Just a quickie today . . .

Am very tired this morning so just want to quick say -

They got rid of the right person on American Idol! Yay!

Eye Candy Hand Spun Art Yarn - 84 yard skein is now listed on etsy and will be on my website shortly.
I also have a treasury on etsy! It will only last until about 3am on Saturday, but you can check it out HERE. It was inspired by the bunny posting yesterday AND the fact that I've had the "Bunnies, it must be bunnies" line from the Buffy Once More With Feeling episode running through my head all week. I may change it up today or tomorrow.

And, here is a sneak peek at the yarn I spun last night. Again, nighttime pictures are difficult because I really need better lighting. But, for now, here are the "Deep Sleep" Hand Spun Art Yarn skeins. They are 108 and 114 yards and one is plied with blue thread and the other green. Here are the novelty/specialty yarns that were spun in:

And, the skeins:
and, a closeup:

Okay, that's it for today!

New yarns and more . . .

So, today I want to first take a moment to share some totally awesome scarves that were knit with my yarn! The first ones are from Brenda of Phydeaux Designs. She has used several of my art yarns to make her gorgeous hand knit scarves. Here are just a couple (you can click on the picture to go to the etsy listing!)


Then, there is my fiber friend Naomi - she spins some wonderful yarns herself and you can find her etsy shop HERE. Here is a wonderful scarf she knit for her Mom with my "Martha's Midnight Trellis" boucle yarn. She takes some great pictures so I'm including two shots.


And, just in case you thought the only thing you could make with my yarns are scarves, here is a wonderful art doll made by Lisa. You can find her wonderful Nymphlings on etsy HERE.
This is "Veruca the Grape Vine Nymph"! Her HAIR was made with one of my Plum Lime/Plum Grove skeins! You can see more pictures of Veruca HERE. At this time Veruca is not for sale, but she also has a really wonderful bunny in her shop now, "Rosebud Bunny".
Finally, before I have to go, I will share pictures of a couple new yarns. These were shown yesterday, but now I have much better pictures and they are officially available on etsy and kittygrrlz.com.

Blu-Mocha Cherry Hand Spun Art Yarns - two skeins, 100 yards (plied with pink thread) and 92 yards (plied with blue thread). Both have 15 different novelty yarns spun in (3 hand dyed by the Yarn Wench!) which is more than usual for one of my art yarns. I also spaced them much closer, so overall there is MORE spun into the skeins! Here they are!
Then, there is what I spun last night! First, I gathered together the novelty yarns I wanted to spin into the fiber:
Then, I spun up the single:

And, finally, ta-da! Two new skeins of art yarn! These pics aren't the greatest, but I'll be taking better ones this afternoon and then listing them both.


Till tomorrow . . .

Another missed Monday . . .

So, once again I missed Monday! I had every intention of posting something, but time just slipped away . . . of course now that means I have even more to show/post today!

First, new yarns! Here is one that was finished on Sunday. It is spun from merino wool with novelty yarns spun in (4 of them hand dyed!) and plied with thread. This one also has tons of angelina spun in for sparkle! Available on etsy and my site.

I also finished the second "Violet Blues" skein on Saturday. Here it is:
I also had some coily-spun yarns but they sold yesterday! Yay!

Last night, I worked on "Blu-Mocha Cherry 2" - that is the name of the fiber (hand dyed by the Yarn Wench, of course). First, I found 15! novelty and specialty yarns that I wanted to spin in. I cut them up and set them up:

The color isn't quite right as the ones that are blue look a little purple in this picture. Then, I spun these into the fiber. Here is a bobbin shot of one of the finished single plys, before plying.

Then, I plied with thread. One skein was plied with pink thread, and the other with blue. This is a preliminary picture which isn't quite perfect, but it will give you an idea (these should both be listed with better pics later today):

While I was spinning, Bug, my cat, was sleeping under my chair:

so, this is what she looked like when I was done:

What a mess! She still loves to sleep there, though, even though many times she is really really close to my moving feet! Oh well. Here is one more shot of her through the wheel (please excuse the dust):
I don't really want to post them here, but if you are interested in seeing my "stash" photos, my "workspace" and the mess that WAS my living room, you can check out my PICS on FLICKR. I did some organizing and cleaning this weekend so that THIS and THIS became THIS and THIS. I also did some "organizing" of fiber and matching yarns so that I am ready to SPIN SPIN SPIN this week! I started out good last night by getting my two skeins done, and hope to do the same tonight. This picture shows some of the ones in the queue for this week!

Okay, I think that's all I have time for this morning, but should be back tomorrow with some more great items from some of my favorite etsy sellers! :)

Finally Friday . . .

I'm so glad it's Friday. I need a weekend. And, thankfully, I don't have a show, so I can "relax" (of course this means spinning and knitting as much as I can, but also means maybe dinner out and some quality Lego Star-Wars-playing time!)

So, here are much better pictures of the yarn I "sneak-peek-ed" yesterday. I really think I have to stop taking pictures at night. I get such better results in the afternoons. Anyways, here is "Ocean Dreams" Both skeins are 56 yards, spun from hand dyed Falkland wool, with lots of novelty and specialty yarns spun in, and plied with coils and beehives around a matching thread.


Both are available at kittygrrlz.com or on etsy.

I also finished an art yarn last night that I should have listed this afternoon. It will also have a matching skein that I'll probably spin up tonight (depends on the dinner thing!) But, here is a sneak peek (again with the night-time picture, but it does give the general idea)**I have removed the original (bad) picture! Look for better pics in my next post!

It's actually one large skein of 82 yards and one mini-mini-skein of 12 yards. I think I will be listing them together since the mini skein is so small. But, we'll see.

On the wheel for the weekend - not sure. I have some pretty green merino/tencel I want to spin up, and maybe some more bamboo. I have so many art yarns I want to spin, but need to match up some novelty yarns to go along with them. So, we'll see. I'm also determined to finish another Triangle Shawl this weekend.

But, for now, must get to work!

Some Thursday Randomness . ..

Okay, so I know yesterday I sort of said I wouldn't ramble about things . . . but, I can't help it. Here goes some random thoughts I've had this week . . . (if you just want to see the yarn pics, scroll down :) )

Project Runway: since I don't want to spoil it for anyone, I will just say I am really happy with the outcome.

American Idol: Okay, my problem with this weeks shows was . . . . were the 80s really that *boring*????? I mean, say what you will about the fashion and music of that time, but I certainly don't remember it all being so snooze-worthy! I mean, sure, lots of 80s music seems really cheesy nowadays, but it also was FUN, and UPBEAT, and, well . . . that just seemed to be lacking in the song choices this week. Of course, I've always thought song choices have been kinda lame, since it is rarely ever the kind of music I actually like. The highlights, though, for me - Brooke's version of Love is a Battlefield. I can't believe I am agreeing with Simon, but I LOVED it. I really like her, though I don't know how far she will make it. I also liked the guy's version of . . . Hello . .. I think it was? The Lionel Richie song. Again, not upbeat, but at least he tried to do something interesting with it. I also still am not really sold on that Michael Johns guy (who once again was compared to Michael Hutchence?!) . . . nor am I sold on Carly Smithson, though I did like her performance this week the best of any week so far. And, well, I may be in the minority, but I loved Daniel Noriega's version of Tainted Love - it was at least upbeat and FUN, which, again, isn't that what the 80s were all about? Also, while I *want* to like Amanda Overmyer - I'm just not sure. She seemed really uncomfortable this week. Oh well. (I hope I got all the names right - I am not an obsessive AI fan, just have it on while I spin)

Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers - Okay, I will admit I was one of those people who thought he should have retired last year. I was wrong. Last season was amazing, and it completely SUCKS that we didn't have a shot at the Patriots - who I definitely think we could have beat. Again. But, that didn't happen. I was hoping he would come back, and I agree with some of the ESPN guys that there IS still a chance he WILL be back . . . BUT . . . I'm going to tell you right now why Brett Favre retired. And, it is because finally, at 38, he has HAD ENOUGH OF WISCONSIN WINTERS! ;) Okay, I say this partially tongue-in-cheek, but really - did you see him in that Bears game with the wind/cold? Did you see him in that last game against the Giants? He was miserable. And I don't care how much you love the game of football - if you don't HAVE to play in those conditions, WHY DO IT!!?!?!? I know they say he was SO GREAT in cold weather, and yes, he was, but you know, after HOW MANY YEARS (15?) it WILL wear on you! And I don't blame him for that at all. (Okay, now will ESPN PLEASE STOP airing their little Brett-walking-around-snowy-Green-Bay-naked bit?)

Finally, I have another storyline suggestion that I guess *I* think would be cool if it played out - HARRINGTON (as in Joey) was cut from ATLANTA yesterday. (Do you remember where we got Brett Favre from?) SO, I think Green Bay should sign HIM as a BACK-UP! Then, when Rodgers starts to suck OR get hurt, Harrington can come in AND SAVE THE DAY AND FINALLY get his due. (Yes, I don't know why, but I've always liked Harrington and feel bad that he never really shined anywhere. This is NOT because I think he is "cute" - I don't think football players are "cute" (I much prefer hockey players since they usually have nice long or shaggy hair! ;) )

Anyways, I think that is enough about sports, and I hope I didn't turn away the few readers I may have . . . now, on to some pretty yarn pics, right?

Here is the second skein I mentioned yesterday, called "Irish Lore". It is spun from merino wool with specialty yarns spun in and plied half with gold thread and half with green thread. It is now listed on etsy and my site.

I also finally took some pictures of some "Kitty Minis" that I've had waiting to be listed for awhile now. These are hand spun mini skeins - sometimes spun from "remainder" fiber, freebie fiber, or the left overs after using it for knitting. So, I have 3 sets now available.

The first are two skeins of hand spun coils & beehives yarn. Total of 40 yards.
The second are two skeins of hand spun Navajo 3-ply yarn, Fallen Petals and Earthly Treasures, total of 88 yards:
And, finally, another set of Navajo 3-ply - these aren't on etsy quite yet, but should be later today, but they are available at kittygrrlz.com (my site). This set includes Forest Gold and Sea Story Blues and totals 92 yards.
And, finally, here is a sneak peek at 2 skeins that will be listed later today (though the colors aren't quite right in this picture) - they are both 56 yards and spun from Falkland wool hand dyed by the Yarn Wench. They both have specialty yarns spun in and are plied with thread with lots of coils and beehives. Very fun, textural yarn! ****Pictures have been removed! You can see better pictures in subsequent posts!!******

Okay, that's all for now! :)

New yarn . . .

So, at random times during the day and night, I think of things that I want to post here in my blog . . . but by the time I actually sit down and am ready to put the thoughts down - they are gone. Or, they just don't seem as important any more. I mean, really, who wants to listen to my opinion about American Idol?? Or what I think about Brett Favre retiring??

This means that today, I'm just going to show you my new yarn. This is the one I previewed yesterday, but got *much* better pictures of it yesterday and it is now listed on my site and on etsy. I also finished the matching skein last night. It is a little different, since I seem almost incapable of spinning two skeins *exactly* the same . . so, more on that one in a minute.

Here is the one already completed and listed. I am calling it "The Green Man - Tales from the Mythic Forest". This is the title of a poetry/prose collection that I became familiar with through my young adult librarian experience. I will admit here that I have not actually read the entire book - but it has always been highly recommended and has some wonderful authors that contributed. You can find out more info (or buy it for yourself!) here on amazon.com.

This (and the second skein as well) are also my entires for the EtsyFAST March Challenge, the theme of which is "Fairy Tales". I initially wanted my "Irish Fairy Tale" yarns to be for this challenge, but they sold immediately. So, I spun this one, thinking it would also be called Irish Fairy Tale, but . . . as I spun it I just kept thinking of the cover of the above book . . . so that is what it is called.

It is a whopping 114 yards and 4.1 oz! It is spun from merino wool and has several high-quality specialty yarns spun in as well as a couple colors of "Fun Fur". It is plied with dark greenish blue rayon thread. Here are a couple of pictures:


The second skein, which will be listed later this afternoon, is very similar. It is 110 yards, and has the same yarns spun in. It is plied half with gold metallic thread and the other half with green thread. It will be called "A bit of Irish Lore" or, maybe "Leprechaun Gold" - I'm not sure yet!

I also listed the pretty pink/white/cream/tan bamboo yarn that I showed yesterday. You can find it on my website or on etsy by clicking the picture below:

And, finally, I also listed the Jazz Garden shawl on etsy yesterday. You can find it on my website as well, or click on the picture below to find it on etsy.

That's all for now! :)

Wow . .

has it really been a week since I last posted???? Shame, shame!

But, I've been busy. I had a show on Saturday so of course spent last week getting ready for it, which basically meant forcing myself to KNIT! I don't know why it is so difficult for me to get working on a knitting project - once I complete them I'm always happy - but once again it was down to the wire as I tried to get two Triangle Shawls done . . . and it paid off as one of them sold! Here is the other one . . . they are *really* difficult to photograph. I realized this time that the problem is the only open/bright/white background space I have is by our window - which doesn't work too well when you are trying to take pictures having the light *behind* just isn't conducive to getting a good picture. So, I will have to work on trying to find another space. Right now I'm thinking I need to find a white sheet or something that i could drape over the TV or something, then I could use that as the background . . . but, I digress. Here are a couple of shots of the shawl - but they are much better in person!

I also took pictures of two more scarves that I knit from hand dyed yarn - this yarn is Austerman Samoa nylon microfiber yarn that was hand dyed by Lynn aka the Yarn Wench, special for me. Both of these scarves are listed on my WEBSITE and also my hand knits etsy shop, Kitty Grrlz Knits. (The shawl will be listed later today.)

CopperBurnt Sky:

Ruby Sky:
And, of course, there has been lots of spinning! I spun up some bamboo recently, but the first one I did on Friday and it just didn't turn out well - I mean, I like it, especially the color, but it was spun much too unevenly and, well, here it is so you can see for yourself:
I guess it just turned out thicker and more over-twisted than I like. For comparison, here is another bamboo skein that I spun up on Sunday. It is much thinner, and more even (though I still get Wraps Per Inch varying between Sport and Fine weight), but to me, it just looks much more "professional":

This one should be listed later today. I'm still not sure if I'm going to list the other one. I may use it for my knitting experiment, we'll see.

I also spun up two Navajo 3-ply Yarns this weekend! Mostly done at my show. They are both available on my website or on etsy. If you click the pics below it will take you to the etsy listings.

This is "Sabrina's Garden" and is 160 yards. Merino wool.

This is "Fuchsia Cocoa Citrine", 116 yards, merino and silk blend hand dyed by the Yarn Wench.

Both are priced a little less than normal as they were mostly spun while at my show. Which, by the way, was an okay show. I sold a few yarns and the shawl, made my fee and gas money back with even a little to spare! Yay! Now, I don't have a show until April 12, and the main thing I want to have done by then are MORE SHAWLS, and more bamboo yarns.

Finally, I just have to say WOOHOO! I was on the front page of etsy on Sunday night! Here is a screen shot of part of the treasury that was curated by SteppingStones. Thank you for including me and yay for it making the front page!


Oops, ONE more thing, then I must get to work. Here is a sneak peek at a new yarn I spun last night. It is merino wool hand dyed by the Yarn Wench, with lots of specialty yarns spun in, and plied with rayon thread. 114 yards and 4.1 oz! AND, I still have more of the fiber so will be spinning a matching skein (will probably be smaller, though) tonight. This one, though, should be listed later today, once I get a chance to take some better pictures!