Christina Marie Potter

PSYCH!

2011-12-21T13:36:00.002-06:00

The other day completely out of the blue I decided to dye up some yarn based on the TV show Psych. I don't know how popular the collection will be but I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE PSYCH! I usually ask for ideas before I come up with a new collection but this time I was all like, "I love Psych so I'm gonna dye up some Psych yarn and if it doesn't sell then it's more yarn for me." So be on the lookout for the Psych collection and then right after Christmas something fun will be going on in the etsy shop!

Here's a taste for all my fellow Psych fans!

Order #2 for The Loopy Ewe!

2011-11-30T17:23:00.006-06:00

This is what 270 skeins of sock yarn looks like:

Today the second order I made up for The Loopy Ewe was picked and is on it's way to Colorado! My first order for The Loopy Ewe was for some of my Corriedale spinning fiber (still my most popular fiber). I sent 8 braids each of 16 different colorways and so far there are 8 colorways left for sale. The order that I sent out today is for 15 skeins of 18 different colorways. This one is for sock yarn which everyone knows is what The Loopy Ewe is so famous for! I told one of my best customers about how I was going to start selling to The Loopy Ewe she said, "I always look there first when I'm shopping for sock yarn."

For the last three years I have been doing all my work for the shop using a swift that can handle only one skein at a time. When I got word from Sheri that The Loopy Ewe wanted to start doing business with me I knew I had to increase my winding capacity. So I told my husband that I needed him to design a swift for me that could handle more than one skein at a time to which he replied, "okay." My husband Jake can do almost anything, plumbing, electrical, dry wall, automobile repair, etc. Whenever I have something I need fixed I tell my husband, "Hey, I need you to do blah blah blah," and he says, "ok." And then finds a way to get it done. He does my invoices for me, helps me with my website, I just have to tell him what I need and he figures it out. He very handy to have around. So here's what he came up with for me:

It can wind up to 4 skeins at once and is motorized which means it goes super fast and cuts my work time down by more than 75%! Luckily a couple years my father in law made me a huge two sided dye table which means I can handle several skeins at once. For the longest time working on both sides was overkill so I usually used only half at a time. Once I started dying up stuff for The Loopy Ewe I was SO thankful to have a dye table that is so big! I wouldn't have been able to get this order done without it! I'm still so excited that I get to work with The Loopy Ewe. So, be on the lookout for my sock yarn on The Loopy Ewe's website! And there will be more yarn and fiber to come!

The Loopy Ewe!

2011-11-01T19:34:00.002-05:00

Anyone who's an avid knitter knows that The Loopy Ewe is one of the best online yarn shops with an amazing selection. Well a few weeks ago I got an email from Sheri the owner of The Loopy Ewe asking if I would be interested in doing wholesale with her. Normally I turn down wholesale accounts because it's more work for less money but this was THE LOOPY EWE!!!!! The same shop that sells Wollmeise, can't say no to that. So much to my excitement I got an order from Sheri for some of my Corriedale roving (which I personally think is my best fiber) got it dyed up, and she now has it for sale under her roving section. Next there will be sock yarn, my husband is working on a new swift for me so that I can better handle the capacity of the order. So be on the lookout for even more Woolen Mill St. Yarns products at The Loopy Ewe!

Stargate SG-1

2011-10-12T20:23:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow I will be unveiling my latest collection inspired by the series Stargate SG-1. I have an endless amount of ideas because there is so much to the series. The idea for a collection inspired by Stargate came from one of my customers. I was getting tired of dyeing the same colorways over and over again and needed something new to challenge myself with. So I asked on Ravelry.com for ideas and my favorite was Stargate SG-1. Thanks to Netflix I was able to watch the shows and get ideas. Tomorrow is the big reveal so Stargate fans be watching for the new collection. This is just the beginning of what colorways I will come up with inspired by the show so more is to come. Also, one last thing. Something BIG is coming, something that will change everything. Be watching!

Finally Fall!

2011-09-07T14:34:00.003-05:00

There are 3 ways that I know it's officially the start of Fall every year, 1. there's a chill in the air in the morning, 2. I find myself in the mood to go buy my yearly bushel of Jonathan apples, and 3. sales start to pick up. Number 3 is always my favorite. Fall and fiber just goes together so well. It's time to get started on all the seasonal knitting and how nice is it to sit down in front of the TV in your knitting chair and snuggle up under your latest project. I like to spend summer time getting spinning projects done in preparation for my fall and winter knitting. I have my knitting chair set up with my Ott light right behind it and a place for my latest projects next to it. My husband hates my knitting chair and is constantly trying to get me to get rid of it. It's old, it's broken, the fabric is worn in several places but it's comfortable and it fits the space between the wall and the couch so perfectly. It's the worst piece of furniture we own but it's my favorite place to sit. I think he worries about what the neighbors think of it but I don't care, if someone decides they hate it then they can buy me a new one. I started getting ready for fall when I was in the dye room on Monday. I have a bunch of Halloween and Fall colorways ready to list so be watching!

Soon I will need to make my yearly trip to the little farm we like to go to to get my bushel of apples. I get an entire bushel every year and then spend the next few weeks cooking all kinds of yummy things. Pies, apple sauce, apple bread, sausage stuffed apples, everything you can imagine. My favorite apple pie to make is called a french topped apple pie. Instead of putting another crust on top you mix up a blend of butter, brown sugar and flour and then sprinkle it on top. It is the best kind of apple pie! I made two of them and brought them to one of my husband's thanksgiving's and Grandma Mildred asked me with a tone of incredulousness if I had made the pies. My husband's family is from the country and I guess grandma thought that a girl from the suburbs couldn't possibly know how to cook. But one thing I definitely know how to do is cook! I often joke that the secret to mine and my husband's marriage is the fact that I love to cook and he loves to eat. He always looks forward to coming home for dinner and it's not unusual for me to call him around 8:30-9:00 in the morning and ask what he would like for dinner. He usually is like, "Uh, it's 8:30 in the morning I haven't event though about lunch yet." He looks forward to dinner the most when it's something I've never made before.

So Fall is here and I LOVE Fall! Nothing is better than knitting season so Happy Knitting and Happy Spinning everyone!

Pictures of the Tardis Cake

2011-08-30T17:21:00.003-05:00

As promised in my last post here is a photo of the Tardis cake I made. The party we had was so much fun! We barely had enough room to fit everyone in the family room to watch the show. A couple of our friends came dressed as the Doctor and Amy Pond. The cake turned out about as good as I could have hoped for considering my limited cake decorating skills! Happy Dr. Who watching!

Dr Who!

2011-08-26T13:55:00.003-05:00

Finally tomorrow is the day that the new Season (well, 2nd half of the season) starts! Jake and I are having a Dr. Who season premiere party to celebrate and today I've been working on a Tardis cake. I hope it turns out and if I think it looks good enough when I am done I will post some pictures. We're having Dr Who themed food and drinks, I found a recipe online for Sonic Screwdrivers out of the original Dr Who cookbook. All of our friends who are Dr. Who fans have said the same thing. "What is up with them splitting the season in half?" I'm sure there is some reason for it that I am not aware of but regardless, tomorrow, FINALLY! I have been working on some new Dr. Who colorways and there will be some based on the second half of this season. I usually sit with a pen and paper and write down ideas as I'm watching the show. Happy Dr. Who Day tomorrow everyone and be looking for some new colorways!

2000 sales and P90X BRING IT!

2011-06-23T18:37:00.002-05:00

My last post was about how I was about to reach 2000 sales. Well since then I hit 2000 had my 3 day sale and as of right now I'm at 2027! I never thought I would get my shop this far and I have no intention of slowing down. Like I've said before I love my customers they all totally rock! On the business side of things I just got in a bunch of new stock so I have Superwash Merino and Superwash BFL back in and I'll be working in the dye room again this weekend. I'm working on a new collection but it will be awhile before it's together and dyed up. On the personal side of things some of you may have heard of the workout regimen (and I mean regimen not routine) P90X. Well last March I decided I was going to give it a try. I had thought about it for awhile but the price kind of scared me off. But my 15 year reunion is this summer so I figured it was the perfect time to get my butt in gear. So like I said I started in March and my 90 day mark was June 5th. Well let me tell you it WORKS! I have never had this much physical strength and it totally rocks! What I love about it the most is the weight training. I have always loved working out with free weights so I liked the workout from the start. My before and after photos (no I will NOT be posting them I don't want anyone to see the before photos) show such a difference. So if you have been thinking about trying it I would recommend it. It is intense it's about 1 hour a day but if you want to get in shape it does work. I actually started another round last week and I'm really looking forward to seeing if they is a significant difference after another 90 days. After I finish this next round I'm going to look into the workout called Insanity. It's a lot of cardio which I really don't care for but I still want to try it. Like always happy knitting happy spinning and if you're also doing P90X I'll say BRING IT!

2000 Sales!

2011-06-13T13:46:00.003-05:00

As of right now I am 6 sales away from 2000 in my etsy shop. Once I hit 2000 I am going to run a 3 day 20% off sale. I opened my shop 3 years ago and I can't believe I am on the precipice of 2000 sales! I remember when I first got it started I would look at other indie dyers shops and see their sales in the 1000's and think it seemed like an unreachable goal. So to be on the verge of 2000 is so amazing. The best thing about the etsy shop by far has been my customers. I have some of the most super awesome customers! The notes and photos I get from them always make me very happy. Just today I got a message from one of my customers who just opened an etsy shop of handspun yarn (her shop is AuntPeggy'sCloset and it opened yesterday go by and check it out) showing me what she had made from the spinning fiber she purchased from me. One of the braids was from Sophia's line "Sophie's Choice" called "Sophia's Favorite Colors." Sophia was bouncing with excitement when I showed her what someone had made from her fiber and she immediately said, "I want to spin right now." I've been teaching Sophia how to spin and even bought her her own wheel. She has a Kromski Mazurka which is the perfect size for her. She's planning to start offering her handspun yarn in the shop once she gets a good handle on the whole spinning process. Basically I feel very lucky to have built this little etsy shop into something I enjoy and make enough money from to allow me to stay home with my babies. Thank you everyone who has ever purchased from me and esp. to my regular customers! Here's to at least 2000 more sales!

Back to the Land of the Living

2011-05-10T10:59:00.002-05:00

That is exactly how I feel! I wasn't sure I was going to survive the last week in April but I did and I'm here to tell about it. Allow me to explain. Way back in October Novemberish 2 things happened, my daughter got a part in her districts high school play and I went on a women's retreat at a church I had never been to before. I was very happy she got a part, I did high school theatre and loved it so I knew how much work it would be but knew it would be worth it for her. The retreat was something I was invited to by a friend. I'm technically Catholic and it was at a Catholic church so I was looking forward to a couple days of that Catholic experience. I had also just been put through the emotional wringer and was not a happy camper and I needed a couple days escape from reality. The retreat was supercalifragilistic wonderfully awesome, it's amazing how a couple days away helps you put things in perspective. So I was really excited to help with out with the next retreat. When I went to the first meeting one of the women mentioned that she had to go because her son was in a play that night so she left early. I then thought to myself, "Uh oh, Sophia is going to be in a play in April I hope the retreat doesn't end up being the same weekend, surely it won't be the same weekend." So a few days later I get an email entitled something like "Date for women's retreat." And as you probably guessed, yes, it was the same weekend as the play. By this time I'm not just helping with the retreat I'm one of the 2 directors, fantastic, how am I going to pull this off? Two important things the same weekend and I can't miss either one, at least not really. So I go through all the retreat planning meetings once a week and play practices once a week that turn into twice a week as the play gets closer. Then comes crunch time, the last week before the retreat and the play. About 2 weeks before the "last week." My husband calls to tell me, "Just to let you know the "last week" I'm going to be flying to Panama City Panama on Monday and coming home on Thursday night." "Please tell me you are joking." But no he wasn't joking, that week I had to take my daughter to play practice Monday night, dress rehearsal Tues. night and at the same time as dress rehearsal I had to be a retreat planning meeting, play practice wed. night, Thursday night the first performance, Friday night performance AND set up for the retreat that started on Sat. morning retreat directing all day Sat. and then a Sat. night performance and all day Sunday retreat directing. And I got to do it all with Jake out of town for most of the week and I should also mention that I had a 3 year old in tow the entire time. But, I made it through the week and was able to meet all my obligations which is a miracle unto itself. The play was wonderful the retreat was again amazing! Hosting the retreat was so much better than attending. So it was all worth the stress, but, I am very much enjoying not having anything to do but work and take care of the girls. (be on the lookout for more frequent listings now that I have more time to work) Yesterday I spent an hour playing a Tinker Bell game on my daughter's Nintendo DS and it was fabulous!

Sci FI Yarn Queen, Yarn Crack Dealer, Pusher (Wo)man

2011-04-15T12:14:00.003-05:00

Some of the things my customers have called me over the years. My reputation as the go to girl for all fibery goodness Sci Fi and other TV show related has gotten around over the past three years since I opened my etsy shop. I get contacted all the time for yarn dyed up based on characters that much of the time I have never even heard of. My husband is always telling me about Sci Fi shows I should watch so that I can come up with a line of yarn based on the characters. He has been pushing me to watch Farscape which I vaguely remember hearing of before he mentioned it. One movie trilogy that I have never done a collection for is Star Wars. I'm not sure why but I just haven't and I should. I loved those movie's when I was a kid. When return of the Jedi came out me and my friends used to fight over who would marry Mark Hamill when we grew up. We also used to pretend we were Princess Leia in the slave girl costume. I always wanted to dress up as her for Halloween but never thought I was thin enough. I have a friend whose having a baby and her husband is trying to convince her to decorate the new babies room Star Wars. I have to admit I think that is just AWESOME! But we'll see who wins that argument, she wants to decorate with a monkey theme. So I'm thinking that I need to do a collection based on Star Wars mostly because I love all the movie's. But that will have to wait until after the new season of Dr. Who starts, the day before my birthday, talk about an awesome birthday gift!

Firefly Reruns and Organic Merino

2011-03-03T09:45:00.002-06:00

On March 6th the Science channel is going to start showing the old episodes of Firefly with some info about the science behind the series. I have been loving the Science channel lately because of that show "An Idiot Abroad." I feel a little mean because I think it's so funny but, it really is funny! When I found out that Firefly was returning to network TV it put me in the mood to dye up a bunch of Firefly fibery goodness! So I have a bunch of Firefly in the shop right now and I'm trying out a new yarn base that's organic superfine merino worsted. If it does well I'll add it to my list of bases that I always carry. I also want to thank everyone that has purchased some yarn and spinning fiber from Sophia's line "Sophie's Choice." Sophia is so excited whenever she makes a sale and she is ALWAYS asking when we are going to go work in the dye room again. Happy knitting happy spinning!

New Collection Sophie's Choice

2011-01-25T09:54:00.003-06:00

We have been getting a lot of snow here lately which means snow days for my oldest one. The other day while she was home I was packaging up some shipments like a do everyday when Sophia said to the little one "Baby, look Mommy has sold a bunch of yarn to a store!" I replied, "Well honey Mommy kind of IS the store I don't sell my yarn to stores." She said, "Someday I want to have my own store too." That got me thinking that even though she is too young to sign up for an etsy store she's not to young to come up with things for me to sell for her in my etsy store. So I asked if she would like to design her own collection of yarn and spinning fiber to which I received a very enthusiastic "YES!" So during her snow days last week she spent her time coming up with the names of all her designs based on her favorite things and telling me what colors to use. Then we spent the afternoon working together in the dye room. I didn't let her work with any of the dyes, she mostly just ran around the basement while I asked her what to dye up next, what yarn of fiber to use and then what colors we needed. She had such a good time though she kept telling me how much she loved working with Mommy. After we were finished we came upstairs and I overheard her tell her sister, "Baby guess what?! I am going to have my own store and sells things on my own internet!" When everything was dry she helped me reskein all the yarn, and then set up everything to photograph. The entire time we were working she kept saying things like, "I just love this day! Don't you just love working together with me Mommy? We are having so much fun, you are the best Mommy in the whole world! This is the best day ever!" She's very animated. I just listed her collection a little bit ago and I can't wait to see the look on her face when I tell her that she sold something for the first time. She will be helping me package up all the things she sells too! Please stop by my etsy store and take a look!

All of the profits made from her collection will go to her college fund that we set up in her name. I will let her spend a little sometimes but this will be a good way to teach her responsibility and instill a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-22T08:51:00.000-06:00

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"Just the Doctor"

2010-12-08T11:01:00.002-06:00

"Who are you, if not human? Who's not human? He's not human. He's not human? But he's got a Northern accent! Lots of planets have a North."

You know it! Dr Who yarn and fiber! I was asked by a customer in Australia to come up with some yarn based on two of the characters in the new episodes of Dr. Who which got me thinking about creating an entire collection. I had never watched the new episodes so I checked the netflix instant que, found all the seasons, and then started watching. My husband and I LOVE Sci Fi TV shows and movies and we were having such a good time watching the show that I really almost forgot to get the collection together! I unveiled the new stuff a couple weeks ago but I updated the shop recently with more colorways added. I have even more ideas that I'm planning to dye up so there will be lots more to come!

Fall is here!

2010-09-20T13:58:00.003-05:00

Fall is finally here and I have lots of fall and Halloween colorways that I have been dyeing up. As always if you see anything that I am sold out of but you want to order you can send me an email and I can make up a custom order. I am in the process of working on a new colorway line (teaser it's Sci Fi based big surprise!) that I hope to unveil in about 2 weeks. I am also looking into adding a new spinning fiber to the line up but I haven't made any decisions yet and if there is something you would like to see send me an email.

Now that it is cooling off I have been planning to spend more time sitting out on the patio with my wheel. I love to sit outside to spin but during the summer it's too hot to do that. I have a few projects that I am planning to get started on for fall and winter. I recently finished a tea cozy that I started knitting while laying out at the pool for that last time this season. The water at the pool that day was freezing so it was a perfect time to get some sun and knit. I can't tell you how many funny looks I got this summer because I like to take my knitting to the pool! I just started The Lacey Hug-Me-Tight pattern out of "Knit 2 Together" today using some black alpaca DK weight that I got from my supplier. I have noticed those circular cardigans more and more when I'm out shopping so I figured knitting one of those up was in order. The next project after the cardigan I finally want to get started on is a pair of the mermaid gloves based on the sock pattern Pomatomus by Cookie A. I was given a skein of Wollmeise in a swap (because I'm one of the luckiest girls in the world) about a year ago but I have been afraid to touch it. Since I'm finally ready to knit it up I was looking for the perfect pattern to show it off and remembered how I wanted to knit those gloves and I think the Wollmeise would be perfect! Life has been entertaining to say the least this summer but now that I will be able to be inside more I am hoping to remember to blog more and yes I will be doing a new podcast soon. I would have done one before but laziness prevailed. Happy Knitting and Happy Spinning!

Our 10 Year Anniversary Vow Renewal

2010-05-21T09:37:00.005-05:00

10 years ago I was lucky enough to marry the love of my life. Last year when we celebrated our 9 year anniversary we started talking about renewing our wedding vows for our 10 year anniversary. Jake and I met in college when I was 20, about 4 months after we met we were engaged. One week after I graduated we got married in the traditional big wedding in a church and a lovely reception for about 150-200 people. For our Vow Renewal I wanted to do something really different and private. It was a nice way for us to say to each other that out of everyone else I still choose you. For the renewal we had planned to walk out to the lake by our house with our girls and our pastor. The morning of the renewal we woke up to pouring rain and I was so disappointed. I had a picture of standing out on the walkway by the lake and the sun shining, it was quite a let down. Since that didn't look like it was going to happen we called our pastor to see if we could do the renewal at the church. We have gone to that church for about 7 years so it was still special to have it there. After the renewal the rain held off enough for us to go take photos outside and we got some wonderful shots. My friend and neighbor Brenda did my makeup since she's also my Mary Kay consultant. My hairdresser that I see regularly did my hair and my friend Melania took photos which I am very very happy with! My good friend Casey was a big help and acted as a baby wrangler while we were in the church. We had our reception at the local Wine Bar that us and all of our friends like to go to. We had our cake made by the bakery near our house. I made the crocheted flowers for my hair shoes and bouquet. My bouquet turned out better than I expected. The day before I went shopping for fresh flowers and found some really lovely large roses in pink and green. The blossoms were so big I only needed a few to make a full bouquet. I filled in with some silk green roses from Hobby lobby and then added my crocheted anemones and some feathers. I loved the way the feathers looked with the flowers. I also had put feathers with the crocheted anemones I used in my head piece so it tied everything together nicely. My dress I absolutely loved! It had sleeves which was different but the style had a lovely vintage look. I made a birdcage veil out of some russian tulle that I found on etsy. My shoes were perfect! I bought a cheap pair of shoes that had roses on the toe, they were more ivory in color than I liked but I discovered that if I took off the roses the ivory wasn't so obvious. The roses were hot glued on so I just ripped them off and replaced them with some crocheted anemones and feathers. We had a wonderful time and our reception was so much fun! We don't usually do very much for our anniversary since neither of us is very sentimental and I'm pretty easy going about birthdays and gifts and stuff so this was really special for us to do. The pictures alone made it worth it!

Podcast Interview with Kim Werker

2010-01-30T12:53:00.006-06:00

Last week I was able to interview Kim Werker about her time with Interweave Crochet, all things Sci Fi and what she is doing now. We had a wonderful time talking and I think you will really enjoy our interview. So pick up your needles and sit down for a listen!

Links to the wonderful websites Kim talked about!
http://lexpubli.ca
http://crochetme.com/blogs/kim_werker/archive/2008/12/6/joss-whedon-on-crafts-and-craftiness-interview-transcript.aspx

Alice In Wonderland!

2010-01-14T12:32:00.002-06:00

Everything is listed and ready to purchase! Alice In Wonderland was my inspiration for this fabulous collection. I am planning on adding more colorways after I get to see the movie but for now this is what my inspiration drove to produce. I am so excited about this collection and I have to say that my personal favorites are Mad Hatter Cheshire Cat and Alice in the Garden. I am planning on dying fiber based on the same colorways so if you are a spinner at heart there will be plenty of goods for you too! Happy Knitting!

New Collection Coming Out Today!

2010-01-14T09:46:00.002-06:00

It is time for another new collection! This one I have been working on and thinking about for a few weeks. I am really excited that I was able to get it together this early and when you see what it is you will know what I mean by early. I was flying a bit blind with this one because so far I have only had internet photos for reference but I am planning on adding more colorways later (again when I reveal what the collection actually is in my next post you will understand) Don't forget to check back for more podcasts I am planning on doing interviews with lots of my favorite people!

Very First Podcast!

2009-12-26T14:51:00.002-06:00

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.

6 Month Spinning Fiber Club

2009-12-07T13:06:00.002-06:00

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!

2009-11-07T10:16:00.002-06:00

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

2009-09-14T18:06:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-11T19:25:00.005-05:00

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

2009-09-03T16:04:00.004-05:00

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,

2009-08-28T13:21:00.008-05:00

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

2009-08-25T09:20:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-21T13:03:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-08-19T15:26:00.008-05:00

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

2009-08-16T19:38:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-06T13:06:00.005-05:00

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

2009-08-01T11:02:00.011-05:00

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

2009-07-30T11:05:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-06-18T09:17:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-06-14T10:11:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-08T07:34:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-04-14T16:23:00.003-05:00

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.

2009-04-03T16:09:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-04-02T08:31:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-13T13:38:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-11T17:35:00.003-05:00

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

2009-02-26T10:55:00.005-06:00

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.

2009-02-20T10:37:00.014-06:00

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/ :

Mr Oogie Boogie

2008-10-21T15:18:00.005-05:00

My daughter is obsessed with the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. We bought a copy of the collectors edition that was just released and have watched everyday since. I put the movie on the watch the first time and wasn't sure if she would be scared or not. I thought I would see how she did and if she seemed bothered by it I would turn it off. Well, she is in love with it! Her favorite character, Mr. Oogie Boogie, yes, the bad guy! This morning I went in to get her dressed and she was drawing on her chalk board. I asked what she was drawing and she said, "Mr. Oogie Boogie." It just so happens that a few days ago I bought some of that new Bernat glow in the dark yarn to make her a toy out of. I have been looking at patterns trying to come up with something that I thought she would like. I had something like a butterfly or a bunny in mind but this morning I realized that I should crochet her a Mr. Oogie Boogie. What could be more perfect, Oogi Boogie glows in the dark, I have glow in the dark yarn. So I spent my morning making up a crocheted Oogie Boogie, I didn't have a pattern of course because it's a licensed character. So the photos are of what I came up with, and yes, she LOVES HIM! I tried to get a photo of him glowing but my camera wouldn't focus on him in the dark even though he was glowing really well.

New Sock Yarn

2008-10-15T11:27:00.006-05:00

I've been playing around with some new sock yarn I purchased and did a couple halloween colorways

Spinning Fiber Crazy!

2008-10-12T14:34:00.010-05:00

Yesterday we started to pull out the Halloween decorations and for some reason that made me decide that I HAD to dye some fall colored spinning fiber. I had the best time coming up with color combos to dye. I dyed the last of my merino and about 2/3rds of the corriedale I've had in my stash for ages. Next I'll break into the 5 pounds of undyed superwash merino that I have in waiting. I am excited to dye the superwash it is THE softest spinning fiber I have ever purchased. I have some of it undyed up for sale on etsy.com but I am planning to dye some too. the thing I love about dying fiber is if it doesn't sell then I get to spin it up for myself. So here's the colorways I came up with, 2 of them (fall leaves and halloween) sold in the first few hours I had them posted:

Here's my etsy shop link if you are interested in purchasing:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5941743

My New Spinning Wheel is Here!

2008-10-02T12:28:00.007-05:00

My new wheel arrived today and I just finished putting it together. I absolutely love the way it looks! My husband told me he will finish it for me but it sure is lovely just the way it is. It's just the right size for my house especially considering I already have one wheel taking up space. Thee wheel got here hours before I expected it to, when I opened the box I laughed when I discovered magazine pages in polish used as stuffing.

Then I found the wheel wraped up and ready to assemble.

So I spent about an hour putting it together I am not really that handy so I was really happy with how easily it went together. All the pieces fit so nicely and the craftsmanship is so nicely done. I know my husband will be impressed with it when he sees it after he gets home from work.

I bought a second spinning wheel!

2008-10-01T15:57:00.002-05:00

So after thinking about it for a month I decided to get myself a new unfinished Kromski Minstrel. My husband is going to finish it for me after it gets here. I'm so excited to get it! It comes in the mail tomorrow so the UPS truck will probably get it here around 4:00 in the afternoon. It's getting here in the nick of time too because I broke one of the pieces on my Ashford traditional yesterday and had to order a repalcement. One of the little plastic pieces that holds the flyer cracked and my husband can't fix it. I called my local spinning wheel/weaving/yarn/roving shop the myers house today and ordered the piece. My wheel is an older model so I'm not surprised that it broke since plastic gets brittle as it ages. I remembered after it broke how all the information about the Kromski's made a point to mention that they don't use plastic parts. When I read that I was like "Okay, so, I don't care if they use plastic or not," now that statement makes more sense. But at the same time I'm not upset that the plastic piece broke, like I said it was old. SO tomorrow is the day my new baby arrives! I'll post photos after she gets here!

2008-08-27T09:12:00.004-05:00

I've decided to pick this up again after abandoning it for over a year. I have had more designs come out in Interweave Crochet. The next one being published is in the Winter issue. I also now own a spinning wheel! Something I've wanted for many many years and I finally broke down and purchased one 3 months ago. I absolutely love it and am already thinking about getting another one. I love spinning almost as much as I love knitting and crochet.

I have started hand dyeing and selling yarn on Etsy. It's fun to try new things and put them up to see if they sell. I've been specializing in hand dyed Watermelon stripe for awhile. I even did a watermelon sock yarn club that is about to finish up.

Just getting started.

2007-03-18T18:47:00.000-05:00

I noticed that a lot of other published pattern designers are on blogspot in addition to their website. So I decided to set one up myself. Like my heading says my name is Christina, and I love knitting and crochet. I didn't realize how much until a few years ago. I have a pattern coming out in the Spring issue of Interweave Crochet Magazine (on newstands April 10th) make sure you look for it.