The Felted Sheep

New Blog!

2009-01-05T21:37:00.002-09:00

My new blog is located here! Check it out :)

Changes

2008-12-18T21:06:00.002-09:00

As my business license has come up on a full year and it is time to renew, I am excited to announce that I will be changing my business's name to....

Northern Lights Fiber Co.

I had started my business intending to sell many felted items. While I still plan on doing that I feel my business has outgrown that name as I dye and spin fiber as well. The Northern Lights have influenced my life in many ways and their very colors inspire me and parallel the work I do dyeing fibers. So in the new year I will be transferring to that new name. I am very excited and can't wait for the new year!

Wow! It's been a while!

2008-12-09T13:46:00.003-09:00

We're back! Ok so we have been back for almost a week now, but it feels good to be home and I feel like I am somewhat getting back on track with normal life.

Of course it is with Christmas right around the corner I have been busy knitting gifts, and it has been super fun!

John and I have also started our New Years resolution early - Clean out the Junk!

Ok all of it is not junk but we aren't using it all and our home is getting super cluttered. So we have been going through everything and already have a full load to take to some consignment shop and salvation army. It is actually embarrasing how much we are taking out that is just not being used!

Yesterday was a very productive day! I cleaned out the boys room and starting tonight Corbin will be sleep in "the big boy bed"!

In Fiber related news I will be dyeing a ton of yarn tomorrow if all goes well! Noah is fussing so more later!

Yay for knitting, boo for automobiles

2008-11-01T17:22:00.003-08:00

So I finished my shawl this week and have been wanting to share some pics. I am very happy with how it turned out. I don't feel ridiculous wearing it either and cast on my second one today.

Unfortunately a trick was played on me yesterday and my car decided to stop working. In Eagle River. So I am hoping that it will not cost to much and just wanted to say how much I appreciate having family to bail me out when situations like this come up.

Also just want to say how much I appreciate friendship, it is amazing how they can re-charge you and make life more exciting. They also give the opportunity for growth and the chance to do the right thing, such as apologize when wrong.

And, as a friend put it, Saturday's are a day for getting things done! So I am off to go knit some more!!!

oh and I will be dyeing and spinning more this week, so look for more new stock!

back in the saddle...

2008-10-28T20:20:00.004-08:00

So I dyed fiber yesterday for the first time in, oh..., two months or so. It felt really good to be back at it again. So after it was all done drying over night I thought I would share some pics.

Before re-skeining and braiding

After Reskeining and braiding:

I am pretty happy with the results and am hoping to dye more tomorrow!

oh and I am just started the final rows for my forest canopy shawl! I can't wait to finish it!

Knit knit knit

2008-10-20T21:56:00.004-08:00

So since the birth of my son and the onset of chilly weather I have definitely wanted to feel wool in my hands. I have completed one sweater, have a hat half done (using a pretty cool method - which I will mention later), and a scarf half done!

The new method I mentioned earlier is knitting with unspun roving. I saw it offered on Fat Cat Knits and I have to say it is pretty cool! It's a little fussy but I am really loving how the hat is knitting up. It is super squishy and should be super warm and soft. I am using 2oz of Citrus Siesta Merino Roving that I had lying around. This is the hat half finished...

I promise to post a more flattering picture when it is finished. I am hoping to get more done tonight.

Anyhow that is all for now....I was going to post more pics tonight but all the ones I took are horrible! The lighting this time of year is horrible for pics, especially when my camera had been snatched without my knowledge during the little daylight we had.

No discipline...

2008-10-08T21:59:00.004-08:00

Ok so no sooner do I hit publish post do I check my live bookmark for Pigeonroof Studios. Through which I find that I caught her in the middle of a big fat stocking. There were even some rovings that would be perfect for the bsj I want to make for Corbin for Christmas. So I bought one. So much for my fiber diet. But I swear now I am done. For a little while at least.

Picking

2008-10-08T21:31:00.002-08:00

Well, I finally opened the bags of Qiviut and dove in. I by some stroke of weird luck was able to score 3 bags (about 9x6) stuffed full of unpicked qivuit for $4 a bag. So today I started picking through it. It seems a little nubby or something, but it seems to be cleaning up so nice. Just holding it the warmth is insane! It is definitely some amazing stuff. I am almost done with one bag, and am trying to build up the nerve to try and spin it. Hopefully I will get some totally usable yarn out of it.

I was also able to get a 50g skein of yarn spun for the bsj sweater I mentioned previously. So maybe tomorrow (but most likely Friday when my hubby isn't home) I will get the second skein spun and be ready to start that project.

I also decided to use my other roving from Pigeonroof Studios (a merino/soysilk blend in her dovecote colorway) to knit up the Morning Surf Scarf. I think the colors would work great for that as well as the fiber blend. I have been having more fun than expected planning with my stash. Especially since I am officially on a fiber diet.

Once I have all the qivuit picked I think I am going to fluff it out on my table and then take & post some pics. It really is quite a bit of fiber!

I'm back!

2008-10-07T14:21:00.003-08:00

Ok so it has been FOREVER!

But I needed some time to be totally introverted as I was getting ready (more like impatiently waiting) for my son Noah to make his entrance.

I had a great birth, and though it was long I really can't complain I feel like it was long for a very good reason!). I will post my birth story at the end of this so if you don't want to read the whole long thing you don't have to :)

Noah is a very sweet child, just as I expected him to be. I love seeing him and Corbin together and just feel as blessed as blessed can be! I really hadn't realized how much I already missed having a tiny baby, it goes by so fast. Last night he slept for 5 hours straight and it was nice to get a pretty nice stretch of sleep. He is one week old today, and can't believe the week has gone by so fast.

After not spinning for a good two months I brought out the wheel to start spinning some yarn to make a bsj for Noah. Of course it is roving dyed by my fave indie dyer Krista of Pigeonroof Studios. The wool is Blue Faced Leicester in her lichen colorway.

Noah was a little needy last night and so I didn't get to much spun but it felt really good to be back at the wheel. I really feel like I needed more a "maternity leave" before the birth, I felt so absorbed by my pregnancy at the end that I just couldn't do much but just focus on the day-to-day. Though I didn't put down my personal knitting.

Speaking of I love, love, love seeing Noah wrapped in handknit goodness. My aunt made a fabulous layette for him and I made sure to have the blanket with us so that it was the first blanket wrapped around him. I have never had a desire to knit a blanket before as they seemed the ultimate in discpline to finish one. Now I feel like every blanket he is wrapped in should be made with as much love and attention as my aunt put into this one. I loved putting Noah in his sweater and romper as well. It was just fantastic to transfer the hours I spent preparing for him onto his actual body. (The pic is of Noah in his placket sweater and with his blanket - the green is not this weird in real life at all)

Well I will stop rambling and get to the birth story. :)

Summary:
Babies Name: Noah Wesley
Babies Gender: Boy!
Date of Birth: September 30th
EDD: September 21st
Weight/ Height: 9lbs 5oz, 21 3/4 in

Sunday afternoon I started to have contractions that became easily noticeable and we timed them for an hour or so at 5-6 min apart for anywhere from 45-1min long but they lacked intensity, so I called the midwives to let them know what was going on. They mentioned that if I wanted to come to the birth center to get checked at any time I was welcome to. So around 5pm we went in and I was 2cm, and really soft. So my Mom, hubby, and I went out to dinner at Moose's Tooth (YUM!) and they became more intense throughout the meal, I was pretty sure this was it. Around 9pm I went back to get checked and was at 3cm.

They decided that they wanted me to go home and try to get as much rest as possible, but that they would be there when/if I needed to come in. I got an hours sleep from 11pm to 12am, and then started having to breath through contractions until around 3am, when I took a bath and that relaxed me enough to get another drowsy hour or so of sleep. So around 6:00am we called and said that I thought I needed to come in. So I ate breakfast and we got to the birth center around 6:30am. They checked me and I was 4cm, 50% and really soft. I felt that with the way the contractions felt that I would be going farther soon. So I got to pick which birthing room I wanted (I of course chose the big one with the bathroom in-room), got our stuff and settled in. I labored all day and my contractions did not move closer together but were feeling more intense. I got checked around 2pm I think and I was 5cm and 75% with Noah very low. My MW suggested I get out in the beautiful fall day and take a walk in the neighborhood for a change of pace and to help bring on some stronger contractions. So I did. I was getting frustrated as my contractions actually spaced out during the walk. I just felt like my body was not moving fast enough!

So back at the birth center I continued to labor in various positions trying to move forward and finally around 9pm my MW checked me and I was 6.5cm or so and very thin. They suggested I try to rest since I have a history of slowing down at night anyways and so I did. I ended up in the tub for most of the night as it was nice and warm (I started getting some shakes and chills) and it spaced my contractions out to 10min apart so I was catching some z's in between. I had two break downs during the night, one around 2:30am and one at 4am. I was so frustrated, everyone says how 2nd babies come faster and mine was coming slower. I was tired of trying to deal through the contractions and kept saying that I just wanted to go to the hospital and get him out. My mom and dh were great in reminding me that I did not want that and the mw's really made me feel like I could do it.

8:30am rolled around and I could feel my body perking back up with reserved energy and I threw myself into trying to get hard contractions that would really put pressure on my cervix to open. Finally around 11am or so I needed to know if I had made any progress. The MW came and shocked me by saying you only have a little lip on the right side! I was so relieved and felt like Noah was just going to be there any minute! I knew I needed to work that lip out of the way but was tired and decided to relax and try to get a little rest before moving forward so I napped/rested in the tub until about 1pm. Around 1:30pm I must've hit transition. That is when I really felt out of control, vocalizing felt so good and my dh was putting some good pressure on my back and pelvis to help me get through them. After about an hour and a half of this I was getting so discouraged again. I felt like I was never going to feel that magical urge to push. Just then the midwives came in and said "lets have a baby" I was so excited and seriously felt like the were going to work some magic for me or something. They checked me and tried to push the lip (yes it was still there!) back over Noah's head but just couldn't get it. I again was so frustrated and had my last breakdown.

I finally asked the MW if she could break my water, she said yes (I later found out that is what they thought I needed, but because of some baggage from my previous birth really wanted me to specifically ask for it). HURRAY! THey broke my water at 5pm and of course contractions got even crazier! I moved to the tub to help with that and my first contraction in the tub I felt the lip move out of the way and his head engage. On my hands and knees, I got a little half push in on the end of that contraction. The next contraction hit hard and I couldn't help but push and I felt his head and body slide down and that his head was right there. Another contraction and his head was out, with my husband getting to be the one to catch him as well. I had to work to get his shoulders out with the next contraction but I did it! Noah went into his daddy's arms at 5:19pm and I felt awesome relief!

The cord had been wrapped around his neck twice, and the midwives really felt that my body knew to take it slow and really try to put as little stress and tightening on the cord as possible. Considering that Noah's heart rate stayed amazing the whole time, I really feel this is true. It taught me a lot about trusting my body to do it's job and I am just so happy that my little man is here. Oh and congratulations if you made it this far! So all in all I had around a 50 hour labor. I can say that it is amazing how the memory of pain fades so fast, especially with a sweet babe in my arms.

Noah's first time in my arms

Right before we left the birth center about 5 hours after he was born.
It was really nice to get to sleep in my own bed that night!

Corbin getting to "hold" Noah

Progress

2008-08-14T21:41:00.002-08:00

Well not much progress business wise, my energy level is definitely dwindling with the end of my pregnancy getting closer.

Progress for my personal list of projects is on the up! I finished the bridal set for my sister, I am now working on Noah's coming home outfit, and I finished my august Block of the month, and got two other Christmas presents all cut out and just waiting to be sewn. I am super happy. Now if I could just find the energy to clean the house!

oh and pics to come soon of block of the month....I am very happy with how it turned out!

Quick-Stop

2008-08-06T10:06:00.003-08:00

So I have been wanting to read blogs, and then I realize I haven't updated in 5 days or so. So I am writing a quickie little post.

This past week has been busy but fun. I have met my cousin and his family - whom I love!!! I have gotten more involved helping with my sis's wedding, and been busy with wool. All things that make the days fly and leave me feeling pretty productive. Today looks to be a fairly relaxing day and the sun is shining. I am about to leave and take advantage of it. My house is a mess but on days like this I just can't care. :)

I am also planning to knit tonight. I haven't sat down to knit in at least a week and a half! So tonight, after the baby is down I am going to turn on the tube and knit. Especially since what I am knitting has a deadline I really shouldn't procrastinate.

Anyhow off I go!

Skein winder

2008-08-01T23:24:00.003-08:00

So my skein winder from Crazy Monkey Creations came in today. It is amazing. The workmanship is awesome and it functions perfectly! I did some quick re-skeining today let me tell you! I did an okay amount of dyeing this week as well as some spinning. I was really hoping to get more done but fortunately the sun finally came out here a couple of days this week and we have had so little that I was not going to pass this up. Anyhow here is some pics of work done this week as well as my new skein winder.

Early Hours

2008-07-29T05:27:00.002-08:00

So it is 5:32am according to my computer clock but I find I am wide awake. I was brought to this state by Corbin, whom has strangely been waking a little bit more in the mornings than usual. I went in changed his diaper and he did a little whimper crying but is now back to sleep. I figured it would be a good time to blog, as a friend of mine uses "this time" wisely to do just that. I have had several things rolling around in my head to blog about and now that I am here I am finding that I can't remember a single one. I think it's the hour ;)

But, I have to say I am very happy as I am all caught up on my accounting for my little business and it has been motivating. It has definitely been growing and I feel like I am doing better and better work. The market has been fun and productive, even with a constant drizzle if not outright downpour last Saturday. The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend so we will see. It was nice that there was quite a few people out there regardless.

I am going to Seattle in 2 1/2 weeks. I am very excited. My Mom being the cool lady that she is, wants to bring me (and Corbin) along as company during her business trip. So a companion fare later I have a ticket! I will be flying down at 35 weeks pregnant, but at least the plane ride is only 3 1/2 hours. As I am leaving dh behind I have been warned about going into labor. Since my family has a history of lateness in pregnancy I am honestly not that worried about it. Speaking of pregnancy I am slowing down little by little. My personal energy level feels great and I am definitely sleeping better this pregnancy (thank you new mattress) but add in business and Corbin and my drive substantially drops!

I have gotten some spinning done this week and I think that may be what I do after I finish up this post. I also have some dyeing to do this week but I think it is more realistic to accomplish this toward the latter end of the week due to some exciting family events!

The above news is that my cousin Larry is coming into town. This may not seem so exciting on the surface but.....he was given up for adoption when he was 4 or 5 at which time I was not even born. As with most situations like this there is a long story behind it, most of which I don't even know (read above line in which I was not born). So about two or three years ago he made the search to try and find his family. It was the most exciting thing when he did! I had grown up hearing about little Larry (obviously not so little anymore) and always hoped that I would get to meet him. His wife and son will be coming up with him and I just can't wait to meet him. He will be staying at my parents house for three days this weekend but my Grandparents (as well as his) will be coming in from their homestead in Talkeetna to pick him up from the airport tomorrow. So this evening I will get to have dinner with my Dad and my Grandparents and hopefully find out the schedule for getting to meet Larry and his fam. I seriously have been waiting my whole life for this.

Well I have been really long winded and am now awake enough that I am going to go spin.

Live and Learn

2008-07-21T12:50:00.003-08:00

Well as promised here is the update about our trip to Seward.

The trip started off a little stressful. My Hubby works a Kelly schedule, so when he works it's for 24 hours at a time. We were taking a coach to Seward (we got a great deal and was definitely cheaper than gas) and had to be there around 6:45ish am. My hubby who normally gets off 9am made arrangements to get off @ 5:30am, well 6:10 had rolled around and still no husband. Came to find out he had gotten a call @ 5:15am. So with a little rush we still made it just fine. Corbin was super excited to ride the "bus" and we were hoping it would just go smoothly. It did for 2 hours, then he had a full 20 min breakdown. Through which not only were Dh frustrated with Corbin, but also at each other. Still despite that and the crazy lady that gave horribly in-accurate information about Alaska we were in Seward.

We were staying at Miller's Landing. It has camp sites, cabins, fishing charters, a little main lodge, and a boat launch, oh and a few various other things as well. We (since I am 7 1/2 months pregnant) decided to stay in one of their cabins so that I could sleep on a bed. Well I should have reconsidered when the only cabins they had available were these "row house" style, the walls ended up being thinner than an 1"....literally. I think they were just sheet rock. So we heard everything. The first night was the worst, I got very little sleep and was trying to just stay optimistic. I won't go into more detail as I might just end up ranting and raving. :) The other nights were not nearly so bad and I was able to get pretty decent amounts of sleep in.

We had very little planned for the trip, we wanted to go on a Kenai Fjords Tour, go to the Sealife Center (me), and John wanted to hike the Harding Ice Field trail, other than that I figured we would just bum around, maybe geo-cache and just enjoy whatever came our way.

The KFT was fun, but it was quite a rainy and chilly time. We didn't see much wildlife (we did the short 4 hour cruise and basically expected this but we were still hoping) but we REALLY enjoyed our stop to Fox Island for a Salmon dinner. It was really good food (which surprised us) and the island was beautiful with a great lake on it and the day lodge was cozy and nice as well. John and I would both like to go back for our anniversary next year and stay at the overnight lodge that they have out there too.

On Thursday John rented an electric scooter and rode the 8.5miles out to Exit glacier, he really enjoyed his hike and was happy with how he "pushed" himself. He saw two black bears on the hike as well as just some amazing scenery (I will post some pics later). I, during this, enjoyed the Alaska Sea-life Center as well as some shopping (local quilt and yarn store) and some danged good food.

Speaking of food John and I want to go back down to Seward just for the food. Both places we ate at had amazing food. Apollo's is a Greek and Italian restaurant their crust for their calzones and bread sticks are to die for! We ate there twice. We also ate at Yoly's twice, it is a great bistro with an amazing lunch menu, incredible wood furniture and some great local art. The second time we ate there they had live music as well. We also got some baked goods from the Ranting Raven, which has a shop as well as a bakery in the back. Everything from them was good, but I think my favorite were their lemon shortbread cookies. I am not talented enough with words to describe how good they are. Obviously we didn't eat much of the freeze dried meals we brought. :)

I brought my knitting with me and got quite a bit done on a placket sweater for Noah. Corbin fell asleep at the Sealife Center and I got to watch puffins diving and fish swimming for 2 hours while I knit peacefully (ok almost peacefully, there were some amazingly irritating or ignorant people that went by as I sat there, it was all I could do not to correct them regarding some things). It also proved to be a much needed break from working on my Mom's sweater (which honestly I can't believe I am sitting here when I literally only have 17 rows left on the sleeve before it is finished, but I am taking advantage of Corbin's nap time) and was so nice to think about my coming sweet babe and I knit it. I really like the colors in the yarn, but I am a little dis-appointed with some of the way it is knitting up. I only need to finish from the armpits up, so I am looking forward to that.

Anyhow all in all John and I learned that we are willing to pay a little more for convenience when staying in an actual structure. Our own bathroom would have been nice too, considering I am regularly up in the night now and was scared going to the potty by myself in the middle of the night when there had been bear sightings in the campsite the past week (not suprising considering they had no bear proof containers for food or trash and it was a fishing area). All right I am all blogged out for the day and am going to go knit. :) oh and I am now too daunted by my mini novel to go back and proof it, so I apologize now for any weirdness or errors.

Seward

2008-07-16T07:25:00.002-08:00

I will be having a lot to say about this. Some fantastic, some realllllllly bad. As I am typeing with not much time left on my 10 min of paid computer time more will come later.

Latest Colors

2008-07-14T12:08:00.004-08:00

So as promised I picked up my camera took pics and uploaded them and everything! This is impressive for me as it sometimes takes me a week or more to get my pictures off my camera. I am very happy with how everything turned out from yesterday. Some might make their way into my regular colorway, still trying to decide. I am going to include a couple of rovings from last week as well, since I never posted them anywhere. so here they are....

under-estimated

2008-07-13T19:48:00.002-08:00

So today I was dyeing, a lot. Probably the most I have dyed in one sitting. And in my pre-occupation with that my son opened a box of crystal lite singles. So I noticed and thought, oh no big deal he won't be able to open one of the little pouches........so yeah about 20 minutes later I had a big pile of pink powder on the floor and my son was licking hands and about to lick the floor. So I need to remember that he is smarter and stronger than I expect.

In regards to dyeing (yes I changed subjects to focus on happier things) I dyed up several pounds of a merino/silk roving as well as some of my standard colorways on merino. I really am behind on spinning and plan on doing that tomorrow. Though I am not sure that I will make much progress on catching up, a little is better than none....

Because Tuesday we are off to Seward for four days!!!! I am super excited. We are going on a coach (we get 50% discount with John working major part time with Dave - so cheaper than gas) and we will be staying in a little cabin (we were planning on camping, but 30 weeks preggers doesn't agree to not having a bed), and we will be going on a Kenai Fjords Tours 4 hour cruise, as well as walking on the beach, cooking over a fire and all the other fun random things to do whilst in Seward, Alaska.

Back to wool I am going to try and take a bunch of pics tomorrow and will try to get them up, some of the new colors I tried I think I am going to be very happy with.

Awesome Mail Day!

2008-07-10T20:01:00.002-08:00

So I got lots of fun stuff in the mail today. Mostly business related but also a sweet handmade outfit for my sweet Noah. It is so cute! The hat looks a little big for a newborn, so he might just have to wear it separately later. It was a collaboration on the Inspired Congo by Prajna Mama and Cotton Candy. It was up there for a while and was reduced $10 so I snagged it! Anyhow here is a pic of it (taken from the listing).

Also super excited as I got in my latest order of fiber. It includes an 80/20 Merino and Silk blend, vanilla baby alpaca, silver alpaca, and some dark grey Icelandic. I also have some natural brown wools on their way to me as I want to expand my handspun offerings to include "off the sheep" colors. Still have to decide it I want to dye the baby alpaca or just leave it vanilla colored. It is just so pure and yummy as it is.

I am really hoping my new scale gets in tomorrow as I need to weigh out some woolies so I can have them packaged and ready for Saturday. I plan on having more hand-dyed yarn this weekend in fingering weight. It is soaking right now and I am flip-flopping on my colorway choices for it. Also dyed up some more roving this week, including merino, targhee, and corriedale. Really happy with the results and some will become some of my standard colorways.

Jumping back to my personal life, I felt my first real nesting bug today and re-arranged (ok well half re-arranged) Corbin, Noah, and my wools room. I got some storage closets today and set them all up so that the area can become completely child proofed giving Corbin more room to play and just making a more "nursery" like room. It also set off an allergy attack as I uncovered some carpet that hadn't been vacuumed since the cats lived here. Bleh. But I am sure John will like the room and will probably not be happy that I moved it by myself. But when you are motivated you have to take advantage! Now I am tired and am just going to go knit in front of the tv.

Family, Friends, and more

2008-06-25T16:43:00.008-08:00

So the trip my Grandparents was so fun and relaxing I almost didn't want to come back! Here are a few pics from the trip! They are: Front View of the Cabin (they homesteaded here 27 years ago - no running water, regular power (they have a generator that they turn on for a couple hours a day), or indoor bathroom - and they are 84 this year), View from the cabin, Corbin reading with my Grandma, Corbin reading with my Grandpa, and Dh and Corbin "down in the Hole" aka their fridge.

Also quite successful week at the market Saturday with lots of fun knitting people and familiar faces stopping by. I had a very talented knitter stop by wearing a beautiful hand knit sweater. As another lady shopped she stopped the knitter to ask her what pattern she used for the sweater. After telling her, the lady introduced herself as Denise, and that she had written the pattern! It was such a cool experience to be there for! Denise is the writer for Knitting Pure & Simple Patterns. She really has some great stuff!

Also today I was finally able to make it to Knitting Grounds. I went with Sally and Leah and we had a great time browsing and buying! All the yarn was 25% so I snatched up some alpaca to make Corbin a teddy from. I think I might head back this week with a list, can't beat a sale like that! Alright, Corbin has played quietly all through this posting and it starting to get antsy so I had better stop....

customs and rain.

2008-06-15T10:59:00.002-08:00

So another Saturday has come and gone and getting ready for the Anchorage Market and Festival already seemed routine. It was just my Sis and I (with Corbin in tow) it took a little more time to set up, but the biggest downer was rain. Though thankfully we had the tent set up when it started to pour! It resulted in a pretty slow day but it still went by quickly and I got to meet quite a few fibery people as well as some really nice vendors.

Several shipments I was waiting on arrived which means I will be able to get some good work done in the next couple of days. I will be cramming it all in tomorrow and Tuesday as the fam is taking a mini vacation up to my Grandparents homestead in Talkeetna. I cannot wait to get up there and I am bringing all my knitting! I am really hoping that the lace and sw Merino comes that I ordered because up at the cabin would be the perfect place to start on the cardigan and shawl that I have planned.

I have several customs lined up and will be getting those dyed tomorrow so they will be ready for me to spin Tuesday. So I will try to get pics of those posted because they should turn out super yummy!

I also want to add in that I am so thankful for the support of my family and friends. I really don't know what I would do without them.

Saturday Market Fun!

2008-06-10T12:17:00.002-08:00

So June 7th was my first day at the Anchorage Market & Festival. I made a little profit and everything went off without a hitch! So I am super happy! Also wanted to give kudos to all the guys out there! I had more men come up and ask questions about my spinning wheel than women! Guess if it's a tool guys love it, doesn't matter what type! Anyhow here's some pics from the day!

Website Live!

2008-05-24T09:35:00.004-08:00

While not fully fleshed out it is definitely live and working! It's amazing to me how much time and effort and worry those things can take up!

I also have not had much new in my stores but that has been due to several customs and trades that I have been quite busy with! Not to mention getting ready for the Anchorage Market (which I will be at starting June 7th!!!)

So here my latest handspun custom and a pair of sock I knit for my Mommy:

Wow! Time Flies!

2008-05-12T11:35:00.005-08:00

So it has been exactly a month since I have last blogged and thought it was about time that I update.

The last month has flown by as I have been busy with several customs, getting ready for the Anchorage Market, among other every day life stuff. I am now half way done with this pregnancy and as I feel our son move more and more, my excitement really builds - I just can't wait to meet little Noah Wesley. Corbin has been blowing me away every day as his vocabulary grows, as well as his physical abilities. My hubby starts his kelly schedule at work today - which I am SO excited about! I will get more time with my Hubby, more time together as a family, more TFS stuff done, and we will be making more money! How can you beat that!

On to fibery news.....

I was featured this month in the Knitters of the North Newsletter, which was super exciting! Hopefully that will lead to meeting some fun people at the market this summer.

I now have all the supplies for putting my learn-to-spin kits together and will be debuting those at the market along with recycled wool bags, hand knit bags, along with hand spun and dyed wool.

Also! I now have a stand alone website!!!!! I am still working on getting the info in there, but it is up and running! All I can say is I have mucho respect for the amazing abilities of website designers. I worked with Cicily from August Afternoon Designs, and she was wonderful! Can't recommend her enough!

ok and for some pics of those recent customs!

New Handspun in Citrus Siesta Colorway

2008-04-12T11:21:00.004-08:00

Here is the latest handspun. Super happy with how this colorway spun up, and it is just so vibrant! My first time spinning this columbia/dorset wool blend, and I really enjoyed it! About a medium softness, so maybe not for baby, but still a great wool.

New 2008 Colorways

2008-04-11T10:51:00.004-08:00

Well I had a marathon dyeing day this week. AND I finally decided on two colorways to launch and get ready for the festival this summer. I am really happy with how they turned out! For the next few weeks I will be coming out with more. I am now busy spinning to get a good supply up for the Anchorage Market.

On a personal note we found out that we are having another baby boy! I am very excited and can't wait to see my two boys together!

Well here is some pics!

Spring SALE!

2008-04-02T15:08:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say that I am having a Spring Sale! Check out my Etsy store! Also all orders of $50.00 or more receive free shipping! Happy Spring!

Alaska Fiber Festival

2008-03-21T09:55:00.013-08:00

So I have now done my first craft/trade show! I was terrified, but I must say that it was so much more fun than I even dreamed it could be. I met so many wonderful people, and was surrounded by wool for two full days! I made some sales, and got several wholesale propositions that I will be looking into. I must say that Alaska is filled with some amazingly talented people!

I learned a lot as well. I really got refocused on where I would like my business to go and what I need to do to get there. I also learned a great deal about booth display, which will really help me this summer at the market.

anyhow here are some pics from the show

Here is my most recent hand-spun as well

So...it's been a while!

2008-02-20T20:47:00.002-09:00

well I am back! I have (after being on bedrest) renewed energy and drive. I haven't done much work lately (see previous parenthesis) but I am looking forward to mixing up my new dyes (actually I am enslaving my dh to do this toxic part for me) and will be pumping out some new colorways that I will hopefully iron out into my standard "repertoire" I have been having so much fun playing with color that I really haven't had much desire to do a lot of "repeats" but I also think that I have a broad enough range of colors to do some of my ideas. I am also going to be busy getting ready for the Alaska Fiber Arts Festival as well as my usual stockings for Etsy and Hyena. I have just had some grand ideas for some wool murals too. So Stay tuned!

Merino and Silk = Dreamy

2008-01-21T18:45:00.000-09:00

Who doesn't love shiny things? Who doesn't love luxury? This week when I got my newest roving in I couldn't wait to dye them! I just can't be happier with how they turned out. I really got some more depth as a result of the silk as well as some new dyeing techniques (that in all honesty made me quite nervous!) So check it out!

p.s. you should feel lucky as some of these aren't even listed in my store yet!

Hyena Cart Feature - Elemental Muse

2008-01-18T20:24:00.000-09:00

I thought I would take a break from myself and talk about Michelle owner and operator of Elemental Muse. Other than living in the same city and great state as me she is one of the most helpful and kind women. She constantly is helping wahp (work at home people or parents) to streamline their businesses and make them more successful. I actually host my website through her as well (Speaking of I really need to talk to Cicily @ August Afternoon Designs so I can get it looking good!) I also took her course in business planning and marketing and was impressed with her knowledge and organization! Check her out!

Busy

2008-01-15T09:58:00.000-09:00

So I have definitely been keeping busy. I went on a dyeing extravaganza and dyed up around 2.5 pounds of several different types of wool. I tried out a new method and was very happy with the results. Since I am doing higher quantities at a time now I am using the stove instead of the microwave and I must say my Husband is much happier now that there is less beeping in the house lol. I experimented with several new color combinations and kept several rovings aside to spin up myself as I hadn't gotten to spin color in a while. Below I will post pics of my latest work. I also just put in an order for some new varieties of roving including targhee, more sueprwash merino, corriedale, bfl, and some great blends of merino and silk, and merino and bamboo! So I am super excited to get those here. Sales have been a little slower, but the ones I've had were great customers and seemed very happy with their orders so that was encouraging.

Also big family news! I am pregnant! :) I think my due date is somewhere around Sept 10th! It's so exciting to think of my son getting to be a big brother.

Alright now to the pics :)

Future Plans

2007-12-30T13:38:00.000-09:00

As everyone knows we are all getting ready for the new year. I am looking forward to it and trying to determine where to take my business. So far I have treated it as a hobby business. A way to share my fiber love with others and pay for my crafting time. (Plus I could never use as much yarn as I have been producing! Lol) So I have been looking into to doing the market here in town. I know I have enough time to get enough yarn made up and ordered but it would be a huge investment without being even close to knowing if there would be enough sales. I need to sit and crunch the numbers to figure out how much yarn and felted items I would need to sell to break even. I think that is going to be my focus this week. Plus since I have been making sales I need to get in the habit of records. I think I am going to sit down with my CPA mom and figure out a good, workable method.

Ok enough of the boring business stuff here's my latest dyeing and spinning adventures:

My First Sales on Etsy!

2007-12-18T14:31:00.000-09:00

So I just wanted to post and say how excited I am because yesterday I made my first sales on Etsy! One in the morning and one in the afternoon! They were both handspun yarn in the same colorway but one was single ply and the other was 2 ply. I included pics below of the two skeins I just sold! Woohoo!

Since this has been my most popular (and only lol) sale I did want to add that I have one skein left of the Peacock Splendor Colorway!

Make sure to check out my store and my other listings in stock now!

I am also running a special which is 5-10% everything in my store. I have already lowered the prices and they will be going back up on December 24th!

Expanding into Dyeing!

2007-12-17T10:43:00.000-09:00

So it was so awesome this weekend! I dyed my first yarn and roving!!!!!

I love the results I got, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting on the yarn, I think I didn't cook it long enough! I have been busy today spinning up more naturally colored roving so that I can dye again soon!

oh and I am very excited as I have a package that should be at my house today with lots of yummy spinning goodness! YAY!

here's a few pics of my dyeing results:

Etsy here I come!

2007-12-08T14:48:00.001-09:00

So I have definitely been busy lately! But then who hasn't with the holidays here! I have been madly knitting for Christmas presents as well and spinning during Corbin's naps. I also have opened up shop on Etsy and I am excited to see how it goes! I did sell several things on my Hyena Cart which was exciting as well.

For my next stocking I will be making a few more bags, some belts, and possibly some handspun yarn. I just got a bunch of luscious roving in so I can't wait to get that all spun up! I will add a few pics of some of my latest projects as well as some of my lasted spinning.

My new camera is in! Woohoo

2007-11-16T14:42:00.000-09:00

So finally after a big calling spree to UPS I was finally able to get my camera in my hands Wednesday! Let me say the pictures it takes blow me away! Of course now the user just needs to get better ;P

Also this past Monday I had the opportunity to sit in at a Open House, AND I sold three items! I sold a hand spun and hand knit hat, and my mommy and me set of bags (but to different people) Those bags definitely got the most attention - but I never got a chance to take pics. But I should never have that problem again now with my new toy.

But I am including the pictures I just took this morning of my (mostly) completed bags that I will be previewing at my shop. Also I just got confirmation today that my woven labels should be in early next week so I think my Grand Opening will be on either Friday or Monday! I will have several lotteries, FFS, as well as some $HC deals! So don't forget to check us out!

A few pics of a brooch and bags...

Defining my business

2007-10-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

Today I started my class through Elemental Muse. The opportunity to take this class could not have come at a better time! What else is cool is that I found out Michelle (the owner of Elemental Muse) lives in my home town. How cool is that. Plus it really encouraged me that I will be able to do this!

My major to do list:

Get some previews up
Get my labels order finalized
Finish the diapers I am making for a friend and for my son
Get some listing up at my store on Hyena Cart.

My biggest obstacle has been my sons top four teeth. They are all trying to bust through his gums right now and that has made him pretty cranky :( Also I really need to get my labels in so I have some completely finished bags.

well I need to get back to work

Just Getting Started

2007-10-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

Soooo I am definitly new to this whole blogging thing but I am going to jump right in. Life has been a little crazy right now as I am trying to get ready to open shop @ hyenacart.com/thefeltedsheep. I am currently knitting a matching mom and daughter set and I have already semi-finished five other bags to list. I also plan on making felted belts with grosgrain ribbons, as well as some other misc. items. oh baby is crying more later :)