New Yarns and a new scarf!

I've got lots of new yarns to show off, but first . . .

Since I've returned from Sheep in the City, I just haven't felt like spinning! I don't know why, though I suspect is has something to do with my wheel. It needs a bit of "maintenance" and I finally got what I needed for that today. Anyways, last night I decided I really wanted to knit. So, I knit up a scarf using a skein of single ply yarn that I spun using Phydeaux's "Soft Acorns" scarf pattern. You can find her pattern on etsy here or on Ravelry here. The yarn I used is this skein - a hand spun single ply worsted weight slightly thicknthin skein spun from a merino/bamboo
blend.


The skein was 114 yards, so I wasn't sure if it would be enough. I used size 11 needles as the pattern called for, and even though the wraps per inch on the yarn made it more worsted than bulky, I think it worked out okay. The scarf is 4 inches wide and 65 inches long so i think a little less wide than the pattern called for. Pictures aren't very good since I took them a little late today and don't have a good light set-up for larger items.

Pattern was totally fun - perfect level for me as it was more than basic but not super difficult. By the end I was definitely used to the pattern and didn't have to keep checking to see where I was.

I did end up only repeating the main part 20 times as opposed to 22 as the pattern called for since I was near the end of the yarn! Still think I got a decent length from it!

I can't wait to try more of Brenda's patterns!

And, now onto some of the new yarns I've listed lately, all of which can be found in my etsy hand spun yarn shop!

Kitty Mixers - Violet Night - Hand Spun 2ply Yarn, merino wool, 164 yards and 146 yards
Navajo 3ply - Winter Berry - Hand Spun 3ply Yarn, merino wool/silk/bamboo blend, 90 yards
Squish-tastic! - Winter Berry - Hand Spun Bulky 2ply Yarn, Rambouillet wool and merino/silk/bamboo blend, 70 yards and 33 yards
Squish-tastic! - Sugar Plum - Hand Spun Bulky 2ply Yarn, Rambouillet woo, and merino/tencel blend, 62 yards and 44 yards
Navajo 3ply - Autumn Gypsy - Hand Spun 3ply Yarn, merino wool/silk blend, 40 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Plum Paradise - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 162 yards

Now I'm off to get some new single plys spun, and maybe do some more knitting!

Am I there yet? (moving and new yarns)

I think I may have mentioned that we were moving this month. Well, we are sort of moved. I am here in our new apartment with Bug (our cat) and my laptop. And the printer. And a box of fiber ready to spin. And my wheel. And a few other things that made it down here with me on Sunday. BUT, almost all of our other stuff? Still 3 hours away waiting to get down here. I'm hoping it will all arrive today and then I'll feel a little more "settled". For now, I still feel like I'm just visiting or staying in a hotel. At least I've got the laptop, the TV, and Bug! :)

Here she is, as a matter of fact, as Queen of the Boxes - these are boxes we brought down a few weeks ago - mostly non-essentials - stuff like our collectible toys/figures, books, and a few miscellaneous things that are non-necessities.

For perspective, here is the full-length shot of the closet -
That is the closet in what will probably be "my" room - I'll have my fiber in there, and probably a desk/computer, etc. My bookcases will also be in there. As the queen of clutter we are trying something NEW with this apartment and that is trying to keep the living room area look really clean and OPEN. NO clutter! My wheel will still be in there, because I'll still be spinning in that room since it has GREAT lighting. But, all the other fiber WILL be confined to this one room. Maybe I'll take more pictures later . . .

In fibery news - I was hoping to have new yarns spun the past couple of days but I've been feeling sort of in limbo without all of my stuff. I DO have fiber to work on, and hope to get to some of that today, but I DO have some new yarns from BEFORE the holidays - ones I don't think I ever posted here, so here they are! :)
From top to bottom -
The last batches of Plum Divine for 2009! One skein has already sold, but the other skein is still available here in my etsy shop!

Kitty Singles - Candy Colored Clown - Hand Spun Merino Wool Yarn - 134 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Spring Garden - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn - 224 yards
Novel-Ply - New Year's Twilight - Hand Spun Super Bulky Yarn - 70 yards and a small 20 yard skein
Thread-Ply - Spumoni Sparkle - Hand Spun Thread-Ply Yarn, thicknthin with a few coils and beehives, too - great sparkle! - 60 yards and 30 yards

Here are a couple of others, too -

Kitty Singles - Rose Mocha - Hand Spun Single Ply Rambouillet Wool Yarn - 155 yards

Kitty Mixers - Adirondack Autumn - Hand Spun Two-Ply Merino Wool Yarn - 150 yards

Kitty Singles - November Garden - Hand Spun Single Ply Falkland Wool Yarn - 168 yards

Wow, I am even more behind than I thought in posting current yarns! Here is another mosaic with even MORE recent hand spun yarns! All of these yarns can be found in my etsy shop HERE!
Beautiful Bamboo - Sand and Sea - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn
Beautiful Bamboo - Chocolate Berry Shine - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn
Kitty Singles - Sabrina - Hand Spun Single Ply BFL Wool Yarn
Kitty Singles - Sweet - Hand Spun Single Ply BFL Wool Yarn
Squish-tastic - Twilight Dreams - Hand Spun Bulky Thick/Thin 2ply Yarn
Navajo 3-ply - Twilight Dreams - Hand Spun 3ply Yarn - merino wool and silk
Kitty Singles - Holiday Memories - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn
Kitty Singles - Orchid CinderWood - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn

Okay, I think that is all! I better get offline now and try and get something spun. I've got some Rambouillet wool ready to spin into a single ply, a few more batches of bamboo (I'm almost completely out of bamboo, though! I need to order more!), and some merino and merino/silk ready for some Squish-tastics! and Navajo 3plys. Alright, definitely better get to work!

I'm back . . . with new yarns and more!

Wow, it has really been awhile since I posted. But, I AM BACK! I honestly don't know if I'll be able to post daily, but I'm at least hoping to post a little more regularly, especially with all that may be happening in the next couple of months. Here's my confession - since the middle of July I've been working a "day job" again. That is why I haven't been posting as many new yarns, why I haven't been blogging and in general just haven't been "around" as much. But, for many reasons I rather not go into right now, I have QUIT that job and now will be able to devote my full attention to getting ready for my November shows. This is the perfect time since I do have my two most-favorite shows of the year this month - DIY Trunk Show in Chicago and Art vs Craft in Milwaukee. I am determined to have lots of new yarns and new knits for both of these shows! This means I'll be spinning and knitting like crazy over the next few weeks and I will be listing at least ONE NEW YARN EVERY DAY in my etsy shop. Due to time constraints, I may not list *everything* I spin, but yarns not sold at the shows will all be listed by the end of the month.

The other news, which is NOT 100% quite yet, but about 99.99999999999% sure is that we are MOVING. Not just moving to a new apartment but to a NEW CITY. And a NEW STATE. This is going to be happening within the next few months, which is the main reason I quit the job. More on this as things progress . . . but I won't be TOO far away from where we are now, which means I'll still be able to do my "normal" shows in both Wisconsin and Illinois.

For now, it's back to my old (wonderful) routine of daily spinning and listing yarns. Today, I spun 9 new yarns! Some were for possible custom requests, but several will be listed tomorrow, including 3 new art yarn skeins. In the meantime, though, I wanted to catch up with the new yarns that I have listed lately - these are skeins spun in the past few weeks that are new and still available -

Here are direct links to each listing in my etsy shop -
Squish-tastic! - November Garden - Hand Spun Bulky 2ply Yarn
90 yards and 30 yards
Kitty Mixers - Brown Eyed Girl - Hand Spun Two Ply Yarn (merino wool)
140 yards and 120 yards
FunctionArt/Batt-tacular - Holly Hobbie Redux - Hand Spun Art Yarn - 120 yards, 5.4 oz
CoilySpun - Vampire Valentine - Hand Spun Coils & Beehives Yarn - 12 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Marmalade Pine - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn
134 yards and 124 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Kitty Grrlz Dark - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn
Kitty Singles - Marchengarten - Hand Spun Single Ply Wool Yarn
Kitty Singles - Berry Crush - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn
Kitty Singles - Italo - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn
Kitty Singles - Cormorant - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn

I think that's all for now, but should have more new yarns for Sunday!

Two new single ply yarns

Even though I was at my show all day yesterday, I did manage to spin 2 new yarns and have listed them in my etsy shop today - both are spun from Falkland wool hand dyed by Cloudlover.

This one is from her "Rotten Pumpkin" colorway, though I'm calling it "Harvest Night" and it is 158 yards -

And, this one is from her "Decay" colorway, but I've dubbed it "Southwest Rustic" and it is 180 yards -

I spun a couple more today but am not sure I'll get them listed tomorrow, but they will be coming soon. I also have two pairs of wristwarmers, one hat, and four scarves that I hope to list in my Kitty Grrlz Knits etsy shop this week. I've got some custom-spin requests to work on next, but I also hope to have time to get some new yarns spun for my etsy shop, too. We'll see how it goes!

BAMBOO BOGO SALE!

I am having a sale this weekend in my etsy shop! It is on all BAMBOO SKEINS, and is BUY ONE at regular price and get the Second Skein HALF OFF. Sale goes through Sunday night. You can find more details in my etsy shop HERE.

I also have two new single ply yarn skeins to list later today, and I should have pictures later today, too.

Hope to have some new yarns to list tomorrow, too!

New hand spun yarns!

I have listed three new single ply yarns on etsy today, along with two 2-ply skeins from yesterday. Here is a mosaic of the new yarns -

I'll be doing my second destash post later tonight. It will mostly include 2-4 oz batches of locks of various fibers and a few with some buttons, angelina, and other embellishments.

Some new single ply yarns

I've been a bit distracted lately, but I have been spinning. I've finished some single plys that were custom requests so they never quite made it to etsy. Yesterday, though, I spun four more single ply skeins, all from some different blends of fiber. Two of them are spun from Optim fiber - Optim fiber is made by stretching fine merino wool to reduce the fiber diameter and lengthen the staple, resulting in wonderful loft and softness - making it feel similar to cashmere. It doesn't have quite the elasticity/memory of wool but isn't quite the same as bamboo. I like how the skeins feel! Very soft and smooth. The other two skeins are merino/silk blends. I usually spin the merino/silk as Navajo 3-plys, but they take me SO long that I was looking for something that would take me a little less time, hence the single plys. Now I've got to decide if I'm going to do more of the merino/silk singles or go back to the 3plys . . . I guess I'll wait and see how I feel.

Here is a mosaic of the new skeins -

From the top left corner to the bottom right corner -

Wine Garden - 130 yards, merino wool and silk, Worsted weight
Rocker Grrl - 130 yards, merino wool and silk, DK weight
Peach Crush - 110 yards, optim fiber, Worsted weight
Captivate - 100 yards, optim fiber, DK weight

I'm not doing so well on the trying-to-blog-regularly, but maybe I will get back into the routine soon. I HAVE been doing pretty good with the exercising, though, which is what I've got to go do right now . . .

Kitty Singles - new hand spun single ply yarns!

Well, I did pretty much what I hoped to yesterday, except instead of spinning 7 WOOL single plys, i spun 4 wool and 3 bamboo. Here is a mosaic of the 4 single plys -


Wineberry - 190 yards, thicker DK weight
Spring Blossoms - 160 yards, Worsted weight
Coral Sands - 170 yards, DK weight
Melon Blossom - 134 yards, Worsted weight

And, here are the bamboo colors. These aren't quite listed on etsy yet, but I will be listing two of the 3 skeins later today (hopefully) and the third will be listed as a custom-spin-to-order, as I do have more fiber in these colors.

That's all for now!

New Single Ply Yarns

Just a a quickie post today to show off my 3 latest single ply yarns. When I received these batches of fiber in the mail from Cloudlover, I was speechless! The colors were so deep and gorgeous! I wanted to spin them right away, but had to wait. I should have been working on more commissions yesterday, but instead I snuck in these 3 spins - (all are now on etsy here!)

Annabel Lee - 166 yards - 5.2 oz - worsted weight

Lenore - 120 yards - 4.2 oz - worsted weight

Lost - 136 yards - 5.2 oz - thicker worsted weight

What I'll be spinning today . . .

Today, I'll be spinning more bamboo. Here is a shot of the colors I hope to get done today - or, at least two skeins of each of these 4 colors and maybe the one on the top -

From left to right, these are Serenity, Prairie Dusk, Victorian Rose aka "Peachy Keen Taffy" and Rose Garden aka "Neon Taffy".

Next in the bamboo line are these colors - Blue Pearl aka Ice Princess, Southwest Dawn aka Marmalade Pine, Springtime in Paris, Hibiscus Paradise and Verry Berry. If I stick to my schedule at least some of these will be spun tomorrow. The "Ice Princess" is what I am hoping to spin for my mini-skein keychains that I will be sending off to be included in the PhatFiber box for January. I just have to get the yarn spun!!


Finally, I DO have some new bamboo skeins to list later this afternoon. Look for them on etsy a little later today!

Just a quickie picture post

Here are just a few pictures from the new yarns I spun up over the weekend (more coming this afternoon, too!) Clicking on the pictures should take you to the Etsy Listing.

Vegas, baby! Hand Spun Two-Ply bamboo yarn spun from two of LOOP's "Chocolate Liqueur" batts.

Then, there is "Radioactive Chance" - after working on the two-ply most of Saturday, I decided to ignore my to-do list, my to-spin list, and all the already-prepped fiber, and spin this. It's just . . . different from my normal colors so thought I'd take a chance on it . . .

Three new single plys - all from Falkland wool dyed by the Yarn Wench.

Orchid Sunset 2

Watermelon Sky
Aqua Lime Light

And, finally, another skein of Mahogany Midnight Moon as an art yarn. I love this colorway! I have about 2 oz left of it but am not sure if I want to do another art yarn skein, or a coordinating CoilySpun skein!

And, I'll probably be mentioning this every day this week - but if you are in the Madison, Wisconsin are this SATURDAY, JUNE 28 - come by the HIGH NOON SALOON for the SUMMER CRAFTACULAR! I will be there, along with many other great hand made vendors. Hours are from 10am-4pm.

That's all from me for today!

More bamboo - "Ice Princess"

Just a quickie picture post today to show the new bamboo yarn I listed yesterday - a color I'm calling "Ice Princess" spun from the "Blue Pearl" color from the FiberLady.


I'll have a new color listed later today, too!