New Yarns and a new scarf!

I've got lots of new yarns to show off, but first . . .

Since I've returned from Sheep in the City, I just haven't felt like spinning! I don't know why, though I suspect is has something to do with my wheel. It needs a bit of "maintenance" and I finally got what I needed for that today. Anyways, last night I decided I really wanted to knit. So, I knit up a scarf using a skein of single ply yarn that I spun using Phydeaux's "Soft Acorns" scarf pattern. You can find her pattern on etsy here or on Ravelry here. The yarn I used is this skein - a hand spun single ply worsted weight slightly thicknthin skein spun from a merino/bamboo
blend.


The skein was 114 yards, so I wasn't sure if it would be enough. I used size 11 needles as the pattern called for, and even though the wraps per inch on the yarn made it more worsted than bulky, I think it worked out okay. The scarf is 4 inches wide and 65 inches long so i think a little less wide than the pattern called for. Pictures aren't very good since I took them a little late today and don't have a good light set-up for larger items.

Pattern was totally fun - perfect level for me as it was more than basic but not super difficult. By the end I was definitely used to the pattern and didn't have to keep checking to see where I was.

I did end up only repeating the main part 20 times as opposed to 22 as the pattern called for since I was near the end of the yarn! Still think I got a decent length from it!

I can't wait to try more of Brenda's patterns!

And, now onto some of the new yarns I've listed lately, all of which can be found in my etsy hand spun yarn shop!

Kitty Mixers - Violet Night - Hand Spun 2ply Yarn, merino wool, 164 yards and 146 yards
Navajo 3ply - Winter Berry - Hand Spun 3ply Yarn, merino wool/silk/bamboo blend, 90 yards
Squish-tastic! - Winter Berry - Hand Spun Bulky 2ply Yarn, Rambouillet wool and merino/silk/bamboo blend, 70 yards and 33 yards
Squish-tastic! - Sugar Plum - Hand Spun Bulky 2ply Yarn, Rambouillet woo, and merino/tencel blend, 62 yards and 44 yards
Navajo 3ply - Autumn Gypsy - Hand Spun 3ply Yarn, merino wool/silk blend, 40 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Plum Paradise - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 162 yards

Now I'm off to get some new single plys spun, and maybe do some more knitting!

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)

Blackberry Sea aka Tealberry - a custom color gone right

Awhile back, I received this yarn. It is Trendsetter "Flora" yarn in color "Blackberry". As soon as I saw it, I wanted fiber in the same color so that I could spin an art yarn and maybe a single ply. I put in requests to two of my favorite dyers, and in the end received two very different results. The thing about this color is that there are definite sections of each color; it is very bold and distinct. The merino that I received from one of my requests turned out beautiful (and I will eventually get to spinning it, too) but a little more blended. But, the other request ended up being a near-perfect match! (I say "near-perfect" because I don't think *anything* could be *exactly* the same.)

The first fibers I received were dyed in Falkland wool by Cloudlover. Those became single ply yarns, since that was why I had initially requested the color from her - the Falkland she dyes is my favorite! It is smooth, fairly soft for Falkland, and, most importantly, so easy to spin!

After getting a few batches of the Falkland, and each one being better than the last, I finally took the plunge and asked for the color in merino. Once again, I was so amazed at how well it matched the Flora yarn! The first batch become a "Novel-Ply" skein, where I spun the merino thick/thin and then plied it with the Flora yarn. After that, I spun a couple of single ply merino skeins. The latest batches of merino AND a merino/silk blend are the last ones shown in the mosaic below. I spun a "Squish-tastic" yarn with these, which is one strand of merino spun thick/thin, a strand of merino/silk spun thin, and then the two are plied together. This skein turned out so smooth and soft! It actually feels different than my other Squish-tastics, but in a good way. I think it is my favorite of all the Tealberry/Blackberry Sea skeins I have spun!

You may notice, though, that I still haven't spun this color as an art yarn. I'm not sure why I haven't yet, but I think it is because the colors are so great I don't want to dilute them with other yarns. The colors are also difficult to match, so I'm not sure how it would turn out. I know I have ONE yarn that matches - the Flora yarn - but I haven't really come across any others that seem to want to be spun in for an art yarn. I have one more batch of merino on hand, and one more batch of merino/silk. I'm not yet sure what they will become.

Finally, most of these have been spoken for before I finish them, or have sold when listed. But, three of the skeins shown below are still available in my etsy shop -
Novel-Ply - Blackberry Garden - Hand Spun Yarn
Squish-tastic - Blackberry Sea - Hand Spun Super Bulky 2ply Yarn
Navajo 3ply - Blackberry Sea - Hand Spun Navajo 3ply Yarn

Pine Forest & DeStash Sundays

Yesterday I spun up another Squish-tastic! yarn in one of my favorite colorways - Pine Forest. I spin a merino/silk blend very thin, a merino wool thick and thin, and then ply the two together. With the remaining merino/silk I Navajo-ply it. Here are the two skeins -

Squish-tastic! - Pine Forest - 106 yards, 5.1 oz - super bulky weight


Navajo 3-ply- Pine Forest - 70 yards, 2.8 oz - bulky/heavy worsted weight

I'm not sure what I'm going to spin today. I've got some merino/silk in the Plum Grove color but I can't decide how to spin it - single, 2ply, or 3ply? I also need to get some more bamboo spun and listed. Not to mention the art yarns that I've had ready to go for weeks! Definitely need to get to the wheel . .

BUT, I wanted to mention that starting SUNDAY, I will be doing "DeStash Sundays" all throughout May. Every Sunday, I will be posting some fiber or yarns that I'm hoping to destash. They will be listed at or below my cost and in most cases shipping will be free for US addresses. I'm going to start this Sunday with some hand dyed alpaca fiber from The Yarn Wench and possibly some other fibers, too. There are some things that no matter how much I love them - the colors, the feel, the fiber - I just don't end up spinning them, so I'd rather have them go to someone who WILL use them - whether for spinning, felting, or maybe carding into batts. So, watch for that THIS SUNDAY!!

Plum Honey Yarns

For those who are familiar with my yarns, you probably know that I get about 99% of my hand dyed fiber from Lynn aka The Yarn Wench. She has an amazing eye for color and I feel her colors truly are the best and give my yarns that something extra . . . at shows people often comment on my colors and most of the time I owe those compliments to Lynn. There are some that I continue to go back to every time she dyes them - Plum Grove, Pine Forest, Mahogany Peacock are just a few of the ones that I spin often.

There has been one color, though, that is another one of the colors she dyes often, in many variations and all fiber types. But, this one color, I have NEVER SPUN until NOW! This color is "Plum Honey".

So, finally a few weeks ago, I broke down and bought a batch of merino in this colorway, and then a week or so later, bought a batch of it in merino/silk. My plan was to spin one of my "Squish-tastic" bulky 2ply yarns. And, well, I *finally* got around to spinning this color and it is AMAZING. I can now see why it has been so popular and I'm still not sure why I've never bought and spun it before! Anyways, here is a mosaic of the yarns I spun - there are 4 pictures but only 3 skeins. You can find the large Squish-tastic skein HERE, the small mini skein HERE, and the Navajo 3-ply mini skein in the merino/silk HERE - if you are interested.



that's all from me for today - i've got to get spinning!

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Cinder Plum! Finally a non-bamboo yarn!

I have finally broke the bamboo cycle and spun some wool! Late last night, I finally prepped and spun these two fibers that I've been meaning to spin for ages - Cinder (merino wool and silk blend) and Rusted Plum (merino wool). Both fibers were dyed by the Yarn Wench.

Here are the new yarns spun from these fibers -

A large "Squish-tastic!" skein -

A matching, smaller, mini skein -

And, finally, a small mini skein of Navajo 3-ply -


Oh, and I did also list some more bamboo yesterday and today - here is a mosaic of more Summer Carnival, and a new color - Very Berry Blues.

I hope to have some art yarns listed tomorrow and more Squish-tastics! and Navajo 3plys coming soon, too!

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Navajo 3-ply Yarns

Currently, I am running a featured yarn ad on Ravelry for my Navajo 3-ply yarns. I learned how to Navajo ply in the summer of 2007, I believe. It took a bit, but finally, one day, I just sat down and said, "I AM going to do this." I used Lynn's (aka the Yarn Wench) wonderful video and tutorial that can be found here. The key was I needed both the video AND the description to help me finally get it. Once it clicked, though, I was so happy and spun 3plys nonstop for awhile!

There are two main reasons I like the 3ply over the 2ply. The first is that I like how it keeps the colors together a little better. It doesn't dilute them or mix them quite as much as a two-ply does. I love the colors in Lynn's roving, and Navajo plying helps keep the colors a little more solid and intense. The effect of a two-ply can also be really beautiful, but it tends to mix the colors and dilute them. So, Navajo plying is what I do when I want to maintain the integrity of the colors.

Plus, it is sort of easier to spin - all you need to do is spin ONE single ply strand and then Navajo ply it into the 3ply! You only need two bobbins and you never have any "left over".

The second thing I really like about it, though, is the roundness of the yarn and how it looks when knit. I remember reading early on that 3plys are preferred by some because of the even, round nature to them and the fact that they really show off the knit stitches. I didn't really believe this until I actually knit with one of my 3plys. Then, I realized and could see the difference between something knit with the 3ply versus the 2ply. I think both have their purposes and everyone has their preference - but I think I prefer the 3ply now, too.

The one downside for me about Navajo plying is these types of yarns take me *so long* and you always get less yardage from the fiber than you would if you spun a single or even a two-ply. And, it isn't actually the plying that takes the longest - that is actually pretty smooth, fun and easy - but spinning the single is what drives me crazy! I've been spinning a bit bulkier lately, but usually I try to spin a really really thin single to end up with a thinner end result. It's spinning that single that seems to take me longer than anything else! But, I do still love spinning them!

My preference of fiber for the Navajo 3-plys is the merino/silk blend, or the SeaWool fiber which is wool and seacell. Though, I think the merino/silk works better for this type of yarn. I also like using merino and Falkland.

Here is a mosaic of some of my newest Navajo 3-ply yarns - all of which can be found on etsy HERE.


I am hoping to continue to list new 3plys through the end of the month. I have lots more merino/silk I'd like to spin this way, and will have at least one more skein of the SeaWool spun, too!

And, what do I like to knit with the Navajo 3ply yarns? Wristwarmers or Fingerless Gloves! While fairly basic in design, I really do love how the 3plys work for them. I can get a small pair out of less than 2 oz of yarn, usually two pairs from one larger skein of Navajo 3-ply. I also prefer to knit them on double-pointed needles so that I don't have to seam up the side. Here is a mosaic of some of the ones I've done. (Some of these are available in my Kitty Grrlz Knits shop HERE.)
That's all from me today!

New yarns & Yarn Con!

One of these days I will start to post here daily again! But, for now, here is another quickie update post -

I have been spinning this week in preparation for YARN CON! YarnCon is THIS SATURDAY, October 4, at the Pulaski Park Field House in Chicago, Illinois. For all the details, CLICK HERE!

I've been spinning some bamboo and today will start in on some new art yarns! Yay! Not sure how much I'll have time to finish before Saturday, but I do know I will have at least two brand new art yarn colors.

I've also been spinning some "Squish-tastic" bulky 2-ply yarns, along with a little bit of Navajo plying - here are a couple of the most recent yarns I've finished and listed on my website and etsy.

Aqua Lime Explosion - as a Squish-tastic! and 3ply -

Tainted Love (aka Black Cherry) as a Squish-tastic!

And, Sabrina's Garden, a merino wool and silk blend Navajo 3-ply yarn -

Well, that's it for now, I've got to get spinning! I'm going to try and post some more pics tomorrow of the new art yarns, but we'll see!

New yarns

So today I'm just going to post some pictures of some new yarns - then it is off to work I go! :)

Mahogany Ash - thick/thin single of hand dyed merino plied with a thin single of merino/silk -

Mahogany Peacock - Navajo 3ply from hand dyed merino/silk -

CoilySpun - Ocean Splash 2 - spun from hand dyed merino wool -

Instead of posting all of the bamboo - here is a mosaic created with fd's flickr toys of the newly listed colors - all available on ETSY or MY SITE.

That's it! I'll have a new (or rather a new version of a previously spun color) art yarn later today and have lots to do so off I go . . .

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!

I'm back!

And, my first "official" day as Kitty Grrlz full-time is now over . . .

I don't have pictures yet of what I did today, but I do have a couple of new yarns to share - this was the yarn I started the day of the Craftacular - which was a blast! I will miss the High Noon Saloon as the Craftacular venue but look forward to seeing the new location in December.

This yarn is a "Squish-tastic!" bulky 2ply with the coordinating mini-skein of Navajo 3-ply. It is spun from the popular Yarn Wench colorway, "Tropical Fish". In the 2ply, one strand is merino and the other is merino/silk. The 3ply is also spun from just the merino/silk.

This 2ply skein is a massive 5 oz! The mini skein is 90 yards and 3.1 oz -

I thought I would jump right in to spinning this past weekend (we returned in the early morning hours of July 4) but I was so tired! And, we did get together with family - Friday the 4th - after sleeping for a few hours - we went to my boyfriend's Mom's annual 4th of July party. Which was fun. Sunday, we went to MY Mom's house for a small gathering and the big news that day was - MY SISTER got engaged! :) In between, I slept a lot which seems to be the norm when we return from vacation. I was very worried about taking the vacation - but it was also really nice to just get away from everything for a little while. It also helped that I won a small progressive jackpot on a penny slot machine, which made me feel a lot less guilty about the money spent on the trip (and also means I came home with some money which may have to go towards a laptop - I have to return the one I am using soon). I have a couple of pictures from the trip that I may post, but I haven't yet edited/uploaded them.

This weekend, I also DID spin up a quick skein of bamboo -

But, for the most part, the weekend wasn't quite the working-weekend I expected it to be, and even today started off slowly. I got up early to mail out an order, but then went back to sleep! It was rainy and stormy which made it even easier to stay in bed . . . but, I have commissions that need to be done, so I did eventually get up and got to work! :) Worked on commissions most of the day but also spun up two single ply skeins from LOOP Spontaneous Spinning batts! They will be posted tomorrow afternoon, I hope.

I am going to try and post every day - and hopefully not late at night - I really want to get back to my "normal" work-day hours . . . this staying up until 2am really isn't good as I miss lots of good daylight by sleeping in! I love spinning in the sunlight . . .

That's all for now! Watch for lots of new yarns from me now that I will be spinning and knitting full-time.

Important announcements . . .

Or something like that.

FIRST - TOMORROW! Saturday, June 28 - is the CRAFTACULAR in Madison, Wisconsin. Come to the HIGH NOON SALOON between the hours of 10am and 4pm to shop for lots of wonderful hand made items. I will be there with lots of yarns and hand knits, including lightweight summer shawls! Hope to see you there!

SECOND - I will not be able to SHIP anything between JUNE 29-JULY 4! If you have been looking at something, today would be a great day to purchase since I can still ship it out tomorrow. After that, all orders received and paid for from June 29 - July 4 will be mailed on July 5th!

And, to make up for this inconvenience, I will be offering FREE SHIPPING in the USA on ALL ORDERS and Half Price International Shipping starting TODAY! Check out all items at kittygrrlz.etsy.com! This shipping offer will expire on the morning of July 4.

THIRD - It is my last day as a librarian! In a few short hours I will leave this job behind and enter into the realm of full-time crafting. I'm having a bit of anxiety over it all, but . . . yay for being able to spin more!

And, finally, since no post of mine would be complete with a yarn picture - here is my newest yarn - a Kitty Mini skein of a merino/silk blend spun up into a Navajo 3-ply yarn - Turquoise Sands Dark -

In the Forest Pine . . .

One thing you may notice is the fact that there are some colors I return to over and over again . . . Pine Forest happens to be one of them. I first spun this colorway into two art yarns. Then, recently, into some single plys. And, now, here it is in yet another form -

This is a thick/thin super squishy 2ply! One ply is a thick/thin merino and the other is a thin merino/silk. I also have a mini skein of it, too -

And, since I always have extra of the thin merino/silk strand, I also have a small 85-yard skein of the merino/silk Navajo plied!

Last night, I did another of the bulky thick/thin 2plys in the "Meridian" colorway! I didn't get the Navajo 3ply done, but I did get a large 120 yard skein of the 2ply spun up - it should be listed later today!

Tonight, I finish the Navajo 3ply and then it is back to the bamboo! I have some more to spin for a possible buyer this weekend at the CRAFTACULAR (at the High Noon Saloon in Madison, Wisconsin - Saturday, June 28, 10am-4pm!) and then also wanted to get a couple more skeins spun up for the show in general.

In other news, I have 3 days left of my job . . . . . it's just . . . weird. But, I will definitely love having more time to spin!!

That's all from me for now!

Mad-Town Rocks! (and Plum Grove)

So, my show this past weekend was actually really good!! It was at a mall in Madison, and can I just say - Madison rocks! There are definitely a lot of knitters there so instead of selling mostly hand knits (which is what I *thought* would sell) - I sold yarn!! I always prefer when the yarn sells, since I really do enjoy spinning more than knitting right now. That's not to say I don't like knitting - it's just right now I'd rather be spinning. Honestly, there isn't much I would RATHER do than spin . . .

At the show, which WAS long - 11 hours on Saturday and 7 hours on Sunday and that was just the "open" hours - I was there early both days! - I got A LOT of spinning done! Yay! Since I hadn't spun much in the days leading up to the show, it was actually really great to just sit and spin all day. Here are the yarns that I finished:

Plum Grove - Navajo 3-ply in Merino Wool/Silk blend. This fiber is an 80% merino/20% silk blend hand dyed by the Yarn Wench as a special request. (You know I can't seem to get enough of this colorway!). I spun one batch into this Navajo 3-ply skein, 200 yards total of thinner worsted weight:
With the other batch of merino/silk, I spun a thin strand, that I used in a different yarn (I'll show that one in just a second) but had a bit left over to make this smaller 80 yard skein:

The other yarn I spun was the bulky 2-plys I like to do - spun from one thick/thin strand of merino wool, and then plied with the thinner strand of merino/silk. I also ended up with one large and one small skein. Here is the large, 136 yards, 4.3 oz!

And, the Mini Skein of 46 yards:
This week I plan on spinning up some art yarns, but first I just *had* to spin some of the "Babycakes" I got from LOOP last week! First, I selected some that I thought would work well together (since they are small little "mini-batts" of fiber, I wanted to combine them for a longer yarn) . . . here is a shot of the ones I chose:
Each row was spun into a separate yarn, in my "Rocky Roads" style - plied with thread with coils along the way! I finished quite late last night so was only able to take some shots of the yarn (before setting the twist) in my crappy night lighting - but here is one (I'll have better ones later today!)

They are VERY textured and sparkly! They'll be listed on etsy and my website later today!

That's all for today!

New yarns!

So, once again, no post on Monday. One of these weeks I'll post every day, really!

But, I don't have much to say/show today, but I do want to post my latest yarns . . .

oh, wait, before I do that - I have a Treasury on Etsy right now! Please CLICK HERE to check it out! It is "From Fiber to Yarn to Art" and includes some of my favorite fibers, yarns, and finished products. It will only be available until Thursday morning, though!

Okay, on to the yarns. First, here is some bamboo that I spun up on Saturday night. Very thinly spun! It isn't quite on etsy or my website yet, but should be later today, along with another skein of handspun bamboo that I spun up yesterday. This one is called "Marmalade Sky" and is spun from fiber dyed by the FiberLady.
Then, there are the CoilySpun skeins I spun on Saturday, too. They were spun from hand dyed domestic wool dyed by the Yarn Wench. They have both been listed on etsy (click on the picture to go to the listing) and kittygrrlz.com.



And, finally, here is what I spun on Sunday - more Andromeda! Andromeda has been a very popular colorway hand dyed by Lynn (aka the Yarn Wench). Each batch is slightly different and I've already spun up several of them. This time, I wanted to spin a thin single of merino/silk, a thick single of merino, and ply them together (similar to what I had done with the "Pucci" colorways). But, I didn't have any of the merino/silk Andromeda! So, thanks to Naomi, who was willing to do some swapping, I got the fiber I needed as she sent me her batch of the merino/silk. There is one large skein of the bulky two-ply (110 yards, 4.6 oz) and then a lot of 2 mini-skeins, including 50 yards of Navajo 3-ply spun from just the merino/silk blend.
And, the mini-skein lot:

Last night, I spun up some more bamboo and then some "Batt-tacular" yarns! Two single ply skeins and 1 bulky plied-with-thread skein, all spun from batts from TerraBellaSpun. They should be listed on my website tonight and a couple of them will probably be on etsy, too. Then, tonight, I have two more batts I hope to spin and then it will probably be back to the art yarns.

But, for now, I must get to work!