Can't Keep Up!

Hello all, from the fibre-ful Loft.

Been quiet again, but busy. If you check the sidebar over there on the right, you'll see I finally got some updates into Etsy today.

I'm also reviewing inventory. There's LOTS of stuff available - Merino sport-weight, merino sock-weight, lots of mix'n'matchable 50 gram skeins. I don't want to load up Etsy just yet due to the low volume, listing fees, and the fact that it's still a difficult way for Canadians to buy right now, but there's much more available than is listed. If anyone is interested, comment or drop an email to LoftyFibres AT Gmail... yadda yadda, we can chat!

In-stock and either just dyed or ready for dyeing are some yummy yarns. LoftySocks + is a great merino-nylon sock yarn that blows most commercial yarns away and has great bounce. LoftySocks Luxe is the name I've given to a real treat - merino-CASHMERE-nylon yarn, super-soft but still really durable and lovely.

I have some fibre ready to dye, but unfortunately, most of it got snapped up and is at Shall We Knit, but more will be coming. Here's a sample of the handpainted Seawool top:



And, when I work up the nerve to try her out, my little shop has been joined by a Pat Green drum carder - so Lofty's going a bit batty, pretty soon!

Daily Fibre

Been a busy couple of weekends here at the Loft. I've had a very helpful friend with me, and have now managed to dye every undyed item of stock I had left. There will be some new stuff heading Etsy's way soon.

In the mean time, partly due to the time-intensive nature of photographing and uploading everything and partly due to the fact that I'd like to give my fellow Canadians a break if I can, I'm going to start using this blog for sneak peeks, previews, and if you want them - scoop! I'm going to pre-post new items for sale here, and if you catch me before they make it to Etsy, you can purchase the items in Canadian funds. Contact me at LoftyFibres AT Gmail dot com, and if you're the first, you get to scoop!

Here's a couple projects from the latest batch.

Superwash Merino top, approx. 1/2 pound braids, $22







Superwash BFL top - approx. 4 oz per braid (it's really puffy stuff!) but there are two of each - $15/4 oz.




Two yarns I'm hoping will become pretty standard bases. LoftySocks Plus, a Superwash Merino/Nylon blend, is a great deal at $22/hank:




And LoftySocks Luxe, a Superwash Merino/CASHMERE/Nylon blend. Yum! That tiny cashmere content makes this just dreamy. It is a premium yarn, though - $26/115gm skein.




There are many more to come, I just wanted to get some up to show off.

Finally, a little teaser... if you check my other blog, you'll see the new toy I got in the mail. And with several pounds of loose fibre and mill ends around, and more on the way, well, you might guess I'll be going a little batty in the future.

Sock Yarn coming, to a club near you!

Well, today has been long, but productive. I've just finished my first-ever wholesale dye project, for a an upcoming Sock Club installment with a small vendor. I won't give too much away and of course there will be no pictures until the yarn is off to its new owners, but suffice to say I've been thrilled to be picked, and really appreciate that another small businessperson has put enough faith in my work to pick me to do this! I'll be able to spill the beans sometime next month.

A couple more things went in the pots today, as I hate wasting dye, and have discovered that no matter how pale the shade, Jacquard Fuschia really won't exhaust entirely. So once everything's dry I can show off my heap of peachy-pink fleece mill ends, and a skein of something that turned out remarkably purple when all I meant to do was cold-pour a little purple on parts of it. Oh well.

Here, for your yarn-voyeur pleasure, is the result of a little rescue effort recently. A friend was gifted with a yarn which, while very nicely dyed, was in a colour completely not to her taste. So she asked if I could tone it down a bit with an overdye, for it was in fact a brilliant shade of somewhere between bubble gum and pepto bismol. So on sample-day a couple weeks ago, off it went into a pot with a partially-exhausted sky blue.

Stirring the Pot Again, Finally!

Well! A wholesale proposal has now come underway and a selection has been made from a range of samples, which has freed up a few more samples - for sale!

I'll be loading the following up to Etsy shortly. If anyone actually checks here - if I hear from you before they're listed, you can reserve one & I'll see if I can sweeten things for saving me some fees.

Everything below is in a new base I'm trying, 80% New Zealand Merino/20% nylon, and a touch more economical than some of my past experiments. $23 per 110+ gram skein.

Not Dead, Just Spinning!

Ah, life. How it gets in the way of our real passions.

I have neither abandoned nor given up on this blog and the pursuits that led to it, but the beginning of this year has been packed, with things both textile and non.

Most of a final spinning project for my OHS Spinning Certificate level 1 got handed in on time - and the rest is glaring resentfully at me from the pile of rolags in the corner. Hopefully I have passed despite the late penalty, as I've just paid for year 2, coming up in August.

The dye pots, however, are going back on the boil some evening this week, indeed, I'm tying up yarn as I write this. I'll be cooking up a range of samples/one off based on some of the colours captured in photos of my recent trip to Cuba to test out for some spring colourways. I have one wholesale order to get to then hopefully can restock retail and Etsy.

See you soon!

Kitsched Out for the Holidaze!

I'd like to post a short, but heartfelt THANK YOU to all patrons of the last 2008 Stitch'n'Kitsch yesterday. What a great crowd to brave the freezing rain and pelting... slush? Ice pellets? Whatever that was - I think it depended on what moment you stuck your nose out as to what was flinging down from the sky.

Special thanks of course to those who checked out Lofty Fibres' tiny little table, bought yarn, and even tried out my handspun or the Learn To Knit kits! (New knitters - email me to let me know how it's going, loftyfibres AT gmail DOT... you know the rest.)

As a token of some ongoing thanks, and to give all my knittin' pals a holiday break, stay tuned to the Etsy shop (Over there --> on the right....) for the next couple of days. All 2008 yarns remaining are being reduced!

My reasoning is two-fold: 1) It's the holidays, we all need a break! and 2) Etsy is great. It's a superb, economical, pay-as-you-go venue for the small crafter. BUT, for us Canadians, they don't yet have a Canadian currency option, which means with today's economy and exchange, it's harder for Canadians to buy on line. It's great if my US friends do because I win on that exchange but not so much for us in the Great Wet North (yes, still raining today).

So! All in-stock yarn will be reduced so I can make room for more! And the Canadian Economy bonus is, $1 per item shipping anywhere in Canada! US shipping is still a reasonable $5 on the first, $1 for subsequent, items, but the price reductions apply regardless.

Happy Holiday yarning, everyone.

Lofty Fibres, Live! Episode 2

Please come out an join us at the Holiday Stitch'n'Kitsch! I'll be there with (of course!) yarn, but a couple dozen more local artisans will be showing off their best, just in time for Holidaze shopping!