Spindlefrog goes to London.

My creation
Originally uploaded by helix4612

Oh Im getting bad again about updating this when I promised I wouldnt. Better late than never though so here goes.
Tonight we have shetland, gotland and the introduction of "Sockie Spins" a superwash merino and nylon 70/30 blend. Its ever so soft and fluffy and will make excellent socks. Im liking this new fibre so will more than likely get more in.

Today a huge order arrived for me. I love getting parcels even if it is just undyed wool. Now I should have enough to last me quite a while and keep me busy. One of the reasons why I placed the order is to dye up a big batch of fibres to go down to London for Ally Pally in October. Ive been bouncing about with a huge grin for days because Alice from the delightful shop Socktopus asked me would I be intrested in them carrying my fibres! How freakin cool is that? They will be on her stall along with the fantastic range of sock yarns and fibres from..wait until you hear this....Spunky, Pigeonroof, Brooklyn Handspun and Chameleon Colourworks. Im besides myself with glee. I wont be able to see them sitting there with the fibre royalty because I will be in Barcelona at the time (with multi coloured paws no doubt). The rest of this week will be spent dyeing and getting the package all ready to be posted off. Happy happy me.

Spindlefrog is doing really well at the moment. Im having a blast doing it and never thought it would be as good as it is. Ive had some wonderful feedback from some lovely customers which really brightens my day and Ive even seen a good few of the fibres spun up.

Batts of Delight.

Here are some of the batts Ive been carding up on my new carder for the shop. Blimey its so much fun I dont know why I was all in a dither about buying one. Even my mum has had a good go and has created some lovely ones. My aunt on the other hand is rubbish but tried hard and thats the main thing.

As you can see Im still having a few photo issues. These ones are better than before so its a learning curve but they arent as good as I would like. Its fustrating the hell out of me because of the money I paid. Im very tempted to give up and go back to the old one but worry I will never get it sorted out if I do. Grrr.

Tomorrow I will spend the day dyeing. I have bought another big load of dyes to extend the colour range but havent been able to try them out yet because of work. But Im having a good few days off so I can play arround and have fun. One thing I will be dyeing is a selection for a shop in the US who will be stocking Spindlefrog fibre. How excitting is that??? I hope to get the order out by Friday so keep your fingers crossed the rain stays away.

Growing my empire.

Tonight I was going to have a nice big update at http://www.spindlefrog.etsy.com/ but I bought a new camera today and its just not playing nice. This is meant to be a better leaner cooler (more expensive) camera and so far its crap. Its changing the colours too much although the detail is ace. So you can have a really good close up shot of something you arent buying. Gah. I hope its just me and I will iron out the kinks. So my update has been delayed a bit. I have just listed this shetland though.

I have some lovely BFL & silk, some gotland, merino and silk hankies to go up as well. But I need the camera to take the picture I shoot rather than a pink version of it. Grr. Can you tell I am cross with it.

In other news I have got a drum carder on its way to me. YAY! I really can not wait. Batts batts batts all the way :0)

Going batty...

Just look at my lovely new fibre. Yes you, STOP right there and take a minute to just look at them. Arent they georgous? Im completely thrilled with them and keep taking them out to have a little squeeze. The top ones are from Wildcraft fibres and the bottom lot are from
warratahfibrecrafts's on etsy.

Falkland Update

Falkland Update
Originally uploaded by helix4612

As promised (to who? No-one but me reads this anyway..) the update post. Falkland. Yum. This is quickly becoming my favourite fibre to dye and spin. Its so squishy. So cuddlely. So yummy. This update had a Greek/Roman mythologic (is that a word???) slant with Pan, Venus, Aether, Demeter, Persephone and Flora taking a bow. I think Pan , left one on middle row and Persephones Return, bottom row middle one are my two favs. Some have already sold too which was bloody quick. Happy me. The corriedale is just having a bath now and will hopefully be listed tomorrow.

To celebrte my ONE MONTH Etsy birthday Ive treated myself to some Piegonroof merino and some mixed FeltStudio mini batts. I havent bought much fibre lately (doh) because of all the stuff I have but Ive always wanted to try Piegonroof stuff and to see how the merino feels. The only time I tried to dye some up it got slightly felted so I want to see how it should be. And the mini batts were just too cute to leave on the shelf. I really should be getting my parcel together for the UK spinners swap. Ive done a bit but not nearly enough shopping. I will get right on the case.

In other excitting news Ive placed a REALLY big fibre order. Yikes! It should be my September fibre for upates but Im a bit worried that it wont sell. This time I have gone for a few differint fibres to have a bash at and see how they go. Fingers crosse hey!

BFL Update

BFL Update
Originally uploaded by helix4612

This is the previous update for the shop. Ive missed one whole update out because Im a bad blogger. Oh yes I am. Very bad. But Im posting this one because the picture is so pretty. Most of these fibres have sold which is excellent but there is still alot of nice stuff up.

Ive been really pleased with how the shop is going. Im now one day away from my one month Etsy birthday and in that time Ive reached both of my little targets I set. I cant wait until next month. Ive been getting some really nice feedback and repeat customers which I am delighted about and Ive even seen photos of the fibre spun up. That makes me all smiley inside and I drag which ever family member is nearest to come and squee with me although they're a bit rubbish at that part.

Ive also been given some money to invest in Spindlefrog too. Excitting times ahead. Now Im having a long hard think about how to spend it. One idea is to buy a drum carder and make funky spinning batts with lots of bling and gliter. Or get a MUCH better camera or expand the range of fibres. Or spruce up the graffics in the shop and get some promo stuff. So much to think about. One thing I will be doing though is making the labels a bit more professional. That will be job number one I think. So watch this space....

There will be another update tomorrow (falkland) and wednesday (corriedale). I will post then...oh yes....

Spinners Swap is go!

Over to your left we have tonights update at the shop, www.spindlefrog.etsy.com. This little lot is falkland, a really great spinning fibre. Ive got one kilo of corriedale to dye up and then I will need to buy some more fibre.

In other news Ive heard from my swappee on the Ravelry UK Spinners board. She has been out of the country for a while but is back now and ready to go. I cant wait to get her questioner so I can begin getting the parcel together. I love this part but always worry that my handspun isnt going to be good enough which is strange because when I recieve handspun Im always totally thrilled with it. Ive yet to met a hank I dont like. Handspun = charm in my book so I know I will love the yarn Im sent from my swaper.

Im going to have a little spin of the Rose Garden Alpaca in a minute as Im dying to see how it turns out. And I really must get back to doing some knitting especially as Ive got to go to work tomorrow so that will mess arround with my crafts. Grr to work. Yay to spinning/dyeing/knitting.