I've been spinning...I promise!

Tour De Fleece Day 3-7

Alright, I've been so busy spinning and posting to my teams on ravelry, that I completely forgot to keep you'all updated here! So I'll give you the condensed version and just show the finished yarns:)

'Head in the Clouds'

'Lilac Garden'

'Fire in the Sky'

'Mystic Meadow'

Can't wait to pick out fiber for tomorrows spin!

Tour De Fleece Day 2

I've been practicing my cotton spinning and I think I may finally have the hang of it...now if I could just spin it a bit more evenly:)  I worked my way through a HUGE cotton batt then Navajo plyed it for my TDF contribution today.

'Pinata Explosion' , Handspun Cotton Yarn, 120 Yards

Part of the original batt

Singles on the Bobbin

After Navajo Plying

I'll Be Your Tour Guide...

It seems like everywhere I go on Ravelry everyone’s all a-buzz about Tour de Fleece…it started TODAY!! I’m excited because this is the first year I will be participating. For those that don’t know, the Tour was created to coincide with the Tour de France bicycle race, July 2-24. The goal is to commit to spinning everyday of the tour for a certain amount of time…or just see how much you can spin during that time:) For myself I’ve set a goal of at least 30 min a day. I’ll also be spinning as much of my own colorways as possible.

Are you participating in the TDF??  I don't have an offical team for TDF, but if you use GMS fiber, I’d love to see the yarn you make. Please post a picture int the TDF thread in my ravelry group so that we can all oogle it! Who knows…maybe there’s a prize in it for ya?!?

The ‘Official’ TDF Group
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/tour-de-fleece

GirlMeetsSpindle Ravelry Group
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/the-gms-ell-fiber-cafe

DAY 1:

Started things off with Phat Fiber sample from the June box, 'Space Slime' from BohoKnitter Chic

Also, kept pluggin away at a giant batt of cotton that was gifted to me by a friend. I think this batt grows when I'm not looking, because it's taking me forever to get through it!

Happy spinning!

Sunrise Clasp Purse.....someday



Every once in a while, I get the pleasure of keeping one of my rovings for myself to play with.  Back when I dyed up Tahiti Sunrise, I somehow ended up with this orphan roving and I simply could not pinpoint which fiber blend it was, so it got to live in my stash!  I fell in love with the idea of making a small knit purse with one of those lovely metal clasp closures so  I dug out my roving and separated the colors, then carded it on my borrowed drum carder to get one long color repeat. 

The Batt



The Yarn

The Knit Bag

Gratuitous Close-up

I love how it's turning out so far. I tried to do a Figure 8 cast on for the bottom so that it would have a finished seamless look, but I couldn't quite get the hang of it.  So I improvised and doubled the amount of stitches I needed for the finished width. Then when I knit my first row I alternated between knitting one stitch onto two separate needles (Ex. Front and Back of bag had it's own needle, so I knit 1 stitch onto front needle, next stitch onto back needle, then repeat across.)  It was a bit cumbersome for the first inch or so, but as it got longer I spaced out the stitches to more DPNs. The bottom is still not exactally what I wanted, but it's better than having to stitch a seam afterwards!

I plan on lining the bag in fabric and the attatching it to the metal frame I have. I'll keep you posted on it's progress. Hopefully my dream works out!

Hello my fellow Fiber Friends,

I am super excited to announce that I am now a contributer to the Phat Fiber Box!! What’s the Phat Fiber box you may ask? I’ll let Jessie, the brainchild behind the box, explain:

Phat Fiber is a mystery box of awesome samples for the yarn and fiber enthusiast in us all. With a focus on the independant artisan, this box is a super grass-roots treat for the senses. When your box arrives, chock full of samples, expect to be overwhelmed with the sight and feel of artful yarns, bits of roving, small batts, stitch markers, original patterns, valuable discount coupons and much much more. Inside, you could find anything that yarn and fiber enthusiasts would love…even an herbal tea or two! Phat Fiber seeks to bridge the gap between talented online artisans and consumers hungry to support the independent small business.

These boxes are a great way for you to discover new fibers artists and try out their products before commiting to a full size item. It’s the ultimate ‘Try before you Buy’!

Another fun feature is that every month has a different theme to help inspire the artists and this month is SCI-FI! I decided to veer away from the world of TV and Movies and instead was inspired by space itself.

The June Sci Fi Box will be on sale Saturday June 18th at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago Time) at this website http://www.phatfiber.bigcartel.com/

Here’s a sneak peek at my sample for the box (and the newest colorway in the GMS family):

Meet Nebula

Alpaca/Silk on the Left and Tussah Silk on the Right

Alpaca/Silk

 Interested in learning more and getting a box of your own? Check out www.PhatFiber.com for more info and to sign up to be emailed with the date and times of future box drops.

There is also a Ravelry group where you can keep up with the box discussions, see the video of all the samples in the June box, and see what people make with all their samples!
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/phat-fiber-sampler-box

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY
Every month the lovely people at Phat Fiber give you the opportunity to win a box of your very own!! There are two Boxes up for grabs:
Box 1- This is a box from a past month. To enter all you need to to is go to the Phat Fiber Rav page,
             find the thread titled 'Favorite Sci Fi Phat Box Giveaway! ' and say who/or what your favorite
             Sci Fi character is.  Simple!
Box 2 SUPERBOX- This is an awesome box. This box has one sample from every contributor!   
            Everytime you make a purchase from GirlMeetsSpindle or any other June contributor, you get
            an entry into the drawing! Simply leave a separate post for each item in the 'June Science
            Fiction Buy Phat Incentive Superbox Giveaway!' thread on the Phat Fiber Rav group page.
            This is good for any purchase in June, it doesn't have to be the nebula colorway.

Are you excited yet? Cuz I sure am!!!

Going fishing on Memorial Day?

Hello Fiber Friends!!

After a bit of  a break, I am back and ready to get this fiber party started!  To kick off Memorial Day weekend,  I've got a coupon code for you all.  Use the code MEMORIALDAY to get 20% off all purchases made today through Tuesday the 31st.  Hooray!

I've also been working on a colorway that is perfect way to start the summer. So here's a little teaser for you......

Meet FISHBOWL:

In Mulberry Silk

 And In Cotton!!

I will be updating the shop with some odds and ends today. And starting Friday I'll start posting Fishbowl in all the different fibers!!  I will hold off on shipping out items until Monday, so if you have multiple transactions I'll be sure to combine the shipping for you and refund any extra.

I hope everybody has a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!!

Uber Super Secret Prize Winner!!

Unbeknownst to my lovely customers, I have been eagerly watching my items sale, waiting for the magic number 100.  And last week it finally came up! Hooray, because this meant that I could finally reveal my plans for the Uber Super Secret Prize!!  Everytime I reach a multiple of 100 item sales, whoever purchased it will recieve a special prize picked out by yours truly.  It will always be different, but it will always be fabulous!  I will tailor it a bit...fiber for fiber lovers, yarny goodness for yarn lovers. 

With out further ado....The 100th item Uber Super Secret Prize Winner is .....DrumRoll Please.

Christine

(CReationsMT)

Whoo Hoo!!!!  Congrats Christine.

In the future I will post a picture of the prize...after the winner recieves it so as not to ruin the surprise.  However this time I didn't get to snap a picture of it before it went out :(

Who will the lucky 200th sale winner be?  Only time will tell!