Introducing Mixies!

Miniature batts and tops to mix-and-match for endless inspiration!

This new line of miniature tops and batts are designed to be blended together while giving you more control of your yarn. They'll be making their debut on Saturday, September 29 at the WNY Fiber Festival.

Here is a sneak-peak of 6 colors (out of 20!) on the Rambouillet top.

Each Mixie Top is 2 oz. of 100% Rambouillet from a father/son ranch in Texas, and it feels wonderful! They're semi-solid and will blend with the other colors in the line.

The Mixie Batts are 1.5 oz. and feature a variety of blends including local wool, silk, firestar and alpaca. There will also be lux batts of fine wool, alpaca, kid mohair and silk blended in various ways. All Mixie Batts are semi-solids that are carded with multiple passes to ensure throughout blending and easy drafting.

What to do with a Mixie?

* Spin the colors separately as singles and blend for a 2, 3 or 4-ply finished yarn.

* Strip the top/batt and hold various colors together as you draft for blending at the wheel (blend two Mixies for one singles and another two Mixies for the other singles, ply, and you'll have a complex, interesting yarn for larger projects!)

*Strip the top/batt and hold various colors together as you draft for blending at the wheel AND alternate which colors are in the mix for a subtle shifting of color or a fade.

* Alternated colors at even intervals for stripes.

* Randomly alternate colors for crazy stripes!

* Spin each color separately and use for colorwork projects.

* Let your imaginiation soar, and make the yarn your own!

Come see me at my booth on Saturday and mention seeing the Mixies here on my blog: I'll have a special gift waiting for you!

Showing off

I have some stuff to show off:

Captain Malcom Reynolds

Kaylee:

Inara:

River:

Wash:

These are the fibers and yarns I have up in the shop that are "Firefly" inspired. More are coming soon!

The items are great, but what I'm really showing off is my new-found toy: Picasa! It makes great collages and is so simple to use! Aren't they shiny?!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

This month's Phat Fiber theme is "The Music Box," and I've interpreted my song of choice (Deep in the Heart of Texas) through my fiber content as well as my color choices. But for all the fanatics, here's the song:

The stars at night, are big and bright,
deep in the heart of Texas,
The prairie sky is wide and high,
deep in the heart of Texas.
The sage in bloom is like perfume,
deep in the heart of Texas,
Reminds me of, the one I love,
deep in the heart of Texas.

The coyotes wail, along the trail,
deep in the heart of Texas,
The rabbits rush, around the brush,
deep in the heart of Texas.
The cowboys cry, "Ki-yip-pee-yi,"
deep in the heart of Texas,
The dogies bawl, and bawl and bawl,
deep in the heart of Texas.

My Aunt Betty gave me a music box when I was a child that played the song.

Though not in the song, the heart of Texas, for me, are the cotton fields and cotton farming (as discussed here in the cotton post). And I wanted to feature my uncle's West Texas cotton in my mini batt samples.

Just a reminder what a small (yet huge when it's in your living room) bale of cotton looks like:

And here are this month's samples:

Well, they at least have burlap around them! I had to make them a little prettier than a real bale in order to show off the fibers. And speaking of fiber, here are the ingredients in raw form:

Clockwise from far left are natural cream BFL, blend of turquoise Shetland and turquoise Firestar, chocolate BFL, and a blend of cotton and Peruvian wool.  The final, full-sized batts have twice the percentage of the turquoise as the samples. Here's the full-sized, 2.25 oz. batt:

They'll be available at the release of the video (around Dec. 10) and then again when the boxes arrive on doorsteps!

I'll also have many, many batts available with cotton for sale throughout December. The finished yarn has a great tweed texture, and it's fun to spin!

To wrap up my Texas cotton theme for the month, my parents were in town for Thanksgiving, all the way from Granbury, Texas! And they helped me assemble all the little samples!

Art for Artists

I consider myself a fiber artist, but I've only recently started using the title when describing my job to people. It seems a little strange still, but running my own business helps boost my confidence. And yet, the question remains: when was this a hobby and why am I now an artist? I don't think sales defines art, I don't think a finished item defines art (ie: something created for the sole purpose of being admired and not used).

So what does? And who exactly is an artist?

I'm continually adapting my definition of art and being an artist as I explore my own art and that of others. And I find myself in an interesting place, along with many other dyers and spinners: our art is a supply for other artists. We don't create a finished product (well, unless you count all my un-knit handspun hanging as decoration on hooks in my back studio): we create to help others create. But we're no less artists!

Oh the layers. Oh the depth.

With that being said, I'm often in awe of some of the things my customers make, so here I go bragging on them . . .

This is Debra Poth's felt work.

It's just amazing how she's able to catch movement and texture with wool. Her shop is Deebs on Etsy, and she's definitely on my short list for Christmas! I can't wait to see what she does with my little 'ol batts. I'm humbled.

And check out this new fiber artist (well, new to felting anyway!). This is Joyce Deming's felted scarf that she made from one of my BFL/mohair batts:

The original batts:

I really wish I could touch it!! It was only her third attempt at wet felting, and I think she nailed it! She has a site where she sells her necklaces and gorgeous ID tag holders: JD Handmade.

I'm no closer to defining art, artists and where I stand, but if I help inspire women like this, then my work is done!!

I hope everyone had a great Fiber Friday, and check out the link to Wisdom Begins in Wonder's blog to get more fiber-y fill!

Zombies at the Mall (and a Phat sneak peek)

I've been writing this post in my head since Sunday, and can't wait to get it out there to my blogging groups because I know of a few people who would enjoy it! But today has been filled with Halloween parties and birthday party prep. So now it's almost 4 and I need to start cooking, but here I am writing to all of you!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday and Crafty Friday!

I'm a big Anita Blake fan. Love the Buff. Can't wait for Karen Marie Moning's next book. And have seen everything by Joss Whedon (except Firefly which is in my Netflix queue, but including Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog!). I'm terribly sad that I missed the Phat Fiber group's Ravelry "Surviving a Zombie Apocolypse" swap. But cheer myself up with another viewing of "Zombieland."

If you know what I'm talking about, we must be kindred spirits. If you don't, my best friend Petra has a book and movie list for you (she rolls her eyes at all this stuff).

As an aside, I know this doesn't really fit in with my Christian beliefs, but it's a vice I'm aware of and am working through.

So there's my street cred. I have a dark side that I keep quiet, but my spirit rejoices when I find another zombie/vampire/Faye/Highland Berserker fan. However, I don't live out my dark obessions like some people, and that may put me at a disadvantage when I encounter something like this in my mall parking lot:

Wow. I know.

So here's where I'm at. . . I thought I was up on all my sub-culture dark stuff, but what is this? Is this a group I'm not familiar with (gasp!) or some individual who lives out their fantasy life a little too much?

It's pretty awesome, but when we (my boys and I) peeked into the back seat, there's actually a slaying kit in there!!! No kidding. They had a large canvas bag (maybe for the bodies?), an ax, a shovel and a gun case. That's when we continued walking into the mall and made sure no one saw me taking pictures!

However . . . since the response vehicle was at the mall, were we walking into our own zombie apocolypse?!!! Next time I go shopping, maybe I need to bring some salt and a little voodoo with me!

On a fiber-y note, I'm participating in the Phat Fiber box for the first time ever this November. All my samples are done, and here's a sneak peek:

The theme is Seasons of Light. I'll have pictures of the actual samples in a week or two; closer to when the videos are done.

I can't wait to hear what everyone's take is on the zombie outbreak response vehicle, or to be educated on this group!!!

Have a Happy Halloween!!!