NotSoShabbyChic: Introducing Myself (Finally!)

Hi!

I am very new to felting as well as to blogging and to Etsy. This is a whole new world that has opened up to me in the last month and a half or so.

I got into felting as soon as I saw other Etsy sellers' felted items -- I just fell in love with it all: the toys, the handbags, the home decor, all of it.

My favorite technique so far is needle felting. It is the only one to which I have devoted much time. Below are a couple pics of some of my completed items as well as works in progress:




My favorite materials are wool in any form. I especially love the silkiness of mohair:


My favorite colors/color mixes are usually pink and green, but with felting I'm also enjoying using lots of different colors together, and bright ones too:


My biggest challenge when it comes to running my shop is sales. I am still fairly new and therefore not that many people know I exist yet. I do tend to do better with sales when I'm actively promoting, but lately I've been slacking. The lack of sales also tends to do a number on my self-esteem. :(

There are SO many other shops that I love!!! It will be hard to narrow them down! But I will try: raewadolly.etsy.com (amigurumi, kawaii), TotusMel.etsy.com (tatted accessories), michaelarras.etsy.com (woodworking), gotcrowcreations.etsy.com (needle felted birds), feltmeupdesigns.etsy.com (needle felted birds), thedryingrack.etsy.com (needle felted houses), and mincingmockingbird.etsy.com (sarcasm + bird paintings!!!!... best combo ever lol...).

The item in my shop that I would most like to receive as a gift if someone were shopping for me would be either my needle felted duckling or my needle felted rabbit:




My future plans concerning felting include doing more of it, getting better at it, and trying new things -- not just in needle felting, but also with other methods. My future plans with my shop include trying to promote it more and to also include more felted items.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! :)

--Rebecca (NotSoShabbyChic)

Margaret from Crystal Creek Fibers

Hello
Thanks for inviting me and I must say that ETSY ROCKS

Everyone I have had contact with have been great!
I had a great visit with Allison of Who The Cap fits.. also fiberalley at Etsy..she is an accomplished felter,she was wearing one of her fabulous hats....We had a great convo and Im glad she stopped by! :]
I have a very large carder and I also dye in bulk.Glad to share ideas with folks and learn also!
I do sell fibers in bulk purchase too!
I have carded a large variety of fibers and am glad to offer assistance and answer questions..maybe I can save someone from a wreck or two? Hahaha......
Margaret/Crystal Creek Fibers

Introducing Split Rock Ranch!

Custom Fiber Blend in Peacock Colorway for spinning or felting

Handspun llama yarns - fiber provided by Split Rock Ranch llamas

Jim & Brenda w/ Halter Champion Tempis Fugit

My name is Brenda and my husband and I own a small llama ranch in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado - Split Rock Ranch. I "retired" from my "real job" in the construction industry this past June 2008 to work our ranch and my fiber business full time. There is so much I want to accomplish in my fiber art that I discover there are simply not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to get done! It is such a joy to have a business where you can work without it feeling like work and the days fly by because you are getting so much enjoyment out of your daily activities. My fiber mottos: "Where fiber is our passion...and it shows" and "So much fiber...so little time".

I have been a knitter and crocheter since I was a child but didn't do much knitting and crocheting when I was working full time and raising a family. We bought our first llamas in the fall of 1996 and we bought our "ranch" in May 1997. We were only going to have two male llamas as companions and to use as packers for hiking trips but in the late summer of 1997 we bought a female llama because we fell in love with the crias (llama babies), then we bought a show quality male llama and started to show him in January 1998. That llama started winning 1st place in every show and won a few Grand and Reserve Grand Champion awards as well as placing Top Ten at Grand Nationals two years in a row and we were bitten by the llama show bug. Our herd has grown as we have added more select females and show quality to our breeding herd and have retained many of our production (crias). In 2000 my husband bought me a used single treadle Ashford Traveller spinning wheel and I started spinning my own yarns. I realized that I had to find something to use those beautiful llama fleeces for! We also learned how to wet felt using our llama fleeces and started out making a felted vest and hat for our daughter using the fiber from our Champion llama. I quickly branched out into dyeing fibers and yarns along with the spinning and then discovered needle felting and started putting together needle felting kits and felting fibers. I also invested in an Ashford drum carder so I could card up our llama fleeces and started blending all sorts of fibers together to make unique one-of-a-kind (OOAK) custom fiber blend batts for spinning and felting. When my husband was laid off from his job in December of 2002 I decided I had to do something to supplement our income and started selling online on ebay, at llama shows and events and then started selling on etsy in April of 2007. I have met some wonderful people who have become friends on this fiber journey and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I have also started to set aside more time to knit and crochet and want to learn nuno felting. I plan to spend more time on the production of finished fiber art in addition to the fiber supplies for other fiber artists. Does anyone know where we can buy more time for our days?!

To read more about our llama journey, see photos of our llamas, etc. please visit our ranch website at www.splitrockllamas.com. Our blog page is www.splitrockranchllamas.blogspot.com. Also, please visit my etsy store at www.splitrockranch.etsy.com.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fiber and we as felters and fibers artists are poised to take advantage of the huge movement to "go green".

I look forward to meeting the rest of the Felting Team and working together as a group to promote the fiber arts!