Wow . .

has it really been a week since I last posted???? Shame, shame!

But, I've been busy. I had a show on Saturday so of course spent last week getting ready for it, which basically meant forcing myself to KNIT! I don't know why it is so difficult for me to get working on a knitting project - once I complete them I'm always happy - but once again it was down to the wire as I tried to get two Triangle Shawls done . . . and it paid off as one of them sold! Here is the other one . . . they are *really* difficult to photograph. I realized this time that the problem is the only open/bright/white background space I have is by our window - which doesn't work too well when you are trying to take pictures having the light *behind* just isn't conducive to getting a good picture. So, I will have to work on trying to find another space. Right now I'm thinking I need to find a white sheet or something that i could drape over the TV or something, then I could use that as the background . . . but, I digress. Here are a couple of shots of the shawl - but they are much better in person!

I also took pictures of two more scarves that I knit from hand dyed yarn - this yarn is Austerman Samoa nylon microfiber yarn that was hand dyed by Lynn aka the Yarn Wench, special for me. Both of these scarves are listed on my WEBSITE and also my hand knits etsy shop, Kitty Grrlz Knits. (The shawl will be listed later today.)

CopperBurnt Sky:

Ruby Sky:
And, of course, there has been lots of spinning! I spun up some bamboo recently, but the first one I did on Friday and it just didn't turn out well - I mean, I like it, especially the color, but it was spun much too unevenly and, well, here it is so you can see for yourself:
I guess it just turned out thicker and more over-twisted than I like. For comparison, here is another bamboo skein that I spun up on Sunday. It is much thinner, and more even (though I still get Wraps Per Inch varying between Sport and Fine weight), but to me, it just looks much more "professional":

This one should be listed later today. I'm still not sure if I'm going to list the other one. I may use it for my knitting experiment, we'll see.

I also spun up two Navajo 3-ply Yarns this weekend! Mostly done at my show. They are both available on my website or on etsy. If you click the pics below it will take you to the etsy listings.

This is "Sabrina's Garden" and is 160 yards. Merino wool.

This is "Fuchsia Cocoa Citrine", 116 yards, merino and silk blend hand dyed by the Yarn Wench.

Both are priced a little less than normal as they were mostly spun while at my show. Which, by the way, was an okay show. I sold a few yarns and the shawl, made my fee and gas money back with even a little to spare! Yay! Now, I don't have a show until April 12, and the main thing I want to have done by then are MORE SHAWLS, and more bamboo yarns.

Finally, I just have to say WOOHOO! I was on the front page of etsy on Sunday night! Here is a screen shot of part of the treasury that was curated by SteppingStones. Thank you for including me and yay for it making the front page!


Oops, ONE more thing, then I must get to work. Here is a sneak peek at a new yarn I spun last night. It is merino wool hand dyed by the Yarn Wench, with lots of specialty yarns spun in, and plied with rayon thread. 114 yards and 4.1 oz! AND, I still have more of the fiber so will be spinning a matching skein (will probably be smaller, though) tonight. This one, though, should be listed later today, once I get a chance to take some better pictures!

wait, is it tuesday already?

where did Monday go?? ;)

Well, I meant to post yesterday with some new yarns but I just didn't get a chance. This morning I want to quick post some pics, starting with this one . . .

I love this picture . . . I don't usually like my pictures and I have been struggling with improving them for my etsy listings. But, I took this one yesterday and for some reason - I just really like it!! These were yarns that I spun up on Sunday. Yes, it was a busy spinning weekend and I loved it! I also spun 4 skeins on Saturday - but they all sold right away! I was so happy. Sunday was actually the best sales day I think I have ever had! THANK YOU to all of my wonderful customers!!! Even though they sold, here is a peak at the yarns from Saturday:

yes, that is more "Plum Grove" . . . I love this color. I have said I won't do anymore . . . but I do have some fiber that is similarly colored - but much more "bright" - the green is such a bright (almost neon) green and the purple just *pops*! I can't wait to spin it but am waiting just a little bit - I have novelty yarns coming from multiple sources and would like to change it up and include some *different* novelties that are the brighter, more vivid colors to match the wool. But, I am rambling . . .

The other two in the picture were supposed to be my EtsyFAST March challenge entries, the theme of which is "Fairy Tales". I called the skeins "Irish Fairy Tale" as I thought it would also fit in with St. Patrick's Day in March. Here are closer pics of them:

But, enough about yarns that are no longer available . . .how about some NEW yarns?? Here are the ones from Sunday, all of which are now on etsy (and will be up on my website soon).

First, are the "Strawberry Cheesecake" and "Strawberry Shortcake" bulky 2-ply skeins. I've been wanting to try this for awhile - spin a thick/thin merino wool single and then ply it with a thinner spun merino/silk single for sort of a "squishy" almost-boucle style thick/thin bulky two ply. Naomi tried it with just two differently spun strands of merino, and it turned out squish-a-licious! Here is her "Andromeda":
So, this was my plan, but with the thinner strand being merino/silk. Here is the larger skein, 88 yards, "Strawberry Cheesecake":

And, the smaller, 56 yards, "Strawberry Shortcake":

And, since I had some remaining merino/silk, I Navajo-plied it for this small, mini skein of 54 yards of Navajo 3-ply:

I love how the merino/silk looks spun up like this and think I will have to do more! I have a couple other colorways from the Yarn Wench in this merino/silk blend . . .

Then, there was something bright and fun - and sooo soft! These two skeins were spun from superwash merino wool (dyed by the Yarn Wench, of course!) and I spun in some bright orange, some lighter purple and one blue yarn - then plied with purple and orange thread. These skeins are seriously so soft and silky!
So, that was my weekend! Lots and lots of spinning . . .

And, I tried to keep the momentum going last night - here is a sneak peak at the new yarns that will be listed later today. Two skeins. Both spun from merino wool with novelty yarns spun in and plied with variegated thread.

Okay, that's all I have time for this morning! :)

A few things this morning . . .

First, here are the new yarns that I listed yesterday! Click on the pictures to take you to the etsy listing, or you can check them out at KittyGrrlz.Com

Inconsistent Spring Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn - this one was spun from nice and soft Falkland wool hand dyed by the Yarn Wench, color called "Bower". It ended up a little less consistent than I like, even for a thick/thin single, so it varies between DK and Worsted weight. 150 yards.

Pretty Purple Pansies - spun from a pretty batt from TerraBellaSpun - this one has merino, superwash, wool, bamboo, gold sparkle, and white glitz and then is plied with light purple thread. 78 bulky yards.

And, then there is Woodland Royalty - an earthy skein in browns with gorgeous deep purple and plied with dark purple thread. This one is spun from another TerraBellaSpun batt made up of wool, mohair, bamboo, sparkle, and Tussah Silk. 66 bulky yards.
Second . . . I was on the front page earlier this week, overnight, with my Plum Grove revisited yarn. And, then, I was on AGAIN last night with the same yarn, but this time it sold!! I was so excited since this is the first time that has happened! Woohoo! Here is a screenshot of the treasury (and i'm sorry i couldn't get the entire thing - i don't have a big monitor!) Thank you to crafthabit for creating such a beautiful treasury and for including me in it!

Also, for anyone who may be interested in the Plum Grove yarn but missed out on it - I do have 4 more oz of fiber that could be spun into a similar yarn. I am running out of some of the yarns I spin into it, but could spin two more skeins in this color combination. Just email me or convo me on etsy for details!

Finally, no Lego Star Wars last night as I was a little slow in getting my "work" done - but, I will have two skeins of a pretty shades-of-green-and-yellow-and-gold posted later today - here is a sneak peek:

Have a great Thursday everyone!!

Some Wednesday randomness . . .

First - I think there were two dead rock stars turning over in their graves last night as Randy Jackson compared an American Idol contestant (who had just sung "Light My Fire") to Michael Hutchence. Oh my. What would Jim think? Of course, I really don't even consider that one of "his" songs, but rather the lame top-40 hit by Robby Krieger . . . to say nothing of what Michael Hutchence would think being compared to just another wannabe rockstar. (Okay, I will admit that they guy wasn't *that bad*, but he was *definitely* NO Jim OR Michael!)

Second - I listed three yarns yesterday! Click on the pictures to go to their listing on etsy, or go to my website.

Hello Princess Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Art Yarn (94 yards)

Hello Easter Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Art Yarn (88 yards)
Easter, baby Hand Spun Art Yarn (78 yards)
Third - I spun *three* yarns last night! Woohoo! I don't have pictures because I didn't take the time to take them before setting the twists/washing, so I will have pictures of them this afternoon, and they will be listed then, too. There are a little less "exciting" than these art yarns, but I needed to spin something that was a little less time-consuming - I love the kitty yarns, but spinning in the novelty yarns and the plying with beads all take extra time. The plying, especially, has been taking longer because of how many beads I am now using! Anyways, the new yarns are two new boucle-style art yarns - pretty batts spun into a single ply and then plied with thread. The third yarn is a pretty single ply in lavender, greens, and other spring colors.

Fourth - I have a confession to make. One of the reasons I have been "slacking" is . . . I have become a little obsessed with the STAR WARS Lego game!?!?!? This is very much not like me. But, the story goes - I bought the PS3 for my boyfriend for Christmas/his birthday . . . since he was spending so much time playing by himself, he suggested we get the Star Wars Lego game so we could play something together. Well, at first I didn't think I would want to play . . . but I did . . . Unfortunately, he didn't like playing with me! I was too slow and just had a different overall way of playing that was driving him crazy. So, I ended up playing through the game by myself. But, now that we've "finished" it, we are both going back and re-playing the levels to find all the "stuff". This means that I've been playing at night and on the weekends when I really should be working. There, I admitted it!

One cool aside about the game - there was a trailer for an Indiana Jones game!! I am excited! I think it will be very cool and fun. It comes out this summer. Need to have the Star Wars game "done" by then! ;) It also got me thinking - you know what would make a TOTALLY KICK ASS Lego game????? BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER! :) Like Star Wars, you have so many characters and character variations you could play as! And, like, Buffy could have different skills/powers than Willow, and the vampires would have their powers - you could play as Angel or Angelous . . . or Spike with or without a soul . . or crazy Drusilla . . . just an endless amount of possibilities there!

ANYways . . . I think that is it, but even if not it is once again all I have time for!

It's my birthday . . .

today! I feel old. Sort of. I used to make such a big deal about my birthday, but I guess I am finally getting to the point where I would like to stop counting so it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore . . .

In honor of my birthday (ha!) I took yesterday off from work. I shouldn't have because it was the last of my personal/comp/sick time . . . but, I felt I needed a sort of "mental health day", or rather a "get motivated, damnit!" day! I have been really slacking lately and didn't get much accomplished last week at all, and even though I stayed home from my show this weekend, I didn't get much done then, either. (Well, okay, I did vacuum and do laundry, both of which were sorely overdue!) But, I haven't done many new yarns so really wanted to get back into the "spin of things"!

So . . . I did. I spun up 3 new yarns. Two new Hello Kitty yarns, and one other one. I also got a few others ready to go so that I should be able to get back to my 1-2 a night schedule, with more getting done on the weekend.

Here are the 3 new yarns from yesterday - these pics aren't the best because they were taken later yesterday, but I should have better ones this afternoon. I plan on listing all 3 on my website later today, and the first two will be on etsy as well.

Hello Easter Kitty & Easter Baby yarns - both of these were spun from hand dyed Falkland wool (dyed by the Yarn Wench), with novelty yarns spun in. The kitty yarn is plied with a Lang yarns nylon yarn, which is strung with 60 Hello Kitty beads in yellow, pink, and purple, as well as 34 other beads. The other skein is plied with three threads - pale pink, pale yellow, and pale light purple.


Then, there is Hello Princess Kitty - a typical girly yarn in perfect Hello Kitty colors of pink, purple, and white. It was spun from a batt called "Candy Hearts" from TerraBellaSpun. It has lots of novelty yarns, AND ribbon, spun in and then is plied with two variegated threads (pink/white and purple/white) strung with 62 Hello Kitty face beads (31 each of pink and purple). Definitely prettier in person:
So, that was the work from yesterday! Yay! And, most importantly, I definitely feel back to normal and think I will get a lot of new yarns done this week!

And, now, for a few kitty pictures . . . the first is of Bug deciding to sleep right by the cooler that is on our couch which is catching the water that was leaking from the ceiling yesterday. I really don't know why she has to be right in the middle of messes! The second is here snoozing with my niddy noddy - which can't make a comfortable pillow!


Oh! One more picture - this yarn was a special request from one of my best customers ever - She wanted a yarn in the orange/yellow colors of a California Poppy. She sent me a picture, and I tried and this is what I came up with:
It has 6 novelty yarns spun in - but instead of alternating the orange and yellow colors, I spun in the oranges in a row, then the yellows in a row, to try and show the way the flower went from being darker orange on the bottom to yellow near the top. I wasn't so sure about this one at first, but it has grown on me so much, I might do one similar - I have some fiber that is sort of the same (not exact) and I have run out of one of the yarns I used - but I am thinking of using the eyelash yarns to spin in, but then plying with the other novelty yarns I spun into this one. We'll see. It's about 4th on my most immediate "to spin" list . . .

Okay, I think that's it, and if not, too bad, because it's all I have time for! :)

Friday already . . . .

and I really don't have much to show for the week! Very sad. I have just been so tired . . . and the weather is just killing me . . .

speaking of . . . we are expecting another snow storm on Sunday. Given the frigid temperatures, the fact I may be getting sick yet again, and the predicted snow . . . I will most likely NOT be at the show I was supposed to be at this weekend. I just don't feel it is worth the extra driving risk PLUS the potential of me getting sick yet again. I hate this. I hate having to bail out on something I agreed to . . . but . . . gah. I still have about 5 hours to decide for sure . . .

I knit another pair of wristwarmers last night, but once again no spinning! If I do skip the show this weekend, I will have lots of time to spin, I hope! I'll also get a chance to take pictures of the knit items I've finished this week . . .

Otherwise, I don't have much to say today! But, since I can't have a post without any pictures, here are a couple yarns (all of which are still available) . . .

Here is one that is about to expire on etsy - It is the most yardage I've gotten for a Navajo 3-ply, and is in the very popular colorway "Andromeda" from Lynn aka the Yarn Wench. This was the *first* batch of this color that has since been repeated but *never* quite the same!
And, here is the only two-ply yarn I currently have (even though I guess it could *technically* be called a 3-ply, since it has two strands of handspun wool and one strand of metallic thread plied together!


And, finally, here are the 3 Hello Kitty Grrlz yarns I currently have available. Another one is on the horizon soon - this one in pretty purples, pinks, and yellows - which I'm hoping to have done this weekend.

Hello Fuchsia Sunshine Kitty
Hello Sweet Kitty
Hello I love you Kitty
If there is a Hello Kitty Grrlz yarn color combination you would like to see, please let me know!

Okay, now I better get back to work!

Tuesday!

I actually don't have much to say this morning. It is snowing. Again. But, oh well.

I spun up another skein of the "PlumGrove Revisited" last night! It is 98 yards, here is a shot I took last night before setting the twist:

I am waiting to hear if this and/or the other skein are spoken for, but if not, they will be listed later today.

I DID decide to list the coily yarn I posted about yesterday. "All the Pretty Coils" is now available on etsy:
Even though I will be tempted to spin tonight (and I just might sneak in a little bit of it!) my plan is to knit. I have a show again this weekend (well, I'm *supposed* to have a show this weekend - but it will very much depend on the weather as I'm not going to make the 5+ hour drive if we are getting yet another snowstorm!) so really want to finish up a couple of knit things. I want to have at least one shawl, and finish the scarf I started the other night. Plus, I want at least one more pair of wristwarmers . . . so, it will most likely be more knitting for me tonight!