Today I'm going to share some of my favorite sites for on-line shopping, places I get my supplies that have excellent service and reasonable prices. I don't mind paying for what I want but some places just aren't worth the shipping expense to receive the items.

Ice Yarns

They're in Turkey but anytime I order, I have it shipped DHL whose price is more than reasonable considering I get the product in three days. From Turkey. I know right? I order from the U.S.A. and it takes two weeks to clear customs. But three days from Turkey. Weird.

Some examples of yarns I received from Ice Yarns

Sign up for the newsletter. They have Tuesday Promotions and Bargain sales that have UNREAL pricing. I highly recommend buying from these sales and you'll get your yarn way cheaper than anywhere else, even with the shipping costs.


www.iceyarns.com/


Expression Fiber Arts

Chandi is hilarious! She is also extremely enthusiastic about her product and her craft. She is in Alaska and product has to travel from there to California before proceeding to Canada (Doh! Don't they know Canada is in between?) so be prepared for it to take awhile. Patience! Customs also seems to like to really examine her packages but they do finally arrive with "yummy goodies" as Chandi would say.

This is Autumn and I both modelling the shawl I made with the Yak/silk blend in Calico that I purchased from the May yarn club Chandi runs. Surprise yarns! What fun!!!!


www.expressionfiberarts.com/


Urban Yarns, Vancouver

These are the people who sold me my first Mini Maiden yarn and started my obsession. Nice people to deal with, their packages are wrapped in tissue paper and a personal card that's a joy to receive, just like a parcel at Christmas! I live in Eastern Ontario and it only takes three days for parcels to arrive. That's pretty efficient. Their pricing is right on target and their selection is really good. If you order something online and they've run out, they will call you to see if there's a substitution you'd like just so they can get the package on the way quickly. Super nice people to deal with.

www.urbanyarns.com/

Colorsong Yarns

They carry Handmaiden/Fleece Artist yarn only but...they have clearance sales. Woohoo! Bob and Nancy are great to deal with and they have a HUGE selection of my favorite yarns. They also have discount codes for various knit and crochet alongs on Ravelry which can also help save money. Again, they ship from the states so it can take up to three weeks to arrive, depending on how long customs holds up the package, but that is not a fault of the company. I think border services just don't like the word "yarn" on the package. It seems to make them suspicious for some reason. WARNING: If you order over $100 in product, you will have to pay duties and taxes when the package arrives. Better to keep your spending under this threshold or it'll hurt.

Yarn and sliver I purchased from Colorsong Yarn







colorsongyarn.com/


Mr Yarn

I have one thing to say....BULK DISCOUNT!!!!! That takes me to my happy place. Add their more than reasonable shipping and the fact that they seem to be the only people who can get across the border quickly ( must be the Mr that gets them through fast :) ) and they are one of my go-to places to shop. They have a nice selection and their stock is always rotating so check back often.

www.mryarn.com/

So these are my standard places for now, but I'm always shopping around to find other suppliers with unique items. Where are your go-to places for supplies?

My head is spinning!

Ever since my learn to spin kit arrived I've been obsessed.

Such a simple concept, but there is a trick to it. My first hand spun yarns are quite thick. I was scared to draft the fibers too thin.

And my twist was all over the place. Some places very tight, other places barely a twist at all. But this helped me learn exactly how much spin is required to keep the fibers in a yarn. Not much.

But I had so much fun learning. Finally I stopped being so scared and really drafted the fibers, playing with just how thin to draw the fibers to make a thin yarn that I could ply. Plying is when you take two strands of hand spun and spin them together to make a thicker yarn. But if your strands are thick to start with you end up with super super bulky yarn.

So I grabbed more fiber and concentrated on getting it as thin as I could. That yarn is hanging to dry right now.

My spin is still inconsistent but the thickness is much better. I'm excited to crochet this up when it's done drying. But in the meantime, I received a delivery...Kid Mohair Sliver. Sliver is animal fiber that has been cleaned, combed and carded and in this case dyed, all ready to be spun. I ordered fiber from my favorite company, Fleece Artist/Handmaiden Yarns. I just love their colors.

Look at those colors! Makes me do the happy dance.

Each hank is silky soft with such a beautiful sheen and halo. I had heard that because it's so silky it can be harder to spin but far be it from me to avoid things just because I'm new at it. I like jumping in with both feet. So I grabbed the blue and got to work.

This is the hank untwisted so you can see the color changes and I can start working with it. First I drafted off a chunk of fibers.

That's the leader on my drop spindle and the chunk of fiber. You'd be surprised how much fiber is in that little piece.

I didn't add any fiber. This is that one little piece drafted out to start spinning. And I personally didn't find the Kid Mohair any harder to work with than the regular wool. The hardest part is pre-drafting the fibers.

 

 

So away I went. I'm still building my stamina for drop spinning so I can't spin as long as I want to ( which is just about forever :) ) but I gave it a good go and here's my results for the evening.

The color in that shot is atrocious. This early pic shows the glowing blues much better, though it also shows how rough my hands are right now. This is not the fault of the fiber but of my nasty psoriasis. I find acrylic fibers aggravate my condition and I have been working with acrylics quite a bit lately.

So tonight I'll spin some more. I should soon have enough to ball. I may make a second strand and ply the two so that the subtle color changes in this yarn will really stand out. Or I might leave it a single ply and just keep spinning until I have enough to make myself a shawl. I'm so excited at the possibilities!

Is there something you do that makes you anticipate the future when you'll have time just to play?

Hello!!!!!

So I disappeared for a bit. Between battling the plague and spring rush at work I haven't had a minute to do anything but crochet. :) I did however find a minute to order a drop spindle spinning kit on Etsy.

 

It came with everything I need to try spinning yarn and I was so excited to get started! 

First thing I learned...you could use a third hand when starting. And don't let your cat help. But I persisted and made my first handspun by me yarn!!!!

 

Okay, not bad for a first attempt. Found out I don't have muscles where I should though. Who knew spinning could be a workout? Bonus!!!

So before my second attempt, I learned more about drafting your fibers BEFORE starting to spin so that they're the thickness you want. Duh. That made sense. I also learned don't take the tension off your spun yarn until after you've soaked it. The soaking sets the twist otherwise it just unravels.

So armed with new information...take two...

Here's the little ball of spun fiber. I love how it shines in the sun. Okay I think I'm getting this now so I go for a big batch since I've now figured out how to join fibers although not completely smoothly yet, at least I can do it. So I spin until my shoulder gives out, put it away for the next day, do the same thing again for four days and here's what I got...

 This is my handspun yarn on the spindle. Took it off and put it to soak for fifteen, then hung to dry. When I checked it this morning it still wasn't quite dry but here's a picture of what it looks like.

Next step will be to use the yarn in a project. This is just a single ply and I have every intention of making a fat ply of colored yarn wrapped with a skinny ply of the natural wool. But since I'm not an expert yet that could take awhile....

Having such a good time learning though. Did you ever take a notion to just LEARN something? Just for the fun of learning? Or am I the only learning geek out there? :)