falkland from the Yarn Wench and you can see the colors HERE and HERE.

I'm also knitting another scarf with Austermann Samoa. I've also got to get going on some more summer shawls for the August shows I have coming up. I managed to get some more yarn for these shawls and also the scarves I like to do on ebay! Woohoo!

Well, I'm sure I'm missing some things, but these are the highlights!

Wedding this weekend . . .

so, i'm going to minnesota for a wedding this weekend. leaving soon, and won't be online much, and while i plan on bringing some knitting, feel like i should just give myself a break--my hands/wrists/arms have been sore lately, and overall just been feeling pretty crappy . . . as a matter of fact, i stayed home on wednesday to try and feel better and . . . ended up spinning 4 single ply yarns?!?! what the heck! how am i supposed to rest if i can't stay home for one day without spinning!? I really wasn't going to, but by the afternoon i felt a little better . . . so went on a spinning rampage!? oh well. Here is a shot of the singles, all spun from battman batts:

Last night, the Yarn Wench updated! I tried to resist, really I did . . . but should have a nice sized box coming to me next week! Woohoo!

oh well. i've got to run and get ready to go . . . happy weekend everyone!

Art vs Craft & New Yarns

Art vs Craft was pretty good. I went in with low expectations simply because it is the middle of summer and I sell handspun yarn and hand knits. Other things were also stacked against me--it was seriously the hottest weekend of the year so far, and my spot was in the very back corner. So, the fact that I sold anything at all is VERY cool and made me VERY happy. I just secretly wish it would have been as good as the one in November, as I would have loved to have enough $$ to go on another fiber binge!

Here are a few shots of my set up:

This was my table on the second day. Here is a closeup of my "fancy yarns" basket:

And, here is the view of the other half of my "booth", the clothes racks for the shawls and scarves:

And, the whole corner:
The highlights of the show were meeting lots of people from etsy! I met Jen from Minefull
(she actually started my sales "rush" on Saturday by buying two of my yarns! Woohoo!), ChristinaWard, Kathy from YenForYarn, FeralFeminine, Persimmonsgal, and Lauren from etsy's Mom! :) I also talked to many wonderful people about spinning and mesmerized many kids with the spinning of the wheel. It was a lot of fun to demonstrate for people and also to talk about the process. I am definitely going to try and bring the wheel to future shows . . .

Especially since having it made the weekend *very* productive! I spun up *3* yarns while at the show!

Saturday, I spun up some handdyed domestic wool from the Yarn Wench called "Island Girl". I first spun it into a single, but had that done by 4pm and there were still 3-1/2 hours left! So, I decided to wrap the single around my water bottle and create a center-pull ball from which I could ply--I usually do not do it this way. I usually have two bobbins of singles and ply from them, but since I had only brought 2 bobbins and didn't bring the lazy kate, I figured I'd try the center-pull ball technique. It was . . . a challenge, especially at first as the single was pretty twisted, so I definitely had some issues with it . . . here you can see it once I had gotten it under control!

And, here is the finished yarn which I am calling "The Isle of Art vs Craft". It is available on etsy HERE, for a special price!

Then, on Sunday, it was a lot less busy, so I spun up this yarn and plied it with Moda Dea Chi Chi yarn (the fiber is also domestic wool from the Yarn Wench):
Last night I knit the larger skein of 72 yards into a scarf! Should have pictures of that tomorrow!

And, since that didn't take very long, on Sunday I also spun up this gorgeous handdyed Romney wool from the Yarn Wench. Here is a view of the single, which was done at the show:

And, here is the finished yarn, plied once I got home from the show, in the horrid heat of our apartment:
It is available on etsy here!

So, I think that is it! I thought I would have more to say but now that I'm pretty much recovered my brain is already focusing on getting ready for the next show!

Weekend *quick* recap!

I survived the heat and art vs craft! I wanted to post with pictures, but it was too hot in the computer room last night to upload them. Will do that tonight and have a much better post about the weekend later today or tomorrow!

But, I can share two new two-ply yarns that were spun up before the show:

Cinder Berry Spice (on etsy HERE):

And, it's darker counterpart, Smoke n Ash (on etsy HERE):

They were both spun up from handdyed domestic wool from the Yarn Wench!

That's it for now! :)

ART VS CRAFT TODAY!

Art vs Craft is TODAY! Milwaukee, WI!



100 artists crafters and designers from Milwaukee & Beyond
$2 admission kids under 13 FREE

July 7th 11-7:30pm
July 8th 11-5:00pm

1025 N. Broadway in downtown Milwaukee
The first 200 shoppers on Saturday get a silk screened canvas tote bag full of goodies!!!

I will be in booth #80, in the back corner near the "Make & Take" area! If you are in the Milwaukee area hope to see you there!

Catching up . . .

So, this week is kinda busy, what with ART VS CRAFT coming up this weekend! Here is more info:

Art vs. Craft, Round 6
www.artvscraft.com

100 artists crafters and designers from Milwaukee & Beyond
$2 admission kids under 13 FREE

July 7th 11-7:30pm
July 8th 11-5:00pm

1025 N. Broadway in downtown Milwaukee
The first 200 shoppers on Saturday get a silk screened canvas tote bag full of goodies!!!

I will be in booth #80, in the back corner near the "Make & Take" area! If you are in the Milwaukee area hope to see you there!

Yesterday, the Fourth of July. It was the first day in over 2 months that I did *nothing*. I didn't knit, or spin, or take pictures of yarn, or blog, or ANYTHING!! We went to my boyfriend's Mom's house, hung out, drank Mike's Lime, and ate. It WAS nice, but wow, it was hot! We got home and I barely lasted an hour or two before I was asleep . . . by like 7 or 8pm! Though I did briefly wake up when the fireworks were going off--there are some that we can basically see right out our apartment window! All that sleep was good, though, because I did have to come in to work today, though I plan on leaving early so I can get home and resume "operations" to get ready for the show this weekend. I did spin a two-ply yarn on Tuesday that needs pictures taken, and I have a shawl that needs finishing. I also hope to spin probably one more yarn before Saturday . . . then, it is LABELING time! I have probably over 100 items to label since I have all new cards/labels now!

What would a post of mine be without some pictures, though? Here are a couple of things finished earlier in the week:

Message in a Bottle Hand Knit Handspun Art Hat & Scarf Set:
This was knit with Handspun Art Pirate Yarn from the Yarn Wench! I really liked how this turned out and just might have to keep it! You can see lots more pictures HERE ON FLICKR!

And, here is a single ply yarn spun up:
It is on etsy HERE!

Then, there are the Daydream Believer Yarns. I love these! They turned out so nice and am impressed with the yardage--120 and 134 yards! Of Art Yarn! Woohoo! There are lots more pics on flickr, but here are a couple of the best ones:
Okay, now I must get to work so that I can leave early! :)

Quickie Weekend Review

I've got so much I wanted to blog about from this weekend, but I really don't have time! So, I'm just going to hit the highlights, with pictures!

I went on a knitting frenzy! In addition to the Southwest Winter and Lil Sistah scarves, I also knit two more out of "leftover" yarn wench yarns! I also finished a summer triangle shawl knit with Gedifra Poesie, and started two more projects. I spun up two yarns (well, four skeins, two colorways). One of them is a new kitty yarn! Okay, so here are some pics:

Lil Sistah (aka Rainbow Sherbert Colada):

The two "rainbow" scarves from remainder yarns:

"Wild Night" handspun yarns from handdyed domestic wool from the Yarn Wench and plied with Moda Dea Frivolous:
What my couch looked like on Sunday, as I got fiber prepped and some new knitting projects started:


Then, even though I didn't think I *would* spin anything on Sunday, I got inspired and put together these materials:

And, spun up 250 yards of art yarn! The first skein has Hello Kitty beads strung on the thread that I plied with, and the other doesn't have the beads. Only have "in process" pictures, but I absolutely LOVE how this turned out!

Single on the bobbin:

Plied on the bobbin:

On the niddy noddy:
And, the bead-less skein:
Now, back to work!