Hand Spun Yarn Porn

I finally finished spinning and plying the additional 6 ounces of "Ruby" that I got from FiberMonster.  Today's post is the vital statistics and yarn porn.

6 ounces (6 - 1 oz batts)

yardage 696

2 ply

25 wpi

Spindle spun and plied

A First Time for Everything

I have never participated in a KAL (knit-a-long) before.  I have had many opportunities.  I just never saw the point in knitting the same thing a bunch of other people were knitting just because a bunch of people were knitting it.  Of course, I also never knit with other knitters before until just recently.

I think part of my reluctance before was that I am not usually interested in knitting other people's patterns.  I tend to be a seat-of-the-pants knitter.  I buy every knitting magazine published.  I buy lots of books.  I check out every issue of Knitty on line.  I read a bunch of knitting blogs.  But I do these things for ideas.  Inspiration.

Ravelry has changed my perceptions quite a bit lately.  That and Twitter.  Until I started looking at all of the patterns available on Ravelry and following so many tallented desgners on Twitter I hadn't realized exactly who and what was available out there.

So, when @SpazzyYarn proposed a Twitter KAL I thought, "What the heck?".  A number of patterns were proposed and they all looked fine (except for February Lady only because I have already done that and don't want to take on a big project right now).  My preference was anything that either let me use one skein of sock yarn or some of my handspun.  Well, turns out the winning pattern is the Travelling Woman Shawl by Liz Abinante.

So, this morning I gathered up my Rare Gem (water) from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and after some digging found a size 6 turbo just hanging out.

I cast on 3 stitches, knit 6 rows, picked up 6 stitches along the side and cast on edge, and away we go...

So far, so good.  I'll keep you posted.

Potential & Possibilities

I started a little shop on Etsy (Knitted Things and Strings from the Fearlessknitter) a little less than 3 months ago.

The first group of things I put up for sale was knitted items. They ranged from a large, expensive circular lace shawl made from a yarn that is a blend of wool, silk, and silver

 to some simple hats and inexpensive cotton coasters.

The second set of things I put up for sale was hand dyed yarns. I am working on developing my own lines. I named my sock yarn "High Society" because hand knit socks make you feel like a million bucks.

 My personal color sense involves bright colors. I try to combine colors in unusual ways and the results usually make me smile. So, I call my superwash line "Celebrate Superwash" 

and my merino worsted weight "Creative Colors".

The third set of things was hand spun yarn. I have listed a variety of fibers and weights from lace to bulky and including angora and some sparkly accents.

When I started this venture I figured I would be mostly selling those knitted things and maybe a little yarn. The reality so far is very different. Of my seven sales so far, two have been finished items, five have been yarn I dyed, and so far no hand spun sales.

So I've been thinking about my potential customers. It turns out that I am attempting to sell to two very different groups of people at the same time. One group appreciates hand knit items but does not knit or crochet themselves. The second group is made up of people like me who knit, crochet, spin, weave, or felt--fiber crafting folks.

So, what to do? When I knit do I knit to sell? Knit to experiment with design, color, shape, texture, fiber, stitch, form, and construction? Knit for myself, family, and friends? Knit for the pure pleasure and joy of it?

What about my newest fiber love-spinning? The questions are pretty much the same as the knitting ones.

Then, there's the dying...

Turns out that even when I am dying my own stuff, I will still buy other people's yarns. But, the more I see and experience with color the more I want to do. As a knitter I love finding a color that makes me say, "Wow, I gotta have that". I will forever be going through the never ending cycle of adding to and then using from my beloved "Stash".

While we are all such individuals I think most of us fiber folks are more alike than we realize. So, I'm going to try to focus on what I love the most--COLOR. I want to create yarns that make people feel like "I just gotta have that color". I want to offer a product that is reasonably priced yet compensates me for my time, effort, and expertise.

So, I plan to talk to a local gift shop owner about some of the small hand knit items that I create every so often. I will continue to spin and will sell (or gift) what I don't persoanally use. But the main focus of my shop will be the hand painted yarn and as I improve with dying roving I may end up selling some of that too.

I'm gratified that people like the things I knit. But, rather than sell things, I want to sell potential and possibilities.