and the winner is.......

Felicia from Sweet Pea Fibers!!! :D

I did it the ol' scientific way, write all the names down, cut em' up, and draw it from a box.

I've already got your addy because of the fiber swap Felicia, but I'll shoot you a message on Ravelry too to see what color you want. I just got a fab. package of fiber from Felicia with all kinds of goodies so it was kind of nice that I drew your name.

Didn't win this time? Well don't fret, I will certainly be havin' another one. Also I'm REALLY close to my 100th sale on etsy. I'm planning on a freebie coming with that so if you buy jewelry, free piece of similar jewelry, fiber, free fiber, you get the idea. :D

Speaking of fiber, while I haven't been posting on etsy, there is a good reason for that. I HAVEN'T HAD TIME!!! Also, I have been preparing for my first show of the season which is rapidly approaching (May 15, Klackle Orchards in Greenville, MI - Fiber Fiesta, the website with info and direction is here.) This show filled up really quick and it is in its first year so I'm interested to see how it is. I see a lot of vendors I'm familiar with are going to be there which I think is a pretty good sign because I'm pretty sure I've bought something from most of them and was very pleased.

 Reason number two I haven't posted anything is that I am slowly transitioning to using mostly hand dyed fiber. Up until now I have been using some hand dyed fiber and add ins (locks, woolies, etc.) and some really vibrantly colored commercial top. I have been using the Greener Shades dyes and just started getting some dying done at home. Last night I dyed about a 1/2 pound of fiber in all of alpaca, firestar, and some mohair locks. I'm really excited about this because the alpaca and the locks I bought right from the source, picked em', washed em', and now I've dyed them. Hooray! I'm really pleased with how vibrant these dyes are, especially on the synthetic sheen of the firestar. Here are my results drying.

I'll post some better pix once things are dry.

On another happier note, (I know my last post was kind of a downer,) I just firstly wanted to say thank you to everyone for the kind words and encouragement. Secondly, I wanted to share some simple beauty of spring here in the good ol' mitten state.

This photo was from a little walk Joe and I took at Leila Arboretum. For some reason this year all of the flowering trees and shrubs have seemed extra beautiful.

Looking at these photos I took a few weeks ago really snapped me back into the appreciating the little things way of thinking. It really is the little things sometimes that can cheer us up, make us laugh, and keep us going. A close friend's or even a stranger's kind words would fall into that category, so thank you readers, I leave you with that tonight... the little things.