I know -- shocking -- an actual post!

OK, so as someone just pointed out to me, I am WAYYYYYYY..... far behind on posting. And I think it's because I'm so far behind that I've been avoiding it! It was just too daunting of a task. So I've decided that, over the next week, I'm going to catch up! Even if it's only a short post, I will post every day, until I'm caught up.

So, the question becomes, what have I been doing that's got me so busy? Well, you can see the link to the right! That's right, I've started an Etsy store. And I'll soon be expanding to Hyenacart as well.

I'm really excited about hyenacart because I'm not going it alone there... We are going to be the Tiny Lady Cooperative. Our store will be a combination of all three of our work... not really a congo, but not an individual store either. Somewhere in between :-D. We are doing this, figuring "safety in numbers"! For those of you interested to see our new site, it's here:

http://hyenacart.com/tinyladycooperative

We don't have any stock, but I think the site is almost completely set up for the look of it. I'd love to hear opinions! The only thing to add is a link to our Yahoo group mailing list, which I'm hoping to have time to do sometime today. This way, people will get notified of our official opening date (once we settle on one! Right now, we are shooting for mid to end of July), stockings, promotions, etc.

So, let's try and catch up on the "good stuff" now, shall we? Hmmm... where did we leave off? Oh yeah, the Icarus Shawl... which, btw, I LOVE and wear whenever I can get an excuse! :-D

Well, since I've been doing more spinning and dyeing, and the spinning takes less time to update, lets start with that! First, I FINALLY finished Pomegranite. And YES, this is the plied version! It is THAT thin...



My guestimate yardage is 1750 yards out of 6 oz. I did figure out the wpi, but can't remember right now, I'll edit later with that. Let's just say ALOT! LOL

What am I going to do with it? Well, I'm still doing a bit of debate since I haven't gotten very far, but I was planning on doing a BEAUTIFUL shawl from Victorian Lace Today -- "A Knitted Veil" (Here's a wonderful picture of one finished: www.flickr.com/photos/fanihi/405729425/ ). But I think I might be getting just a BIT over my head with this one... It isn't the design... I'm comfortable with the intricacy of the lace, if I was using a fingering... it's this yarn! It's SO thin, that I'm having a hard time just doing the k2tog's and ssk's. So I'm considering ripping out the tiny amount I've done so far and switch to Eunny Jang's "Print o' the Wave". Not that it's easy, but it's a tad easier than the other, and I can practice working with this thin of a yarn with something a bit less overwhelming first... We'll see. My knitting time has been so limited lately that I haven't touched it in almost a month! Which is unheard of for me b/c I love to knit lace!

Next up, I finished the Zen String fiber club "Fiore" that you saw in the previous post. Here are a few pictures of it finished:



and a closeup:


You'll notice there is more than 4 oz there! That's because Angelina had a contest -- whoever the first three were to finish 2 oz of Pomegranite, she'd do a drawing for a winner of 8 oz. Well, there were only ever two of us, so instead she VERY generously offered to just split the 8oz between us, so I got 4oz free! YAY! And as you can see, it turned out wonderfully! I don't remember the yardage or wpi right now, so again, I'll update later.

And, finally, I never got to put a picture of the fiber. I just couldn't get a picture that did it justice, and, well the trend continues with the yarn... However, here's what I was able to take:



and



They really don't show all the colors! There are more variations of purples and blues that just don't seem to show up in any photo I take! So this is what you get. I'll check on the yardage and wpi for this one as well. This one also has an assigned project already -- a hat and mittens for Cassie! The colors are just perfect for her (she always looks great in blues!) and her winter coat, which is lavendar.

And finally, a little clue in on my newest project. I'm trying something VERY different. Here's a photo of my sample that I made:



I've finished the first 4 oz, and I probably have enough thin at this point for it. But I want to finish all the Rambouillet I've already got combed (remember the fluff balls?) before I ply.

And finally, I still need to take a picture of this past month's Fiber club -- it is SO cool! Bright cheery colors. I'm still deciding on the approach I want to take for that one. :-D I'll take a picture and post that next.

OK, I've done a decent amount today... tomorrow, I'm going hit knitting, just because it's pretty easy. I haven't finished much! Then, the big task -- my newest dyeing obsession! :-D

Enjoy!