Wednesday, February 26, 2014

January/February update


It just occurred to me that I never posted about my spinning wheel (!!) I got last month. I was finally able to switch from my drop spindle to a proper spinning wheel thanks to a Christmas present from my dad and I''m never going back. I can spin AND ply 4 oz of wool in 2-3 days, whereas it would have taken me months on the spindle. I'm not even exaggerating, it took me three months to spin and ply about 200 yards on my spindle.

She's an Ashford Kiwi 2 and I have named her Millie, because apparently that's what you do. I got her unfinished and stained all of the solid wood an English chestnut and painted the wheel an off white color called 'horseradish'. I think it gives it sort of a nautical vibe.



Because I finally have a spinning wheel, I was able to compete in the Ravellenic games under the 'fleece to finished object' category and spin the yarn I needed to knit The Age of Brass and Steam shawl. I'm still supremely proud of finishing my project before the deadline and I've been wearing it every chance I get.

luna moth colorway
My little yarn business, squirrelstashyarn.com, has been humming along and I'm excited to say I have exceeded my sales goal this month, along with completing all of my other business tasks for the month. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can improve on next month and the following months, and I'm so thankful for all the support I've received. Sometimes running a creative business is hard because the items you put out are a representation of you and it's really easy to get insecure, but every sale builds my confidence and makes it a little easier to put myself out there.

I also have some exciting new things to update about, including STITCHES West and a brand new office space for BruteForceGames, which of course means the even more exciting...new craft space for me! All that will have to wait for now, though.