Giveaway

I just to hit my 500th sale at my Etsy Shop!!! Yaaaay!!! And I want to celebrate it with a giveaway. I want to thank all of my costumers. Every single one of you that have help me to reach this goal. All of you have been very supportive and you are the best!!! It has been a learning curve for me since I opened my shop. I had made some mistakes, like selling an item that I didn’t have on my inventory.  Yikes!!!! Eventually the sneaky item appeared somewhere else…unexpectedly.  How it got there? I still don’t know. Fortunately I have the best costumers and with a good sense of humor!!

And to celebrate my half milestone I have 4 oz of Superfine Merino to give away. The colorway here is called Morocco. The drawing will be held on October 16th. I still not sure the time yet…To be posted later on…

Here are the details:

1. Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Ravelry or blog about it with a link to my blog.

2. Come back to this same post and leave a comment.

3. Don’t forget to leave an email address to be able to be contacted.

4. Comments left on other posts won’t be eligible.

I will be happy to mail anywhere in the world using first class mail so, anyone is welcome to sign up.

And if you feel like, click the Like button on my Facebook fan page for future updates about my shop.

Thank you for participating and Good Luck!!!

Patricia

Shop Update

I just updated my shop with new items. I love the pretty colors of the roving and the teeswater is really a treat to work with. I’m having a hard time to letting go, but I already have plenty of fiber to work with.

I listed this colorway last week, but I didn’t have much time to post it here. Tesoro Magico is a blend of Merino and Tencel.

And the list for today starts with:

Ruffles which is very soft Merino Lambswool. Lots of bright colors in this colorway!

Bromeliad 100% Superfine Merino

Truffle 100% Superfine Merino

Split Pea I love this color. I had it in my shop a few months ago, so I recreated the color again. Thanks for looking. Have a great day!~

Note: As I was updating the blog, the Teeswater sold! But I still want to add a picture of the wool, just because is so pretty! Thanks Lush Mommy for purchasing it! Enjoy!

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”

Henry Ward Beecher

February Phat Fiber Theme: Master Painters

I knew I had to work with Frida Kahlo’s palette. I had visited her Casa Azul in Mexico City a few years ago. The place is converted into a museum and filled with her personal belongings and walls painted in cobalt blue. Frida Kahlo was born in that  same house and lived with husband Diego Rivera. So, I decided to work with Milk Protein Fiber because it takes the dyes so intensely…like Frida’s paintings…

And here are my fibers ready to be sent to the Phat Fiber’s headquarters. Do you want to know when the box samples goes on sale? Go here: http://phatfiber.com/notifyme.htm.

I’m hoping I can have the time to work with the real size roving very soon. It has been raining a lot and everything gets too long to get dry. Meanwhile I was able to work on some carded batts and post them in my Etsy shop.

This is Springtime. Blend of merino, silk, angelina, milk protein fiber and more fun stuff. I think I’m starting to get tired of foggy days and wet days, I need color!

This is Prenup. Or should I have called it “Worst case scenario”? Blue Face Leicester with Milk Protein Fiber, angelina, merino. Fun stuff…

Facemask. Merino, Firestar, Angelina.

Still Life. Another wonderful blend of Merino, but this time a add some Masham which is a crossbreed between Teeswater sheep and Dalesbred.

” I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.”

~ Frida Kahlo

Hi there,

I just updated my Etsy shop, but I haven’t time to post it here. Warning!!!! The list is going to be long! I would like to start with Patina, because I made two versions of this colorway. One version is more saturated in color more that the other:

This is Patina with more intense colors. Blue Face Leicester. Very soft stuff…

Patina. And this is the other version, less intense than the previous one.

Aria. Sold. Blue Face Leicester

Terra. 100% Superfine, supersoft Merino

Blue Mountain. Merino. Great for felting.

Blossom. This is a blend of Merino-Tencel 50/50. I love the shine of this fiber blend

Leaf song. Sold. This is a special blend of Kid Mohair 63%, Merino 25% and Nylon 12%. Once this blend is gone, is gone!

I will be posting later tonight with more new colorways…

“Continual cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom.”

~Irish quote

New Items in my shop

I keep having fun dyeing milk fiber. And is because it takes the dyes so beautiful, the fiber is so silky and yummy!Don’t forget if you would like to see a specific listing in my shop, just click at the picture to get redirected.

Daylily. 100% Milk Protein Fiber

I Love Paris.Sold. Another pretty colorway and the blend is Mohair 63%, Nylon 12% and Merino 25%

Dawn and Dusk. Really nice rustic colorway. 100% Merino (overdyed)

Plum Caramel. Sold.100% Alpaca (overdyed)

Cameo. 100% Milk Protein Fiber.

Shop updated…After reshooting once again!

Yesterday I lost all my pictures including the latest pics that I took of my new roving. I had to do it all over again. I really don’t mind doing it again, but I can’t stop thinking of the pictures I lost of my family and special moments with friends. I’m still hoping that they are somewhere in that little box that contains my external drive. Oh well..

On the other hand, I got my shop updated with new colorways and fibers. I’m so happy with the results. I have Milk Protein Fiber, and a wonderful blend of 63% Kid Mohair 12% Nylon and 25% Merino wool. Both new to my shop. The Mohair blend is sooooo soft and for some reason I keep saying it is so silky.

Galah. Sold! 100% Milk Protein Fiber. This fiber is also very soft. It almost feel like liquid.

Bougainvillea. Sold. 100% Milk Protein Fiber

Bella. Sold. This is the new blend of 63% Kid Mohair 12% Nylon and 25% Merino wool. I’m very excited about this fiber.

Mokume. Milk Protein Fiber.

Snapdragon. Sold. 100% Superfine Merino

Flopsy Bunnies. Sold. 63% Kid Mohair 12% Nylon and 25% Merino wool.  I did this colorway for my January Phat Fiber Box Samples.

Peter Rabbit. Sold.  Another colorway for my January Phat Fiber Sample Box.

Also I would like my readers to know that Phat Fiber is giving a Super Phat Fiber Box this month and  when you buy something from me, you can enter your purchase on this Ravelry thread for the giveaway.

http://ravelry.com/discuss/phat-fiber-sampler-box/topics/966440

If you haven’t join Ravelry yet,  it is very easy and free. There is a great crochet, spinning and knitting community out there.

It’s true that we don’t know what we’ve got until we lose it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it arrives.

I don’t know who said that, but I like it…

Shop updated!

Finally! It took me a while to get into the dyeing motto. I got new fibers listed in my shop. You can click at the picture to go to my shop:

Tidal. Sold. Wonderful blend of 60% Merino and 40% Bamboo

Patina. Sold.100 % Blue Face Leicester. I love how soft and fluffy this fibers is. I’m never disappointing at this fiber (one braid left).

Flowers on the snow. Sold. 100 % Superwash Merino Lambswool. This fiber is very soft and drafts like a dream.

I can’t wait to list my new milk fiber. I’ve been learning to dye it and it was a little challenging at the beginning. Now I know what means when the fiber gets “crunchy”. That’s how my first batch came out! When I took it out of the dye pot, I knew immediately that the temperature was too high. The subsequent batches came out really nice. Soft and silky.

There is also a great blend of Merino-Mohair-Nylon in the drying rack  that I’m very excited about it. I was able to dye a pound of this fiber a couple days ago. The colors a very “springy” and cheerful. Now I have to go back to my dye pots. Have a great day!!!

“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”

~ Groucho Marx

Black Fiber Sale

I’m offering 20% off on my entire Etsy shop plus free shipping starting today until Friday 12am. The discount will be refunded via Paypal.

There is also a little story the my friend Mesa sent to me this morning:

A little something to put things in perspective. ..

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park , forest rangers
began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno’s damage..

One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched
statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat
sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.
When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under
their dead mother’s wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of
impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the
tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing
that the toxic smoke would rise.

She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her
babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her
small body, the mother had remained steadfast ..because she had
been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Teeswater wool

Yesterday, the postmaster mistress said to me: “Wait, you have a package!”. I almost forgot about it, the only package that I was waiting for was coming from the UK but, apparently there was a delay due to some sort of postal workers strike. She handled to me the package and indeed, it was my teeswater wool!

I have seen this wool on pictures only, so I didn’t know what to expect. As I opened the plastic bag,  I could see the bits and pieces of the wool showing from the holes. When I had all the wool in front of me, I was gleaming with happiness. I didn’t know how long the curls were.

The length of the wool varies from 8 to 12 inches.

I did a little bit of research online about this breed, and I found that this is one of the rarest sheep in the UK. Its origins are from Teesdale in County Durham and to this day they are only 300 pedigree breeding ewes. Many years ago, the farmers used to wash the sheep prior to the sharing, by letting them swim in streams for a few minutes, thus letting the wool float so the water would penetrate the fiber and getting rid of unwanted debris and the excess of the lanolin. Now days, it is illegal to use the natural streams to wash the wool this way, but they still have the practice of washing the wool by letting them swim in man made pools. The wool retains its curl after being washed.

It has a beautiful buttery color, but I’m sure it will go away after washing it. I’m planning to spin the long tail technique. I will post more about my progress.

I tried to find a pic to post here from Wikipedia, but I didn’t find anything.  Here is an image of the sheep that came in the package.

They are so cute!

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me !

Shop update

I haven’t updated my shop in a while! Maybe that’s why my sales are so low right now. I was wondering if this is happening to other fiber shops on Etsy. I’ve been playing with my new carder. I got a Louet Classic and I’m very excited about all the fibers I can card with it. I have a Strauch Finest, but I feel really funny about carding stuff like pieces of yarn and sari silk with it.

This is the first batt that I carded with the Louet, and is called Pecan Pie, I used the same fibers for my Phat Fiber Samples for the month of November. I used lots of alpaca, local mohair, angelina, firestar and costwold locks.

This is Mumbai Mirror, which I carded with merino, sari silk, lots of glitzy stuff and mohair locks. I also add some roving to my shop today. I’m so infatuated with my carder that I almost forgot to do some dyeing last week.

Mirror Mask, Superwash Merino. This is one of my favorites color combinations. I love the intensity of the blues and reds. I think if works very well.

Wildflowers. Superwash merino. I forgot to mention that the rovings are dyed with the Greener Shades

100 Bright Stars. Superfine Merino.  Lovely soft colors.

Thanks for looking. I now I going back to my new carder!

Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow