2 weeks until my 1st Fiber Festival (PANIC)

As the days are counting down now to my 1st fiber festival I will be vending at Panic (yes with a capital P) has started to set in! I will be vending at the Southern Indiana Fiber Arts Festival on October 14-15, Friday 1-7, Saturday 9-5. The festival is being held at Harrison County Fairgrounds, 341 South Capitol Avenue, Corydon, IN. I would love for anyone who can to come and say hello. I think I will be there alone and this is a bit of a scary thought for me so I am hoping to at least get to talk to some friendly people! Also will there be anyone else who is a Phatfiber Sampler Box participant (contributor or buyer) there? I should have some Phatfiber cards to give out if I can find them! Mainly I would love to know how you found me!

I have been working on what I am taking with me (though this past week I have not felt well so I did not get much done.. really I am ready to upgrade my body to the new improved model *grin* but I don't think its happening any time soon) and I am slowly getting it all ready. I will be taking batts (smooth, luxury, and chunky), combed top/roving, hand dyed yarn, and a few of my left over silk hankies. I will be getting supplies later this month to restock silk hankies for hopefully the next festival. I have also decided that I will be bringing some small project bags to make kits. I am thinking something like choose your bag & yarn or fiber with a discount for buying both. I guess they would also be for sale on their own but I am not sure how well they would go over. People in my group on Ravelry seem to like them so I will give them a try and see.

I will be staying with a friend in Louisville for the festival because its within driving distance for me. My RV broke down so now all trips will have to have some sort of staying arrangements. Lucky for me for I have a friend to stay with for my 1st & 2nd festivals. The 4th festival in Dec I will be sharing a hotel with some other vendors who are friends so that is great. I still have to figure out something for Nov 4 &5 in Bowling Green but I am sure I will find something!

I am also getting together things like receipt books for sales and for preorders, Business cards, Some sort of Signage so you all can find me, Labels for everything, Visa/Mastercard sign so you all know I can take a credit card payment, the phone jack that lets me take credit card payments, table, chair, stuff to set up.. The list seems to grow but it will be fun I think. If you are thinking of coming and wondering what payments I will be able to take, I will tell you that I will take cash, check, credit cards, and small children left in the booth unattended! I hope to make it as easy as I can on myself and anyone wanting to buy something. I am not sure about bags though.. I never got any and don't really know if I want them. Any thoughts here? That is about all I have for today!

I'll Drink to That SAL KAL CAL - batt roving yarn package choice

The I'll Drink to That Sal/Kal/Cal packages are now available here!
Since St Patrick’s Day usually means lots of drinking we will play along with a fiber version for this SAL/KAL/CAL. I will be your bartender. You name your favorite drink and I will mix it up for you in the fiber version. Your drinks will come to you served up just the way you like them (batt, roving, or yarn). I am a pretty cool bartender so not only will I tell you whats in your drink I will send you the recipe so you can make it for yourself later. I will also send you a plastic party glass to practice making your own drink in. So what are you drinking?


The I'll Drink to That Sal/Kal/Cal packages with your drink choice must be ordered by Feb 13th. Packages will then be made to order and ship out on March 11th. Post your drink orders with inspiration photos if you have them in this thread on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/ever-improving-me/1503340/1-25#17 so that I can mix your fibery beverage up the way you want it.

If you have not participated in one of my SAL/KAL/CAL also known as the
Spin-a-long
Knit-a-long
Crochet-a-long
Here is how they work. Take a look at my example photos of possible drinks but then pick what ever drink you would like. You can do this by telling me a drink name, or by telling me what colors you would like to have in your drink. You will also tell me if you would like this to be a batt or roving for spinning, or yarn for knitting or crocheting.

You will post a inspiration photo in my raverly thread and then join in the fun conversation if you like while waiting for your drinks. Once I have made the packages I will send them out to you for you to make into a finished object. The finished objects will be posted into their own thread by April 11th. I will then run a random number generator to choose a winner of some nifty prize.

The photos posted are just some examples of how a drink might look. Packages will include the drink of your choosing, a recipe card with your drink on it and a plastic drinking glass that you can mix your own drink in!

My goals for 2011

Its 2011 (Yes I know its been 2011 now for about 31 days now) and I have finally decided I need to kick myself in the butt. I keep making all these huge plans. I think about them. I dream about them. I even talk about them but I have been puttering out on the actually doing them. Well if all else fails why not put it right here for all the world to see (or at least the part of the world who pops over and takes a look at this blog from time to time). I like to write things down so that I can see them and see that they are moving forward. I figure I will put my goals here now so that I can see them. I can add more goals as I move on and cross some off the lists as they get done.

Here is my list of what I want to accomplish this year:

1. In 2011 I will finish my AA.
2. I will decide on a business plan that I will follow by March 1st (I will allow myself to revise this plan as long as the revision is purposeful and follows my vision).
3. I will decide how many conventions and fiber festivals I will attend this year by March 1st.
4. I will decide which conventions and fiber festivals I will put applications to vend at by April 1st allowing myself the ability to add new applications to the list as I learn about them or as they fit into my schedule.
5. I will do yoga 2 times per week (I can do it more if I like but this will not take off any future yoga times).
6. I will do some sort of actual cardiovascular exercise starting at 2 times per week for 20 minutes, building up to a minimum of 3 times per week at 30 minutes (this is in addition to yoga).
7. I will complete all orders in a timely manner.
8. I will dedicate myself to completing new fiber and yarn items every month in the quantity that I decide on in my business plan. These will be used for shop updates, SAL/KAL, sampler packs, variety packs, custom orders, wholesale orders and fiber festivals.
9. I will update my blog at a minimum of 1 time per week with at least 2 of these updates per month to contain photos.
10. I will be positive and believe that life is good and will only continue to get better.
11. I will be more uplifting to myself and to others, encouraging us all to follow our dreams.
12. I will do one new thing a month and if possible I will blog about it. I would love to hear the new things that others are doing too.
13. I will make it a priority to spend time each month with my family. This can include a phone call to family far away, visits to those close by, and dates with my husband.


That is a lot of stuff and I believe it is all I have for now. I hope 2011 is wonderful to you all. What are your new goals?

I have decided I need to update my shop more often

This means I should be working smarter to accomplish more. This last week I got a bit of a setback. I am not used to wood stoves. That is what we have out in the garage which is also my workspace. So in the process of trying to start a fire I started a fire. See what I did is set some wood on top of the stove while I tried to get the fire started because it was wet. Then I went inside for 20 to give it some time. I came outside and opened the garage door to a white filled garage. I immediately went over to the stove and the wood I put on top of it was now on fire.

I put on my wood gloves and opened the stove and tossed them inside. Then I propped the garage door open and thought about what else to do. Since I was starting to not feel well I went outside for a min to get some air. I decided that if I opened the big garage door it would help to get the smoke out.. and i needed it out because I was worried about my stuff. So after being outside for maybe 45 seconds I headed back inside and tried to open the garage door. It started but then went back down because the big 500lb stove that my friend bought but has not gotten to put in the house yet was stopping it. Me in my rational thinking new that I needed to move it. I went over and jerked it away from the garage door and then finally I was able to open it.

That helped a lot because a lot of the smoke started exiting through the big door. This is when I noticed my husbands computer monitor hanging from the ceiling because it had been plugged in on the ceiling under where the garage door went over. I ran over to it and grabbed the monitor and unplugged it from my end. Then it was time for another trip back outside to get some air.

I went back in about a minute later and turned the fan on and started waving a towel around to push out the smoke. It cleared out mostly and thats when my husband called me back and my roommate got there. we closed up the doors and I moved all my stuff into my bedroom so it would be out of the garage. Its all in plastic bins but I was still worried about it. It still smells too much like smoke for me in the garage. I am going to try to air it better on monday.

80s Cartoon themed SAL KAL 4oz fiber or yarn package Free Shipping

We are going to start the new year off with a bang! Do you remember all of the fun 80s cartoons you used to watch maybe still do? I thought we would do it a little different this time and have a SAL to KAL with a twist. This SAL will focus on the cartoon leading ladies like Jem, She-ra, Rainbow Bright, Smurfette, Gadget, Cheetara, Strawberry Shortcake, Red Fraggle.. who knows who else we will find here! Packages are now available in my artfire shop with free shipping!

You will choose a inspiration photo and post it in my ravelry thread here. You will also choose 4oz batt, 4 oz roving, or 100gm yarn. If you choose yarn please tell me if you would like sock, worsted or bulky. The goal of this SAL to KAL will be to make some funky style 80s leg warmers, headbands, or wrist bands! We will then post photos modeling our 80s gear and vote to win! There will be 3 prizes awarded for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. These will be something fun put together in the style of the 80s.

Packages will be sent out mid January and then we will have some time to spin and then knit your 80s gear!

Im having a Sale!

SALE ALERT!
I forgot to include coupons for my July Phat Fiber Samples so here is what I have decided to do. These coupons are only good on my Artifire site. These discounts should apply at the cart level automatically.

Receive 25% off Geodes with coupon “HIDDEN TREASURE” - this coupon may be used as many times as you like. Expires 7-31-2010

Receive 30% off DIY Sandwich/snack bag kits with coupon “REUSABLE” - this coupon is good only once per customer. Expires 7-31-2010

Receive 15% off anything in the Phat Fiber Sampler Items Category with coupon “PHORGETFUL” - this coupon is good only once per customer. Expires 8-07-2010

Some new batts I have been working on for Phatfiber Sampler Box

I finished carding one set of samples last night and I am hoping to get the other samples carded tonight. I want to mail everything off on Monday morning. These batts contain some SW wool in green, some merino in light purple, dark purple, gray, and espresso bean. I also added in some charcoal bamboo, some silver glitz, and some firestar that I hand dyed in espresso bean. I really like the overall layered look. Here are the full size batts:




and then the samples:

My Phatfiber samples & My shop reopened

I finally reopened my shop on etsy. Because of the way I set up my taxes I went back to EverImprovingMe.etsy.com. I will now have both undyed and hand dyed batts, rovings, and yarns. I will eventually get knitting supplies as well as spinning and felting.

I also sent in my very first Phatfiber Sample Box Samples! I am pretty happy about this. These are the pictures of what I sent in

My very first Phatfiber box!!!!!!!!!!!