Shop announcement!

Ok. I really need to stop letting my emotions get the best of me. So I got my award letter from the college and for whatever reason did not notice that it was only for the Spring semester, not the entire year. This is because my hubby opened the letter and emailed me the results. I didn't go back and read it thoroughly. Why should I? I only got half what I needed for school. Yup. Half. So half for half the year is? Yeah. Classic example of I shouldn't let my emotions get the best of me and make sure I have all the information before getting down or upset, or heck, even happy! I got my letter on Friday. I was pretty well bummed most of the weekend, but decided that I was really going to hit this whole yarn thing really hard and get serious about selling online. Yes I understand that to actually make profit, it will take time and there will be ups and downs and blah blah blah. I know and despite all that (or maybe because of it, since my husband thinks I am O.D.D) I want to pursue it. Fiber makes me happy. We have discussed it in depth for about a year or so and we really want to open up an actual shop someday. Now understand that we are talking 10 years out, but it is still in the plans. We want to start selling online first, mostly handspun and hand-dyed fiber, but eventually also handmade spindles, stitch markers, project bags, maybe even handmade spinning wheels (that one is all my hubby!). We will be doing this starting with Etsy.com but hopefully will have our own website in about 5 years time. My Etsy shop is "up" but we (ok Hubby) is in the process of working on a banner and I am getting stuff ready for listing. Since I work a full time job and need time to, I don't know, continue working on inventory, I am taking my time with this. I know I hate when I see a site under construction thing, but I will have items up no later than January 1. I really would like to do like a big Christmas thing. I am thinking about doing a gift with purchase. I still need to do some thinking on that one. I have so many ideas and so little time and resources for the next couple weeks.

Spinning: I have had two really busy nights in a row, one grocery shopping and one watching a movie plus working late, so my spinning time has been short, maybe 15 minutes or less.  I know. I know. For someone who wants to open a shop, that sure isn't enough time, but I have had one of those weeks where there just isn't the extra time. Even in this small amount of time I have had, I can't seem to make it through this teeny tiny amount of fluff. I get that it is very wide roving so what looks small is acutally much, much larger, but still. I have said for two days, "I just want to make it through this little bit of fluff". Still hasn't happened. I think that my wheel is getting jealous. I completely understand, but I want about 4 ounces (or maybe 5) to be laceweight, and while I can spin laceweight on my wheel, it is a ton easier on the spindle. This is making the Matchless look even better. I really need to spin on one first though. I just can't seem to get my wheels tension right to not fight for laceweight, for plied yarns. On the spindle I can get 23+ WPI on a 2 ply, and it is lovely. But it goes so much slower on the spindle. I want to order more roving so badly, but I think I may hold off a bit on that.

Knitting: I haven't had much time for knitting. The second (4th) Fog sleeve is about an inch or so long now. I should have knit last night while we were watching the movie, but I got caught up in looking over financial aid stuff that I didn't I REALLY need to get this going because I want to have it finished before Christmas and I think I may rip back part of the other sleeve! I plan on doing nothing else tonight. Maybe someone else in the house will make dinner, so I can knit all evening. My plans for this weekend include dying and knitting. Nothing else, which means I probably won't have time to dye or knit! LOL! Also on my knitting plate, I really want to knit the New Pea Coat from Interweave Knits Fall 2008. I wish I already had it knit now that I don't know where my coat is from the move and it is starting to get cold! It probably will not be completed before the end of this winter. Actually I doubt it will be started before the end of this winter. And for the Ravelypics, I have joined Team Knitmore, and I will either be working on a project for me to wear to Stitches South (I haven't picked what yet) or I may go with a pair of fair isle mittens (also no pattern yet).

Kill me now! I just want to Dye!

I had a pretty good weekend for the most part. Some fibery goodness, some hanging out with my hubby. We went to dinner on Friday and stayed up WAY too late watching Jurassic Park. Then Saturday we watched The Wizard of Oz. We now have a gym membership. This is really good since I went to the doctor today and she was very concerned about my blood pressure, and asked me in a concerned way about my thyroid. Got my shot and went on. My arm is sore now. I slept maybe 45 minutes last night. I couldn't sleep. Nothing I did helped. I took a big nap yesterday because I had a headache. The headache came back last night only I couldn't sleep. Oh. My dog has taken it upon herself to attempt to hunt the "mouse" in our bathroom. I can't say for sure that it is an actual mouse, but I found droppings so that is what I think it is. She was up most of the night as well trying to get the mouse. I finally closed the bathroom door.

Spinning: I couldn't help myself with the title. Cheesy I know. But it is true. I am itching to dye up some of my roving. I don't know what color(s). I just know it needs to be dyed. I need to purchase another pound (or 3) of the roving too. I am so completely in love with it. I plied some of it up on Saturday. Ended up being a lovely 2 ply and about 22 WPI. It wants to be a shawl. And 3 ply socks. It is soft and shiny and super lovely. My dog even likes it. She wanted to sniff it so I let her. She took it from me and laid it down and stuck her little nose on it. It was so cute. I got the part for my wheel so it is fixed, but I am loving the fine yarn that I can do on the spindle. I can do fine on the wheel too, but it is more trouble. I definitely want to get the 21:1 bobbins for it. I think I am going to see if my hubby will let me order another pound of the Merino/bamboo blend and the bobbins.

Knitting: I finished the sleeve. I am not happy with it, but it is done. I am kind of thinking about ripping back partway and work even all the way up. I think that there was just too much increasing. I may do that tonight actually now that I think of it. Then I can just figure out where it needs to be increased to and do that. Yeah. That is a good idea. It is amazing that I can have good ideas even though my brain is so sleepy right now. I can barely see straight! So I already have the second sleeve started and about 4 rows in. I will just run those off on a scrap yarn. While I was in the doctors office, I had my knitting. There was a really nice lady in there who, after watching me closely for about 10 minutes asked what I was making and how I got started knitting. She said she had tried her hand at it and decided she didn't like it. To each his/her own (what was she crazy?!?!) She was interested in it though, just didn't enjoy doing it. I suppose that is how I am about cooking. LOL!

*Pic is of Maddie snuggling the sample that I spun while laying on the sleeve of the Fog Sweater for DH*

One sleeve down (almost)

TGIF! Today has been a stressful week for me.

Knitting: Well I got all of the increasing done! Woo! So after the increasing you are supposed to start working back and forth for like 2 inches. I need to do some measuring because I don't think I need the whole 2 inches. I kind of hope not because I am getting close to the end of this ball of yarn. Of course when I finished the sleeve before I cut the yarn and then later frogged it, so I working with a sleeves worth of yarn and it is getting close! I have more and I am going to buy another skein anyway, so no worries, but still it makes me anxious to finish. It will be done tonight though! I am going to try to at least cast on for sleeve #2 tonight also so I can get that going. I have 21 days to finish the other sleeve, and hopefully crochet the blanket for my "nephew". The sleeve is coming first since I promised it for Christmas last year.

Spinning: Got out my spindle again last night. I am really trying to get better at spindle spinning. I don't have a lot done, but I am going to try to ply for the first time this weekend (hopefully). I sent out a tweet last night and got some nice tips on plying on a single spindle. I was sitting here a little bit ago and realized that I don't know if I spin on it clockwise or counter clockwise. I just do it and I can't think of how I do it without the spindle in my hand. I want to say that the twist looks clockwise to me, but I can't think of how I spin the darn thing. I will be investigating that tonight. It would really helpful to know before I try to ply! LOL! I also would like to weigh my spindle. In 2006 I went on a knitting retreat and they did a drop spindle class. We paid however much and we got to keep the spindle and the wool that we worked on. I know nothing about it other than it is wood. That was also when I decided I wanted a wheel, because the whole start-stop-wind-start-stop-wind got on my nerves. I wanted something that I didn't have to stop every minute or whatever to wind. That is still my biggest problem with spindle spinning now and why I don't do it very often. Also why I am not so good at it. Anyway I want to get better. I love that I can stick it in my purse and take it just about anywhere. Of course there are places that I would never spin. Fiber goes everywhere, so never around food, and no place with open top glasses. Straws and lids are ok. I just don't want someone to start complaining about fiber in their stuff. At my house I don't care, just pick it out!