The Beebas' Bottoms

Mixing Family and Business the Mommy Way.

Posts Tagged Beeba 3

A Sale and a Contest!

Mar 31

Posted by Theresa in CCFibers, Family | No Comments

So, tomorrow it is April.  That means a few things.  First, it means my big Boy is almost 4 years old!  Hard to believe . He was such a peanut as a baby.

The Day Beeba 1 came home from the hospital.

But, here he is this past Halloween with his little sister (who will be 2 in may… yikes!)

We had a thomas the train and a little ladybug. Geez they got big.

Anyway… April means other things too.  It means the weather is warming up, and it means April Fool’s day.  it also means I am all the more close to having the next baby.  And these last two things are where this post is heading.

So, the SALE.

Tomorrow only, on April 1, I am offering a sale at my Etsy Shop.  Mention in your purchase notes April Fool’s, and I will give you a random discount between 10%-20% off from your purchase (not including shipping) which will be refunded via paypal.  I will be using Random.org to determine the discount, so that means that everyone has as much chance at the 20% as the 10%. I kind of thought it was a fun idea.

Then, the CONTEST.

Being that as of this week, I am 32+ weeks pregnant… I though maybe we could play a little game.  The only requirement to this game is that you are a member of my ravelry group (its not hard to join, go here).

Now, once you have joined the ravelry group, Comment either there in the thread I will create for this contest, and tell me these things:

1. Do you think I will have a boy, or a girl, this time? (I have one of each right now)

2. What day and time do you think baby will be born? (I am due on May 23, and for reference, I went a little late with my DS, and a week late with DD.)

That’s it.  Join the group and post your answers to those questions.  the person (or persons, if there are a couple that are super close and I am feeling generous when the time comes) will win a prize… the winner may tell me preferences as to yarn, fiber, or stitch markers, and general color preferences, but I will choose something special.  I promise that the value of the prize will be no less than $15.

I will say that the winner should expect to be patient, however, since I will be making a prize specially for that person, and will have a brand new baby, it will probably take longer than usual to get it sent out.

This Contest will run from now till the end of April.  I hope to see lots of contestants.  And hey, once you are a member of the group, why not stick around and chat a bit?

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A few notes from me…

Mar 3

Posted by Theresa in CCFibers, Crafting, Family | No Comments

Well, the money is sent, and my new CPW (yes, it is mine now, as soon as the money is received anyway) will be on its way to me very soon.  I am getting more and more excited to see it.

On a more personal note, I am 28 weeks pregnant this week.  Officially in the third trimester, and getting a little nervous.  Not about the birth, but about being ready, and how my fiber business will hold up against the needs of 3 children.

I know that I will keep on persevering, and I hope that my customers will continue to shop with me.  I am planning to take a couple weeks at least for a break from most aspects of the business, particularly the carding and dyeing aspects.  But I will still get any orders during that time shipped within normal times, that I promise.  and, if I am able to build up some stock between now and then, I will attempt to keep listing new items as often as possible.

During the few weeks surrounding the birth of my third child, my plan is to rest, and enjoy the new babe as much as possible.  (knowing that I will have enough interruptions from the older children)  I hope that within a couple weeks I will be back to carding and dyeing as usual, and I even hope to run a spin along on my ravelry group beginning sometime in mid- to late- June.

Which leads to another topic.  Did you know that Crystal City fibers now has a ravelry group?   I set it up so that customers and friends will have a place to show off their WIPs (works in progress) and FOs (Finished Objects).  Also, I would love to begin in the future to do some spin alongs, or even fiber clubs.  I thought the group might be a good place to gauge interest.

Right now, the group is pretty small, having only been established early this week.  But, Come on over and join us, and it will be one person larger.

To join or visit the group, go to Crystal City Fibers Ravelry Group.  All are welcome!

I don’t have any new pictures to share today.  I posted my newest pictures on Friday, and while I intend to take some more pictures this afternoon, and to continue with yesterday’s carding session, I just don’t have any for now.  But I promise to have new pictures on Friday, as usual, and I hope you’ll stop by then!

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Its been a week… and a new page on the website.

Jan 20

Posted by Theresa in CCFibers, Personal | 2 Comments

Well Folks, its been exactly one week since I made myself a schedule for the kids naptimes… and how have I done with that?

After all, it’s Wednesday, and I am writing for the blog, and that is progress, right?

Aside from that, I spent Thursday’s nap time looking around for jewelry wire… apparently, i ran out at some point, horror of horrors, and so instead of making some awesome new stitch markers (I even have cool ladybug beads now, too), I moved on and spent some time with the drum carder.  I keep saying I will get to the store for more wire… but you know… I haven’t made it yet.

Friday was supposed to be a photo day… and yes, I DID take AND edit some photos.  Without further ado, I’d love to show them to you. :)

California Red - 3.2 ounces

Cheviot - 2.6 Ounces

Rose Petals - SW Merino, bamboo, nylon yarn

"Surprise Me" - a mix of random leftover bits from drum carding on a base of Falklands wool

You might notice, if you clicked on any of the pictures, that all but one of those items are already listed, too.  That is because I have also been working at keeping up my other goal, of listing at least one item every day in my shop.

On Monday, I was supposed to spin.  And I did… but not as much as I would like to say that I had.  I spun for a little while and then realized that my back was hurting me and my wheel was giving me issues. (not the wheel’s fault… apparently my kids must have unscrewed one of the feet on the front of the wheel, and it is now missing… the wheel was wobbly.  I am getting a replacement foot.)  Ok, so I am pregnant, so sue me, sometimes it will mean taking a break.

While I was resting my back, I sat in the couch and worked on my “Instant Grat Hat”.  That is, the project designed to meet 2 needs.. first, to give me a break from the larger and more complicated baby blanket I am working on (for the beeba 3), and second, to make a hat for me that will not fall off my head when I am wearing a ponytail (since I am nearly always wearing a ponytail).

Excuse the terrible picture of me… I hate pictures of me…

The Instant Grat Hat- actually a modified beret

Now, Yesterday, I did something I have not done in a long while.  I DYED FIBER!  yes, I know, I am running a fiber and yarn business, I need to be dyeing fiber.  But, you see, the dyes are not really the most healthy to be working with while pregnant, and so during the pregnancy, I have cut down on the dyeing I do.  It’s why most of my actual new listings in my shop for the last and next few months are an will be either carded batts or spun yarn rather than dyed top or dyed yarns… I am trying to be safe for my baby.  But really, I DO still have to do some dyeing, and so using the proper safety precautions, I spent a while dyeing yesterday.

Sorry, that does not mean that you are likely to see any dyed tops in my shop anytime soon.  I dyed solid lengths of top to use in the drum carder.  This type of dyeing takes less time in actual contact with the dyes, and leads to more variety, since I can take a bit of this color and a bit of that to create several different batts.  I did only a little over a pound, and so I will likely have to do more dyeing next week again, but it gives me a start, to add to the other fibers I have waiting for me.

Speaking of fiber, guess what arrived at my house yesterday?  MORE FIBER.  Yup.  More merino, which after this dyeing session I needed, as the dyeing session completely depleted what I had, and bamboo!  Yum, I love bamboo.  Some of it I will be adding as is to batts, and some will be dyed and sold as tops… and I can’t wait to play.

I guess, in my long winded way, all this is to say that I am On Track, at least so far.  and don’t worry, i won’t tell you day by day my every move on every wednesday… I promise.

*****

On to my second topic of the day.

I added a new page to my website.  This page is for all those beginning spinners out there who may not have tried every different form of fiber prep.  It is by no means complete, and in fact, may never be, since it is a list of tips and hints (with some useful information added in) on how to spin from the different forms.  I hope that readers will chime in with any tips and hints you may have for spinning from any form of prep… if you submit a tip and it is not already on the page, I will put it up with a credit to you.  You may submit tips and hints either by responding to this post or by using the contact form either here or on the site (it is actually the same contact form).

Here is a link to the page if you would like to check it out: Crystal City Fibers: Spinning Tips and Hints.

Yes, I know, most if not all of the tips and hints I have listed are already available somewhere else… But not, from what I can tell, in an organized and comprehensive form…  So, while I know I have probably missed many great hints and tips, I sat down and wrote down all that I could think of or had played with personally… and this is the list I came up with.  I know that my readers and viewers of the site will be able to add more to the list.

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A New Year, and a New Goal

Jan 13

Posted by Theresa in CCFibers, Family | 1 Comment

Hi to Everyone, and a very happy, if a little late, New Year to you all.

I need first to apologize for the fact that I have not posted in a  long while.  I found out in September that I am pregnant yet again (expecting our third), and I was trying not to give away the fact to family for quite a while, some of whom have been known to read this blog.

I am going to try to implement a schedule for myself, which I hope that you as my readers and customers will benefit from as much as I do.

From now on, I will be scheduling naptime (otherwise known as my most productive hours).  I’m lucky you see.  My children (at least for now) both take naps usually from about 2pm till 4:30ish.  That leaves me with 2-3 hours a day completely on my own.

For Now, my schedule will look something like this:

Monday: Spin

Tuesday: Fiber Prep

Wednesday: Blog

Thursday:  Stitchmarkers or Fiber Prep

Friday: Photos/Photo Editing

On each of these days, I will also make an attempt to list at least one new thing in my shop.  (note, this means that I still have to use some of that non-napping time to do other bits of work, such as twist setting for new yarn, organizing the craft room, etc)

For now, I will leave you with an image of my family who is mostly supportive of me getting things done.  And a promise that in future I will have lots more fiber and yarn pictures up on the blog.

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