Quick Brag Post

I've been swamped lately. Good busy . . .but very busy!

So I'm showing off one of my customer's creations! Linda purchased some Romney last fall and spun (on a spindle no less!) this beautiful yarn:

She then (along with another Romney batt) made this sweater for her grandson!

And she just started spinning this past September! Isn't that awesome! Such an inspiration to be to actually use my handspun. I can never find the time to knit, but when I see finished creations like this, I'm reminded why I started spinning in the first place!

Nice work Linda!

What Has Become of Me?!

Just last Friday I broke down and created art batts. I also made a grand statement that I would resist sparkle in my batt creations.

And now look at me. So weak-willed. So spineless. I have Sue of the Critter Ranch to thank for it all.

Friday I declared "no bling". Saturday I attended the Fingerlakes Fiber Festival in Hemlock, NY, and caved. What a fickle heart I have!

One of my dearest friends, Petra, and I went on our merry way to Hemlock, and there we met up with Sue. Let me take a minute to say what a treasure Sue is. Despite her devious ways, she contained a wealth of information and advice about running a fiber business on-line. And she was so generous to share all that knowledge and wisdom. One kernal of advice from her: add bling to your batts. It sells.

But doesn't she know what I stand for?! Doesn't she know that I'm a purist and want to uphold small farming values and make myself stand out?!

Yes, she does, but she also knows I want to be sucessful and actually sell something. So bling it is. It's very sound advice, and she's assured me that I'm not compromising my ethics if a little nylon slips in with the wool now and then.

Sigh. She's right. So I tested Firestar and Angelina. I like Firestar much better. And here's my first batt with bling:

 

A look at the batt opened up:

I actually like it a lot. And I even liked working with the Firestar. Sue and I joked that I resisted because I know once I played with it, I'd be hooked! She may be right there as well.

The batt still contains 98% Romney and will be a part of my Shepherds' Friend line, because I still feel like it will give a spinner a good idea of what the breed represents. I don't think the tiny bit of Firestar will affect the wool's characteristics. Just give the finished yarn a bit of flash.

So, what do you think? Worth it? I guess sales will tell.

And I'll fill you all in on the treasures I picked up at Hemlock, but my parents are in town, and tomorrow is Hannah's 6th birthday party, so I may be away from the blog for a few days!!

Creating a Signature Yarn

It's a Fiber Arts Friday and Crafty Friday! Click on the links to check out all the other great blogs that are spreading some fiber-y goodness around the world today! Better yet, join in!

I know that the title of this post sounds a little high and mighty, but I've been trying to work on getting a green yarn that is "me" for my Etsy shop banner and my blog banner. I was going to use Corriedale because I've been saving some back for myself to make a sweater, but I just couldn't get the right "pop" with it; mainly because Corriedale is one of the finer medium wools and has low luster. Wonderful to wear, kinda boring to photograph.

So I decided to play with some of the Romney that I recently dyed, and created a nice green yarn with lots of sheen and I'm pretty happy with it. Amazingly, it includes equal parts emerald, teal, gold, dark brown and dark blue. I love blending colors on a drum carder: it's just wonderful how you can acheive a solid color from afar, but up close it's full of complex colors.

I left the yarn on my niddy noddy and took some preliminary photos for a banner. The ones here won't work for the shape of a banner, but they were so pretty, I had to share!

Romney Yarn on Niddy NoddyWith roving in backgroundMy logo is finished, and today I'll be working on incorporating photos with the logo and getting all my sites looking pretty. Not really a very fiber-y Friday to-do list, but worth the work!

Fiber Arts Friday -- Fiber Harvest

Yesterday was a connection-making day. I'm new to blogging as all of you know :), and I'm just beginning to navigate this crazy web we bloggers weave.

So I stumbled upon CreatingTheHive.com - Arts & Crafts Community and then I found Wisdom Begins in Wonder, Andrea Morrison's blog about her alpaca farm. And she is a part of a Fiber Arts Friday group where I noticed knit with snot for you, a blog by Holly Bee that I was already following! Whew! I feel like I've come full-circle AND want to jump in. So here it goes, my very own Fiber Arts Friday post.

 Wednesday was dyeing day in the studio. When my husband called from work and asked what I was up to, as always on dyeing day, I answered "dyeing." He laughs every time. When will he get over it?

Anyway, yesterday was drying day, and today will be carding day. BUT, I caught a few quick pics of the yummy Romney fiber before it was carded.

Romney locks ready for Autumn.

A glamor shot.These locks were from a Romney ram named Honey Bear from my friend Sandy Long's farm: Long Meadow Farm. I would throw her link in here, but she doesn't have a web site. I need to help her with that!

My hands are itching to blend these together and get them up in my shop. They'll be part of the Shepherds' Friend program where you can support small farming in America and learn about different breeds.

Tomorrow I actually have a knitting FO to share, but I have to wait, because it's my mom's birthday present and she doesn't get it until tomorrow!!

Photo Session

I've been working on my pictures and getting lighting just right--not as easy as it sounds. I think my next step will be to bring in flood lights!

But here's a sample from my latest photo session -- what do you think about using Romney locks (the white wavy wool) as a semi-prop?

"Serendipity" Blue Faced Leicester Batt