It has been a long time since I blogged last. I worked on some spindles like crazy and shipped them off to another store who is selling them on consignment for me. This is a great opportunity and I relish being able to say to my customers, "If you don't find what you want here, you can also try Greenberry House, they carry my spindles as well..." I feel so "out there" being able to say that!
To catch up quickly, I took another short break from making spindles to gather ideas, move to my new (well, used, but new to us) house and re-establish the craft room that is my work area. I still only allow people in who have signed the waiver against personal injury... 9/10 of my stuff: spindle pieces, parts, inventory, tools, other projects and the crocheting, spinning and weaving tools are in their places. The other 1/10 is still in their boxes on the floor, awaiting shelf space.
I am grearing up for the Pumpkin festival at Cestari Farms this month (11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26). This will be my first Pumpkin Festival and I have been working on adding fall-themed spindles to the mix. I have not listed them online yet, but will offer them on my site after the Pumpkin Festival is over. I know it isn't always possible to meet my customers in person, but I much prefer to be able to talk to the person and have them try out the spindle first, before purchasing it. It makes for a better fit in the long run.
If you read my blog and you'll be at the Pumpkin Festival, drop in and chat a while, I'd love to meet you.
The sometimes random ramblings of a crocheter, knitter, spinner, and spindle maker trying to record the creative process. Visit my shop at www.SpindlesandMore.com
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Yarn sale at SpindlesandMore.com
I'm offering my handspun yarns at 50% off. The sale is in anticipation of my move and it would be nice NOT to have to move all of my inventory with me to the new house.
Come take a look, at 50% off, for handspun yarn, you can't beat that deal!!
Come take a look, at 50% off, for handspun yarn, you can't beat that deal!!
New website still in progress...
Yes, the SpindlesandMore.com website is coming... eventually... We are trying to get all the information gathered into one place and organized so that it can be put up on the web in an easy-to-use way. When that finally happens, the etsy site will go down and the .com site will be the only way to access my spindles, yarns and wearable fiber art. Right now, I'm debating whether to update my etsy site listings, only to have everything moved in a little while or to wait, since all that same information has to be hand entered again on the .com site.
School is finally out for the summer and after tomorrow, I'll have 2 free days and a weekend before I head to a week-long teaching conference, then a week of vacation and then a move in mid-late July, I won't have a lot of time to work on my sites and keep them up to date. I am trying, though...
For those of you who have been wondering about the red and black shawl I was working on months ago, I've finally completed the weaving and only need to add the fringe, take it off the loom, set the weave and it is ready for wear. If I get off here and go work on it right now, I might be able to take it to school tomorrow and show it off...
See ya.
School is finally out for the summer and after tomorrow, I'll have 2 free days and a weekend before I head to a week-long teaching conference, then a week of vacation and then a move in mid-late July, I won't have a lot of time to work on my sites and keep them up to date. I am trying, though...
For those of you who have been wondering about the red and black shawl I was working on months ago, I've finally completed the weaving and only need to add the fringe, take it off the loom, set the weave and it is ready for wear. If I get off here and go work on it right now, I might be able to take it to school tomorrow and show it off...
See ya.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Come See Us at Sedalia!!
Spindles and More will be at the Sedalia Fiber Festival 2008!
Come see us and get an up close and personal look at our spindles. Test them for yourself before you make a purchase. Remember, I give free spindle lessons, whether you make a purchase or not.
Mark your calendars for May 24th from 10am to 4pm.
Here's the link: http://www.sedaliafiberfestival.com
This is my first juried show and I'm absolutely trying to NOT be nervous. I'm inventorying my spindles and making sure that nothing got bumped or bruised on the trip back from the Cestari Farms Wool Fair.
I've still got to get the indexing done on the spindles before I go and I've just found out that my ACL on my right knee is acting up. This could end up having some serious consequences as it may limit my mobility "in the real world" as well as with my spinning, which is how I keep sane on stressful days.
I confess to being semi-concerned about the ACL, but also somewhat excited at the prospect of the show.
Thought for the day: If you want to receive a smile, give one first.
Come see us and get an up close and personal look at our spindles. Test them for yourself before you make a purchase. Remember, I give free spindle lessons, whether you make a purchase or not.
Mark your calendars for May 24th from 10am to 4pm.
Here's the link: http://www.sedaliafiberfestival.com
This is my first juried show and I'm absolutely trying to NOT be nervous. I'm inventorying my spindles and making sure that nothing got bumped or bruised on the trip back from the Cestari Farms Wool Fair.
I've still got to get the indexing done on the spindles before I go and I've just found out that my ACL on my right knee is acting up. This could end up having some serious consequences as it may limit my mobility "in the real world" as well as with my spinning, which is how I keep sane on stressful days.
I confess to being semi-concerned about the ACL, but also somewhat excited at the prospect of the show.
Thought for the day: If you want to receive a smile, give one first.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Pictures taken...
I've got all the pictures of my new spindles taken and labeled, I just don't have everything listed on the site yet. The spindles are so gorgeous and shiny with the three coats of polyurethane on them, they look like candy. If it wasn't for the fact that I already have too many spindles, I'd want to keep these too. I know I can't keep them and they weren't made for me to keep anyway. I made them to share the beauty of the skill of spinning with other people.
One of the differences in making my spindles is that I want each to be different. I don't want any of my spindles to meet another and say "What the heck? You look like me!" Even the concept spindles like the Teach Me spindles, while all having the numbers on them, each has a different color scheme. I love the rich colors of the paints and the polyurethane brings out such a depth. I've seen all kinds of other spindles and some are very lovely, but my spindles are different from the mass produced spindles that copy the same pattern of spindles over and over. They are made one at a time and each has an inspiration. Feel free to ask the story behind a spindle that interests you if I forget to give its story online.
I'll try to update again when the rest of the spindles are listed.
One of the differences in making my spindles is that I want each to be different. I don't want any of my spindles to meet another and say "What the heck? You look like me!" Even the concept spindles like the Teach Me spindles, while all having the numbers on them, each has a different color scheme. I love the rich colors of the paints and the polyurethane brings out such a depth. I've seen all kinds of other spindles and some are very lovely, but my spindles are different from the mass produced spindles that copy the same pattern of spindles over and over. They are made one at a time and each has an inspiration. Feel free to ask the story behind a spindle that interests you if I forget to give its story online.
I'll try to update again when the rest of the spindles are listed.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Back From the Show
I spent this past weekend at the Cestari Farms Wool Fair in Churchville, VA. At this point in time, it is the only wool show I vend my spindles, yarns and crocheted fiber art at. I haven't branched out, partly because I don't have a lot of time to travel to other shows and partly because I lack the confidence to go and just do it. I get anxious as I pack my items, the tables, the chairs, all the inventory, the table covers, the racks, the spinning wheel, the canopy. And those things that I need to make my booth accessible by spinners and non-spinners. Will it all fit in the truck?? My anxiety level mounts, I recheck everything, I will be too far from home to travel back for anything forgotten. I get fidgety, I jitter, I flutter (not a pretty sight) and then everything is packed and I'm off. This year, I gave my Hubby the wool fair off and took a good friend instead...
And we had a BLAST!!! We set everything up (the only forgotten items were a table cloth and a sweatshirt for me). We rearranged, discussed strategy (Kelly would crochet on her projects and take pictures, I would spin and give lessons and teach people about spinning and maybe card some wool). This may sound unfair, but I really brought Kelly along for moral support and to spend some time chatting with her away from home.
We met an awesome couple, Laura and Pete, I hope they don't mind me mentioning them (if they do, they should contact me immediately). They had a booth next to us and saved our bacon when the wind picked up afternoon Saturday and tried to relocate our canopy in the field that the horse teams were plowing. Laura wrote a book entitled "The Kokopelli Journals" here's the link:
http://www.thekokopellijournals.com
This is one thing that I am learning about folks who travel the shows and wool festivals: They are a creative, caring, compassionate group of people who are very willing to help a anyone who needs it so that all can enjoy the time together. I want to be more like that and maybe I need the practice of traveling to more shows in order to learn that fine art.
I'll try to post some of the pictures Kelly took (ones without me in them) of the spindles and yarn and all that stuff from this weekend. Her website is at:
http://www.kdeeonephotos.com
It is late tonight and after a full day of work and some unpacking, as well as a chat with my sister, who is still in Bolivia (the link to the Home where she is working: http://www.talitacumi.org ) it is time I shuffle off to bed and prepare for another day. Look for updates to both the Etsy site and the dot com site as I list the new spindles for the public (those attendees at the wool fair this weekend had the advantage of getting first dibs on the new ones and snapped up a few of my favorites already).
And we had a BLAST!!! We set everything up (the only forgotten items were a table cloth and a sweatshirt for me). We rearranged, discussed strategy (Kelly would crochet on her projects and take pictures, I would spin and give lessons and teach people about spinning and maybe card some wool). This may sound unfair, but I really brought Kelly along for moral support and to spend some time chatting with her away from home.
We met an awesome couple, Laura and Pete, I hope they don't mind me mentioning them (if they do, they should contact me immediately). They had a booth next to us and saved our bacon when the wind picked up afternoon Saturday and tried to relocate our canopy in the field that the horse teams were plowing. Laura wrote a book entitled "The Kokopelli Journals" here's the link:
http://www.thekokopellijournals.com
This is one thing that I am learning about folks who travel the shows and wool festivals: They are a creative, caring, compassionate group of people who are very willing to help a anyone who needs it so that all can enjoy the time together. I want to be more like that and maybe I need the practice of traveling to more shows in order to learn that fine art.
I'll try to post some of the pictures Kelly took (ones without me in them) of the spindles and yarn and all that stuff from this weekend. Her website is at:
http://www.kdeeonephotos.com
It is late tonight and after a full day of work and some unpacking, as well as a chat with my sister, who is still in Bolivia (the link to the Home where she is working: http://www.talitacumi.org ) it is time I shuffle off to bed and prepare for another day. Look for updates to both the Etsy site and the dot com site as I list the new spindles for the public (those attendees at the wool fair this weekend had the advantage of getting first dibs on the new ones and snapped up a few of my favorites already).
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