New News!

Almost two months since I posted! Wow time flies. So here is a quick update on the most recent fiber news.

Tour De Fleece yarn - handpainted roving made into 2ply

 Froggy Fibers has ended participation in the local market. Sadly, I believe we were no longer a good match. I'll miss my Saturdays there. However, due to a "miscommunication" with the organizers we were unable to attend in June. We were advised they were at full capacity. So apparently there was no regard for a regular vendor who advised them of our attendance at the end of the previous market and emailed prior to the deadline for June. Well..... lesson learned. No matter how good things seem, it is bound to come to an end.

  Also, for those who look forward to my Phat Fiber samples..I'm going to miss this month. The good news in this is that my reason is taking on a new part time job starting mid-June. My new job schedule was almost 40hrs for the last 3 weeks. However, once the store opens (this Friday!) my hours will drop closer to a normal part time schedule. Which means we should be back on track for the August box. =D

Other occurrences on the fun side of things is that I choose to try to participate in the Tour De Fleece again on Ravelry. I joined back up with fellow fiberistas from last year (previously Rawfish's Ravelry forum now all grown up into LaiGrai.)I haven't been 100% successful  but since the July 3rd start I've spun 3-4 days. I even have pics... just not uploaded to Flickr yet. Which means... lucky you blog friends! You get first peek at my recent yarns including the one above.

 spun pumpkinhaus batt and froggy hand painted roving

more handpainted froggy roving to be plyed with white (maybe)

Always end on a good note! (It's going to be my new blogging motto... I just came up with it and decided that when I wrote it. Serendipity is a wonderful thing.)

Come see me at the Market!

We just confirmed today that we will be attending the Wesleyan Market again this year starting April 10, 2010 from 9am - 1pm. Last year was a blast and it was great to meet people who spun or were interested in spinning.


So if you are local, in town or driving through please make plans to stop by and see us (my husband and I) this weekend. If you make a purchase from Froggy Fibers and decide to wish me a happy 30th I will give you a special birthday discount as well.
Thanks!

April Phat Fiber, Yarn Everyday Month and 2 Questions

Hello! I have my roving all dyed for the April Phat Fiber sampler! I'm really excited and plan to make sure there are full size listings in the store. (Maybe I should do 2 ounce listings and offer custom requests on the colorways?) So... do you want a peek? It's probably too late now, You've seen the picture.


Now just to divide the roving up and label it. If I have time I may work up some yarn as well.

In other yarn news, Yarn Everyday Month is back. This year I am going to work really hard to get some yarn or fiber work in everyday. Last year I also tried to blog each day but it didnt really work after a few days. This year I can do it though. I have a new (to me) awesome Fricke spinning wheel and just under ten pounds of wool to work with. Plus I have fiber reactive dyes so I can handpaint milk fiber for the store now. I'm really rather excited to be honest.



So, I did a lot of typing on an earlier blog post so I'm trying to keep this one more to the point (and tons lighter!) But I have two questions that I would love assistance with.

1. I plan to sell at the local market again this year. I thought that it would be a good idea to have a few yarns that were multiples for people who don't want to be limited to smaller (70-150 yard) projects.

Currently I am spinning 3 ounce bundles to get the amounts close to the same yardage, aiming for 100 yards/piece. For the three skeins I have done 2 are 74 yds/piece and one in 102 yds before dyeing and setting the twist. I will probably bump it up to 4 ounce bundles so that I know I have 100 yards.

Originally my idea was to provide 3-4 different colorways that had 3 skeins each. Do you think this would be enough? Should I do more than 3 skeins of each color I offer? Would it be better to test the waters with only 2 colorways and have 4-5 skeins of each?


2. I am thinking of moving my blog back to wordpress (froggyfiber.com) because it would give me a better chance to monitor comments and reply. I like talking to everyone but I don't always want to reply back on the post. I really like sending back a personal email. Plus, I'm tired of it just sitting there unused! So, is there anyone knowledgeable about importing posts and themes? I need a cleaner nicer theme for wordpress that is easy to install and change the banner on. Is that too much to ask? (Ha! that was totally rhetorically but if you know, do tell!)


I will be forever indebted to you if you can help with either question. Thanks bunches!

finito!

I am in love with this yarn. I almost hate to say that because it really is such a standard monotone yarn. I call it Ray of Sunshine. It just feels warm and inviting. Plus the sun has so many different levels of intensity that it just makes sense. This is one of three yarns that I spun for a customer. I enjoyed all the color combination's and it gave me an idea for the Wesleyan Market and the online store. Now just time and patience will tell where this gets me. Today was also a bit nice because I got some really nice photos of the yarns, both together and individually. They were almost artsy in nature. I have about ten yards of this left and so I'm going to make a little stockinette stitch swatch to see how it knits up.

Weekend at the Market

This weekend my husband and I spent the day representing Froggy Fibers at the Wesleyan College Market. We had a good deal of fun even though it was sweltering hot, humid and threatening rain. This time I did get pictures!

Here is the whole table shot with my Babe DT Production.

Here is my sheep complete with button necklace

Handspun Yarns bottom, Hand dyed sock yarn middle and a knit and fleece tie blanket

Hand dyed Wool top (of many colors!)

Bagged Batts!

Newsletter sign up sheet and business cards

Spinning in Action!

I've learned from the 2-3 times I have done something like this that the crowd is really drawn in by spinning in progress. You don't always get a customer but sometimes you get a good conversation and that can be just as much fun. I also realize after last time and this time that I need to work on a "proper" display. I want something to draw in the customers visually with highs and lows. (I found a couple of big baskets at Goodwill that I plan to fix up and incorporate into the next market.) Also, I am going to search for a good craft banner tutorial so I can have some pretty signage up too. Don't know what the banner will look like but it will be pretty, darnit! =D Craftster here I come!

August 1st Market and Blog Interview

This weekend I will be participating in the local Market at Wesleyan College. This will be my second time there and I am very excited. Luckily TheBoy is going to his grandparents for a few days so We have plenty of last minute prep time. =D Let's hope this day is not as insufferable hot and the previous one... If your in the Middle Georgia area please stop by Wesleyan from 10-2 on August 1st. Its a market of plants, fresh vegetables and crafters and artists!

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So lately I am no good at transitions so I am just drawing a line (literally) and jumping to the next subject. I had a chance to do a blog interview with a fellow Etsy seller on her blog. It was tons of fun and I feel like I opened up quite a bit. Pop on over to FiberArtistToo and have a look!
One of the pictures I sent that didn't make it on the blog is of my first handspun yarn. Okay, loosely its handspun yarn.... I have come a long way from where I was.
Take a look:

This is why I tell people that it takes patience and persistence to spin. If I had stopped here I wouldnt have any of my beautiful yarns to show for it. So for all those newbie spinners who think it should be just so that first time.... relax. It just takes time.

July 11th Wesleyan Market and Pepper

I have to say I am pretty proud of FroggyFibers. Its always a work in progress and it has it ups and downs. However, getting to sell your product in person is just awesome. This past Saturday Mr Froggy and I spent 5 hours in the heat. (Mr Froggy has the sunburn to prove it.) We attended our first ever Wesleyan Market. While there I spent a large portion of the time spinning to help draw in customers. We plan to go back for the next one which is sad cause it may be the last one of the season. =( It was so much fun though and I sold a few things but we forgot to take the camera so there are no pictures to attest to my good fortune and fun.

Instead I will show everyone our new puppy!



This is Pepper. She is a lovely dog about 3 months old and as cute as a button. My in-laws had a neighbor with this dog and both me and TheBoy would jump out, leave the car running and pet the dog through the gate. One day the owner was outside while we were petting her and I casually said if you ever need to let her go we'll take her off your hands. Well last week as we were dropping TheBoy off at his grandparents (the day before market) the guy walked up to the car and asked us if we still wanted her. Goodness, TheBoy was happy. Turns out that his 16 month old was scared of the dog and he wanted the dog to get more attention then she was getting at his home. So now Pepper is our dog and we get to pet on her all the time. We are pleased as punch! (But don't worry all our yarnie friends. She is kept separate of the store supplies and inventory.)