OohLaLa Hat 

Front view of OohLaLa Hat

How were the holidays for you and your family?
They were good for my son and I, but, boy, am I glad they are over!

I had a pretty uneventful week, which is good! I have done a lot of crocheting, carding and spinning. I did design and make a great hat, pictured to the left here. I call it my "Oohlala Hat". I absolutely love it and now I need one in every color for myself! I made it as a customer request and have already had several more ordered. Which is great, because I love making pretty things! It can be made in any size/color/ribbon color or even without the ribbon.  If you want one (or two) you can order through my etsy shop- http://www.etsy.com/shop/YarntasticCreation ,
or contact me on my Facebook page-
https://www.facebook.com/yarntasticcreations

On the spinning front, I've been processing and spinning an alpaca/wool blend all week. One more week of this one and I should be finished with that particular contract, then it's back to making my
'Packer yarn. I am glad to be getting back into the swing of things after the holidays!

I'm going to try my hand at writing patterns this year. I have several in mind, starting with The OohLaLa Hat! There are a couple more I have in my head from making the items, it's just getting them down on paper that is going to be the hard part. I always change up items that I create a little bit as I go, trying to make improvements.

Here's hoping that the coming week holds good things in store, for me and you both!

Happy New Year!!  I'm very excited to see what's in store for 2014! I'm sure it's going to be good things (mostly, anyway)! This is my year, and I hope it is great for you too!
So.... here's what I was doing last night-

I got to see out 2013 doing something I love! I was carding and spinning a Suri Alpaca and Wool blend for a SAPGAP contract. Hopefully that's also what I'll be doing most of the day today also. I  have a new crocheted hat in the works also. I think that this year I'm going to start publishing some of my patterns. I'll just have to put them on paper first, lol! That's hard to do when you are so used to making up things as you go. That reminds me- 25% off all orders over $10 in my Etsy Shop all day today! Coupon code is-  NYE25  and my Etsy link is-
http://www.etsy.com/shop/YarntasticCreation

I hope you are able to take advantage of this great offer today! I am ready to start restocking my shop with all new things! First, I'll have to make them lol! That's ok, though, it's what I love doing :)

I am looking forward to making a lot of progress this year, business-wise. Right now I am working on improving my Pinterest account to make it more fun and educational! Please follow me on Pinterest-

http://www.pinterest.com/YarntasticPins/

It's going to be a fun year for me on Pinterest! I hope you can join me!

Then I have a couple of things I'd like to learn/improve about my craft- I want to learn Tunisian Crochet and improve my circular knitting abilities. I bought the Circular Knit Lab- Hats Four Ways class on Craftsy last year, but never got around to doing it. One of my goals for this year is to finish that class! I would love to be able to make some knit fingerless gloves! 

Hope 2014 is a great year for you! I would love to hear from all of you, so please leave a comment for me! Much love,

Natasha Hudgins

 Well, I already know what my New Year's Resolution is going to be, so I'm going to start on it now. I want to keep my blog more current! Maybe if I pick a certain night each week and aim to do it weekly, I will be able to get it done. Sometimes it seems like I can't keep up with all of the stuff I have to do, but let's face it, we're all busy. So here goes, I am going to sum up my week on here every Sunday night! So here's what's been going on for me-
I went to New York City for 4 days!! It was a very welcome Birthday present from my Mom and it was great! Here are some pics of  my Mom, Sister, and Me in the Big Apple-

View from the street 

This is as close as I can to the Statue of Liberty!

Judybug, Miranda, Me on our last night

Miranda posing

So, that was a pretty big event for me!

Since I've been back I've been working on processing Alpaca. I have some in the dyepot(s) right now! I am also trying to get all of my Christmas orders finished up. I only have a couple right now, but they are doozies!
I quess that's all for me, hope you all are well and having a great time :)

Dyeing, Hooking, Spinning.......

I found an awesome blog while searching for a pattern for Loops & Threads Charisma yarn. https://hookersdontbite.wordpress.com/
She had a few patterns using this yarn, but I was really impressed by all of her patterns, especially the rainbows! Did I mention her patterns are FREE?  Always a good thing, lol! So go check this one out, you may find a pattern you will love!

As for me, I've been staying busy with SAPGAP (Spin A Pound, Get A Pound) contracts. I'm processing fleeces from raw to yarn. Washing, dyeing, the whole nine yards! I've finished my 1st skein of yarn for my 1st contract, and I still need almost 1lb and a half to complete that one. I never knew how much work goes into yarn. Of course, if you're buying it at a chain store it probably came from a Mill and then a Factory where machines did all of the work :( I would rather have handmade any day. Here's a couple pics of my 1st SAPGAP yarn-

Natural Grey Romney wool with Blue Bamboo accents.

Balanced!

Top left is raw Alpaca. Top right is some I dyed drying on my rigged up screens. Then on the bottom you can see my Hackle and Wool Combs in one pic and a small amount on my Spindle!

Seriously, that Hackle is as dangerous as it looks! My right index finger is covered with little pinpricks from the tips of the nails. One day I'll be able to put the wool on it without skinning myself!

Next time, I'm going to put up pics of my County Fair entries. I would put them up now, but I may have a couple of more things to enter, so I'll wait. 

I wish you success in your crafty endeavors!

I really like how this one turned out! It wanted to be super thin though. I tried to spin it DK like I normally do, but it kept going thinner so I finally went with it. It ended up being a 2 ply Sport Weight  which meant the plies were almost Lace weight. I have never spun that thin before!

OH, maybe I should show all of my new fiber processing goodies, lol!

I'm going to ORGANIZE my Stash!!! One day, lol. Here are 3 bookcases full of yarn. I still have a plastic tote and 2 large trash bags full of yarn (mostly Redheart) I keep all of my 'better' yarns in the 2 bookcases in the living room and the yarns I use the most for hats and such in the big bookcase in my bedroom. I don't know what I'm going to do with all of this yarn. Maybe I need to sell some of it, just not the 'better' yarns, lol!

So these are my official BEFORE pictures-

Hopefully one day soon I'll post the after pics on here.

Spinning my Wheels Part 2

My spinning is really progressing. I have learned that fiber preparation is key. I like batts better than roving because it's pretty much ready to go in that aspect. You really have to work with the roving to separate the fibers, at least I do. I think it makes the wool more fluffy and full. Here are some of my more recent attempts at yarn perfection, lol-

My favorite yarn so far.

But this one is pretty yummy too!

I love the black so much that I ordered more of the fiber (twice, actually) and I am not selling it. Not as a yarn anyway. I am making a gorgeous scarf using this and a millspun yarn. The panels using this colorful yarn really set the scarf off! I plan on buying more of this fiber whenever I get the chance. Mirla Fiber Arts sells it and it is unbelievable! If you are a spinner you should check them out!

In other news, I'm booked in a vendor spot in Chesnee, SC Monday, May 27. That's Memorial Day and it's in Cada Park, right across the street from the Chesnee Town Hall. Come on out if you're in the area!

I'm going to be at the Clearwater Music Festival at Elliot Farms in  Polkville NC  August 22-25 also. I will be doing custom spins there. That's going to be a monster of  a music festival, so I hope everyone can come out and have a good time!

I'm booked in 2 more events through the end of October, but I'll wait until they get a little closer before announcing them. That seems like such a long way into the future, but it will pass so quickly!

Thanks!

SPINNING MY WHEELS

I've had my spinning wheel for at least a month now, so I thought it was time to mention it, lol! Here is a picture of Michael pretending to use it-

See my yarny house? I think it's pretty obvious what I like to do. Anyway, using a wheel is so much easier than using a drop spindle! There is a learning process that is still going on, but I'm making much prettier yarns now. Here are a couple of my first attempts-

I have gotten better tho. Here is the one I'm most proud of so far-

 I think it looks like gold thread wa spun around it. This one was "Navajo Plied" which means I plied it with itself by a series of loops. I'm really liking the effect you get with that.. Unfortunately it cuts your yardage by a third. So I can't use it as often as I would like. I have to have a lot of one particular fiber to do it. I've also found that it works better with acrylic than wool. I'm not a huge fan of Thick and Thin, but it's probably the best way to go with wool (at least for me right now). I tend to spin at an average thickness that is a little less than worsted weight.

Guess I better get back to sleep now (it's almost 2:30am here). Have a wonderful day tomorrow, wherever you are!