Selling Handspun Yarns

Oh, such a sobering experience. Etsy has over 14,000 listings for hand spun yarn. Hmmm, how is one to stand out with such monumental competition? I love my yarn, am proud of the washing, picking, carding, combing, dyeing and spinning that I do. But, me thinks I'll be putting it to use for my own knitting projects rather than become a yarn seller. What do you think?

SOAR So Close, Yet So Far

I am not making it to SOAR 2011 in nearby Manchester NH this week, but two dear spinning friends are. Hope for a report soon from Betsy and Chris, who are a devoutly fanatical about spinning as I am. A week of spinning in New Hampshire! What a way to spend National Spinning and Weaving week this year! Meanwhile, I plug away at my 2012 calendar and upload new images to my etsy store. At night I keep at my knitting projects, and during the day I steal a few minutes here and there to spin up some random fiber from my too vast collection, or pick open dyed fleece that requires this step before carding or combing. Doesn't really matter what I work on, as long as my hands are busy, touching the fabulous materials and feeling myself relax.

Two events coming up in New England I expect to get to: The 2nd Annual Fiber Festival of New England at The Big E in West Springfield early next month, and then the Northeast Handspinners' Association Open House in Pawtucket RI. Both are easy day trips and hopefully a fiber friend will join me.

I (heart) etsy

Worked for the past two days on uploading new images to my etsy store. It's very exciting to see the work posted in this very public forum. I relive the experience of being out on the shoots and hanging with the animals. Haven't done any real cold weather outings yet, although I have sheep-in-snow images as a goal for this year. Somehow bundling up while still having fingers exposed enough to operate the camera hasn't enticed me sufficiently to give it a go. Maybe there's still hope.

So, on a very chilly day like this one I make do with perusing through file after file and making selections such as these above. Many uploaded today were from Heifer Project International/Overlook Farm in Rutland MA, just 20 minutes from my home. It is such a resource, and each year provides new faces for me to see.