In which I consider how to use the stash

In my last post I looked at the issue of inventory.  I spent significant time inventorying my fiber stash as 2017 arrived.

But I also have a yarn stash; many of us do.  Mine is--ahem--largish.  It's not quite as large as my fiber stash, but I justify that because fiber is bulkier and it is business-related.  My yarn is for personal use. Nevertheless, it needs a job.

I should clarify: it needs a lot of jobs, because there is a lot of it, and since I love to spin, I keep making more.  Some of it is commercial yarn, much of it is handspun.  I have "sweater-quantity" amounts separated, and still have at least 5 18 gallon storage containers full of yarn.

There--I said it out loud.  Confession is good for the soul, right? Five-18 gallon storage containers, plus another with sweater-quantities of yarn.

I've been looking at patterns to help me give this yarn some jobs.  Here are a few I have found:

1) I love to knit socks.  In fact, a few years ago I took on the 52 pairs in 52 weeks challenge, to make 52 pairs of socks in one year.  While I didn't quite reach that level of production, I did knit 30+ pairs of socks that year, resulting in a lot of leftover sock yarn.  Hence, the sock yarn blankie:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sock-yarn-blanket

A brilliant way to use up small amounts of sock yarn--modular squares in a big blanket.  Also easy to transport, if you do squares and connect them up later.  Not so easy to transport if you pick up stitches to add new squares as you go.  :-)  I'm considering making the squares separately, and then crocheting them together with a black yarn for a stained glass effect.

If you haven't done a mitered square, check this out:

The Magic of Miters: How to Knit a Modular Square: Get a step-by-step photo tutorial and instructions for knitting a mitered square, joining mitered squares and using mitered squares in your projects.

2) How about a cardigan with different skeins of yarn?  This one gives lots of good information about mixing different colorways of yarn together, when you don't have enough for a whole sweater:

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEw12/KSPATTlessismore.php

I love the fact that you can make this in so many different ways, and a cardigan is very practical here in Minnesota.

3) Here's another cardigan in the same vein:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stripes-on-thursday

4) If you like shawls, there are tons of options for using up bits of yarn.  This one is a classic type:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/log-cabin-shawl

5) You can always go for small items as well.  Headbands and hats are nice for Minnesota winters.  Here's one of my own:

This pattern will be available soon in my Etsy store, or you can email me if interested.


What patterns have you used to make a dent in your stash?  I'd love to get more ideas to dig out from under mine!

In which I recommit myself to my craft and my business

Long time, no post!

Until I pulled up the blog page and took a look at my prior posts, I had no idea that it had been so long since I visited here.  It's not that I haven't been spinning or creating fiber blends--I've been doing a lot!  But I haven't been sharing my efforts here.  I plan to commit myself to new posts weekly for 2017!

So what I have been up to lately?  Over New Years one of my goals was to complete an inventory of my business and personal fiber stash.  Wow!  That was an herculean effort!  But all of my major unspun fiber is now weighed and inventoried--it's not all in my database yet, but it is on paper.

I chose to use an Excel spreadsheet for tracking my fiber.  I started with the document offered by Jillian Moreno with her Interweave video class, Spin Your Stash.  http://www.interweave.com/store/spin-your-stash-video-download 

I found the video to be very helpful in clarifying my thoughts as I went through my stash.  I didn't classify my fiber in the same way she does, into these five categories:

• keep
• give away
• unusable
• transform
• maybe

I also modified the columns of her suggested spreadsheet, but it gave me a framework to think about the fiber I have.  Sadly, there was really nothing in my stash that I decided to give away, but the good news is, there was nothing hopelessly felted or unusable, either.  Here's the link to my version of the spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8lC-7CkXM-1R01Ec0c3UDhvaWc

My completed spreadsheet got me up to Box 9 for stash storage, and all 9 boxes are quite full.  I have some processing to do!

I'm curious to learn how you keep track of your stash.  Is it utterly random and serendipitous?  Is it weighed and measured to the last ounce, and you know where all of it is?  Do you have a plan for all of it, or do you see pretty and buy it?  There is no good or bad answer, but we all have our own methods.  Let me know about yours!

In Which I Prepare for Shepherd's Harvest

Shepherd's Harvest is this weekend!!  I am so excited. 

This is the wool festival held Mother's Day weekend every year at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.  It is the wool/fiber event of the year if you live in Minnesota or Western Wisconsin. 

This year is the first year that I am sharing a vendor booth with my friend Malla.  We will be selling our hand-carded spinning fiber batts, hand-dyed yarn, project bags, and patterns.  Also, Malla will have some hand-painted silk scarves, perfect for Mother's Day gifts. 

We are also camping on the grounds in my new-to-me travel trailer, the first time I have used it.  That should also be an adventure. 

I'm afraid my packing list is missing some items and I'm not sure how I'm going to get everything done tonight.  But I can't wait!  More to follow, with pictures!!

In Which the Sheep Get Shorn

Yesterday was a lovely day!  Went to sheep shearing day at Woolen Meadows Farm in Delano, and came home with some treasures. 

I was signed up to get one fleece--a white Border Leicester/Corriedale cross fleece grown by Isabelle.  Isabelle's fleece is lovely and I'm thrilled with it.

 During the course of the shearing morning, I also ended up sharing 1/2 silver grey fleece with my friend Malla.  This is Carly's fleece, which I purchased in full last year, and now have half:

You have my permission to drool!

Finally, Barb M. brought her angora goats to be shorn also.  I ended up with half of a mohair fleece as well.  Didn't expect that!  I've never worked with raw mohair before, but I'm looking forward to it.

 I have been busy washing fleece today and spinning on my October Frost shetland wool.  I can't wait to get the spinning done, but there are 13 more ounces to go.  I have 9 bobbins of singles completed so far.  Better get busy...

In Which I Take a Long Weekend...

Last weekend was my reward for losing 125 lbs!  I took Friday off of work and spent the day with my friend Malla.  We made a trip to fiber workers Mecca--Detta's Spindle! 

I love going to Detta's.  I tried out a used wheel--did not buy, but it's hovering in my brain--and dug through boxes and boxes of wonderful fiber.  I ended up buying mostly mill ends, some to dye as roving, much to card into batts and sell.  I also bought some bleached tussah silk for blending into my batts, and some gorgeous BFL/Silk blend as a treat for myself.   We were also able to order some yarn wholesale for dyeing to sell.  It's being drop-shipped to me, hopefully to arrive by Saturday, when we are planning a big dyeing day. 

I finished carding all of the shetland wool for my October Frost sweater!  Here's the remainder of the roving, ready for carding:

Whew, that was a lot to do, but now I just have to spin it up.  I've done 4 bobbins full so far.

I also finished up my Amused sweater.  I liked this pattern a lot, but I think the yarn is a bit bulky.  It's very light, though.  Anyway, I just threw it on over what I was wearing to take a picture (and there was something on my lens):

All in all, a wonderful weekend.  I need more of those...

In Which I Spin and Dye some yarn

Finally! I have gotten back to spinning and dyeing.  It seems like so many things have been interfering with these loves of mine.  Work, home, hockey, exercising, meetings--you know the drill.

Yesterday I spent preparing for the Superbowl Party we are having today--GO PACKERS!!  I was very diligent, however, and had the food prep done by 2pm.  At that point I decided, since the food was done and the kitchen was clean, to mess it up again with dyepots. 

My friend Malla showed me how to spin a lovely fat singles yarn.  It's a bit thick & thin, I'm not really good at regulating the drafting zone yet, but I love it.  The fiber is a two-toned taupe and white BFL--kinda blah and neutral in its natural state.  I decided to dye it with some reds.  I tried a new dye method, at least, new to me.  I wanted a tonal colorway, so I put the skeins in the dyepot and began heating it.  I wanted the skeins to react to dye right away.  Once it was getting steamy, I took squirt bottles and squirted different colors in streams over the skeins: pink and deep magenta in this case.  I let that strike and set for awhile, until the dyepot was pretty exhausted.  Then I used a spoon to move the skeins aside, and poured Fire Red into the sides of the pot to overdye it all.  I really like how they came out, but I would have liked less pink and more magenta. 

Anyway, it is destined to become the "Better Bucket Hat."  I think it will be fun.

I also dyed some Patons Classic Wool yarn that I had leftover from Ben's Christmas sweater.  I used the same method, except that I used more colors:  squirting silver grey, royal blue, caribbean blue and periwinkle over the skeins, then overdyeing with sky blue.  I love these skeins a lot.

I have also been spinning for my October Frost sweater.  I have three bobbins done and a fourth in progress:

Still have about 1 lb of the fiber to card for this sweater, but I'm making progress.  Can't wait to start knitting, but I have a long way to go until then.

In Which I Watch Some Hockey and Spin

High school hockey season is in full swing here in Minnesota.  If you like hockey, high school hockey here is fantastic!  I have two nephews who play varsity hockey for Minnetonka High School, so I am a proud and avid fan.

Hence my frustration tonight when Qwest couldn't figure out how to fix my internet, which has been down for two days.  They can't get a tech out to fix it until Saturday.  In the meantime, the big Minnetonka v. Eden Prairie confrontation was on simulcast over the internet tonight.  What a dilemma!  So here I am, crying over the loss suffered by my poor Tonka Skippers at Caribou Coffee, where I parked myself to use their wifi.  Final score 4-2, but the last goal was a freebie at an empty net in the waning seconds of the game.  It was a fabulous game, just not the outcome I wanted.  :-(

I am working on a basic sock for the next-youngest nephew in that family.  I am happy that those teenage boys like and appreciate hand-knitted socks; the only downside is that they are big boys with big feet--size 13 for all of them except the youngest, and I'm sure he'll get there.  I want to finish this pair for John's birthday on Sunday, but I have the feeling I'm not going to make it.

I've also been spinning for my October Frost sweater.  I have one full bobbin done.   My plan is to keep two bobbins in play--once one is full, let it rest overnight, then take the singles off on the ballwinder.  I'll ply all the fiber at the end to balance out any unevenness.

I've set a goal to card two batts (at least) every night until all the fiber is carded. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of touching the switch on my carder and zapping it with static electricity, so now the switch doesn't work.  This means I have to start and stop my carder by unplugging it, which is awkward, to say the least.  I'm trying to pick out as much VM from this fiber prep as possible in the carding process, and that makes it even harder to do.  It's always something...

I Make Some Progress on My Goals...

Okay, so not much really.  I've spun and swatched three variations of the Shetland fiber for the October Frost cardigan I want to make. 

I settled on the right swatch as the yarn I want for this sweater.  To get this yarn, I need to recard all the fiber, separating the two colors and putting them through my carder in layers.  It's a good thing--there is a lot of VM (vegetable matter) in this roving, and the carding is giving me a chance to pick out a lot of it.  It also makes this dreamy to spin.  However, I'm only getting about 1.5 oz. on the carder for each batt, so it will take awhile to card 2+ lbs of this fiber.  I've made the mistake of not spinning enough for a project in the past, and I can never quite capture the gauge again, so I am going to make sure I have it all done before beginning to knit. 

Hopefully I can get the carding done this weekend, and begin to spin. 

In the meantime, GO PACKERS!!

In Which I Make Lists--Lots of Lists

I like to set goals.  I like to make lists.  I like to take on challenges.  Even when those goals, lists and challenges are way beyond what any human being could accomplish in a lifetime.  Why this is, I do not know.  Perhaps I subscribe to the theory that if your list never ends, you can never die.  Or maybe I just like stress, even self-imposed.  Whatever it is, I have signed on for challenges this year once again.  They are as follows:

1)  Knit a sweater a month for 2011.

• Rogue with Knitpicks WOTA in chocolate brown 
• Lastrada Hanne Falkenberg kit--started, but need to frog to make a smaller size 
• Central Park Hoodie--finished sweater, but I need to frog it and make a smaller size 
• Baby Surprise for a friend whose baby is due in January--this might have to become #1
• Falling Stars sweater kit from Knit Picks 
• Kraka--also a finished sweater, but need to frog and reknit in a smaller size. This one is for my daughter, she has also lost weight. 
• a traditional gansey of some kind, with yarn I purchased in Estonia 
• Old Port Pullover, possibly from some alpaca blend yarn I have in sweater quantity 
• Red Palm pattern bohus, from handspun yarn 
• Oatmeal Cardigan with Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mills grey--sweater in process
• October Frost out of handspun--Spinning in process
• Cassidy

2) Finish 26 Pair Plunge of Socks by June 1, 2011
This is one of those challenges I signed up for last year, but I have been knitting along on a lot of things, not just socks.  I actually have no idea how many pairs I have made so far--the challenge started June 1, 2010.  I think it should be just under 10 pairs so far.  I could still finish this challenge, but I have been concentrating on sweaters now.  (see above.)  I think I have ADHD for knitting projects and goals. 

3)  Read 52 books in 2011
This challenge should be easy for me.  I read a lot.  All the time.  Still, I have yet to finish a book in 2011, though one is almost done (The Brethren, by John Grisham).

4) I have a Spin Possible list for 2011. 

• finish 7 more batts Polwarth/cashmere/silk for Rosalind shawl 
• spin Shetland roving for October Frost sweater
• finish spinning Shetland roving for Red Palm Bohus-type sweater 
• finish some merino laceweight in Garden Party colorway--about 4 oz 
• finish chain-plying Louet Northern Lights roving for sock yarn--FINISHED 1/9/11
• finish some superwash merino laceweight--about 4 oz 
• finish merino/tencel blend in laceweight on my Bosworth spindle 
• finish about 1/2 oz purple roving on Dragonfly spindle--FINISHED 1/9/11 
• card/spin Corriedale/Romney cross fleece with Tussah silk for Oatmeal Cardigan

So I have my work cut out for me in 2011.  Think I can do it??

In Which I Articulate My Challenges for the New Year

Shetland Wool roving
Originally uploaded by rjsams1010

I just got this gorgeous roving from Gail von Bargen's farm. It is Shetland roving, very soft. I am playing with it to decide how I want to spin it for the October Frost sweater from Lisa Lloyd's book "A Fine Fleece."
I have a list of projects to finish for 2011.  I have placed myself on a "yarn diet."  No new puchases of yarn until I use up some of my stash.  When I made a list, I discovered that I have enough yarn  or fiber in sweater quantities to make a sweater a month for the whole year!  So I joined the Sweater a Month challenge on Ravelry, and that is my goal.  I'll try to keep posting here to track my progress. 

My first sweater of 2011 is the Oatmeal Cardigan, from Spin-Off magazine.  It is a simple design, just a small travelling stitch pattern at the cuffs and yoke of this one-color sweater.  I purchased some Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill medium yarn in a natural grey color at the MN Knitter's Guild silent auction, and it is perfect for this sweater.  I have both sleeves done and I am halfway up the body, which at this point is just stockinette.  Boring, but easy to do while watching the Packers play football!! 

New Blog Post for a New Year

It's about time I posted to the blog again.  I have not fallen off the face of the earth, nor have I given up and hibernated the winter away.  But I have been focused on other things in my life, and not enough on my fiber business.

I hope to change that for 2011.  This year I am planning to share a booth with a couple of other artisans at Shepherd's Harvest Fiber Festival.  I will be selling my fiber batts and a new item, project bags.  I have some prototypes done, but still perfecting the pattern.  Pics to follow.

Made my son a sweater for Christmas.  He loves the TV show "Firefly" so I made him the Wash sweater.  I think it turned out great.  Pic is in another post, I think.  The connection to Flickr is weird since Flickr changed the way they do picture sharing.  I don't like it.

More to follow.  I will try to be better about posting to the blog.

DSC00068

DSC00068
Originally uploaded by rjsams1010

Ben in his new Wash sweater.   All done!

Back to the Blog!

Just touching base, not much has changed.  Still haven't finished the blends I was working on with the carder.  I have almost finished carding the dyed fleece, but that's about it.

I went fiber camping with some friends two weekends ago, and we did a lot of spinning.  It was great to have my friend Heather there to encourage me to tackle some fiber I have really needed to get finished.  I have now washed a whole bunch of skeins that were sitting around, and they are ready to be used.

Almost finished my daughter's summer sweater, too.  :-)  Hopefully there will still be some nice days for her to wear it.  I have about one more inch of the bottom to do and then the bind-off, then the two sleeves to finish off, which will again be about an inch each.  I have so many projects waiting, I really need to push on and get this done.  The pattern is the Scoop Tee from Interweave Knits, Fall 2009, I think.

Next weekend is WI Sheep and Wool Festival.  I am sooo excited about that trip!!  Not taking any classes, just going to camp, spin, shop, observe and have a great time.  I hope to get some good pictures to post here, too.

In which we are settled, and life moves on...

Well, we are moved!  Yes, even (almost) unpacked!  We love the new place, it is SOOO much better than the old.  Can't believe it took this long to do the deed.  We had help from wonderful friends, so it was much less painful than it could have been.  Thank you to all who helped!!  I think we had everything at the new place by 4pm.

Immediately after moving, I had weight loss surgery and was off work for 3 weeks.  That has been another distracting adventure.  Things are settling down now, I can eat a regular (albeit quite small) diet, and I am feeling really good.  Since first meeting with my surgeon in April, I have lost 50 lbs!  I've got a long way to go, but already I am feeling much better and needing smaller clothes.

While I was off, I took my inventory of fiber batts to Knitter's Palette and sold quite a lot of my inventory.  My first retail outlet, yay!  Since then I have had a long dye session and now am busy at the carder putting together some new blends.  I'll post pics as soon as I have some done.

I've booked a campsite for the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival near Madison, WI the weekend of September 10-12, and I'm looking forward to that.  I need to find another wonderful silvery grey fleece.   I love overdyeing grey, and I am almost out of my raw washed fleece from Sue Ross.  Hope I can find one as good.

In which I get ready to move, and other adventures

I have sadly been neglecting my blog lately.  There is way to much going on in my life right now.

Let's start with the fact that we're moving. 

Again. 

I'm very sick of moving.  I'm also very sick of apartment living.  I'm very sick of my neighbors, who are mostly obnoxious.  (To be fair, there are probably nice neighbors, but it's the obnoxious ones that I see, hear and have to pick up after.)  So we're moving across the street, to a townhouse.  It's an end-unit, 3 BR with only one common wall.  We'll have our own entrance, our own garage, our own laundry facility, and it's all one story.  I'm very excited!!

But it is a lot of work, even though I tell people it's all downhill--from the second floor, across the street, to a single story.  July 10th is the big day.  Wish us luck!

I've had to pack away the carder for the move, but not before I completed the carding of a gorgeous blend for the Rosalind shawl pattern by one of my favorite designers, Sivia Harding.  The blend is 65% white Polwarth wool, 16% bleached tussah silk, 16% fawn cashmere, and the rest white firestar.  It is so soft!!  Here is the first bobbin spun up:

Yes, it IS as yummy as it looks.  I'm going to 2-ply it into about a fingering weight yarn.  I have about 14 oz total, in 8 batts to spin.  This is my Tour de Fleece project.  The Tour de Fleece starts on July 3rd, which is the date of my father's 80th birthday party, so I probably won't get much done that day.  Plus it's a week before we move, so not much spinning will get done the first week of the Tour.  Luckily, 14 oz won't take too long to spin.

More to come, maybe from our new location!

In which I attend Shepherd's Harvest Festival

What a fabulous weekend we had at the Shepherd's Harvest Fiber Festival My 8-9th!  The weather was cold, especially Saturday, as it usually is, but Sunday the sun came out and everyone was feeling wonderful!

Here are some pictures of our Northern Lights Handspinner's Guild booth.  Here's our fearless leader Pauline:

Here is my Gone Batty Fibers inventory.  I was pleased to fill an 18 gallon tote with my batts for the show, and I sold quite a few.

I spent most of my time working on the Fiber Sandwich.  This is an event where we collect donations of fiber from the vendors, lay them out on a table in layers, like a big lasagna, and then split off 4 oz chunks for volunteer spinners to spin.  We then auction off the finished skeins to benefit the Heifer Project.  It is a great cause, and we love our donors and volunteer spinners, as well as the people who bid on the skeins.  Here's the auction in progress:

 
We raised almost $400 this year for Heifer, which is very exciting.

Here's my skein(s).  I spun a single Corriedale ply to ply with it, and make the finished skeins a bit more cohesive.  Others chose to do the same, and it was really fun to see what people did.

Someone spun a novelty yarn that was gorgeous--it was a bestseller.

The Minnesota Knitter's Guild also had a booth, at which I worked on Sunday morning.

I should have more weekends like this--good friends and lots of fiber and fibery activities!

Getting Ready for Shepherd's Harvest!

I am getting so excited for Shepherd's Harvest, the fiber festival held every Mother's Day weekend at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, MN.   The event lasts for two days, and I plan to spend every minute of my weekend there.

I have a class on Saturday morning in--what else?--Drum Carding.  It should be great fun to get tips from someone I really respect, Carol Wagner of Hidden Valley Farm Woolen Mill.  I have purchased a lot of her roving in the past, as well as having her process raw fleeces for me.  I'm very excited about the chance to "pick her brain" about the carding process.

I will also have space at my guild's table to sell my product, so I have been frantically making batts to sell at the Festival.  Not too many pictures of the batts, since my lighting doesn't do them justice, but here's some ingredients:

Many more to follow.  I am keeping my drum carder busy!

Another exciting event for the weekend is the Fiber Sandwich.  Many vendors will donate fiber to this cause.  What we do is lay out the donated fiber, which will be anything from hand-dyed roving to raw, washed fiber, into a huge "lasagna" of fiber layers.  It usually takes up a full 8' banquet table, to a depth of at least 12 inches!  It's quite a sight.  From there, we have volunteer spinners who take 4 oz sections and spin skeins of yarn.  The skeins are auctioned off on Sunday in a silent auction to benefit The Heifer Project.  Great fun for a great cause!  We are still looking for volunteer spinners if you are going to be in the area.

I made some awesome batts!

Oh, I just love my drumcarder!  She is awesome.  I will sing the praises of the Fancy Kitty high and low.

She made these batts:

Which spun up like this:

The grey in this started as raw, washed locks of fiber, and it only took two passes through the carder to get these batts.  The blending fibers had already been carded once, so I carded the locks once through, then weighed and measured for the batts.  The small skein was spun out of the leftovers--I'm still getting a feel for how much fiber I can get into one batt.  I made a total of 5 batts, weighing a total of over 8 oz, so they are not quite 2 oz each, which is what I was aiming for.

The little skein from leftovers spun up like butter!!  I want to keep these batts rather than put them in the Etsy store, but I have to be good.  I'm building inventory slowly, and have yet to post anything in the store, but it's coming.

This weekend is Yarnover at the Hopkins High School, and I am very excited.  I am volunteering in the morning, then in the afternoon I am taking a class from the incomparable Meg Swansen.  I will be learning more about Elizabeth Zimmerman's EPS system, which is brilliant.  I think I understand the system, but it certainly can't hurt to hear more about it from the source!  I wanted to take a gansey class from Beth Brown-Reinsel, but sadly I was too late with my registration--my own fault, but I can still mourn.  I even have the yarn for the gansey--I bought it in Estonia on my cruise last year.  Sigh.

The following weekend I'm planning an entire day on Saturday devoted to dyeing.  My order from Dharma Trading finally arrived, I have a couple of friends coming over, and we are going to attack the dyepots.  However, I still want to get more batts carded before that day--I think you get more even dyeing results using carded batts rather than raw locks.   So lots of work yet ahead.

I wash fleece, and wash fleece, and wash fleece...

I finally got the white Corriedale fleece from Cindy Lou completely washed!  It turned out practically glowing white, and ready for carding and dyeing.

In the meantime, I have been working the carder pretty hard with the shetland fleece I bought in March.  It was not a covered fleece, so there is quite a bit of VM, and there's a break near the tips which I suspect came from lambing last year.  It's pretty easy to tear off those tips, which are matted and icky anyway, and the rest of the fleece is quite nice.  Picking takes a lot of time, though.

I have managed to card some batts from it, and they turn out beautifully.  See?  They are very soft and a lovely heathery oatmeal color that I think will do fun things when overdyed.  I'll leave some of it natural colored, but I think a red over this will look quite nice.

My order from Dharma was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but apparently nobody was at the apartment office, so UPS did not leave the package.  How annoying!  I wasn't really planning to dye anything this weekend, but still...  I can't wait to see the new dyes I ordered!

I've got lots more of November's fleece to card, but I want to do some of Cindy Lou's also.  I have a big dyeing day planned for April 24, and I want to card a lot of this fleece beforehand.  I think carded batts take the color more uniformly, and I'm looking for that this time around.

I also started washing Carly's fleece, the grey one.  It's so pretty....

During which I entertain middle school boys...

Today, I took my nephews to see the movie "Diary of a Wimpy Kid."  Miraculously, an entire movie aimed at middle school boys without a single fart joke!  (They couldn't avoid boogers, tho.)  Taken for what it is--an entire movie aimed at middle school boys--it was pretty cute and funny, sometimes painfully so.

Afterward, I tried to convince the boys that they should sit on the Easter bunny's lap for pictures.  Seriously, a mall Easter bunny--and it was the creepiest looking Easter bunny ever!  Thankfully, they refused to take me up on my suggestion.

I finally got to Archivers to purchase what I need for product labelling.  I am going to do skein and batt wraps with cardstock.  I think that will protect the batts a little better, and I can print them off my computer.  I picked a color called Pear Crush, which is a lime green, but lighter than the background of my blog.  Hmm, perhaps I should change that to match.

Now I need to design and print some labels, and also my business cards.  Lots of work to do.

Also, I ordered some new dye colors this week from Dharma Trading.  Did you see their April Fools newsletter?  It was very clever, and inspired me to place the order that has been sitting in my shopping cart for awhile.  I love a company with a sense of humor, and theirs is huge.  I also love a company that lets me save a shopping cart for awhile before I pull the trigger.

Placed a huge order for wholesale yarns, too.  Last time I purchased these yarns retail in smaller quantity, to try them out.  They were quite nice quality, so I will be watching for a package of enough fingering weight sock yarn for 50 skeins!!  (Yes, that's what I said--50.)  On top of that, 10 large skeins (100 grams) of laceweight superwash merino.  Yum!

Time to finish washing fleece, so I can get the dyepots bubbling!