Dyeing This Week...

I haven't dyed any wool for a while now, so this week I have given myself a goal.  I plan to dye two colors a day for the next five days.  This will replenish my Merino inventory and free me up to dye some samplers hopefully in the near future.  I got a head start yesterday with a batch of Porcelain Fair Merino and Sun Touched Merino.  Since I'll be in dyeing mode, this is a good week to hit me up for any specific color you may need.  You may want to check my Dyed Merino section first because it has a pretty nice variety.   

Doll Mohair Top

I just added 3 listings of Doll Mohair Top to the shop.  This fiber seems pretty popular lately, so I thought I would share it with you.  It's an ecru or natural mohair with an 8" staple length.  It has a nice luster and makes ideal hair for handmade dolls.  It's also easy to dye so you can customize your project. 

Direct Checkout is Coming to Etsy

I was just on Facebook seeing what my peeps are up to, when I saw an interesting update from Dank Artistry.  Etsy is rolling out Direct Checkout.  This means that before long, you can shop on Etsy without a PayPal account.  That's right, you can buy something from Wind Rose Fiber Studio with just a regular old credit card.  


I've added my shop to the queue and just as soon as my turn comes up, I'll be accepting major credit cards at Wind Rose.  I think it's a nice improvement to give buyers a choice.  You will still have the option of paying with PayPal if you prefer.  Personally, I'm a fan of PayPal, but it's always nice to have options!

Cultivated Silk Hankies ~ Back in Stock!

 
Hi,  I just wanted to swing by and let you know that I have Cultivated Silk Hankies back in stock.  I also have Tussah Silk, Cultivated Silk, Fawn Alpaca and Baby Camel.  Just check out the Undyed Fibers or the Alpaca and Rare Breeds sections of the shop.  It's so nice to have these luxurious fibers in the studio!

Mixed BFL & Then Some!

Hi,  I've just got one more quick note to let you know that I've been a busy little Etsy shop owner today!  There are a lot of new listings including this pretty Mixed BFL in amounts from 1oz up to a pound.  


There's Corn Fiber, Hemp, Mohair, all kinds of good stuff.  I really need to go through my inventory more often!

White Soy Silk ~ Back in Stock

I'm going through my inventory today and finding some goodies including a nice supply of White Soy Silk.  Sometimes, as a business comprised of one employee "ahem" me, things can get a little hectic.  This poor soy silk was just hanging out waiting to be noticed.  


Now it's back in the shop and I have it separated out into 1oz, 2oz and 4oz lots so you can buy as much or as little as you need.  Welcome back Soy!

Tunis from TriPlyFibers

I just ordered my first ounces of Tunis.  I've never tried Tunis wool before so I'm looking forward to a new experience.  At the same time, I'm excited to introduce a new Etsy shop, TriPlyFibers.  The owner of TriPlyFibers happened across my shop and realized that we were neighbors.  He lives in the next town just east of my own.  I'm grateful to Jerry for sending me a little note and the opportunity to make a new connection.  


When I found out that Jerry shears sheep for local farms, I was very curious to find out what kind of sheep people are raising.  I pass by quite a few small farms just driving around the valley.  When I see sheep, I always crane my neck to see if they might be a breed with fine fleece.  Most often, they are more primitive breeds.  Cute, but not the best spinning fiber.  So when Jerry told me he had some Tunis from a local farm, I was intrigued. 


I did a little research and was excited to find that Tunis sheep are an ancient breed.  I'm feeling a little sleepy tonight, so rather than summarize, I'm just going to pass on a link to this wonderful blog post by Sittin' n' Spinnin'.  I also found this picture of a Tunis sheep in the Wiki Commons.  I love how their wool has a "rose undertone" as Jerry puts it.  He has a nice supply of Tunis roving in his shop right now if anyone else wants to give this pretty fiber a try.  

Lace Weight Jute ~ It's almost gone!

About 18 months ago I bought this giant cone of lace weight jute at a guild auction.  Somewhere in my mind I thought that the crafting community would find uses for it.  Maybe the primitive doll makers or scrapbookers would like it.  On the other hand, I could wind up owning a giant spool of jute for the rest of my life.  In the end, I think I bought it because there was something absurd about buying over 11 pounds of jute.
  
I brought it home and started selling 2.5oz, center pull balls of jute for $1.20.  I figured the $1 was fair compensation for my time winding the jute into a ball and the .20 covered the listing fee.  So for just over a dollar, you could have 225 yards of lace weight jute for... whatever.
  
To my surprise, the jute was a big hit.  I found myself winding jute for people on a regular basis.  Still, the cone was so big that no matter how many balls I wound, it seemed to stay the same size.  Eventually, over time, my giant hunk of jute did shrink until one day this week a customer asked for $20 worth and I just sent her all I had left on the cone.  All that remains of the original 11+ pounds are 3 balls of jute that I had already wound and stored with my other fibers.

It feels the the end of an era, the jute dynasty or something.  Even my kids said, "Aw, the jute's gone?"  Absurd!  Well, even though this is a rather odd post to say the least, I wanted you to know that it's your last chance to buy 2.5oz of Lace Weight Jute for $1.20.  When these last three skeins are gone, they're gone for good.  Goodbye Jute!

Snowfall Studio ~ Crocheted Plushies for Children

I am very excited to share a new store on Etsy called Snowfall Studio.  The owner of this shop, Kristen, is a good friend.  We met when our oldest sons were both toddlers.  Each week our little playgroup would come together and we'd spend a couple hours trying to keep the kids happy while we also tried to have adult conversation.  Of course most of these conversations ended up being about our kids.  

When Kristen joined the group, I admired her right from the start.  She was quiet, but I could tell that she was tuned in to everything.  The rug rat chaos often made me crazy, but if it bothered Kristen, her face revealed nothing.  At coffee time with my husband, I would recount the previous play date and tell him that the wise woman of the group was certainly Kristen.  

Over the years we've stayed in touch even though we have both moved away from the neighborhood where we first met.  Kristen is the mother of four beautiful kids.  The youngest is now in school, so for the first time in 14 years, she has a little free time.  She is devoting some of these precious hours to making original, crocheted designs for children.  

I love her mermaids with their Waldorf inspired simplicity and their whimsical details.  The one to the left is my favorite because I like the colors.  I guess I have a thing for brunettes.  I didn't mean to saw her in half, but I want you to be able to click on the picture and see the details for yourself.  I love the shape of the mermaid's tail and Kristen's stitches are so flawless.  The starfish accents are the perfect touch to bring your imagination to life as you picture this mermaid in her magical home.  

Kristen also makes kitties, turtles and birds.  Quality is very important to her as she knows these will become beloved toys.  They are made for play and though I may be getting a little old for dolls, I'm getting ready to place an order at Snowfall Studio.  I can just see my mermaid, perched on a rock by the swimming pool or maybe on the chaise with a good book! 

January's Ornament ~ Sneak Peak

I've been doing my best to get back into regular blogging this year.  That's why it's killing me that I don't have a little more free time today to post the pattern for January's ornament.  Instead I have a sneak peak for you.  I made these last night while writing pattern notes.  I played around with sizes and also made the attached ones on the left.  I've always liked ornaments that drape over a tree branch.  Give me another day or two and I should have the pattern posted. 

I also have a teaser for the crochet fans out there.  I just found out that a good friend of mine has opened a new Etsy shop.  She is making the cutest crochet plushies.  I can't wait to share her work with you!

That's what's coming up this week and I'm sure there will be more.  My local multicultural festival is coming up, so I'll be getting ready for that too!

Two Skin Tones ~ Back in Stock

I'm still busy dyeing Merino to restore all of the color choices.  Back in stock today are Sun Touched and Mediterranean.  These are the two most popular shades from the skin tone line.  Sun Touched is fair with just a hint of peach glow.  Mediterranean is a soft brown with a very subtle olive undertone. 

First Dye Almost Dry

It's a drying party on the studio room floor as yesterday's dyed colors lay out and enjoy the sun coming through the window.  They are about 90% dry after spending yesterday afternoon outside in the sun and fresh air.  The weather is wonderful for dyeing in the Valley of The Sun this week, mid 70's and sunny.  By tomorrow morning, this Merino top will be more than ready to ship off to new homes.  As such, I've already listed them in the store.  If you want to see their close-ups, click the color links:  Russet, Bright Yellow, Crimson, Pink Blush, Golden Ochre and Happy Green!

Cyber Monday Sale!

Cyber Monday is almost here and this year you can save 15% on everything at Wind Rose Fiber Studio!  Just use the coupon code: 

CYBERFIBER1

Wishing you a warm and woolly holiday season! 

(December 28th from 12am to Midnight EST.)

Does Your Santa Need A Beard?

The Christmas craft season is underway and with it the hunt for pure white fiber. It comes in handy for all sorts of projects from Santa's beard to snow dusted pine branches. Many customers ask me for white wool, but the truth is, unless bleached, wool in it's natural state is more of an ecru. If you want seriously white fiber, Snow Mountain is a nice product for crafting.

Snow Mountain is a nylon that is prepared into a top like wool. It's soft and has a nice staple length of approximately 4 inches. It's easy to spin and though it will not wet felt, it needle felts with ease. The fibers can also be teased apart to create a snow covered landscape. It's a very handy craft fiber to have around and right now I have it listed in 1oz, 2oz and 3oz sizes.

If you like the idea of Snow Mountain, but you also like a little sparkle, there's a new fiber on the block. It's called StarBright. StarBright is a high luster tri-lobal nylon product that has more luster than Snow Mountain. StarBright is a 3 Denier nylon. If we transfer Deniers to Microns, that would make StarBright a 19 micron nylon, so it's a very soft fiber. The staple length is approximately 3 inches. It's a nice way to add a subtle sparkle to your crafts.

If you feel that there is no such thing as too much sparkle, then Firestar is the fiber for you. Firestar is also a nylon and when it comes to sparkle, it's one of the best! It has about a 4" staple length and it too will needle felt just like StarBright and Snow Mountain.

If you're reading this and thinking to yourself that all this is well and good, but you really just prefer natural wool. I hear you and I'd like to recommend Falkland top. It's natural color is quite light and it has a very long staple length. It averages around 5" so you could give Santa a nice long beard. Sometimes using natural wool gives your crafts a more homey or vintage feel. Whatever fiber you choose, have a wonderful, crafty time!

Firestar Holiday Samplers!

I guess I can't fight it anymore. Thanksgiving is just a couple weeks away which means Christmas is right around the corner. The requests for Firestar in holiday colors have been rolling in, so here we go!

Today I just added Firestar Holiday Samplers to the shop at Wind Rose. They include 1/4oz each of Merry Green, Yellow Gold, Silver and Holiday Red. As you know, a little Firestar goes a long way, so this should be enough to add sparkle to your needle felted holiday crafts. Of course you can also blend it with other fibers and spin it up for pretty, luminous yarns.

If you're a big fan of Firestar and 1/4oz just isn't enough. You can also find these four colors sold by the ounce in my Firestar & Craft Supplies Section.

Happy Holidays!

Ecru Bouclé Mohair Yarn

I love bouclé yarns. They add just the perfect touch of texture and they're so soft. That's why I'm adding Ecru Bouclé Mohair Yarn to my inventory at Wind Rose. I'm putting it up in 250 yard hanks that are loosely bound and ready for dyeing or painting.

Cinnamon Merino

There's a brand new color at Wind Rose Fiber Studio and that color is Cinnamon! It's a really beautiful brown with russet undertones. When I was deciding on a name, cinnamon spice came to mind. I think it will look very pretty blended with all of the colors of autumn.

Great Skeins ~ Handpainted Sock Yarns ~ They're New!

I'm adding handpainted sock yarns to my inventory at Wind Rose and these are the first two! Crimson Wine has two shades of crimson red contrasted by a deep burgundy. Turquoise & Spruce ranges from a deep spruce to a light turquoise with shades of pewter grey.

All the yarn details are on their listings, but I wanted to explain why I'm calling them "Great Skeins". I gave them this name because of their yardage. Each skein comes with a bountiful 500 yards which is enough for a lot of sock patterns not to mention all sorts of projects.

To you, my blog readers, I'll share my inspiration. It's rather self serving. You see, maybe about a year ago, I got the idea in my head to spin a bunch of yarn and dye it so I would always have whatever I needed at my fingertips. Months later, it has become painfully clear that I just don't have enough free time to do all of that spinning. Well, I figure the next best thing is to at least paint my own yarn. I use fingering or sock weight yarn all of the time so I decided that it would be a good place to start.

So why am I selling my stash? I guess just because I enjoy making things and selling them. I also figure that there is no reason for pretty skeins of yarn to have to wait until I get around to using them. If someone buys one of my favorites, I'll just paint some more. I guess it's first come, first serve!

Alpaca/Cultivated Silk Top

This pretty fiber is 80% Black Alpaca and 20% Cultivated Silk. I've actually carried this fiber for quite some time at Wind Rose, but I wanted to showcase it again today. It's now being processed to show off the colors better than before. This product used to be a soft grey, but now the silk and Alpaca are a little less blended giving this combed top a gorgeous salt and pepper look. It is luxuriously soft and now incredibly striking too!

Introducing StarBright!

It's always fun to welcome a new product to Wind Rose Fiber Studio and I'm especially excited about StarBright! StarBright is a blending nylon. More specifically, it's a high luster tri-lobal nylon that, although it doesn't have the luster level of Firestar, has far more luster than Snow Mountain. StarBright's softness is equal to a 19 micron wool which puts it in the superfine realm. It also has a great staple length of approximately 3 inches. I think you're going to enjoy this wonderful new addition to the blending nylon family!