dirty little secret

My shop has been kind of sparse lately, but I've been dyeing more now than ever. Where is it going, you ask?



I'm prepping to vend at my first sheep and wool festival, the Shepherd's Harvest Festival in Minnesota, during the second weekend in May. I have no idea how much I should bring, so I'm erring on the side of more than will fit in Ben's hatchback.

Yeah. I'm getting tired just looking at that pic!

buried in wool

It's a great place to be, really. I'm almost through the 20+ pounds of roving I ordered a couple of weeks ago. I'm going to have to buy a whole bump next time, and replenish dyes soon too. So I guess my business experiment is going well. I don't think I'll sell it all in a month, but I'll at least "produce" it all in that time. I've found a lot of ways to streamline all the little processes, from fiber prep to shipping. I just wish I wasn't bogged down by a day job. I keep thinking about the endless possibilities, but those possibilities more bandwidth than I have to spare.

Here is the latest batch of rovings:


I've been buying a LOT more of other artists' fiber lately; something I thought I could curb by producing more of my own, but being surrounded more by my own stuff makes me crave something different and new. I've been trying to spin lots more, but it comes in fits and starts.

This is probably the best yarn in the world, spun from Hobbledehoy batts- I call it "Waves Become Wings":


And this is "Aeroplane Flies High" from my handpainted roving:


That's all for now! I've got to try to catch up on some sleep :)

holy fiber art!

I went up to the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair today with Ben. This is pretty much the first time I've been able to meet real live spinners and let me tell you, it was awesome. Not only to be surrounded by everything I loved, but finally see my hobby outside of my living room and the internet. It made it that much more REAL! I did pretty well, all things considered, and only managed to buy some stuff that is really new to me:



From top left: Sari silk, organic cotton roving, cotton and ecospun roving, loosely carded ecospun (all from Little Barn); merino-sea cell roving from Creatively Dyed, a handful of freshly sheared alpaca, and silk hankies from Lone Tree Wools.

We almost came into owning a "fiber rabbit" too:

I honestly don't know if I've ever seen Ben happier than when he was holding that bunny!! Only $30 too; I thought they were so much more (I know the pedigree ones are.) Maybe when I get that farm house...

I also got to meet some fellow Etsyians- KittyGrrlz, My Favorite Thing, and Spinundrum. We may even meet up and have a spinny session or two in the future! Yay!

All in all, a really great event. If I'm anywhere near Illinois next year, I will definitely consider participating as a vendor.

Off to watch the old school "Batman" and to spin up some of this loot!

first worthy yarns!

100% Merino, in "Magic Mirror" colorway by Freckleface Fibers. About 70 yards, but that's a guess as I lack a real niddy noddy (this skein was wrapped around my dear BF's forearm). It's bulky to dangerously thin, with some kinks. But it is awesome.


This is "Beyond the Realm" in progress (from Copperpot Woolies). Also merino, but much slicker, so it's a bit of a challenge for a newbie like me- but oh so pretty!