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The fiber club is shipping this morning and it’s going to be the last one for awhile. It’s been great fun, and I will be continuing it, but after a solid year I need a wee break. I’d have powered through if it wasn’t for our planned move, but this has been a great excuse to allow myself to rest up a bit. Expect to see the club back for sale in July for an August-October run unless something crazy happens. I’ll keep everyone posted. Everyone who was a member this time has a slot reserved for next time and I’ll give plenty of notice so you can grab your slot.
I hope you all love the fiber I’ve dyed up this time. It’s silky, puffy stuff in colors outside my comfort zone, and what do you know? I love it. There’s a big bag of scraps I can’t wait to spin up.
Watch out and don’t hover your mouse over that link unless you want to see what the fiber is!
Want to see? Want to see? No glove hint this month as I didn’t get new gloves after last time. 
Hi, everyone!
The March club is shipping today and tomorrow. I fear I’ll never get back on track, month-wise. Hopefully, you all love spinning this so much, you don’t notice the lateness.
Want a little hint? (Not a photo of the fiber.)
Want a big hint? (Actual photo of the fiber.)
Even if you peek, you won’t know what the fiber is. That I will keep secret.
Have you looked at the Flickr group lately? There’s so much lovely spinning going on.
I can’t wait to see what you do with the new fiber!
Adrian
A little late. 
I hope everyone waiting for me to ship the fiber club wasn’t as upset about the delay as I was. All of the packages winging their way to you.
This is a fiber I’ve used for the club once before, but I have a new supplier and ooh, is it nice. I couldn’t resist. You’re getting a nice big 5 oz. chunk, as well. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Future Clubs:
I plan on taking a month, maybe two, off between the end of the current club and the start of the next one. We are planning a move to Western MA in the near future, and hoo boy, is that ever going to be an undertaking. Even if we don’t move during the break, I’ll be able to get a bit ahead of the fiber club so that I have something to ship during the move. This is all very good news for Hello Yarn, as I’ll finally be able to spread out and really do my thing in a big old house in the country. I can’t wait.
Thanks, everyone!
Adrian
Hi everyone!
I hope you’re all having wonderful holiday seasons with lots of time for spinning. I know I have.
The December club has shipped, so you will receive that shortly. The fiber itself is just so gorgeous, adding color to it is like icing a cake. I hope you all love it. Want to see? *click* I’ve been spinning up a sample and this very much likes to be spun fine. I’ll be back with photos of that as soon as it’s done.
I did manage to finish up a big skein of last month’s Toxic superwash Corriedale and am having a hard time not casting on for knee socks this very moment.
That’s about 8 oz. and 500 yards of two ply, 14 wpi, pretty hard-spun yarn. I think it will make nice, strong socks.
Sign-ups for the next fiber club will take place near the end of next month. Current members will have first dibs, as usual, and then I’ll open it up to everyone else. I’ll announce things both here and on my personal blog.
Thanks for your continued love of fiber! It’s wonderful to see all the things you make from my wools.
I changed the blog theme to one that shows who’s posting. It’s nice to finally know!
The first installment of the new fiber club is packaged all up in boxes, waiting for the mailman by the front door. I think he might be avoiding the house today, because he’s been warned about how big the shipment is! :p Non-US members, your packages are already winging their way to you.
I hope you all love it! It’s another new fiber and a great one I’ll be carrying from now on in the shop in both dyed and un-dyed forms.
The club is shipping a little late this month, as I shoot for the middle of the month for that, and it’s because there are so very many of you in this installment, and a lot of you chose doubles. (Totally not complaining, you understand, just explaining!) The amount of work caught me by surprise, but the main problem was drying it all. As of last night, I have rented super lovely official Hello Yarn drying and storage space, so next month, there shouldn’t be an issue.
I’ll be back soon with spun yarn and cannot wait to see what everyone does with their fiber.
Adrian
I spun like a maniac last weekend, and managed a big old batch of yarn out of the tails left over from the October fiber club.
This-
became this-
became this-
^^^This photo is deceiving. That is a really big pile of yarn.
This stuff? It spins like a dream. I was filling 6 oz. bobbins like they were nothing. Romney, Romney, Romney!
Romney wool (from combed top)
2 ply
12 wpi
989 yards and 1 lb. 7 oz. total
spun and plied at 11:1 (If I don’t record that stuff here, it doesn’t get recorded.)
This is a heavy, kinda scratchy yarn. There should be enough here for a sweater for me. If not, I’ve got some more of the fiber. Now, just to decide what type of sweater to knit. I was thinking just a plain raglan pullover kind of like this, but maybe I need a buttoned cardigan with a big ribbed turtleneck-type collar, kind of like this shape, but with buttons. ???
The voting’s started over on Flickr. Some people really know what they want!
The fiber club subscriptions for November-January are sold out. Thank you!
There have been some changes to the club. I’ve lowered the amount of fiber to 2-5 oz. per month because I’ve got some fancier, and therefore more expensive, stuff for one of the months. There is also added a double dose option. Pay shipping once and get twice as much fiber!
October Club Fiber:
The October selection is shipping today. It’s such a great spinner. I’ve been spinning up the leftover tails for the last couple of nights and have got two bobbins filled. It’s so fun to spin that I’m not stopping until there’s enough yarn for a sweater for me. This will also make fantastic winter wear like socks and mittens. Want to sneak a peek?
Mollusc Wensleydale:
I’m going to do one last batch of the Mollusc Wensleydale for club members. Didn’t get enough? 4 oz. is $15 plus shipping. Shoot me an email if you’d like to get in on this batch.
Thanks, all!
Hi, everyone! The September club shipped today. I hope you all enjoy it. It’s an old favorite, and quite different from last month’s. I look forward to seeing what you do with it.
Just a note- I’ll be away all next week, including the weekend, at Yarn School, and won’t be answering emails or shipping orders received during that time until I return.
As you may have noticed, August’s fiber is a very long-stapled wool. For the less experienced spinners, I thought I’d talk about some spinning options. To me, this fiber screams for worsted spinning- flatten the single with your fingers as you spin it, tucking all those loose fibers in. Your yarn will be drapey and shiny and gorgeous. You could spin this top from the end or from the fold (PDF). This would be a great opportunity to spin a singles yarn! The staple is long, so you can really get away with low twist.
Spindle spinners, here’s (PDF) info on spinning worsted on a spindle.
For my yarn, I was thinking about a particular pattern (Cobblestone from the new Interweave Knits) and spinning Mollusc to go with the charcoal Classic Elite Skye Tweed yarn I already had for the sweater. So, two ply worsted weight it was to be. Hopefully, the sheen of Mollusc as the yoke of the sweater will play well with the tweedy goodness of the Skye Tweed for the rest of the sweater.
I’ll post progress pics as I get going on this one. I can’t wait to see what you make with your fiber!
Adrian
Hi everyone, and welcome to round two of the fiber club! All of the packages have been mailed and you should have received your tracking emails. When I was finished packing the orders, I had a few thank you notes left over. 
If there wasn’t one in your box, then let me say “Thank you for joining and welcome to the club!”
This month’s fiber is a great, fun spin. If you’re not familiar with this breed, pull a bit out from the end and check out that staple length. As long as you keep that length in mind, you should have a pleasurable spinning experience.
I hope you love the colors! This one blew me away as it was hanging in the sunshine to dry. I can’t wait to see how you all spin this to preserve and accentuate that beauty.
Want to see? Can’t wait? Click here.
I’ll be back with some finished yarn photos as soon as I think everyone’s got their fiber.
Adrian
Hello Yarn
Hi All,
I hope everyone’s having a great time spinning their fiber. I got super excited after seeing Nishanna’s gorgeous spinning of Lantern Festival and put everything aside to spin it over the last couple of evenings.
To spin this, I folded the top in half and pulled it apart there, then split each half into strips as wide as my pinky, and spun those from the end. Half went on one bobbin and half on another, and I plied them together. Easy peasy and my favorite way to spin these spotty tops. It gives me barber pole yarn with short stretches of color. Delicious!
Hello Yarn Lantern Festival:
Hello Yarn Fiber Club July 2007 offering
hand-dyed and handspun Corriedale wool from combed top
*see the fiber*
2 ply worsted weight
4 oz., about 240 yards
Super fluffy! Very rainbow-y.
Have a blast with your fiber!
Adrian
This is Lantern Festival, the club’s July offering. You should all have your 5 oz. of this Corriedale top by now. I wanted to end the first round of the club with a serious punch of color and I’ve been so happy to hear from people who are having fun with it. Many thanks to you all for your membership and kind words. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and I can’t wait to see what you make with this!
Adrian
Hi All,
July’s fiber shipped today, marking the last shipment of round one. Many thanks to all of you. I hope you enjoyed it! I’ll post a photo of July’s fiber next week, when you are likely to have yours. If you would like more of this fiber, in any amount, just email me.
New customers, welcome! Returning members, welcome back! I’m so glad you joined. I’ve got the first two months’ fibers picked out and while they’re familiar to me, they’re not fibers I stock for the shop, so they’ll at least be a surprise to you. The one I’ve got slated for September is a rarity around these parts and I’m so excited for it. This one is destined to become a favorite.
New members, if you would like to join the blog and Flickr group so that you may post your progress with club fiber, there are instructions on the sidebar. I’m sure we’d all love to see what you make.
I’ll be back soon with my yarn spun from July’s fiber. I’ve got grand plans.
Thanks so much,
Adrian
Hi, everyone! This weekend is the last chance to claim your reserved renewal spot in the fiber club. On Monday, I’ll open the club up to new members.
Your July fiber will be shipping early next week. It’s wonderfully fresh and spring-like. I hope you all love it.
Thank you all for posting to the blog and Flickr group. I love seeing what you do with your fiber.
Adrian
You should all have your fiber by now, so I’ll post a reference photo of June’s fiber.
Thistle
18 Micron Merino wool top
4 oz.
This stuff is crazy soft! I hope everyone likes it.
From now on, I’ll keep the dyes I mix up for the club fibers for a month or so, so that you may order more of a colorway if you like. Email to order and include your full name so I know who you are. This is only for club members.
Thanks! And enjoy.
Adrian
Hi, everyone! I’m shipping this month’s club a little early, as I’m going on vacation tomorrow. I won’t be available from the 5th through the 13th, so expect a delay if you email, request to join the blog/Flickr group, or place an order.
I hope you all love this month’s fiber. It’s a new one, and delicious. As I mentioned in your package, this fiber will benefit greatly from pre-drafting. It’s very fine and clingy, but becomes light and fluffy and smooth as silk with a little prep. Newer spinners, try not to be afraid! When I learned to spin, no one told me that finer fibers were more difficult to spin and I chose a very fine fiber to start with and spun it with no problem.
See you next week!
Adrian
Hi, everyone!
The whole of the fiber club has been shipped, with international orders going out Monday and US orders yesterday. Those who live close to me could have their fiber today, with orders outside the US arriving as late as the beginning of next week. US orders shipped USPS Priority and the non-US went Global Priority.
Every month, I will spin a sample of the fiber to show how it can look when spun up in at least one way. I hope some of you will post photos of the fiber spun up in different ways. This will be especially helpful to newer spinners, who will benefit from seeing how the colors can change/be manipulated with spinning method. I also hope you will show us photos of your finished yarn and projects, and suggest patterns that worked well for you.
I don’t want to risk spoiling the surprise by showing the fiber/yarn until I’m fairly certain everyone’s received their fiber, so today I’ve provided the photo in a clickable popup.
I spun my sample as a worsted weight 2 ply. My goodness, but this fiber is shimmery! The sample is light so light and airy and soft and squishy. I split the combed top lengthwise into finger-wide sections and spun from the end worsted style, smoothing as I went along. I spun it with a soft twist, however, so the yarn is very light and airy.
If you’re so inclined, this fiber would make great socks. You’ll have more than enough fiber to make a pair of socks using worsted weight and handspun sock pattern.
In the sidebar, you can see instructions for signing up to post on the blog and Flickr group, and a button for subscribing to the RSS feed of this blog. For now, please sign your posts so we know who you are. I’m going to try to figure out how to have the post authors automatically show up.
I so look forward to hearing from you about your fiber! I hope you enjoy it.
- Adrian from Hello Yarn
Welcome!
I’ll update here when the fiber club ships each month, and details about the next fiber club when the time comes.
As soon as the first month’s fibers are sent out at the beginning of May, expect to see posts from other members showing their creations.
— Adrian
