The latest in Needle Case Fashion

I have finally taken pictures of my roll-up needle cases!
That took a while. (embarrassed sigh) I am not going to post these on Etsy until I get back from vacation. I need to whip out several more. There are only 2 left at the Tangled Skein which makes me sooo pleased.


To the right is a purple flowered case in the closed position.
The case is closed by a loop of elastic which hooks around a lovely button. In this case a big silver filigree button.
One of my favorite parts of the cases are the buttons. It is delightful to pick out just the right button for the fabric.



















Next we have a close-up of the pocket construction. Each case has 19 pockets ranging from 1" to 3" wide. Each row of pockets has a labeling strip that the owner can label what size needles go into each pocket. Seams are sewn with a double needle for additional reinforcement.












Each case also has a hanging tab with 2 eyelets for hanging your roll-up case on the wall when you are not traveling with it. You can easily unhook it from the wall, flip the top flap down over your needle points, roll up and go.









Here is a brown, flowered batik needle case.


Both of the cases shown here are going on sale at The Tangled Skein this week, so if you want them call me quick or stop by the shop after Wednesday. They will be $35 at either location.

Snarl Design New Product Release

Needle Holders for the discerning Knitter/Crocheter/Crafter!!

Below are pics for the holders soon to be listed at Snarl Design on Etsy. This here is a sneak preview! You can find more colors locally at The Tangled Skein in Eagle River. I hang mine in my studio and find that I can actually find my needles on a regular basis. That is, if I put them away...or finish a project.


The holders are designed to be hung on the wall. Each holder has 37-42 pockets in varying sizes.
For example the Purple Batik case pictured here in the blog has these pockets:
4 3/4" x 4 7/8" (11)
1" x 4 7/8" (22)
7 1/2" x 4 7/8" (1)
3 5/8" x 3 1/2" (4)

Holders are 20-21"x 7 1/2-8" in overall size. They are made from 100% Cotton fabric and each pocket is lined with muslin. Pocket divisions are double stitched for strength and eyelets are 1/4" metal. There are 14 tabs on the side pre-labeled in US Knitting Needle sizes or you can request them blank, mm needle sizes or just not there at all. The tab changes would be if you request a custom made holder.

Below is a Fiddlesticks Holder.


Needles not included with purchase.

It was very humbling that I could find only 1 full set of double point needles to fill the holders for pictures. Somewhere in this house there are a whole bunch of WIP's full of double points, waiting for me to find them and finish them.

Saying Goodbye...

Etsy is fun. I can check it every day and count how many people have looked at my yarn. I can also remake my banner every day and watch it slowly crawl towards something I like. It is still not there, but I have had some busy days and haven't been able to remake it since, like, Sunday.

But there is a really sad and difficult part of Etsy. I have to say good-bye to yarn. Ok, I realize I have only sold 1 skein, but look at it...How do you say good-bye to this?! I LOVED this yarn! Clearly, selling yarn is going to be like raising children. At some point you have to say good-bye and let them make their own way in the world. And it is so hard to say good-bye. Packing Lupine Valley into the package was torturous. I had to SQUISH it flat. It killed me! I felt like I was abusing the skein by sucking all the air from it and sealing it into plastic, sealing that plastic into a bubble wrapper and THEN, THEN I had to drop it into a HUGE mail bin that other packages could smash on top of it. Well, actually, a mail-lady was taking the last bin of the day into the back of the post office and she hand carried my yarn package into the back with her. But, it could have been smashed. And as soon as it got to the back of the post office, it probably was smashed.

Then there is the Azure Mongolian Cashmere. My first hand-painted cashmere. I gifted it. I know that it is in really good hands. But I find myself going back to her blog posts here and here and reading about the yarn over and over again. I fully agree that the first pattern choice didn't suit the yarn. But we have to let our children experience the toils of the world. Sometimes life isn't good to you. We must presevere as did my little azure cashmere. She stuck with her knitter and let those stitches come out and get restarted into something even better. Now she is doing really well in life--starting to look like the beautiful peacock feather I always knew she could be.

Just a glimpse into the crazed mind of a knitter & spinner enthralled with fiber.

Etsy Repercussions

What are the repercussions of selling things on Etsy?

Buying things on Etsy!! Of course!

I am learning so much about how to tag & market my yarn from my Etsy Group on Ravelry. In response to that I am 'shopping' for my own yarn to see how my yarn appears in searches. My, my, it is amazing the beautiful things I am finding. giggle giggle. So far, I haven't bought anything and I do eventually find my own yarn. But look at this Handdyed Silk Lace Yarn, by SunnysideEllen. drooooool. Or what about this Imaginary Friend notebook by Shoofly. Really, anything she draws on is pretty darn cool. I am in love with all the talented people out there. For anyone who hasn't gone to Etsy.com you should go, right now, before you finish reading this blog. My one recommendation is to favorite anything you really like. It is really hard to find it days or weeks later. I like favoriting (is that a word?) sellers instead of items because if I like one item, I probably like lots of items by that seller. Of course, you could favorite Snarl Design right now because I will slowly be adding yarns to keep items showing up in the early part of searches and I am SURE you all want to be part of the excitement. Please excuse the blatant advertising, but this is MY blog after all.

Well, off to post a couple items and then return to the mundane life of doing laundry.

Etsy Is Up!!

I have pretties on Etsy!! 3 today, more tomorrow!!

All handspun yarns.