ThreeRavens.net

My friend and also-member of local Etsy street team Hornet’s Nest Charlotte, Acorngirl, is an amazing and imaginative artisan. She specializes in Waldorf-style toys and whimsical flights of fancy, and this little Biohazard Horse is NO exception. She designed the pattern AND sewed it by hand, and let me tell you - her workmanship is exquisite!

Best part of all, at least for me? She used some of my hand spun yarn for this little horse’s mane and tail! I love what it became and agree with her that it was a perfect match for the adorable little bio-equine!

You’ll definitely want to see what else she has in her shop: acorngirl.etsy.com!

Some of these are available NOW and some will show their pretty little colours later on today… which means, of course, that you will have to keep an eye out for them!
I have even more impending goodness, in photo form, at my Flickr account, if you’d like to see what’s to come. I do it for you, m’beauties!

Oh! Did I mention that I have another Beginner’s SPINNING CLASS coming up, once again at Close Knit Knittery and Press? It will be on June 13th, and once again a seat is available for $35. I’m excited - the last class was a BLAST and I know this one will be even more fun!

Can I just tell you how much I *love* teaching people how to spin? Oh my!

My students were amazing: quick to pick up the basics and really eager to learn everything I could teach them. They mastered making usable singles very quickly indeed, and loved spinning… until we started plying, ha! The universal declaration was that “plying sucks and I want to spin singles forever… can I do that?” Of course you can, my beginner fiberistas, but I promise that eventually you’ll find that plying isn’t nearly as difficult.

In other Close Knit related news, you can now purchase my yarns there! Sheri is kindly stocking a variety of my unique spins for people to add to projects or create lovely things from. If you shop there currently and would like to see a certain kind/style of yarn there, please let me know!

If you live in the Charlotte Metro area and have some time between 1 and 4 pm, please do join me for a beginning spinner’s class at Close Knit Knittery and Press in Gastonia!

The class is $35 and includes a top whorl drop spindle and materials to start your own yarn during the class, as well as a set of crib notes from me! If you haven’t been to Close Knit before, I have to tell you that it is my most favourite LYS around… and not just because they’re letting me teach there, either. The owner and staff are fabulous, friendly, and fantastic. The location is very easy to find - it is in the heart of Gastonia, in a welcoming white house!

Please call ahead to let them know you are coming: 704-833-0088
The address:
208 S Oakland St
Gastonia, NC 28052

Hope to see you there!

More info about Close Knit: http://www.knitmap.com/locations/close-knit-knittery-and-press

Sometimes I’m a leader.
Sometimes, I’m a follower.
This week, I’m a joiner!

First thing: Grrl + Dog is challenging us - ALL of the fiber fondlers out there, of any fibery-arts persuasion, to engage in some Guerilla Knitting/Crochet/Weaving/Fiber-thinger… a bit of random and senseless beauty to be found by unsuspecting and possibly uncomprehending passers-by.

Want to learn more, and perhaps take the challenge yourself? Check out her post here: Global Guerilla Knit Up Challenge and see if you’d like to get your public art out there before February 23rd!

And um.. yeah. I joined Facebook. Heh. *sheepish grin*

Wanna add me?

http://profile.to/xiane/

Want to become a Facebook fan of Threeravens.net?

http://companies.to/threeravens/

There we are. My joining festival for the day! Will you join me in the joining?

Although I generally wear all black, colours really speak to me, and I’m attracted to bright and energetic combinations of unexpected tones, especially in my yarns. I called this colourway “FreakParty” and I had a blast combining multicoloured Wensleydale locks into the base yarn of red/orange/wine/yellow Falkland wool.
This skein ended up being 158 yards of badass fun, and has already left my hands! I knew it wouldn’t stick around long, the art yarns never do.

In other spinning news, I should start listing some plied yarns in the next few days! Up until now, I’ve only listed singles [single ply] yarns, in worsted weights or in art yarn styles. I’m excited to have something new and different-to-me up!
Keep an eye out here or in my shop for the updates - I’ll definitely post some photos as soon as I have ‘em!

Here’s my feet with my knitting bag nearby - because tonight is KNITTING CIRCLE and I’m so excited!

I’d missed the last two - one from being busy and one from being sick - and I have to say, it is amazing how quickly a new activity can be missed! I had just started attending the Tuesday circle at Close Knit Knittery & Press, and the atmosphere and company are so very lovely! I haven’t felt so immediately welcome and comfortable in a group perhaps since I met the Hornet’s Nest Etsy Team… and that’s pretty fantastic.

Wanna see a quick glimpse of what I’m working on? Of course you do! This is a kitty-eared hat in progress:

100 crafters/artisans, music, food, and a craffle raffle - how can you go wrong? Check out Threeravens & Coffin Color, along with Snitches Get Stitches and Happy Trees in Asheville NC at The Big Crafty on Sunday December 7th!

As much as I’d like to encourage you to restrain yourself in the whole “consumer” thing that the Holiday season brings, I’m a businessperson - so in good conscience, I can’t do that. However, what I can do is urge you to:

BUY HANDMADE
BUY LOCAL
and/or BUY AS GREEN AS POSSIBLE.

Of course, I always recommend my fellow sellers at Etsy.com for your handmade needs. Lots of Etsy sellers are having great sales and promotions for the Season, and I am no exception. My sale?

Starting Nov 27th @ 12midnight EST until 6am EST Dec 2nd, free shipping!

You don’t have to do a thing, just load up your cart and forget about any shipping costs. How easy!

Look for some recommendations about other favoured sellers and items coming up soon, as well as what I’m doing to make this Holiday a green, festive one.

edited to add - Treehugger has a good piece about Buy Nothing Day and why it has a hollow ring this year: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/11/buy-nothing-day-2008.php

People have been asking me a lot of questions about spinning lately, and it thrills me to no end to talk about my fiber obsession and how I came to be a spinner… then, if I’m lucky, I get to teach *them* how to spin, too!
The recent trend for me has been to take my wheel out and let people play on it -getting a feel for how the wool runs through the hands, feeling what fiber staple is and how it effects spinning, discovering the sheer joy that you are, indeed, making actual YARN! How delightful it is to watch their faces light up as it dawns on them that they are connecting with a practice that is practically as old as the human race.

Needless to say, that is one huge reason why I spin… I came to the art in my search for a hobby that would relax me and allow me to touch and use wonderful-feeling tools and materials. I’d already become a knitter for the same reasons, and it seemed a natural extension to learn to make the beautiful and useful yarns that cost so much and were so difficult to find in my area. Little did I know how addicted I would become to this ancient practice!

One of the best places I’ve found to get the fiber that I make my lovely creations from is, of course, on Etsy. I would easily recommend Blonde Chicken Boutique, Cloudlover69.etsy.com, and Hobbledehoy.etsy.com for high quality fibers and batts in unusual and gorgeous colourways!

Of course, I couldn’t dare close this without mentioning that I list my own hand spun yarn in my Etsy shop… ahem.