hard decisions

Being a small business owner, most of the business decisions I make are pretty easy, or at least they flow from where the business is going. And for the most part, it's usually about saying "yes" to something. Yes to adding a new yarn base, yes to doing a fiber festival, yes to wholesale accounts.

But with success sometimes comes the need to make decisions you don't really want to make. I'm at that point right now with a couple of things. Since I value my sanity, I've decided to make a couple of changes that are hard, but necessary.

First, I will be phasing out the Fiber Club this year. Everyone who has a current subscription will receive the club until their subscription is through. But I won't be renewing any Fiber Club subscriptions as they run out.

Second, we will be producing no additional spinning fiber for the shop throughout the year, with the exception of the weeks surrounding Ply Away. Our fiber focus each year will be our attendance at Ply Away, and producing a good selection for that show. Anything left over will be in the shop in the weeks after the show.

These were not easy decisions. Even though in one way, I already knew what I needed to do. Since October House Fiber Arts began, I've always made decisions based on what was in my heart, and what my gut instinct told me. And that's been pretty darn successful.

So, my heart has been leading me in a couple of new directions. There will be some new things coming (yay!), but that also means that these things have to take a back seat. I should note that there are no changes to the yarn production or the Sock Club. Our yarns are the center of October House and they will continue to have the spotlight!

I appreciate your understanding, and as always, I am so thankful for your support of our small business!

On the Wheel: April Showers

I'm spinning some fluffy clouds these days:

This is the fiber club colorway from last April...April Showers. It's on BFL/Silk and I am thoroughly enjoying it.  BFL/Silk is my favorite fiber blend to dye, and it's pretty great to spin, too!

The fiber club colorways are exclusive for one year, so this color will soon be available in my shop. I'm dyeing up a batch next week on a few different fibers, so keep an eye out:)

I'm not sure what this yarn will become just yet, but I'm enjoying being able to spin without pain!

On the Wheel : Seashells

I'm not getting a lot of time to spin or knit right now (it's dye, dye, dye all the time around here), but I do have this lovely bit of fiber on the wheel when I do get a moment or two to spin:

This is last June's fiber club colorway.  It'll be available as a regular color this coming June:)

October House Fiber Club

I introduced the fiber club back in December 2013, and I can happily say it keeps growing! I love coming up with a special colorway each month for the club. I tend to think rather seasonally most of the time (as you can probably tell by the pictures below), so the club offerings tend to kind of follow the seasons. But you never know when I might throw a surprise in there!

Below is a little collage of the past several months of the club colorways, starting with February:

Have you tried the October House Fiber Club? You can sign up at any time, and there are options available for 3, 6 or 12 months.  Click here to get more information and sign up!

October House Fiber Club

I'm excited to announce my first fiber club!

If you enjoy getting surprises in the mail once a month (and hey, who doesn't!?) and if you enjoy color in your spinning and are looking to try different wool breeds, you need to try October House Fiber Arts Fiber Club!

Here are the club details:
Length:  3 month & 6 month options

Fibers:  Each month you'll receive a braid of hand dyed spinning fiber in an exclusive colorway for 3 (or 6) months.

I will hand dye a unique colorway on a different wool or wool-blend fiber every month and deliver it to you. Each package will be over 4 ounces of fiber. Examples of fibers include merino, polwarth, finn, falkland, bfl, shetland, or a wool blend such as merino/silk, polwarth/silk or bfl/silk.  This club will feature natural fibers, so you won't see any nylon, tencel, soysilk or sparkles.  The fiber club colorways are exclusive for club members and not for regular sale.

When:  Fibers are mailed out on the 15th (or as close to it as possible) of each month, for the length of your club membership.  If you purchase a club membership after the 15th, your membership will begin the next month.

Space is limited!  I'm an indie dyer, hand dyeing in small batches, so to keep quality up I have to limit the size of the club.  My absolute first priority is to send you the best quality fibers I can possibly produce.

Click below to try a 3 month club :

Or, a 6 month club :


Happy spinning!