Two quick things I want to announce:
As part of Chicagoland's first ever Yarn Crawl, I'll be teaching a drop spindle class at My Sister's Knits on Saturday, August 21 at 12 PM. If you've ever wanted to learn to spin your own yarn, this class will be a great introduction to the fun, easy, and portable art of drop spindling! Please contact the yarn shop direclty to sign up for this class.
Also, this Friday, August 13, I will be doing a shop update at www.cloudlover.com. This update will be pre-loaded, meaning everything will go live and available for purchase at 7PM CST. I'll continue to do Etsy updates, but I want to make a gradual move to my BigCartel shop as the listing process is much faster and easier, which in turn makes buying faster and easier. As always, I will combine shipping across both shops. :)
One last thing- as a follow up to my last blog post about donating a portion of shop sales to the International Bird Rescue Research Center, a total of $265 was raised and donated from all your purchases during July. Thank you SO much!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Four Seasons
This is really two blog posts smashed into one, because I have a few things I want to share but not enough time to blog about each. I'm super busy getting ready for the Hoosier Hills Fiber Art Festival in Franklin, Indiana this weekend- in fact, we leave tomorrow afternoon- yikes! But before I go, I wanted to share a few new colorways I've whipped up in the past couple of weeks. They are inspired by the colors of an orchard during the four seasons of the year- spring, summer, autumn and winter:
From top left: Spring Orchard, Summer Orchard, Autumn Orchard, and Winter Orchard, available in my Etsy shop!
The second thing I want to say, and I'll put it bluntly- this oil spill is really pissing me off. An area that was already shaken down and damaged not 5 years ago by a natural disaster is getting slapped by an environmental disaster that makes my stomach turn.
(Picture ganked from NY Daily News)
I'm torn between wanting to help and wanting to stand by, shaking my fist, waiting for the multi-billion dollar corporation clean up the mess. But I think it's bigger than them, and us. So I've decided that for the entire month of June, 15% of all sales from my Etsy shop will be donated to the International Bird Rescue Research Center. Maybe we can raise enough money to adopt a pelican. In July, I'll find another organization to support. A small difference made is better than no difference at all.
From top left: Spring Orchard, Summer Orchard, Autumn Orchard, and Winter Orchard, available in my Etsy shop!
The second thing I want to say, and I'll put it bluntly- this oil spill is really pissing me off. An area that was already shaken down and damaged not 5 years ago by a natural disaster is getting slapped by an environmental disaster that makes my stomach turn.
(Picture ganked from NY Daily News)
I'm torn between wanting to help and wanting to stand by, shaking my fist, waiting for the multi-billion dollar corporation clean up the mess. But I think it's bigger than them, and us. So I've decided that for the entire month of June, 15% of all sales from my Etsy shop will be donated to the International Bird Rescue Research Center. Maybe we can raise enough money to adopt a pelican. In July, I'll find another organization to support. A small difference made is better than no difference at all.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Saturday night spinning
I've been on a 2-ply kick lately, probably because they're easy to churn out while watching TV- which I've been doing a lot of lately! Last night I was catching up on Lost. I took this picture after I finished plying some Falkland Maerchengarten and Decay together. It turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
UFO to WIP to FP
Let's ignore the fact that I've neglected this blog for about as long as I've neglected knitting and focus on two major accomplishments- the first being that I'm blogging, and the second being that I KNIT SOMETHING!
And it is NOT a scarf. Or a cowl. Or a hat. Or fingerless mitts. It actually has SLEEVES!
It's the Anthropologie-inspired capelet by Julia Allen, and it was so flipping easy even I could do it (even though it took two tries and over half a year.) When I first cast on, I did everything right- measurements, gauge swatch, etc- but the neckline was gimongous, so I frogged it and started over with a much smaller neckline and more yarn so I could make it long enough. I used handspun from Hobbledehoy and then carded and spun some of my own batts to make extra yarn, which is mostly down on the ribbing. It's chunky, soft, purple and pink, and I MADE IT. I love it.
And it is NOT a scarf. Or a cowl. Or a hat. Or fingerless mitts. It actually has SLEEVES!
It's the Anthropologie-inspired capelet by Julia Allen, and it was so flipping easy even I could do it (even though it took two tries and over half a year.) When I first cast on, I did everything right- measurements, gauge swatch, etc- but the neckline was gimongous, so I frogged it and started over with a much smaller neckline and more yarn so I could make it long enough. I used handspun from Hobbledehoy and then carded and spun some of my own batts to make extra yarn, which is mostly down on the ribbing. It's chunky, soft, purple and pink, and I MADE IT. I love it.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
i heart taters...
...and they heart me!
This came out of our CSA box last week. I am going to have a hard time eating it :(
Sunday, November 29, 2009
For the love of Rambouillet
Yes, I'm still alive and well, despite what this blog might lead you to believe. In fact, it must take something special to make me come back after all this time, no?
A few weeks ago, I bought 30 pounds of Rambouillet top. Even though I have miscellaneous Rambouillet fibers lying around (some handpainted top, some fleece) I haven't actually worked with any of it until now. I am sorry I waited so long! This stuff is magical. It's got the softness of merino (I think it's even softer, actually) but it is much, much fluffier. I'm not sure what exactly it is that makes it so easy to spin, but this stuff just leaves my hand and turns into yarn as if it was enchanted. I can spin this fiber long-draw style straight from the un-predrafted top. Seriously. I think that says something. The result is the squishiest, softest, springiest yarn I've ever spun. I can only imagine what divine handspun socks it would make...
Anyway, I sold the first yarn I spun out of the first batch of fiber I dyed, but I'm working on another. This is my new favorite colorway too, I might add- Hanging Gardens:
I've got some for sale in my shop, and I plan to make this a regularly stocked fiber. But you'll have to convince me to list it for you and not hoard it all for myself first!
A few weeks ago, I bought 30 pounds of Rambouillet top. Even though I have miscellaneous Rambouillet fibers lying around (some handpainted top, some fleece) I haven't actually worked with any of it until now. I am sorry I waited so long! This stuff is magical. It's got the softness of merino (I think it's even softer, actually) but it is much, much fluffier. I'm not sure what exactly it is that makes it so easy to spin, but this stuff just leaves my hand and turns into yarn as if it was enchanted. I can spin this fiber long-draw style straight from the un-predrafted top. Seriously. I think that says something. The result is the squishiest, softest, springiest yarn I've ever spun. I can only imagine what divine handspun socks it would make...
Anyway, I sold the first yarn I spun out of the first batch of fiber I dyed, but I'm working on another. This is my new favorite colorway too, I might add- Hanging Gardens:
I've got some for sale in my shop, and I plan to make this a regularly stocked fiber. But you'll have to convince me to list it for you and not hoard it all for myself first!
Friday, October 9, 2009
New! Cloudlover Fiber Club!
I am finally opening a Cloudlover Fiber Club! It will be a 3 month club- each month you will receive a new, surprise colorway (4-5 oz) on a different fiber base. Everyone in the club will receive the same colorways each month so it is perfect for spin-a-longs! The cost will be $55 for one subscription (which includes shipping to the US & Canada, int'l shipping will be $10 extra). If you buy multiple subscriptions, you'll receive a $10 discount. I am starting the club with 10 slots, which will go on sale in my Etsy shop at the following times:
5 slots on Saturday (Oct 10) at 12 PM CST
5 slots on Sunday (Oct 11) at 10 PM CST
I will not be taking reservations for this first round of memberships; the club will open again in January for renewals and new members. Please send me a convo through my Etsy shop if you have any questions :)
5 slots on Saturday (Oct 10) at 12 PM CST
5 slots on Sunday (Oct 11) at 10 PM CST
I will not be taking reservations for this first round of memberships; the club will open again in January for renewals and new members. Please send me a convo through my Etsy shop if you have any questions :)
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