The End of an Era

I already hinted at changes to come, and now it's time to reveal more: I have finally found work as an archaeologist. As some of you know I've been looking for a job in my field for a very, very long time, working on a short-time dig in between and doing market research and spinning art yarn the rest of the time. A few weeks ago a fellow archaeologist told me about a job opportunity and today I got my contract. I didn't want to reveal anything before I actually held said contract in my hands, so this is very short notice. The dig will start next Monday and will last for 10 months. I'm overjoyed and can't wait! :-) And I do hope that I will get more opportunities after that, as I will gain new experiences and make new contacts which should make it easier to get jobs in the future.

On the downside, I don't know whether I will be able to keep running the shop. I know I definitely won't have time for many new art yarns, but I did plan on keeping the shop open and selling what was already in it. There might be some complications, though, some because of Etsy (new thing about a VAT ID which might cause problems), some because of the new job, as I am supposed to kind of get permission for any part time jobs with my new employers. I haven't talked to them yet, but I might have to put the shop on holiday until next year. I decided to run another big, shop-wide sale until the end of the week in any case (parcels will ship out a bit later than usual as I have to fit them in my schedule), and if it's too complicated to keep the shop I will have to put it on hold for a while, though with a very, very heavy heart. I'm also very sorry this comes at such short notice, I only learned of the possible complications today, myself.

All items in the shop are 15% off until Sunday, 17th of April, 11 pm eastern time. 

If you like my yarns (and/or me ;-)), please consider to like my Facebook page - I will post updates about the situation there, and if I have to close the shop for a while that's the place to look for my return next year :-) I'd love to come back and still have some yarn lovers to greet me ♥

Whether I'll put the shop in vacation mode or keep it running at a very low level, let me say It's been wonderful eight years, and thank you so much for your support - be it through purchases or kind words, likes, sharing my work or interacting! I still feel awed by the fact that my yarns get so much attention and positive feedback, and that people like them so much they are actually willing to pay a fair price, even though that means it's high. Thank you all! I will miss you very much.

Long time no spinning

I hope there are still some of you who read this blog, after such a long absence... I  meant to explain about it, but somehow things got hectic and I didn't. I had the fortune of being offered a contract for an archaeological dig. It was only for a month, but it was great. I hope for more opportunities like this in the future, but for now I am back at the spinning wheel aaaand I have already been busy listing new creations!

I'd like to show you some of my favourites. The first one was inspired by the book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, more specifically by the character of Mr. White, and the second one is a fairytale art yarn inspired by Rosered.

Mr. White

 

Mr. White is also known as Pollution, who took over for pestilence after penicillin was discovered. He is one of the Horse Persons of the Apocalypse, wears white, and leaves oily traces behind - as well as litter. When I sat down to spin this yarn I was suddenly hit by a sudden inspiration: what better thing to spin in (beside the fish bone charms I had already reserved for this yarn) than strips of a plastic bag, as reference to the trash and, yeah, well, pollution Mr. White leaves behind? It turned out even better than I thought, I made quite narrow strips and they spun in wonderfully, these parts being only a little stiffer than the rest. You can find the yarn in the shop :-)

Memories of Rosered

 

The tale of Snowwhite and Rosered was one of my favourites when I was a child. I even had a jigsaw puzzle with the rose bushes from the tale, and probably the bear - or was it an illustrated book? I'm not quite sure, but I enjoyed spending time with this story very much. Rosered was the brave and adventurous sister, and I picked different shades of deep and bright red to depict her vivid liveliness.
This yarn is also already listed in the shop, and there are more new ones - The Power of Grayskull and Orion's Belt, for example, and also Dungeon Crawl, perfect for the gamers among you :-) Please have a look around if you're interested :-)

24. Freeing Dobby (Harry Potter Art Yarn Advent Calendar)

Harry ran down the dark corridor. He caught up with them at the top of the stairs. "Mr. Malfoy," he gasped, skidding to a halt, "I've got something for you --" And he forced the smelly sock into Lucius Malfoy's hand. "What the --?" Mr. Malfoy ripped the sock off the diary, threw it aside, then looked furiously from the ruined book to Harry. You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter," he said softly. "They were meddlesome fools, too. He turned to go. "Come, Dobby. I said, come." But Dobby didn't move. He was holding up Harry's disgusting, slimy sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure. "Master has given a sock," said the elf in wonderment. "Master gave it to Dobby." "What's that?" spat Mr. Malfoy. "What did you say?" "Got a sock," said Dobby in disbelief. "Master threw it, and Dobby caught it, and Dobby – Dobby is free."

 

- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

 

Description: This was another yarn I had to think about long and hard. In the end I chose to use dark grey and black for the corridor the scene takes place in, with added green and white for Malfoy’s Slytherin heritage and allegiance. I spun in grey cotton fabric strips to represent Dobby’s old pillowcase, sock charms, and the same matte green beads I used for Dobby’s eyes in the very first yarn of this advent calendar.
Fibre Types: merino wool, bluefaced leicester wool, wild silk
Colours: greys, black, green, white
Add-Ins: sewing thread, cotton fabric strips, matte glass beads, sock charms

23. Crying Phoenix (Harry Potter Art Yarn Advent Calendar)

"So ends the famous Harry Potter," said Riddle's distant voice. "Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry... She bought you twelve years of borrowed time ... but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must …" If this is dying, thought Harry, it's not so bad. Even the pain was leaving him... But was this dying?  Instead of going black, the Chamber seemed to be coming back into focus. Harry gave his head a little shake and there was Fawkes, still resting his head on Harry's arm. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound – except that there was no wound.

- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

 

Description: I chose bright red and sunshine yellow to represent the red and gold plumage of the phoenix. I made sure to use different tones of red to increase burning/flaming quality, added golden angelina for even more splendour, and spun in tear-shaped glass beads of two different sizes.
Fibre Types: merino wool, linen fibre, bamboo fibre
Colours: reds, yellow, gold, white
Add-Ins: sewing thread, angelina (sparkle), tear-shaped glass beads

22. Fighting the Basilisk (Harry Potter Art Yarn Advent Calendar)

The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look. "Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" he hissed. "He's not as gone as you might think!" Harry retorted. He was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wishing rather than believing it to be true Riddle opened his mouth, but froze. Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Harry's scalp and made his heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size.
 

- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

Description: It took me very long to decide how to interpret the battle scene. I am very pleased with my final ideas, and the result: I chose greys and black for the darkness and the stone walls of the chamber, added a bit of the same fibre I used for the basilisk skin yarn to represent – surprise! – the basilisk, added some green sequins and light green bamboo for a more lively feel (as opposed to the dead skin they found outside the chamber), and spun in red silk strips to represent the phoenix. I added a hat charm for the sorting hat, dropped by Fawkes shortly after his arrival, and a sword charm for the sword Harry pulls out of the sorting hat.
Fibre Types: merino wool, tussah silk, bamboo fibre, alpaca
Colours: black, greys, light green, hard to describe colourway between olive green and brownish yellow, red
Add-Ins: silk strips, sewing thread, flat sequins, hat charm, sword charm