Very First Podcast!

FINALLY! After a lot of planning and work and editing my very first podcast is ready! I had so much fun putting it together and I hope everyone enjoys it. I interviewed my friend and customer Jennifer Pace of Pipps Purses. She and I had so much fun talking and laughing that I am really happy to share our conversation with everyone. So take a listen and let me know what you think.

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6 Month Spinning Fiber Club

Today I posted up my first ever Spinning Fiber Club on etsy. Since I recently started carrying a bunch of new fiber blends I thought a fiber club was in order. The way it works is each month 4oz. of a different fiber is shipped. I left the colorway choices up to the purchaser they can either be purprised or they can choose all 6 color combos. The various fibers that will be shipped are:

Superwash Merino Tencel
Superfine Merino
Corriedale
Superwash Merino
Merino Bamboo Tussah Silk
Superwash Blue Faced Leicester

This would make a great gift for the spinner in your life or of course yourself!
www.christinamariepotter.etsy.com

New Spinning Fiber!

I am so excited! I recently picked up a new supplier and I have some new fiber blends on their way! They have some many fibery goodness options that I can't wait to try out. So far I've ordered bamboo, hemp, merino bamboo tussah silk, and superwash merino tencel. I've also decided to discontinue carrying my Belle yarn base so I bought some superwash merino tencel sock yarn blend to replace it. If it doesn't sell well I'll try something different but I loved the feel of it from the sample. So stay tuned for lots of new fibery goodness!!!

Lord of the Rings Yarn and Fiber

I love sending samples in for the Phat Fiber sample boxes each month. Not only because it's a good way to get my name out there but also because I love getting a free box for being a contributor. This month I sent in some Lord of the Rings themed stuff because the monthly theme is "Fantasy Fairytales and Folklore." I was so inspired thinking up color combos that I decided to make up a new collection based on LOTR. I have my stuff drying right now and it will be posted for sale on Friday. I will add photos to this blog post after I have everything listed for sale. In the mean time there are lots of good things for sale in my etsy shop!

Awesome New Bag and Needle Case

A few weeks ago I began searching for a new case to keep my Addi Clicks in. The case that Addi provides is nice but so bulky that it's impossible to take anywhere. So I decided I would buy myself something new. I had thought about sewing one up myself but then I remembered how much I HATE sewing. I know how to sew but I just HATE it. I started looking on Etsy because I would rather support other Etsy sellers like myself when I came across this really nice store called Babylove Designs by Rose Evans. I liked her stuff and her prices but at the time I didn't see anything made in a fabric that I liked. I favorited her store and then continued the check it from time to time to see what she had posted. Then about a week ago I saw this awsome bag in this asian print fabric that I loved. I looked to see if she also had the same fabric sewn into an interchangable needle case but she didn't. The other thing that I loved about the bag was that it was, wait for it, $10!!!!!!!! And it wasn't a little unlined bag it was a good sized bag, fully lined, with this awsome magnetic closure and this cool little handle. I decided that I had to have that bag and a needle case to match so I sent her a convo. and asked if she could make me a case in the same fabric. She said she could and within like 2 days she had the case finished and ready for me to purchase. The price of the case was $18 and the bag was $10 so for $28 I have this amazingly awsome little set! She even threw in a couple stitch markers; I couldn't be happier with my new set and would highly recommend her store, here's the link www.rosevans.etsy.com

Blog Facelift

If you follow my blog at all you will notice that everything looks different. A friend of mine redid all my backgrounds for me recently. I had been using one of the blogger backgrounds which I thought was alright. It's not the most original but I was okay with it. Then a couple weeks ago at Bunco my friend made fun of how boring my blog was. She has a really funny blog that you can find here, so she's all about messin' with the backgrounds and making everything look all cute. The next day I was thinking about how she made fun of my blog for being so boring and not having any cute buttons and stuff so I wrote her an email that went like this:

"I don't know if she told you but I asked/made Casey come over and help me pick paint colors for the kitchen on Sunday. I wanted her help because you and her made for of me for still having white walls in the house. I figured that if she wanted to make fun of me then she could just come over and help me pick paint.

Well, I was thinking today that since you made fun of my blog last night at Bunco that maybe you would be so kind as to come over and help me improve it since I am doing so many things wrong. So why don't you just walk your happy little self over here and show me how to add fun stuff like photos and junk.

Thanks!"

I figured she would probably help me but I didn't think she would have so much fun with it or do such a nice job. I think it turned out just lovely and I have no idea how she did any of it.

(She also takes really nice photos and was inspired to open an etsy store to sell them in. She doesn't have anything listed yet but I will mention it on here when she does.)

Anyway if you like how everything looks you can thank her because I couldn't even get one of those free premade templates to work.

Welcome to My Nightmare,

I think you're gonna like it, I think you're gonna feel you belong.

Alright that's enough Alice Cooper.

I just listed my newest collection based on the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I'm totally in the mood for Halloween, especially the way the weather is today. It's cloudy and cool here in STL and I've got the windows open even. I had so much fun dying up this particular colorway because I LOVE Halloween. I developed a respect for Halloween during my years in retail, it was the one holiday that was still fun yet not destroyed for me by the Christmas rush. I was so inspired by this collection, I think you're gonna like it, I think you're gonna feel you belong.

Twitter Event Panic

Today (August 25th) there is going to be a Twitter event to promote the new book put out by Interweave called Crocheted Gifts. I have a piece in the book so I'm going to be a part of the event. I got an email from Kim Werker (the editor) about a week and a half ago letting the designers know she was planning this. I had signed up for Twitter and never posted anything so I said I would participate even though I'm not really a Twitterer (is that the right word?) and I knew it was coming up around the 23th 24th 25th-ish.

Well, yesterday around 2:30 while I was reskeining a bunch of yarn that was finally dry I remembered that the event was soon. Here's how my thoughts went,

"That Twitter event is soon, wait, is that tonight? I have Bunco tonight and I don't know how to find a Bunco sub on this short of notice, no, the Twitter thing is in the afternoon. WAIT, what time is it, this IS afternoon! Is it going on now?! OMG I need the computer!"

At this point I raced from the dining room where I had been winding yarn into the family room and then kicked the baby gate with my toe REALLY hard while trying to climb over it. I get on the computer and search for the original email to discover that it was not yesterday but today, at 4PM eastern, 3:00 where I am. So if you are interested in being a part of the Twitter event today here's my ID ChristinMPotter I will be prepared this time.

I'm in the Mood for Fall

I'm getting tired of summer and I'm totally ready for Fall. Fall is the best time of year to knit and spin and with my new wheel arriving the other day I'm so ready for Fall. It's been cool here today and I have the windows open through which this wonderful breeze has been blowing. It's nice to open the house and let the air conditioner have a rest. Because I'm so ready for Fall I dyed up some Fall and Halloween spinning fiber and listed it today. Take a look:
www.christinamariepotter.etsy.com

Kromski Symphony is here!

I'm taking a break from getting my Phat Fiber samples ready to write this. I'm so excited! My Symphony Spinning Wheel I bought off Ebay came in the mail today, well, I had to go pick it up from the post office but it's here! I had been tracking it for about a week when yesterday the info. said that they had attempted to deliver it but weren't able to so they I had to go get it. What I don't understand is when did they try to deliver it because I was home all day yesterday. I wouldn't even know it was here if it hadn't been for the fact that I had been tracking it. No note was left in the mailbox or on the door letting me know it was at the post office. Oh well, whatever, it's finally here.














I picked it up from the post office this morning and as soon as I got it home I opened it to make sure all the pieces were there and not broken. Everything seemed to be alright so I pulled myself away from it to get some work done since I had custom orders to fill. My oldest was at school and the baby was alseep so it was the perfect time for me to get my orders filled but it was hard to keep myself from going in and putting the wheel together. After I had everything on the stove I went it to put the wheel together, I got it up and running without any problems and then oiled it up to try it out. It's whisper quiet spins like a dream! I love it!

The color is more red than I thought it would be, it matches the decor of the house though. It's almost the same color as our carpet which is kind of weird. I sold my Ashford Traditional about a week ago and I left the spot where it had been sitting up and waiting for the new wheel to get here. I put it between my other two wheels (yes I have 3 wheels again) in the front room and it fits in just perfectly.

The oil painting above the wheels is my wedding portrait.

The one on the left is my Minstrel and the other one is my Ashford Country Spinner.

Old Spinning Wheel New Spinning Wheel

My addiction to spinning wheels continues. I sold my old spinning wheel, the first I ever purchased, and all it's extras to a friend of mine. I decided one day that I had too many spinning wheels and that instead of using the Ashford for plying and the Kromski for spinning I would sell the Ashford and buy a jumbo flyer for my Kromski. So I put the Ashford up for sale and then while I had it listed I found another spinning wheel that I decided I had to have on Ebay. Another Kromski and this time a Symphony. It was a decent price so I decided to go ahead and buy it even though I hadn't sold the Ashford yet. Then a few days later I sold the Ashford to my friend Connie. It was difficult for me to sell the Ashford since it was the first wheel I ever purchased but I am glad that I was able to sell it to a friend so I know it will be well taken care of and loved. I'll post photos of the Symphony after it gets here, I can't wait!

Interweave Presents Crocheted Gifts: Irresistable Projects to Make & Give

Interweave Crochet has a new book coming out soon that is all about crocheted gifts. I have a jewelry pattern in the book and got my advance copy about a week ago. It has lots of nice patterns that would be wonderful to work up for Christmas or Hanukkah gifts. Amazon has a nice preview of the book and the pattern I designed is on the index page. Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1596681071

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

My new colorways are listed for sale in my etsy shop! All of them are based on Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. That is one of my husband's favorite books which is why I got the idea to dye up some yarn based on the book. Next week I'm planning to list a bunch of Twilight stuff so be sure to check back if you're a Twilight fan!

New Colorway Collection and Harry Potter

Tomorrow is the day I am listing my new Colorways series for sale in my etsy shop. I ran a little coupon promo in my group on ravelry and gave away a 20% off coupon if you could guess what
H G T T G stood for. That's the clue for the inspiration to my latest color collection. Everything is almost ready to be photographed and then tomorrow it all goes up for sale. I had a really good time coming up with the colors for this grouping. I will post up photos and the name tomorrow after I get it all up for sale.

I saw the new Harry Potter movie last weekend and I loved it! It was so much better than the last movie I thought. It was very well done and very dark, it will be interesting to see what they do with the last 2 movies. I hope they don't wait too long between releases of the last 2 since they are 2 halves of one story.

Phat Fiber has arrived!

I got my Phat Fiber box yesterday and it is full of all kinds of fun stuff! I was really excited when I opened it to see that I had the small tote bag sample. I had seen the tote sample on the video (I have a weakness for tote bags) and I was really really hoping that I would get it. I have so many ideas for what I am going to do with all my samples and I can't wait to get started. After purchasing the box on Sunday I decided I would go ahead and send some samples for the next shipment. I made up about 85 samples and shipped them off yesterday. If you send in at least 50 samples you get your of sample box for free so I made sure I had at least 50. Here's a photo of what I received in my shipment:

I'm in shock! Phat Fiber!

I bought a Phat Fiber sampler box this morning. I knew they were going to be listed at 10:00 A.M. so I waited at my computer hitting refresh about 100 times until they were listed. I had decided before hand that I wanted the fiber only box because I felt I could get more use out of the spinning fiber than the samples of yarn. SO I quickly put the box in my cart, go through and pay, and then I decided to go back to the shop to see how many boxes they had left just out of curiosity. OH MY G-D! They were completely sold out! How long had it been like 1 minute?! I probably sound like an idiot to those of you who are familiar with Phat Fiber, and you're thinking, "Duh, what did you expect." But I just don't usually buy a lot of stuff from others since if I want something specific I can dye it/spin it up myself. Anyway if you want to get a box of your own you can sign up to be on the secret email list at the Phat Fiber website. You have to be quick though. I think that if I like the stuff in there I might go ahead and contribute to the box next time because if you give them a certain amount of stuff you can get a box of your own for free. I'm so glad I decided to get a box this time and I can't wait to see what's in it!!

I Bought the Wheel

I did end up buying the Ashford Country Spinner spinning wheel I was thinking about purchasing. I used it to ply some yarn the other day and it draws the yarn is so easily that it was great to ply with. One of the reasons I got the wheel was I want to start spinning art yarns for myself and my etsy shop. I ordered a copy of Plucky Fluff's book Handspun Revolution from her website to get some ideas of fun art yarns to spin. It's out of print but she still has copies at regular price instead of the out of print price you find them for on Amazon. She has another book out called Intertwined that I might purchase if I like Handspun Revolution. Pictures of the end results will be posted eventually.

I Must Be Crazy!

I'm thinking about buying my third spinning wheel. What is wrong with me? I don't know. I currently own an Ashford Traditional from the 1980's, a Kromski Minstrel that I bought new, and I'm considering buying an Ashford Country Spinner. I want the Country Spinner because it has a huge bobbin so you can load lots of yarn onto it. I've never spun on one before so I have to try it out before I make my final decision but the amount of yarn I can spin on there can't be matched. It's Irish tension which I've never worked with before so it might take some work to get the hang of it. The one I'm looking at is used so it's a decent price, not a bargain but a decent price. I'd been thinking I might want to get one someday but someday came sooner than I expected. Oh well, I'm going to look at it in a couple weeks so an update will follow.

Migraines and Knitting Don't Go Together.

I went to the doctor about my headaches today and she told me I have classic migraines. Since I'm getting them so often she gave me a prescription to try and then I go back in 3 weeks to tell her how it's working. The worst part of this has been how hard it is for me to knit or crochet. I can knit as long as I don't have to look at the work, but, I can't read a pattern while I have the headaches because it makes them worse. I'm really good at knitting by feel but if I'm working on lace I need to look at the pattern a lot so I can't work on any of those projects whilst in pain. I'm looking for a headache friendly pattern to work on while I'm in pain and I think I may have found one. In the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar for this year there is a felted watermelon bag pattern that I love. It's knit in the round so it would be easy to do mostly by feel. I've been putting off starting it because I seem to constantly have projects for others I want to work on so I never end up making anything for myself unless I'm designing a pattern. So next time I have one of my headaches I'm going to start the bag pattern, G-d forbid I go more than a day without knitting/crocheting on something, what would I do with myself?

Teaching with a headache is not fun!

For the past few months I've been getting these horrible headaches that last for days. Yesterday I had the worst one of my life and I had a class to teach that night. I spent the entire day taking pain pills and trying not to look at anything in order to get it to go away, it didn't work. By the time I had to go to class I was in the worst pain of my life. After the class was over I felt like my eyes were going to fall out of my head, then I had to drive home. The light from headlights and streetlamps had me in so much pain that I could barely open my eyes by the time I got out of the car. I had intended to pick up the mail from the mail center on my way home but I couldn't stand to look at anything anymore so I made my husband go get it. I came in the house and made him turn off all the lights then I took some more pain pills and went to bed. This morning the pain is less but it's still there, I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to see what kind of prescription pills I can get. At first I was getting these like once a month now I'm getting them almost every week. I can't read books anymore because focusing that long makes the headaches start. I can still read patterns without getting one (thanks goodness) but I do worry that eventually even that might make me start to get a headache. We'll see what the doctor says tomorrow I really hope I can get something to take that works.

On a lighter note I got the new Sock Innovation book by Cookie A. the other day and I LOVE IT! I'm planning to make every pair in there, I'll post photos as I get them finished. All of her designs are absolute genius, there is no other way to put it. After I looked through the whole book I told my husband I was planning to make every pattern and that I thought that I had enough yarn in my stash to make them all, he looked at me and said, "Ya think?" Typical.

New Yarn Listed

The new bases that I ordered from my supplier came in the mail today. I love the alpaca sock yarn that I ordered it is so wonderful and soft. I also got in some cotton in a lace weight and a slubby DK weight. I can't wait to try out dying cotton I bought the dye for it last time i placed an order with my dye supplier but I haven't actually tried using it yet. Hopefully it goes well I've heard cotton is difficult to dye.

I did end up dying yarn yesterday and it was dry enough to post up for sale today. I really like the new 75% 25% sock yarn that I got in, if it's popular I'll go ahead and carry it regulary. I tried out a couple new colorways that are BSG based, Apollo and Starbuck and Gaius Baltar and Caprica 6. I LOVE the Apollo Starbuck, the colors are so pretty. Photos:

New Yarn

I'm out of my regular sock yarn and have been at a loss for stuff to dye up this week. I dyed up that last of my undyed stash on Sunday and have been waiting for my new yarn shipment to arrive. I ordered a bunch of new stuff that I don't normally carry this time so I can't wait to get this order. I did receive one cone of yarn from a company I don't normally order from today. It's sock yarn (big surprise) and it's some of the 75% Superwash Wool 25% Nylon blend that's really common. I have a few skeins of my Princess Sophia base that I dyed up the other day to post up this Friday and I'm debating as to whether I want to try to dye up some of this new stuff tomorrow. We'll see.

www.christinamariepotter.com

www.christinamariepotter.etsy.com

Reavers Socks

I finished the PDF for Reavers sock pattern that I started last week. The socks turned out so cute but I had so much trouble photographing my feet! Taking a picture of your own feet and getting the pattern in focus is a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. I think I got a few good photos finally.

I need to get my website updated and get the pattern on Ravelry for download. I'm going to charge $4 even though I should probably charge more since it was so time consuming to get together. Next I'm planning on a Cylon themed sock pattern. Here's where you can find the pattern: http://www.christinamariepotter.com/reaverssocks.html

Trying this again.

I promised myself months ago that I would not abandon my blog again but that's exactly what I ended up doing. So here is yet another attempt to keep this blog current. My etsy shop has been keeping so super busy that's part of the reason I haven't found the time to blog anything. Lately I've been on a Firefly inspired sock yarn binge and yesterday I added some Firefly themed spinning fiber. If you're not aware of Firefly it's an old TV show that was canceled before it finished it's run and then they made a movie. You can find episodes on Hulu if you're interested. Because I love my Firefly sock yarn so much I'm working on a Reavers sock pattern. I don't normally design sock patterns since there about a bajillion trillion million patterns out there but I have been on the search for a perfect pattern for the reavers sock yarn I dyed up and couldn't find it. The first sock is almost finished and as soon as it is I'm going to post the pattern up for sale. Also I recently moved all the patterns I have for sale to ravelry.com so they will be much easier to access now. I had a few people complain that the other PDF download site was difficult to use so I decided to switch to ravelry. Here are some photos of yarn that I have for sale http://www.christinamariepotter.etsy.com/ :