Well, I have decided to start this blog again!

I realize that losing Sasha was a necessary part of life and that ignoring it won’t make it go away. This blog is an important extension of my shop and life and I need to have it for everyone.  So without further ado, my first post in forever!

I finally was able to snag a Phat Fiber box this month and it just came today!  Phat Fiber is a box full of yarn & fiber samples, along with patterns, stitch markers, buttons, coupons & other fibery goodies!  It is very similar to the Sampler boxes, but geared towards us fibery geeks!

SPOILER ALERT!!!! 
Following this is photos of what I received in the June Phat Fiber box, don’t look if you haven’t rec’d it yet and don’t want to be spoiled!!

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Here is what I got in my box!!!  The theme this month was Oceanic, so it was right up my alley!!

Opening the Box:

Inside the box:

Cute little message in a bottle:

Gorgeous handmade button:

Fish Stitch Marker

Cute purple stitch marker

All the amazing fiber samples!

And all the awesome yarn samples:

I also got two amazing patterns, a ton of coupons and lots of new vendors to buy from!!!  I just signed up to become a contributer myself, so look out for Mandalinn Knits & Spins coming to a Phat Fiber box someday in the near future!! Probably the August box, but I will post here when I am sure.

There are many new and exciting things that I am working on lately, including getting ready for SAFF…which will be my first fiber festival ever, starting a Mandalinn Knits & Spins Batt Club (yup finally!!!) and other various interesting things.

I have also been having fibery fun days here with my buds lately and will continue to do so and share the fun here.  We do everything from carding, to dyeing, to knitting, to spinning and more!  Gnat (barknknit), Krisha (susie190) & Monica (BeltwaySpinner) were here on Sunday for like 7 hours of awesome knitting & spinning!  It was the best day in a long time!

I am also quite active on Twitter lately, so please add me if you Tweet!!

And finally, I have been KNITTING like mad lately.  I have many neat projects lined up, including a sweater out of my own handspun!!!!

So I hope you will stick around as I will be adding a lot more in the days to come, I am so glad to have this going again, it is a great way to keep motivated!

Happy Knitting & Spinning!

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Depression sucks…….

Well I finally have to suck it up and admit that depression has once again gotten a hold on me.  I know that I just need to pick myself up and dust myself off and MAKE a change, but it is not easy and I just don’t have the energy.  I just don’t care at this point.  Nothing to really worry about, just tired and more tired.  Maybe a few days away with my husband would help, but we are booked for the whole month of March pretty much, grandma/her boyfriend in the first two weeks and then my brother’s friend & his girlfriend in the last week and the holiday in there too and my brother’s & niece’s birthday.

I did get my desk cleared off today and my spinning room reorganized and cleaned up, that helps a bit.  My new Strauch’s Finest drum card ROCKS btw, totally worth every penny.  You can see some of my new batts in my Etsy Shop!

I think part of it is just being sick of the sun going down so early and the funky weather here.  One day it is cold, the next it is hot.  Blech.  Hopefully I can get motivated and snap out of it.  I need to work on eating better too, I am sure that will help.

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Whew it has been a while….

For some reason I have been totally “down in the dumps” lately and I have no clue why.  It sucks and I have been neglecting my friends, family and blog.  Hopefully I can get out of this funk soon, because it sucks.  Meh!

 Well today is Miss Bella’s surgery for her spay, microchip and softpaws, she is there right now having it done and I hope to hear something soon.  I know it has to be done, but I just worry since she is such a tiny baby still.

Hopefully she will be home soon and purring away.  And content so I can go to my SnB meeting tonight, I need some away time.  LOL!

Speaking of SnB, here is the latest project I am working on!  I finally casted on my Lady Eleanor and I love how she is coming out.  Entrelac is so much fun to knit and really keeps your interest!  It is going so quickly so far and I am loving the Noro Silk Garden I chose.

Here is my latest spinning!  Flamingo Bay—252 yards of fingering weight….65% Merino, 15% Colonial and 20% Tencel from Copperpot on Etsy!

I am really happy with how it came out.  I am work on another yarn right now that I can’t wait to put up, it will be fantastic I think!

I also have been updating my Etsy shop with 6 new rovings and 2 bags of locks.  Here are two of my faves!

 Love Bites—-5oz of Falklands roving

And Psychedelic—3 oz of Mohair Locks

Along those lines, I had to reorder wool today for my shop since I just sold off the last pound to a buyer in Romania of all places!!  🙂  So I went ahead and finally ordered a full bump of the domestic wool roving.  A full bump consists of TWENTY-SEVEN POUNDS!!!!!!!!!  I think I am freaking insane!

Also on the insane front, I just ordered a new carder, yup not too long after my first one, I ordered a new one.  AAAAHHHHH!!!!  I love my Louet Jr…..but a production model it is not and it just wasn’t fitting the bill for what I needed for my shop.  So I ordered one of these!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yes it is a freaking Strauch’s Finest!!!  OMG I am drooling over the photos and cannot wait for it to be here.  And best of all, I ordered it from fellow Etsy-er, Artclub and she is throwing in 2 pounds of mixed fibers to boot!  I am so stoked!!!  Crazy, but stoked!!!  🙂

So be on the lookout for new fantastical batts to be coming to my little shop soon!  YEAH!

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Finally, a shop update and some happy news!

Today I had my first shop update in a long time, 4 new rovings and much more to come.  Including some locks that are dyeing right now!  Here are the new fuzzies!

Sugalite–6 oz of hand-dyed merino roving in purples and blues.

Amaranth–3.8 oz of hand-dyed Falklands roving in purples and fuschia.

 

Frogger—4 oz of hand-dyed Falklands roving in shades of green. 

 

Mali–roving in shades of green, blue, purple and fuschia.

 Much more to come in the following days and weeks, including art yarn kits, Valentine’s Day batts and other specials!

On to my good news……the dogs and kitty are finally getting along.  We all actually slept in the same bed for the first time since Bella joined our family.  Last night we didn’t, but that is only because Bella kept swatting at Sasha trying to get her to play, but it hurts because of her claws.  I have the SoftPaws sitting here and they will be put on at the vet’s next week, so that should help.  But no more segregated house for us!  Woohoo!  Bella chases them around and just wants to play now.  It makes me feel like we definitely did the right thing by taking her in.  I couldn’t imagine life without her!

Next week I go in for my lung function test, so we shall see if I finally am better and if I get a diagnosis of asthma or not.  Hopefully I can at least get some good allergy meds, since I have been suffering lately.  I am just glad that life is evening out around here.

Best of all our SnB group that meets every Wednesday at Panera by Tyrone Mall from 6:30-9:30pm is going great, I have finally made some awesome friends down here and look forward to it every week.  Come and join us if you like! 

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Feeling so much better and drowning in WOOL!!!!

First off, thank you so much for all the well wishes, emails, etc.  It means so much to me.  I went to my family doctor yesterday and all is looking well.  He says I still need to take it easy and that it will be a few weeks before I am 100%, but I should be fine.  In 6 weeks  I will go in for a lung function test and follow up, but he doesn’t expect any issues.  So with that out of the way, I am starting to get back to normal around here.  And my swap package is in the mail, I cannot wait until she gets it.  I can’t wait to share photos and I hope she likes it as much as I do.  🙂

 I just had UPS drop off a box with FIFTEEN pounds of wool at my door, the undyed is back in my shop and I hope to get some dyepots going here either later today or tomorrow.  I am also finishing up a gorgeous skein of merino/colonial/tencel in shocking pinks, blues & shiny white….I know not exactly a fall color, but it is gorgeous!

Here is the latest skein up in the shop, perfect for this time of year:

Sangria—206 yards of merino/colonial/tencel.  Thick & Thin, perfect for a hat, scarf, small bag.

Well off to hopefully get the dyepots going and maybe some cleaning done; the cleaning lady is coming tomorrow for my big Thanksgiving cleaning, so you know I have to clean before she comes, LOL!

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Another FO to share…..

Here is “My So Called Scarf” that I did for my Grandma for Christmas.  I had started it a long time ago and frogged it, but restarted it and finished it in a couple of weeks.  Super easy pattern and fun to knit.  I used 1 1/2 hanks of Manos del Uruguay in an old discontinued colorway that I had in my stash.  My grandma is petite, so using it all would’ve been too much.  I am very happy with how it turned out, I just need to weave in the ends and block it (the ends flare a bit).

I also have my first finished yarn done on my new Rose…..

Autumnal–190 yards of sport to worsted weight, 2oz.  This roving is Corriedale from TravelingRhino’s kit last month (I ended up with 3 skeins from that kit, not bad!)

It isn’t as even as I would like, but for my first skein on my new wheel, I am pleased.  I am working on some BFL from Spunky Eclectic in her Burning Embers colorway and it is coming out nicely.

I packed off the Lendrum today and it is on its way to her new home in Arizona, I am sure she will be much loved and used.

Off to finish off my OTT (one tiny thing) swap on Craftster, need to get it in the mail.  🙂

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Lendrum ST is sold…..

Tell me why I am a bit sad?  I love my new Rose (who still needs a name and her new wheel), but I will still miss my first wheel.  Thank you for all the interest.

I got a big order of wool in today, tons of white and black merino, awesome light brown romney roving, some camel down and a bit more cashmere.  Well it was supposed to be only 0.1 pound, but they sent a pound, ugh.  So I am waiting to see if I am billed for the whole amount or not and what can be done.  It is gorgeous, but I already have 8 oz of white and I am not that proficient at spinning cashmere yet.  I do okay with it blended, but by itself, forget it.  So I might have some cashmere up for sale in the shop shortly and definitely cashmere blended batts, be on the lookout!

Off to spin and dye up some more, the shop update should be done by Monday.  I will post here when it is.  🙂

I forgot to ask, do any of you do lampwork bead making? It was something that I have always been interested in and I know I do not need another hobby, but would love any info if you have it.  🙂

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Pouting about my new wheel & 2 new art yarns!

Well my Majacraft Rose was delivered yesterday in the morning.  I was so excited and promptly opened up the box, only to find that the wheel itself was damaged.  :(:(:(

And it is in the drive band groove, so that ratio cannot be used.  No damage to the box could really be found.  I contacted the Woolery and they said that they have to contact Majacraft and have them send me a new wheel from New Zealand directly, so it will take a while.  😦  Also my plying kit is backordered, hopefully that won’t be for too long.

I was able to assemble it and use it though and it is the most wonderful wheel I have ever used.  OMG it is simply amazing.  So smooth and easy to treadle.  I can spin all day on it.  The whole scotch tension is going to take some getting used to and I need to find the perfect adjustments, but boy is it nice!  I will post more photos later.

I do have 2 new yarns to share, Autumn and Halloween themed.  They were made using Travelingrhino’s FOTM kit from last month, which was AWESOME!

Spooky–98 yards-98 yards of BFL, domestic and romney wools with angelina; plied with copper thread and has ribbons and skulls added in.  For sale on Etsy!

Autumn Splendor–64 yards- BFL, domestic and romney wools with angelina; plied with copper thread and has ribbons and flowers added in.  Also on Etsy for sale!

Both skeins match and would work wonderfully together.  I love how they came out!  🙂

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