For wool roving, spinning fiber and equipment, hand spun yarns, and classes in the Kansas City area, check out the Woolgathering in Lexington, Missouri

Even though I live near Kansas City, it is still difficult to find local sources of wool roving, spinning equipment, and fiber classes.  There are several yarn shops and chain hobby stores that carry a wide variety of ready-made yarns, but there are very, very few places to find actual wool roving and spinning supplies as well as classes.

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 On facebook the other day, I happened upon just such a shop in Lexington, Missouri, called Woolgathering.  My husband was very sweet to take me and the baby girl for a little Saturday afternoon drive to check it out.  I was extremely happy with what I found.  It is an awesome fiber shop!  The shop carries all kinds of fiber arts supplies and equipment and even offers classes on spinning, knitting, and crochet.   It also has very reasonable prices.  I left there with a bag full of roving and know that I'll be back for more.  Also, Lexington is really a sweet little town with oodles of charm.  I could see making a day trip of it to explore the downtown area and eat there.  (Although, it isn't too far for a quick trip for supplies either.)  When you get the chance, I highly recommend that you go check out Woolgathering for yourself.  If you are a fiber artist or fiber junkie of any kind local to the Kansas City area, I think it is well worth your drive time.

A very fancy kitty came in the mail yesterday afternoon...

A Fancy Kitty drum carder that is!!  Yippeeeeeee!!  Yay!! Wooooohooooo!

After years longing for my very own drum carder, I finally took the plunge and invested in a beautiful fine Fancy Kitty drum carder by Anderson Originals.  It is of superb quality.  I also love that it is handcrafted in the U.S.A. in my home state of Missouri.  I highly recommend this brand of carder!


When it arrived yesterday afternoon, I immediately took it out of the box and set it up.  (I even cleaned the house earlier in the week so that I could card the rest of the week totally guilt free.)  I had a box of fibers all ready to go.  Since yesterday, I have carded six batts and can't wait to do more!  I have put both roving and locks through it and many different fiber types including Merino, Corriedale, BFL, and even some firestar.  It cards wonderfully smooth with very little effort.  I've been running my batts through twice, but once for most fibers would be fine.  I've even been able to remove the batts rather easily.  The only tricky part that I've found is cleaning it.  I've been using my hand carder, but it doesn't get all the fibers that are embedded deeply in the carding cloth.  I may try using my shop vac to give it a good cleaning once I'm finished for the day.  I had seen someone recommend using a shop vac to suck up all the little left over fibers on a forum that I belong to.  Now I can use their good advice on my brand new drum carder.

For your viewing pleasure, here's some photos of the batts that I've made so far.  I call them my practice batts because I have been using the odds and ends bits of roving and locks left over from felting and and other fiber projects.  I still think that they turned out rather well for practice batts though.  I may use my drop spindle to make some into yarn.

(By the way, if you love Fancy Kitty carders, want more info about them, or to be a part of a great community of Fancy Kitty owners, there is a wonderful Fancy Kitty ravelry group that you can join.  It has loads of great information and good discussions!)

 

  

  

A Little Reminder about the Weekend and Valentine's Day Shopping...

For those who are local to the Kansas City area, I just wanted to remind you about an arts and crafts show where I will be a vendor this Saturday.  There are many handmade artisans going to be selling their fabulous wares.  Please make the time to attend!  The event is from 10am - 5pm at the Westport Flea Market, 817 Westport Road, Kansas City, Missouri.  You can find complete event details and driving directions by clicking here.

I will be selling needle felting kits, silk packs. woolly beads, heart pendants, and more!  Please come by and introduce yourself, browse, and have fun shopping for those you love this Valentine's Day.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Upcoming Valentine's Day Arts and Crafts Show at the Westport Flea Market in Kansas City Missouri Features Handmade Creations for your Sweetheart!

I will be a vendor at this local upcoming event.  Join myself and several other handmade artisans at the Westport Flea Market on Saturday, February 13th, from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.  It is the ideal place to buy something for those that you love or just a little something special for yourself!  I will be selling my handmade needle felted heart jewelry there as well as my needle felting kits and new line of note cards and tags.  There will also be some of my nuno felted scarves and other fashion accessories available.  Click here for driving directions, a list of vendors, and complete event details.  I hope to see you there!

20% OFF + FREE SHIPPING (11/27 - 11/30)

Just a reminder about my Etsy shop Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale - 20% off + free shipping!  And, I am happy to offer the same in my ArtiFire and 1000Markets shops too!  I will refund your discount and shipping cost in those shops after purchase is completed.  There are many items for less than $15 and several one-of-a-kind items too.  I, as always, encourage you to buy handmade and shop local for your holiday gifts.  Have a great weekend :)

Spending the 4th of July on the family farm! cookouts, bullfrogs, ponds, flowers, and more.......

My parents recently purchased a 30+ acre farm in the Ozarks region of Missouri. My husband and I were fortunate to spend the 4th of July weekend with them. It is beautiful there!!! I grew up in a small town in the Ozarks, but my parents' farm is the essence of what that area has to offer - blissful outdoors! Our activities over the weekend included cooking out on the grill, ATV rides, sitting on the front porch in the peace and quiet, watching the bullfrogs in the pond, and of course some fireworks! I thought that I'd share a few photos.


I'm very happy for my retired parents that they can enjoy their land and all that it has to offer (and we can too when we visit!).

Yay! I've been featured on the Kansas City Etsy Street Team's blog.....thanks to KCEtsy & its talented artists and crafters!

This weeks artist spotlight on the local Kansas City Etsy Street Team blog is all about me! I'm very thankful to fellow Etsy seller aj's country cottage for compiling the lovely article. My local group of Etsy artists and crafters is really a wonderful thing to be a part of. Be sure to check out KCEtsy.com to find out a little more about me and the Kansas City team.

I'm a vendor at Friday night's Kansas City Etsy Street Team Trunk Show! Go Green with KCEtsy!

This Friday evening, I'll have a table full of felted goodness at the KCEtsy "Go Green" St. Patrick's Day Trunk Show! I hope you can drop by to browse and shop!


The Kansas City Etsy Street Team is teaming up once again with Shiraz Restaurant this month, to participate in the Crossroads Art District's First Fridays.

Where: Shiraz Restaurant, The Gallery Room
320 Southwest Blvd., Crossroads District, at Southwest Blvd. and Broadway

When: First Friday, March 7th, 2008
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Admission to the KCEtsy "Go Green" Trunk Show is free and open to the public. Buy a glass of wine at the bar and join us in the Gallery Room to talk with the artists, and shop their amazing handcrafted items.

Read more about the show and all of KCEtsy's lovely artisans at www.kcetsy.com!

**content text contributions from the KCEtsy blog & tinystitches, image contribution by karenkayartworks**

Come feel the felted goodness in person! KCEtsy Trunk Show this Saturday!

Don't miss out on some fuzzy felted goodies at the Kansas City Etsy Street Team’s Artist Trunk Show. Come buy some holiday gifts (or some goodies all for yourself) at this local KC area indie arts fair. Browse and buy unique, quality, handcrafted items and support your local artists and crafters!

Here's all the juicy details:

Date: Saturday, November 10, 2007
Location: Bella Dance Studio
Address: Bella Dance Studio, Westport Center, 508 Westport Rd. Suite 102, KCMO, 64111
Admission: FREE
Hours: 3pm – 8pm
URL: kcetsy.blogspot.com

Description:
Shop local and shop handmade from local artists and handcrafters in the Kansas City Area who sell their wares on www.etsy.com. A wide range of high quality, unique, handcrafted items will be available. Here is just a glimpse at what this show will have to offer. Amazing wool felt creations; stunning mixed media and digital art; beautiful ornaments, stationary and pendants using vintage art; chic handmade wearables; classic accessories for babes and tots, and much, much more!

During the show enjoy music by DJ Labeaugot, and sample foods by Personal Chefs.

For a list of all our local Etsy artists, visit our KCEtsy blog. View pictures of our recent work at our KCEtsy Flickr group.

Text description of show contributed by member of KCEtsy - tinystitches.etsy.com.

Strange Folk Festival update . . .

Well, it has taken me a while, but I've finally gotten around to posting some photos of the Strange Folk Festival. It was a blast to attend and very well trafficked with buyers as well as packed with top quality vendors. As far as sales go, I did fairly well and more than paid for my trip and time. I'm overall pleased with the festival and hope to be able to go back as a vendor next year. A big thanks to Autumn, our event coordinator guru! She did a wonderful job of making the festival a great success.

Etsy was well represented there with Lauren (stellaloela) and Amy (wonderamy), both Etsy administration. They had a lovely table set up with all kinds of free Etsy goodies and info. You can see a photo of the Etsy banner below. My table was always so busy that I had to send my husband over to snag some nifty free stuff for me!

Please have a look at the event photos below. You may also go to my flickr account to see more photos and full photo descriptions.

Just a little reminder . . . The Strange Folk Festival!

I'm a vendor at the Strange Folk Festival in O'Fallon, Illinois, just outside of St. Louis, on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Community Park.
Please visit the event's website for more information and driving directions.

The KC Etsy Trunk Show . . .

Well, last night was the Kansas City Etsy Trunk Show! It was only my second public venue for selling my felted goodies. The atmosphere was really nice, and it was a great opportunity to meet several local Etsy sellers. Thanks to Janay of abstractpretty on Etsy for organizing the local event.

Overall, I count the event as a success because of the great local exposure, chance to learn, and opportunity to meet other Kansas City artists and crafters. Honestly, I didn't sell very much, but it is a hard sell for woolly items in 100 degree weather here so I'm not too disappointed. I hope to participate in more and more local and national events like this one in the future!

Here's some photos of my booth display which, admittedly, needs a little tweaking to look better. My husband built the wonderful hat display and scarf rack, but I'm still working on the layout and color scheme. There's also more photos of my table display and the event on my flickr account if you'd like to see.

The KCEtsy Trunk Show is coming soon . . .

Mark your calendars for this Friday!
Come and see what the talented local artists and crafters of Kansas City have to offer! This event is Friday, August 24th, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bella Dance Studio in Westport Center, Kansas City, Missouri. I'll be there selling my funky felted items. Several other Kansas City Street Team members will be selling their locally handmade goodies also. Come, browse, and meet the artists. Oh, and buy a few things too!

Yay! Kansas City Etsy Street Team is official!

Well, it is about time that the Kansas City metro area had its very own Street Team on Etsy! I'm super excited about being part of a local group of hard working, creative artists and crafters. For those of you who don't know what an Etsy Street Team is, this is the explanation according to Etsy themselves: "A ’street team’ is a group of people who choose to get together, based on either location (which is where the name street team comes from - traditionally it’s people in your city) or based on interest (what you make, a common goal, etc) and promote Etsy!" You can read more about Street Teams here. Also, take a peak at the new Kansas City Street Team profile for complete information.

So far, we have a wonderful group of Etsy sellers representing a wide array of artistic talents. Our members include Hatstravaganza, Soapmania, Baxtershouse, scottgarrette, bellaveda, thefunkyfelter, gelly, sockcats, sockdogs, LaurenAlexander. Stephanie of Soapmania and Hatstravaganza organized the group and has stepped into its leadership position. I really appreciate her efforts and great ideas. If you are a local artist or crafter with an active Etsy shop, you might be interested in joining the new KC metro area street team. Please contact Stephanie and check out our Yahoo Group too. We're just in the beginning stages so it is a great time to get involved!

Oh, and by the way, I designed the KC Etsy Street Team banner! I'm normally not one to toot my own horn, but I really like our banner, and it shows the graphic artist side of me too - yah, I'm not just a fiber artist after all.

Heart of America Fiber Festival

Last Saturday, my husband and I attended the Heart of America Sheep Show and Fiber Fest in Sedalia, Missouri. It is held every year about this time at the Missouri State Fair Grounds. We have wanted to go for the last couple of years, but something else has always come up, and we've missed it. Now that my husband is more interested in fiber arts, particularly the animal end of it (sheep, goats, alpacas, etc.), he volunteers to go to these events and doesn't have to be dragged to them. He has always been very supportive of my fiber art passion, but now he has a passion of his own which is very nice for both of us!

While at the festival, I was particularly interested in the vendors. Of course, I always head to where the wool roving is first and look at everything else later. And of course, I always end up buying some fiber! There were many vendors with quality fiber, but I tend to buy from the friendly ones that are helpful and not overbearing. I really dislike it when I'm totally ignored by a vendor which did happen a few times, and I didn't leave with any of their roving either. On the other hand, there were several very nice vendors that I did purchase from.

I bought several ounces of a turquoise, purple, and dark blue mix roving from "A Loom With a View" from Hermann, MO. It is the large roll on the left in the photo. I also bought a few ounces of colorful roving from Morning Sun Fiber Barn from Wapello, IA. It is the two smaller balls of roving in the photo. Both vendors were lovely women with a nice presentation and great quality fiber.


Besides buying wool roving, I also bought some dyed locks. The way I understand it, several women from Louisiana set up a booth together as one vendor. They had a large variety of rovings and equipment among other fiber art related items. They were all very sweet, helpful, and lovely to talk to. I bought some gorgeous Mohair locks from Nightsong Farms, one of the ladies' farms. It is the bright turquoise colored locks in the photo. I also bought some wool locks from Marsh Mellow Meadows, another ladies' farm. On the bag of these particular locks, it even gave the names of the sheep that the wool came from - Lulu and Lillie! I thought that was adorable. You can see Lulu's and Lillie's wool in the pale blue and orange colored locks. You can find out more about all of their southwestern Louisiana fiber farms here.

Next weekend, I think that my husband and I are going to attend the Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival in Adel, Iowa. We both enjoy these festivals so much, and I get super excited about purchasing a sampling of roving to work with! I'm not sure what I'll do with all of it yet, but I have some ideas.

Cottage Fiber . . . my personal choice

I've been meaning to tell everyone about my favorite local (Kansas City) supplier of wool roving, yarns, and many other fiber art related materials. The name of the shop is Cottage Fiber, and its wonderful shopkeeper and owner is named P.J. She is such a lovely and knowledgeable person to talk to about all fiber arts; although, her specialty is spinning and weaving. I'm sure that she'd even give you a little intro to spinning if you asked or, perhaps, even offer full-service classes if that's what you wanted. She carries top quality rovings of all kinds, hand dyed yarns, professional dyes, spinning and weaving equipment, as well as a variety of other fiber art supplies. I just visited her shop on Saturday and bought these beautiful batts of hand dyed, carded wool fiber that P.J. made herself. They are a mixture of mainly merino with various other fibers added for texture and color. I haven't quite figured out what to do with them yet. After all, they are just so very pretty as they are!


I buy the vast majority of my wool roving and fleece from Cottage Fiber. So if you're a feltmaker, weaver, spinner, knitter, or crocheter and like the colors, patterns, and textures that you see in my items, then go to Cottage Fiber to find fabulous materials for making your own handspun yarns, hand felted items, and other fiber arts. One of my favorite things to do is to visit Cottage Fiber with its wonderful, yummy variety of fibers! Recently, P.J. relocated her shop to the Crossroads District, an area of Kansas City known for its fabulous art galleries and diverse culture. Please check the Cottage Fiber website for directions to her brand new location. It is *definitely* worth an afternoon or morning outing to see Cottage Fiber's impressive collection of fiber art supplies and finished items as well as have a chat with P.J.