JazzTurtle Creations Batts featured in Fall issue of Spin Off Magazine!

 I'm so excited because my batts are used in the current (Fall) issue of Spin Off Magazine!! Jacey Boggs  wrote a great article on corespinning and she used my batts for the piece! There's some amazing photos.. AND 2 shop mentions!  I'm just giddy.. and my neighbors must think I'm crazy since I started dancing around and squealing when I opened the mailbox and saw the batts in the magazine staring back at me!  This is my first major press and I can't be more thrilled!! Off to card batts for the bigger than I'd originally planned shop update this weekend!!

I'm only showing a few of the photos with my fiber.. you have to go buy the magazine to see the entire article!

(With my shop mentions!!)

I will have more of the "Magestic Peacock" batt that's featured on the front page of the article, along with more of the "No Worries" batts that Jacey is using to spin in my update on Monday. If you put "FALLSPINOFF2010" in the message to seller I'll refund your shipping!!

xoxo

Once Again I FAIL at blogging!!

I promise it's going to be different this time.. I know I know.. I say it every time.. and  yet the entire summer has gone by without ONE post!! NOTHING!!
Ok.. I'm still here.. LOTS has been going on in my life and in my studio/fiber life!!

The Carolina fiber fest went well.. full post about that coming! It was an amazing first festival which only wet my appetite for more!  Next year I'll be back.. I'm also planning on vending SAFF and maybe even YarnCon. I'm also applying  for the Raleigh Handmade Market if I  can get enough FO's done!

PluckyFluff Asheville.. another full post  coming soon.. but briefly it was  amazing, of course. Lexi is just a blast to hang out with and a great teacher! I'm hoping we get to throw back some wine and chocolate again soon!!

Teaching at SAFF- YEP!! I'm teaching my corespinning class this year at SAFF 2010! I'm so excited because this is the biggest venue I've taught at and my class was the THIRD of all the classes to fill up! I only got on the waiting list to vend since I didn't really think I would even try vending this year.. since I've never even ATTENDED *gasp* I know!!  But I did so well at the at CFF that I figured I would go for it- As I'm still on the waiting list, I think I'm just going to plan on teaching this year (and I'll have batts for sale in the class) and then next year I'll be vending!

I'm having a TRUNK SHOW!! You heard right.. Friday night, Oct 15th, from 6:30-9:30 join me at DownTown Knits in Apex NC for wine, snacks and and evening of FiberyFUN! More details to follow..

LOTS  of new stuff is happening over in the shop!- which is it's own blogpost as well!!
The fall season is upon is and the first batch of Halloween batts are listing  today! More will come over the next month including yarns, out of the bag fiber kits and indulgence tops!

OK..so back to the shop update which is happening ALL DAY.. individual blogposts about important events are coming. I promise to be  a better blogger and newsletter writer!

A tour of my studio-where the carding magic happens!

Welcome!! This is what you see when you pass my studio. I've had a couple requests for a virtual "tour" so I thought I'd invite you inside and show you around. I did a bit of spring cleaning and organizing this weekend, so I thought it'd be a perfect time! You see my bin of treasure fiber is open and ready to collect leftover carding fiber. I also have a basket out with add in's I'm currently putting in batts and yarns.

When you walk in you are greeted with my shelving unit of add in's and sparkle. Installing this above the desk and carding table is what really turned this room into a "studio" Previously it was all in "bins" that I would dump on the floor when I was working. There were 2 main problems with that.. first I couldn't see everything I had.. and if I don't see it, I forget it's there and don't use it! Most importantly is that I had to bend over and stand up again and again and again when reaching for goodies like sparkle and sari silk.. and I gave myself some vertigo by continued bending over and standing up.. I couldn't work for over a week. So installing this unit was a lifesaver. Everything I need is within reach and in sight!

Top shelf is a bin of hand dyed merino top odds and ends, a bin of treasure fiber leftover from projects and a small bin of add in's like silk flowers, pom poms, crocheted flowers, buttons..
The middle shelf holds a small bin of novelty yarn snippets, another small bin of my sari silk stash (yarn, thrums, recycled tangles, ribbon and pulled waste) The middle big bin is full of fabric strips and silk for spinning and adding into batts. The bottom shelves hold my bins of lurex and silk thread, 3 colors of holosparkle lurex, and sequins (behind the holosparkle), my basket of hemp noil in rainbow colors, my bowl of felted nubbies and pebbles and my NEW set of 3 drawer units for my smaller add in's like shredded money, neps, silk cocoons, worry dolls, buttons, fabric flowers. These were previously in a basket and just getting lost! I feel SO much more organized now that I can easily (and quickly) get what I need!
To the left of the desk you see my bookshelf with my smoothie carder on top (next to the drum I got in Cairo), my craft books and magazines, old textbooks and reference books from college and massage school, and on the top shelf baskets and bins with scrapbooking stickers, beads, sequins and crystals.

In the drawers above the carding station are:
angelina and lurex drawer.. every girl LOVES her sparkle drawer!!

Then above that it's my noils and banana silk drawer. A rainbow of silk, bamboo and cotton noils, along with tangled strands of brightly colored banana silk fill this drawer. Above that is another sparkle drawer.. this one is filled with firestar and icicle nylon sparkle. Again, a rainbow of fibers! The top drawer has vintage trim and lace, some silk snippets and other things for carding into batts and spinning into yarn. In between the drawers I have bags of brightly dyed curly kid mohair locks for adding into batts.

Next to the carding station I have my wire rack of farm wools and fleece. These are mostly solid or semi solid fibers from animal friendly farms. I mostly card this fiber, but I also spin some without carding..
The bottom shelf is filled with bins of fiber, and the top shelf is my sewing machine, serger and other quilting supplies.

I use over the door shoeracks for holding my rainbow of kid mohair locks and some wrapping/plying yarns. No space is unused.. including on the wall and behind the doors!

In the closet is my scrapbooking supplies.

My fiber wall.. my home LYS.. my pride and joy. I often sit on the floor and plan yarns by staring up at all the colors and textures.. I often hang yarns I've finished to inspire me.
This wall is made up of wire cubbies. The bottom cubbies are filled with top I use for carding. The top cubbies are shop inventory (except the last 2 are combed top spinning stash) The left side cubbies are all uncarded locks and fleece I plan to spin uncarded. This is also the cubbies I have my bamboo rayon designated for spinning not carding. The rest is all spinning stash. Mostly batts, some combed top and clouds. Some is created by me.. LOTS is from other independent artists like myself. I admit, as much as I love spinning my own fiber, I love to spin other people's as well. We all have a different carding style, so it's fun to play with other techniques. It is crazy though, I've collected this stash over my 3 years spinning.. I don't buy as much as I used to.. but there are still weeks when the mail comes heavy to my house!!

Well, thanks so much for stopping by! If you're ever in the Raleigh/Durham/Triad area and would like to schedule a private lesson and come by for real, drop me a line and we'll figure it out!!

'Tis the Season to send a Stocking Stuffer Custom Gift Batt!!

'Tis the Season to give the perfect gift to the spinner, felter and all around fiber addict in your life. What does a fiber lover want more than FIBER?!?! Send a custom batt full of color, sparkle and texture to a special friend (or yourself!) this holiday season!!

This batt will be 3.5 - 4 oz of fiber, plus add in's to work into your yarn or finished project. The batt could contain any/all of the following fibers: merino top, alpaca top, merino fleece, corridale fleece, coopworth locks, merino/cormo fleece, cotswold locks, kid mohair locks, rambouliet fleece, targhee fleece, romney locks, alpaca locks, llama locks, bamboo, silk, milk protein fiber, black diamond, sari silk strands, sari silk yarn, sari silk ribbon, novelty yarn snippets, recycled yarn snippets, silk noil, bamboo noil, cotton noil, banana silk, thread waste, firestar, angelina, lurex, tinsel, sequins

Once you make your purchase, I will send you an email with a few questions about your batt! You'll be able to include any special color requests, whether you'd like a holiday theme or not, glitz/no glitz, allergies..etc. There will also be a place for you to add the name and address of the recipient and any message you'd like me to include.

These batts will ship with regular Tues/Thurs packages- as Hanukkah starts early this year. If you'd like me to hold your purchase until Dec 15th, there will be a question about that in the email you recieve, so just let me now and I'll ship on the 15th so it arrives just before Christmas. Shipping is set so that packages will be sent individually, however if you'd like more than one batt to go to the same place, let me know and I'll refund the difference or set you up a reserved listing.

New Fiber, Sparkle and Glass Christmas Ornaments

I'm so in love with these ornaments! Full of color and sparkle.. bring your love of fiber to your holiday tree! These are PERFECT for gifting! Ready made ornaments are avaliable in the shop, and custom ornaments can be created!
These ornaments are created with perfect curly locks and sparkle, or bits of carded fiber. They celebrate color and will glitter when they hit light.
They will be sent in a little bag with a silver tie, ready for gifting. Come to the shop to check them out!! New colors go up every few days!

It's Art Yarn- Let it Go; Camp PluckyFluff Chicago 2009

Well, I'll start my "What did I do this summer" series of blog posts with the MOST amazing weekend ever!!! I was SO lucky to be the host of the first Chicago Camp PluckyFluff with Lexi Boeger, the author of Intertwined, the Art of Handspun Yarn. This weekend includes 2 days of intense art yarn spinning and crazy carding! It's also a wonderful chance to meet other spinners and fiber artists!!

I picked up Lexi on Friday afternoon and we had a book signing at our workshop local, the amazing Loopy Yarns, at the old Dearborn Station in Chicago's downtown.

It was a wonderful evening of wine and snacks and meeting some spinners I had only known over the interweb!!

After the signing, Lexi and I went to see some good friends of mine that happened to be playing at my favorite jazz bar, The Green Mill. This was really kizmit as I spent SOOOO many nights at the Mill when I lived in Chicago (one of the city's most well known, and oldest jazz bars... once owned by Al Capone's crew), as well as the band that was playing was the group I was on the road with when I met my now husband. I hadn't seen them play in over a year.. and they just "happened" to be in the City and playing that night! Lexi and I were able to skip the line (thanks to the awesome guest list +1) and just mosey into the bar! It was a great evening of jazz and whiskey! Lexi and I hung out for as long as possible.. and then back to the hotel to rest up for the next day's spinning extravaganza.

Sat started with a tour of the "sharing" area. It's SO amazing how generous people can be!! All of our spinners (we had 16 people of ALL ages!!) brought stuff to share!!




And that's just the FIBER/Carding area!! I didn't even get a shot of the "add in's" table which had plying yarns, ribbons, fabric, feathers, bells and anything else you could imagine!!
We were really blessed with an incredible group of spinners! We had all types of spinners as well.. from folks like me who spin primarily art yarns, to some who were just dipping their feet into the art yarn pool.. to our youngest member, a 13y/o boy who'd started spinning because he liked the yarns he saw in his Grandma's magazines.

SO.. first we spent some time in the carding area, where Lexi demo'd her "crazy carding" where she put "fiber sandwichs" thru the carder for super textured batts!!



We started with spinning our new crazy carded batts.. and just letting the fiber be spun as it wants. For me, this is the way I always spin.. lumpy, bumpy- just let it happen. For some, though, this was very difficult. Letting not evening out the slubs or neps.. we came up with our weekend Mantra- It's Art Yarn- Let it Go! Lexi also demo'd adding things into a single like sequins, fabric, feathers and other goodies.


Lexi Spins her Crazy Batt


My Crazy Batt yarn on the niddy noddy

The rest of the day we spent like the beginning- spinning and spinning and spinning!
It was so wonderful to finally sit and spin with my ravelry/etsy internet friends Jenna (Pumpknpunk) and Mary (butterflygirl)


We did thread plying techiniques like grannystacks, coils and beehives. We added cocoons and plied them into halo's. My cocoons were firestar and angelina.. sparklelicous!!




At the end of the first day the floor looked like a sparkle fairy had visited us all!


That night we went and had a wonderful dinner at a local joint.. and then it happened to be Venetian night in the City and Lexi had a hotel room that looked right over the lake.. right where they shot off the fireworks.. so we were able to enjoy a post dinner show! It was quite wonderful!

Lexi kisses my fish

Fireworks from Lexi's room

Day 2 was spent as day 1.. spinning, carding and just creating!

These were the techniques I really wanted to master- corespinning without a core, translucent mohairy, extreme tailspinning and Lexi's most difficult, aura. it was a wonderful day and I got to master all 3!

Lexi tailspinning

Lexi Spinning Aura

Me tailspinning

It was an amazing weekend! I spun 8 yarns.. mastered difficult techniques I'd been working on for awhile.. spun with new girlfriends and just had a totally creative weekend!

My yarns

New "real" friends- Mary (butterfly girl), Lexi, Me, Heather (girlwithahook), Natalie (cloudlover) and Jenna (PumpknPunk)

I can't wait until April when I bring Lexi down here to North Carolina and I do it all again!!

Tomorrow.. the next best weekend of the summer.. spinning backstage at Bonanroo music festival!!

Tour De Fleece!!!

I can't wait!! Yes.. I said Tour de FLEECE.. no France!! The tour de fleece is a fun summer event that spinners participate in while the Tour de France runs! We spin everyday along with the race. There are teams and prizes. We have the same days of rest.. and when you feel victorious, wear YELLOW!! I'm so excited to start!! Last year we were painting and packing and moving during the Tour and I couldn't spin as much as I wanted to.

This year my goal is to spin everyday and take daily photos of my progress. I also hope to blog a bit daily about my work. I'm really excited for this challenge!! I want to try a few new techniques.. and even try to spin some THIN yarn!! My tour ends in Chicago, as the last weekend I'll be hosting and attending Camp PluckyFluff, one of the coolest art yarn workshops around!!

Tomorrow my spinning time will be at the same time as the race, so it'll be nice to start the tour spinning my wheel along with theirs.. I'm not sure it will always work out that way.. but I'm committed to spinning as much as possible..

I'm on a number of teams.. My main team is the Breakaway team (for art yarns) Then I'm on a number of wildcard teams- Enchanted Elves, Team Loop, Team JazzySpins, Tour de Fish, Hopelessly OverCommitted, Snobby Spinners and StashBusters

YAY!! I can't wait to start!! Off to prep more add in's for my King of Pop yarn that is going on the bobbin first thing. Then some fiery bfl/silk that I plan to spin into soft sport weight singles.. then a Loop batt I plan to corespin with some beads.. Then mayby some tailspun kid mohair locks... and then it might be 2:00.. but if I start at 9:30 I may just make it!!

LOOK for a SHOP UPDATE with new yarns and batts on SATURDAY AND SUNDAY evening!!

Happiness is........15+ lbs of kid mohair!!

So I made a new wonderful friend!! Patti, from GoatGoatSheep is just fantastic.. and she has some of the softest and silkiest kid mohair I have ever felt. I got a small amount.. and then worked out a large amount.. a very large amount!!

The box was like a circus clown car.. locks kept coming out.. in beautiful colors..

Oh I just love the multi colored mardi gras locks!! SO yumtasic!!

Happiness is sorting a rainbow of kid mohair locks...




SO go check out Patti's amazing fiber at GoatGoatSheep and tell her that Esther sent ya!!

Weekend Carding FRENZY & an answer to the question, How do I size batt sets?

Whew! What a weekend! I've been at one with the carder since I left the spa on Sat afternoon. The shop got updated with 8 new batt sets today!! YAY!! My favorite is an alpaca/bamboo/merino/silk and sparkle set that includes some sari silk ribbon called BollyWood.

There's the return of "Sandy Beaches" set- this is the only one of those for awhile.

There's also going to be a few sets going up tomorrow that I didn't get to photograph today before the sun set. A Koi Pond set will go up, again the only one of those that will go into the shop for a few weeks. I also will have another art yarn set similar to BollyWood.

I carded this set *for* the shop.. but it was snagged before it got there LOL!! I have to share it with you though, 'cuz I really think it's fun!! It's merino, bamboo and silk with snippets of cassette tape and 3 colors florescent angelina. The add in's are extra cassette tape snippets, novelty yarn and sparkly pom poms
Mixx Tape (going off to the lovely Lindsay!!)


I've had some questions as to how I decide how much each set is going to weigh. As a art yarn spinner, my fiber doesn't tend to go as far as those who spin lace weight. When I spin superbulky, I may only get 60 yards or so out of 4 oz. I like to be able to get fiber in a bit larger amounts so I can spin an art yarn, and get enough yardage for a substantial project. This is why I have been carding some sets to be above 4oz.. to give art yarn spinners the ability to get decent yardage with the same fiber (especially of the batt sets that are one of a kind). I keep my treasure chest batt sets to 3-4 oz because those can be combined for larger yardage.

If you would only like one of the batts, please let me know and I can usually split the set for you :)

Now to spin some yarn and watch bad TV!! LOL!!

SNOW DAY!! It's fiber fiber fiber all day

Oh how exciting to wake up with 4 inches of snow on the ground!! Yesterday it just rained ALL DAY.. and not a light rain either.. Heavy constant rain. There was at least 2 plus inches of rain on the ground.. and then it started to sleet and freezing rain about 6pm. Oh man.. at least an inch of ice..


THEN the snow came.. Hard and fast .. HUGE Chicago style flakes..


I wanted to stay up as long as I could to watch it fall. It was so beautiful.. fluffy and sparkly.. by 3am there was a thick blanket..



When I woke up.. we had a bright white day.. full of ice and snow. Kids are outside playing.. and I think I'm going to make a snowman!!



I hope my daffodils survive!




So now I"m going to spend the day playing with fiber. I put the fixin's for chili into the crockpot before I went to bed, so it'll be ready by lunch. We have steaks to broil for dinner.. we don't have to leave the house ALL DAY!!

That's what I love about North Carolina.. we get a snow day from 5 inches.. If I were still in Chicago.. I'd be at work already!!

I'm off to play in fiber..