Spinning the Breeze

New Year - New Opportunities ...

2011-01-18T18:27:00.010-07:00

New Life ---> Recycled and then Respun "Pink Bubblegum Tweed"

Wow - no posts in almost a full YEAR? I'm happy to be back and with a shift in perspective. : )

In 2010 life got weird and then weirder. Transitions anyone? Almost everything is different this January than last. New home, new family structure, new knowledge of myself and what I'm capable of.

And growth galore! Take our pooch Charlie for example:
2010 brought us this sweet fluff monster...

Fast forward to present day ...

Charlie is a our giant sweetie pie and very communicative. He's half Queensland Heeler and half St. Bernard - the BIG half!

My boys have such a blast with this huge lovey boy.

I had a booth again this year as part of the Southwest Fiber Festival in October and was so happy to see a lot of familiar faces. I adore fiber-lovers. Such a fun bunch of people... Anyone who will squeal and smile and drool over colorful fluff is okie dokie in my book!

Updated my Etsy shop for the first time since February of 2010!

Looking forward to some fresh spins soon!

Hope your 2011 is bright and shiny and full of creativity and happiness!

Suddenly I see ...

2010-01-26T15:25:00.058-07:00

Feeling inspired lately and so proud of Flutterby Fibers. : )
Memory Lane anyone?

One year ago this month
(January 16th, 2009)
I listed my first few items of handspun and recycled yarns in my brand-spankin'-new Etsy.com shop!

Here's my very FIRST yarn spun on a spinning wheel ----------------->
And my very first (cheap) Etsy Sale!
(hmmm... practice needed! LoL)

I was spinning my feet off back then. (yeah ... that hasn't changed) and I had flutterbys in my stomach with all the possibilities that lay before me.

First coiled yarn and Second Etsy Sale!

I have enjoyed this past year ... feeling more alive then I have in quite a while. Creating. Loving the thrill of it all: spinning, blending, setting, photographing, listing, selling, packaging, mailing. And of course checking my email a zillion times a day to check for new Etsy transactions!

A little voice inside my head imitates the "You've Got Mail" man and says "You've got a Sale". Seriously? Yep. lol. : )

Where does the "Suddenly I See" part come in? Love that song by KT Tunstall ... makes me smile - I can't sit still when I hear it. Makes me remember there are things that I STILL want to be. In addition to Mommy and Wife (and cook and maid and nurse and appointment manager - etc. etc. etc.)

"Suddenly I see - this is what I want to be

Suddenly I see - why ... it means so much to me

the power to be, the power to give, the power to see - (yeah yeah)"

And, of course, I have to give you a sneak peek of the beyond yummy Valentine's Day Art Yarns that I've spun! All of these were spun from the AMAZING batts created by the Uber-Talented Sara of LushMommy.etsy.com - have I mentioned I love her bunches!? Highly recommend any and everything from her shop - ever! But I might cry if you snag all her stuff before I can buy it! LoL.

Sweet Cheeks - Novel Idea Art Yarn

Beautiful Dreamer - Fuzzy Caterpillar Corespun

Pucker Up - Fuzzy Caterpillar Corespun Art Yarn

And YAY! My "Queen of Hearts" Art Yarn made it into this Etsy Treasury!

I have a BUNCH of yummy yarn that needs to be listed in the shop ...

I'm working on another update and a few custom orders.

Happy 2010! I hope you are doing things that make you smile! : )

Are the Halls Decked Yet ... ?

2009-12-21T12:29:00.015-07:00

All the ornaments are on the tree
- or they were before my 4 yr old and the cat got their paws on it.

Had to include a shot of the ridiculously bedazzled star tree-topper that we have had for 5 years. The kids think that it's the be-all and end-all of Christmas loveliness.

Our tree is right next to our entertainment center ...
so no - we do not have a stack of presents that reach the top of the tree!
(much to the boys dismay.)

Yay!
Snowy Pines
Corespun Art Yarn

Made it into this

"Deep in the Forest" Etsy Treasury!

My little guy did some

of the decorating

and I have to leave you

with this final image.

They faced off -

Stared each

other down -

Only one can

be victorious.

- My bet's on Frosty. ; )

'Tis the Season ...

2009-12-16T08:56:00.012-07:00

It's finally a bit chilly here! We've had so much fun setting up the Christmas tree this year with our boys ... they get so excited to look at each and every decoration that comes out of the box. But the seasonal excitement can be exhausting for more then just Mommy I guess.

Knitted this
Santa Hat for
His Cuteness
(aka the
Yarn Slayer)...
seems to be a
nice nightcap too!

Had to express the Joy of Christmas through my spinning wheel too, of course. LoL. I've been LOVING the art batts that my fabulous Best Friend has been producing and selling in her Etsy shop. Visit LushMommy.etsy.com and you'll see just what I mean! Here are 2 of her batts in action!

Sleigh Ride Corespun Art Yarn (67 yards)

Snowy Pines Corespun Art Yarn (40 yards)

Mistletoe Kisses Handspun Single Merino/Tencel (263 yards)

Holly Jolly Thick & Thin Art Yarn (62 yards)

Just FYI: FREE Priority U.S. Shipping from my Etsy Shop until Dec. 22nd!

Whirlwind Fiber Adventures

2009-10-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

It's official - Fiber Festivals are fantastic, fun-filled and utterly ... exhausting. It's Wednesday and I've finally unpacked my bins of handspun yarns, scarves, notecards and stitch markers.

What a BLAST! On the 17th, at the Tucson Wool Festival, I set up my first booth ever - kinda life changing in a great way. Then last weekend (the 24th) was the Southwest Fiber Festival. Met lots of new friends and loved every minute of visiting with people who were touching (and purchasing) my yarns in person. : )

I met the awesome Tina aka: ArizonaKnitter (on Etsy and Twitter) and she purchased two of my handspun (including one from my Veggie Twist line of Vegan 100% Bamboo. She mentioned that she is a columnist for the Examiner and that she'd be writing about the Southwest Fiber Festival! How crazy excited I was to get an email from her that linked to this article! With fantastic pictures in a slideshow taken by her hubby. And - if that wasn't enough - pushing me over the edge of thrilled - she linked me to her blog where she posted about the yarns she purchased at the festival! Seriously... I love it. Her blog has all sorts of awesome yarnie-ness and knitting galore!

Tina Rocks. : )

Ready to get my remaining inventory photographed and listed in my Etsy shop.

Here's a little sneak peek!

Rocking Out ...

2009-09-13T11:40:00.002-07:00

Does music make your life a better place?

In my little world - ABSOLUTELY!

I love to sit and spin or do fiber prep (or blog!) while listening to music. With a wide variety of styles of music that move me ... each take their turn as "flavor of the day".

Songs can also be mood altering ... I have a few go-to pieces that will make me smile - guaranteed. Ingrid Michaelson's "Be Ok" does it every time. : ) And I so like to smile!

Rock seems to be a theme this week at our new house.

Our backyard had tons of rocks scattered everywhere. Hubby has been working very hard to scoop them up and give them a new home on the side yard ...

(shhh... don't tell him it's been in the high 90's for a week now!)

Our 9 yr old son has also decided that he likes Rock music! He only has access to his Daddy's classic rock favorites but he's crazy about Bon Jovi! Too funny to hear him singing some of the songs that were popular when I was his age.

And finally, a Rocker Chick has been created in my living room - no, not me - that's not quite my style. : )

Here's - Rocker Chick Handspun Art Yarn (Sold!)

I spun this slightly bad-girl from a hand-pulled (fully loaded) "Lush Roving", made by my awesome friend and cohort in all sorts of things, Sara from LushMommy.etsy. She is amazing me daily with her new fibery treasures and we have a blast creating together! We also share in the adventures and challenges of being Mommies to almost 4 yr old boy-wonders. : )

Fortunately her lil dude hasn't become a yarn slayer yet!

And can I just say how excited I am that Witch's Brew already sold? Yippiee! I'm so jazzed about the shows coming up ... I think I'll move on over to my Country Spinner and spin up another art yarn! -- with music on of course. : )

- Happy Crafting!

Moves and Changes ...

2009-09-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Part of the view from my NEW studio (ie: front bedroom). We have packed up and moved an hour North. Boxes still seem to be everywhere and I had to fess-up to how truly massive my fiber stash really is! Shock and awe (poor Hubby). Dare I say - 6 large, 8 medium, and countless small plastic containers FULL of rovings and batts and yarns - oh my!

With all the changes and upheaval of trying to get settled, the one constant is handspun. I have been spinning my feet off (exaggeration? maybe, but only slight.) to build up inventory for TWO festivals coming up in October! The first is the Tucson Wool Festival on the 17th at Kathy Wither's Ranch here in Tucson. And the following weekend, the 24th, is the Southwest Fiber Festival at Amado Territory Ranch.

These will be my first shows! I think making sales on Etsy since January has been preparing me for looking at the faces of fiber-lovers when they are holding my heart - uh - handspun in their hands. The flutterbys in my stomach are telling me it's almost time! : )

Had to share my most recent and out of character, spin!

"Witch's Brew" - 66 yards of SUPER Chunky loaded Art Yarn

100% Merino wool in rich purples and vibrant chartreuse swirling with eye popping orange and yellows, fluffy novelties of purple and black. All bursting with chunky soft beehive coils and twined with spiderwebs of black cotton thread.

Fun Fun! If you want to read more ... it's here on Etsy.

Moves can be good - this one was in the right direction for us. : )

Tour de Fleece is underway!

2009-07-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

I have a bike. I love it. But I don't ride it... often.

I've watched very little of the Tour de France coverage since it began on July 4th... but I am spinning my wheel(s) along with those amazingly dedicated riders.

Enter - Ravelry's Tour de Fleece! I have joined Tour de Fish with the lovely and talented Laila (of RawFish) as our brave nautical Captain of the Wooly Seas. We have a blast: spinning and sharing pictures of our yarnie-ness and encouraging each other with a lot of "arghs" & "may-tees". Miss Laila used her photoshop magic on my picture to create a bright and fun-tastic new Ravatar for our nautical tour on Ravelry. My nickname for our pirate adventure is Curvy Scurvy... makes me smile!

The fruit to ward off the scurvy, the most colorful and talented spindling snake I've ever encountered, and ocean waves to hide my double chin! LoL. Love it.

So what have I been spinning? Well, since Tour de Fleece is all about spinning, I have been busy!

Day One:

BFL single (nameless at the moment) needs to be washed to set the twist.

And "Rainbow Sherbet Curvy Coiled Art Yarn" that I spun out of cheerful scrappy leftovers.

Day Two:

Spindle spun merino Yum!

And 100% Bamboo Vegan Handspun (4 oz)

"Beachy Keen" BFL Single

And a Knotty Coiled (not yet named)

I'm saving day 3 for it's own post... it was that fun of a spin - and, might I add, rather out of character for me? LoL... You'll see. : )

Now off to wash and set all those yarns and get them listed in the shop! Happy July to all and hope you spent your Independence Day celebrating!

Sweetness out of Suffering...

2009-07-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

My Previous post about the Quiet Boy (aka: Yarn Slayer!) was rather well received by family and friends. His "angelic devil face" was even blogged about here! I think it's wonderful to give that "window into your personal life" from a blogging perspective. Right up my alley - I love to make friends with all my customers and check them out on Flickr or Twitter or Ravelry. : )

Curious about the outcome of the chopped yarn?

I carded snippets of the colorful single (by hand) with gobs of super soft cormo wool. I purchased the cormo raw from a local friend, Melanie Bothwell and her fluffy sheep - and then cleaned it myself... LOVE cormo!

What did all this fluffy sweetness become?

Confetti Cake Handspun 38 yards (super bulky)

When I was chopping that lovely single into teeny pieces... I was suffering. It hurt me to cut something I worked so hard to spin and wash and set. But this has been a lesson in creativity and re-creation. And reminding myself that this is ART - not about perfection, but about the creating. It's all good. : )

P.S. The Yarn Slayer thinks it's "so soft - ahhhh - can I have it?"

Little taste of other yarnie shop updates?

When It's Too Quiet...

2009-06-25T07:45:00.001-07:00

In a house with a 3 year old boy, too quiet is never really a good thing.

Please note the lipgloss handprints on the wall. Then there is the pile of hangers on the rug... Those used to be weighting down my handspun single that was drying on the window blinds.

The scissors were shoved under the rug.

Mommy cried.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a lighter note... the other half of this lovely Falkland roving, hand dyed by Lisa at PoppyFlowerFibers, was drying on the rack in the kitchen. This was too public of a setting for mass carnage I suppose. So it is safe and squishy and in my etsy shop. : )

Raise Your Hand Curvy Coiled Art Yarn 21 yards

Here is one that is in my "Veggie Twist" line of Vegan yarns. Bamboo is SO slippery but so shiny and entrancing to spin. I love the amazing gloss of this single. My grandmother Mimi said it reminded her of pulled taffy like she used to make with her Girl Scout troupe. : )

Pulled Taffy 100% Bamboo Vegan Handspun 168 yards (here)

Had to show this art yarn that I call a "Loaded Single". Another of PoppyFlowerFibers rovings, this time a so soft squishy merino. I spun into the single: pink eyelash, purple fuzzy novelty, super soft white banana fibers, bright pink recycled sari silk, and lots of sparkle.

Fun! And REALLY purple! LoL. : )

Plum Joyful Loaded Single 60 yards (here)

More updates in the shop ... now I have to work on a new way to use the remains of the yarn slashing from the Quiet Boy. : )

Beauty Blooms ...

2009-06-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Been a busy spinner the last few days. I got some lovely fibers from "Yarn or a Tale" (thanks Leah!) and have been inspired to spin, spin, spin. I've been on a coiled kick... but I do have a pretty and thin 60/40 Merino/Bamboo single drying right now.

Spun a thick and thin single Columbian Dorset that puffed up so nicely... then I went into fairy land, I suppose, and plied in pink eyelash yarn, a purple and lavender novelty with little bumps on it, lots of sparkly glitz, and cocoons of white banana fibers. I strung flower petals and one flower onto the plying thread and then hand-stitched a button to the base of each petal. It truly did bloom as I created it... I'm in LOVE. I think I'm keeping it forever. : )

Here is Beauty Blooms - Curvy Coiled Art yarn

really super bulky 25 yards

Ruthie - Supercoiled Art yarn Merino Rambouillet cross

super bulky 22 yards

It's so interesting having both boys home for summer. There are times when I'm breaking up squabbles and cleaning up messes and wondering how long until school starts again. But there are also moments of hearing their voices when they're playing make-believe... or seeing their eyes glaze when they are lost in imagination... precious. They are growing up too fast. *sigh*

Entering the Land of Blog...

2009-06-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am. With convincing from Kathy (Kathy's Blog) I'm joining the land of blogging. My hopes for this blog are to keep friends, family and any fiber lovers that might be interested, up to date on the happenings in my spinning world.

I suppose I should show my most recent spins:

Cutie Patootie - Falkland novelty art yarn 24 yards

and can I just say SO fun to spin this little cutie... soft pink fringe, boa novelty yarn, recycled silk threads, gobs of sparkle and glitz all plied with a thick and thin single spun from a falkland roving hand dyed by my friend Kirsten at Chimera.etsy

Purple Mountain - BFL single sport weight 195 yards

still available for sale here

Tinted Cloud - 50/50 Alpaca Merino light sport weight 232 yards

still available for sale here

Carnival - a super bulky Falkland Curvy Coiled 24 yards

Happy to have another place to share!

If you want to see more yarnie photos ...

FlutterbyFibers Flickr page