Batt-tacular! Elementals

Tuesday, I spun up two batts from TerraBellaSpun. They are "Batt-tacular!" yarns as I spun them from carded batts of various fibers. This series, though, is called "Elementals", and so far, I introduce to you, "Earth" and "Fire"

Not sure if or when I will do others in this series, but you never know!

Last night, I returned to the fun art yarn spinning, and spun up something I think I may call "Strawberry Fields Forever". Even though strawberries aren't really this pink in color, I just couldn't help but think of this as I spun it. (Though it could have been the fact that American Idol did Beatles songs again this week so I have them on my mind. Speaking of, very disappointed to see Amanda go, even though she probably wouldn't have made it much farther - I just was hoping Kristy was the one to go since she is SOO boring to me!) ANYways . . . these two skeins will be listed this afternoon. One is 98 yards and the other 102 yards. Both spun from hand dyed merino wool (dyed by the Yarn Wench) with novelty yarns spun in and plied with bright green thread, with coils and beehives throughout (though not *too* many, just enough for some added fun and texture!)

Some cute kitty pics and more new yarns . . .

First, I've got to share some pics of my spoiled Bug girl! Instead of sleeping under my spinning wheel yesterday, she decided to lounge amongst her toys!


Then, there are the new yarns. ALL of these are now on my website, and should be listed on etsy during today and possibly tomorrow (yes, I am trying to spread out my listings on etsy instead of doing them all at once.)


Batt-tacular! Hand Spun Yarn - "Yesterday's Neon"
Spun from a carded batt of merino wool, alpaca and glitz.

Batt-tacular! Singles Hand Spun Yarn
"Roses"
Spun from a carded batt of superwash wools and sparkle!
Batt-tacular! Singles Hand Spun Yarn
"Violets"
Spun from a carded batt of merino, superwash wool, mill ends wool and glitz.

And, finally, here is another skein of hand spun bamboo fiber, "Smashin' Satin" which also matches the Navajo 3-ply I have in my shop, too.
I haven't come up with a snazzy name yet for the bamboo yarns, but I'm working on trying to "categorize" and name all of my styles of yarn. This stems from wanting to try and get my yarns re-organized in Ravelry to match the way the "big" yarn companies do it. So, for example, ALL of my yarns will be "Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun", then they will have a style name - like Batt-tacular! (which are yarns spun from carded batts), and then the colorway. Coming up with "style/type" names has been difficult, and so far the only ones I'm using that I like are Batt-tacular!, Batt-tacular! Singles, and CoilySpun (these are the super coily yarns). But, over the next couple of weeks I hope to have them all named and organized! :)

New yarns!

So, once again, no post on Monday. One of these weeks I'll post every day, really!

But, I don't have much to say/show today, but I do want to post my latest yarns . . .

oh, wait, before I do that - I have a Treasury on Etsy right now! Please CLICK HERE to check it out! It is "From Fiber to Yarn to Art" and includes some of my favorite fibers, yarns, and finished products. It will only be available until Thursday morning, though!

Okay, on to the yarns. First, here is some bamboo that I spun up on Saturday night. Very thinly spun! It isn't quite on etsy or my website yet, but should be later today, along with another skein of handspun bamboo that I spun up yesterday. This one is called "Marmalade Sky" and is spun from fiber dyed by the FiberLady.
Then, there are the CoilySpun skeins I spun on Saturday, too. They were spun from hand dyed domestic wool dyed by the Yarn Wench. They have both been listed on etsy (click on the picture to go to the listing) and kittygrrlz.com.



And, finally, here is what I spun on Sunday - more Andromeda! Andromeda has been a very popular colorway hand dyed by Lynn (aka the Yarn Wench). Each batch is slightly different and I've already spun up several of them. This time, I wanted to spin a thin single of merino/silk, a thick single of merino, and ply them together (similar to what I had done with the "Pucci" colorways). But, I didn't have any of the merino/silk Andromeda! So, thanks to Naomi, who was willing to do some swapping, I got the fiber I needed as she sent me her batch of the merino/silk. There is one large skein of the bulky two-ply (110 yards, 4.6 oz) and then a lot of 2 mini-skeins, including 50 yards of Navajo 3-ply spun from just the merino/silk blend.
And, the mini-skein lot:

Last night, I spun up some more bamboo and then some "Batt-tacular" yarns! Two single ply skeins and 1 bulky plied-with-thread skein, all spun from batts from TerraBellaSpun. They should be listed on my website tonight and a couple of them will probably be on etsy, too. Then, tonight, I have two more batts I hope to spin and then it will probably be back to the art yarns.

But, for now, I must get to work!

Just a quickie today . . .

Am very tired this morning so just want to quick say -

They got rid of the right person on American Idol! Yay!

Eye Candy Hand Spun Art Yarn - 84 yard skein is now listed on etsy and will be on my website shortly.
I also have a treasury on etsy! It will only last until about 3am on Saturday, but you can check it out HERE. It was inspired by the bunny posting yesterday AND the fact that I've had the "Bunnies, it must be bunnies" line from the Buffy Once More With Feeling episode running through my head all week. I may change it up today or tomorrow.

And, here is a sneak peek at the yarn I spun last night. Again, nighttime pictures are difficult because I really need better lighting. But, for now, here are the "Deep Sleep" Hand Spun Art Yarn skeins. They are 108 and 114 yards and one is plied with blue thread and the other green. Here are the novelty/specialty yarns that were spun in:

And, the skeins:
and, a closeup:

Okay, that's it for today!

New yarns and more . . .

So, today I want to first take a moment to share some totally awesome scarves that were knit with my yarn! The first ones are from Brenda of Phydeaux Designs. She has used several of my art yarns to make her gorgeous hand knit scarves. Here are just a couple (you can click on the picture to go to the etsy listing!)


Then, there is my fiber friend Naomi - she spins some wonderful yarns herself and you can find her etsy shop HERE. Here is a wonderful scarf she knit for her Mom with my "Martha's Midnight Trellis" boucle yarn. She takes some great pictures so I'm including two shots.


And, just in case you thought the only thing you could make with my yarns are scarves, here is a wonderful art doll made by Lisa. You can find her wonderful Nymphlings on etsy HERE.
This is "Veruca the Grape Vine Nymph"! Her HAIR was made with one of my Plum Lime/Plum Grove skeins! You can see more pictures of Veruca HERE. At this time Veruca is not for sale, but she also has a really wonderful bunny in her shop now, "Rosebud Bunny".
Finally, before I have to go, I will share pictures of a couple new yarns. These were shown yesterday, but now I have much better pictures and they are officially available on etsy and kittygrrlz.com.

Blu-Mocha Cherry Hand Spun Art Yarns - two skeins, 100 yards (plied with pink thread) and 92 yards (plied with blue thread). Both have 15 different novelty yarns spun in (3 hand dyed by the Yarn Wench!) which is more than usual for one of my art yarns. I also spaced them much closer, so overall there is MORE spun into the skeins! Here they are!
Then, there is what I spun last night! First, I gathered together the novelty yarns I wanted to spin into the fiber:
Then, I spun up the single:

And, finally, ta-da! Two new skeins of art yarn! These pics aren't the greatest, but I'll be taking better ones this afternoon and then listing them both.


Till tomorrow . . .

Another missed Monday . . .

So, once again I missed Monday! I had every intention of posting something, but time just slipped away . . . of course now that means I have even more to show/post today!

First, new yarns! Here is one that was finished on Sunday. It is spun from merino wool with novelty yarns spun in (4 of them hand dyed!) and plied with thread. This one also has tons of angelina spun in for sparkle! Available on etsy and my site.

I also finished the second "Violet Blues" skein on Saturday. Here it is:
I also had some coily-spun yarns but they sold yesterday! Yay!

Last night, I worked on "Blu-Mocha Cherry 2" - that is the name of the fiber (hand dyed by the Yarn Wench, of course). First, I found 15! novelty and specialty yarns that I wanted to spin in. I cut them up and set them up:

The color isn't quite right as the ones that are blue look a little purple in this picture. Then, I spun these into the fiber. Here is a bobbin shot of one of the finished single plys, before plying.

Then, I plied with thread. One skein was plied with pink thread, and the other with blue. This is a preliminary picture which isn't quite perfect, but it will give you an idea (these should both be listed with better pics later today):

While I was spinning, Bug, my cat, was sleeping under my chair:

so, this is what she looked like when I was done:

What a mess! She still loves to sleep there, though, even though many times she is really really close to my moving feet! Oh well. Here is one more shot of her through the wheel (please excuse the dust):
I don't really want to post them here, but if you are interested in seeing my "stash" photos, my "workspace" and the mess that WAS my living room, you can check out my PICS on FLICKR. I did some organizing and cleaning this weekend so that THIS and THIS became THIS and THIS. I also did some "organizing" of fiber and matching yarns so that I am ready to SPIN SPIN SPIN this week! I started out good last night by getting my two skeins done, and hope to do the same tonight. This picture shows some of the ones in the queue for this week!

Okay, I think that's all I have time for this morning, but should be back tomorrow with some more great items from some of my favorite etsy sellers! :)

Finally Friday . . .

I'm so glad it's Friday. I need a weekend. And, thankfully, I don't have a show, so I can "relax" (of course this means spinning and knitting as much as I can, but also means maybe dinner out and some quality Lego Star-Wars-playing time!)

So, here are much better pictures of the yarn I "sneak-peek-ed" yesterday. I really think I have to stop taking pictures at night. I get such better results in the afternoons. Anyways, here is "Ocean Dreams" Both skeins are 56 yards, spun from hand dyed Falkland wool, with lots of novelty and specialty yarns spun in, and plied with coils and beehives around a matching thread.


Both are available at kittygrrlz.com or on etsy.

I also finished an art yarn last night that I should have listed this afternoon. It will also have a matching skein that I'll probably spin up tonight (depends on the dinner thing!) But, here is a sneak peek (again with the night-time picture, but it does give the general idea)**I have removed the original (bad) picture! Look for better pics in my next post!

It's actually one large skein of 82 yards and one mini-mini-skein of 12 yards. I think I will be listing them together since the mini skein is so small. But, we'll see.

On the wheel for the weekend - not sure. I have some pretty green merino/tencel I want to spin up, and maybe some more bamboo. I have so many art yarns I want to spin, but need to match up some novelty yarns to go along with them. So, we'll see. I'm also determined to finish another Triangle Shawl this weekend.

But, for now, must get to work!

Some Thursday Randomness . ..

Okay, so I know yesterday I sort of said I wouldn't ramble about things . . . but, I can't help it. Here goes some random thoughts I've had this week . . . (if you just want to see the yarn pics, scroll down :) )

Project Runway: since I don't want to spoil it for anyone, I will just say I am really happy with the outcome.

American Idol: Okay, my problem with this weeks shows was . . . . were the 80s really that *boring*????? I mean, say what you will about the fashion and music of that time, but I certainly don't remember it all being so snooze-worthy! I mean, sure, lots of 80s music seems really cheesy nowadays, but it also was FUN, and UPBEAT, and, well . . . that just seemed to be lacking in the song choices this week. Of course, I've always thought song choices have been kinda lame, since it is rarely ever the kind of music I actually like. The highlights, though, for me - Brooke's version of Love is a Battlefield. I can't believe I am agreeing with Simon, but I LOVED it. I really like her, though I don't know how far she will make it. I also liked the guy's version of . . . Hello . .. I think it was? The Lionel Richie song. Again, not upbeat, but at least he tried to do something interesting with it. I also still am not really sold on that Michael Johns guy (who once again was compared to Michael Hutchence?!) . . . nor am I sold on Carly Smithson, though I did like her performance this week the best of any week so far. And, well, I may be in the minority, but I loved Daniel Noriega's version of Tainted Love - it was at least upbeat and FUN, which, again, isn't that what the 80s were all about? Also, while I *want* to like Amanda Overmyer - I'm just not sure. She seemed really uncomfortable this week. Oh well. (I hope I got all the names right - I am not an obsessive AI fan, just have it on while I spin)

Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers - Okay, I will admit I was one of those people who thought he should have retired last year. I was wrong. Last season was amazing, and it completely SUCKS that we didn't have a shot at the Patriots - who I definitely think we could have beat. Again. But, that didn't happen. I was hoping he would come back, and I agree with some of the ESPN guys that there IS still a chance he WILL be back . . . BUT . . . I'm going to tell you right now why Brett Favre retired. And, it is because finally, at 38, he has HAD ENOUGH OF WISCONSIN WINTERS! ;) Okay, I say this partially tongue-in-cheek, but really - did you see him in that Bears game with the wind/cold? Did you see him in that last game against the Giants? He was miserable. And I don't care how much you love the game of football - if you don't HAVE to play in those conditions, WHY DO IT!!?!?!? I know they say he was SO GREAT in cold weather, and yes, he was, but you know, after HOW MANY YEARS (15?) it WILL wear on you! And I don't blame him for that at all. (Okay, now will ESPN PLEASE STOP airing their little Brett-walking-around-snowy-Green-Bay-naked bit?)

Finally, I have another storyline suggestion that I guess *I* think would be cool if it played out - HARRINGTON (as in Joey) was cut from ATLANTA yesterday. (Do you remember where we got Brett Favre from?) SO, I think Green Bay should sign HIM as a BACK-UP! Then, when Rodgers starts to suck OR get hurt, Harrington can come in AND SAVE THE DAY AND FINALLY get his due. (Yes, I don't know why, but I've always liked Harrington and feel bad that he never really shined anywhere. This is NOT because I think he is "cute" - I don't think football players are "cute" (I much prefer hockey players since they usually have nice long or shaggy hair! ;) )

Anyways, I think that is enough about sports, and I hope I didn't turn away the few readers I may have . . . now, on to some pretty yarn pics, right?

Here is the second skein I mentioned yesterday, called "Irish Lore". It is spun from merino wool with specialty yarns spun in and plied half with gold thread and half with green thread. It is now listed on etsy and my site.

I also finally took some pictures of some "Kitty Minis" that I've had waiting to be listed for awhile now. These are hand spun mini skeins - sometimes spun from "remainder" fiber, freebie fiber, or the left overs after using it for knitting. So, I have 3 sets now available.

The first are two skeins of hand spun coils & beehives yarn. Total of 40 yards.
The second are two skeins of hand spun Navajo 3-ply yarn, Fallen Petals and Earthly Treasures, total of 88 yards:
And, finally, another set of Navajo 3-ply - these aren't on etsy quite yet, but should be later today, but they are available at kittygrrlz.com (my site). This set includes Forest Gold and Sea Story Blues and totals 92 yards.
And, finally, here is a sneak peek at 2 skeins that will be listed later today (though the colors aren't quite right in this picture) - they are both 56 yards and spun from Falkland wool hand dyed by the Yarn Wench. They both have specialty yarns spun in and are plied with thread with lots of coils and beehives. Very fun, textural yarn! ****Pictures have been removed! You can see better pictures in subsequent posts!!******

Okay, that's all for now! :)

New yarn . . .

So, at random times during the day and night, I think of things that I want to post here in my blog . . . but by the time I actually sit down and am ready to put the thoughts down - they are gone. Or, they just don't seem as important any more. I mean, really, who wants to listen to my opinion about American Idol?? Or what I think about Brett Favre retiring??

This means that today, I'm just going to show you my new yarn. This is the one I previewed yesterday, but got *much* better pictures of it yesterday and it is now listed on my site and on etsy. I also finished the matching skein last night. It is a little different, since I seem almost incapable of spinning two skeins *exactly* the same . . so, more on that one in a minute.

Here is the one already completed and listed. I am calling it "The Green Man - Tales from the Mythic Forest". This is the title of a poetry/prose collection that I became familiar with through my young adult librarian experience. I will admit here that I have not actually read the entire book - but it has always been highly recommended and has some wonderful authors that contributed. You can find out more info (or buy it for yourself!) here on amazon.com.

This (and the second skein as well) are also my entires for the EtsyFAST March Challenge, the theme of which is "Fairy Tales". I initially wanted my "Irish Fairy Tale" yarns to be for this challenge, but they sold immediately. So, I spun this one, thinking it would also be called Irish Fairy Tale, but . . . as I spun it I just kept thinking of the cover of the above book . . . so that is what it is called.

It is a whopping 114 yards and 4.1 oz! It is spun from merino wool and has several high-quality specialty yarns spun in as well as a couple colors of "Fun Fur". It is plied with dark greenish blue rayon thread. Here are a couple of pictures:


The second skein, which will be listed later this afternoon, is very similar. It is 110 yards, and has the same yarns spun in. It is plied half with gold metallic thread and the other half with green thread. It will be called "A bit of Irish Lore" or, maybe "Leprechaun Gold" - I'm not sure yet!

I also listed the pretty pink/white/cream/tan bamboo yarn that I showed yesterday. You can find it on my website or on etsy by clicking the picture below:

And, finally, I also listed the Jazz Garden shawl on etsy yesterday. You can find it on my website as well, or click on the picture below to find it on etsy.

That's all for now! :)