I'm really loving today already. The weather isn't too hot, I have baby tomatoes on the vines, and my kiddo slept in past 6:30 for once.

I meant to have a shop update yesterday but my photoshoot was rained out. By the time the sky cleared up momentarily, I was on my way out the door for a much needed date with my honey. So, the update will (weather permitting) take place tonight.  I've got new ArtBatts, three new RollyBatt colorways, a handful of the classic lil' batts, ArtBubs- small collections of mini ArtBatts, a fresh supply of Battlings, the three art yarns I blogged about a couple of weeks ago, and a few hand-painted Merino/Yak tops. I'll also unveil the July HobbledeCLUB theme, which at the moment, I still am waffling between two ideas. The above sounds like a large update, but really, there's just a small selection of everything.

I've been working on my first ever fleece-to-shawl project for my best friend's October wedding, using part of a Corriedale fleece that I ordered from Arvgarden.  The knitting pattern is the Haruni, and I can't wait to get started with the actual knitting stage.  Right now, I'm still tweaking the batts- blending them with some honey colored tussah silk and perhaps a bit of milk silk to get the color just right.

The wool is a bright white, and is so incredibly fluffy and clean. It washed up in a little over an hour, which is much faster than quite a few other fleeces I've worked with.  I have another fleece from Arvgarden that I'm washing this week for my upcoming PrarieBatts which will be exclusively farm wools and fibers. I'd like to try natural dyes for the PrarieBatts, but the class at the Mannings about natural dyes was filled. Maybe I'll have to spend a few evenings with online tutorials.

more ArtBatts + Free Shipping

I added more ArtBatts tonight, and have more to add tomorrow night. It looks like I'll be sending a large pile of fluffy packages out tomorrow afternoon!

I'm participating in a Fiber Community sale, and am offering FREE SHIPPING until 6/9 with the codes freeshipUSA for domestic orders and freeshipINT for international orders. Now that I just made a few sales, I think I'll have to start shopping the other great sales that are out there!  I don't know what it is, but there's a thrill in spinning other people's batts and fibers, and with the talented pool of dyers/carders/spinners out there, I'm sure I'll be able to find something special.

ArtBatt lovers- please feel free to send special requests my way at hobbledehoyfibers@gmail.com. At the moment, I'm well stocked Polwarth and assorted hand-dyed novelty and luxury add-ins, so custom orders (minimum 3 oz.) are very welcome.

Art Batts!

My lovely new BFF arrived in the mail- a Mad Batt'r! In anticipation,  I had dyed gobs of luxury and novelty fibers in order to make some extra-special batts, and I'm thrilled with the results. 

I've got 17 more batts to list in the shop (a few will probably show up on Etsy), so if you're interested, take a peek over at HobbledehoyFibers.com later tomorrow night.

Sadly, I need to take a mini break from my new carder.  It's making a strange knocking sound, and despite attempting to adjust it multiple times, I can't seem to figure out what's going on.  In the meanwhile, I'll be washing the world's loveliest Corriedale fleece, carding some Hobbledehoy Classic batts, and tending my new tomato plants.

oh, anticipation!

I'm waiting on UPS and FedEx deliveries with huge plans for the day. My studio is squeaky clean and organized, my toddler is at daycare for the day, and all I need are those shipments. In the meanwhile, I think I'll package a few orders and fire up a couple of dye pots.

I took full advantage of yesterday's heat to dry the slightly damp top from my whirlwind of dye sessions. This is just a third of what I dyed- the rest (mostly wools) dried much faster.

Yesterday, I had typed about retiring my old batts.  Never fear, that's not going to happen.  I thought and thought and thought about it last night, read a few emails (and a comment) from my readers, and even did a little spinning myself. 

Yes, my little Strauch Petite is a bit of a beginner's carder, but those tiny batts are just too nice and easy to spin.  I'll probably end up lumping the little batts into a category like HobbledeClassic or something... and as soon as I can get my hands on fresh Merino (it had been on back-order through my two main suppliers all Spring), I'll start blasting out some oldies-but-goodies: Gemmies, Garden Compost batts, and fresh colorways.

On to another note, I'm working on compiling a large list of patterns for art yarns. Any suggestions?  At the moment, I'm browsing patterns requiring bulky or extra-bulky yarn that won't totally obscure the art yarn.

dye spree

Instead of having a massive single update, I've been adding new batts, rovings, and painted tops to the shop a little at a time. I have more to re-photograph and list tonight along with some quirky bumper stickers and buttons, and then the next update this coming weekend will hopefully include my Art Batts!

In preparation for the Mad Batt'r's arrival, I went on a dyeing spree: polwarth wool, superfine merino, border leicester locks, baby suri alpaca, kid mohair, blending nylon, icicle, some bfl, tencel, bamboo, bast bamboo, and even hemp! I already have a crazy stash of dyed uncarded bamboo, tencel neps, and loose soysilk staple which are all destined for the new carder.

I am also changing the spelling of RolyBatts to RollyBatts. Since Summer is traditionally my season for experimenting, it may change again. The big decision I'm facing right now is whether or not to retire my traditional style of batts- the cute little ones that I've been selling for 4+ years. If so, I'll have a line of Smooth batts (the Rollies) and the Art batts, which will be more textured and less blended. Here's the line-up of what I'm pondering:

RollyBatts: Smooth double-blended batts which may or may not color transition across the width.
TrotterBatts: Sock-recipe batts! Well blended carefully selected fibers + nylon for sock yarns.
PrarieBatts: Hand-processed fibers from farms with minimal (or possibly zero) commercial fibers.
ArtBatts: As much texture and fiber variety as the MadBatt'r tolerates. I'm still trying to think of a clever name- CrackleBatts?

Later this afternoon, I'm hoping to have a clearer idea so that I can post a few polls and dig for input. I've got some give-away fiber and other goodies that I could offer as an incentive.