New yarns, batts, and the June Art Yarn of the Month

I listed some new batts and yarns this past week in my etsy shop. I was hoping to list some more batts today and yarns tomorrow, but it is rainy, dreary, cloudy and gray here so I'm not sure I'll be able to take pictures. I'm hoping it will at least get a little brighter later today, but who knows. I WILL be carding and spinning lots this weekend, so it will just be a matter of time before I have more new items available. Here are pictures and links of the yarns and batts listed this past week -

FunctionArt - Telltale Heart v.2 - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 67 yards
FunctionArt - Telltale Heart v.2 - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 69 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Harvest Gold - Hand Spun Single Ply Bamboo Yarn, 130 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Harvest Gold - Hand Spun Single Ply Bamboo yarn, 162 yards
Blended Fiber Batt - Southwest Sunrise - merino wool, Tussah Silk, sparkle, 2.1 ounces
Blended Fiber Batt - Victorian Christmas - merino wool, bamboo - 2.3 ounces
Blended Fiber Batt - Red, White & Blue - 100% bamboo in 3 colors, 3.5 ounces total

And, here is the June Art Yarn of the Month! It is called June-iper Jewel and is spun from hand dyed merino wool dyed by Cloudlover in deep shades of purple, blue, and green. There are still two spots available - you can find the FunctionArt Art Yarn of the Month Club listing on etsy HERE. The listing will be up until June 30. After that time, these two additional skeins will be made available to club members at the club price, OR knit up by me. They will not be listed online, though they may make their way to one of my upcoming shows.

New carded fiber batts for spinning, Art Yarn Club and where you can find my yarns this weekend!

Today I carded some batts. It's interesting how sometimes I think the colors are going to do one thing, and instead they do another. I didn't mean for the second one (blue/purple/apricot) to look so similar to a previous one I'd done, but it does. The first one was done trying to match a specific yarn and the end result . . . matches MANY of the novelty yarns I have! I think it would spin up into a great art yarn. The third one - i was going for a minty sunshiney blend and it looks a lot like Aqua Lime. The last one - I wanted it to be mocha mint but thought just the two colors would be a little "boring", so I added the bright aqua/turquoise silk . . . I like it (alot better in person - that one just didn't photograph well) but it wasn't what I expected. But enough of my rambling - here are the newest batts! All available in my etsy shop in the Blended Fiber Batt section.


There are two spots left for the FunctionArt Art YARN OF THE MONTH club. I am going to have the first one ready for mailing on Monday. Spinning those skeins are my exciting Saturday Night plans! :)

AND, If you happen to be going to the HOOSIER HILLS FIBER FEST this weekend - Friday and Saturday - stop by Cloudlover's booth - check out her awesome hand dyed fiber AND she'll also have some of my art yarns there, too!

I hope to have new yarns listed on Sunday and/or Monday, but then I probably won't have time to list anything new until Thursday (June 10). Though I am part-time at the Library, my schedule fluctuates from week to week, and this week is a 5-day, 27+ hour week. I'll still be spinning but won't have time or the right light for pictures until next weekend (except for Thursday).

But now I've got to clean up the fiber mess and watch the rest of the Lakers/Celtics game . . .

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My New Toy - A Drum Carder!

Yesterday, I went to visit Natalie of Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber. We've done some shows together and I've talked about possibly carding fiber to spin or to use in spin-your-own-art-yarn kits. Since she bought a second carder last summer (an awesome one, too, I might add!), she offered to let me borrow her first carder - a Strauch Petite (Super Fine). Here it is . . .

Along with this, I also came home with a HUGE bag of hand dyed wool - mostly merino - and also some gorgeous hand dyed silk! With this fiber and the stash I already have, I hope to start carding batts - some that I'll spin into yarns for my etsy shop, and some that I will sell as is, or as parts of spin-your-own-art-yarn kits.

I brought the carder home Sunday night, after a fun day of hanging out with Natalie (and Ben, her two cats, and Mr. BunBun the rabbit) in her FIBER HEAVEN. Seriously, walking in all I saw was a huge drying rack just filled with her hand dyed fiber! (It's amazing I only came home with ONE bag of wool!) Even though I should have started right in on spinning yarns for my shop, and a custom order, I just HAD to play with the carder.

For my first batt, I just took some small bits of brighter colors - pink, blue, a little bit of green, and white. Mostly just wool with maybe a little bamboo. I had so much fun with that one, I had to try at least one more . . . which turned out to be two more in shades of brown, green, and chartreuse. Again, these are mostly wool, but also included more bamboo dyed by Fiberlady in her "Rain Forest" color. The results are super soft batts . . .

I am definitely having fun with this new toy and am really grateful to Natalie for letting me try it out! And for all of the awesome fiber. But, now I have to get going so I can get some yarn spun . . . and maybe card another batt!

DESTASH SUNDAY - Hand Spun Yarns

Here is the last of my monthly May Destash Sundays post. Today, I've got some full skeins of hand spun yarn from other wonderful spinners, as well as a couple of lots of small amounts of handspuns [edited to add - these lots have all been sold already!]. The combined lots may be great for those who use fiber in their art, freeform crocheters, or those who just like to combine or use small amounts of yarns in their projects.

Here are 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.
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.


First item is "Pointillism Purple" hand spun 2ply yarn, dyed and spun by The Yarn Wench. You are going to get TWO skeins for the price of one (I purchased one skein, and later won the other during a blog giveaway Lynn had). One skein = 124 yards, 3.7 oz., 6 wpi and the second skein is 112 yards. From Lynn's description: "A beautiful colorway in purples, navy, khaki, mulberry and every shade in between. Hand-dyed, handspun domestic wool two-ply with subtle touches of angelina. A beauty." PRICE for a total of 236 yards = $31

Next, is another duo from the Yarn Wench, "Soul Sistahs". These are both spun and then plied with Boa yarn. Fun colors and fun yarns! From Lynn's description: "Here are the particulars on each one - Purple Bling is 62 yards, 3.5 oz., and 6 wpi. It is hand-dyed, handspun Bluefaced Leicester and angelina plied up around a commercial boa yarn. Diva is 46 yards, 4.1 oz. and 4 wpi. It is hand-dyed, handspun wool of unknown origin and angelina plied up with a commercial boa. These two yarns are absolutely cuddly soft and would make a wonderful trim on mittens or gloves or used together on a small project." I was going to use them for some fun scarves, and even started on the project. But, given the amount of time I knit, I hope someone else can give the Sistahs a good home! Price for both skeins = $30

Next up is a purple and pink "Skull Skein" from MaterialWhirled. Approximately 85 yards, dark black, purple, and pink, plied with thread strung with skull beads! I also received a skull cap pattern with this skein and will include it along with the yarn. I paid $53, your price = $45

Here is another great skein, this one is from YarnPunk, and one of the most unique skeins I've ever had! I really wanted to knit this one, but I just don't see it happening anytime soon. This is the information from the etsy listing, "139 yds. of recycled flannel spun with vintage thread and assembled fabric skulls backed with woolfelt. This would knit up a bad ass snowboarding hat. Once knit, I recommend stitching down the skulls with a needle and thread so that they lie flat." I paid $44, your price is $39.

Next up is 60 yards of "Waterlilies" - dyed and spun by the Yarn Wench. This is the other half of a large skein. It is super bulky, approximately 6 wraps per inch. Here is more of her description, "A truly beautiful chunky yarn in the colors of Monet's Waterlilies. This skein is composed of domestic wool in greens, golds, and coppers, a ply of Falkland in burgandys and soft plums, and a ply of an Italian ladder yarn in purples, pinks, greens, and coppers. This whole yarn glistens with copper and pink angelina - a beauty!"
Price for 60 yards = $18

BUY MORE THAN ONE of any of the above items and get 10% off.

In addition, here are the specials I'm offering on the previous destash items -

Fiber - 10% off, buy $50 or more and get 15% off
Yarn - buy two or more lots and get 10% off

You can find the fiber posts HERE and HERE and HERE and the yarn post HERE. You can email me at kittygrrlzinc@yahoo.com if you are interested in any of the destash items!

My plan is to keep these items up for about a week, and then next weekend I will begin listing items on etsy. I am most likely going to be listing them in my Kitty Grrlz Knits shop, though, since I have more sections available in that shop.

But, for now, this is the end of my final DESTASH SUNDAYS blog post!

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No Destash Post today

I won't be doing a destash post today. Instead, next Sunday I will do the final post for the month with a few new things and then all the remaining items. In the meantime, you can see what is still available by checking out my older posts -

Commercial Yarn destash
Roving destash
Fiber Destash here and here

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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!

DESTASH Sundays Post

Coming soon! I should be posting it between 12noon and 1pm Central Time.

I didn't get pictures taken yesterday, so will be doing that this morning and then posting the items.

I know this one will focus on some loose fibers - alpaca, Cotswold locks - and Loop Babycakes.

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!

My mailman hates me . . .

Yesterday was a great mail day! I received my Yarn Wench Yarn, my yarn from Luxe, and some Cotswold locks from aspenmoonarts! Here is a pic:

Unfortunately, I couldn't really play with any of it as 1. I was really tired and 2. I already had a project I needed to get started on. So, at least I did get some spinning done, but I ended up falling asleep early so no knitting. The yarn I'm working on now is going to be a two ply, and I finished up one bobbin of singles last night. If I can stay awake, I plan on finishing it tonight . . .

Amazing . . .

that i actually DID get up for work today, and even early, like i needed to, so i could shower . . .

last night (before waking up at midnight) was good! i exercised, made a really good stir fry, and had plenty of time to spin. Being the contrary fiber that it was being, "Maritime" actually ended up being a single ply. I started spinning and realized I absolutely *loved* the colors in this one and didn't want to muss them by plying, so here is the "Maritime" single ply:

You can see pictures of it on the bobbin and the niddy noddy here! It turned out a little bulky and just slightly thick and thin AND I think it could actually work with the Turquoise Shadows yarns! As soon as the Turquoise Shadow yarn is out of this treasury on etsy (if it doesn't sell), I plan on knitting them up and I think Maritime may have the same fate!

I also prepped the Fiber of the Month from Spunky Eclectic for spinning tonight. Here is is BEFORE I pre-drafted it:

I am pretty sure it will be a two-ply . . .

Now, if I can just get through this day at work . . .

From Fiber to Yarn II

Last night, I spun up this wonderful handdyed merino wool (called "Compliments 2" from the Yarn Wench:


I also used two novelty yarns--Moda Dea Dream and Moda Dea Frivolous.
Here is the single spun up on the bobbin:
And, here is the finished yarn (though before setting the twist!) I managed 2 skeins, 146 yards and 60 yards, out of what started as 3.7 oz of fiber!
Dreamsicle Sky, 60 yards:
Dreamsicle Sky 146 yards:
This one won't be up on the website or etsy until tonight! But, I do have these new ones up on etsy now!

Plus two more pounds . ..

of fiber that I just bought. Oh my god. I have no self control. I had $60 in my paypal account from some sales and was only going to spend that . . . whoops!

;)

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!!

;)