Summer of Socks and cruise update

After knitting shop samples and not a whole lot for me personally, I decided to join the Summer of Socks 2013 group on Ravelry and knit me some socks.

I love knitting socks.  I love teeny tiny needles and creating small works of cozy, beautiful art that I can wear.  Art that hugs my feet and keeps me warm in the cold of winter.  Art in bright colors to offset the gloom of dreary grey days filled with drizzle.

I've spent a lot of time since the beginning of April sitting in hospital and doctor's office waiting rooms, and I pulled out a pair of socks that I started way back in May 2009.  They'd been in hibernation, and I finished them up last night.  I felt compelled to finish them in time to start Summer of Socks without that pair hanging over my head.  (We're just going to ignore the sweater and shawls that are still sitting around waiting to be finished.  Shhh, don't let them hear us talking about them.)

This morning, the first official day of SOS13, I cast on the Lacy Ribs Socks in Go Ahead, Make Me Sing, my Tridye offering for May 2013.  Here is the yarn, and I'll post sock pictures after I take some.

As for the Fiber Charmer cruise, life has been so active that I'd not been remembering to promote it much.  The deadline for deposits will be here before we know it.  If you're interested in cruising with me and other fibery folks, you'll need to pay your deposit of $250 by June 14, 2013.  Contact Doreen Lewis of Century Travel at fibercharmercruise@gmail.com or 770-309-7453.

The total price of the cruise is $850 based on double occupancy.  We're leaving November 17, 2013 and returning November 24, 2013.  Yes, it's before Thankgiving, but what better way to prepare for the madness that some family get togethers are by taking some time out to relax beforehand.

Color evolution

I mentioned that I wanted to show you how I create a colorway from inspiration picture to what you see on the yarn, and this time I actually have all the steps!

This is the inspiration photo.  Here's the link to where I found it.

 

I knew I wanted the yarn to have pink, blue, olive green, bright green and brown in it.  Gale of Gale's Art had also told me about another dyer, Gynx of The Dyer's Notebook, who shares dye techniques on her blog.  I'd gone to watch some of her clips and am fascinated with her shibori inspired yarn dyeing techniques, and I wanted to dye this yarn that way.

 

So, I had two ideas of how I wanted to do this yarn for TriDye.  Now to see if they would work.

 

I took the first yarn, twisted it up, and tossed it into the dyepot with the pink dye.  This particular pink really loves fiber and dyed it all an intense, deep pink.  I took one look at it and knew it wouldn't work, so I added twisted it again, added some blue and figured that was one experiment that didn't work.

 

Next:

 

This time I made sure the dyes were more diluted.  I twisted the yarn and dyed one of the greens.  I retwisted and dyed layers of blue and brown on this one.  It's lovely, but I knew the pink would be way too much.

 

Onward:

 

 

This time I twisted and started with the brown.  I add the green and olive in layers.  When I removed it from the pot, I saw there were no undyed areas for the pink or blue.

 

*Sigh*  Where's the coffee?

 

 

Getting better, but I'm realizing that I'm fixated on a technique that just isn't going to work for this colorway.

 

I handpaint many of my colors with sponge brushes to get a precise dye application.  I really didn't want to do that with this colorway.  I wanted something more freeform.

 

Maybe this will work?

 

This time I twisted the yarn, but used a direct application of the dye.  Still not what I'm looking for.

This time I used a direct application technique, but one I don't use regularly because it's more difficult for me to control the results.

 

I'm getting closer.  In fact, I liked this one, but I had one more technique to try.

 

On this one I used the exact same dyes as the one above, but I applied it with sponge brushes in a random, freeform pattern.  What happens is the colors get muted by having other colors applied on top of them.  However, I liked it too.

I rinsed them, hung them to dry, then had to go out of town due to a family illness.  The good thing was that gave me some time away from the colors to not obsess on them as much.

 

I did ask my husband for his opinion between the two.  He liked the one with the brighter colors, but he said they both had too much brown.

 

 

In this last photo, you see the two color tests on either side of the final colorway.  (I did reskein them before I shipped them to scramble the colors, but as you can see, there's less brown.)

 

I should mention the name comes from my love of Alf, The Animated Series.  There's an episode where Alf and Rick have to wrestle giant clams and make them sing in order to become members of their fathers lodge.  It's "Clams Never Sang for My Father" and you can find it on Hulu Plus is you're so inclined.

A glimpse into the life of a dyer

A quick note.  I wrote this post back in March, before life threw us a curve ball, and I was unable to attend Carolina Fiber Fest.  However, I think it's an interesting post, and I did want to share it.

I have two shows coming up in April on back to back weekends.  Carolina Fiber Fest is the first weekend in April, and Stitches South is the on the second.

When I did my first ever show, Hubs insisted I take an inventory before we went.  While that is actually a great idea, I was in the process of freaking out, and logical thought was pretty much impossible.  However, we took that inventory, and I've done it for every show since, as well as a couple of random ones throughout the year when I wonder if what I have on etsy is really correct.

All these inventories have helped tremendously as I've worked to get ready for these shows.  While what I've sold in the past isn't always a predictor of what may sell in the future, the inventories do show trends that I would be a fool to ignore.

Thus, I've been restocking so far this year when I've had time to dye.  Dye time has been more difficult to find than I thought it would be.  I'd gotten sick with a bug that was enervating, but with practically no fever or sore throat.  I'd thought I'd gotten mono I was so tired.  That was 2 weeks with no dyeing, then another week before I could get through the day without napping.

Yesterday I finally got one of those days I really needed.  I had a dye schedule ready to go, and I hit it.  I was able to handpaint 17 skeins, which is a normal dye day, but I also had new ideas, and the dye pot going to have kettle dyed yarns going all day.  That made a huge difference as I was able to double my output.  I tried some new dyes and custom color combinations in the dye bath, and even if I wasn't happy with every result, I've learned that someone will love it.  If it's too unloved, it can always be overdyed.

It's here that I want to mention that even though I have recipes for the colors I kettledyed, they might always be just a little different between batches.  I re-use the dye bath all day long.  There are times when the dye doesn't fully exhaust, and I just toss in an undyed skein to use as a "dye sponge" between batches.  I mention this because I sometimes see where a dyer talks about what they do to be environmentally conscious, and I find it interesting to see this.

I grew up in the 1970's, and my first W-2 job was working at a recycling center.  I was 15 and had to get my parents' permission to work there.  (16 was the age at which you could get a job without your parents' permission back in those days.  I have no idea what it is now, but there I was, at 15, earning a bit of cash on weekends.)

Before I'd gotten that job, I'd been the reason we recycled the little that we did.  It is a habit for me.  I've been recycling for years, and curbside pickup was the most wonderful thing in that I didn't have to store and haul recyclables anymore!

I apologize for the tangent, but I wanted to give a little background about the kettle dyes.  As with most handpainted and hand dyed yarns, if you see one that you don't think you can live without, I encourage you to go on and buy it then.  I was (and still am) a knitter and a shopper, and I buy a lot of yarns from other indie dyers.  We all use the same color palette as we use the same few companies who sell the dyes, but we each have our own unique way of expressing those colors.  I can look at yarn from another indie and sometimes tell which exact dyes she used in creating it, and I'll buy it because I love it, and I'd never thought of using those dyes in that way.

Speaking of dye techniques

I've been experimenting with new dye techniques ever since Gale told me about a young dyer, Gynx, who has a blog called The Dyer's Notebook.

When I first started dyeing, I did a teeny tiny bit of experimentation with leaving the yarn twisted when I was kettle dyeing it, but I soon stopped doing that in favor of handpainting skeins.

When you buy a skein of Beach Glass, I've very carefully applied each of the 6 colors one at a time with a sponge brush.  I turn the skein over, blot up excess liquid and apply the colors to the back.  I do this with all the multicolors like Steam Punk, Rainbow, and so on.

I look at yarns that say they're dyed with layers of colors, and I'd wondered just how had they done it.  After watching Gynx's videos, now I know.  You can learn how too, if you're so inclined.

What I like most about it is that I can get wonderful, interesting colors and it expands my dye techniques.  I can mix and match techniques to get truly amazing results.

For example, I've chosen my sea creature for my TriDye installment due to ship out on May 15, 2013, and I've been experimenting.  Once my colorway is worked out to my satisfaction, I can day all the yarn and fiber in just a few days.  I'd originally thought it would take me only 2 days, but now I'm wondering if I may have to double process them, combining hand application along with layers of resist dyeing to get the results I want.  I've got more experimenting on the agenda for tomorrow, during which time I'll try my newest idea and see if that gives me the looked-for results.

I plan to update the shop much earlier today.  I'm getting fueled on caffeine as I write this, so look for updates way before midnight tonight.  Life has been full of the unexpected lately, making it difficult to stay on task as I'd prefer.

I hope you get to enjoy your Sunday and have a lazy afternoon.

Pondering dye techniques

The other night I was at Knit Nite, the first one I'd been to in quite some time. I'm usually still in my pajamas dyeing yarn when it starts, so I rarely go.

Yes, I roll out of bed and dye in my pj's. Not every day, but a lot of them. I don't care if my pj's get a little dye on them, they're comfortable and I work at home so most days no one ever sees me besides family and pets.

Anyway, back to knit night. A friend has also been dyeing yarn, and he brought some in to sell to the shop. I asked to look and found myself really examining them. His yarns are all kettle dyed solids, and they are lovely! They look the way hand dyed kettle dyed yarns should.

Now, here's the kicker. Some of my kettle dyed yarns look that way, but I've been told that others look "commercially dyed". Hmm, in my business being told they look commercially dyed is not a complement. Or maybe it is, but not really.

Hand dyed yarns need to look hand dyed. I've found myself thinking about my kettle dyed yarns off and on, but more so after seeing his yarns. If you look in my etsy shop, you'll see some kettle dyed yarns, but most of them are actually hand painted. I personally like multicolored, wild yarns, and that's because I do knit socks from fingering weight yarns with only a rare shawl thrown in there. In my opinion, sock yarn can't ever be too loud or too wild.

Another friend mentioned to me that she can look at yarn and tell who the indie dyer is, but she can't do that with my yarns because I'm still experimenting and looking for my "dye voice" as she put it. Interesting choice of words, but it's true. I do experiment to see what I like to do and what works for me. Obviously I look at other dyers and wonder how did they get the yarn to look like that? Every time I experiment looking for an answer or a certain result gives me more experience, knowledge and ideas about what to do next.

I think any creatively based business will evolve and change as the artist/owner tests herself and her boundaries. The more techniques I learn and try, the more skills I add to my fiber worker arsenal, the better my chances of finding what my fiber voice is.

This is the reason you'll find one of a kind colors and test yarns in my shop pretty regularly. I've been searching for all the yarn bases that I want to use over and over again. I've been struggling with my own personal bias against the color blue. I don't wear it very much, nor do I knit with it much, and I know it's a favorite of many people. That's actually why there's so much blue. I keep working with it, seeking the ways in which I might love it when some days I really want to dye orange and pink instead. I think I'm going to give in to a few more of those orange, pink, brown and green days and see what shakes loose in the creative mode.

Knitting on the high seas!

While Knitting One and Purling Two

Columbus Sailed the Oceans Blue

 

The Fiber Charmer Hopes That You

Will Join Her on a Sea Cruise Too!

 

 

 

After a hectic autumn of Fabulous Fiber Fests and Delirious Dyeing, Fiber Charmer will turn off her Dye Pots and set sail on Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Freedom of the Seas to get a head start on her own Holiday Knitting. She will depart from Port Canaveral (an easy drive from Atlanta) on Sunday, 17 November, for a 7-night adventure in the Eastern Caribbean. Enjoy a fun day at the CocoCay Beach Club and shop for unique (and duty-free) holiday gifts in Charlotte Amalie, USVI, and Philipsburg, St. Maarten.  With 3 fun-filled and relaxing days at sea, there will be plenty of time for holiday knitting.

 

Fiber Charmer has several special surprises in store for those who accompany her on this grand adventure.

 

The newly enhanced Freedom of the Seas is a marvel of maritime engineering, packed with awesome innovations to stir your imagination. Catch a first-run movie in the 3D theater or poolside under the stars on the outdoor movie screen. Infuse color into your cruise with the artworks of the BRITTO Gallery or with the frosted confections of the Cupcake Cupboard. And finish the evening with a selection of reds or whites at the renovated Vintages wine bar.

 

If you crave more action than that afforded by hours of knitting with your nearest and dearest, Freedom of the Seas offers a veritable plethora of physical activities: Hang 10 on the FlowRider® surf simulator; test your nerves on the rock climbing wall at sea; or show off your balance and grace at the floating ice-skating rink. 

 

At a cost of $850 per person based on double occupancy in an ocean view cabin (inclusive of taxes and fees; airfare, insurance and items of a personal nature such as adult beverages are additional), you can’t afford to stay home.  For updates and additional information, stay tuned to the blog!

Long time, no post

I didn't realize it had been so long since I've posted here.  I'll confess that I update Facebook much more regularly due to its ease of use, especially posting pictures.

However, I know not everyone uses FB, and I want to revitalize the blog.  Right now I don't have much to say, mostly because I've sick and not doing any of the dyeing that I planned, and I've got a lot planned!

Carolina Fiber Fest and Stitches South are on back to back weekends in April, which is a brand new challenge for me to dye for 2 wonderful shows at the same time.

I've also got something big planned for Fiber Charmer for next fall after SAFF.  Look for details soon!

What I learned at Camp Pluckyfluff in Atlanta

1. You are never too old for the fun of a spend the night party.

2. Let's face it, you were probably never at an age where you could spin until after midnight, stay up until probably 2 am talking, and still feel anything like rested when the alarm clock sounds at 7:15 am.

3. At some point, the coffee stops working.

4. Lexi Boeger is an awesome teacher. You must go take a class from her if you get a chance.

5. Legacy Alpaca Farm is an amazing place to take a class. You've got to take a class there. Terrill and Mike are wonderful folks, and did I mention the alpacas?

6. Have I mentioned that I was so busy spinning and visiting that I didn't even see the alpacas?

7. If you plan to take a 2 day spinning workshop, it might behoove you to sit and spin for a little while beforehand, especially if you haven't done any spinning since maybe August. Trust me, you are going to hurt otherwise. (Pass the ibuprofen.)

8. Just know that if you go to a workshop where you're going to get to use drumcarders different from the one you already have, you're going to want to buy another one.

9. Number 8 also applies to spinning wheels.

10. Fiber classes are addictive. Just know this. Plan for it. Budget for it. Win the lottery so you can have that new drumcarder and spinning wheel before your next class. After all, resistance is futile.

Color Inspiration

I've been thinking about blogging a lot, but as you can tell, I haven't done any for ages. Now that we finally have joined the 21st century and have wireless Internet, it makes it easier to do more blogging!

Have you ever wondered how a dyer finds inspiration for her colorways? I can't speak for any other dyers, but I thought I'd tell you how I do it.

I usually get them one of two ways. The first is that I think of a color name. For example, the Phat Fiber Sampler Box's theme for October 2011 was The Witching Hour. For me that was a particularly easy one. I've read the Witching Hour and most of the Mayfair Witches books by Anne Rice, and the colorway that almost immediately popped into mind is Mayfair. I'll have to post pictures of it later. :)

A main component would have to be the Mayfair Emerald. A huge emerald set in gold and inscribed with Lasher on the back gave me two colors right away - green and gold.

Lasher, the mysterious spirit who has haunted and helped the Mayfair family gave me the second color, the brown of his suit which is how so many passersby saw him on the porch with poor, doomed Deirdre. It's how we first see him in the books too.

That gives me three colors, green, gold and brown. I wanted something more, so the black of the wrought iron that surrounds the house on First Street became color number four. I decided to add purple mostly because I've been in a phase where I've been buying yarns and fibers from other dyers with green, yellow and purple, and it was time I tried my own interpretation of it.

Now I have 5 colors. This is when I start experimenting with dye concentrations to see how it looks and can I use any of colors I've already developed. Eventually I find the colors I like, and a new color is born.

Way number two is that I see something that inspires me. Butterfly Bush is a colorway inspired by the butterfly bushes that grow in my yard. I took pictures and examined the colors more closely to see what about it attracts me most. Then I start mixing dyes and experimenting again.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? It is and it isn't, if that makes sense.

Happy knitting!

Fiber Charmer travels

Well, not me so much as my fiber and yarns.

These past couple of weeks have been very exciting. I've sent yarn and fiber to Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel and tomorrow to the Netherlands. My fiber is getting to take some adventures that I haven't, yet.

There was a small update yesterday, but I also spent some quality time winding mini skeins for the July Phat Fiber Sampler Box. I'll confess that I'm not going with the Art Nouveau theme, mostly because my idea didn't work out, and I'm running out of time to get samples sent in.

I'm sending in Alpaca Lace in the Beach Glass colorway. I skeined up about 60 of them yesterday, and today I have to label them all. Thus, there may not be an update today.

The one good thing about labelling is that it gives me an excuse to stay inside and try to stay cool with all the heat and humidity we're experiencing right now.

Overdyeing - good

Yay for overdyeing! I added some yellow to the dyepot and tossed in the green, rust and peach yarn (believe me, not nearly as pretty as it could have been). It looks fabulous!

I let it sit overnight to cool, so today I'll rinse and dry it.

I may not be able to update the shop until tomorrow, but I've got the experimental roving and laceweight yarn in the viola inspired colors to add. I'll check on the progression dyed rovings and see if this new, more labor intensive way kept the colors from travelling as much. Keep your fingers crossed.

The bad and the good

I dyed my samples for July's Phat Fiber yesterday. I'd found a picture by Alfons Mucha that I thought would make a great colorway. It was easy as I could use some dye colors I already had. I painted up the yarn, heat set, let it cool and rinsed it so I could see how it looked.




Pffffft!


Ugh. It looked icky. Apparently not all ideas translate well. It actually looked very close to some colors that I'd dyed earlier that did not sell at all. Back into the dyepot it goes. I'm overdyeing it today once I decide what color to use.



However, I've been very attracted to some colors I've seen other dyers using. I realized that I've been buying purple, green and yellow combinations. What you don't know about me is that pansies and violets are some of my very favorite flowers. Also, if you've seen my shop, you know I like dyeing greens and purples, so naturally it follows that I should go on and put them together a little differently. I dyed some mixed BFL roving and two skeins of Alpaca Lace with some combinations of those colors yesterday. They are rinsing right now, but I think I love them. The colors remind me of those rich, velvety purples you see on pansies in the fall.


(I found this picture online, and I wish I'd taken it myself.)

Anyway, these might end up being my not theme related Phat Fiber samples for the July box. I'll have to see how they all look once they're dry.

More on solar dyeing and roving

These are some of the rovings from the first batch of solar dyeing. I have one rainbow progression one left. The others are Steampunk, the colorway inspired by the Phat Fiber Sampler Box of October 2010 and leftovers from Butterfly Bush. At least I think they're leftovers from Butterfly Bush. They may not be, but as the pastel roving is a one of a kind, that's my best guess.

The solar dyeing is not a total success for me. Don't get me wrong, the colors have heatset wonderfully. It's more that my techniques for painting and wrapping the roving need some improvement. Solar heatsetting takes more time, and that gives the dye more time to move around and colors to mix in ways that I wasn't expecting. This can be improved as I learn to perfect my techniques.

I've got the Friends and Fiberworks Summer Retreat at the end of next week! Just how did time zip by so speedily? I've been debating about how much I should update the shops before then, and if I decide to update, what to add.

I've got the Phat Fiber Sampler Box July samples to dye this week. July is Art Nouveau. I found a picture by Alfons Mucha that I think has wonderful colors, and yesterday I realized how I think I may already have most of the dye recipes worked out. While I've learned things rarely go as planned, I'm hoping that I can get it worked out tomorrow and perhaps in the mail to Phat headquarters by Friday. Hope springs eternal, does it not?

Have a wonderful 4th of July, if you're here in the States. If not, I hope you have a wonderful Monday.

Make-do solar dyeing and other things.

I know, I've been absolutely terrible at keeping up my blog. My husband works, and I do everything else. Honestly, I'm not very good at keeping up with the everything else.

This spring was very busy. I had a booth at Stitches South, which was a lot of fun! I also went to the Carolina Fiber Fest in Raleigh, NC. We had a great time there too, and so many nice people said we should move to Raleigh.

I have to admit that Raleigh is a very lovely place, but if everyone moves there, it's going to end up like Atlanta - too much traffic and bad air. (Actually, there's a lot I like about living in the Atlanta area, but the traffic isn't one of them!)

Anyway, if you follow me on Facebook, you've read that I've been experimenting with solar dyeing. Down here in the swampy feeling South, it's been too darn hot to want to run the oven or stovetop to heat set fiber. In fact, I've been a little slack about dyeing, but I've got to get back into gear as I've got the Friends and Fiberworks Summer Retreat coming up, and I don't want to be there and run out of yarn!

I know some other indie dyers who do solar dyeing, and I thought I should give it a try. First of all, it's great for the environment. I'm not burning natural gas (stove top) or coal (oven) to get my heat. It doesn't heat up the house any extra. Finally, it's free!

Since I'm only experimenting, I've not gone out and bought or built a solar oven. We had a black bin that hadn't been used since our basement flooded in the Big Rain of September, 2009, so I cleaned out the inside to use for yarn.

Much of what I've read on solar dyeing is using black trash bags and immersion dyeing. I do mostly handpainting, so I rolled up my yarn or fiber like I usually do, and put it into the bin. My first try was some Valhalla and Silk & Merino yarn. The Valhalla, a blend of 75% wool and 25% nylon seemed to do better than the Silk & Merino did. The Silk & Merino has 51% silk. I think next time it needs longer in the sun. I've also tried some of the Alpaca Lace, and it seemed to do just fine.

What you see in the bin this time is my first fullsized (4 ounce) merino roving. (I have to check to see if it's top. I just plain can't remember.) I got a late start yesterday dyeing, so while one or two made it into the bin before 2 pm, the rest didn't. No one told me just how long it takes to paint a top, especially when you discover that your table is really too short to do it. I did a few as rainbow progressions and the rest were randomly painted, which was much quicker. I put them all back outside this morning.

The black bin absorbs the sunlight, and I move the bin throughout the day. I tried using it with the lid, but it doesn't get hot enough inside. What I discovered is that I need to keep the open top with the yarn or roving pointed at the sun to keep it hot enough. It will get hot enough that I can actually see the water bubbling inside the plastic.

This is only the third time I've tried it, but I think I'm going to love it. It won't work on everything. I certainly won't fill it up with silk hankies and aim them at the sun all day! But for some of the wools and blends, so far it seems to work well. I plan to do more research to see if I can improve my technique. Who knows, that solar oven may be in my future. Before you know it, I'll be making gluten-free bread in my second solar oven, the one dedicated to food only.

Have a great weekend!

OMG! OMG!

Here's the video from The Knit Girllls. I'm close to midway into it.

In which I sound like a total fangirl.

After all the work, preparation, and sleepless nights, Stitches South arrived.



I had a great time meeting people at Stitches South. When I signed up to do Stitches, way back when in August, I had my trepidations. I've worked for Gale of Gale's Art at several shows, but this one would be all on me. What if after all my work I totally failed? Yikes! (In all honesty, I'd do what I'm doing with some of the yarns that were never glanced at and overdye them, either in the dyepot or painting them to see just what will happen.) It turns out that it was a wonderful experience, and if I didn't feel so danged tired this morning, I wouldn't have known that it was hard work.



I got to meet so many knitters, crocheters, weavers and other fibery folks. I got to meet some of the spouses who really have no interest at all, but they were willing to attend. I didn't expect to have as much fun as I did, and all the folks I met are what made it so fun. The only times Stitches felt like work was the set up and the tear down.



So, on to name dropping and feeling awestruck. I got to meet Tobias, the man behind Malabrigo. Let me see if I have a good sci-fi analogy. Meeting Tobias is to the knit world what meeting Nathan Fillion is to a Firefly fan. Awesome! Tobias is just the nicest person. My husband took a picture of the two of us, and in it I did my best Earl Hickey imitation. My eyes were closed, but I didn't want to hold up Tobias any longer as he had a plane to catch, and he'd been nice enough to take a second and pose with me.



Let me say a word about Malabrigo. If you've seen my projects on Ravelry, I use a lot of Malabrigo Merino Worsted. It is the catalyst that got me into dyeing. Back when I was working at the LYS, I'd open a bag of Malabrigo and wonder just how they could all be the same dyelot when every skein was different. I took Gale's beginning dye classes to gain a better understanding of it, and you see where I am now.



I got to meet the Knit Girllls. I'll be on one of their podcasts! Any illusions you may have that I'm articulate, smooth or slightly sophisticated will be dashed when you see my goofy, somewhat klutzy self. I suppose most people get a little nervous when they are being filmed for a podcast that has quite a following. In real life, I have a tendency towards being slightly hermitish. You know, hide in my cave (kitchen) all day long, and some days I don't talk to anyone but my husband and pets. Yes, I know how that makes me sound. Knowing that I'll be seen by lots of knitters is for me both humbling and babble-inducing. However, who in their right mind would say no to the Knit Girllls? While I'll admit that "right mind" is one of those things that depends on your own personal definition, like "normal" does, I said yes and blundered right through it. I hope you'll laugh with me and enjoy it!



I also got to see Allen, the creative brain behind numma numma. I've known her for several years now (ooh, I get to say I knew her before she was famous! I never thought I'd get to say that!) She's always a delightful person to be around. I've not seen her much lately as she and her family got to live in Mexico for about 6 months this past year. I'm hoping I can run into her soon and hear about her adventures, but she's getting numma numma back and running after her hiatus.



Over the past couple of years when I've travelled with Gale and of course at the previous two Stitches South, I've seen Gryphon of The Sanguine Gryphon. I know you other knitters and crocheters understand, but I've been intimidated by her. After all, she's one of the dyers that we all want to be. She posts an update, and you'd better stand back and just watch the yarn fly out of her shop. She's one of the rock stars of the yarn world. It turns out that she is a very sweet and nice person.



I also got a chance to talk with Dianne of Creatively Dyed. She's working on putting together another fiber fest, one for June 2012 in Charlotte, NC. Wheels are turning.



While I was there I did sign up for the Friends and Fiberworks Summer Retreat. It's in Asheville, NC, July 15-17, 2011. I really had fun at Stitches. I'll be at the Carolina Fiber Fest next month, but it seemed like an awfully long time between that and SAFF. The Summer Retreat will give me another festival in between those two, and it's not so close that I'll feel like I have to dye yarn from dawn to dusk. (That starts again on Wednesday. Today I really have to catch up on laundry, scrub the kitchen and do some grocery shopping so I don't have to live off yogurt and canned soups!)



I will have a few shop updates between now and Carolina Fiber Fest. I got panicky about Stitches and ended up hoarding yarns, but I feel more relaxed now that I've got one show under my belt.

I know I haven't mentioned everyone I saw this past weekend, and any oversight is due to lack of sleep. I'll update more when my brain cells are back in better working order.

Time races by when you're busy

Stitches South is only a few weeks away!

I'm about to hole up in my house and dye like a madwoman!

When I first signed up for Stitches South, it was back in last August. Mid-April seemed ages away. Even on January 1, it seemed like I had all the time in the world.

I looked at my calendar a day or two ago and thought, "Oh snap! I only have that much time left?!"

Keep an eye on the twitter feed sidebar. I'm not sure I'll be updating the blog too much, but I do update the Facebook very regularly, and it links to twitter.

I will mention that I'm sponsor for the Cookie A. Knit.Sock.Love KAL on Ravelry. This month's Thelonius is one of the socks I'm sponsoring.

Happy Knitting!

Snowed in and dyeing

I've been lazy for part of the past week. Ever since I got my Phat Fiber samples mailed last week, I've not looked at the dyepots.

I'm in a swap on Ravelry, and while pondering what I would make for my swap partner, I realized that I had the correct weight of yarn for the project I wanted to make. I decided to dye the colors that she liked, and that's what I did last night. Well, that's what I meant to do. I thought she liked a color that I wanted to use, but when I reviewed my notes later, I realized that it wasn't one of the colors that she mentioned. Now I'm wondering if I should use it anyway because I think they'll look awesome, or if I should dye up another skein.

I don't have any full sizes skeins of the yarn or roving I sent to Phat Fiber, so they are the first on the agenda today. I'll dye them today, reskein them tomorrow after they dry, and probably get them listed on both etsy and Artfire tomorrow.

Have you signed up to get a Phat Fiber box yet? Go check out their website.

After I do that, I'll work on some ideas I've got for new colorways. Some are for Phat Fiber's February box, Minerals and Gemstones, while others are for my amusement.

Pictures of something tomorrow!

January 2011 - Chinese New Year

This is Fireflowers, my contribution to the Phat Fiber box this month.

I wanted to recreate fireworks, so I tried my hand at dyeing wool, Firestar and making batts.

The yarn and the fibers are all dyed with the same colors at different depths of shade (DOS). The blue on the yarn is much more intense.

The batts are BFL layered with different colors of Firestar. The yarn is a new base which is still 75% superwash wool and 25% merino. I'm calling this base Valhalla.

During this next week I'll dye more of both and get them listed in the shops.

Phat Fiber for December

December's theme is "Music Box". I had some difficulty with the theme as all I could think about were those pink and white ones with the ballerinas in them that little girls get for their jewelry.




As I read the threads about it on Ravelry, I realized that I had some yarn I'd dyed over the summer that I'd called Tequila Sunrise. While some days I feel like I could strangle the DJs for playing the Eagles yet again, the yarn would work.



I'll be listing this soon on both etsy and artfire.

I've had some really great ideas for January and February. I'll start working on those in this next week to get them ready in time.