Ch-ch-ch-changes.....If you've been watching my Facebook page, or picking up my tweets, visiting my Etsy store or just checking up on my homepage and web store, you'll have noticed a few changes.  Symphony in 19-21 Micron felting wool Most exciting is the increased range of wools available now! You can now buy any of my shades in:
Haunui Handcraft Wool. I am just loving working with this natural coloured halfbred tops! It's beautiful to spin, felts with ease and has a gorgeous hint of lustre. It comes from a specialised handcraft bred flock in South Canterbury , and is a real joy to work with.  Dark Grey Haunui Handcraft tops in Harvest Home. This tops comes in four base shades, and can be overdyed to any of my listed colours. I'm just working through the shades at the moment and listing them as examples in the shop - you can order directly from the menus or request a custom order for any shade not listed. If I think it's not going to work out (some shades take dyes differently from others) I will be in touch with you to discuss options! If you're unsure, I can help you choose. I'm working my way through spinning samples of the undyed fibre at the moment - what a lovely, lofty yarn it gives! I've spun it quite fine, then Navajo plied it to get a stable, round yarn which I would rate as worsted weight. Easy spinning while watching TV! See examples on the Haunui page.  Aria in felting sliver Last, but definitely not least, is the 19-21 micron merino felting sliver. This is a carded and double-gilled preparation. It's very fine and dense, but does contain short fibres and a varying amount of vegetable matter. It can be spun, and gives a lovely soft and lofty yarn with a definite slight texture, but is not as easy to spin as the combed fibre. This fibre is in limited supply; when what I have is gone, I may decide not to get any more processed. It will be replaced with carded and combed 21 micron merino in the near future; this will be suitable for spinning or fine felting.  Most fun is the Shade of the Week - I've now decided that you can buy up to 500gr of the homepage featured shade at $1 discount per 100gr - just a special show of my appreciation for those of you who buy direct from either my website or the Etsy store. So if you want to take advantage of this offer, buy direct from the homepage box, not from the store (which doesn't give the discount). Shades will change on Friday or Saturday every week.  Most useful is that I've changed the layout of the Buy Now section (again). My intention was to make it easier to view and buy from the shop, with multiple thumbnails that you can click on to view a larger image. I've also made the shopping cart a bit more functional so you can add items and return to shopping more easily! Item quantities can be changed in the shopping cart, while fibre type and colour can be selected from the dropdown menus in the "Add to Cart" box. It's all about me.... "Mexican Cantina" - project in progress. And off-site, I've been really enjoying saving favourite items and web finds on Pinterest. What a great way to keep track of those things we always look at and think "I must remember to come back and look at that!"
Today I added to my stash on Ravelry, and started a new project listing - a super-stash-busting jacket I've dubbed "Mexican Cantina" because of its loud and obnoxious colours! Joined together in a rather drunken chorus, they become surprisingly tuneful. And it takes all night to finish a row at the moment (slight exaggeration). I'm keeping track of the design, so it might end up as a published pattern sometime.
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Could you spare some time to help me improve my product or my service? I've added a survey page today. I'd like to know if I'm meeting your needs - so I'd appreciate any feedback you might have, positive or otherwise.
In return, I promise to take notice - and improve anything that needs to be improved. I have now sold out of all the 23 micron wool and have replaced my dyeing stock with 22.5 from a different supplier. I will continue to research the most cost-effective and the best quality wools, so that I can provide you with the best possible product. I'm also thinking about adding some new products. How about some dyed mohair locks? Or do you fancy some other breeds? Romney? Corriedale? Dyed fleece? Dyed yarns? Let me know. From now on I'll be regularly writing about feltmaking. Hints and tips will be found in a new page on the site. Topics will be: how wool felts, sampling and shrinkage, matching fibre to end product, surface design, how to design garments to suit fabric type, simple versus complex shaping for garments...and more....first post is here. Did you notice my new favicon?? I drew the cute little cloud that shows up next to the site name on your browser bar in Photoshop. Just had to point it out 'cos I love it so much! |
 AuthorKate is a semi-retired photographer and craft dyer who lives in Southland, New Zealand. Archives
August 2015
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