Handbasket Emporium: The Unbearable Awkwardness of Being

I think I should have my yarn and fibers back up for sale in June. My plan is to ditch my ArtFire account, and focus on Etsy, because I'm not trying to become a national brand, and it's costing me money to sell on ArtFire that I'm not bringing in from there.

I have always been kind of grumpy and edgy about the fact that there IS a widely known yarn brand called String Theory Yarn. I can prove that I intended to use the name as far back as like, 2005, and the String Theory Yarn and String Theory Fiber Arts both started showing up around the same time. I mean, it's not like the name is a stretch. But it makes me feel like the potential for conflict exists, somehow. I don't really want to change the name of my shop, or my fiber line, because damn it, I have $$$ invested in business items with that name, and I LIKE it. But it worries me, sometimes.

I will also, when I open the shop again, be selling needle felting packs. I haven't decided if I want to sell the needles too, but it's an option I'm considering. I like needle felting. It's at once amusing, artistic, and aggressive. Like a voodoo doll, but without the inherent bad karma.

For the first time, I will also be selling some of my handspun. I spin more yarn than I will ever knit, weave, or cuddle, and spinning is my favourite fiber art of all, so I'm unlikely to stop. There is only so much decorative yarn that I can stuff my house with, so some of it will have to make its way out into the world.

Spinning, dyeing, carding, weaving- they all nourish me. I do them well, and I learn more about them all the time. I'm excited to get back to sharing that, but I feel like stepping away for a few months has given me a more realistic perspective on what I want to accomplish with my shop.

June. Look for sneak peeks here.

Well, there we go. I'm every bit as terrified that I haven't made enough stock as I am that none of it will sell at all, so we're par for the course.

Oh dear gods, it's 2 in the morning. Sleeeeeeeep...

For my birthday, marigot took me on a weekend spa trip to Berkeley Springs, WV!

( Saturday )

( String Theory Fiber Arts- Now available at Pocket Meadow Farm! )

( Sunday )

So yeah, amazing. I still feel so relaxed. And hey, did I mention how MY FIBER IS GOING TO BE IN A STORE?!?!?

(You may not have my marigot. Get your own.)

Oh my gods. Etsyhacks. My life just got a million times easier.

I believe I'm going to invest in a tester kit of Greener Shades Dyes. I want to see what kind of colour intensity I can get from them, and how they blend.

On the up side, they are available in several different base shades, and everything I've been reading about them says they are relatively easy to mix for a wide variety of different colours. They are heavy metal free (make your own Danzig joke, please), meaning there is no chrome involved, which according to their website makes them "non-hazardous". That's a pretty vague term, however, they also go on to state that the dyes meet the criteria developed by the Organic Trade Association and the Global Organic Textile Standard for Organic Fiber Processing and Handling.

On the down side, there are only 9 base dyes. That means a LOT of mixing to get back up to my standard array of about 35 different colours. They are also much more expensive than say, my Jacquard Acid Dyes.

If they are truly stunning in use, I will seriously consider making a gradual change to them, but they are going to have to wow me to outweigh both the drastic increase in price and the fiddly factor. I would find out about these after spending massive money on a full complement of dyes within the last 6 months.

(crossposted from the String Theory Fiber Arts blog.

...I will buy an electric skeinwinder. Because now that I have to wind -9.5 miles- of yarn by hand, it seems like a lot more to do than when it was just 19.7 pounds.

Ow. No wonder my arm hurts. Ah well! Back to the salt mines.

I think it probably says something about me that my big "Woohoo! House to myself!" night involves a 27 lb. ball of wool, and an iPod on shuffle.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make little fluffy balls of wool out of the big fluffy ball, and try to wrap my head around the idea of Gerard Way being responsible for the creation of another human being. One of these things will end well, and I'll leave you to guess which one.

New colours, new fibers- laceweight alpaca, tussah silk, and delectably squishy superwash merino!

Also of note, the new Semisonic Series. These are musically inspired semisolids, in a variety of fibers, weights, and colours.

Etsy Buy Handmade stringtheoryfiberart

Thanks to those who weighed in on the skein size issue. I am now winding 1200 yd/4 oz. skeins. Alpaca lace. SO SOFT! Mmmmm.

New roving, and discounts on some products! As always, free shipping on orders of $40 or more- just wait for your updated invoice.

Etsy Buy Handmade stringtheoryfiberart

I have finally gotten back into the swing of dyeing, and boy, have I missed it. Watch for alpaca and silk laceweight, new sock yarns, and over the top blended batts!