one last batty blast

Ok, here it goes! One final blast of batts from my studio, and then .. well, shipping it all out and making sure I don't have any loose ends hanging, but then - maternity leave! I'm really looking forward to spending the next two weeks puttering around and finishing laundry and figuring out storage solutions for all of this baby gear that I've been digging out.

Here's a collage of the whole shebang that's going up tonight.

I had hopes of finishing up a couple of new RollyBatt colorways, but after a driving band failure on one of my carders (and way too much time spent obsessing over fixing it!), I ended up storing those projects for later. Who knows, I might get the itch to delve into the studio within a few weeks, but I think a break from the studio is just the thing I need to start bonding with my new bub.

tiny details

I've never been *this* pregnant before. By this point in my last pregnancy, I was already holding my wee babe, so going past 35 weeks is a new and slightly uncomfortable experience, though I'll happily take these weeks at home with a tiny kickboxing fetus instead of at the hospital with a tiny milk-refusing preemie.

Last week, I did something really bold for an awkward introvert like myself - I hired local professional photographer Jeremy Wolfe for maternity/spinning wheel pics. I spent the entire day worrying and fussing over silly details like my toenails and hair color, and then after pouring an embarrassingly indulgent amount of time into self-pampering, it rained. Surprisingly, we didn't cancel the shoot and the entire experience was one of the wildest evenings I've had all year. My best friend came along for the ride, holding a flash and helping me laugh off my uncomfortableness.

Here's one of my favorite shots from the night:

When the sky grew too dark, we drove into town and took more photos in an alley, my big ol tummy casting funny silhouettes on a white wall. I can't wait to see the entire collection of images from the shoot, and I'm so glad I invested in documenting this period of my life. After all of that worry and fussing and awkwardness, I read an article tonight called "The Mom Stays in the Picture" and felt even better about my uncharacteristic splurge. Only now, I'm realizing that my mom and my husband's mother are the least photographed people in our family albums. Hopefully I can stay in the picture and not worry about the little details next time someone whips out a camera for my family.

On the studio front, I'm officially unable to continue making ArtBatts, so the few that I've made will get posted with my final update this weekend or in the middle of next week. I always knew that ArtBatts took the most muscle, but oof- they're sending me into flurries of contractions and a reprisal of morning sickness, so I'm calling it quits on that batty format for a while. I'm sticking with Classics and roving this week, with maybe a couple of fresh RollyBatt colorways in the works. I've also gone ahead and made a tough decision to go on maternity leave a couple of weeks earlier than originally planned. We rely heavily on my little businesses income to fuel our family's living expenses, and even though every single week of work counts, I'm physically and mentally in need of a few weeks to prepare for this new little bundle. There's baby clothes to wash, receiving blankets to serge, bookcases to secure (and build), and of course, I've got that crazy nesting instinct to take a toothbrush to the floor.

classically batty

ClassicBatts are stealing my heart and energy these days! Maybe it's because they're my favorite batt style to spin from, or maybe it's because they take a moderate amount of time and require little muscle (as compared with ArtBatts which take gobs of muscle and little time or RollyBatts which take zero muscle and oodles of time).

I made 5 new sets of ClassicBatts last week in quantities of 4 each and just posted them to the shop tonight.

I've got an excess of  luxurious superfine Merino and BFL to work from since the regular 21.5 micron Merino that I card from was out of stock from my supplier, and I'm really enjoying experimenting with both!

In case you're new to my fluff, ClassicBatts are what I started making waaaay back when I first got a drum carder. They're double-blended batts rolled into sweet little balls, and each batt is carded carefully so that plenty of contrast remains. When I started blending ArtBatts and RollyBatts, I needed a name for these cute little bubs, so "Classic" stuck, especially since you'll see versions of these all over Etsy from a variety of mega-talented carders.

Speaking of other carders, I need to fluff my personal spinning stash before maternity leave, any recommendations? Other People's Fiber (OPF in my business accounting records) is always a great surprise to spin from. There's something deliciously unexpected about diving into a batt that has a mysterious center, or contrasts I wouldn't have anticipated. I just might have to go shopping or trading for a few boyish colorways over the next week.

countdown!

Less than 6 weeks to go until I hit my due date, not that it means anything is going to happen on November 15th, but I'm imagining/fantasizing/hoping that this little bub will arrive that week!

I've been slowing down.

I'm finally accepting that cranking batts out at full-speed is a thing of the 2nd trimester past and have resigned myself to working at 50% capacity until little Ira is born, and then I'll take a nice maternity leave until I just can't stay away any longer, and will start back up with whatever bits of time I can find. I remember carding during Ing's newborn naps, so I anticipate that a similar schedule will resume before the new year. Even though I'd like to start up again soon, I'm giving myself a little bit of extra time, because after all, I've got a toddler to juggle and transition through this life-changing event too!

I'm wickedly honored to share that I was featured in Spin Artiste last week. I'm a huge fan of reading Arlene's interviews with fiber artists that I admire, so to be interviewed myself was a huge thrill! I was originally going to delete the code after the weekend of the interview, but I think I'll leave it up for a few more days ;) I've also reduced shipping to very low flat-rate charges for the remainder of this month.. or should I say, the remainder of my pre-maternity leave time! I honestly don't know whether I'll make it out of this month without a baby.

On a final note, I actually finished a complete project - a handspun woven blanket for my sweet toddler.

She's in love with it, and sleeps with it every night! Her reaction to the blanket is more exciting to me than actually finishing something. I should get started knitting something for little babe, but that might have to wait until here's here and snoozing in my arms.