Ravelry Ad or Trying Something New

Every day is a new day for a middle aged woman in the spectrum of the WWW. I'm amazed at all there is to offer - free flickr, free etsy, free ravelry, free aol...it sure makes it easy to start a business and to stay in touch with people from all over the world.

Like take my amazing friend Shawn http://islandsweet.blogspot.com/. She lives in Newfoundland. We met on Etsy when she we decided to trade fibers with each other. Now, it turns out that we read the same books and have similar life experiences. Her grandchild is due on the date of my Mother's birthday. Shawn nurtures me as a new fiber artist and I am grateful. I wish I had as much to give back to her. Then there is the wonderful Jen from Hanks in the Hood. She has really given me so much of her time, energy, and expertise. I don't know what I would have done without it!http://www.hanksinthehood.blogspot.com/ Then, I try to pass on everything that I am learning to the newbies whom I encounter. The circular nature of fiber is astounding. Fiber artists are a peaceful bunch with generous hearts. I hope that I will continue to learn from these amazing folks.

When I began this post it was to add the image of the ad that I am trying to place on Ravelry, which is located at the top of this post. Because I am the kind of person who just wants the computer to work..I don't need or want to know how to make it work..it takes me a long time to accomplish these tasks. I'm very happy, though, with the ad that I created, and I hope it gets approved. It was fun to make.

Next Saturday is Alabama's 4th Annual Goat and Sheep festival. I've got to get to work for that event. More on that next time.

I Tried

Well, I tried everything I could possibly think of to get my images to show up on Ravelry in a group for sale like everyone else does and nothing worked. I'm frustrated. But, I did have lots of fun before that today doing fiber fiber fiber. I scoured the Romney wool again. It is the fiber that I received from "the redhead" at http://www.redstoneyarns.com/ just for the price of the shipping charges. It is turning out to be a gorgeous silver color. I'm learning that it is difficult to get the lanolin off the fleece without very very very hot water. Today, I even boiled two large pots of water to help. We shall see....

Today, Melissa and Sara came over to play. Melissa used the drum carder and started her Etsy shop. I hope it goes well for her. She needs something to capture her imagination. Perhaps this will be the trick. Sara carded some roving, too. She is developing a real passion for natural dyeing. It will be fun to watch her skills develop. I thoroughly enjoyed having the day off...only when I checked the blackberry a couple of hours ago...it looks as if I missed an important meeting. My memory is failing me these days. Am I too busy? Is it the pain and medications? Is it peri-menopausal? Is it early onset dementia? I guess it doesn't really matter...I just need to learn how to compensate.

Sales on Etsy this week have been fantastic. Yes, I have made 5 sales in 6 days. On the day that I did not make a sale, I did have someone interested in my Liquid Gold, but she couldn't buy it at that moment. Perhaps she will in the future. It is a good fiber-filled life that I am enjoying. And I am happy.

Some of my newest fibers

Caps, Fibers, Faith, and Friends

Look how cute this cap is that was knitted by Susan. She was one of the first people to buy anything from me on Etsy. Then, she was the first person to make a special request that I spin more for her of the same yarn so that she could make a matching set of items. I think this cap is perfectly adorable. And thank you, Susan, for being so easy to work with. It is a real treat to see what you have done with something that started out to be wool from a sheep. The connections that this one sheep made have been incredible. These fibers came from my first order from Jen at HanksInTheHood. Now Jen and I are fast friends - so much so that we are developing a couple of lines of yarn that will be unique to us. The first line will be for Serendipity which is our really cool LYS. It is more that just a fiber store. It is a place where people congregate. We learn from each other and we support each other. We created a nest for each other. And we laugh together. Ellen has commissioned a line of bamboo yarns to sell in her shop this summer. More on that later with links included. But for now...I just wanted to post this lovely cap made by Susan who early on had faith in a new spinner in Alabama.

First Treasury

I wanted to post this link to the first Etsy treasury that has contained my roving. At least it is the first one that I know about. The neon colors fit right in with the theme and all the other items chosen.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=33482

I've included the link as well as the image because I'm not sure that the image will actually appear.

This whole fiber thing has taken over my world. There's fibers in the studio, fibers in the bedroom, fibers in the bathroom, and spinning wheels all over the house. My daughter came home the other day and said "Mom, the spinning wheels are taking over the house. I don't think you need to get anymore!" It is true. Now that I have my Schacht I don't think I will get anymore.

All the people I am meeting through fibers are so wonderful. They want to share their knowledge and their experiences in a totaly unselfish way. I feel like I have found my place. After 50 years, it is about time.

It has been a while.

I got so involved in learning how to spin yarn and then dyeing yarn that I haven't gotten back to my blog. So tonight, when I saw something on Etsy about creating an Etsy Mini, I felt compelled to figure it out. It took me an hour...but I think I have done it. We shall see.

In the last few weeks, a lot has happened. We got another dog and then, last night, we had to give Keller back to the people who gave him to us. Keller began to be very hostile toward Cody. Last night he attacked him so viciously that I was in fear for Cody's life. Cody is a beta dog so he wants to keep everybody happy. He's the one who likes to compromise. Keller had intimidated Pippi the cat so much that she stopped going to the bathroom. I had to take her to the vet for a full week before she went to the bathroom again. I wasn't happy with that but I thought it was just part of bringing a new dog into the home. We have done that many times in the past and the animals just worked things out amongst themselves. But Keller began to get more and more dominant - alpha dog-like. Last night I thought it reached the point of being dangerous. So Keller had to go. I cried when they came to get him. I cried a lot.

And then I started a knitting project. The wools and other fibers have taken over my house. It looks like that old Star Trek episode called "The Trouble with Tribbles" where these cute little puff balls take over the ship. My room is filled with puff balls of wool in such gorgeous colors that you'd have to see it to believe it. And I am happier than I have been in years. This weekend, I will get the studio cleaned out so that the puff balls can vacate the bedroom and have a room of their own. Nice.

Well, that is enough for one night. I don't want to feel that writing is another demand. Then I will get stressed out. I have a lot of exciting things to sort out - like getting ready for some art/craft fairs that I have recently learned about...that will wait until tomorrow.

My First Handspun Yarn

Addicted. This is my first handspun yarn. I bought the fiber from Copperpot on Etsy. This colorway is called "Cry Baby" which is composed of hot pink, charcoal, and pale blue. Most of her colorways are blends of wools such as merino and colonial so I cannot really say what this one is. But I do know that it is simply beautiful - especially given that this is my first handspun yarn. The singles was spun counter clockwise and then plied clockwise. Since starting that singles I have learned that most people put a clockwise twist on the singles and counter clockwise for plying. I will adhere to tradition in future yarns just to simplify everything. Seeing the picture of this yarn makes me feel so content...it is beautiful to see. Very, very beautiful. And the yarn itself feels so soft. I am totally hooked on spinning yarn.