A new year & new ways to connect!

Is it just me, or does it seem like people blog less these days?  With twitter, facebook, smart phones, instagram, etc, it sometimes seems like too much effort to blog!  Or, maybe I've just become a mom and that's my new reality!

Either way, the fact is I don't have the time to blog very much anymore, and yet I still like to stay connected to those near and far online.  So I invite everyone to join my facebook page to receive the latest updates and information on my shop. 

For instance, you can check out the newest yarns for 2013 in my sneek peeks album.  Facebook fans will get first dibs on any items that are added- just comment if you'd like to purchase something you see!

You can also feel free to share your photos of what you've made with my yarns- folks love to be inspired for their projects!

I hope everyone is off to a great new year!

Upcoming Craft Fairs

Last weekend, I participated in the annual Made Show and Sale at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.  It was lots of fun, with Friday night being extremely busy; apparently over 600 people came through!  The Bright Lights festival in Galt Gardens was also going on, which brought many families downtown for the night. 

Here's a shot of some of the yarn I brought:

Most of it went, so I am busy dyeing and spinning up more for the two other sales I'm doing for the holiday season:

• Urban Grocer's First Annual Community Artisan Fair: Thursday, December 6, 6-9pm
• Made Pop-up Sale @ the Southern Alberta Art Gallery: Saturday, December 22 10am-5pm

Something new that I've been making are wool dryer balls- I've been using them with my laundry, and especially for cloth diapers, which can't handle any kind of perfume or residue, and they work great for softening and reducing static:

These aren't currently available in my etsy shop as I've just been selling them locally, but if you are interested in a set of 3, I can do a custom order!

I hope everyone, including my fellow crafters, are staying sane this time of year- it can be insane!

Autumn Update

Hello friends, it has been a while since I've done a blog post here- Needless to say, the little baby bird keeps me busy!  But with somewhat of a napping routine established, I am able to get back into crafting a little here and there.  I recently got a shipment of lovely squooshy merino yarn in, here's some of the new colorways I've dyed up:

 

I'm also getting ready for one craft sale this holiday season.  The Made Show & Sale is happening at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery from Friday, November 23 from 6-10pm and Saturday, November 24 from 10am -5pm!  I'll be sharing a table with my friend Shanell from Yarnmoth who will have amigurumi goodies!

I'll also be doing a pop-up show at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery on Saturday, December 22 from 10am-5pm for any last minute holiday shoppers out there!

I'm not sure why I called this blog post Autumn Update, as it seems like winter has hit many places hard.  Thoughts go out to those on the east coast that are being affected by the superstorm. 

The Getting Ready for Bean Sale!

I can't believe how time flies!  My due date is just over 2 months away and hubby and I have been busy bees getting our house ready for our new addition (him, more so than me, as I realize I physically can't quite do all the tasks I want anymore.)

Among the tasks, he's been working on finishing our basement (we've almost got a bathroom!), re-painted a couple of rooms, we've sorted through what seems like a literal TON of stuff- we've organized, given away, sold, and thrown away so much- sometimes I don't know where it all comes from.  Also recently accomplished was the re-location and dismantling of my studio, a really difficult process for me- more so mentally than physically.  It took quite a few months to go through all my stuff- from painting supplies that hadn't been used in over 7 years to yarns I just didn't care for to a collection of sweaters to unravel and clothes to alter. Once I went through everything, he helped me clear what was remaining and moved it all down into our den, a somewhat temporary place for my fiber and art supplies for the time being. 

I can still do my spinning, knitting, crocheting and dyeing, I'm just less inclined to as getting ready for baby is on my mind.  But I still have lots of fibery goodness left!  That is why I've decided to hold a sale in an attempt to make just a little more room before our little one arrives.  So I am offering 15% in my shop when the coupon code BABYBEAN is used.  It's a great way to stock up on handspun yarns, hand knit & crocheted goodies such as hats, scarves, fingerless mitts and dog wear.  Check it out while stock lasts!

Yarn with a Re-purpose

I've written before about the upcycling & unraveling of sweaters for their yarns.  I haven't done much unraveling of late, but recently, I've been going through my studio, cleaning, sorting and purging to make room for baby's new space.  And I realized that I hoard old clothes.  Whether it's because I think I can alter them because they don't fit quite right (why do I think this?  I'm not a good sewer!) Or I can re-purpose them for something else (for a long time, I wanted to introduce a line of re-purposed, felted sweater garments such as hats and mitts), or I can unravel them for their yarn.  I had quite a few nice sweaters that had been half unraveled.  So, I hunkered down, unraveling some, deciding to just pass on others (acrylic isn't worth my time).

Of course, once I had finished a good round of sorting and purging, I was in the thrift store one day, and I spotted a creamy white, super soft, hand-knit shrug.  No tags or labels, the fiber content of this one was up in the air.  So I added it to my cart and debated whether I should get it or not.  Obviously, someone had spent a fair amount of time knitting such a pretty shrug... but honestly, I don't wear shrugs.  They had also spent a pretty penny on 3 or 4 skeins of what I now think is pure baby alpaca yarn.

So for $6, I grabbed it and came home and unraveled it days later into 3 and a half balls.  I wound off a couple of skeins for dyeing, one in pink (I was hoping for more of a red.. oh well), and an earthy green.  I quickly knit the pink skein up into a pair of Camp Out Fingerless Mitts (pattern by Tante Ehm).  Great pattern, and great yarn!

I'm now slightly addicted to the pattern and decided to gift the first pair to my mom, who is more fond of pink than I.  Maybe the green ones can be for me!  One certainly doesn't need full on mittens with our unseasonably warm weather and lack of a real winter. 

Have you ever unraveled a sweater?  What did you make?