I do love spinning yarn in public and I got in 2 days this past weekend to do just that. The young boys are the most interested in the craft and how to's of it all. They ask great questions and really watch how it's done. I try to have double and single ply yarns along with finished products to help visitors tie it all together. For the little girls we relate spinning on a wheel to "Sleeping Beauty" as most of them have seen that movie.
Although I didn't have any sales it was a very productive weekend. I made about 6 to 8 skeins of yarn plus I finished the second alpaca hat. Some local alpaca ranchers have invited me to spin at a pumpking patch event they are attending. They are even allowing me to sell some of my handmade items too.
I have the weekend off from demostrating but will be visiting a new yarn shop on Saturday. I am looking forward to a relaxing week!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Small update
I am going to try something new on the blog front - small updates versus lengthy paragraphs. Perhaps this will allow me to write more often. The past month has had numerous health issues which have also impacted how much I am able to do. I am participating in the Alpaca on the Rocks this weekend. The evenings this week have been in preparation for the event. I used my mill spun yarn to create a hat for the show my only concern is that it appears to be huge as the yarn is not as thick as the original yarn used for the project. I am making a second one with less stitches to make it smaller.
On the spinning front I have 3 oz of alpaca/tussah silk spun and will be plying it tonight or this weekend. The special order yarn is drying and I have started spinning the alpaca/milk roving. The milk fiber is not as sticky as the silk so the VM does come out better. Both rovings have rich medium brown color from the alpaca and will make nice yarn and projects. As I have set aside rovings in 1 oz, 2 oz and 4 oz packages my overall stash of alpaca blended bamboo and silk has decreased. Still need to follow up with my LYS on purchasing rovings.
Off to the docs soon then the day job. I am not as prepared for this weekends event as the Farmers Market but a lot of my items are from last weekend and ready to go. I do have 2 days for potential sales and a nice selection of items to present. We shall see how it goes!
On the spinning front I have 3 oz of alpaca/tussah silk spun and will be plying it tonight or this weekend. The special order yarn is drying and I have started spinning the alpaca/milk roving. The milk fiber is not as sticky as the silk so the VM does come out better. Both rovings have rich medium brown color from the alpaca and will make nice yarn and projects. As I have set aside rovings in 1 oz, 2 oz and 4 oz packages my overall stash of alpaca blended bamboo and silk has decreased. Still need to follow up with my LYS on purchasing rovings.
Off to the docs soon then the day job. I am not as prepared for this weekends event as the Farmers Market but a lot of my items are from last weekend and ready to go. I do have 2 days for potential sales and a nice selection of items to present. We shall see how it goes!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Sales, Sales and more Sales
I am definitely enjoying the month of September thus far from a business standpoint. We sold our first skein of yarn by the ranch this week and it is on its way to Hawaii! The magical email from Etsy arrived in my mailbox to announce a sale and upon review I learned that it needed to be shipped from Colorado to the islands. Ah isn't the internet a wonderful thing!
Today was the farmers market in Golden, CO with set up at 7 a.m. I sold some items there too! I have committed myself to making another skein of the Black BFL roving into yarn for a customer who bought a skein of it today. I have begun to spin it and should be finished tomorrow. Best to work on these projects before the day job begins and when I have plenty of days ahead to finish it to reduce the stress factor. My hand spun alpaca/tussah silk single ply yarn was the first sale of the day and of course it was when I stepped away from the booth. I am still a little amazed to have others enjoy/desire my work but it is gratifying to have the things one creates admired by others.
Next weekend is Alpaca on the Rocks and I have several items prepped for the show from this weekend. As I have now sold both of my knit alpaca hats I will need to make more of them for the winter season. I'm thinking of making the pattern in my brown alpaca mill spun yarn and some white alpaca mill spun yarn. I did receive several comments on the hat and the Estonian lace scarf today. There were so many dogs at the farmer's market today who all had to great the alpacas and llama at our booth. Colorado is a dog haven and they were definitely out and about with their humans today.
Lots of spinning on the radar this month. I also received the Orenburg lace yarn which I traded roving for today in the mail. It is a pretty pink color and will make a beautiful scarf in the near future. Still waiting to hear from my LYS on carrying the new blended alpaca roving but I am having fun spinning it up myself. If the weather brightens tomorrow I plan on working on photos for the site. Need to get white background shots and closeups of the yarns and roving. I haven't been that active on Ravelry but have been checking on the Etsy site. So many beautiful items created by truly talented individuals around the globe. Well I am off to rest for hopefully a slower day tomorrow.
Today was the farmers market in Golden, CO with set up at 7 a.m. I sold some items there too! I have committed myself to making another skein of the Black BFL roving into yarn for a customer who bought a skein of it today. I have begun to spin it and should be finished tomorrow. Best to work on these projects before the day job begins and when I have plenty of days ahead to finish it to reduce the stress factor. My hand spun alpaca/tussah silk single ply yarn was the first sale of the day and of course it was when I stepped away from the booth. I am still a little amazed to have others enjoy/desire my work but it is gratifying to have the things one creates admired by others.
Next weekend is Alpaca on the Rocks and I have several items prepped for the show from this weekend. As I have now sold both of my knit alpaca hats I will need to make more of them for the winter season. I'm thinking of making the pattern in my brown alpaca mill spun yarn and some white alpaca mill spun yarn. I did receive several comments on the hat and the Estonian lace scarf today. There were so many dogs at the farmer's market today who all had to great the alpacas and llama at our booth. Colorado is a dog haven and they were definitely out and about with their humans today.
Lots of spinning on the radar this month. I also received the Orenburg lace yarn which I traded roving for today in the mail. It is a pretty pink color and will make a beautiful scarf in the near future. Still waiting to hear from my LYS on carrying the new blended alpaca roving but I am having fun spinning it up myself. If the weather brightens tomorrow I plan on working on photos for the site. Need to get white background shots and closeups of the yarns and roving. I haven't been that active on Ravelry but have been checking on the Etsy site. So many beautiful items created by truly talented individuals around the globe. Well I am off to rest for hopefully a slower day tomorrow.
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