Totally Tuesday: Life, Again!

Lots to catch up on these days; personal, fiber, weather. It has all been a big jumble! The fiber fiesta was a success, despite sweltering heat.  Bonnie Lass was  a huge help; riding with for set up on Friday and staying all day to help me out on Saturday! Saturday was funsies, with visits from Yoga Queen, Cat Lady, Bird Lady, Super Mom, and Wonder Knitter. Super Mom and Wonder Knitter joined Bonnie Lass and I in our sweaty spinning endeavors! Good times!

In personal; little Dingo has been growing up so fast! Watching and learning, he wants to be just like DahDee; his hero for sure! He's enjoyed out side, pool side, in side, and be side (himself!), hanging out with his Grand Dude and Little Woman, who happens to be the beautiful daughter of Bonnie Lass. 

Finally, as the heat breaks here in Michigan for at least a day, we enter the first of the summer photo challenges! First Challenge in the Sock Stash Challenge. What you do is organize your sock stash so it is photo worthy, snap away at the pics, and share them with our Facebook group! This challenge is for all fans of Fiber Addiction and for my local knitting group! Prizes will be awarded for most impressive stash, which could include most *ahem* prolific sock yarn stash, most variety, most creative photo, etc! Of course, there MAY be a special prize for the most FA yarn in your sock yarn stash, too!  Lets do it! Photos can be shared for a week, and depending on participation, prizes will be awarded then! Do it now before the heat comes back.  I promise I will flash my own stash, as long as it doesnt get leaked to OBO!

Finally, a little social commentary on the heat here, as of late, brought to you by none other than the Jowl herself: (a beautiful pic taken by The Cat Lady!)

Manic Monday: Fiber Fiesta Freakout

Holy Crap! The Fiber Fiesta is on Saturday! How did time get away from me? I have spent the last two weeks dyeing, mostly, and carding.  Saturday was a nice family day at Via Verde Farm for the alpaca shearing.  It was so much fun and the little Dingo had a blast petting goats and seeing the alpacas; rocks and grass and weeds and alpaca poop, what could be better for an 18 month old boy?!

I am excited to debut my new sock yarn line; I decided that sock yarn was my best bet for this show, as it has been quite toasty here in West Michigan this week.  Worsted will be dyed periodically, especially for my cloth diapering enthusiasts! Bonnie Lass and I are going up to set up on Friday night, which I think will save me some time.  I am also promoting some green shopping this time, so come see my booth!  I will have upcycled shopping bags for $5 or free with a $50 purchase.  Carry your loot in style! Also, dont forget to check out the limited edition, limited stock Beastie Batts.  A tribute to one of my favorite bands, and in perfect conjunction with the passing of a rock/rap legend, MCA, there will be four each of four batts; get yours quick! So far, I am really, really in love with "No Sleep Till Brooklyn". Cant wait to see you at the Fiesta.  Stop by and chat!

Manic Monday: Too Manic!

Oops...I guess my blog is feeling a little like my brain these past few days; a bit water-logged and slow.  Sun's out today for the first time in awhile and I can definitely handle it! Fiber Addiction is getting ready for Michigan Fiber Fiesta in a week at Klackle Orchards in Greenville, MI. Here, we will debut our new yarn line, minus the MCN, as it is on back-order from the supplier :( Otherwise, our new BFL/Nylon and SW Merino sock yarn skeins are dyed and ready to be wound! Fiber has been bubbling away in the dyepots and splashing my front porch with color as it dries! Batts are ready to be carded; I have been wanting to do a Beastie Boys themed batt set for awhile, and now I feel it's the perfect time, with the passing of a rock/rap legend MCA.  Im still debating whether two batts and two rovings are a better choice than my original thought of a 4 batt exclusive.  Any input?  Finally, in news and funsies, I will debuting a new fiber set: "Co-occuring Fiber Duos". These duos will include approximately 2 oz of a variegated colorway, paired with approximately 2 oz of a coordinating semisolid/tonal! Ive got to give credit to another friend, SuperMom, who planted the idea!

In penance for missing my Manic Monday blog post yesterday, I will include a healthy dose of Yarn Pr0n for your viewing pleasure! Chat it up in the comments!

Manic Monday: Double, double toil and trouble!

Batts, braids, boys, beasties, bfl, bottles, and boiling dyepots! Wowzas! I missed a delivery from my fiber supplier this morning, so I decided to bust out the yarn, feet first (quite literally!) There is something satisfying about seeing a dye bath exhaust on skeins of sock yarn.  I threw in a couple of my new SW worsted base, too, just to see how it takes up the dye.  Beautiful, I tell you! Decided to cook up a couple of standard semi-solids; Hermione Granger and Oompa Loompa, plus a new colorway makes its debut on IV Sock: Toxic!  Dont let that murky water fool you; just sayin!

In other news, Fiber Addiction has the complete yarn line added to the Rav database, in addition to the batts! Still working on adding the fibers and pictures are yet to come! If you are a proud owner of some Fiber Addiction loot, add your yarn to your stash and show me pictures! It could be a featured pic!

Finally, Im looking to expand my wholesale accounts.  Im thinking my friend Bonnie Lass needs to be my rep, as she's the first to let any store we enter know that "she's a dyer"! A couple of new prospects have reared their heads; I have been thinking about an exclusive "Beastie Boys" batt series.  I wonder if any of the new prospects would be interested??!! Ha!  Leave me some comments; eh? Here's to a fiber-filled week!

Manic Monday: New standard yarn line in the works!

So, I am very excited to work with a new distributor for my wholesale yarn account! Between my excellent source (who is also my BFL yarn pimp!) and my new yarnie supply, Fiber Addiction dye pots are cranking! The show season is almost underway and I am super excited to get some new product out; especially yarn. In the spirit of Fiber Addiction, we worked hard to come up with catchy, kitschy, appropriate names for the standard yarns. I am working hard to update the Rav database and add the goodies, pictures, info, and branding!

Fiber Addiction standard stock yarn:
Manic Bulky: 100% Superfine Organic Merino
Committed Aran: 100% BFL
Bipolar Worsted: Two-tone, Barber-poled Merino
Therapy Worsted: 100% Merino
Medicated Worsted: 100% Superwash Merino
IV Sock: Standard 2 ply Superwash Merino
Hardcore Sock: 75/25 Superwash BFL and Nylon
Addicted Sock: Merino, Cashmere, Nylon

Wow; seeing them all listed out like that has me super excited! I am really stoked about the Aran Weight BFL, as this yarn is a favorite amongst cloth diaper enthusiasts, such as myself!

In other news; little man continues to ham it up, making our house quite the funny farm in itself! That picture says it all!

Halleluia; it's raining yarn!

Alright, here we go. Some progress! I appreciate the time everyone took to be patient with me and especially to read my last post. It's been a rough journey in the world of Fiber Addiction, but also a very exciting and progressive time, as well. It started before the death of my BIL, with a last-minute entry into the Winter Wine and Wool Festival at Sandhill Crane Vineyards. Heather (winemakerssister on Ravelry and etsy), was wonderful and accommodating; especially since I havent made the summer festival since the first time! It was a fantastic festival in a beautiful location; I even got to try some wine this time (I was pregnant with the Dingo first time around). I also got to meet very fabulous people, socialize with old friends, and got the opportunity of a lifetime (at least in the short lifetime of Fiber Addiction!) I met Kendra, a fiber enthusiast with a pie-in-the-sky dream of owning a LYS. Two months later, I am getting an inquiry for a wholesale order! Lighthouse Fibers is a new shop in downtown St Joseph, MI; a cute tourist town catering to Chicago weekenders and lovers of Lake Michigan! Fiber Addiction is one of many indie dyers they hope to feature in their shop and the grand opening is scheduled for June 2! Kendra and Tom are wonderful to work with and the shop looks awesome! I better save some news for my next update; hopefully sooner than later, as things fall into place and life goes on (even though it is extremely difficult, some days!)

First, let me explain...

Finally; Google has stopped hating me and I can create usable content! It has been a whirlwind year so far, both business-wise and personal-like. The ups and downs have been disproportionate, with the downs outweighing the progress. For those who dont know, husbeast lost his brother very unexpectedly in February. My BIL was a loving, passionate, 25 year old who lived life to the fullest. He was born with congenital heart issues and has had numerous surgeries and hospital stays. He had a pacemaker/defibrillator put in about two years ago, as an alternative to a heart transplant. Knowing him, you would have never known a thing about his heart issues; he was healthy, talented, vibrant. He and his LTP lived in Tennessee, where he was an aspiring musician; an extremely talented drummer. He had a check-up on Wednesday, was proclaimed great and healthy...and died on Thursday morning. My sister-in-law is so fantastic and loving; we are right beside her, as I can only imagine the ridiculous memories she has. The memorial viewing was awesome; Thursday was more traditional and Friday night the husbeast and FIL and many, many good friends hosted a jam in his honor at the funeral home. Memorial donations were made in the name of Little Kids Rock, a fantastic organization that Josh would have been behind whole-heartedly (no sick pun intended). Thanks for hanging in there with me and my flakiness; holding it together for my family has been my main focus, as Husbeast and Josh were best buddies. Please keep the family in your positive energy circle, thoughts, prayers, karma, or whatever your persuasion.