Lookie what the UPS man brought me

Okay - so he didn't bring me hangers of dyed roving to put in my bathroom BUT he did bring me a couple of boxes... both of which contained the necessary supplies for the dyed roving hanging from the shower curtain rod.

I'm already pleased, not thrilled, but pleased with the turn out. It's better than I thought it would look for the first go round and I can't wait to spin some of it up to see how it turned out. It was all I had in my NOT to go and dye all of my wool tonight. I better take this in stages to learn a bit each time.

I need to get a light box made so I can get some good pictures of the roving once it's dry and braided up. I might even try to list some next week if I get a batch that I love dyed up tomorrow. I love new hobbies.

One thing is certain - I'm going to need more vinegar to get through this wool.

Naughty United States Postal Service

Hey USPS - I appreciate you bringing me all sorts of goodies in the mail today, but I didn't appreciate the bent package. Guess what, "Do Not Bend" on a package from Australia means "Do Not Bend" here in the US too - they speak English... capishe? I will be heading up there tomorrow and complaining.

However, I received the most wonderful (don't I always say that) items in the mail box today and the bending only messed with the print a bit. I can flatten it out in a frame. Thankfully the seller sent it over packaged quite well and my postal carrier was too lazy to leave it at my door and tried his darnedest to get it to fit in the box.

One was a trade from an amazing artist in Australia. Her name is Ali J and I'm so excited about what she sent. I got a print, necklace, and button. I'll be going back there for Christmas next year. I know some people that would LOVE what she makes.

My second treat in the mail was a much anticipated package from Hobbledehoy. I watched her hand dyed roving fly out of her shop in the days leading up to Christmas, but didn't buy any as I didn't yet have a way to spin it into beautiful yarn. With the receipt of my drop spindle for Christmas, I now have reason to spend money in her shop like it's going out of style. I purchased Drunken Sailor and Chocolat from her shop and she sent a bonus batch of roving as a treat. I can't wait to spin these up.

My third treat was a pendant I purchased on a whim the other night. I had favorited it a few days before and felt the need to move some fundage out of Paypal and into someone's shop. Deciduous Soul was my lucky seller. I purchased a lovely pendant from her shop and will have to wear something brown tomorrow because I cannot wait to wear this to work and get many, many compliments on it.

Hand Spun

One of my Christmas presents from my mom was a drop spindle and some roving so I can learn to hand spin my own yarn. While I have not anywhere near mastered the art of hand spinning... yet... I have mastered the art of shopping for roving on Etsy. My first purchase was from a fellow member of AREtsy, The Twisted Purl. I've been eying a couple of items from her shop but didn't want to get ahead of myself and purchase the roving before I had a drop spindle. Rest assured, her roving was the first thing I purchased after Christmas.

I heard the mailman leave something at the front door today and almost tripped down the stairs to go see what it was. It was a package from Conway, AR! I was too excited to even be careful while opening it. Inside were the two things I ordered, some bonus hand painted roving, and some wonderful Etsy things. I'm telling myself that I must wait until I get better at spinning before making these into yarn, but it's going to be hard to wait.

If you are into knitting or hand spinning your own yarn, I recommend visiting Cyndi's shop - you won't be disappointed.