Here a fiber there a fiber...everywhere a fiber, fiber.....

Oh my!  Today I started culling through my stash of fibers.  This is the part that is organized so far. We won't talk about the bins in the garage..... ;)  Let's just say, I should probably focus more on creating and less on buying.....
I'm not quite sure how to explain my new collection to Mr. Sunshine......:)

I'm sure there are others out there that have the same problem...right???......

Maybe a 12 step program is in order.....

Have a wonderful weekend!

I dipped my toe in....

Well I am going to try it.  Etsy that is....but only for batts.  Since I love making them, and well if they don't sell, I'm sure I will use them somehow.  I'm still not sure about the whole shipping deal so, I mirrored one of my favorite shops.  We will see how it works out.

Anywho...I have been on Spring Break this week.  Basically I have been hanging out with my hubby (who took some time off) and my girls.  We went to a wedding on the beach on Wednesday.  Sometimes I REALLY love living here in Florida...it was gorgeous.....both the wedding and the weather!  We are gearing up for a busy month. My oldest graduates from high school!!!  I am so proud of her and some days it just takes my breath away when I see her for the beautiful and smart woman she is becoming.  i love being a mom! :)  Have a great day!

I finally did it!

Woohoo, I figured out how to knit.  Okay, I can do a knit and purl stitch......but hey it's something!  I am doing "continental style" knitting vs. "english style".  I tried both styles but found that the continental was most comfortable for me.  For some reason it finally clicked for me. 
I know what I will spend my day practicing.

I also made a journal cover.  I included sari silk and silk caps into the cover, but it didn't show up as much as I had hoped it would-the texture is awesome.

Hi I'm Kelly and I spin rope......:)

I am not going to give up!  Yesterday I went to a guild meeting and picked all of the wonderful spinners heads.  These ladies are spinning beautiful yarn!  We had a demonstration on Navajo Plying, it was really neat watching it!  All I do know is that if I decided to Navajo ply any of the "yarn" that I have made so far, it would then become rope.........I did get some questions answered about the settings for my wheel and now understand that I have had the brake set incorrectly, which has caused me to continue to over spin.  I also learned that I need to pre draft even more than I had been.  So today I am going to sit down and try to put into practice what I learned yesterday.  I did promise to bring my wheel to the next meeting ( so that alone will force me to practice so I don't embarrass myself)!  I also met a wonderful spinner and knitter who lives about 15 minutes from me!  She has offered to help me!  So all in all, yesterday was an awesome day for meeting new friends, and learning new things.
Also, Kimberly, of Woodland Hills Alpacas, sent me home with the prettiest rose gray alpaca fleece.  It is amazing and I cannot wait to clean it up and make something!  The Alpacas looked so silly with their pom-pom heads after their shearing and the stories about how they didn't recognize each other were so funny!

Here is a new bag I made yesterday, using these curly cotswold locks!  I'm trying to use all of this blue that I dyed up.....

My week...

Every single day after work, no matter how worn out I was, I made myself work on something creative....it actually made me forget how tired I was!

I started another embroidery class with artist Susan Sorrell, called Dippity Do.  Each week we have a new part to work on for our Dippity Do characters.  This week has been sewing down the applique pieces.  Next week we will be moving into the decorative stitching.  I love her online classes! 

Another project I am working on includes using my hand spun yarn.  Since I am still in the beginning stages of learning, I have decided to take all of the practice skeins and create a project with them together......I am sure it will be very strange looking with all of the crazy color combinations, but I'm okay with that! ;)

The final project I worked on was a wet felted bird.  I saw a cartoon bird on a business card and remember seeing on a web site a similar bird, so I drew it out and put the drawing away.  As I was cleaning my junk table desk, I found the drawing again and decided to wet felt the body.  It is filled with dried beans.  My dog Morgan, who seems to REALLY love my felted pieces has relocated this poor bird a few times.  I ended up putting it up on a shelf that she cannot reach!  Crazy dog!!  Today I head off to my 2nd guild meeting.  I am excited to see the Alpaca that were sheared, they did it on Thursday, so I am sure they look quite different from my visit last month! 

I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend!!

My favorite kind of washing!

Today started early for me.  I'm an earlybird and love the quiet time I have in the morning while the rest of the family is sleeping- I seem to get tons done and don't feel too guilty for taking some me time.
 I decided to start washing some of the Alpaca fleece that I purchased when I went to the last Fiber Arts meeting.  I have sorted most of it and decided I want to try spinning some.....it still needed to be washed, so that's what I spent my morning doing.  When Alpaca is dry it has virtually no smell, but peeeewww, it had a VERY different smell when it was wet.  Now that it's dry, the smell has gone away, but it was kinda stinky! :)

I have about the same amount left to wash as I did wash today....but I think I have enough cleaned to get started.  Now to decide if I am going to mix it with some Merino or just spin it on its own.  Any suggestions out there?  I've decided not to dye this batch....maybe the next batch.

My what big ears you have.......

Ralph our Chinchilla.

My Heather Wanna Be Bag :)

I decided to take a stab at a larger bag.  Similar to the bag that Heather made me, but squared off. I now have a bag perfect for my weekly trips to the library-- since the bag Heather made me is already in use!  I dyed up this wool (BFL) on Saturday, and really wanted to try something with it.   Thanks Heather for the fabulous inspiration.

Blue Spin

Here is what I have started.

I think it's my most consistent yet........