Fiber, Fiber, Fiber!

On Monday I washed some suri alpaca fiber.  I left it to dry and yesterday afternoon I began preparing it.
With the help of my Ravelry friends, I decided I would flick card it and save the fluff left behind for hand carding.

So here is the washed and dried alpaca:

Here is what it looked like after I flick carded it:

And here is about a third of the fluff left behind:

It started out as one pound.  So I'm curious how much I will have after spinning it.  I hope to do a little of that this afternoon!!!

A pic crazy post!

So while I haven't been posting, what have I been busy doing?  Creating!  So here's a recap of some of the projects that have kept me busy!

These were some of our favorite Children's Place pj's and we were so sad when M grew out of them.  So I cut off the feet and wrist cuffs and added new cuffs to both.  She loves them!!!

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I took out all the clothes I had available for upcycling and got to work.  I took this women's shirt and made an adorable tank using this TUTORIAL.

M loves it!

It was so adorable on her, I made one for myself (pics to come).

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I knit two sweaters for our little girls.

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My new love, Laura!

And my first spun yarn:

Some more yarn:

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Princess Dresses

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Knit Newborn Sleeper

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A Charlie Hoodie for me.

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What playdate would be complete without matching Mario shirts?

Made with the Charlie T pattern.

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A silly hat.  Actually, a sunhat on a silly girl.

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Longies:

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Trainers

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A Knit T



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Halloween Stitch Markers made with polymer clay.

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God-daughter hats

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Charlie Hoodies:

And now my computer is acting up, so that will have to be all the sharing for today!  :)  Hope you enjoyed!!!



I'm back!

After a long, well needed break, I'm back!

In the last year, I've been able to take on a new job as webmaster for our church & parochial school website. It's a great part time job. It's allowed me to use my digital creativity to produce a functional and user friendly website. It's over at www.christlutheranzumbrota.com
Check it out!
Every summer I plan to redo the templates to give it a fresh new look for the new school year.

I've also joined a "planning group" at our church. Our Ladies Aid disbanded, and we hope to create a new Ladies Ministry that will incorporate ladies of all generations. There are so many duties that the Ladies Aid performed that are still needed and there are many new ideas for fellowship that need to be added. It's a wonderful blessing to be able to contribute to this important group!

I've aquired a spinning wheel and LOVE HER!!! I named her Laura after her previous owner. Spinning yarn is a calming and rewarding talent for me. Our children love to see how the fiber turns into yarn and love even more when I knit something with it! It's an amazing process!
I'm also learning how to prep fiber! I've purchase a bit of alpaca and was given a large bag of wool for Christmas.

Sewing and slowed down some, but not gone away! I still love taking fabric and making a beautiful product. I have some recent sewing to share soon.

Currently I'm working on revamping the blog and gearing up for business again!
I hope to offer hand spun yarn, hand knit items, and hand made items, including diapers! I still have a tote full of diaper supplies and many customers asking for more.
I want to stock my etsy store (www.tailenddesigns.etsy.com) and I've got a few items on consignment down at BeeLighted in Zumbrota, MN. http://www.beelighted.com/

Thanks for reading and WELCOME BACK!!!!!

Come back often! I will be having a grand re-opening with a drawing before the month is over!!!

Americana Longies

This was my most recent Custom Order. The mama who ordered these came up with the design herself. Her husband was returning home from a tour of duty and she wanted something special for their daughter to wear. They turned out amazing.

Some recent sewing

I would like to share some recent sewing. Last week I made an awesome duffle bag. We used it last weekend for a quick overnight and it fit our pj's and a change of clothes for all 5 of us!

Next, I made an outfit for the neighbor's new baby.

Today I made PJ's for our oldest daughter.

Where does the time go?

I found myself swamped with custom orders this last year, mostly diapers. I was barely able to sew a few pieces for my own family. Of course, the holidays came and I wanted to give some handmade gifts, but ran out of time to make them. So, a new year, a new leaf!

This year I will limit the amount of sewing I do for others. I will still knit with wild abandon though! I'm able to do that in my evening down time. :) As well as car trips and hanging out outdoors. :) I also have a lot of projects that I'd like to do for my family. There are so many awesome patterns for Little Ones out "there" that I figure I'd better get to sewing, or I won't have little ones to sew for anymore. :(

2011 will bring about a more relaxed atmosphere here. I'm looking forward to the change.

(I do have to say that I still hope to stock some items on my etsy from time to time.)
As always, if you need anything from me, just ask!

I'm still here!

It's been a crazy spring. This early spring-like weather has my head in a tail spin! It's inspired me to organize and clean, sew and create! I've taken on LOTS of new projects as of late. I will get some pictured soon.
I am closing my hyenacart (hyenacart.com/tailenddesigns) and opting for etsy to sell my project overflows. So head on over to my hyenacart, use code "byebye" without the quotes to get 10% off my already low prices, and free shipping!