Thursday, January 29, 2009

Got a Preeeeesent!

I got my swap box from the Ravelry Coffee and Chocolate swap yesterday and boy, did I ever need it! I've been fighting this virus crud for several weeks now and I needed something yarn-y, something chocolate-y and definitely something COFFEE! I got some gorgeous baby alpaca bulky in a lovely shade of pumpkin that I think is my new favorite color. I got three, yes three, flavors of coffee. Tons of Bavarian chocolate. A to-die-for lavender eye pillow (I've wanted one for several years). Got a great soy candle in Red Currant that I may just glue to my face. Got a cowl pattern that is so cute I can't wait to make one. And, I got some heirloom veggie seeds. C'mon spring! My partner is way cool too and I think I made out like a bandit. I'll post pics of the package I put together for her, but not until she gets it so I don't spoil the surprises.
In other news, I finished this cutie patootie lamb's ear baby hat for my brother's baby. It's knit from Serengetti colored Gloss yarn (merino and silk) from Knit Picks. I lined the ears with some black velvet and I'll tie a little bow on there somewhere in case it's a girl baby. If it's a boy, they can just take off the ribbon. I've got a black one on the needles now for my littlest and I'll do another one in chocolate brown for my friend who is due with a boy in May. I tried this one on my baby and it was soooo cute. Made all those tiny stitches worth the effort!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

New Yarns

I just finished dyeing the first two test skeins of the new yarns I will be adding to the shop in February. They are dyed in a colorway I call Loch Ness. I'll be sending in samples of these yarns, in this color combo, to the March Phat Fiber box. This one is a blend of Suri Alpaca and Merino in a worsted weight.
This one is Merino wool wrapped in cotton in a bulky weight. I'll also be offering a 100% Merino in a worsted weight. The new yarns should be ready in a couple of weeks. I'm planning several beautiful color combos to choose from and can't wait to see how they turn out!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Phat Fiber

My first round of samples for the February Phat Fiber box are boxed and ready to ship. I've included hand dyed fiber, Teat Treat samples and some Sundries Bags and Spindle Sacks. I'm so excited to participate in this networking opportunity. The first round of boxes (something like 69 of them) sold out in less than 20 minutes. Many of the contributors are already seeing traffic from the advertising and the wonderful editors of Knitty.com have notified the group that they are going to do a feature on the boxes in their next issue. Way cool! If you don't know about this phenom, go check it out at www.phatfiber.com. It's way too cool a deal to miss.

Spinning Merino and Alpaca

A couple of days ago I started spinning some dove grey Alpaca/Merino I had sitting around.
Here it is as a two ply, nearly 8 ounce hank of lustrous, soft, strokable, semi-sport weight goodness. Look at how much shine it has.


Here's a shot out in the sunlight after I wound it into a skein.
I ordered samples of some new bare yarns to work on getting dyed and in the shop. Can't wait to see them. I have a worsted weight Alpaca/Merino coming as well as a bulky weight Merino/Cotton. Should be de-light-ful! I'm also looking at a DK Merino, a worsted Merino and a bulky Merino depending on what I think of the two samples.
Then I ordered some rovings to play with and get dyed up. I've got a Merino/Silk blend, an ultrafine wool and a Falkland wool coming. I've never experienced Falkland in person, so I wanted to test it out and see if it's something I want to stock in the store. Can't wait 'till those come and I can get to dyeing them.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Introducing Vapor Salve

It's ready and in my shop now. This is our Vapor Salve. It is the same lovely base as all our other salves, but this one contains Rosemary and Eucalyptus to help ease breathing during a chest cold. I used it all last week when I was feeling crummy and loved it. It's much gentler than the other stuff we used to use and it smells better too.
I also finished knitting this cool stocking hat. It is the last part of what we bartered for our new, cool, metal sheep and goat feeders. Gotta love feeders that take a lickin'!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Happenings


Lots of things have been going on around here the last few days. These are my new Spindle Sacks and Project Pokes which will be debuting in my shop shortly. I'm sewing like mad to get them in before February when several of them will appear in the February Phat Fiber sample boxes. Lots of other samples will be in there from me as well including Teat Treat and hand dyed roving.


The first kids of 2009 were born this week. These are the next generation of a breeding experiment I started three years ago. This buck kid is 50% Angora and 50% Boer. He will be my son's market wether for this year and we are looking forward to seeing how he will grow.

The next day, Faith presented us with this colorful buckling. He is also 50/50 and will be a market wether for my oldest daughter. Both are quite large babies and are showing signs of being very vigorous.
The next project to work on will be to dye some new colorways of roving and to develop our new Super Secret Knitting Product. I'll post about it as soon as I get a prototype together. Very exciting!



Friday, January 2, 2009

Danish Tie Shawl







Ever since seeing these featured in a Spin Off article, I've been wanting to make one. My aunt gave me a large bag of assorted yarns for Christmas, so I decided this was my chance. I finished it and I love it! I'm planning to make a couple of others for sale and to offer it in my shop as a custom order option. The cool thing is that the original patterns were for a knit version and I was able to figure out how to do it in crochet. I love the way the novelty yarns are shown off and the textures they create.