6 posts tagged “batt-tacular”

So, I haven't been online as much lately, but oh, I HAVE been spinning! Lots and lots of new yarns, though some have sold, and more are coming! Here are the latest -

Beautiful Bamboo - Summer Neon Taffy - Two skeins available here and here or click on the picture below.

FunctionArt - Pink Lemonade - a smaller art yarn skein spun from merino wool with novelty yarns/fibers spun in and plied with thread. Sort of coordinates with the Novel-Ply "Citrus Sun" and I do also plan on having two more skeins in brighter shades of orange, yellow, and pink.

Novel-Ply - Citrus Sun

FunctionArt/Batt-tacular! - Aqua Splash! - spun from a carded batt from TerraBellaSpun.

This single ply yarn was spun by me from a blended fiber batt from ButterflyGirlDesigns. It is 67% bamboo, 25% merino wool, and 8% nylon firestar. She called it "The Curtain Dress" inspired by the dress Scarlett O'Hara made from curtains in Gone with the Wind. It is beautiful intense shades of teal, gold, and black.

Kitty Singles - Vintage Spring - hand dyed Falkland wool dyed by the Yarn Wench, spun by me.

And, another FunctionArt/Batt-tacular yarn, spun from a carded fiber batt from FeltStudioUK.

Another single ply -

And, more bamboo! This is a new color, "Seashore" . . . I'm calling it Seashells by the Seashore, just because I like the ring to it! I have two skeins available here and here, or click on the picture below.

And, one more FunctionArt/Batt-tacular! yarn - spun from the "Sexy" batt from FeltStudioUK. I just LOVE the colors in this one! Wasn't sure at first the combination would work, but . . . I think it did!
In other news, I officially purchased health insurance today! (For when my job ends at the end of the month.) It is just something I refused to NOT have, so . . . even though it is costly, it will be a good thing knowing I am covered . . .

But, dealing with things like this are really making me start to freak out a little in regards to having no job! I only have 8 days left! I haven't not had a job since . . . god, since I was like, 12?? Okay, those weren't official jobs, but I have been working for a very long time - AND I have been working in libraries since 1990!? How weird will it be not to anymore? Though, I do hope to return to a library at some point - right now I'm thinking/hoping maybe the end of the year or beginning of next . . .

Ah, but who knows. I've got to just take this one day at a time, I think.

That's all from me today!

OH! One more thing - I am taking part in the Etsy-wide YART SALE in my Kitty Grrlz Knits shop! I've got 12 items listed for very reduced prices - check them out HERE.

Not much to say today, and only one new yarn to show - Violet Moon - a Batt-tacular! yarn spun by me from a carded batt of merino and superwash wools from TerraBellaSpun.

It is now on etsy and also my website.

In other news - I did spun up two yarns last night that should be listed later today. One is a "Novel-Ply" yarn - plied with Moda Dea Fur Ever yarn, and the other is another "Batt-tacular!" yarn spun from another batt from TerraBellaSpun. Tonight I am hoping to spin up a bright aqua/turquoise/purple art yarn, and get some bamboo prepped . . .

speaking of bamboo - I am going to be running a featured yarn ad on Ravelry starting Friday (hopefully). I ordered almost 10 pounds of bamboo to spin up over the next 2 weeks so that I could be listing new bamboo while the ad was running . . . and now . . . I've very worried. I haven't gotten the package yet! According to tracking it seems to be IN Milwaukee . . . just not delivered yet?!?!? But, since it is Priority Mail . . . it just seems odd. So, I am *really* hoping it arrives today . . . if it does, I hope to have some new bamboo daily for the next two weeks!

So, for anyone into fiber/spinning, you may be aware of LOOP - her batts were on the cover of Spin-Off magazine recently, and the demand has definitely increased for her wonderful fiber batts. But, none of them compare to her "Spontaneous Spinning Batts" - from her listing, this is a description of the batts:

"Spontaneous Spinning Batts are lumpy, bumpy, super textured spinning batts inspired by an awesome experience I had at Camp Plucky Fluff! These OOAK batts are an exercise in NOT thinking and letting spontaneity take over. I have so much fun making these batts but you'll have even more fun spinning them! They are carded to intentionally create lumps and bumps in the fiber with loads of color and lots of goodies like glitz, locks, yarn scraps, sari silk, silk noils and even sequins carded in! The result is fabulous texture and automatic randomness in your yarn. As you spin these batts, be spontaneous- let the batts spin themselves. It's so much fun!!!"

They are near impossible to get - when they appear in her shop they are gone in SECONDS! Seriously, I know. But, a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to snag *two* of them! And, both in two of my favorite colors . . . . which also happen to be the colors in my logo - orange and purple!

The first one - Purple Progression. I LOVE purple, so this batt was perfect! And, so fun to spin! It contained Corriedale wool, bamboo, alpaca, silk, and merino with a little sparkle, too. I spun in 6 different purple yarns - 3 light and 3 dark - and then plied with shiny light purple thread. The pictures don't quite do it justice, but here is the finished yarn - Plum Perfect Purple:

The second one, well, is quite opposite! The batt was called "Creamsicle" and has shades of orange, yellow and white in it for just an amazing brightness! The fibers in this one are bamboo, silk, alpaca, wool, and of course glitz. I spun in yellow and orange yarns and plied with a variegated orange/yellow/white thread. The blends of fibers give this one a really interesting texture - mostly soft/smooth but with some bumpy parts from the yarns spun in and the wool. I'm calling this skein, "You Are My Sunshine" :
Alas, these are the only two "SSBs" I've had the luxury to spin, but I did join her "Spontaneous Spinning Club" which means I will be getting one new batt each month! Yay! I've also got some batches of "babycakes" on the way, which will be combined for various types of yarns . . .

While I would love to spin nothing but SSBs and babycakes, I do have other fiber to spin, and recently had the joy of trying out a new fiber seller - FeltStudioUK . I was asked to spin up the "Forest" batts . . . I made sure I got extra fiber so purchased two batt lots - and with the smaller one I spun up this yarn:

This smaller skein IS available as I will be spinning a slightly different skein with the other batch for the custom request.

I spun up yet another batt last night - this one from TerraBellaSpun - and that one should be listed later today. It is pretty shades of purple and blue (with shades in between) and black, plied with three threads to match the lighter colors. It also has a bit of sparkle in it! Since it is mostly merino wool, it turned out as a soft & squishy bulky yarn!

Tonight, I'll be stepping away from the batts for a bit and will be spinning up some merino top hand dyed by the Yarn Wench. Or Bamboo. Or both. We'll see! :)

This weekend I will be at the Hilldale Mall in Madison, Wisconsin for the "Artistic Accessories" show! I will have lots of hand knit shawls, light scarves, wristwarmers, and more! Hours are basically mall hours - Saturday 10am-9pm and Sunday 10am-6pm. If you are in the area, come on by for great Mother's Day gift shopping, or to find something special for yourself!

And, since I can't possibly have a post without yarn pictures - here are some new yarns!

First, the Divine Melon skeins ARE available!

And, some single ply yarns spun from batts of wonderful fiber!

That's it for me! While I will be spinning over the weekend at the show I won't have anything new posted until next week - lots of art yarns coming and more!

Tuesday, I spun up two batts from TerraBellaSpun. They are "Batt-tacular!" yarns as I spun them from carded batts of various fibers. This series, though, is called "Elementals", and so far, I introduce to you, "Earth" and "Fire"

Not sure if or when I will do others in this series, but you never know!

Last night, I returned to the fun art yarn spinning, and spun up something I think I may call "Strawberry Fields Forever". Even though strawberries aren't really this pink in color, I just couldn't help but think of this as I spun it. (Though it could have been the fact that American Idol did Beatles songs again this week so I have them on my mind. Speaking of, very disappointed to see Amanda go, even though she probably wouldn't have made it much farther - I just was hoping Kristy was the one to go since she is SOO boring to me!) ANYways . . . these two skeins will be listed this afternoon. One is 98 yards and the other 102 yards. Both spun from hand dyed merino wool (dyed by the Yarn Wench) with novelty yarns spun in and plied with bright green thread, with coils and beehives throughout (though not *too* many, just enough for some added fun and texture!)

First, I've got to share some pics of my spoiled Bug girl! Instead of sleeping under my spinning wheel yesterday, she decided to lounge amongst her toys!


Then, there are the new yarns. ALL of these are now on my website, and should be listed on etsy during today and possibly tomorrow (yes, I am trying to spread out my listings on etsy instead of doing them all at once.)

Batt-tacular! Hand Spun Yarn - "Yesterday's Neon"
Spun from a carded batt of merino wool, alpaca and glitz.

Batt-tacular! Singles Hand Spun Yarn
"Roses"
Spun from a carded batt of superwash wools and sparkle!
Batt-tacular! Singles Hand Spun Yarn
"Violets"
Spun from a carded batt of merino, superwash wool, mill ends wool and glitz.

And, finally, here is another skein of hand spun bamboo fiber, "Smashin' Satin" which also matches the Navajo 3-ply I have in my shop, too.
I haven't come up with a snazzy name yet for the bamboo yarns, but I'm working on trying to "categorize" and name all of my styles of yarn. This stems from wanting to try and get my yarns re-organized in Ravelry to match the way the "big" yarn companies do it. So, for example, ALL of my yarns will be "Kitty Grrlz Hand Spun", then they will have a style name - like Batt-tacular! (which are yarns spun from carded batts), and then the colorway. Coming up with "style/type" names has been difficult, and so far the only ones I'm using that I like are Batt-tacular!, Batt-tacular! Singles, and CoilySpun (these are the super coily yarns). But, over the next couple of weeks I hope to have them all named and organized! :)