Teaching on Skillshare

Hello world!

It's been a colorful summer so far, literally and figuratively. But I have an exciting new project to talk about. I recently began teaching through Skillshare! Skillshare is an online platform with nearly a million and a half users, teaching everything from watercolor painting to how to pair wines with food, professional design skills and more. My class is on Fiber Arts 101: Spinning Yarn on a Drop Spindle. In the class I go over the basics of drop spindles, what fibers to spin, how to ply and tips and tricks for when you're just getting started. The yarns above are three types of fiber prep that I sample spinning so you can get an idea of how they differ. I'm excited to share a bit of what I've learned since I started spinning and hope you enjoy it!

The class and many others is only available through Skillshare premium, but right now you can get 3 months of Skillshare premium for only 99 cents! Click here for the link to check it out. Happy spinning!

a long spring

This year is not quite shaping up the way that I had anticipated at its genesis. In February, we decided we were going to try to buy a house. And after 7 offers, 3 months and one drawn out conversation with our mortgage lender, we are walking away from that prospect for another year. But it took a lot of time and a lot out of us, and so many things have had to take a spot on the back burner. 

And unrelated, but I'm on my 5th pair of knitted socks for this year. Fifth! I never dreamed that I would knit so many pairs in 2016. It certainly was not on my list of goals for the year, but here we are. Magic loop method and friends who are beautiful indie dyers are to blame. They're quick and portable and I have read Cookie A's book on Sock design several times already thinking through the many ways they can be customized. So fun. 

There have been lots of good things this spring, the Mr. graduating from medical school, Nash surviving a harrowing vet visit, starting on my first weaving adventure and lots of time with those we love via family vacation. 

And so we arrive at June. And to celebrate, we are having a shop update this evening. Lots of lovely naturally dyed, handspun goodness. I'll be taking a little break and closing up the shop when we move next weekend, so be sure to scoop up everything you want before then!

Happy Summer everyone. It promises to be eventful, and wonderful. 

shop update for the weekend!

Since March was such a crazy month, not too many updates in the shop. But last week I put together another shop update and I love the yarns and fiber that got listed. Handspun loveliness with yak, sari silk, and American Finn wool, as well as some hand-carded batts! If you have been thinking about trying your hand at spinning and want to know where to start, I highly recommend batts. They look beautiful thin or chunky, and draft beautifully. I love 'em. 

I've started weaving this month as a way to distract my mind from some stressful life circumstances...let's just say the housing market in our area is a bit insane! It makes me even more excited to start spinning yarns for weaving and using these batts in chunky tapestries this spring and summer. I've never liked spinning or knitting with much other than wool or alpaca, so weaving with these yarns might be my answer for using these warm materials in the summer months! 

the month of march

Radio silence in March was not something I was anticipating! It was a much busier month than I was clearly prepared for, but for many good reasons. I've been going through some professional transitions, and the Mr. and I found out that we'll be here for his residency training at the University of North Carolina. We're ecstatic! We are also in the process of looking for a home to buy, and the market has been one of the craziest our realtor has ever seen. It's caused a lot of anxiety and feelings of uncertainty and has been VERY time consuming! 

During all of this we also got to take a half-week mini vacation to NY, which was so so wonderful. We ate our way around Brooklyn and Manhattan and managed to make it to Brooklyn General Store and Purl Soho (pure magic). Being a long-time follower and fan of the blog, it was so great to see a lot of the samples up close and personal, and the ladies there were so nice. Of course, I came home with yarn, including some of Brooklyn General's own NY raised Brooklyn Barnwool, and Purl's Worsted Twist and new Linen Quill (it's so wonderful). I also got to meet the wonderful, talented, lovely Gina Rockenwagner for brunch one day, she's been an IG crush of mine for a long time and I have loved getting to know her! 

As much as you can anticipate certain seasons being times of transition, there's only so much you can do to prepare for them. We are definitely in one of those seasons and I hope you can be patient with this blog of mine while we're figuring it out. Lots of wonderful things are ahead for this business and I can't wait to share them with you. 

Weaver's Packs and a new logo

As warmer months are approaching and I'm thinking about my fiber practices as I try to keep wool off of my lap, I have put together some natural weaving packs for Goodstitch Fibers! These were so fun to put together. Each one has three mini skeins included, a natural gradient pack, natural texture pack, and a love & chocolate pack. They contain handspun, naturally colored or naturally dyed yarns and come ready to gift tied with a ribbon. 

The raspberry-dyed yarn is beautiful and variegated, and no two yarns are alike. I can't wait to do more solar dyes this summer and experiment with different fruits and dye plants, and am creating a list of the dye plants I'd love to grow in my garden. In the natural texture pack are a few mini skeins of some Corriedale wool that has been raised and processed all within a 50 mile radius of my studio! They're the first products from the fleece that I am working with from Rising Meadow Farm in Liberty, NC, and are crazy textured, variegated grey. I love them. 

I have also been working recently with Julia of WoodFolk Knits to design a new logo for the shop. Her artwork is incredible, organic and expressive, and when I found her I knew I wanted her to work with me on this project. You should absolutely check out her work on Instagram and her online shop. Even her sketches seem like gorgeous works of art. 

Have a wonderful week!