a shop update

It’s on the small side, but I haven’t updated the Etsy shop in several weeks, so I thought something was better than nothing. I’d like to get back into spinning and dyeing, but right now Rich and I are busy getting his apartment ready for another occupant. Also, we were on vacation, and not fully unpacked from that either. Most of the wedding planning is done, but we have lots of other things to work on. For instance, finding a new bed, getting his wedding ring, me packing my stuff. Basically the big day is TWO MONTHS away. Plus I’ve been working late this week. So, I hope to keep doing fiber stuff, but I make no guarantees. And that’s a quicky update on my life!

What are the new goodies?

Each is 4 ounces of Brown Sheep Company combed wool top

shop update

I added a few more braids of the Corriedale lambswool from the Great Lakes Fiber Show. There are six total, which is all I have! Also, don’t forget to check out the Sale section. As items get close to their expiration date, I discount them a few dollars.

preview!

While at the Great Lakes Fiber Show this year I purchased two pounds of Corriedale lambswool and I’ve been dyeing it. Actually I might have dyed all of it. Some I’m keeping and some I’m selling. So here is a little preview of what will be added to the shop next Wednesday.

And we’ve been getting some things accomplished as far as the wedding planning is concerned. The location is settled, and that is the Buhl Mansion in Sharon, PA. We also have a theme of sorts… primarily it will be a 1960s cocktail party with a circles and squares decor developing. Color scheme of blue, turquoise, lime green. Invitations have been chosen. The dress has been tried on and determined precisely correct. At Michael’s we found a kit of paper flower pom poms, brought to you by Martha Stewart. I bought the blue kit with additional packets of green tissue paper. They’re fun, easy, and big!! Those will be hanging from the ceiling in some configuration. Things are coming together! I almost can’t believe it! Weee!

weekly update

Wednesday weekly Shop Update! Blue-faced Leicester and Corriedale have made a come-back! I hadn’t had any of those breeds for quite some time and I don’t know about you, but I missed them!

Here is a sample of what is currently for sale:

the same, but not

As you can probably guess, I’m very excited about my newly acquired spinning skills. For so long I was spinning all fibers and all preparations the same way and feeling very poorly about it. Then I met with Cosy and she shared her SOAR knowledge. Wow! I’ve been feverishly spinning worsted yarns like mad and I am loving the results.

I realized I had an excellent example of the differences between spinning techniques and preps. My Columbia fleece from the county fair was returned to me in excellent condition at the beginning of January. I love you Zeilinger’s!

Here are three yarns made from the same fleece. For each one I used a different combination of prep/spinning style. It’s quite interesting to visually see the differences between the yarns based on those two variables. These are in chronological order starting with the oldest. Neat, eh?

“Warm and Savory”. Flicked locks, spun woolen

“Lilac Sprig”. Carded roving, spun woolen

“Raspberry Truffle”. Carded roving, spun worsted

you need more fiber!

Something new at my Etsy Shop? Could it be possible?

After a month and a half of stagnation, I am finally offering new items. Each Wednesday I will add 4 listings – at least two will be dyed fiber plus yarn or locks. And for the new year, I’ve added a few new breeds of wool including Columbia roving, Romney top, and Superfine Falklands top.

I think I’ve finally solved the problem of absent lighting. Now I’m working with two 150 watt bulbs and one 300 watt bulb. With the correct fixtures, they easily clip on to anything, so I don’t have to leave them set up all the time. It will still take me a while to get the hang of it, but I’m pleased with the results for now. I can see a difference between photos taken with natural light and those taken under lightbulbs. I like them both, they’re just different.

“Candy Land”
100% Romney top
4 ounces

color blast!

Things have been running a little low in the handdyed top department over at the shop. Before going to the wool festival, I ordered a few pounds of BFL from Hello Yarn and it came before I left! Of course I didn’t have time to get into it, but I did this week.

From the top going left to right, Cherry Chocolate Zest; Driving to Rhinebeck; Red Sky at Night, Sailor’s Delight; South Sea Island Magic; Aquatic Flora; Club House. 4 ounces each.

On the bottom are more BFL/BL locks, 3 ounces each. Broccoli Floret; Thunderhead. I was hoping these wouldn’t become so monochromatic, but alas, they did. They could be blended with another fiber for more variation if that’s what you are interested in.

I spent at least two hours that morning (whichever morning it was) sorting through the locks. When washed, I just tossed them into a bucket and they became all messy and tangled, not to mention they had lots of tiny burrs in them. I pulled them out and separated the locks. Slow going job.

as productive as I get

When some people have a pile of yarn or dyed fibers to show off just so we know how busy they’ve been, it is huge. It may cover a couch, dining table, etc. For me, not so much. I’m a slow worker. I get bored easily. I need variation. So, this is as productive as I get…

Here contains assorted yarn, some top, and a bundle of dyed locks in Corriedale, Falklands, or BFL. These will be added to my Etsy shop as I get to it. The main hang-up was just getting the photos taken. My camera battery died and I wasn’t entirely sure where the charger had wandered off to. Also, I have to get the light at the right time of day, which seems to be around 10 am. I got everything reskeined, weighed, measured, and tagged yesterday. It’s fun to have a relatively large batch to look at and make yourself feel good.

I ended up at the Four Seasons Flea Market Sunday afternoon. It has proven itself to be quite the little hot spot for things I’m looking for. I found this hand-held mirror for $1.00 (wanted one for my craft sale table); the buttons were $.25 for the loose and $.50 for the cards.

Also found this cute little bowl for $4.00. He wanted $5, but after a lot of thinking, he gave up. He just asked that I didn’t go on Antique’s Roadshow and say, “Look what my mom and I found at the flea market!”. It was pretty funny. It’s number 441, so now I’m just missing 442 and I’ll have the complete set of Verde Cinderella Bowls! Additionally, I found two Pyrex lids that I needed for $1.00.

what is that ugly thing?

Oh, it’s wool dyed with Black-eyed Susans.

I am just not having any success with this natural plant dyeing business! My first two things came out yellow – one Queen Anne’s Lace and the other Eucalyptus. Now this! Arg. I soaked the crap out of those flowers, I guess there just weren’t enough of them. It’s annoying because the dye bath was a nice orange-y sort of color, then I put in the wool and suddenly it was this dull tan. Cheers. I can dye wool tan. I am awesome.

unstable, stable

Can’t say I’ve been feeling overly motivated to get back into the swing of internet things since being home from Pennsic. While I’m there, not having this thing always on your mind is really nice and I didn’t miss it. But it’s not just the internet, I haven’t been wanting to do anything. I feel like an ultra-slacker not having a job. I am looking though – I’m registered with several places that are supposed to help me find something. One of which I took a typing test for, something I haven’t done since I was 13. Apparently I type 67 words a minute. I think one of the main stressers in all of this is that most things have come pretty easily or naturally to me. My first job at the newspaper I got because of my sister. My second job I got because I did job shadowing and they thought I was cute. I never studied much in school. I just never had to try that hard. So struggling with this makes me feel weird. Not to say I’m awesome at everything. Any of you should know how much I gripe and moan about my crap-photography or problems with dyeing. Suddenly I’m in a very uncertain time in my life when I’m more accustomed to regularity and stability.

Well, I have been trying to get myself to use the time I have at home. I dyed the rest of my 2 lbs of BFL, so now I’ve got to make another order so I can update the shop. Also finally used the black-eyed susans, but that’s drying so I’ll photo later. Here are two bits of fiber I’m quite happy with. Again, used the baking method, which I’m having lots of fun with!

Aurora Borealis.
4 ounces, BFL, lanaset dyes. I love the way this turned out. I used lots of black and it dulled the colors into something really beautiful and dark. New found love = black!

Yacht Club.
4 ounces, BFL, lanaset dyes. Sometimes I like the way orange and blue mix and sometimes I don’t. This one has already been spun. It’s a little dirty and muddled and the gold flecks disappeared, but it’s still nice.