Kitty Grrlz Knitz (& Spins)’s blog

So, yes, I was on vacation. I don't know why I don't like to just come out and say it. Well, actually I do. I think it's because I don't feel like I *should* take vacation so don't like to admit it when I do! Plus, I know Las Vegas can bring out some strong emotions in people - some love it, some hate it - and I like to keep most of my blogging focused on business. But, since I was gone for a whole week, I want to post a few random musings from our trip.

First, though, let's start with us getting ready to leave -

Apparently, Bug really wanted to come with us. I had my suitcase out on the couch, waiting for those last few things to be added, when she jumped right in and made herself comfortable. She really missed us while we were gone - she didn't stop meowing for HOURS once we returned! Maybe she was just trying to tell me about HER exciting week?

We arrived in Las Vegas Thursday morning, which was unusual for us. We usually like to go Sunday through Thursday - leaving late on Sunday night and taking the red-eye/overnight flight on Thursday - so are there for about 4 days. For some reason we couldn't find cheap enough airfare this year, so we ended up going Thursday - Tuesday, which amounted to 2 more days than normal! (The airfare WAS cheap, but we really prefer Sun-Thur.) Another note about flying - I was *VERY* disappointed to learn that you don't get the fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies on Midwest flights until AFTER 10am! Our flight was earlier than that, so no cookies. :(

In the airport before leaving, I bought a couple of puzzle books, mostly word searches. I thought they'd give me something to do on the flight and also take up time when I just wanted to hang out in the room. It was a smart move and they definitely ended up "saving" me some money! The more time I spent in the room, the less time I had to lose money!

And, since money was an issue, I didn't take as much as I have in the past, and tried to regulate it better. That first day, I don't think I played much at all. After lunch, and check-in, I played a little and then Scott did a poker tournament. Usually when he plays poker, I also hang out in the room. Not that I couldn't play slots, but I was determined to rest a lot on this trip, so I did just that! Puzzles and napping . . . not a bad way to spend the first day. We also had free internet in our room, so I brought the laptop. This really made me less anxious because at least I could check in every day just to make sure all was well in Kitty Grrlz land.

One of the main reasons we go to Vegas is so that Scott can play poker. Going during this time, lots of places have tournaments that would get you into the big World Series of Poker which I think starts soon. So, he plays poker, and I play slots. The funny thing is, he tends to be very unlucky in poker (plays really well and ends up losing because someone else gets lucky on the river!) BUT he is SO LUCKY when it comes to slots!!!! He won TWO small progressive jackpots while we were there!!! They were both won on the SAME kind of machine I won on last year, and that he won on two years ago. He hit one early on so was able to do a bigger tournament as well as a couple smaller ones, and the other one later so was able to come home with it. He also gave me a little money since by the weekend I was a bit behind where I wanted to be. This also coincided with our "bum around the Strip" day. See, we usually stay downtown, but always venture up to the Strip at least once. We went to the Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood (our favorite buffet), and then went to a couple casinos. We weren't really feeling it, though.

BUT, before we had left that morning (this was Sunday), I made a couple bets on the NASCAR race that was happening that day. Scott noticed that Joey Logano's odds were crazy - 80 to 1! - so we bet on him. A $5 bet. I usually do lots of these sports bets before we go - I take all the crazy long shots on football and hockey, and a few on baseball and basketball. The thing is, the last two years I haven't had money to make the bets. It always becomes one of those, "If I win, I'll make some sports bets." Of all the crazy sports bets I've ever made, I've not won a single one of them. Oh, I've come close - I had the Rays last year for the World Series and have also had teams bet on for the superbowl get as close as the playoffs. But, no winnings.

Until NOW! Joey Logano actually WON that race and I finally won a long-shot sports bet!!!! Woohoo!!! Thank you, Joey Logano, and Mother Nature (since rain definitely played a factor in the victory.)

That win really helped as then I was able to get through the last few days way ahead of my "daily limit" and thus also came home with money!! In my opinion, any time you can come back from Vegas with money in your pocket, you win!

I also have to thank Elvis and Star Wars! Those last couple days, I played alot of Star Wars - they have different machines and I was playing the one for the first movie, and it was doing things I've never seen before - hitting 5 of a kind all over the place! I think I got more out of that machine than I got from the sports bet!

With slots, if we stay disciplined, we have a system. Start with a certain amount, if you win and get over what you started with, cash out, pocket the winnings and put the original amount back in. IF you keep winning (which i was doing for awhile), you WILL come out ahead - or at least even - because you are still always working off of that original amount, with the "winnings" pocketed.

The thing is knowing when to stop. Unfortunately, I was chasing a bit by the end, so didn't end up with as much as I could have, but still feel I ended up ahead.

Then, there was Elvis. One of our favorite places downtown is this little corner slot place called Mermaids. They have girls out front in tropical costumes, and they give you beads as you walk in. They also have the most attentive waitresses - if you want to drink, go to Mermaids. We are usually barely through the door before they are there asking if you want anything. This can be a bad thing, though, as sometimes the goal is to NOT drink. They also have .99 hot dogs and deep-fried twinkies and oreos! They are also the only place left downtown (I think) that has slot machines that actually take and give coins! There is just something so cool about the sound of hundreds of quarters cascading out of a machine!! We also like it, because it can take up more time - cash out and feed those coins in one by one! Anyways, there was an ELVIS machine there that seemed to be doing pretty well, hitting a lot of the bonuses and just paying out alot. Usually, though, there was someone playing it, except for the last day. We finally got a chance to sit down at it. I put in 3 quarters for a max-bet spin and got the bonus right away! By the time I was done I won at least $200 on that machine alone. Once it started to slow down on the bonuses, though, I had to stop.

A few more comments on Mermaids - I do love it, but prefer it during the day. At night it can get a little crowded/rowdy and really loud. My favorite time for Mermaids is mid-day and early afternoon. And, another reason we like it is because they remember us - the waitresses know what we want and the manager even recognizes us from year to year. Early on, we were even mistaken for locals, which I kind of like. It has a lot more "corner bar" feel to it than "tourist strip" and that is what I prefer.

It's probably why I like downtown/Fremont Street in general better than the Strip. The Strip can just be so huge and intimidating and sometimes crowded. And, since we do tend to go in the summer when it is so hot (100+ degrees every day we were there, I think), downtown is nice since you are almost always walking in casinos or under the Fremont Street Experience canopy (that's the light show - this summer they are doing a 60s theme and also had a Michael Jackson tribute up. the only one we watched, though, was the "American Pie" one since that is one of my favorite songs!)

Anyways, we capped off the week with a bit of Pai Gow Poker. We had sat in on the Craps and Pai Gow Poker free lessons the first day we were there, but then never ended up playing either, until that last day. We played a bit, but didn't do very well. I may play a little more next time we go, though, just because it is something different than slots.

We ended up leaving for the airport sooner than usual as neither of us really wanted to spend or lose any more money. We got there 4 hours before our flight!?! It was a long 4 hours since we were both exhausted and just wanted to be home. But, before we knew it, we were on the plane getting our fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies! (Seriously, I love that they do this and I know it's just 2 cookies, but it is way better than peanuts!) Our flight arrived half an hour early and we were home by 6am. Bug sure was happy to see us, and while I am *definitely* happy to be home, I'm also not quite ready to get back to reality. I've got a few things I'm going to try and do the next couple of days, but I probably won't get back to my "regular" schedule until Sunday or Monday.

Look for new yarns to start appearing in my etsy shop on Monday, hopefully!

In the meantime, though, I am extending my shipping specials and sale sections through the holiday weekend as part of the Fourth of July Sale on etsy.

Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns - SALE SECTION HERE
Kitty Grrlz Hand Knit Items - SALE SECTION HERE

Plus, Free Shipping in the USA and $5 International Shipping.

All specials will end on Monday, though!

Today I listed three new single ply yarns in my etsy shop. They *might* be the last yarns I list for about a week, though I hope to still have a few new things tomorrow and maybe Thursday and Friday, but it will depend. Before I get to the new single plys, here are a couple of other notes -

My YART SALE continues until June 30! You can find yarns on sale (20-40% off!) in this section HERE. I'm also offering Free USA and $5 International Shipping until the end of the month as well. Once July 1 hits, though, the sale section will be gone and shipping prices will increase. My new shipping rates are as follows (and remember, this is PER ORDER, so no matter how much you purchase, you only pay one flat shipping rate):

USA - $5
Canada/Mexico - $10
Everywhere else - $12

BUT, if you sign up for my newsletter (see the sidebar on this blog, or go to the bottom of THIS PAGE) you will NEVER pay full price shipping - newsletter subscribers always have free or discounted shipping! I try and send out only one email per month that includes monthly specials, news, and upcoming show information.

Speaking of SHIPPING, I will *not be shipping any orders from JUNE 25-JUNE 30!* All purchases made and paid for during this time will be mailed out on July 1. My last trip to the Post Office will most likely be Wednesday before noon.

Finally, here are the new yarns! :)

Black Amber - 136 yards
Lost - 170 yards
Dill Pickle - 186 yards

I know this may be more of a fall/holiday colored yarn, but I couldn't resist getting this one spun up as it's been waiting for me to spin it for awhile. It is similar to last fall's "Holiday Spice", so even though it was spun from a different Yarn Wench colorway this time, I've kept the Holiday Spice name. I have two skeins, both 100 yards, and both a little more bulky as opposed to super bulky. Here is a mosaic of the skeins, which you can find on etsy HERE and HERE.

Not sure if I'll get to spinning today. We received free tickets to the NASCAR Nationwide Series race tonight, so we'll be going at some point. This afternoon I hope to prep some Falkland fiber for single plys, but not sure if I'll get to spinning them or not. I WILL be spinning lots of Falkland and bamboo singles over the next couple of days. I *think* I may take a break from the art yarns until the beginning of July, but who knows. I still have quite a few that are waiting and pretty much ready to go. I'll also be working on a couple of custom orders these next few days, too.

But, now, it's time to do some fiber prep!

I have finally spun up my latest "Plum Divine" skeins! I stayed up until 5am to do it, but they are done! (and, really, I was only up so late because I ended up getting such a late start on spinning yesterday!). I've got four, 3 are basically the same, but the 4th one is a little different in that it has 19 different novelty/specialty yarns spun in (as opposed to the 12 the others have.) This last skein has a bit more burgundy and yellow in it than the other 3. Here is a mosaic of the skeins, and below are links to the individual skeins in my etsy shop -

FunctionArt - Plum Divine - Hand Spun Art Yarn - 94 yards (1)
FunctionArt - Plum Divine - Hand Spun Art Yarn - 94 yards (2)
FunctionArt - Plum Divine - Hand Spun Art Yarn - 78 yards
FunctionArt - Plum Wine & Sunshine Divine - Hand Spun Art Yarn - 88 yards

Now it's time to get to work! I'm either going to be spinning two art yarn skeins tonight, or 4 Falkland single plys. It will depend on how I feel after exercising and an early dinner!

So, I had a change in spinning plans yesterday. After receiving a custom-spin bamboo order, I decided to spin up a couple of skeins of bamboo which didn't leave enough time to spin the Plum Divine. Instead, I spun two more Falkland wool single plys. TODAY I'm going to spin some Plum Divine and hopefully another color, too! Here is a mosaic of the new yarns listed -

Kitty Singles - Linnea - Hand Spun Single Ply Wool Yarn
Kitty Singles - Pink Grapefruit - Hand Spun Single Ply Wool Yarn
Beautiful Bamboo - Razzleberry - Hand Spun Single Ply Bamboo yarn - 186 yards
Beautiful Bamboo - Razzleberry - Hand Spun Single Ply Bamboo yarn - 162 yards

Well, as promised, I spun a totally new art yarn color yesterday and have the two skeins now listed in my etsy shop. As soon as I saw this hand dyed merino wool roving on the Yarn Wench site, I knew it would make a great art yarn. Called "Haunting", it's a very autumnal/fall color combination of dark blue and plum, with orange, gold, and rust in there, too. I spun two similar skeins, though one is plied with dark blue thread and the other is plied with orange/rust thread. You can find "Autumn Haunting" HERE and "October NightSong' HERE.

I also had time for one single ply - Brass Petals - spun from great Falkland dyed by Cloudlover. I have 6 more great colors ready to spin, and am hoping to have them all spun by the weekend, if I'm lucky.

Today, I hope to spin two more of the Falkland single plys and at least two skeins of Plum Divine art yarn. Tomorrow, more Falkland, and another NEW color of art yarn. I may have to slip some bamboo in here somewhere, too!

But, now I must get to spinning. To end, here is a mosaic of the new yarns:

First, just a note that I am keeping my sale section around until the end of June. You can find yarns reduced 20-40% off in the Sale Section in my Etsy Shop Here. I don't think I will be adding anything new to the section, but thought I would keep it until the end of the month with the yarns already reduced.

Today, I listed some new art yarns and yesterday, some new bamboo. The art yarns are actually colors I've spun before, but I had to spin them before spinning new colors because the fiber and materials were taking up room in my "staging area". Now that I've got these colors done, I am ready for some NEW colors! I've got one planned for today that is a new combination, and then I hope to spin some Plum Divine tomorrow. I'll also be spinning a few single plys today, if time allows.

Here are the new yarns - Sangria Garden Rose and Iris, Dreaming.

And, the new bamboo - Summer Carnival and Summer Neon Taffy

I didn't expect to have time today to list new yarns, but I just finished listing 5 new ones! I ended up spinning past midnight last night!

This morning started out pretty dreary - it was raining when we got up early to do our weekly grocery shopping - and I was worried about how the Family Reunion would go. But, by the time we were on our way around mid-day, the sun was coming out and it turned out to be perfect - partly sunny which kept it a little cooler, a little breezy, and all-in-all a perfect day! The reunion was fun, but wow, being out in the fresh air really made me tired. We got home at a very reasonable time which meant I could list the yarns from yesterday! I'm finally done doing that (had some issues with pictures, and took a break to watch Harper's Island) and now, at only 10pm, I think I'm calling it a night! I've got a full day of spinning ahead of me tomorrow and I want to be ready - I'm determined to do one more day of single ply yarns - probably bamboo - and then Monday it is going to be a week of art yarns! (Okay, there are going to be a few Falkland wool singles in there, too, since I've got a nice order coming from Cloudlover, but my focus this next week is going to be on art yarns.)

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY of my YART SALE!! I've added a few more yarns today, including these new ones, and may add one or two tomorrow morning. Here is where you can find my items -

Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns - YART SALE SECTION HERE
Kitty Grrlz Hand Knit Items - YART SALE SECTION HERE

And, finally, here is the mosaic of the new yarns!

My YART SALE continues today and through the weekend. I've added four new single ply yarns today that are all in my YART SALE Section. Here they are -

I've also been adding a few yarns here and there to the sale section as well.

Tomorrow we are going to a family reunion, so I don't think I'll be adding any new items, but I AM going to add a couple items to the sale section. (I'm thinking at least 2 art yarns and they will most likely be the Sangria Garden skeins). Sunday, I should have some brand new skeins to list (that is if I get anything spun TODAY as I sure won't be spinning tomorrow!) and then starting Monday I will be spinning mostly ART YARNS!! ALL WEEK!!! I will probably end up sneaking some others in there, too, but I'm really needing to spin something a bit different than all these single plys I've been doing this week.

And, as a reminder, here is my YART SALE info for both of my shops AND my destash specials -

Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns - YART SALE SECTION HERE
Kitty Grrlz Hand Knit Items - YART SALE SECTION HERE

Please come by and join in the YART fun!

But, wait, there's more! Remember my destash from last month? Well, I still have some fiber and yarns available. For the duration of the YART SALE, you will also receive the following discounts on destash:

Fiber - 20% off
Yarn - both commercial and handspun - buy two or more lots and get 15% off

You can find the fiber posts HERE and HERE and HERE, the commercial yarn post HERE and the handspun yarn post HERE. You can email me at kittygrrlzinc@yahoo.com if you are interested in any of the destash items!

Today kicks off the Second Annual YART Sale on etsy, sponsored by the ESST Team. I am taking part in both of my shops. I have a YART SALE SECTION in each shop and all the items in these sections have been discounted 20-40% off! This sale runs from today, Wednesday, June 10 through Sunday, June 14.

I will be adding new items to the yarn section once per day. Usually these will be NEW items, but on the weekend they may be ones already in my shop. Today, I'll be listing some bamboo for the YART SALE at 20% off.

Here is how you can find my items -

Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun Yarns - YART SALE SECTION HERE
Kitty Grrlz Hand Knit Items - YART SALE SECTION HERE

Please come by and join in the YART fun!

But, wait, there's more! Remember my destash from last month? Well, I still have some fiber and yarns available. For the duration of the YART SALE, you will also receive the following discounts on destash:

Fiber - 20% off
Yarn - both commercial and handspun - buy two or more lots and get 15% off

You can find the fiber posts HERE and HERE and HERE, the commercial yarn post HERE and the handspun yarn post HERE. You can email me at kittygrrlzinc@yahoo.com if you are interested in any of the destash items!