Dye Day 2008 (Cont)

There's nothing nicer than seeing beautiful hand painted roving and yarn blowing in the wind. Today, I ran out of drying space. With it being a very nice sunny day, I figured why not run a line across my backyard. This was the result!
The Arkansas Etsy Street Team Goody Bags turned out super cute! Thank you so much to everyone who sent items for the bags. I will have to tell you all a bit more about the goodies when I have more time to breath. Also special thanks to Jeanetta, Debbie, and Megan for their assistance in stuffing the bags.
Here is some roving I finished yesterday. Mostly all in semi-solid shades, with a few surprises here and there.
Cotton Candy anyone? I am sure there will be plenty of that floating around Toad Suck Daze! Here is some handspun Cotton Candy for ya!

Will post more tomorrow with pics of the booth set up. I have taken over the garage and set up a mock booth. Hope you are enjoying the sunny day! ♥

Dye Day 2008

Today is The Twisted Purl's official Dye Day of 2008. Maybe it's a two day holiday, since it really started yesterday. Hopefully later today, I will find my camera, and be able to show off all the yummy goodness.



My sister has started a Facebook group for my yarn. She is just too cool for words! Check it out and be sure to join. CLICK HERE



Sorry for the briefness, but the yarn is calling my name. Hope to post pics later. ♥

Toad Suck is Quickly Approaching

So sorry for the lack of posts lately. Things here have been crazy, as I am sure you can imagine. Toad Suck is Friday! Ahhhhhh!

If you come by the booth and tell me you have read my blog you will get a surprise!

Here are a few pics of the rainbow of colors of silk scarves painted up and almost ready for Toad Suck. Special thanks to Splendid Designs for all the help painting in the last few weeks.


The Goody Bag Stuffing party was a lot of fun. We have about 200 bags done....unfortunately the promos from Etsy Headquarters has not shown up yet. There are still a few bags that are not closed up and I am holding out hope the mail man will bring me goodies from Etsy to stick in those bags. I will try my very best to post pics of the bags and a few of the party later. Gotta get the boys to school and myself in the dye room. ♥

Spinning and Spinning and Spinning

After first getting the wrong part from the wonderful man at Babe's Fiber Garden...I was panic stricken. The part I had made, did not work...so I was at a loss for a few days. Then yesterday the correct part did arrive. Yay for Babe's Fiber Garden!!! I have been mean about my wheel and looked down upon it ever since I got it. Not sure why, but indeed I have. Now I will look at it with endearment. I know now what it's like to NOT be able to spin for a few days and that is not a way I want to live.

So here is my wheel back in action:

This is a fun color combo that Jeanetta painted up while here one day. It will be called "The Natural State" unless something else strikes me when it's plied.
Below is one yarn bobbin completed.
While I was spinning a little bird came up to my bird feeder in my window and peeked in to see what was going on. It made me think of the part in Enchanted when she opened the window and sang and then all the critters came in to help her. I figured since we do live in the real world I would end up with all the roaches and rats trying to help me spin and that surely wouldn't be the nicest sight. If you have no earthly idea what I'm talking about....go rent Enchanted.Back to spinning for now...this evening or in the morning I have to show off the yarn plied and set. Till then! ♥

Goody Bags for Toad Suck

Everyday the items are coming in for the Toad Suck Sacks. My mailbox is such a joy. I have got some really cool business cards from Diamondmeenuh Creaions, BowsByMom, TSmithDesigns, a cool postcard size card from NightSkyProducts, a bookmark from Glassbead, cute handmade notebooks by dogwoodlane, and a very adorable hand crocheted bow on a hair clip from Hannah's Creations (hrs09).

I have made up some laminated cards with yarn classifications on the back, for knitters to throw in their knitting bags, and mini skeins with the AREtsy Logo Buttons attached on them. The buttons were made by HotButtons.

There are still several more AREtsy Team Members who have asked for my address so I will be sure to show you the other spiffy things members come up with.

On a side note...my spinning wheel part came in! The right part! Hooray! We have a party to go to this evening, for my step-brother who is visiting from California...so yarn spinning production will be back in FULL swing in the morning. Maybe tonight! ♥

Long Time No Post

Three posts in one day is a bit crazy, but at least this one has eye candy attached to it. I have been very busy the last couple weeks in dyeing yarn and spinning, but have not really been showing off too much of the yummy yarn.

Three Kid Mohair:

New Sock Yarn:
Purl Lei Yarn:

One Silk Yarn:
Two Thick N Thins:

And Lastly Some Yummy Boucles:

So there you have it. Time well spent! I am loving some of the new color combos and I can't wait to see them all at Toad Suck Daze. Hope to see you there! ♥

Over My Dramatic Self

Yes I have my moments...the "drama queen" roared her ugly head this morning. You know, moments of quite despair can do that to a girl.

After my "oh woe is me" moment. I got dressed and headed to Lowes...greasy, broken part in hand. I finally found someone to ask for help and then they asked someone else for help. The poor man looked at me and said he had never seen anything like it before in his life. He couldn't even offer me any type of alternative to fix it. All he said was go to a metal shop and have it custom made. Of course the clock is ticking in my head and the thought of all that just irritated me totally. I went and bought something I thought I could maybe rig to work right and drove home praying the whole way.

Well, I am not so rational sometimes...really, that shouldn't surprise you! For some reason I though I only needed two holes when really, I needed three. Two screws and one bolt. There was no was I could "rig" what I bought. Thankfully, it was only a buck!

So, irritated with Lowes lack of knowledge and not wanting to drive to the other side of town to go see if Home Depot was any more educated. I went into Ace Hardware. I always love the people at Ace!

Once again greasy parts in hand, I paced up and down the isles looking for something that just may work. Right away a nice lady came up and offered to help. The two of us were on a mission. She was very helpful but she too had to ask another for help. This guy totally rocked. Let me tell you, he was so helpful! He gave me some metal fixer upper stuff and we figured out a few things to stick into it to brace it. I really love Ace Hardware. You may pay a few pennies more but sometimes the help is so worth it.

Now the part is drying and I will sand it down a bit in a few minutes. Much more prayer, but hopefully this will work!

I did call the maker of my wheel and asked if I could order the part that broke. The darling man is sending me the part for free. *crosses fingers* I hope what I have made will at least work until the new part comes in! ♥

The Day The Music Died

Or the night...

Last night, I was spinning away, happily watching my TV shows...when BAM both my treadles hit the ground. I look at my wheel dumb founded. The metal piece that attaches the treadles to the wheel itself snapped in half. This is a two inch wide...semi thick piece that has two holes drilled in it and is screwed directly to the wheel itself. My spinning production has come to a screeching halt. *sob*

Hopefully, I can find the correct piece to fix it today. I will not panic and I will stay positive. I will not panic...I will NOT panic.

Spring into Action

Spring is here and the pollen at our house is insane. This is the back porch...yes that is a footprint and paw prints in pollen! Bleh! With the pollen comes my beautiful flowers. Our dogwoods are in full bloom, I love them so very much. Brady has the tendency to pick flowers and give them to me. Very sweet, yes...but not when it's my dogwoods. He picked one yesterday and I had to nicely explain to him to NOT pick my dogwoods.
My azaleas are also blooming. They are just beautiful. So many buds still on the plants, once they are in full bloom I will have to share a picture.
All these colors...you KNOW I am getting inspired. Our Japanese Maple is absolutely breath taking this year. So very full and rich in color. This is going to be a colorway for sure.
I'm working hard, everyday in prep for Toad Suck Daze. The stock is getting bigger and bigger everyday and I am starting to freak out just a little less as the days go by. I have truly "sprung into action". Hope you can be inspired by the beauty around you today! ♥

New Rockin Sheep Logo

Meet the new face of The Twisted Purl. My dear friend, and talented artist, Jeanetta drew him. I have had this image in my head for the last year and wanted it to be my business logo. Being a fiber artist, means not being so good with paper and pens, sometimes. Thankfully, I have been blessed with a friend who can exquisitely capture anything on paper. I am now the proud owner of a new sheep. A sheep made of yarn...JOY! Be sure to check out Jeanetta's Etsy Shop and Flickr Account and you'll see how talented she is! If you have something in your head, you want to see on paper, keep her in mind.

As for the rest of this week, things have been hectic. My allergies have really been on the attack...which makes it hard to get all the work I desperately need to get done. I got my commercial tent/canopy for Toad Suck Daze and my tables. I also got a rocking banner from a cool shop on Etsy. I will have to post more about that later. For now, I have to get to work. Hope you all have a great day! ♥

Twist and Shout

For close to ten years now, I have had reoccurring dreams/nightmares all about tornadoes. When my life is a bit out of control or there is something really bothering me...I have dreams about tornadoes. They chase me, rip off roofs around me, take away family members, sweep away my car...I could go on and on. It is quite strange all those years living in California, the land of no weather, and having nightmares about tornadoes.

Last night, we had some crazy weather here in Arkansas. The kids were down for bed and the hubby and I were snuggled in as well. I was watching the news and saw the reports of tornadoes in Benton. Most of my family is in Benton. I prayed A LOT for them to be kept safe. After it passed I dozed off.

A few hours later, the phone rang. My sister was calling to be sure we were up and in a safe place. The sirens were going off! I FREAKED out. Plain and simple...FREAKED OUT! Todd sat straight up and said "Are those the tornado sirens?" I shouted "YES GET THE BOYS!"

I ran across the house grabbed Brady, my youngest, and put him in the hallway. Then I got our dog and put her on her leash. I started grabbing pillows, blanket, couch cushions, more blankets. Austin and Drew came into the hall with dazed looks. Drew grabbed the pillow and a blanket and went back to sleep. YES! Back to sleep, can you believe it? Austin, just looked like he was sleeping with his eyes open.

We listened to the news and they were reporting where funnel clouds had been seen and they kept saying "If you are in Conway, be in your safe area!" I also heard the name of the elementary school that is a couple blocks from our house. Much more prayers. Then a few minutes passed, the sirens stopped. We still had a roof. No one was taken away. The cars were still in the garage and driveway. Phew!

My little California heart could hardly take last night! I was so worried about the boys and how they were going to react to the whole situation. Drew said he didn't sleep so well, and Brady said he didn't go back to sleep. Then my Austin, my five year old...comes into the kitchen as I am making his lunch and looks at me strange.

He says "Last night was pretty weird." and told him yes, tornadoes can be quite scary, but as long as we are smart and try to get well protected in the hall we should stay safe. His eyes got really big and he said "THERE WAS A TORNADO?!?!?" I said "Baby, why did you think we were all in the hallway in the middle of the night?" He said "I thought it was practice!"

Gotta love that boy! Last night was like practice though. It was good to go through and not actually have the tornado pass over our house and hear it. I feel the next time it happens, my heart can take it. And maybe I won't freak out as bad. Oh believe me...I will still freak out, but maybe I will not have to type it in all capital letters.

I hope everyone else is safe. Please keep Arkansas in your prayers...we have been hit with a lot lately, half the state is flooded and now a lot of folks have lost their homes. Thankfully my family in Benton is all safe and no one had any significant damage. ♥

Beyond Beat

On Monday I dyed. A lot. I had some yarn that looked a bit like a Hawaiian lei so I did some in red, white, and blue, also a different set in rainbow. I dyed up some silk yarn and also some blue sock yarn. The blue sock yarn is every shade of blue I had premixed in my dye cabinet. It turned out nice, and I can't wait to see it reskeined. Today I had my slave driver friend, Jeanetta come over and help me play with all the silk scarves I ordered. We dyed 20 things! All that is pictured is the scarves. Once the bags dry I will be sure to share. Some of them turned out fantastic, others look a little like mud was slung across the dye room, but ahhhhh well...it was fun to have four hands!
The velour and silk was a very interesting fabric to play with. Above you see it in blue (which I adore!) below it is in chocolate. With the blue, brown, and red today we did sets so I will have them with small key chain/cardholder bags, and a bit larger makeup size bag. All with the silk velour. It is quite stunning to see the way the light hits them.

Tons of scarves for Toad Suck Daze. The red above is in Razorback Red!

We managed to survive the morning with very little injuries. Surprising with Luke and Brady jumping off the top bunk bed onto a mattress pulled off the lower bunk bed on the floor...I was the only one injured. I managed to stick a wooden skewer right into the middle of my forehead. The darn thing actually stuck. Once I pulled it out, it really didn't bleed too bad...but I laughed so hard I was wiping away the tears and holding my side. Darn wooden skewers. I am really beyond beat though. I am ready for a nap...and my poor hands need a rest. Hope your crafting endeavors are successful and pleasing today, and watch out for skewers. ♥

Food Coloring is Amazing

My family has an interesting history for April Fool's Day. We love to play jokes on one another and the day is too much fun for the most part! This year...my creative wheels have not been spinning in the tricky department...so I figured I would share April Fool's 2004.

It is amazing what you can do with food coloring. My kids were babies and I was new to the parenting thing. I figure what better prank to play on my six year old and one year old, than make them think they were getting cupcakes for dinner.

I took metal cupcake holders and made little mini meatloaves. Then I made up some mashed potatoes and placed them in three separate bowls. I colored each bowl with a few drops of food coloring and I had made frosting!
So, they weren't the prettiest cupcakes in the world...but to a six year old this was the best dinner EVER!
The plates were set, the dinner started. I got a few weird looks when I had the camera out, but hey...he's six! Then he said "Umm....what kind of frosting is this?"
After a really good laugh, the boys enjoyed their April Fool's Cupcakes.
What better dessert to have then Chicken Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes N Gravy, and peas and carrots? I mean...they had to have dessert after such trickery.

If you haven't guessed yet, the chicken nuggets were Carmel, mashed potatoes...ice cream, gravy...Carmel topping, and peas and carrots....skittles.

Hope you all have a lovely Tricky April Fool's Day...as for me and the family, who knows what's for dinner tonight! ♥