Fall Show schedule is pretty much set!

I've got my fall show lineup complete!  Just got word today that I was accepted into the Ninth Annual Holiday Craftacular which was the last show I was waiting to hear about.

You'll be able to find Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarn and Knits at five events starting in September.  I'll kick off the autumn show season slowly with a small fiber event called Fiber in the Park in Earlville, Illinois.  This is a really nice, small, local fiber-focused event.  It is held at Shabbona Park - 4165 E. 16th Road in Earlville, Illinois (zip:  60518).  I will have my handspun yarns at this show, but will also have a lot of other fiber and yarn items.  I won't have many finished hand knits, however.  EDITED to note that the Facebook page for this event has listed the address as 4178 Co. Hwy. 22 which might help!  Check out the Fiber in the Park website for more information!

Next, I'll be at the Handmade Market at the Empty Bottle in Chicago, Illinois on October 12.  This show will be the debut of one of my new fall finished knit items...and I'm not going to say more until then!  I'll have lots of hand spun yarns here, hand knit scarves and more.

In November, I've got the trilogy of awesome indie craft shows!

I'll start off on November 16, 2013 at Craft'za in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  This is the FIRST time Kitty Grrlz will be in Minneapolis!  I'm really excited and hope this will be a great way to start off three weeks of indie craft awesomeness.  I'll have all of my regular items here - hand spun yarns of all types (art yarns, bamboo, single plys and more!), plus a full stock of hand knit items - scarves, shawls and hats.  Plus my new hand knit accessory (more details will come later.)  This event is being held at the Grain Belt Bottling House Atrium.

Next up will be the Holiday Craftacular in Madison, Wisconsin.  I haven't done a Craftacular in a few years so am excited to be back in Madison.  I'll have my mix of  hand spun yarns and hand knit items.  This will be held at the Madison Masonic Center in downtown Madison.

I'll end the season on what I hope will be a very high (but sad) note - the grand finale of ART VS CRAFT in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I love this show and the past few years it has been my best event of the year, and this will be the FINAL event.  I'm already planning something special for this show and it will be the only November show where I will have blended fiber batts for spinning and felting.  It is held at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.

There is ONE more place you'll be able to find Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns this fall and that is at the Willow Mist Boutique - 1107 Ligonier Street in Latrobe, Pennsylvania!  Right now I've got an assortment of Kitty Grrlz HandSpun FunctionArt art yarns there, along with some perfect-for-Autumn single ply skeins!  Their GRAND OPENING is September 14, 2013!

I'll post more about each event as it gets closer, but this is where Kitty Grrlz will be this fall!  Now, I better get working ... I've got lots to knit and spin over the next few months!

Couldn't leave Stitches Midwest without....

buying something!  I really wasn't going to since I have so much fiber and yarn already...as a matter of face, right before Stitches, I received 10 pounds of merino/tencel blend of fiber dyed by Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber in several colorways.  Here are two of them...these are both custom-requested colors...

Look for these to appear in my shop soon!

I also ordered some more merino/tencel from Sheepish Creations... can you tell this is one of my favorite blends to spin??

And, then, while at Stitches I couldn't resist this amazing fiber and these sparkle yarns from KnittyandColor!  (The darker yarn is called "Holocene" and so is the fiber in the top left - it's a merino/silk blend.  The other is "Northern Lights" and is alpaca/silk.)

I have no idea what I'm going to do with the yarn since I really don't like knitting with such thin yarn!?  But, I couldn't resist the colors and sparkle!  I'd love to hear suggestions in the comments on what I should knit with these awesome skeins!

So, now I guess I better get spinning... but what to do first???

A few more yarns listed...

I want to share what I purchased at Stitches Midwest but haven't taken pictures yet!  Instead, here is a quick rundown of the new yarns I listed yesterday in my Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarn Shop!

More Dragon Wing Bamboo!  I have four skeins spun from the same fiber batches - this is important because this colorway varies more than any other, so if you need more than one skein, it's always good to get them together when I list in larger batches.  This one is very striking, with more orangey copper and gold in it.

 And, another Hello Kitty Grrlz art yarn!  This is Hello Kitty Grrlz Blues, - two hand spun skeins spun from hand dyed merino wool (dyed by the Yarn Wench) in shades of blue with touches of pink.  I spun in coordinating novelty and specialty yarn snippets in blues and light pink.  I plied with blue cotton crochet thread which was strung with pink and blue Hello Kitty face beads.  The skeins are 74 and 72 yards.

I have a few more new yarns I should be listing tonight!

Use the coupon code FREESHIPUSA for Free Shipping in the USA!   You can use this code on everything in my shop, including Yarn of the Month Clubs!

Tomorrow, I hope to share the goodies I came home from Stitches with! :)

Survived Stitches Midwest...

and am already thinking about next year!

Here is a picture of our booth...

It was *very* exhausting which is why I haven't posted the past few days...I am totally recovering from 4 days of fiber and yarn madness!

I've updated my handspun yarn shop to include some of the remaining yarns, including two skeins of my favorite merino/tencel blend colorway, Summer Tropics!

but some of the art yarns are going to Art Yarn of the Month Club members, and the rest will soon be on their way to Willow Mist Boutique in Latrobe, Pennsylvania!    I'll also be sending some hand spun single ply skeins, too!  If you are in this area I hope you will support this new shop featuring handmade artisanal goods made by the artists themselves.  (And if you are a spinner, make sure to check out the handdyed fiber there from the Yarn Wench!)

24 hours from now...

we will be checked in and setting up BOOTH 725 at Stitches Midwest!  I've got to label all of my yarn this afternoon and pack everything up!   What will you find in BOOTH 725 at Stitches Midwest?

Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns!

Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber!

 

 Patterns by Phydeaux Designs!

Hope to see you tomorrow!!

But...for those who can't make it, just a couple of notes about my shop online....

ALL ready to ship yarns will be deactivated and unavailable as of Thursday morning!  If there's something that you'd like, now is a good time to grab it before it goes to Stitches.  You can use the COUPON CODE  FREESHIPUSA for Free Shipping in the USA at Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun yarns on etsy...PLUS you can also use that code on YARN of the MONTH Clubs which will stay active through the show!

Code will stay active all month, and yarns not sold at Stitches will be listed, hopefully, Monday morning!

TWO days, really? Stitches Midwest here we come....

Yes, I think it is officially time to start *really* freaking out about Stitches Midwest!  Only two more days...I can't even believe it!

Today I just wanted to do a quick post about the Kitty Grrlz FunctionArt Hand Spun Art Yarns I'll have in BOOTH 725 at Stitches.  They are my favorite yarns to spin.  Most are spun from gorgeous hand dyed merino wool dyed by The Yarn Wench.  I love her colorways and they lend themselves really well to this style of yarn.  The yarn itself is usually bulky, sometimes super bulky, and knits up easily into quick and simple...but beautiful and unique....projects.  I tend to do cowls because they only take one skein, and I make them a bit smaller with a looser knit and end up wearing them inside all winter long!  Here is an example of one in the Electric Wave colorway I'll have available in BOOTH 725 at Stitches Midwest!  (By the way, for more on knitting with hand spun art yarns, check out this blog post from a few years ago - Knitting with hand spun art yarn!)

 Don't knit or crochet?  Heck, you can just wrap the skein around like an infinity scarf or large cowl without even knitting it at all!

Here are a some other art yarn colors I'll have available:

Hope to see you in BOOTH 725 at Stitches Midwest this weekend, August 8-11!!

Three short days...

In just three short days I will be setting up in BOOTH 725 at Stitches Midwest!  Along with my hand spun yarns, and hand dyed yarn and fiber from Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber, we are excited to be able to offer select patterns by Phydeaux Designs... Old world elegance for modern knitters!  In our booth you'll find two of her crochet patterns, one of her shawl designs, and several cowl, infinity scarf and regular scarf designs!   We are especially happy to offer patterns that will coordinate well with the yarns we'll be offering, and we'll even have samples knit up so you can see how the yarns work with the patterns.

Here is an unfinished sample of Phydeaux Designs Soft Acorns pattern...this is one of my favorite patterns because it is so versatile and works with many types of yarn, and especially works well with hand spun single ply skeins!  This sample (which will be completed and blocked in time for the show) features a hand spun single ply skein spun by me from hand dyed Polwarth wool, dyed by Cloudlover in her "Haunted Vineyard" colorway.  I could have gone down a needle size, but I prefer looser knits and a more open look - use a thicker yarn, or different needle size for a tighter knit.  (I'll have a merino/tencel thicker single ply in colorway "Autumn Retreat" that would be perfect for this pattern.)  All you need is one skein... 

Another picture, just of the yarn, though the color is more accurate in the picture above -

Tomorrow, I've got an example of what can be done with just ONE skein of art yarn!

Only FOUR more days to Stitches Midwest!

There are only four more days until Stitches Midwest!  I am so not ready.  I've spent the past four days doing nothing but spinning...but today I have to go back to the library which means only night time spinning for me until the show.  I'll probably only be able to get an additional 6 skeins done...but the past four days have been pretty fruitful.  I've spun up lots of bamboo skeins!

Summer Shades....

New Southwest....

 Dragon Wing....(not very good pictures!)

I also have some Plum Paradise done, too.  The last color I was working on yesterday was Coral Tide.  I don't have  a picture of the finished skeins, but here is the fiber waiting to be spun....

ONE WEEK!!!

I can't believe next week at this time I will be setting up in BOOTH 725 at Stitches Midwest!  This came about quickly and sort of last minute, so it's really only been a few short months since I found out I would be able to vend there.  I'm sharing a booth with Natalie of Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber.  In the next few days I'll be posting some of the wonderful items we'll have available.

Today, I just wanted to post better pictures of the last art yarn colorway I spun - two variations spun from merino wool dyed by the Yarn Wench in her colorway "Bewitching Hour".  The first four skeins have bright green amongst the peacock, blue, teal, purples and black...

Then there are two skeins, sans the green spin-in yarns....

Now it's back to spinning bamboo!