A few days ago, a beautiful Kitten showed up on my doorstep. You could even call him a Fancy Kitty because of all of the shiny bling on him. He also has a beautiful golden coat…

I mean, really, just look at him! –>

I have been planning for nearly a year to get a drum carder. I knew about one month in to wanting one, that I wanted to get a Fancy Kitty brand carder. Anyone I have ever talked to has had nothing but great things to say about them. Then, a close friend of mine got one. She let me pet it. I fell in wuv.

So, I saved for a year, knowing that the gazillion fleeces I have to process would eventually be set free from their Rubbermaid container prison. But, where would I put the carder once I got it?

A month ago, Hubby Gnome and I drew up some plans for a workbench. Then I had surgery on my thumb. So, the project turned into a, “Hey, honey. I have stitches. I’ll have to just supervise the project.”

Most people would love this situation. I am not most people. I love using power tools. I love getting sawdust in my hair. And I LOVE building things.

After a weekend of blood, sweat and tears — yes, ALL of those elements were present — the workbench was 87% finished. Given that 87% is a pretty high percentage, I used my “supervisor” skills and ordered the carder thinking that the table could be completed during the week, or the next weekend.

Enter Baby Gnome with a cold.

March 10:
Green with Indie Craft Show

April 12, 2012:
Monroe County Sheep Festival

April 23 & 27, 2012:
CampKIP

It’s official! I’m going to be a vendor at CampKIP in New Haven, MO in April!

CampKIP is a camp dedicated to knitters. You come to relax, knit, drink wine, knit, eat, knit, hang out…knit…you get the picture. The part I’m really excited about is that I’ll get to meet some of my AWESOMESAUCE customers that have found me through Twitter, Ravelry, Etsy or the Phat Fiber box. I’ll be selling my yarn & fiber there on Monday, April 23 and Friday, April 27.

The theme for this year’s camp is…wait for it…GNOMES! Seriously, how could I pass this chance up?! Once I found out the theme was gnomes, I decided that I have to contribute to the goody bag they give out to all the participants. So, I’m currently working on 300 fantabulous “things” to put in the goody bags. Yup, I said 300.

Camp #1 is still currently open for registration if you’re interested. Here’s the CampKIP website with all the details and a link to the Ravelry group.

Hope to see some of you there!

<|:0)

P.S. I dyed some brand new yarn & fiber colorways today! They’ll be up in the shop on Saturday!

Ever since I started selling on Etsy, I have been keeping track of the locations that I send orders to on a US and world map.

After doing a tally this past weekend on my US map, I noticed that there is a total of 16 states that I haven’t sent anything to yet. I really want to fill the color in on those states, so I’ve decided to have a fun little giveaway.

The first person to send me a note from each of the states listed below will get a special coupon code good for 20% off ONE item in my shop. It can be used on yarn, fiber or any knit goods currently available. Your note must include your city, state and one thing you like about living there.

1. Alabama
2. Alaska √
3. Delaware
4. Hawaii
5. Kansas √
6. Kentucky √
7. Louisiana
8. Maine
9. Mississippi
10. Montana
11. New Hampshire
12. North Dakota √
13. Rhode Island
14. South Carolina √
15. South Dakota
16. West Virginia

I will update the list above as I receive emails.

I typically never get political in a public forum. When amongst a group of people, I avoid the topics of religion, politics and the correct way to make a grilled cheese sandwich. (Yes, there is a correct way, and I will not get into that here.) However, the SOPA/PIPA legislation is HUGE.

If you’ve been under a rock the past week or so, or tend to just avoid politics altogether, I beg you to crawl out from under your rock and catch up by reading the SOPA/PIPA description on Wikipedia. The details of this bill, in all of their extreme vagueness, could make this one of the most, if not the single most, crippling pieces of legislation we’ve ever seen.

I’m not going to go on a rant about everything I despise about this bill, I just ask that you take 5 minutes out of your busy life and read what it’s about. Small business owner, or not, this will affect everyone one way or another.

Crafters Against SOPA imagery courtesy of Strumpet’s Crumpets.

Save! Save! Save! That’s what I’m working on this month.

What exactly am I saving for? That’s a secret.

But, I’ll give you a hint. It’s something that will help me expand my product offerings and add new “pretties” to the shop.

This weekend is going to be an exciting weekend! GnomeAcres is making its’ debut in the “Luxe” Phat Fiber sampler box!

There are 50 samples of some amazing Fake Cashmere fiber. This is a fantastic fiber to blend and spin with. And just to spice things up a bit, one of those fifty samples will not only have the Fake Cashmere, but it will have REAL Cashmere as well. (Pssst…I just put the real Cashmere on SALE!) Each of the samples, and about fifty business cards, have a secret coupon code on them that can be used on anything in the shop from now until the end of February.

Here’s the video preview of the fiber I’ve included:

Phat Fiber Jan 2012 Box Part 2 from Phat Fiber on Vimeo.

The boxes go on sale this Sunday, Jan 15. For more info, check out the Phat Fiber site.

So far, 2012 has been the “Year of Yarn” for me. I’ve been dyeing non-stop this past week. As a result, I was able to add several new colorways to the shop.

From the top left: Jayne Cobb, Kaylee, Bumble Bee, Southwest Zombie, Nightwing and Fangtasia.

I’ve also restocked some popular colorways like Sonic Screwdriver, Zombie Flannel, Fawkes the Phoenix, Decepticon, Polyjuice Potion and Roller Derby Diva.

As always, all of the yarns shown above are available on Etsy. I also have some freshly dyed spinning fiber I’ve been dyeing, but it’s not quite dry and ready to put up on the site yet. That update will happen in a couple of days.

Many of you have commented how much you like the names I’ve chosen for all the different colorways, so I’m sticking with what I know — my dorky side — when it comes to naming. If there is a particular color you like that is not in-stock, there’s a good chance it can be duplicated. Just contact me and let me know.

PHAT FIBER – If you love the monthly Phat Fiber sampler box, you’re going to love this month! I contributed some fantastic “luxe” fiber for the sampler box. It is yummy, that’s all I can say.

(Hint, hint…I also included a coupon code in my samples.)

MONSTERS! - Starting this week, Lost Arts & Antiques will have some new Gnominions monsters in-stock. I had a lot of fun making these guys. This is going to be a limited release. I expect to have more available this Spring, specifically in time for the Monroe County Sheep Festival in mid-April.

NEW WORKSHOP – In super exciting news, GnomeAcres just moved into a bigger workshop area! Woohoo! It’s all in preparation for new items I plan on offering within the next couple months.

LAST DAY FOR CUSTOM ORDERS – In other not-so-exciting news, today is going to be the last day for custom orders for a couple of weeks. I will be having thumb surgery later this week, so all “making of things” will be coming to a halt for a short time. I really appreciate all of the kind words and well wishes I have received thus far. You guys are great!

We’re just a few days away from a brand new year! With a new year will come new products and updates to current shop policies for GnomeAcres. There’s good news, and not-so-good news.

Let’s do the band-aid approach, shall we?

The Not-So-Good News: Starting January 1, 2012, all prices for hand dyed yarn are going to increase slightly. This isn’t something I want to do, but with the rising cost of supplies, postage and extensive time spent on complicated colorways, it is necessary. This increase really needed to happen about four months ago, but I wanted to wait until after the holidays. I appreciate your understanding.

The Good News: My plan is to add many NEW yarn colorways to the shop in the coming year. I also want to start offering art batts and hand dyed roving. Don’t worry, they’ll all continue to have geeky, nerdy names. :0)

I’m currently working on a new line of Gnominion monsters that will be rolled out in the next couple weeks at the Lost Arts & Antiques shop in Edwardsville, IL, then on Etsy. I will also have them available at the Monroe County Sheep Festival coming up in April 2012.

GnomeAcres is making its’ Phat Fiber debut in January’s “Luxe” sampler box! I’m hoping that this is something I can continue to contribute to on a regular basis.

I have more ideas and plans hiding up my sleeve, but we’ll unveil those at another time. You gotta stay tuned!

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year’s this weekend!

It has been an AMAZING year for GnomeAcres! I want to take a moment and thank all of the people that have supported my business, and by extension, small businesses and handmade everywhere.

I can’t tell you all how humbling it is to get feedback about how much you love my yarn, fiber and knit goods. Or, that you couldn’t even take off your coat when you got home because you just had to open your fiber order immediately. I do a little happy dance every single time I hear a story like this.

Again, big THANKS to all of you for making this such a great year for me and my family. This is the best job I’ve ever had…and it’s all because of YOU!

P.S. If you’re on Twitter, check out GnomeAcres. I have a special coupon code for all of my followers!