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! 

9 days until Stitches Midwest!

I can't believe there are only 9 more days until Stitches Midwest!  I have come to the realization that I will not be able to get all the yarns spun that I wanted to get done, but I am still spinning as much as I can.  Last night I finished up two more skeins of a new art yarn color.  I'm not sure what I'm going to call this one, but it is spun from merino wool hand dyed by the Yarn Wench and her name for the colorway is "Bewitching Hour."  Here is a fairly poor flash shot taken last night before I set the twist...

Here are some pictures of another art yarn, also spun from Yarn Wench merino wool in her colorway "Imperial Peacock."  I have four skeins of this colorway...

That's it for now...tonight I *finally* start spinning bamboo!

15 days to Stitches Midwest....

and I'm starting to freak out just a little!  Must really kick the spinning into overdrive!

I don't have any pictures today, only this one of Bug from last week....  (She likes to sleep under the cart I keep next to my spinning wheel.  It holds all the pertinent items I need for spinning.)

but i've been spinning...and prepping more fiber...and figuring out some of the details. 

I want to share more pictures of what I'll have at Stitches but realize taking and editing pictures takes time!  So, not today, but soon I'll set aside a little time to take some pictures of the latest yarns that are ready for Stitches Midwest!

18 days to Stitches Midwest!

Since I missed posting yesterday, as of today there are 18 days until Stitches Midwest!  I prepped a ton more fiber yesterday - this time, merino wool for art yarns and Polworth wool that will probably be spun into single ply skeins. 

The majority of yarns I will have at Stitches Midwest will be either bamboo single ply skeins, or my FunctionArt Art Yarns.  But, I WILL have some other yarns and today I have pictures of two of these!

First, I will have quite a few skeins of handspun merino wool and tencel blend single ply skeins.  These work great for shawls and scarves and I specifically spin this blend alot because of the sheen the tencel provides.  One of the colors I'll have is dyed by Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber, her colorway "Haunted Vineyard"....

Here is an example of a shawl I knit from yarn I spun from another of her colorways.  This shawl was knit with about 1-1/2 skeins...

Second, I will have a few skeins of handspun two-ply yarns, mostly in superwash merino wool.  Here is one of the colors I'll have...again, a color dyed by Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber...she calls it North by Northwest...but I have called my skeins "Woodland Holiday".....

Now I'm off to spin more art yarns!