February 2012 Newsletter 02/01/2012
 Yay it's February!! That means winter is almost over, chocolate is in my future because of Valentine's Day, AND my birthday is this month....I get to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of my 9th birthday and eat cake!!! Lots of stuff going on here this month with our February Drawing and I will be starting the Comb and Hackle tutorials this month. If you haven't seen the Art Roving Hackle Part 3 tutorial yet check it out. I discovered a new technique for dizzing off the Art Roving Hackle in quantity. You'll wonder why no one though of it before, really. I'm sure you're wondering by now what the heart is. This is my favorite Valentine from Eric........years ago when I did a lot of gardening he gave me a small load of good dirt that he patted into a heart shape and wrote on with sand. Isn't he sweet! BMH has a FaceBook Page! Come Like us and see shop updates, sales, specials, and events.BMH February Drawing! Feb.1st --Feb.29th Every order placed with a $25 subtotal after discounts, etc will get their order # put into our drawing. Two winners will be chosen on March 1st using the Random Number Generator and will be announced in our March Newsletter. There will also be 2 mini events during the month you won't want to miss that will be posted in the banner on our home page, in our Ravelry group, and on our Face Book page so check back often! Yes, I'm keeping them a secret for now.....I'm just evil that way. Here are the prize packages we will be giving away.  1st Place Prize total value $170 ~Lime In the Coconut batt 3.6 oz ~skein of hand spun yarn ~3 KBC All Occasion Cards ~SOAK Sampler ~Caddy Sax project bag ~ Notions bag ~Yarndemon Designs Pig orifice hook and matching stitch marker set ~ Roll Up needle case ~ hand dyed tonal tweed yarn skein ~ Fender Washer Diz set  2nd Place Prize total value $116 ~Peacock batt 2.4 oz ~SOAK Sampler ~3 KBC All Occasion Cards ~Notions bag ~Spinning Buddy bag (also makes a great small project bag) ~skein of hand spun yarn ~ hand dyed tonal tweed yarn skein ~Roll Up needle case ~Yarndemon Designs set of stitch markers ~Fender Washer diz set New Products Miss Priss varigated DAZZLE DAZZLE! a blend of sparkly fibers great for adding to batts and combing in with wool or alpaca. DAZZLE comes in solid colors that I will be keeping in stock and varigated colors that will not be repeated so once they're gone that's it. DAZZLE can be found on our Fiber Add In's page of the shop.  ART ROVING is back in the shop in smooth, semi (has some texture), and textured. The roving is very fun to spin and makes a fabulous corespun yarn! The Art Roving is made on our Art Roving Hackle and can be found on the Combed Top/Roving page of the shop. Events Fiber Indie eXperience Co-op February Gift Certificate Drawing Starts: retroactive Jan 30th Ends: February 26th Prize: 1st Place $50 gift certificate, 2nd Place $30 gift certificate Every order placed with Blue Mountain Handcrafts or another participating F.I.X. Co-op member is eligible for an entry! See our FIX Co-op Ravelry group for details. Add Comment January 2012 Newsletter 01/01/2012
 We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday! There was no snow on the mountain for Christmas but my boys found other things to entertain themselves with. Eric and Alex took all the burnable broken Christmas ornaments and lined them up like an army. Then they proceeded to soak cotton balls with flammable liquid, light said cotton balls and launch them at the Christmas Ornament army with a homemade launcher. There was a big enough fire in our driveway to roast marshmallows. Never a dull moment here. Katie and I had a debate going on as to whether or not this was a "guy" thing or a "fire bug" thing. We decided there probably wasn't any difference so we went inside and ate cookies. We hope everyone has a healthy and prosperous New Year!!~~Beth January Special: use coupon code 10TOP for 10% off all dyed top & roving We launched our Wool Combs and Hackles Tutorials this month! There was a slight change in plans and we started with the Art Roving Hackle instead of the Comb and Hackle sets. Dizzing instructions will also be included with each tool tutorial as well as other tips and tricks. We will be going over each tool as in depth as we can and each tool may require more than one post so don't forget to get the RSS feed available or sign up on the Contact Us form on the Home page to get our "heads up" emails so you don't miss any! Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments on the Tutorials! I will be answering questions concerning the tools and techniques in using them. ~~New in the shop!~~ Smooth WHATEVER batts are back! The batts are made with a variety of mill combed top, sparkle, faux cashmere, and firestar. Colors are grabbed at random and run through the drum carder creating a colorful crazy batt that will spin into a one of a kind yarn. BMH Store Gift Certificates are now available! We now offer a 4 Pitch English style Wool Comb and Hackle for $195.00! The set comes with the 4 pitch non-recessed stationary hackle and a 4 pitch comb of your choice (heavy, hybrid, or light). ~~January's Events~~  Happy New Year from the FIX Chix! Join us for the Fiber Indie eXperience Co-op's F.I.X. Chix January Prize Box Drawing Starts: retroactive Dec 30 Ends: Jan 29th Prize: 4 boxes filled with fiber and yarn goodies with a total value of approx. $400!! For more information see the F.I.X. Co-op Ravelry group or the Co-op page here on the website.. December 2011 Newsletter 12/01/2011
 I can't believe it's December already.... that means it's almost Christmas and I'm not even close to ready for that. Where is the time going?? We've been busy little elves here making tools, sewing, dyeing, and carding. I think I've polished about 6 million tines in the last month and gone through 1 pair of leather gloves. Surprisingly, I've not gone through any bandaids. We hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! Ours was another success........this means I didn't set the smoke alarm off and nothing exploded mostly because Eric did all the cooking. He keeps us fed bless his heart! We hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas!!~~~~Beth DECEMBER SPECIAL: use coupon code 15FIBER for 15% off BMH batts this month, excludes Clearance and Custom MadeWhat's New! Get It Custom Made! Would you like to have one of our bags or tool cover sets in a specific color? No problem! We now offer to custom make Caddy Sax project bags, Spinning Buddy bags, Mini Reversible Totes, Notions bags, drum carder covers, and BMH fiber tool covers. There are 2 options for you to choose from. Option #1 you pick the color(s) and I'll pick the fabric.......Option#2 you pick the color(s) and I'll take photos of the fabric I have in those color(s) for you to choose from. If you have any questions or have fabric you would like an item made from please contact us!  spun by Paulette from BMH's Waiting For Spring batts Customer WOW Gallery We would love to see what you make and do with your BMH purchases! If you send me a photo via email I will be happy to add it to our gallery to share with those who come to our website. If you are on Ravelry you can enter our monthly drawing......winners are choosen at random from those who post pictures of their BMH creations. Please see our Ravelry group for details. Current Events! FIX$ GIFT CERTIFICATE GIVEAWAY Starts: Retroactive November 30th Ends: December 29 Prize: FIX Gift Certificate ……$65.00. Thegift certificate that can be spent in any participating FIX members shop/website….GC can be split up between several shops…winner chooses how to spend it. November Newsletter 2011 11/01/2011
 I didn't think winter was suppose to start until December 22nd. I guess I was wrong....we got 10" of snow up here on the mountain last Saturday. It was very pretty until the driveway needed to be shoveled. Today is mine and Eric's wedding anniversary!! Yep, we've been together for 16 years and neither one of us has tried to strangle the other. He's still my best buddy and my sweetheart and makes me laugh every day:) We've been busy as here making goodies for the shop and we've revamped the website to make shopping and navigating a bit easier. I'm going to try a new schedule for shop updates starting this week.....new items will now be posted on Thursdays and or Fridays but this isn't set in stone since my schedule gets changed frequently. I hope everyone gets to enjoy the fall weather and has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving this month!~~~~Beth What's New! Caddy Sax--Spinning Buddy The Spinning Buddy is perfect for keeping all your spinning wheel items organized and in one place. The spacious interior will hold up to 4 oz of fiber. Also makes a great small project bag for socks and baby items. Bags are designed to fit a variety of spinning wheel types.  We will now offer Mystery Bags of fiber as well. These bags may contain fleece (dyed and or natural) bits of dyed top, small batts, bits of add ins........basically whatever I have small amounts of and need to clear out. The bags will be sold in 4 oz for $15. Great for combing, carding, felting, and spinning. November Events: November F.I.X. Prize Box Drawing Starts: Retroactive Oct. 30th Ends: Nov. 29 Prize: 3 boxes full of fibery goodies with a total value of $320 How to enter: place an order with Blue Mountain Handcrafts or any one of the participating FIX members shops. Post your order in the ALL: (drawing month) ENTRIES thread in the FIX Co-op Ravelry group.  October 2011 Newsletter 10/01/2011
 September came and went and to be honest, it was mostly boring up until the end. At the end of the month Aunt Anita came to stay the weekend and we all went to the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival. We got to see different kinds of sheep, a camel, llamas, alpacas, and goats....the kids (baby goats) were cute even to a 15 year old boy like myself. Mom and Aunt Anita put me to use as a pack mule toting fleeces they bought back to the van but I did get several snow cones out of the deal so it was okay. Later we met up with some other members of the BMH Ravelry group so they could play with all Mom's tools. Left to right in the photo is Aunt Jan, Aunt Teri, Mom, Aunt Anita, and Cousin Shannon......she's to young to be my aunt. All the ladies had lots of fun combing and talking....a lot of talking. I did catch a butterfly while they were busy and that was cool and Katie and I snuck off for more snow cones. When they were finally done we got hugs all around and I was put into pack mule service again to tote the tools back to the van. It was great to finally meet all the ladies Mom is always telling us about. She's was right, she's not the only fiber crazy chick out there;) Now October approaches with Halloween coming and that's the perfect excuse for Mom to buy bags of candy for nonexistant trick or treaters. Katie and I will not be allowed to touch it without notarized written permission from Mom herself in triplicate. I hope I can find a notary before she eats it all again this year. Mom says we're growing and it's not good for us and she hates to see it go to waste. Right. I hope everyone has a nice October and a Happy Halloween and we'll see you again next month:) ~~~~Alex  WHAT'S NEW! Fiber Parfait Kits! Each color coordinated kit comes with dyed and or natural colored fibers such as combed top, fleece, locks, silk, bamboo, firestar, camel down, alpaca, sparkle and whatever else I can get my hands on. It's everything you need to card a batt, comb some blended top, or do some fun spontaeous spinning all in one bag. EVENTS! Lots of stuff going on in October!!! Only 9 days left to get your Spin A Long package and join us in the Blue Mountain Handcrafts Ravelry group for fun and prizes!!!  3 EVIL ENABLERS DRAWING We're at it again! Blue Mountain Handcrafts, Yarndemon Designs, and Fancy Kitty have teamed up for another fabulous drawing with incredible prizes!! Our Grand Prize is a 90/120 (fine cloth) Fancy Kitty Kitten Drum Carder, the First Prize package includes a Caddy Sax, hand combed center pull art roving, hand dyed 20/80 silk merino top, a set of stitch markers and an orifice hook, and for the Second Prize package we have hand dyed 20/80 silk merino top, 50/50 merino alpaca center pull roving, a knitting needle roll up case, and a set of alpaca stitch markers. Every order placed with one of the 3 Evil Enablers during the drawing dates will get an entries in to the drawing! Please see the Fancy Kitty Ravelry group 3 Evil Enablers Drawing thread for details and join us for your chance to win!  F.I.X. Co-op OCTOBER Gift Certificate Drawing Starts: Retroactive Sept. 30th Ends: Oct. 29 Prize: FIX Gift Certificate ……$50.00 gift certificate that can be spent in any participating FIX members shop/website….GC can be split up between several shops…winner chooses how to spend it. How to enter: place an order with one of the participating FIX members shops. Post your order in the FIX$ GIVEAWAY thread in the FIX Co-op Ravelry group. PARTICIPATING SHOPS will be listed with links on the entries thread September 2011 Newsletter 09/01/2011
 And so passes the month of August, summer vacation, and all things school related have come about. However much I hate getting up in the morning I am excited about being in school again, really. Anyway, Dad has been working his heart out making fiber tools mostly because Mom still has him chained to his workbench until dinner time. Mom is still sewing, making batts, and walking around with multi-colored hands from dyeing. I personally like the moss green look on her the best. Katie and I are lazing off at school and enjoying being with our friends again after another wild and wooly summer up on the mountain. By the way, that adorable picture on the left is a real live baby toad Katie and I found in our yard. I picked it up and HAD to take a picture if it! Don't worry, we let it go after I took the picture and everyone got to oooh and aaah over the little guy. I hope everyone has a nice September and I'll see you next month.~~~~~~~Alex WHAT'S NEW...............  We are now offering a 4 pitch comb and hackle set with regular clamps versus the recessed clamps. This set is exactly the same as the comb and hackle set we've always offered other than it not having the recessed cavity in the hackle base and the price....$220.00 plus shipping.  Custom Services The Custom Carding Service is offered in 2 and 4 oz increments. You purchase BMH fiber (fleece and combed top---dyed or undyed) and we'll card it into batts for you. Indicate if you'd like some sparkle and I'll add a pinch at no extra charge. Our Add Ins For Custom Carding Service allows you to choose from six different add ins available in all the colors we carry to go in your carded batt along with the BMH fiber you purchased. Available add ins are firestar, camel down, bamboo, faux cashmere, and mulberry silk. The Custom Made Batt service is a bit different from the Custom Carding Service. With the Custom Made Batt Service you let me know up to 4 colors you want in your batt, if you want your batt to be sparkle free, semi-smooth (may have small nepps) or textured, and if you are allergic to any fibers. I will then make you a custom batt according to the colors you've choosen. Our Custom Dyeing Service is great for those who don't like to dye or don't have the time. Order your undyed fiber (top or fleece/locks) and include a custom dyeing service with your order indicating what color you would like and I'll dye your fiber in a solid to semi solid of your chosen color. More details will be posted with each listing in the shop.  Fancy Kitty Kitten Carder Covers: the carder covers are perfect for keeping your carder protected and dust free when not in use. The covers are made with an exterior cotton print fabric (you choose the fabric) and an interior medium to heavy weight upholstery fabric for durability. Seams are finished and on the exterior of the cover so as not to snag on the carder or carding cloth. The covers will fit both the hand crank and motorized Kitten carders. Events Shenandoah Valler Fiber Festival in Berryville, VA at the Clark County Fairgrounds, Sept. 24th and 25th. Are you going to the festival this year? I'll be there with Katie and Alex on Saturday the 24th and we're bringing our fiber tools! We are informally meeting some Blue Mountain Handcrafts and Fiber Indie eXperience Co-op Ravelry group members to chat, play with the tools, and answer questions. If you're going and would like to test out the tools and get a feel for them it's totally free! Come join us if you can, we'd love to meet you!~~~~Beth  WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!!!! Greener Shades Dye Starter Kits (no citric acid) are on sale for $23.20 Ashford Undyed Merino Top 4 oz on sale for $9.95 Ashford Undyed Corriedale Top 4 oz on sale for $7.95  SEPTEMBER FIX CO-OP PRIZE BOX DRAWING Starts: retroactive August 30th Ends: September 29th Prizes: A Yarn Box and a Spinners Box both worth approx. $155 each. September is F.I.X. Co-op’s 1 Year Anniversary so as an added bonus this month we are giving away a Thank You Sampler Bag to the person who purchases from the most FIX Shops this month. See the September FIX Entries thread for more details http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/fiber-indie-experience-co-op/1804288/1-25 August 2011 Newsletter 08/07/2011
 Well, there goes July! Good riddance too, the heat was obnoxious! In retrospect, I'm a year older (15!) the worst heat of the year has past (hopefully), and many new innovations are on their way...Which means I get even more things to haul around this fibery madhouse being the official BMH pack mule. Joy. Anyway, there has been a rearranging of tasks in the BMH household. I, for instance, am now photography master extrordinaire, as well as head writer of the newsletter you're reading right now! Which is a step up from what I was doing, so I'm happy! Katie began her own line of all occasion cards in a BMH sub-company called "Katie Bug Creations." Dad is pulling his own and then some with fiber tools of every shape and size, and Mom has enough fiber to capsize an aircraft carrier and still wants more. August is going to hold new opportunities for all of us...well...most of us. There are only so many opportunities in the field of photography and even fewer for pack mules but it keeps me busy. ~~~~~~Alex .....BMH Photographer, Writer & Pack Mule What's New.......... KBC--All Occasion Cards are in the store! Our Katie, aka Katie Bug Creations, has created a line of all occasion cards with her original artwork. Currently she has 8 designs all of which are cute, funny, and whimsical..........sort of like Katie! The cards are printed on heavy cardstock paper, come with a color coordinated envelope, and are blank inside for your personal message. Cards can be purchased individually and we have a MIX and MATCH listing if you want several different kinds along with quantity pricing.  Caddy Sax Reversible Totes and Reversible Mini Totes: I've started making a simple yet very functional and durable tote bag in two sizes (pictured is the mini tote). The totes feature 4 lined pockets so no matter which side you have your tote on there are 2 pockets on the outside and 2 pockets on the inside. The Mini totes are great for small projects such as socks, scarves, baby items, for carrying drop spindles up to 11 1/2" long, and taking your hand combs out and about. The larger tote will hold much larger projects.........I've crammed as much as 4lbs of yarn in one! Both totes have a 4" wide boxed bottom and all totes are machine washable and dryer safe.  Firestar Color Packs : We now offer four firestar Color Packs which include 1/2 oz of five different colors as well as five smaller Color Packs which include 1/2 oz of 3 different colors in either Reds/Pinks, Oranges/Yellows, Greens, Blues, or Purples. They're a great way to build up your stash of sparkling goodies!  July Events BMH Ravelry Group Sock Tutorial: Come join me on Ravelry in the Blue Mountain Handcrafts group the first week of August where I'll be holding a Toe Up Knitting Sock Tutorial. Each week we'll go through a phase of knitting the sock. You can use whatever yarn you'd like (fingering, sport, DK, worsted, etc) and I'll instruct you how to make the socks customized to fit whomever you knit socks for. We'll be sharing photos of our socks in progress, asking questions, and giving encouragement. The tutorial is free and I only ask that if you wish to participate you join the BMH Rav group...........don't forget, to join Ravelry is free!!!  Fiber Indie eXperience Co-op August FIX$ Gift Certificate Giveaway: For every order placed with Blue Mountain Handcrafts (or any other participating Fiber Indie eXperience Co-op member) you can get an entry into our August Gift Certificate Giveaway! We're giving away two gift certificates this month........1st Prize $60 gift certificate and 2nd Prize $30 gift certificate. Please see the Fiber Indie eXperience Co-op Ravelry group thread AUGUST FIX$ ENTRIES thread for details and a complete list of participating shops. |  Fiber Tool Wait Time 4 to 5 weeks! 02/12/12  Check out our fiber tool videos!
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