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???

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!

24 days until Stitches Midwest!

As of today, there are 24 days until Stitches Midwest!  What is Stitches Midwest?  Stitches Midwest is a huge, extended weekend event that includes classes, a market and other happenings...all centered around YARN and the things you can do with it!  This year's show takes place from August 8 though August 11, 2013, in Schaumburg, Illinois.

I've wanted to be a vendor at Stitches Midwest for years.  But it is a very expensive and time-consuming show, so it just never worked out....until this year!

A few months ago, Natalie of Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber asked what I thought about doing Stitches Midwest.  For some reason, instead of making excuses as in previous years, I said, "YES!".  It is all thanks to her that I'll be there - she took care of all the administrative work - applying, ordering the things we'll need, and all the stuff that just doesn't happen automatically when you apply for such a huge event.  It is totally awesome that she's letting me share her booth with her!

But, wait, WHAT was I thinking?  This all came about just as I was moving!?  When was I going to have time to SPIN any yarns for this show??   I had to deal with the moving first, but started making plans to get some major spinning done once that was all done....I've been working at it for a month or so, but now I'm really getting down to it....I will have many long days of spinning ahead....

What I plan on doing here on my blog is posting daily updates from now until the show.  Pictures of the process, where I'm at, and of course, NEW yarns that will be available in our booth...oh, wait, how could I not have given our BOOTH NUMBER!!!

Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber and Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns will be in BOOTH 725!!!!!

So, for my first actual "this is what I'm doing" post...here is a picture of what I started working on yesterday .... prepping pounds and pounds of bamboo fiber for spinning...

Tonight, I will finish and will post a picture tomorrow of what it all looks like when it is "prepped"!

As I was doing that, my cat Bug just lounged around...here she is watching from the bed as I got everything ready....

 And, finally, this isn't the best picture, but here is a preview of the colors in the next art yarn I'll be spinning!

That's my update for today!  Hopefully by doing this it will help keep me on task so that I will have many new yarns to share in BOOTH 725 at Stitches Midwest.