I'm still here....

Still here.... just lots of work & little free time, & too much Ravelry! LOL
Hope everyone is having a great week!

I went a little batty...

Yep, I sure did. I went a little batty & I'm soooo glad that I did! Just look at these gorgeous batts that I received from Blue Mountain Handcrafts yesterday!
I got my Flower Fairy Spin-A-Long package. Narcissus. It's HUGE & it's beautiful! If you spin you should check the SAL out, Beth has some gorgeous batts listed. I promise that you won't be disappointed. :)

And since I didn't need my own marker shipped back to me, Katie made me a purple flower goblin, isn't he adorable?!

I also picked up one of her Pinks Flower Fairy Batts, I couldn't resist!

I also received my last shippment of the Random Beauty Batt Club. LOVE the batt, & check out the great buttons she included. As well as a notebook & a good sized fiber sample. I'm sad though, I'll miss getting these lovely batts every month.

I totally forgot to post my latest yarns. I finally finished up my beaded yarn. I started this on my visit to Chan's last fall. I ran out of beads mid-way through & had to get more, it ended up sitting on the bobbin for a while. I like how it turned out though. I ended up with 200 yards of worsted weight yarn.

Next up, my first "art" yarn. I'm not much on art yarn, it's pretty but I wouldn't know what to do with most of it other than look at it. But I decided that one of my Random Beauty batts deserved some fancy spinning. Actually this is a pretty normal thick/thin yarn, it just has about 10 or 12 silk flowers plied in there. Turned out pretty I think. It'll make a nice scarf or cowl. I ended up with 240 yards of heavy worsted weight, super soft yarn.

Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow or this weekend to start on one of those new batts! And maybe one of these days I'll have some actual knitting to show you. :)

Flower Fairy Spin-A-Long

I've teamed up with Beth at Blue Mountain Handcrafts for a Spin-A-Long & prizes!

Spin a little whimsy with our Flower Fairy Spin A Long inspired by Cicely Mary Barker’s illustrations in her poetry book FLOWER FAIRIES OF THE GARDEN. Show your love for flowers and those gorgeous wee folk who tend them unseen and have a chance to win a prize with a value of $65!

Each SAL package comes with a gorgeous batt, a coordinating stitch marker, a handmade card & some flower seeds.

Check out these beautiful batts!  6 to choose from: Lavender, Marigold, Narcissus, Pinks, Scilla, & Tulip.

Everyone participating in the SALwill have until June 22 to post pictures of their spun Flower Fairy yarn in the Blue Mountain Handcrafts Ravelry group in a special SAL thread. On June 23rd voting will begin...anyone can vote...and voting will end on June 30th. Whoever has the most votes wins the prize! The prize includes one of Beth's awesome Caddy Sax bags, a lovely batt, a full set of my Fairy Flowers markers & a custom orifice hook I made, a flower with fairy.

I have full sets of the Fairy Flowers stitch markers in my shop if you are interested.

I'm looking forward to getting my own SAL batt! I'm not eligible for the prize since I supplied part of it, but I'm still gonna spin one of those gorgeous batts. :)  Come on & join us!

Spinning at home...

While I haven't been spinning in public, I have been spinning at home. Here are my latest 2 yarns.

These pretty fibers from Skeinwinder 123....

Became this yarn. A soft, squishy worsted weight yarn.

And I carded up some brown wool with some gold sparklies & got this yarn.....

I am trying to design a shrug using this brown with my Pharoh yarn. I searched Ravelry for 2 nights into the wee hours of the morning for the perfect pattern & couldn't find it. So I'm striking out on my own.

I will let everyone know how that turns out. :)

In other news... I got my May Random Beauty Batt Club shippment from Beth over at Blue Mountain Handcrafts. Check out this awesome package!

That beautiful batt there is 4.4 oz! It's HUGE! And soft, & squishy, & sparkly, &, &.... ha ha. She also sent a crap load of fiber samples (silk, cormo, mini batts, locks, etc), some purple plying thread, a pretty vintage flower pin, , sticky notes, some yummy smelling hand soap & a whole flock of sheepies.

I love spinning Beth's batts, they are so dang fun. I highly recommend the batt club, she taylors each package to what kind of "stuff" you like. Come on spinners, you know you want one. he he

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I plan on getting dirty in my flower beds, & enjoying it.

Spinning in Public

I wasn't spinning in public... but a friend of mine was & she posted some great stories from her experience & I wanted to share them. Kerry (she's on Ravelry, Kerrison, if you want to pop over & say hi or tell her what great stories she came back with) has a Fidelis spinning wheel just like mine. She had the chance to take her wheel to a craft fair & spin for a couple of days & sell some of her handspun yarn. Here is what she posted in our Heavenly Handspinning Fans ravelry group....

I think if you do go spin in public, you’ll get lots of fun stories:


Honestly, I had one guy who stopped and asked me what I was doing…when I explained, he couldn’t see to grasp why I would spend my time spinning when they have “machines for that.” LOL.

Another lady said “I didn’t know people still did this! Are you the only one in Virginia?” --- there’s LOTS of spinners in VA!. hehe.

And a young girl asked if I knew Sleeping Beauty.

An older gentleman this weekend stopped and watched for a while with a soft smile on his face. I started up a chat and he just got all misty eyed and said he hadn’t seen anyone spin since his mama passed away. His mama and grandma spun, so for him, watching that was really emotional. He was a sweetie.

And I had a lady who had been spinning for 10 years, but she had never seen a wheel like Fidelis - and she marveled at the beautiful yarns it made. (There’s magic in my wheel, I’m positive. B/c I sure as heck don’t have a clue what I’m doin! LOL) … she said her expensive Saxony doesn’t make yarn as lovely as the Fidelis. :)

However, no story beats the lady at the quilt show in January who asked the roving vendor “What’s this stuff” pointing to wool/roving. And when she was told “wool” her reaction was “You mean from a sheep? I didn’t know they still made that!”

Hehe. (eyeroll) No… really. In 2000, all the sheep disappeared off the face of the earth!*

Spinning in public was DEFINITELY an experience and it made memories. :) Who knows when I’ll do it again. But it was fun.

Thanks so much for sharing these great stories Kerry! One of these days I'd love to have a chance to take my wheel to a fair or festival & spin in public too. :)

Knit & Crochet Blog Week #4 & #5, plus...

Well, I was just dang pooped last night when I got home from work so I didn't get to my Knit & Crochet Blog post for the day. So here I am playing catch up. Don't forget to scroll on down & see the goodies that I received!

A New Skill
Is there a skill related to your hobby that you hope to learn one day? maybe you’re a crocheter who’d also like to knit? Maybe you’d like to learn to knit continental, knit backwards, try cables or attempt stranded colourwork.

Hmmm... I really don't know how to answer this one. I could say colorwork, but I really hate changing colors when I knit. Just makes too many ends to weave in & I don't like to sew. Crochet colorwork is much easier, I can crochet the ends in as I go.  I think one thing that I do want to learn eventually is how to do a toe up sock. The provisional cast on has always confused me.

Location, Location, Location
Where do you like to indulge in your craft? Is your favourite arm chair your little knitting cubby area, or do you prefer to ‘knit in public’? Do you liek to crochet in the great outdoors, perhaps, or knit in the bath, or at the pub?

I'll have to say that my favorite place to knit, crochet or spin is my sofa. I'm usually watching TV with the hubby while doing my knitting, etc. My sofa has a recliner in it so I usually have my feet up & snuggled in a blanket while knitting. If I'm spinning, the hubby got me a great chair pillow for Christmas last year that is perfect to lean against while spinning. Great for back support so I don't find myself at some contorted posture trying to spin. LOL
 I have taken my knitting & crochet to public places, I just don't do too many things where I have the chance to sit & knit in public. I will take it on trips in the car, on an airplane, or when I have to go wait in a Dr. office.

Now on to the goodies that I got in the mail! We had a Spring Swap on my Fancy Kitty Ravelry group.  Johanna sent me the most wonderful package!

I had no idea you could stuff THAT much stuff in one of those envelopes! LOL Two gorgeous purple batts that I can hardly wait to spin, & some Mulberry Silk.
Here are the treats, gummy bears (my absolute favorite!), M&M’s & some treats for Jazzy that she loved!

What was in the brown bag you ask? Well…. there were all these handdyed bamboo fibers! And…. these little brown boxes, Hmmmm… what are those cute little cupcake things? Bath bombs! How clever. :)

And it was all packaged so pretty, wrapped in purple tulle. Thank you soooooo much Johanna! I just love everything!!


I have been spinning some more yarn, hope to have some photos of new yarns soon. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Knit & Crochet Blog Week #3

Ok, I got my days mixed up, this was supposed to be yesterday's post. Oh well, I blame it on too many hours at work. LOL

Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!

Right now I'm tired so I'm not thinking real clear. I think the one thing I would love to do right now is finish a great sweater or shawl with some of my handspun. I have been spinning yarn like a madwoman the past coulple of months, the knitting/crochet mojo has left the building.  I would really love to knit some amazing pattern with some of it. Something like this....

I am still amazed that I finished this Lace Cardigan. It was a challenge but came out so nice. I believe it is the nicest thing I have knit so far.

Knit & Crochet Blog Week #2

This was todays topic for Knit & Crochet Blog Week...

Write about a knitter whose work (whether because of project choice, photography, styling, scale of projects, stash, etc) you enjoy. If they have an enjoyable blog, you might find it a good opportunity to send a smile their way.

That's a tough one! There are so many wonderful knitters, crocheters, designers out there. Check out my queue on Ravelry if you want to see the many styles & patterns that I'd love to try some day. I have 788 patterns queued, I'll never get to them all in my lifetime. :)  And I'm positive I'll hit 800 soon.

If I had to pick just one, I'll go with Sue Schaefer of Harvest Moon Designs. I have purchased many, many dishcloth patterns from Sue. She has a neverending supply of wonderful, creative & pretty patterns for cloths. I really enjoy knitting dishcloths/washcloths. They are fairly quick projects, they are functional, & they make wonderful gifts. I have no idea how she comes up with so many different patterns, but I sure am glad that she does! :) And she is a very sweet lady, always a real pleasure & a blessing.

Knit & Crochet Blog Week

I saw this on Chan's blog this evening & thought I'd join in.

How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?

I know my Grandmother (Mom's mother) taught me to crochet when I was little. I made long chains & some single crochet, but that was about it. I decided to pick it up again about 14 years ago, all I remember is that I wanted to make an afghan. That was somewhere around the time that my wonderful Grandmother passed away, I think in a way I wanted to honor her by continuing her craft. I remember helping my Mom clean out Mawmaw's home, there was a closet full of afghans that she crocheted. Probably about 40 of them! Enough for everyone in the family to get one. And I can say that I received the very last one that she finished, I had asked her if she would make one just for me & she made me a lovely sunny yellow afghan, she gifted it to me about a month before she passed. I cherish it to this day & always will.

So, with a need to learn I called on my other Grandmother (Dad's mom, I was blessed with two wonderful women as Grandmothers. Actually 3 if you count the hubby's dear one.) to teach me. This is "SO" my Mawmaw! She showed me how to make a chain again & showed me twice how to make a single & double crochet. Then she gave me a book from the 70's (you can imagine the patterns! LOL) that had printed instructions on the stitches, a crochet hook, & then sent me on my way. She expected me to basically teach myself, I was a smart girl she said. ha ha! I just love that woman to pieces!

Well, I did teach myself! I proceeded to crochet 11 afghans in the next 2 years as Christmas presents for family & friends. I was so proud & happy the day I gave my Mawmaw her afghan that I crocheted. :)

I then went on to have several original patterns published in magazines & books. I really should try to get my designing mojo going again, it's been a while.

To make a looooong story a bit shorter, one of the afghan's that I designed won the Juvenile division of the Herrschner's afghan contest. I headed to WI for the awards & tour... the Knit division winner talked me into purchasing my first knitting needles. Knitting always mystified me, one too many needles! Well, I got home with my new knitting needles, went online for some instructions, purchased some books.... the rest is history. I've even had a few small knit patterns published.

Even though spinning isn't part of this topic I thought that was worth mentioning too, for those that don't know that story. My pal Chan was taking a class on spinning. Spinning yarn? Why would you spin yarn when you can buy it? Famous last words! I watched & read about Chan's experience, I got curious, purchased a spindle, wasn't long before I bought my spinning wheel. Now my spinning fiber stash rivals my yarn stash! LOL

I have been blessed with wonderful family & friends who have helped & encouraged my creativity through the years. Thank you to all.

Spinning My Wheels... In more ways than one

Well, I haven't gotten much accomplished lately... I feel as if I'm just spinning my wheels, going nowhere. Super busy at work, which means lots of long hours. A short vacation that left us feeling as if we should have stayed home instead. Tax time stress, bill paying stress, messy house & yard stress, not enough hours in the day to do it all.

Anyhoo... last week I did get a chance to play with my new toy. Ron at Fancy Kitty had a little contest on our Ravelry group & I won! And I won BIG! I won a motor kit for my drum carder! I couldn't believe it, still can't. What an awesome prize. Ron has wonderful handcrafted products, all of them that I've used so far. I have a collection of his smoothie crochet hooks & my kitty drum carder. Truly superior quality & craftsmanship. And I just can't tell you how awesome the motor for my drum carder is. What a difference! I can put batts together much more quickly, & do other stuff while batt creating if I want. :)

These are the first batts that I created with the motor going. First I blended some purple mystery wool with some purple bamboo, and the same thing with the green, mystery wool & bamboo to match. Once I got those through the carder twice, just to make sure it was blended really well... I then sent it through the carder one more time to make the blended purple to green batts. The purple blends into the green, so I am hoping to get a nice graduated yarn. And I'm really curious to see how the bamboo/wool blend spins. I found that I'm not too crazy about spinning 100% bamboo, I'm hoping this will be much better.

And here are the last batts that I created before the motor arrived. These are a mystery wool, silver sparklies & a little bit of white milk fiber.

I have been spinning some roving lately, hope to finish that up & have some photos soon. In the meantime I'll show you some gorgeous merino rovings that I got from Steph at WC Merchantile. This is some lovely, soft, squishy fiber. If it wouldn't ruin it I'd use this stuff for a pillow to sleep on! LOL

I also purchased something recently & after using it for a few weeks I have to say it's a wonderful thing! After seeing a similar item that Jessi purchased a while back I went to check it out. And I found this little Litter Locker at the Dr's Foster and Smith website.

This is perfect for a family who has one or two cats! Think "Diaper Genie" for your cat litter box. This is an awesome product! And not a bad price either. I can put at least 2 weeks worth of used litter in there before I have to empty the bag. Each bag refill is supposed to last at least 2 months. I haven't used all of the first one yet & it's been 3 weeks so far.

Speaking of litter. Jazzy is trying a new one. Worlds Best Cat Litter. It's made from corn. She just started using it yesterday, but so far we both like it very much. It's a little more expensive than the regular clumping litter we've been using but it's supposed to last longer because it clumps better. One bag should last a month for one cat using it. I can tell you that it's much less dusty, it does clump really good, & we haven't had any unpleasant odors at all, even when scooping it out. That's a really good thing!

And speaking of Jasmine... here are a couple of cute photos of her playing fish with her daddy. We tied one of her toys to the end of some fishing line on a Spiderman fishing pole (you know, the kind you get for kids), Daddy tosses it around the house for her to chase. She loves that. :) And she was having so much fun she didn't even mind when Mommy got the camera out & snapped a few photos.

Just look at this adorable face! How could you not want to just smooch her? LOL  She loves that too, ha ha. Well, maybe I love that part more.

Hope everyone has a good week!