I Love This: sheeeeep

Sheep Notecards by Chimera

Handspun Fun

Handspun Wool Yarn by KnoxFarmFiber

Handspun Fun

Sunshine Yellow Sportweight by Leafgreenhandmade

Handspun Fun

Fiery Kiss by SheepingBeauty

Handmade Shop of the Week: Serendipity

Emily of Serendipity Hand-dyed & Hand-painted Yarn & Roving sells yarn & roving hand-dyed or hand-painted  from non-toxic or natural dyes & mordants. She has been selling her gorgeous fiber on etsy since March 2009, all the while raising children!

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop? 

I dyed some yarn in my kitchen with my kids and it was fun. I thought it was nice but I have a ton of yarn so I put some of it in an Etsy shop and it sold. Since I got such great feedback, I figured I would keep dyeing yarn and then added roving as well. Last Fall we did out first fiber show and it went great. I am a stay-at-home mom right now, I'm hoping this will allow me to continue to do that. I have kept the kids a part of it as well, most of the colors are named by them.

Has your inventory changed much since you first opened? 

As I dye new yarn I try to get it listed in the shop. I only carried some worsted weight superwash merino wool & some sport weight alpaca in the beginning. I have since added other weights in the superwash merino & alpaca, and a really nice alpaca / wool blend.

Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you? 

My customers online have mostly been from Ravelry, I believe. I try to be active on their forums and in the blogosphere but being Mommy comes first and there only so many hours in the day!!!

What inspires you to create? 

Fun! I look for fun colors or whatever I'm in the mood for that day. I don't have a background in art or anything but having kids gives me a bright and colorful perspective on the things around me. The other day my daughter told me to "look at the pretty sky" as the sun was setting (it was pink and blue streaked across an almost white background sky) since I was dyeing roving at the time, the next one I did was pink and blue with some spots left white, she named it "Sunset".

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item? 

My favorite is the alpaca/wool blends, they take the color in such a pretty, heathered way and they are so, so soft with such a nice luster. I especially like the Seaside, Lime and Outer Banks colorways, since they can be used together for different projects.

I think my most popular item online and at the fiber shows is the fingering weight yarns that are 3 or more colors (mostly used for socks, I'm sure).

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful? 

Ravelry has been really amazing. The experienced people on the threads and all their great advice & support have been indispensable. Meeting people at the fiber shows and handing out cards has been helpful as well. I do have a blog but most people seem to reach the shop from Ravelry.

Any changes coming to your shop in the future? 

After a local show this past week I spent a few days photographing a ton of yarn and roving and will be doing 10 (or more) listings a day on the Etsy Shop until they are all up! Plus, I frequently run sales and promotions (10% off, free shipping, etc.).

How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations?
You can reach Serendipity's shop online at www.lilm4105.etsy.com

The blog is at www.lilm4105.blogspot.com

Facebook as Serendipity Hand-dyed & Hand-painted Yarn & Roving

On Ravelry, I'm Lilm4105

Serendipity has recently joined PhatFiber and was in the March box.

LETS DO A GIVEAWAY!

For a chance to win a full skein of alpaca/wool in colorway "Seaside", visit Serendipity and comment here on your favorite item in her shop.

For additional entries, add a comment when you've done any of the following:

-Favorite the shop on etsy www.lilm4105.etsy.com

-Become a fan on the Facebook page

-Follow the blog at www.lilm4105.blogspot.com

-Post to your blog about the giveaway

-Make a purchase from the Etsy shop

Interested in being featured? I am currently looking for shops. Email me for information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: ColourSpun

Dana Biddle, of ColourSpun - Natural Designer Yarn, has only recently opened her online shop filled with yarn, tools, and accessories. She is a South African knitter, whose soon to be published book From Fibre to Fabulous features some of her own handmade yarn creations.

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop?
I have been dying my own yarn for a number of years now. I started out very small, dying just what I needed for my own projects. Then friends started requesting hand dyed yarn and I was dying more and more, but still only on a small scale. As I continued, I came into contact with other people who are artisan yarn makers and decided to write a book about them and knitting their yarns. It is due for publication early next year and is titled From Fibre to Fabulous.... a South African Knitting Adventure. Since the book will also include my yarn, I had to make it available to everyone - so ColourSpun came into being.

What items do you plan on filling your shop with?
ColourSpun will be stocked with natural yarns - Brushed Mohair, Merino DK Wool, Merino Hand Spun Wool,100% Cotton and Novelty Hand Spun Art Yarns. All the yarns are grown locally (in South Africa) and coloured with earth friendly dyes that are light and wash fast. Merino roving will also be available and so will the dye powders.

Handmade wooden tools and other accessories will be listed and later on I hope to add a section for finished goods made with fibre. 


The shop is filling up slowly. It's quite a process as I have 2 colour ranges - Rainbow and Earth, each with 15 colours in light, medium and dark. Add to that my Oddballs range which consists of other colours, experimental dyeing etc... and the Unique range of hand painted yarn/roving.

Have you sold your work anywhere before, like craft fairs or consignment?
I have a regular table at a local Quilters Guild meeting (they knit too) which takes place 4 times a year and also at a few annual craft fairs.

What inspires you to create?
I find my inspiration all over the show. I love colour and am drawn to anything colourful be it in nature, in books, on TV .... I am also very fortunate to have a large circle of very creative friends and we inspire each other. The smallest spark of an idea can grow into something meaningful very quickly with so many brains to storm with :)What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item?
My favourite item in my shop at the moment is a Merino roving which I have labelled - "Unique 1" 

The most popular item is the 100% Cotton Yarn in pink shades

How are you promoting your work on and offline?
I have an advert in Stitches n Bears - a South African needle crafts magazine. I talk a lot about my yarn on www.in2crafts.co.za which is a social network for crafters, also in the Ravelry groups I belong to and I have recently started to blog - www.colourspun.blogspot.com  I have joined twitter and aim to join Facebook soon too.

Why should we choose your work? What makes you different?
My yarns are natural and coloured with earth friendly dyes. Only the best quality mohair, merino and cotton is used to ensure that the yarn is always soft and comfortable to wear. All the yarn is sourced locally and I follow fair trade practice. The wood for the tools is also from local, sustainable sources and they are made by my Dad.  I personally dye each skein of yarn using processes that are as "green" as possible - using the sun as much as possible and a dyeing method that uses the minimum of water. Because it is created by hand, each skein of yarn (although it may be similar to others) will have its own unique characteristics. 

How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations?
http://www.colourspun.com
http://colourspun.blogspot.com

LET'S DO A GIVEAWAY!
ColourSpun would love to give you 2 skeins of her fabulous yarn
here's how to enter: 
one entry for each action, giveaway ends May 31st, 2010
1) visit ColourSpun and comment here on your favorite item in her shop
2) follow her on twitter and be sure to tweet about this giveaway
3) follow her blog
4) write a blog article about Colourspun and her giveaway
5) make a purchase in her shop!

AND AS AN EXTRA BONUS:
15% discount on any order if traceyknits.com is mentioned when ordering - valid till the 31st May 2010.


Interested in being featured? Email me for information

Handmade Shop of the Week: KnittinK

AB of KnittinK has been supplying handmade yarns for fiber lovers everywhere since the Summer of 2008. Her handspun and handdyed yarns are whymsically named and seriously gorgeous.

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop?
Originally a knitter, I fell in love with fiber, became wholeheartedly addicted, and started spinning my twisted little heart out. I opened a seller account once I knew I'd call myself KnittinK, and originally thought I'd have screenprinted tshirts and handknit items. That was before my stash was taken over by fiber, rather than finished yarns. :)

Has your inventory changed much since you first opened?
Not so much, then again, I'm still a fledgling shop in a lot of ways. I still have the same vision, which is to produce bizarre and interesting yarns based on comic books, general geekery (LOTR, video games), and 80s cartoons.

Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you?
So far, my customers have been my friends, former co-workers, followers on twitter, and a couple of ravelers. I think twitter and ravelry have been mainly responsible for my customers, though I've got a few hearts from flickr as well.

What inspires you to create?
When I start up the dyebath, I do google image searches on characters I like, or sometimes just phrases. I also like to take photographs of action figures at my local comic book shop, Comicazi in Davis Square, and make lists of what I think would be compelling. I really like the concept of pitting characters against each other, particularly when they're not from the same "universe". Like "Firestorm vs. Phoenix", Firestorm's a DC Comics character, while Phoenix is the better known, Jean Grey of Marvel comics.

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item?
Spring at Rivendell has the most hearts right now, but Green Arrow is my favorite.

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful?
So far, I'd have to say Twitter and Ravelery. Both communities have great people, with fantastic resources. In addition to that, I'd say, simply meeting people, and having my card handy has been very helpful as well.

Any changes coming to your shop in the future? Why yes, as a matter of fact. More fibers! In the coming months (Feb-March), I'll have some mohair, BFL, vegan fibers, bamboo, tencel blends, etc. In addition, I'll be posting yarns as they correspond to movie releases (HINT: Iron Man 2 and Tim Burton's Alice, for a start!)

How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations?
You can find me on ravelry, flickr and twitter as: KnittinKbyAB. I'm not yet on any etsy street teams, but I'm hoping to do a Phat Fiber box by Spring at the latest (that depends on what shows I do locally this year).

CHECK OUT THIS DEAL! Any sales up to and including #25 will be entered in a random drawing for a gift certificate of $15 if they enter "I read TraceyKnits' blog" in the message to seller.

Interested in being shop of the week? email me for information