Wow, it's been awhile!

I can't believe I haven't posted anything this year! I have been more actively updating Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns on Facebook with new yarn listings and personally, have just been very busy!

I am gearing up for a small show in Madison, Wisconsin on March 19 - the Madison Knitter's Guild Knit-In. For more information please check out their website here.

I have listed some new yarns recently in my etsy handspun yarn shop, but not quite as many as usual. I really hope to start listing more new yarns soon.

Happy Holidays and new yarns!

Happy Holidays to all!

I can't believe the year is almost over. Last year at this time we were packed and ready to move. We were sleeping on the floor with much of our stuff already moved or packed up and waiting . . . a snowstorm prevented us from making the trip the day after Christmas and instead I drove down alone with just what I could fit in my Escape and the rest of it arrived a couple of days later. Those first days were, quite honestly, cold and pretty miserable. But, one year later and we are all moved in (ha, though some boxes still not unpacked!) and ready to drive UP to visit instead of DOWN to relocate.

But, I'm rambling. I had some time off from the library this week so managed to do some spinning! Here are some new yarns, all listed in my etsy handspun yarn shop!



Now I'm about to get offline for awhile and do some more spinning!

Merry Happy Christmas Holidays and wishing you all a super awesome new year!

Cyber Monday Sale going on now!

Cyber Monday sale going on now in both of my etsy shops -
My hand spun yarns here at http://www.etsy.com/shop/kittygrrlz
and
My hand knits here at http://www.etsy.com/shop/kittygrrlzknits

are 20% off with the coupon code - CYBERMONDAY2010

Ends at 12noon CST on Tuesday, November 30, 2010!

Now on ArtFire!

I have finally started working on my Artfire shop! I know, why do i need an artfire shop when I have etsy? Well, there are certain features of artfire that I like, and I think having more than one place to find my yarns isn't a bad thing . . . my ArtFire shop will include my hand knits and hand spun yarns all in one place. At this time, though, it will not include my blended fiber batts.

The best part of Artfire is the ability to create coupon codes! For the next week, I'm offering 10% off all items in my Artfire shop:

Visit kittygrrlz's Studio

SAVE 10.00 % On
All Items

Use Coupon Code:

WELCOME1010

during checkout.

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!

Fiber in the Park tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Saturday, September 18, I will be at Fiber in the Park in Earlville, Illinois! I'll have all my hand spun yarns, hand knits, PLUS some fiber that I am interested in de-stashing. If you are in the area, please consider coming by! :)

I also hope to have new yarns listed on Monday, though I am finishing up a bamboo commission, but hope to have a few new things to list, too.

New yarns and knits!

I managed to list some new items over the past week! I think this is the most productive I've been in awhile and it feels pretty good. Here is everything new and don't forget - FREE SHIPPING in the USA ($5 International) on all ready-to-ship yarns in my Hand Spun Yarn Shop from now until September 6 and FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on all of my hand knits in my Hand Knits Shop (please note, however, that I will not be shipping until September 2, so all purchases made from now until then will ship on the 2nd. The next newsletter will also go out on the 2nd)

New Art Yarns -
FunctionArt - Canyon Violets - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 76 yards and 73 yards
FunctionArt - Holiday Romance - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 66 yards
FunctionArt - Midnight Magenta - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 70 yards

New Hand Knit Cowls/Neckwarmers, spun from handspun art yarn -
Hand Knit HandSpun Art Cowl/Neckwarmer - Juniper Jewel
Hand Knit HandSpun Art Cowl/Neckwarmer - Ever Green & Gold

And, finally, some new bamboo skeins, including two NEW colors!
Beautiful Bamboo - Waves of Blue - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 144 yards and 126 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Summer Brights - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 110 yards and 116 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Summer Carnival - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 120 yards and 114 yards

News, Notes, & New Yarns!

Summer is coming to a close which means fall shows are on the horizon! Spinning and knitting weather will be here soon, I'm sure. Or so I hope as this summer heat and humidity is really starting to take it's toll. I have still been spinning, though, and will have a few more new yarns to list on Sunday.

FunctionArt ART YARN OF THE MONTH CLUB!
The second installment of the Art Yarn of the Month Club will go on sale on Sunday, August 22. I will have TWO options to choose from - the "Serpent Collection" option which will get you these three colors - Lizard King (slightly different variation than previous skeins), Lizard Queen (which adds purple and more dark blue to the Lizard King colorway), and Coral Snake - an awesome blend of darkest purple, black, coral and yellow. The second option will be "Autumn's Coming" and will have 3 fall-themed colorways. I will have 4 available in each color, and remember, the club also includes a BONUS skein that will be mailed in December.

NEW Bamboo Colors!
I also have 3 new bamboo colors that I'll be spinning and hopefully listing within the week. One has beautiful shades of blue, another is varying shades of green, and the final one is a really bright and cheerful pink/yellow/orange combination. In addition to these brand new colors, I'll also be re-stocking some of my fall favorites - Halloween Sunset (aka Kitty Grrlz Dark), Autumn Dreams, and more DragonSong/DragonWing.

New knits and more!
I'm working on new knits and more, too! These will most likely not make it online until October, and my focus will be on getting these items to Fall shows. I do have two new cowls I'll be listing this week in my Hand Knits shop on etsy, though.

Newsletter!
The next newsletter will be emailed on September 2, due to our upcoming vacation.

Free Shipping in the USA and $5 International shipping
I will be unable to mail items from August 28-September 1, so I will be offering Free Shipping in the USA during this time (and $5 International shipping). I'll be changing this over early, though, so this will start on Sunday, August 22!

And, finally, here are some new yarns recently listed in my etsy hand spun yarn shop!

New yarns and only 3 weeks until Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair!

I have listed some new yarns recently, but am not sure how many new ones will be listed over the next three weeks since Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair is coming sooner than I think! I'll be working hard on spinning lots of new yarns for that event, AND carding lots of batts for it, too! I'm sharing a booth with Cloudlover, and we're also working on some kits for spinners . . . so please mark your calendars if you are in the area!

The JULY Art Yarn of the Month WILL be mailed out before the show, I expect to have it in the mail July 6th. Still haven't purchased your FunctionArt ART YARN OF THE MONTH subscription? Well, there are two left, and the listing will only be available until June 30. Please check it out on etsy here - the June yarn will be shipped to you immediately.

Finally, here are the newest listings in my etsy shop - a little bit of everything . . .

Beautiful Bamboo - Summer Shades - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 128 yards and 126 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Spring Garden - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 128 yards and 122 yards
FunctionArt - Spruce Berry - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 70 yards and 60 yards
FunctionArt - Rose Plum Mocha - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 67 yards and 60 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - DragonStorm - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 146 yards and 128 yards
FunctionArt - Forest Snake - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 76 yards and 72 yards
Kitty Singles - Holiday Party - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 112 yards
FunctionArt - Aqua Lime - Hand Spun Art Yarn, 76 yards and 71 yards

Now I better get some spinning done!

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 hand spun yarns listed today!

Just finished listing a ton of yarns in my etsy hand spun yarn shop! Plus, the listing for the Art Yarn of the Month club is now up, too. Here is the listing for the Yarn of the Month Club, and below the mosaic are direct links to all of the new skeins!

FunctionArt - Boho Dark - Hand Spun Art Yarn - Merino wool, 71 yards
FunctionArt - Boho Dark - Hand Spun Art Yarn - Merino wool, 74 yards
FunctionArt - Marchengarten - Hand Spun Art Yarn - Merino wool, 60 yards
FunctionArt - Marchengarten - Hand Spun Art Yarn - Merino wool, 67 yards
Novel-Ply - Mahogany Peacock - Hand Spun Bulky Yarn, merino wool, 71 yards
Novel-Ply - Mahogany Peacock - Hand Spun Bulky Yarn, merino wool, 38 yards
Novel-Ply - Red Maple Buds - Hand Spun Bulky Yarn, merino wool, 71 yards
Novel-Ply - Red Maple Buds - Hand Spun Bulky Yarn, merino wool, 33 yards
Batt-tacular!/Thread-Ply - Rain Forest - Hand Spun Bulky Yarn, spun from a blended fiber batt that I carded! - 71 yards
Batt-tacular!/Thread-Ply - Mulberry Clouds - Hand Spun Bulky Yarn, spun from a blended fiber batt that I carded! - 90 yards

Now I've got to take a break and then hopefully card some batts tonight!

Looking for something to do this weekend?

This weekend, I am partaking in our first annual Three-Generation Rummage, Craft and Bake Sale!

WHEN?

Friday, May 28, 2010 from 8 AM - 4 PM
Saturday, May 29, 2010 from 8 AM - 4 PM

WHERE?

North Prairie, Wisconsin - Hwy ZZ & County E - 1/4 mile west of E on HWY ZZ
(For exact address or directions, please email me here!)

WHAT??

A HUGE Antiquer's Rummage Sale - Friday and Saturday
Including plenty of things to make antique hunters happy, along with household items, some cds, and other wonderful miscellaneous treasures. My contributions include some Jack Daniels memorabilia, some awesome collectible dolls, Barbies, cds, and more.

A Mini CRAFT Fair - SATURDAY ONLY
I will have all of my hand made items - hand knits, a bit of jewelry and ALL of my hand spun yarns. Knits and jewelry will be deeply discounted. Yarns will be on sale, too! I'll also have my spinning wheel, so if you are curious to see how yarn is actually spun, I'll be spinning throughout the day!

I will also have craft SUPPLIES - some jewelry making items, fiber for spinning or felting, commercial yarns, ribbon, and more.

A BAKE SALE and GOOD FOOD - SATURDAY ONLY
My sister (and niece) will have some amazing goodies she's making for the event - her list included brats, salsa, baked goods, and things I am forgetting. All super-yummy though!

So, if you are in the area, please consider coming out for a unique "rummage" sale experience!

--

Lots of new hand spun yarns!

I have been busy spinning. The yarns above are some of my most recent additions to my etsy shop - a little bit of everything - some more art yarn skeins, some new bamboo, a new CoilySpun yarn, a new Novel-Ply, and even a squishy Thread-Ply!

What's coming next? More art yarns - including brand new colors! Also, more bamboo, of course!

Stay tuned - in May I plan on doing my "Destash Sundays" posts again like I did last year. I'm also working on some brand new products! AND, will be showcasing some awesome items made with my yarn. Plus, spinning lots of new yarns, of course!

New Yarns and YARN FEST this weekend!

I've listed some new art yarns this week in my etsy shop!

Two skeins each and all spun from hand dyed merino wool - Taos Sunset, Plum Honey, Lizard King, and Citrus Dreams

Today and tomorrow I'll be spinning lots of bamboo skeins but won't be listing them because I'm getting ready for . . .

The Beverly Hills YARN FEST, which is THIS SUNDAY, April 11 at the Beverly Art Center - 2407 W. 111th St Chicago, IL - from 11am - 5pm. I'll have lots of hand spun yarns and also bamboo fiber for spinning.

Any new yarns spun and not sold will be listed on Monday!

St Patrick's Day Sale!

Today until 4 pm Central Time single ply regular-sized bamboo skeins are $17! You can see and purchase them in my etsy shop here! I'll have a few new skeins listed around noon today, too!

Some new hand spun yarns!

I have quite a few new yarns to share since I HAVE been spinning, just not blogging. I have been posting new yarns on my Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns Facebook Page, though, so you can always see what's new there!

First up is an art yarn that I planned on spinning AGES ago, when I first requested this color from Natalie of Cloudlover. I've spun this as a single ply and as a "Squish-tastic" and also a "Novel-Ply" but here it is for the first time (finally!) as a FunctionArt art yarn - Blackberry Sea!

I have two skeins currently available on etsy here and here, but have more fiber and will probably be spinning a couple more. At least until I run out of the "Flora" yarn that started this all!

And today I listed this wonderful new color spun from Yarn Wench merino wool (color Decadence) - Canyon Violets - also two skeins on etsy here and here.

Here are some other new yarns spun recently, too -

Novel-Ply - Tidal Breeze - Hand Spun Bulky 2ply ThicknThin Yarn - two skeins - 70 yards and 38 yards

And, some more art yarns -

FunctionArt - Sweetheart Roses - Hand Spun Art Yarn, merino wool, 76 yards

FunctionArt - River Twilight - Hand Spun Art Yarn - merino wool, 65 yards

And, a couple of single ply skeins -

Kitty Singles - Garden Peach - Hand Spun Superfine Merino wool, slightly thicknthin, 116 yards

And, one for St. Patrick's Day -

Kitty Singles - St Patrick's Day Surprise - Hand Spun BFL Wool Single Ply Yarn - 148 yards

I think there may be a couple more, but that's all I'll post for now.

A new type of art yarn . . .

I am getting ready for Sheep in the City this weekend, so decided to spin up something I've been meaning to spin up since last fall. It is one type of a new style of art yarn that I plan to promote more this year.

It started last fall when I had a request to spin a school colors art yarn in dark navy and gold. I spun that yarn and then had another request for a evergreen and gold art yarn. I also spun that one. It got me thinking that I should try to spin more of these types of yarns . . .

So, I'm going to have three different types available of my new FunctionArt - Team Colors art yarns. The first is the same as those first requests - two colors of wool alternated and novelty and specialty yarn snippets in the two colors spun in. That's also what I spun up yesterday - in the Ever Green and Gold colorway - (these skeins are on etsy here and here)

The other two types will be:

White+ - this type will be white or undyed wool along with one color of dyed wool and the yarns spun in would be white plus the other team color (for teams with white as one of their colors).
White only - this type will be spun with undyed wool and then have the team or school color represented by the yarn snippets spun in. This one can be done one of two ways - have the white color represented by the fiber and then the spin-ins represent the other color, OR have the white as the fiber and then the spin ins would be white AND the other color. (again, for teams with white as one of their colors).

I hope to have examples of these other types soon.

Now, it's back to preparing for Sheep in the City!

The art yarns are coming, the art yarns are coming!

;) Okay, I've been saying that to myself all week because I've been determined to get back to my art yarn spinning. I've been spending so much time trying to build up inventory of my other types of yarns, that I've been neglecting my favorite yarns to spin - my FunctionArt art yarns. But, I've spun up 6 new skeins this week, have some more fiber prepped and ready to go, and even MORE fiber TO prep for even more skeins! With a show coming up, I do want to have a nice selection of colors - some will be old favorites and others will be brand new!

Two of the old favorites would have to be Plum Divine and Mahogany Midnight Moon. Both of these colors are from merino wool dyed by the Yarn Wench, and I've been spinning them as art yarns for awhile. This is my fifth time spinning "Mahogany Peacock" into two skeins of "Mahogany Midnight Moon" - both 82 yards and on etsy now - here and here.

And, of course, there is Plum Divine. I've actually lost track of how many times I've spun this one, and each time it still turns out just a little bit different, mostly because I keep running out of yarns to use and have to find a new one to replace the ones I run out of! Here are the two latest skeins spun - 80 yards and 70 yards


This week, I've also been spinning some that are more solidly-colored. I have a blue one planned to spin today, and the other day I spun this one - Madeira - this was spun from hand dyed superwash merino wool dyed by Cloudlover in her new Madeira colorway. I spun in lots of orangey yarns and plied with orange thread. It's not only orange, though, it has gold and bit of brown in there, too, though orange definitely dominates. I have two skeins - 62 yards and 66 yards.


I'll still be sneaking in some other types of yarns over the next two weeks, but you'll also definitely be seeing more art yarns coming! :)

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Plum Gold - new Squish-tastic! yarn (and more!)

Recently, I received some fiber from the Yarn Wench in a new colorway - Plumgold. All I can say is, it is awesome! At first, I thought I'd try spinning it as an art yarn, but since I had both merino and a merino/silk blend, I decided to spin a Squish-tastic! instead. Since I had two batches of the merino, I was able to spin 4 skeins (2 larger and 2 smaller) and even had enough merino/silk left over for a small skein of Navajo 3ply. Here is a mosaic of the skeins, all of which can be found in my etsy shop in the Squish-tastic! section. I also have this color in Falkland, but I'm not sure yet how I'll be spinning it.

The last skein is a bamboo skein - Prairie Autumn Gold, and along with this skein, is the last I'll have in this color. (oh, and the Navajo 3ply skein can be found on etsy here.)

I also spun up a couple of single plys recently, both from Cloudlover fiber. The first is hand dyed merino/silk blend in her "Port au Prince" colorway - all proceeds from the sale of this fiber are being donated to Haiti Relief. As I did with the art yarns recently, I'll also be donating a part of the proceeds from the sale of the yarn.

Kitty Singles - Port au Prince - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn, 148 yards

The other single ply is spun from Falkland wool -

Kitty Singles - November Garden - Hand Spun Single Ply Yarn - 132 yards

Now I'm off to get some fiber prepped for some new art yarns!

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Something wonderful I found that was made from my yarn!

I happened upon this beautiful brooch on etsy the other day! It is made with my Ice Princess bamboo - one of my favorite colors. This was made by Foxaz, and you can find their shop on etsy here! Here is a picture of the brooch, from their etsy listing which you can find HERE. So pretty!!!

This is an example of the yarn used -

Which you can find in my etsy shop here, here, here and here!

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