What a weekend! (Sheep in the City)

Well, it is Sunday evening and my first show of 2009 is now behind me. It was the Sheep in the City Getaway in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. It was a 3-day event, with classes and knitting and shopping and spinning and cake walks and fashion shows, a sheep to scarf challenge, and more. I'm not going to lie - I really wasn't expecting much sales-wise. Even at fiber/yarn-specific events, I don't always do well. And, given what state the economy is in, and that Milwaukee is one of the more "frugal" places, I just didn't go into the weekend with high expectations. I also taught two classes and was very nervous and worried about them. Add to that the fact I hadn't done a show in 3 months, and i'd say i was less-than-looking-forward to it. Wouldn't sleeping in and spinning at home have been a better way to spend 3 days?

Well, I was wrong to be reluctant - it was a WONDERFUL event! The time seemed to fly by for most of the weekend! My sales were decent and the classes went well enough that I'd consider teaching again. I was also next to two wonderful women, both named Pam, who sold candles, lotions, soaps, etc., - their business being called "Pam's Essentials". (Click on the name to check out their site!) I told them all about etsy and they gave me the name of their tax person! They were also kind enough to watch my booth while I taught my classes, which was very much appreciated. By the end of the weekend, another vendor had them knitting! Not only that, but for a first-time event, I thought the crowd was pretty good - lots of knitters and spinners and crazy fiber people, which you just know if you put them in a conference room together, wackiness will ensue! The organizer, Jan of JustForEwe, kept things rolling and lots of fun, capping off Saturday night with a fashion show and pajama party (okay, i didn't stay for all of the fashion show or the pajama party since i wasn't staying at the hotel, but i can't imagine the night not being a total blast!)

I also had fun teaching, despite being nervous. For the art yarn spinning class, I showed how to core-spin which was something none of them had done before, so I was happy I could share something new. Then, they each spun an art yarn and one of the students (who was taking the beginning spinning class later that afternoon (aside - next time we'll make sure to have the beginning spinning FIRST)) who had NEVER SPUN BEFORE made a fantastic skein of black and purple art yarn!! It was truly amazing, especially since she used MY wheel which was definitely having issues (later that day i actually went to get a screw that had apparently fallen out of my woolee winder!).

The next day (today), I taught the art yarn knitting and one of the students from the spinning class knit up her yarn into the *cutest* baby hat ever!! Another of the knitting students took my final skein of "Sabrina's Vintage Garden" and knit a wonderful cowl! I know my patterns were written a bit oddly, but I was so happy that they were able to complete items within the class time. Another student actually started two projects so she could see how the patterns went.

And, can I just say that having internet access (since it was at a hotel, in their conference room) was FABULOUS!! I could update my site as things sold, and removed items from my table if they sold on etsy. I didn't have much "down time", but I was able to type up my patterns on Saturday night while there, and also checked in on email a little bit during lulls. I wish ALL shows could provide this type of access!

But, now the work really begins. I am down to only 38 items in my etsy shop and 4 of them are gift certificates, one is sold, and a couple are the "spin to order" bamboo listings. I've got custom orders to work on this week, but I also hope to still list at *least* one new yarn daily this week (starting tomorrow! I've got a gorgeous Squish-tastic! done!), and then back to normal next week which means I hope to list 4-8 new yarns each day. Then, March 14 is the Madison Knitter's Guild Knit-In!

I also need to send out my emailed newsletter. I may try and get that out tonight, but it may have to wait until Monday morning as I'm already starting to feel the "crash" that comes after a show. There's a good chance I'll be asleep very soon!

Anyways, thank you to all who stopped by my booth this weekend and I look forward to next year!
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More new yarns!

So, it was definitely a weekend of spinning! Besides going out for a late lunch/early dinner on Saturday, I spent most of the weekend spinning. I already posted what I finished on Friday and Saturday, so here is what I did on Sunday. All of these pictures were taken before "setting the twist" . .

Tangled Up In Blue handspun yarn--this one was spun from a carded batt from the Yarn Wench! I plied it with blue thread. It is my favorite of the weekend, I think:

Then, I spun up the 8 oz of handdyed wool I had from The ArtsAtEaglesFind, colorway called Tequila Sunrise. The first 4 oz were split and spun into two art yarns, including one new Hello Kitty skein!


And, the second 4 oz were spun into a "two ply with flair", meaning a two ply with tons of handdyed Romney and Cotsworld locks spun in! The locks were dyed by the Yarn Wench.


I feel alot better, now, that I've got some spinning done! I've got some plans for specific yarns this week (once I get my box of fiber from the Yarn Wench--she did another huge update on Friday and of course I couldn't resist. I tried, really, but ended up with lots of new fiber and a couple of them are going to be spun up right away!). I'll also be doing some knitting (still have to finish that shawl as spinning definitely took over the weekend!).

Weekend recap . . .

So, this weekend was Harry Potter Weekend, I guess! I didn't get any spinning done, but I DID read Harry Potter AND knit a few things!

Friday, I did some knitting, and this hat was the result:

It is knit by me with Yarn Wench Yarn! Speaking of the Yarn Wench . . . I was a very bad girl on Friday . . . I couldn't resist . . . she is having a sale on her handspun yarn . . . so of course, I had to buy the one I've been wanting since she first posted it . . . Raspberry Floozie! Can't wait to get it and knit it up! (I also bought another one, and ONE fiber, but oh my, I could have easily bought so much more, but I MUST STOP!!! :) )

Anyways, on Saturday morning we did our normal run to Sam's Club . . . and they had the Harry Potter book . . . so even though I was expecting my copy in the mail that day . . . we bought a copy so my boyfriend could read it, too . . . so, we got home and he started reading right away! I said, TELL ME NOTHING!!! :) Even though I've been spoiled for every other book, and usually don't care, for some reason, for this last book I wanted to know nothing before reading, no spoilers, nothing! So, he read, and I knit . . .

My book arrived around 10:30-11am. I started it almost immediately and pretty much read straight through and finished it around 1am! So, that was the reason there was no spinning done on Saturday . . .

Then, on Sunday, I was just . . . drained, I don't know . . . reading the book was sort of . . . draining for some reason. So, I didn't get much done, except for some knitting. I decided I needed to knit some more of MY OWN yarn up, so I took "Galway Spring", two skeins I had spun from handdyed wool from the Yarn Wench, spun in two novelty yarns, and plied with thread . . . and I knit them into a hat and a scarf! Here are pics:


These were my main accomplishments of the day, though I did also get some more promo keychains made up and knit a little on the shawl I started on Friday.

I will do some spinning tonight, though, as I am going to spin up a yarn for a fellow librarian friend. But, I do think I may be doing a lot more knitting for the next couple of weeks as I've got a lot I want to try and get done before my shows in August. (lightweight shawls, light scarves). We'll see, though . . I've got so much beautiful fiber just waiting to be spun!

Catching up again . . .

So, I guess it's been a few days since posting . . . I went to the wedding last weekend in Minnesota and ended up getting back later on Sunday than I thought which kind of threw me off and I've been remiss in updating here . . .

The wedding was very nice! She had absolutely *perfect* weather, seriously. (It was indoors, but still.) An absolutely beautiful day! The ceremony was short, sweet, to the point! The dinner was fabulous--you know how wedding food, well, may tend to be kind of bland? Well, not this one! It was a chicken dish, but wow, it definitely had a zip to it! Very good! The reception was fun, as receptions always are! Lots of dancing . . . and of course a little drinking . . . and lots of silliness. Unfortunately, the only picture I took was of the wedding cake!?! I'm just not used to having a camera so I didn't really take it out! Here's the cake, though:

As you can see, they had a Mickey/Minnie theme going (the invitations were also Mickey & Minnie!) and the color scheme of black and red, as well. The cake was also very yummy!

Had a little time on Saturday before the wedding to finish knitting this hat:
It is knit from handspun yarn from mistressbatty at battysboutique.etsy.com! It was spun on a spindle, which is very impressive! I love the colors and while I do really like it, I did list it on etsy here.

Then on Sunday the ride home was getting long so I pulled out some of my handspun yarn and knit up a scarf! This is Midnight Valentine and matches the hat I did previously. The yarn was spun by me from handdyed domestic wool from the Yarn Wench, and I also spun in several novelty yarns and plied it with thread . . .here is the scarf, though the pictures are a little lighter than the actual color:


Also, last week before leaving, I did finish up some yarns. I posted about the single ply yarns which are now all on etsy, but didn't post a picture of the "Pink Lemonade" yarns I spun up. There are two skeins, one 98 yards which is just a boucle with lots of added sparkle, and the other is 58 yards of art yarn with novelty yarns spun in. Here is a picture of both:
For more pics you can check out my flickr here!

It's been hard getting back into the swing of things this week. I haven't spun anything, though I did begin spinning up another fairly thin single last night that is destined to become a two ply. I have about 8 oz and probably did about 3.5 last night. That first bobbin will definitely get finished tonight and I'll start on the second. I'm hoping to have it done on Thursday night. The wool is handdyed Falkland from the Yarn Wench and you can see the colors HERE and HERE.

I'm also knitting another scarf with Austermann Samoa. I've also got to get going on some more summer shawls for the August shows I have coming up. I managed to get some more yarn for these shawls and also the scarves I like to do on ebay! Woohoo!

Well, I'm sure I'm missing some things, but these are the highlights!

Wedding this weekend . . .

so, i'm going to minnesota for a wedding this weekend. leaving soon, and won't be online much, and while i plan on bringing some knitting, feel like i should just give myself a break--my hands/wrists/arms have been sore lately, and overall just been feeling pretty crappy . . . as a matter of fact, i stayed home on wednesday to try and feel better and . . . ended up spinning 4 single ply yarns?!?! what the heck! how am i supposed to rest if i can't stay home for one day without spinning!? I really wasn't going to, but by the afternoon i felt a little better . . . so went on a spinning rampage!? oh well. Here is a shot of the singles, all spun from battman batts:

Last night, the Yarn Wench updated! I tried to resist, really I did . . . but should have a nice sized box coming to me next week! Woohoo!

oh well. i've got to run and get ready to go . . . happy weekend everyone!