Are you ready for Christmas???

I know we all have those last minute Christmas gifts... whether they still need to be purchased... or you are like me, and are still knitting away, lol.

Of course, being the "genius" that I am, I decided yesterday that I needed another Christmas gift... so I frantically searched Ravelry until I could find a pattern that wouldn't take me forever to knit... and I passed out with needles in hand last night :)

Last minute Christmas gift :)

As you can see, I'm really not very far at all... but I have hope that I will get it finished in time!

The UPS man just dropped off a package... and wouldn't you know, its like Christmas for me... I had ordered a sheep shirt from Ravelry last week... they had a spelling mishap, so the shirts were super cheap... and of course I just had to buy one, lol. They sold out really quickly, so I had to get a size smaller than usual.

Its a little tight, but I do not care... it is amazing!!!

How awesome is this???

Here's to hoping that everyone has a wonderful and very Merry Christmas!!! and I will be sending good vibes that all those last minute Christmas gifts get finished :)

Bead Spindles!!!

If you have been reading the blog... Im sure you noticed the bead spindles that were photographed in the "Fiber In 2015" pictures... well they are finally making their online "debut", lol :)

So far, I have only photogrpahed and listed two of them so far... but I did manage to figure out how to upload YouTube videos of how they spin... Its all a learning process for me.

Here is the Tie-Dye Swirl Spindle:

And here she is in action :)

The other one is the Batman Spindle... I love the colors on this one...

And here he is in action :)

If you are interested in either of these spindles, they are currently for sale... or I can do a custom one if you have something in mind 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/twinmommycreations

Christopher Wayne Renfrow

I have been working on so many things that I wanted to share with you all... but life happens... 

My best friend for the last 17 or 18 years (I don't remember the exact date, but I was 11 when we met) passed away on Monday evening... he and I had gone of different paths after high school, but no matter what, we were always there for each other.

Chris - Senior Year

When I moved to Gainesville, I talked to Chris at least once a week just to check in with him... he eventually moved to Illinois and we continued contact... one night he called and said that he needed a ride from the Ocala bus station back to Winter Haven to see his family for Christmas... of course I drove down to Ocala at 1am and took him and his friend Kenny back to Winter Haven.

We stayed in contact while I was in Naples, and we would make time to see each other when I came back to town.

He had fallen on some hard times the last few months and wasn't really sure where life was going to take him... but he always had that wonderful smile on his face... even on my worst day, he would make me feel better... he decided to move back to Georgia to be with his family.

Not sure when it was taken, but I love this pic of him

The day that he was heading to Georgia, I took him to the bus station... we sat in the truck for a couple hours just talking... I handed him a letter that I wrote him to read on the bus... I figured that it was better to tell someone everything you ever wanted to say to them, just in case... we hugged, cried, and he got on the bus... I cried the whole way home... afraid I might never see him again :(

Back of his sophomore picture

Every week he was in Georgia, he would call or text just to let me know how life was going... he was doing really well up there... spending tons of time with his family... and always gushing about his two beautiful nieces... he was finally completely happy... 

Yesterday, I got news that shook my world like nothing has since Scot (my step dad) passed... Chris was found not breathing and had passed away... 

We had highs and we had lows... we were close and distant... but no matter what, he was there for me, and I was there for him... just blind love... I loved Chris from the time we were 11 years old, and I will love and miss him forever

If you have something to say to someone, say it... you might not get tomorrow!

9th Grade

Goodbye Christopher Wayne... may you rest peacefully... I will love you forever... until we meet again!

Fiber In 2015 Booth!!!

For those of you who wanted to attend the Fiber In and couldn't make it... or just want to see what the booth looked like... Here you go :)

Rolags / Silk / Rovings / Yarn

Sari Silk / Cotton / Camel / and More

Roving / Batts / Angelina Wall

Handmade Spindles

Special Flock of Sheep from Scott :)

It was so wonderful seeing everyone who made it out... got to meet tons of new faces... and see all the gorgeous faces from the past!!! Cant wait til next year :)

Tomorrow, Tomorrow... I hope to see you tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be heading to Orlando for the Fiber In... and I could not be more excited!!! I am also terrified (as always)... because as always, I feel like I don't have enough inventory... yada, yada, yada...

Its an internal struggle that I will deal with, lol... I did manage to sleep last night... and I woke up so mad at myself for falling asleep... but such is life... 

I got a little bit done... and hopefully tonight I can get some stuff done, but mom and I got invited food tasting thing tonight from the city... so we sort of have to go :)

Pulled Sari Silk

Pulled Sari Silk

And this baby has been working like crazy!!!

I haven't had much time to work on getting a lot of rolag sets done... but I have gotten a few of them...

See you soon!!!

And Then There Were TWO!

I'll be honest, last night was not very productive... unfortunately I fell asleep... on the couch with yarn wrapped around my wrist and a spindle in the other hand... Decided that I needed to call it a night and just go to sleep... told myself "I'll wake up early"... HA! yeah right... I was late getting the kids to school, lol.

So, here is hoping that tonight is better... 

I did manage to get more stuff put in bags this morning... just cant lose track :)

Angelina and Silk Cocoons!!!

Ill be working on Camel Down tonight...

Lastly, I have been wanting to make something with my hand dyed as a sample for customers to get ideas... Well, this yarn just needed to be knit :)

Rainbow Hat :)

Three!!! Only 3 Days Remain!

Three days til the Fiber In... I have officially figured out how Friday is going to flow... luckily my mother is going to help out greatly and take care of the kids for me... so the most important thing that was stressing me out, has now been dealt with :)

We managed to get to the studio after work last night... and apparently I didn't realize that the boys were sleepy... one minute they were up running around and the next they were passed out by the front door behind me, lol...

Knocked Out!

Hopefully tonight will be productive without the little ones being sooo tired.

Here are some pictures of one of the "secret" things that will be at the Fiber In... Hand Carved Rosewood Shawl Pins... these were made by a small company in India by craftsmen who design and then hand carve each shawl pin :)

Rosewood Shawl Pins

Six Different Styles

I'm hoping to pull another all-nighter and get more done tonight!!!

Wowza!!! Only 4 Days Left!!!

Only 4 short days til we gather and start setting up for the Fiber In!!! This past weekend flew by and I feel like I should have gotten soooo much more done than what I actually did, lol... But I did take yesterday to see some friends (Cori and Sharlyn), mingle a bit, and actually got some stuff done :)

Not much dyeing this weekend... but at least it is all dry now...

Brights... on South American Wool!!!

Fall Colors... on Falkland!!!

There have been some other progress made, but wouldn't you know I forgot to take pictures, lol... I will say that I will have some pretty awesome stuff... I cant tell you what it is just yet... but maybe tomorrow you will get more info :)

Only a Week Away!!!

Ahhh!!! The Fiber In is only a week away... This time next Friday, I will be all set up at the Allure in Orlando... talking to great friends and having a wonderful time... I really hope some of you will make it out to enjoy the weekend with us :)

Yesterday was definitely more productive... but sometimes, I just wish I was a robot and didn't have a job, lol... 

Figure I should let you see some of my sneaky plans... (insert evil laugh)... :)

I decided that I wanted to have different breeds of loose fiber for people to purchase... I know a lot of us just want to try all the sheep breeds... so here you go...

Oxford Fleece

Coopworth Fleece

Valais Blacknose Locks

Yes, you read that right... Valais Blacknose... I got in contact with a farmer in the UK and imported some fleece... I will have separated locks (super long), as well as just fleece...

This is actually one of the sheep from the farm...

And here is a picture of an ewe with her lambs...

The farmer generously sent me some of her pictures to use... aren't they super cute???

Lets see what the weekend brings :)

8 Days... and away we go!!!

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday for "9 days to go"... so now we only have 8 more days to wait, lol.

Last night wasn't super productive, because I had to mow the grass at the studio... it was way too long, and kept choking out the mower... but its done!

So, here are some of the cool things that can be seen at the Fiber In... September 18th to 20th in Orlando, FL :)

1 ounce batts

I have a new idea for a batt display... so I'm hoping that these will look pretty awesome in it :)

Fishy Stitch Markers!!!

Howlite Skull Stitch Markers

Of course I had to have some Rainbows, lol!!!

Lets see what tonight brings... I'm hoping for some inspiration and tons of caffeine, lol :)

10 Days to go!!!

And the count down had kicked into high gear!!! We officially have 10 days until the Florida Fiber In... I can not even tell you how excited and yet terrified I am right now...

Of course there have been some new ideas swirling this weekend, but I had to keep it under control... just trying to get as much done and see what happens :)

Here are some more of the rovings that the boys and I have been working on :)

Neons!!!

This one might be my most absolute favorite roving to date!!! It is so crazy beautiful... Cheviot Wool :)

Two Weeks til Fiber In!!!

As some of you may know, the Florida Fiber In is right around the corner... just two weeks to be exact!!!

I have been trying to keep my cool this year... and not put too much extra thought into things... because as you know, I can not just keep in simple, lol... All these new ideas just keep jumping in my head and I have to actually stop thinking about them :)

So, lately I have been testing out a new method of dying... and I let the boys pick out the colors... whatever happens, happens... but man are they proud when the fiber is dyed... 

Here are some of their dye jobs you will get to see at the Fiber In :)

Some of the boys color choices :)

Ethan's Favorite!

Dylan's Favorite!

Proud Boys!!!

Everyday after work, they ask if they can "Go Make More Yarn", lol :) 

New Ideas... Again!

I looked at the calendar the other day and realized that the Florida Fiber In is just over two months away!!! And then it hit me... you need to get your butt in gear!

Of course, as soon as I start working on getting stuff together, the ideas start flooding my brain... This time it was no different, lol.

So, here is a sneak peek at an idea that's going back and forth in my head... I'm not going to let out any details yet... I need to work on getting my hand to cooperate in order to make them :)

*Shhh... *

I'm hoping to get more time at the studio to work on this idea and see where it goes... of course there are about five other ideas trying to get out as well, lol :)

Washing Fleece and Silk Noil...

Since I haven't been feeling up to tackling the jobs at the studio, I have sort of been avoiding it for the last couple of days... Well last night I decided that I needed to suck it up and get over there!

After washing some fiber for a customer... Some Shetland/Merino (white) and Border Leicester (black/brown)

Shetland/Merino

Border Leicester

I went ahead and started dyeing some add-ins for future batts... Just love how Silk Noil takes color!!!

Silk Noil... it matches my kitchen, lol

Fuchsia and Yellow

Hopefully tonight will be more productive... I have fleeces to wash, fibers to dyes, and batts to be made :)

Texel/Dorset with Mohair and Firestar :)

I have been steadily working on getting the studio together... of course not fast enough... so I'm trying to get things going a little faster... 

  

Of course, I can not just focus on getting stuff moved, when there is so much other fun stuff that I can be doing... so Ive also been processing and spinning a bit, lol.

I agreed to do a batt making contract... the fiber is Texel/Dorset and then some mohair locks from the cutest little goat - Sweet Pea :)

I absolutely love when the client gives me artistic freedom to do what I want with the fiber... so I let the creative juices flow, lol...

All the Colors!!!

Test Batt... just to make sure the customer is happy with the way they are turning out :)

And of course, I just had to do a test spin... you never really know what the yarn is going to turn out like unless you play around with it...

Single

Scott Snyder Spindle

Fingering weight single

2-Ply Spindle Spun - 110 yards

I love the little pops of color!

Finished Yarn

The batt started at 1.2 ounces... managed to get 110 yards of 2-ply Sport/DK weight yarn :)