YARN CON is tomorrow!

I am all set for YARN CON tomorrow, which is in Chicago, Illinois at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse on Blackhawk. I'll have tons of new yarns - don't have time to post preview pictures, but here are a few new things that I'll have -

FIVE new handspun two-ply yarns! Yes, FIVE! I think that's a record for me! Plum Gold in BFL/Silk, two skeins of Andromeda also in BFL/Silk, and 2 skeins of Taos Sunset in merino wool (for those familiar with my art yarns or Yarn Wench colorways, this one is actually one ply of "Plum Honey" and one ply of "Taos" spun together!)

12 new skeins of bamboo - 4 of "Winter Moon, 4 of "DragonSong", 2 of a darker version of "Plum Paradise" and 2 skeins of "Serenity"

The FunctionArt Art Yarn SERPENT COLLECTION is also now complete! I have Coral Snake, Lizard King (spun from blended merino wool and glittery icicle), and Lizard Queen.

In addition, I'll have the October Art Yarn of the Month yarn - which was only available through the Yarn of the Month club and in person at shows! It is "Adirondack Autumn" and is actually merino wool from the Yarn Wench carded/blended with Bamboo from Fiberlady, spun up as a super bulky and Super SOFT art yarn.

I think that's it! All of these new yarns will be available tomorrow at YARN CON, and if not sold will be listed in my etsy shop Sunday and Monday.

Happy Weekend!

Giveaway going on now!

I've been listing lots of new yarns the past couple of days (and will try and post those here soon, but if not you can check them all out in my etsy shop!) but am also partaking in a giveaway on the Fiber Cooperative blog! Check it out here for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to my shop!

Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair this weekend!!

I'll be at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair starting tomorrow, Friday, July 16! It runs all weekend and is taking place at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake, Illinois this year. I am sharing a booth (#322) with Natalie of Cloudlover. We'll have handspun yarn, handdyed fiber, blended fiber batts, specialty fiber packs perfect for spinning into your art yarns or using for other fiber projects, and also our NEW Spin-Your-Own-Art-Yarn kits!! Please check it out if you are nearby!

My etsy shop items will be de-activated during the days of the show. I'll be re-activating at night (so long as the internet works in our hotel) AND will have tons of new stuff to list on Monday (unless it all sells, of course! ;) )

Have a great weekend!!

Art Yarn of the month club coming tomorrow!

Tomorrow, June 1, I will be launching the first Kitty Grrlz Yarn of the Month club! The first club option will be limited to 4 spots and will be for FunctionArt Art Yarn Skeins.

One spot is already taken, so the three remaining spots will be listed in my etsy shop on Tuesday, June 1. What will you get? You will receive one FunctionArt art yarn skein per month for June, July and August, PLUS a bonus skein delivered in December. The cost will be $105, plus $15 shipping for USA buyers. ($30 shipping for Canadian orders, $36 shipping for all other countries).

The skeins will be mailed by the 15th of each month, via Priority Mail.
They will be spun from hand dyed merino wool and be at least 60 yards.

If this works out, I will do another club listing for the art yarns in September that will be for September, October, and November.

I also plan on launching a bamboo club, too, but I'm not sure when that will start.

Here are just a small sampling of some of the art yarns I've spun in the past - but yarn club members will get NEVER BEFORE SPUN colors!

Yarn FEST is TODAY!

I'm off to the Beverly Hills Yarn Fest today where I'll be selling my hand spun yarns! More information -

Beverly Hills Yarn Fest 2010
Beverly Art Center
2407 W. 111th St Chicago, IL
Time: 11am - 5pm
Admission: $2

Now, I'm off to get ready . . .

Super Bowl Shipping Special & New Yarns!

Today I am offering FREE SHIPPING in the USA and $5 International shipping in my etsy shop as my SUPER BOWL SPECIAL! I also may be offering individual yarn specials throughout the day (maybe). To know when or what those specials are, become a fan of my Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarn page on Facebook here!

In other news, I have been spinning this week. A couple of new art yarn skeins, some single plys, and of course, some bamboo. Here are some pictures of some of the latest yarns, all of which you can find in my etsy shop.

More Plum Divine! Two new skeins of my favorite art yarn colorway - Plum Divine - spun from merino wool hand dyed by the Yarn Wench. I have two skeins available - 70 yards and 80 yards.

Some new single plys, spun from merino wool blends dyed by Cloudlover.


Top two skeins - Kitty Singles - Ocean Blues - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, merino wool and tencel blend - 150 yards and 158 yards

Bottom left - Kitty Singles - Ocean Frost - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, merino wool, silk, and bamboo blend - 150 yards

Bottom right - Kitty Singles - Woodsy Wine - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, merino wool and silk - 140 yards

A new Squish-tastic! - spun from superwash merino wool and a merino/silk/bamboo blend dyed by Cloudlover - I have two skeins - 35 yards and 64 yards.

And, of course, some new bamboo -
Beautiful Bamboo - Summer Shades - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn - 114 yards, 138 yards, and a double-sized 238 yard skein!

Beautiful Bamboo - Ice Princess - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn - 130 yards, 112 yards, 122 yards, and 124 yards

Beautiful Bamboo - Seashells by the Seashore - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn - 146 yards, 126 yards, 148 yards, and 154 yards

That's it for me for today - I've got to get some spinning done!

New Yarn & last hours of St Patrick's Day Sale!

My St. Patrick's Day Sale on bamboo continues until Wednesday morning at 6am Central Time! You can find all remaining available skeins here!

I also listed a new Squish-tastic! yarn today - Boho - in shades of pink/fuchsia, orange and teal/peacock. Two skeins, one 70 yards and the other 40 yards-


I'll be listing the matching Navajo 3ply on Wednesday.

Today was my last day of "rest". My hands really were worn out from all the spinning last week, so I took a few days off from the wheel. Tomorrow, I am back to it, though, and will start with some commissions, though I hope to get a couple skeins done to list on etsy, too.

ART VS CRAFT - Saturday, November 29 in Milwaukee

Tomorrow, I will be at ART VS CRAFT in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Like the DIY Trunk Show in Chicago, and the Craftacular in Madison - this is a great indie craft show with wonderful artists and crafters who make all sorts of items that would make great gifts!

Please come and check it out!

Saturday, November 29, 2008
10am - 7pm
Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center
790 N. Van Buren Street in downtown Milwaukee

I don't have many pictures to show of my new items, but I will have 4 new hand knit cowls/neckwarmers knit with hand spun art yarn, some new scarves, and lots of yarn - though I wasn't able to get as much spun this week as I had hoped. Here is a mosaic of some of the things I should have there -

BLACK FRIDAY SALE going on now!

I am having a special BLACK FRIDAY SALE in my etsy shops!

In my Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarn shop on etsy, I have discounted 21 yarns by taking $5-10 off of their regular price! These special prices last only until 12noon CentralStandardTime.

You can find the sale yarns HERE.

Also, I am still offering FREE SHIPPING in the USA and Half Price International shipping through the weekend! This special is going on in both shops -

Kitty Grrlz Hand Knits on etsy
Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns on etsy

Plus, I have discounted several hand knits in my knits shop. You can find those items HERE.

Happy shopping!!

Happy Thanksgiving & a Sale (of course)

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate - hope your day is filled with good food, family, friends and football? Or whatever else makes it a great day!

Last night while spinning I was trying to compose a "I'm thankful for . . . " post, and it just kept getting either really long-winded and rambly, or just a little too sappy . . .

so, i'm going to sum it up really easily and say - I'm thankful for everything that I have and everything that has happened to get me to this point.

And, since this is my "business" blog, I would like to specifically say that I am really thankful for my wonderful customers, the great people who I've met at shows, those who put on and organize those shows, the online fiber friends I've met, and for being able to wake up every day and spin or knit!

Now, on to the Sale -

Starting today and running until 12midnight on Monday night, I will be offering FREE SHIPPING in the USA and HALF PRICE International Shipping in both of my shops -

Kitty Grrlz Hand Knits are HERE
Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns are HERE

And, I will be at ART VS CRAFT this Saturday, November 29 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - but more about that tomorrow, along with another surprise!

Email problems & my new favorite yarn

So, apparently I can't get into my kittygrrlzinc yahoo email account!?!? If you need to contact me today, please EMAIL ME HERE. I am so mad. I am logged in all the time. All of a sudden I am trying to delete a message and it prompts me for my password. Which, how can I not know it?? But it doesn't accept it, and when I try for the password help it tells me I am providing wrong information and locked my account. GRRRR ARRGGGGHHHH . . . I guess it is a good thing that we are going to the State Fair today so all I can do is go and hope I have a response from them by the time we get home.

In other news - I wanted to post today about my new favoritest yarn!!! Here is what I wrote about it the other day -

"How this one came about -
When I got this fiber in the mail this week I was actually a little disappointed - not in the color necessarily - but because I thought it would have some of the dark green in it like the Sabrina colorways. My fault for not looking more closely at the pictures. So, I was going to relegate it to one of the bins for "later".

Then, yesterday, I went to Michaels and Joanns on the hunt for some dark purple yarns for more "Plum Divine" yarns. I happened to pick up 3 different dark plum shades of yarn.

Last night, while organizing and re-organizing, I realized that some of the dark yarns I got would work really well with this colorway. And, the pinks to contrast with the darks . . . and I also had that dark brown"Punk" yarn . . . and the dark blues used in "Mahogany Peacock".

and, before I knew it, I had a new art yarn planned. Last night, the name I had thought of was "Plum Cherry Blues" - my typical color-based name . . . but then this morning while spinning it there was something about it that reminded me of the 80s . . . maybe that purple and pink combination? - and the song Tainted Love popped into my head - thus, the new name for the yarn!

It is spun from merino wool hand dyed by the Yarn Wench in color "Black Cherry" and has novelty yarns in dark plum, dark blue, dark brown, and bright pink spun in along with 3 colors of angelina and plied with matching pink thread.

Totally awesome! :) "


I also spun up a new single ply yarn the other day - from an alpaca/merino/silk blend -

I also spun up two more skeins of "Radioactive Chance" -

I also have a new Novel-Ply yarn up at my website - this one will be on etsy later and I also have more Novel-Ply yarns ready to be listed soon. I was hoping to get most of them listed today and tomorrow. Here is the one that is already up on my site -

Okay, I think that is it from me this morning. Hopefully, I will hear from yahoo and be able to get back into my email account soon, but in the mean time - I've got to get ready to go to the Wisconsin State Fair 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!

New yarns from the weekend . . .

So, I didn't get quite as much spun this weekend as I was hoping to as I just wanted to laze around instead! But, I did get a TON of pictures taken for all of the hand knits that I need to add to my Kitty Grrlz Knits shop and also did get some yarns spun.

First, here are a couple shots of the hand knits. I will slowly be adding more shawls, scarves, and wristwarmers throughout the week. I'm editing the pictures slowly as even though I re-did my set-up, I'm still not getting the quality I want - but, for now, this is the best I can do.

Mocha Swirl Hand Knit Scarf - knit with a nylon/tactel yarn (Gedifra India)

Earth Mother Hand Knit Triangle Shawl - knit with Gedifra Poesie yarn (nylon/polyester/microfiber)

Then, there are the yarns! The first ones I have to show are a second round of the "Spring Break" colorway - this is actually the "Hot Tropics" color hand dyed by the Yarn Wench. This was my second batch (the previous two yarns have sold). Even though I thought this was the lighter batch, I actually think it is darker. I spun in a TON of green, purple, and yellow angelina for sparkle in these, along with novelty yarns in green, purple, and yellow. Then, I plied it with purple thread. Here they are:

106 yard skein:
108 yard skein:
The next batch I did was the "Cherry Peacock" colorway, also dyed by the Yarn Wench. This was Falkland wool and I absolutely loved this color and wished I had more! Very difficult to get the true colors, but here is a shot of the one available skein (the other is reserved):

I also spun up this yarn, it was a "test" for a custom spin I am doing. This one has a few colors/yarns in it that won't be in the "final" yarn, which also means this one should be listed and available later today. It was spun from the "Forest" fiber batts from FeltStudioUK.etsy.com I didn't spin in the sequins as they will be used in the second skein. This is a small skein of about 62 yards, with lots of novelty yarns in shades of green and black spun in, and plied with metallic green thread.

I also spun up two Spontaneous Spinning batts from Loop yesterday! I will wait to show those as I'd like to get better pictures. They will both be listed later today, though. One is "Purple Progression" and the other is "Creamsicle" (though my yarn names will probably be different. They were great to spin - lots of different fibers like wools, bamboo, alpaca, silk, and more! Look for pictures of them tomorrow!

Artistic Accessories in Madison this weekend!

This weekend I will be at the Hilldale Mall in Madison, Wisconsin for the "Artistic Accessories" show! I will have lots of hand knit shawls, light scarves, wristwarmers, and more! Hours are basically mall hours - Saturday 10am-9pm and Sunday 10am-6pm. If you are in the area, come on by for great Mother's Day gift shopping, or to find something special for yourself!

And, since I can't possibly have a post without yarn pictures - here are some new yarns!

First, the Divine Melon skeins ARE available!

And, some single ply yarns spun from batts of wonderful fiber!


That's it for me! While I will be spinning over the weekend at the show I won't have anything new posted until next week - lots of art yarns coming and more!

Just when I thought . . .

So, last night was Monday night. That means I spin to "Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother" . . . but after that, I usually switch over to the end of "Dancing with the Stars" before heading over to ESPN or some sports stuff to leave on as background noise until I sleep . . . so . . I switch over last night and apparently had just missed some drama with one of the guys!?! Some injury, or something? Well . . . as it turned out, the best was yet to come . . . or, well . . . .

When they did the dance to the "Star Wars" music (was that last season?) I sort of thought I'd seen it all . . . but, oh no. Last night, that "Star Wars" dance was trumped by . . . .

Jason Taylor doing a Paso Doble to . . . ARE YOU READY????? . . .
the MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL THEME!?!?

Honestly, I thought it was hilarious. The dance itself was good, I guess, but I found myself totally distracted by other thoughts, like, "it's so weird to hear this much of this song" and "it's nice and all that they are in Miami Dolphin colors, but how much longer will he be a Dolphin?" and "Oh, I hope Tony and Mike talk about this on PTI tomorrow". And, "wow, they [ABC & ESPN] are taking cross-promotion to a whole new level."

Anyways, this is sort of a dis-jointed post, so let's get back on track with some NEW YARNS! :)

Here are the two bamboo single plys from yesterday - Stormy Seas. They are now listed on etsy and will be on my site very soon.
And, the yarns I was spinning while watching all that entertaining TV, more Divine Melon yarns!

These may or not be for a special request, so they may or may not be available later today. But, I'll be sure to post better pics tomorrow if they are listed and available!

My Dad met Johnny Depp . . .

So, my Dad called me yesterday, we hadn't talked in awhile . . . but the main exciting news up where he lives (northern Wisconsin, near Minocqua) is that they are filming (or were, I believe they wrapped up this weekend) the new Johnny Depp movie up there - the Dillinger movie. (They are supposedly now coming down to Milwaukee and have also filmed in other locations in the state.) So, he had some stories about that and said that he shook Johnny Depp's hand!

Now, I'm not young and silly anymore, but this made we wonder, why the heck wasn't I up there trying to stalk Johnny Depp!?!? Ha ha! :) Seriously, though . . . having a major movie production going on up there has got to be pretty exciting, but given the local population means that they weren't dealing with quite the swarms of people they are used to - hundreds instead of thousands . . .

anyways, didn't ask if he got any pictures, that is a better question for my sister . . . she's the one with the camera.

in other news, the weekend wasn't quite as productive as I'd hoped, but I did get a few new bamboo yarns spun up!

Summer Neon Taffy Single Ply

Peachy Keen Taffy Two-Ply
And, finally, "Stormy Sea" - these aren't listed yet but should be this afternoon.


And, finally, I leave you with a kitty pic - Bug tends to sleep under my chair when I spin, but it amazes me how close she will actually rest to my treadling feet?!?!? She was snoozing away . . .
and, then, once she realized I had the camera on her, decided to groom herself . . .
Silly Bug!

That's all for today!

Something about Buffy . . .

well, actually this is about Spike and Angel.

So, on my way to work this morning, I was listening to a CD that had two of the Buffy musical songs on it, one of them being Spike's song . . . which of course got me thinking about Spike in general . . . and about how many fans find one of the most annoying "inconsistencies" to be when Spike says, "You were my sire, man, you were my Yoda" to Angel in the episode "School Hard".

Now, we later find out that it was in fact Drusilla who turned Spike. BUT, Angel DID turn Drusilla, right? And in many vampire-lores, it is the "master vampire" who is the powerful one, right? The one who started the "chain"? Well, and here is where the logic isn't perfect, but . . . I don't think Spike meant Angel *actually* was the one to bite him, but rather . . . Angel was the "master" (yes, I know he wasn't the "first" and even within the 4 of them, DARLA actually would be the "original", but go with me on this . . .) and it is obvious that Spike looked to Angel to learn and mold himself on how to be a vampire, in a way. So . . . this small little line no longer bothers me (not that it ever really did, to be honest - now I just have a convoluted way of explaining it away . . .) Am I making any sense?

This also got me thinking about Angel vs. Spike . . . I've always liked Spike better. I thought Buffy/Angel was kinda creepy (and not that some of the same factors should apply with Spike, but by then she was "older" and more "mature" - she was just so young with Angel, ya know? and he was so old . . .) but Buffy/Spike just made sense. I also think Spike was just . . . better. Angel was a total jackass *before* he became a vampire, is it any wonder he was such a bad-ass vamp? He had to be cursed into his soul. Spike, on the other hand, or William the Bloody, well, he was different, wasn't he? And those traits? Those traits came through in Spike whether he wanted them to or not . . . and Spike, well, he WANTED his soul, and even BEFORE he got it showed much more "humanity" than Angel . . . remember the Judge? He knew it.

Anyways, enough about Buffy. And Spike. . . .

I didn't spin anything last night! I can't believe it! But, the forces were against me as I was 1. trying to catch random updates from Loop, 2. watching Thursday night TV (don't even get me started on LOST!) and 3. prepping bamboo fiber. SO, it wasn't a total waste of a night as I do now have 3 colors of bamboo ready to spin tonight and tomorrow!

I did list the three yarns I "sneak-peeked" yesterday! Here they are again with separate pictures and also links to the etsy listing . . . they are also on my website.

Aqua Lime Explosion 3

Aqua Lime Explostion 4

Rocky Roads - Aqua Lime - Hand Spun Yarn with coils

Well, that's all! Lots of work to do today as well as two updates to stalk! ha ha! :)

New Bamboo Yarns & blog feature!

So, I didn't get a chance to share yesterday, but before I get to the new yarn pictures, I found out on Tuesday (Earth Day!) that I was featured on JenVecc's blog! You can check it out here! Yay!

On to the new bamboo . . .

Another two-ply, this time in colorway "Stormy Night" - 258 yards total!


And, one of my favorite-est colorways, Chocolate Berry Shine - two skeins of single ply:

And, I did get one skein of "Violets R Blue" listed, too!
And, just a sneak peak at what will be listed later today:

More "Aqua Lime Explosion"!


And, a "Rocky Roads" coily yarn spun from a wonderfully soft alpaca/merino/mohair blend! This fiber is from NorthStarAlpacas! Very soft!


That's all I have time for today! Hopefully will have more time tomorrow!

Busy spinning weekend!

So, this weekend was pretty great in that I spun ALOT. Saturday alone I spun *6* skeins of yarn! Yay! I love days when I can get that much done. I didn't do quite as much on Sunday, but still got some more bamboo spun up . . . . before I get to pictures of this weekend's spinning, I just want to mention that over on DancingMooney's blog, "Random Musings About Art, and Life" it is the time for here What's in the Bag? Giveaway! If you would like to win a great bag of goodies from Etsy sellers, check it out! :)

Now, on to the pictures . . .

First, the bamboo. This first yarn is another spin of bamboo two-ply, the color I've been calling "Summer Carnival". This batch was spun just a bit thinner, so it turned out to be more DK than Worsted weight. I've got 306 yards! This may or may not be a special request, but either way I do hope to have it listed soon. It was spun by me from hand dyed bamboo fiber from the FiberLady.

More bamboo - this was actually spun up on Sunday . . . again, fiber from FiberLady, hand dyed bamboo . . . I'm calling these "Violets R Blue", though it was spun from her "Ocean Dusk" colorway. Again, one or both might be spoken for already, but if not, they will be listed soon, too.

The top skein is 220 yards and the bottom is 170 - both sport weight.

Then, there were the single plys! I spun up one on Friday. This deserves a little special attention because it is my first LOOP batt! Naomi of Ryono Creations was kind enough to share one her LOOP batts (I believe it was Sunset Spectacle). I received it on Thursday but couldn't spin it until Friday . . . . and all I can say is . . . WOW! It was so wonderful to spin, I think it was the alpaca in it that made it such a smooth spin, and the recycled silk added texture and color, plus the merino wool . . . just, well, it was so great I could resist no longer and joined her "Spontaneous Spinning Club" - one "Spontaneous Spinning Batt" a month for the next 6 months! I can't wait for my first one! Anyways, here is a picture of the single ply yarn - I'm calling it "Sunset Wish" and it is now listed on etsy and my website. It is 130 yards, mostly DK weight with some thicker sections and very soft!
Then, on Saturday, I did spin up two more single ply yarns from hand dyed Falkland wool, dyed by the Yarn Wench. The first is "Strawberry Mocha Creme" (from the roving of the same name) and it is 165 yards of DK weight yarn. I just love these colors and actually spun up some bamboo in similar colors last night!

"Golden Peacock" is 155 yards of DK weight as well, spun from the colorway "Titian".

I also spun up some more "Eye Candy"! I had been planning on spinning up the last batch of fiber I had in this colorway, but got an extra incentive when I had a query about it . . . SO, I spun up two skeins, but only one is still available:


And, finally, later on Saturday night (I finished these around 10pm!), were two more skeins of "Turquoise Sands Surprise" Novel-Ply Yarn. I liked the first skein so much, and since I did still have some of the remaining fiber from my alchemy request, I decided it would become two more Novel-Ply skeins. Both are spun thick/thin (merino wool, of course) and then plied with super soft Angel Hair Yarn. Both are available now.


So, I think that is it! Tonight, it is more bamboo and some knitting . . . tomorrow I hope to venture into some art yarn spinning again . . . we'll see.