Uniquely Yours!

Opps, Here's Week 4

2009-11-16T10:36:00.000-08:00

So we are Juuuuuuuuust about done with the Kitchen and I realized I never posted week 4 pics. So here they are...the next remodel post will show you everything finished! YAY!!!!!!

Sink and Counter installed!

Picked out tile for the backsplash.

Dishwasher all installed and hooked up.

Shelf Up.

Paint!

Paint and cupboard doors installed!

Kitchen Remodel Week 3 and the Doors are going in!!!

2009-10-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

We're moving along at what sometimes seems to be a turtle's pace. Here's what we have to show for the week...

My father-in-law added trim to our existing flat front doors to mimic the newly added ones and they turned out amazing!

Eric primed and got one coat of white on the doors plus the fronts of the cabinets themselves, although I think they need a second coat and some touch-up along the edges. I LOVE how they match the new ones almost perfectly and will be a HUGE visual improvement for only $70! (A heck of a lot cheaper than all new cupboards!!!)

Also tore off the old Formica from the counters and ordered the dishwasher that will fit into one of the old cupboard spaces. We don't have enough room for a full size dishwasher but luckily they make an 18" model that will fit perfectly! ...even though it's smaller it's actually more money, go figure. BUT it's a gift from my dad! (Thanks Dad!!!)

Dad also got the breakfast bar trimmed out, but we need to repaint it as the factory paint powered off in the rain (weird.)

(Can't argue with FREE barstools from mom either! Just need to spruce them up a bit!!!)

A couple weeks ago we ordered our new exterior doors, well they came in and 'Jay the door guy' started installing yesterday! Here's my new front door from the inside, love that it's blue on both sides!!!

Week 4 means calling the electrician and plumber to get the dishwasher installed, putting up the cupboards doors, maybe starting to paint the BLUE, and Jay will be doing the back door and storm door (Front storm door is back ordered until the next week, he'll be back when it comes in to install it and to trim out the insides.)

Kitchen Remodel Week 2 AND a New Fiber Toy!

2009-10-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

Well we're somewhere in the middle, which means everything is a mess and barely anything is done. What did we do this week???

Torn down the Formica that was glued to the walls under the existing cupboards. Now trying to decide how to handle the remaining glue issue on the plaster walls...ie cover it back up with something, just skim coat it with plaster, or try scrapping it off and then replaster.

Eric installed the new light in the nook, the new range hood, and replaced the outlets...only got shocked 3 times (one outlet was on a different breaker than the rest of the kitchen...weird.)

Picked up the cabinets and countertop for the nook on Saturday! Dad, Grandpa, and Eric cut the countertops for the cabinets and breakfast bar to size and set them in place Sunday. Next up, screwing them in place, trimming them out, and painting them. A little touch up painting on the walls and then the nook with be done and we will be on to the rest of the kitchen! (Can't wait until the construction part is done and I can get on to the fun part, decorating!!!)

I had to take time out of working on the kitchen to play with my new toy, a Fancy Kitty Motorized Kitten Drum Carder!!! I LOVE it! The ideas are swirling about new SMOOTHER batt blends!!!

This was my first batt, it spun up like butter!!!

On to week 3...finishing off the countertops and chiseling away the glue on the walls...fun fun.

Week 1

2009-10-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

We did good this week!

The front and back doors and cabinets/counter tops for the nook are on order! I got all the wallpaper down and the walls scrubbed and ready to be painted next week! Eric got a coat of primer on the nook (yay no more yellow!) and we bought the new light fixtures. How about some pics?!

These were mid-week:

And these are from today, Sunday 10/11:

Next week we hope to have the nook painted and start installing the cupboards/breakfast bar!

Remodeling BEFORE

2009-10-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

I struggle with things to blog about most of the time but I thought this would be a perfect thing to write about, our remodeling projects! We have decided to tackle 3 projects this Fall/Winter.

This winter while Eric is unemployed (being a golf pro in Michigan is seasonal work) he is going to do refinished the stairs and upstairs floors. This project probably won't start until 2010. Here are some before pics:

Right now we are tackling the other 2, New doors and THE KITCHEN. We are having 'Jay the door guy' do the doors for us so that won't be too must work for us, except once the front door gets put in we are going to tear out the carpet in the entry and put in tile. Here are some Before pics of the front and back entryways:

The kitchen on the other hand we are doing ourselves! We have been in our house for 4 years this December and I have hated the Kitchen since the day I first saw the house. How kitschy is this?!

We are going to put in some additional cupboards in the nook, plus a floating shelf for my KitchenAid appliances and a breakfast bar with stools. As for the main kitchen area, since our budget is $1000, we are going to keep the existing cupboards, fix them up a bit and put in new (higher) counter top to accomidate a small dishwasher (which was my birthday present from my parents 2 years ago and we realized the counters were too short for it to fit!)

LOTS of work ahead, I'll give you weekly updates at the end of every weekend, now off to peel wallpaper!

Tour of my Studio

2009-09-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

I recently cleaned and reorganized my studio to help make me more efficient and at peace in my workspace. I am so happy with the results I thought I would share a tour of my fiber studio!

The view from the hallway.

Batts on the work table facing the window straight on from the door.

View from just inside the door.

Drum carder and work table.

Work station for making thank you notes, packaging batts and fiber, shipping, photo taking, and filing orders/expenses.

Close Up of Work Station.

Baskets for batts in process.

Cubbies holding fibers for batt making.

Corner of the room with add-ins on the left and additional fibers for carding on the right.

Yarn Storage on the left, Batt add-ins on the right.

Handspun stash in the blue totes, cubbies for personal spinning from other fiber artists on the left, and additional carding fibers/yarns for the ship in the clear totes.

Personal Spinning Stash.

Clear totes on the right from the top down: Black merino/alpaca(new!), Yarns to be listed in the shop, Rovings to be listed in the shop, Hand dyed merino, More hand dyed merino, and preassembled repeatable batt bags on the bottom.
Shoe Holder over the closet door on the left has cones of yarn for plying/wrapping.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour of my space. I plan of spending a lot of time this weekend in there! TGIF!!!

CAMP PLUCKYFLUFF!

2009-07-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

We'll I'm finally home and unpacked from Camp PluckyFluff and all I can say is WOW! WOW what fun, WOW what awesome yarns we all made, WOW to meeting "internet" friends for real, WOW to good food, and just all around WOW!!! I'm totally re-inspired to create awesome batts and spin fabulous out of the ordinary yarns. I has such a good time! As always, I prefer to let the pics do the talking...for the most part. :)

Getting set up!

The shared fiber room DAY 1 (so nice and neat!)

The shared "batt add-ins" couch

Lexi picking fibers to card crazy batts!

Best sandwich EVER!

On the drum...

Finished Lexi Crazy batt!

Natalie (Cloudlover) carding a batt on my Louet...I think there might be a slew of new Louet carders ordered after the workshop, everyone seemed to love them, but of course they are the best!!!

Lexi Demoing on the 1st day

The shared fiber room Day2...

Esther (jazzturtle) and Heather (girlwithahook) carding batts

From Left to Right: Mary, Lexi, Tiger, Esther, Heather, Natalie, and me!

Mary (Butterflygirl) and I

Esther (jazzturtle) and I

Lexi and I

All around an amazing time! I can't believe it went by so fast, I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

I missed June...

2009-07-01T06:48:00.001-07:00

but Happy July! LOTS of things have been going on, very good, busy things!

First of all, I got accepted to vend at the Michigan Fiber Fest in August!!! I am so excited! This will be my first time vending, so I've made my list (actually several pages of lists) and I'm plugging away at to get ample supply of both my regular line and OOAK batts made. If you're going to the festival, check out my booth and say Hi, I'll be in the back barn!

How about some Dyeing updates?

I bought some new dye colors and had to try they ALL out immediately. Love them!!!

I was interested to see how well some medium brown alpaca I have would overdye, Here is the results of that experiment:

The back right is the natural color of the alpaca, the back left is how the same dye concentration turns out on white merino, and the front is the overdyed alpaca. It's good to know I can get a variety in tones using this process!

Also, the weather was so nice and HOT this weekend I decided to give solar dyeing a go! HUGE success!!! I will be posting a tutorial on how I did it, low budget, very soon!

Raw Fleece anyone?!

I made my yearly trip to the local alpaca farm to pick up my loot on June 13th! I get what I get, no picking and choosing colors, but the deal is so amazing I can't pass it up! Here's the haul from this year!

Some of it is already off to be processed, some of it is waiting on blending decisions to be made, and about 10 fleeces or so will be available for sale raw in my booth at the fiber fest!

I also purchased a WONDERFUL Coated Cormo Fleece from Spinning Dreams Farm in Kentucky. I am absolutely amazed at this beautiful fleece!!! Customer service, shipping/packaging, and the quality of the fiber is above and beyond expectations! How about some pics?! This is Lucy:

Gorgeous huh?! It's already off to be processed into Pencil Roving!!! Cormo Pencil Roving, how exciting is that?!

Well I guess that's all for now! I will be posting again soon with the Solar Dyeing Tut. Have a happy 4th of July!!!

My week in Pictures! (Reverse Order)

2009-05-08T12:53:00.001-07:00

Fiber Friday! My favorite yarn of the week from Jazzturtle's My Little Pony SAL! I plied with some metallic silver bling yarn and added about 2oz total of 4 different colors hand dyed merino and when I came to those stripes of color I made HUGE granny stacks! I had to push them through the orifice on my Lendrum jumbo bobbin then were so big! There are random coils in there too and some humongo spots of glitz and bling! I think I got about 100 yards in the 2 skeins.
Fun with the puppies in the yard Thursday!

Shop Update Wednesday!

Nap time Tuesday! (Sydney)
Hammock Monday! Hubby in MY (early) Birthday present! Garage sale find for $50 including the stand!!!

Shower Sunday! Had a Bridal shower for Nichole in the morning and a Baby shower for Emily in the afternoon! Here are me and my girls (minus Katie who didn't make it home)

...and on of the Baby Blanket I made for "Baby Boy" Glass!
Good Week! Have a nice weekend!!!

More Batts!

2009-04-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

Now that the drum carder is fixed I can't stop! Here's the latest batch!!!

Back in Action!

2009-04-28T11:29:00.001-07:00

My Drum Carder has had a broken part for the last 2 weeks and it finally came and I fixed it over the weekend! YAY!!! Here are my latest batts.

Where in the world have I been?!

2009-04-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't been a very good blogger...or photographer lately. Sorry. :(

I am going to challenge myself to take a picture everyday in May and blog it! Some might still be fiber related, but I am going to strive for non-fiber, ie. Friends, Family, the Dogs, Flowers, SOMETHING everyday! Should be fun!!! Maybe it will get me out and about more too, searching for new and interesting things to photograph, heaven knows there are enough beautiful things (and unique things) to take pics of in our area!

What's Up Doc?

2009-03-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

This weekend was kind of busy so no carding got done :( I did write down some ideas for batts that I hope to make during the week! One includes LOTS of Firestar and Sari Silk!!! I did dye up some rovings, Merino and BFL choices in the same colorways, and hope to list those this week. I am also in the process of dyeing up some colors of firestar with matching merino! I have been trying to work on measuring and labeling my yarns and also hope to list some of those this week as well.

I have an event to attend this Saturday at a LYS in Holland, MI. My spinning group is going to be there spinning and Coby of CJKopecCreations and I will be carding up some batts. The LYS, Lizzie Ann's, is hoping to start carrying spinning wheels and spinning supplies, so maybe they will want to carry my batts! *crosses fingers* This is an “intro to spinning” type event and should be pretty fun!

How about some pics?

Recent Batts:

Recent Yarns:

It's February

2009-02-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

It seems I only do monthly updates to the blog...sorry about that but I don't really see it changing much. So what's new?! Well for starters my etsy shop was a featured "Yarn Pron" on Lime and Violet's Podcast Episode 80!!! I am super excited and thankful to them for squealing about my goodies! Check them out here:

So what else?! Nothing really, just doing the normal...spinning, carding, and knitting! Sorry this is such a boring post, thought I had more...maybe February will be a two post month...but don't hold your breath! lol OK how about some recent project pics? (That the fun part anyway right?!)

Where did November and December go?

2009-01-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Where have I been?! Or more importantly what have I been doing? How about a mosaic to sum it up!

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
1. Batts! This is a new regular line item, Witchie Woman and I LOVE it! I'm loving the purple/black combo right now!
2. Weaving! I got an Ashfor Knitter's Loom for Christmas to weave some of my handspun. This was my 1st project.
3. Spinning! I learned to Navajo-Ply. This is some handspun from AllSpunUp fiber which promptly went into my 2nd weaving project. Currently spinning my SAL fiber from Kristin and LOVING it!
4. Knitting! I finished this scarf in time to give it to my mom for Christmas. I am not the most skilled knitter, this was my 1st time following a true pattern!!!
5. Swapping! I participated in the Loop Secret Santa Swap and this is the lovely yarn and goodies I received.
6. Hosted a Spin-A-Long! I did a mini batt SAL. Great turnout and fabulous yarns were created by everyone that participated, this was mine, Navajo plied of course :)
7. More Knitting! I'm on a kick. This was a little hat I made myself from handspun!!!
8. More Spinning! Currently rocking the wheel corespinning everything in sight. I LOVE the results and my Jumbo head for my Lendrum is perfect for making HUGE skeins of corespun goodness.

So that's about it, other than I have a new addition for 2009 of my handspun to my etsy shop!

What's New?!

2008-11-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

Not too much and I'm pretty darn happy about it! Things are finally settling down after then yet again crazy fall season. I'm starting to get in Christmas mode, not quite ready to put the tree up yet but with the first few signs of snow the other day it got me all thinking about it.

I've been enjoying lots of down time with the hubby and our friends lately. It is really nice. Eric is done working for the season and again join the ranks of the unemployed last week. I always forget how much I enjoy having a stay at home hubby in the winter. For instance yesterday he went grocery shopping for me! (A chore I thoroughly dread.)

I've been spinning a lot lately and am trying to decide if I want to add handspun to my online shop or keep spinning in hopes of doing local bazaars and craft fairs...any thoughts? I starting going through the storage tote last night to reskein, check WPIs, and label. I got 4 skeins done...only about 60 left to go...I'm not going to kill myself working on it though, I am going to try and get caught up doing a few each night and then be more diligent about doing all this BEFORE tossing them in the finished bin.

I've also been knitting! I finished a hat and scarflette set from some handspun and it is all for me! I need to take a pic because I just love how it turned out...I will definately post a pic when I get one...maybe I will make my hubby take one at lunch today and add it this afternoon. I haven't had the knitting bug for a while...since well before I got my wheel, BUT the joy of knitting my own handspun has reignited the passion!

I'd been thinking about it for a while and had tossed out the idea over at my group with some interest so I decided to go for it! Here's the details:

If you would like to join the Spin-A-Long please feel free to purchase the listing and join the group, Uniquely Yours!

What you will receive:
Approximately 4oz+ of Holiday Surprise Mini Batts! (Everyone will receive similar fiber.)

The Time Frame:
Sign Ups/Purchasing available for 1 week, through 11/17/08.
I will ship by 11/24/08.
Yarn Pics due by Christmas eve, 12/24/08 to be eligible for the prize!

Here’s the Etsy Listing: Spin-A-Long Listing

The more the merrier, invite your friends!!! I am going to start with 5 listings but will add more if more people are interested. For an added twist there is going to be a drawing for an additional prize if you post pics of your finished yarns in the group!!!

I’m so excited for this and can’t wait to get cracking on these babies for you! Don’t delay, join the fun today!!!

Should be a good time! I'm excited to make the batts, I have some great inspiration for this one! Well I think that's about it for now...

I'm no longer a newlywed...

2008-10-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Nick and Jessica may have been newlyweds for 4 seasons but what did that get them? Rich and divorced I guess. Anywho, Eric and I passed the 1 year mark on Monday, woo hoo! After our dear friends' wedding on Saturday we headed north Sunday in the Jeep. The colors were absolutely AMAZING, a great reminder of my love for this season and the reason I was so excited to get married in October!

We made our way to Traverse City via some two-tracks and "seasonal roads" that unless you were looking for them you would never consider a "road." We had a blast and ended up finding some breathtaking trails around the Silver Lake area. Got a good laugh out of passing a Mercades on the two track a few times, and in pulling over to their outstretched arm one time learned they were foreign and out taking pictures! Too Funny. I hope that Benz was rented!!! lol

Traverse City was fabulous. We did some shopping, hit up the casino and enjoyed some Outback Steakhouse the first night. Then Monday, our anniversary we did it up right! Got a room at the beautiful Park Place Hotel downtown, picked up pie at Grand Traverse Pie Company (where our wedding pies were from!) hit up a few wineries, including Ciccone which is owned by Madonna's family and has a BEAUTIFUL BARN!!! For dinner we headed out to the Bowers Harbor Inn, an elegant old inn that specializes in fine dining, local wines, and to our surprise a ghost! We are more than certain that she even made an appearance at our table that night! Playfully swinging the lamp over our table ever so slowly at one point and then blowing out the candle at another. Our server even indicated that she liked the table we were sitting at and it was not uncommon for her to toy with those sitting there. (His calmness in saying so was definately intriguing.)

Now we are home, back to work, and settling in to our usual routine of tv, spinning, and hanging out with our dogs. Life is good!

Free Fiber Friday....SALE!

2008-10-03T05:52:00.001-07:00

In honor of the typical Free Fiber Friday I am doubling my sale until 5pm tonight, that means 40% off EVERYTHING. Pop over to the shop and check it out!!!

Uniquely Yours!

2008-10-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

And the Winner Is...

2008-09-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

HazmadKnitter!

My husband picked the lucky number and it was 18 (not including deleted posts) in honor of Peyton Manning and Colts Football Opening Day! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

Thanks to everyone for participating, I absolutely loved hearing all your favorite songs and the little stories you shared with me, I read everyone! Please be sure to join the group over on Ravelry, Uniquely Yours! and support the shop on etsy. Thanks again, next round is October 3rd and will most likely be fall inspired in honor of my favorite season and wedding month!

FREE FIBER FRIDAY - Sept. 5th 2008

2008-09-05T05:22:00.000-07:00

TGIFFF! Time for another round of Free Fiber Friday, YAY!!!!! The fiber this round is roving! A beautiful 3.5oz braid of 100% Hand Dyed Merino I am calling "Love Spell."

As for the contest this month, let's go non-fiber related. I would love to hear what your favorite Song or band of all time is! To win just leave me a comment and please be sure to include a way to contact you (if you win), either an email, Ravelry SN, or a blog url. This giveaway is open to the US and Canada and will run through Sunday evening, winner will be contacted and posted on Sunday evening! (Comment number will be chosen randomly by my hubby again!)

Now for the Pics!

If you LOVE this fiber and can't wait to win it, you can also purchase it in the SHOP. You will notice there are 2 braids pictured, the giveaway is for 1 braid, the other is for purchase. Thanks in advance for participating and good luck!!!

Single Scoops!

2008-08-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Introducing Single Scoops! Don’t you just love mini batts? These are my new line of approximately 1oz (.9-1.1 oz) mini batts! Mix and Match to create a project all your own or get one to add a punch of color and sparkle to another project! Batts are available in Repeatable blends, One-Of-A-Kinds and Happy Scrappy mini batts! Now available in the shop!

Michigan Fiber Festival

2008-08-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the MFF and it was tons of fun! Here's a little rundown of the day:
1. Watched the sheep show for a bit with Erica and her hubby (of course we were partial to the Windswept Shetlands!)
2. Had a delicious Olive Burger for lunch with Kathy, Jillian, Karen, Karen, and Beth.
3. Watched the judging of the skein competition (I should have entered a skein or two, maybe next year.) Congrats to Erica for the Blue Ribbon on her Baby Alpaca 3 ply!!!
4. Karen and I bumped into Lisa in the bathroom so we all headed over to Mike's booth to chat for a bit.
And then there was the shopping...OMG...I got some amazing things!!!

Here's the whole loot!
1 lb. 10oz. 2ply Alpaca Fingering weight yarn from Zeilinger Wool (show special $1/oz! Plans are to use it for corespinning or dyeing at this point.
Last year's tee (I didn't care for this years and this one was on sale!) and a spinning caddy, matches my Lendrum Denim carry bag! So cute!
Kid and yearling locks!
.8 oz Silk Hankies
8oz. "Fine Wool Blend" from Linden Lane Firestar
2.5 oz. Scrap Bag. One of the vendors had all their scrappies out and you could get as much as you could fit in a sandwich baggie for $2!!! I'm quite happy with my 2.5 oz fill :)
4 oz. "60% Polworth, 30% Alpaca, 10% Angora" from Linden Lane
4 oz. "Cormo" from Foxhill Farm
4 oz. "Polworth" from Linden Lane
8 oz. "Celtic Sea"" from Psalm 23 Farm, 61% Shetland, 31% Mohair, 8% Silk Noil and Glitz
8 oz. "Fireworks" from Psalm 23 Farm, 80% Shetland, 20% Sari Silk
4oz. Natural Black and White Shetland from Windswept Farms (I picked this to spin 1st, it's wonderful!!!)
1+ lb. Natural Moorit Colored Shetland from Windswept Farms (Mike has the best shetland!!!)
LOTS of Glitz

GREAT day!!! Can't wait until next year. I hear the rule is you have to use / spin everything you bought the year before or you can't buy anything next year. Eeek, I better get carding and spinning!

Babies

2008-08-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hubby surprised me this morning by saying "I'm ready to have a kid." I on the other hand am NOT quite ready to have a kid yet. We both agree that our magic number is one, although right now our number is two...our two dogs that is! So I thought I would share some pics and the story behind our (current) babies!

This is Buddy. Buddy was rescued from a home that kept him in a medium sized kennel ALL the time. When Eric got him he really didn't know how to stand up straight for a few weeks. Another case of someone seeing a cute puppy but not really considering exactly how BIG he was going to get. Buds is now about 4 years old and 160lbs (about 10lbs more when he doesn't have his summer shave!) He's my big baby and I love him to death!

This is Miss Sydney, she is 2. I got her shortly after Eric and I moved in together. Talk about personality, this dog has it! I knew I wanted a small dog but not a chihuahua or yorkie. After some breed reasearch I knew a mini dachshund was the dog for me! I found a local breeder and put together a little presentation to take home to Eric. I started with "Eric I want to get a dog..." I never got the chance to go any further, he said ok and that was that. We went and picked out Syd from her litter when she was only a week old. Waiting the next 5 weeks was tough but finally bringing her home was awesome! That was 5 weeks, how am I going to handle 9 months when a real baby is in the works?!

We we're exactly sure how HUGE and LITTLE were going to get along. We both kind of figured they would just co-exist. Oh no, not the case, they LOVE each other...well I guess it's more like Sydney loves Buddy and he tolerates her. Isn't that the grossest and cutest thing you've ever seen?!

A Clean Craft Room = A Happy Crafter

2008-08-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

I cleaned and organized my entire craft room! YAY!!! I've fallen in love with my room all over again. It seems there comes a point in the messiness that you just dump and run and I was there. Minus a box of 20lbs Alpaca fleece that needs to be sorted and then sent out for processing and the box of items to make my Christmas Presents for my friends and family everything is in place! I bet you want to see pics of this fabulous space don't you??? Well I wouldn't disappoint, here ya go!

This is my favorite part of the room, my fiber stash! The bottom row of cubbies hold all my personal stash items and I even organized it all by fiber artist! The rest of the cubbies are all my various fibers for blending batts!

The boxes on the shelves hold all my add ins for batts like locks, glitz, firestar, silk, etc.

The star boxes hold all my "stuff" for other crafts (collaging, candle making, etc)...there is that pesky box of alpaca fiber, and behind that are the Christmas Present making items.

"Uniquely Yours" finished items are stored in the sealed containers, current works in progress are in the laundry basket below.

This is my display area for my recent handspuns. They are beautiful pieces of art so why not display them?!

Hope you have enjoyed your 360 tour of my CLEAN Craft Room and I also hope I can inspire you to organize your crafty space as well! This room in and of itself inspires to me create beautiful things. I'm so happy I have rekindled my creativity with a little bit of cleaning!