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!

More new yarns - merino wool and silk today!

I am really trying to stick to a heavy spinning schedule this week as I prepare for the Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair. My plan is to alternate between "bamboo days" and "wool days". Yesterday was a "wool day", so I spun up some merino wool and merino wool and silk blends. I've listed all of these skeins in my etsy shop - here is a mosaic of the new ones - (below you'll find direct links to the listings)

Kitty Singles - Ivy League - Hand Spun Merino Wool - 132 yards - worsted, thick n thin
Navajo 3-ply - Ivy League - Hand Spun Merino Wool and Silk blend - 90 yards - heavy worsted/bulky
Navajo 3-ply - Mahogany Peacock - Hand Spun Merino Wool and Silk Blend - 58 yards - heavy worsted/bulky
Squish-tastic! - Mahogany Peacock - Hand Spun Merino Wool and Merino/Silk - 88 yards - super bulky
Squish-tastic! - Mahogany Peacock - Hand Spun Merino Wool and Merino/Silk - 28 yards - super bulky (mini skein)

DESTASH SUNDAY WEEK TWO - Roving

Here is this week's DESTASH post! Today, I've got mostly wool roving, along with a couple of batts and one lot of random small fiber samples. Most of what I have today is probably best for felting, though there are a couple that would spin great. But, you can use these for anything you can think of! I WILL note for each item, though, if it's best for felting or spinning based on how easy it is to draft. Some of the merino I have here was very difficult for me to draft, which is part of why I am destashing it. Since I have problems with my hands on occasion, I really need to spin fiber that drafts easily, and some of these were just a little too tough for me. But, that doesn't mean the lovely fiber should go to waste - I'm sure others would be able to spin them, OR, as I said earlier - they'd be great for felting! I even have one lot of 3 needle-felting kits! Perfect if you'd like to try or maybe want to try with a group! :) But, I've rambled enough - here is the destash list for today -

First, the "rules" -
Each item has a price listed. I prefer paypal payment.
Shipping is FREE in the USA. I prefer not to ship these internationally, but if you live outside the USA and are interested, please email me for shipping costs.
If you buy 3 or more lots, you may get a discount, usually 10%, but it does depend on the items purchased, and I can't always promise a discount. The ones listed today are already listed below what I paid.
To purchase, please EMAIL ME at kittygrrlzinc@yahoo.com
In the case of multiple requests for the same item, I will go by whoever emailed first.
I will remove items as they are sold.

The first items are all SPUNKY CLUB fibers from SpunkyEclectic. I was a club member and always got double so most of these lots are 8 oz. The cost was $26 and most of these 8 oz lots are priced at $20 - and remember, that includes shipping! Here are the Spunky Club lots -

First, is "Goblin Eyes", Romney wool, a total of 7.8 oz from October 2007. "October is the month of scary ghouls, goblins, ghosts, and all things scary and terrific. Every time I've seen a Goblin their eyes seem to be able to change. Black, white, green, orange, purple, and sometimes an awful scary combination of them all." = $20

Second, is "Party Dress", Superwash Corriedale wool, a total of 8.1 oz from December 2007. "When I came up with this colorway is just screamed 80s colored party dresses. Bright and cheerful, ready for that New Years party." Bright green, red, and bright blue. = $20

Finally, the last of the Spunky Club fiber lots - "Harvest Haze", Lincoln wool, total of 7.8 oz (with just a bit of it spun up). Soft shades of green and peachy orange and a bit of pale purple/lavender. IF you've never spun Lincoln wool before - here is more information - "The staple length is a staggering 8-15 inches (20-38 cm). The micron count is rated at 37-41. So now you know it's not the softest. But, it is strong and so super shiny. It's main uses would be for outerwear, rugs or to blend with other fibers for strength." = $20

This lot includes two braids of 22 micron hand dyed merino top from EweGiveMeTheKnits in color "Chocolate Dipped Berries". Each braid is 3.5 oz for a total of 7 oz. total for both = $25 (if you only want one braid, they are $15 each - better savings if you buy both)

Here is a 2 oz lot of hand dyed Corriedale wool, would be great for felting, I think. Dark blues and purples with a bit of red. 2 oz = $8

Here is some hand dyed alpaca from NorthStarAlpacas - in bright shades of orange, yellow, and pink. It is 75% white alpaca from Okko, 30% Merino lamb from genopalette and 5% Mohair from SpinningMoonFarm. 2.5 oz = $9

Here is 3.3 oz of "Indian Princess", a blended batt from TerraBellaSpun. Includes wool, superwash merino, and gold sparkle. = $15

Another set of hand dyed domestic wool braids dyed by the Yarn Wench, another custom request, this time in shades of purple and orange. Braids are 3.8 and 3.7 oz for a total of 7.5 oz = $20
The above two pictures are the next lot - another two batches of hand dyed domestic wool dyed by the Yarn Wench in color "Vibe" - bright shades of orange with a bit of green. 4.1 oz and 4.5 oz for a total of 8.6 oz = $20

This is another lot that would be good for felting as the pink roving shown here, while merino wool, is *very* difficult to draft, so would be best used for felting or for "knitting-with-roving" projects. There is 3.8 oz of pink, 1.1 oz of orange, and 1.9 oz of bright yellow, 1.1 oz of lighter yellow, and .4 oz of natural colored wool. Total = 8.3 oz = $14

The next lot combines 3 needle felting kits I purchased when I thought I would start needle-felting. It's not that I don't want to, actually, but the truth is, I don't have time. So, I'm offering all three kits together in one lot. This way, you will receive plenty of bits of wool and sparkle, 3 different foam blocks, several bandaids, multiple needles, and different instructions. The Crafty Ass Chick set includes pinbacks, too, to make flower pins (along with the instructions to make such flower pins). Here is a picture of the 3 sets -

The large set is the CraftyAssChick set which includes instructions on how to make the flower pins (I paid $40 for this set alone!). The other set is from YarnPunk and includes some thicker sparkle (I paid $9). The other kit, I'm not sure where I got it from, but is also included (7.95 price tag). ALL THREE SETS = $40 (that's basically getting the two smaller kits for FREE)

I'm including this lot here today because some of the wools I've posted today would be great for felting!

So, that's it for this week! I still have some loose fibers/locks available from last week. You can see what is still available HERE and HERE.

DESTASH SUNDAY!

I have a lot more than I thought, so I'm going to break this into 2 posts today. First, I'll be posting the larger batches of fiber and LOOP babycakes, and later tonight I'll be posting smaller amounts of loose fibers organized into lots by color. In most cases, I've posted a new picture of the fiber, but in some cases (those where I just can't get the colors right), I'm including a link to the original listing on the Yarn Wench site (since most of these are from there).

Each item has a price listed. I prefer paypal payment.
Shipping is FREE in the USA. I prefer not to ship these internationally, but if you live outside the USA and are interested, please email me for shipping costs.
If you buy 3 or more lots, you will get a discount, usually 10%.
To purchase, please EMAIL ME at kittygrrlzinc@yahoo.com
In the case of multiple requests for the same item, I will go by whoever emailed first.
**I will remove items as they are sold.**

Here are the first items available -

Premium Mixed Bag 5 - 3.7 oz - $18
From the Yarn Wench listing - "A Mixed Bag of assorted hand-dyed wool roving, targhee locks, Cotswold locks, silk, and angelina. Perfect for drum-carding or spinning as is!" - Please note - I have prepped/pre-drafted most of the roving in this lot.

Okay, I think that is it for now! I still have tons of smaller bags of Yarn Wench Mmmbelishments, and a couple more larger bags of locks, but I will post those later tonight.

I'll also be listing 3 new Falkland single ply yarns on etsy this afternoon!

This weekend's art yarn challenge

I'll be spinning art yarns again this weekend - here is a shot of the fiber that (hopefully) will be spun into art yarns by Monday night!

All merino wool dyed by the Yarn Wench - colors are "Elizabeth", "Atomic Yuletide", "Crabapple", and "Dark Shadows".

I also just listed a new single ply, thick n thin merino yarn -

AND, I am having a pretty good weekend sale for all those who have signed up for my NEW NEWSLETTER! To sign up and get in on the weekend special - please check out the bottom of this page - http://kittygrrlz.com.

Off to spin now!

This week's new yarns - single plys!

So it seems this week I was on a kick of spinning more simple single ply yarns. I received some super soft merino wool from FreckleFaceFibers and wanted to spin them up right away but wanted to do something "quick and simple" with them - so they became slightly thick n thin worsted weight single ply skeins -

Candy Corn Tonight (from fiber called Jack O' Lantern)


Raspberry Truffle (from fiber called Sangria)

I put "quick and easy" in quotes because even a simple single ply yarn isn't always easy - while merino wool is my favorite as far as softness goes, it isn't as easy to spin as, say, Falkland. Merino is very squishy and likes to "stick" together. Falkland is just a bit more smooth, and slips apart when drafting just a little bit easier. So, I also did spin a single ply this week -

Raking Leaves - spun from hand dyed Falkland wool from the Yarn Wench.

Finally, last night, I decided to take two really soft Spontaneous Spinning batts from LOOP and spin them into Corespun single ply yarns. Corespun yarns are spun by spinning the wool around a core thread. In this case, I used a crochet cotton thread. Here are the skeins (one of which has already sold - yay and thank you!)

Mint Enchanted -


Emerald Enchanted - (sold)
So this is what I've been up to this week, along with some other custom orders. Tomorrow my ART YARN CHALLENGE begins and I will be spinning nothing but art yarns for the next 3 days (at least). I'll blog a bit more about that tomorrow, though . . .

Bamboo, bamboo, bamboo!

So all is well with my website. Seems it may have been working earlier than I thought yesterday since once I cleared my cache it came up just fine! This means kittygrrlz.com is back in business! :)

I have listed most of the new yarns on etsy now and just have to finish listing the bamboo on my site. I've got 2 skeins each of Marmalade Mint, Southwest Sky, Springtime in Paris, and Summer Neon Taffy. I have one skein of Aqua Lime, Summer Rainbow, and Prairie Dusk. I should have pictures up on flickr later today. These are all single ply bamboo skeins - and I've now lowered the price a bit AND if you are a newsletter subscriber, the price is even a couple of dollars lower!

I also listed two Navajo 3-ply skeins of the Seawool in hot shocking pink and black! This fiber is so soft and squishy, but also smooth-soft, like silk or bamboo - it's just wonderful!


I think that's it from me today. More pictures and new yarns to come tomorrow morning!

Running the numbers . . .

So as I sit here obsessively stalking the Yarn Wench's page for her update today, I thought I'd add up the amount of fiber I *already* have in hopes that it will stop me from buying too much! Good thing my boyfriend doesn't read my blog (I don't think) because this is exactly the kind of ammunition he needs in his campaign to get me to stop buying fiber!

Total amount of fiber in all forms (not including yarn):
353.70 ounces, that is 22.11 pounds of fiber!

Total amount in "roving" or "top" form:
328.50 ounces, or 20.53 pounds

Total amount in "locks" form:
25.20 oucnes, or 1.575 pounds

Percentage of the above that is Yarn Wench fiber: probably about 90%!

If I spin on average of 4 ounces per day, I have enough fiber to last me . . . 88 days! That's only a few months! So, of course I can buy more! :)

In addition:

I have 11 skeins of handdyed handspun yarn from other fiber artists.

I have 74 skeins of handspun yarn that *I* spun.

I have 25 hand knit items knit by me from handspun and regular yarns.

This actually may seem like a lot, but I've already got 5 confirmed shows (starting in July) and plan on at least 5 more . . . so, if you think about it, I NEED to have this much!!

;)

Chocolate Covered Cherries

Chocolate Covered Cherries is a wonderfully soft handdyed handspun novelty art yarn. The fiber is superwash merino wool and dyed by chickswithsticks aka sprouty25 on etsy! It was a dream to spin! I added in some novelty yarns for texture and plied with thread. I have two skeins available. Both are available on my website or etsy.

Here are some more pictures: