Yes this weekend will be pretty busy around here. We are vendors at Vogue Knitting Live. See here for details. AND we are having an open studio on Saturday…. 10am to 3pm.
Here are the details: Wear your mask! We will have hand sanitizer for you to use when you enter and also when you leave. We will allow 2 people in the studio at a time. If there is a wait, we will have chairs appropriately spaced. So you might want to bring your knitting with you.
There are 2 other farms open on Saturday: Avalon Springs Farm and Dancing Leaf Dyeworks. So make a day of it!!
Yes I’m going to be vending during Vogue Knitting Live August. I will be LIVE on ZOOM on Thursday and Sunday. I have the 3pm hour on Thursday and the 10am hour on Sunday. I will be showing you our yarn and colorways. I’ll be taking you all out to the barns for a visit with the sheep and goats. And I’ll be showing you how to put together our yarns for some of the most fun current patterns on Ravelry.
Vogue Knitting has lots of classes going on that weekend. They also have lectures and a keynote. You can register for the whole shebang or you can just get a marketplace ticket. The tickets for the marketplace are only $3.99. There are 4 vendors each hour. You can see and learn so much at this show. I hope you will join us. Here is where you can get the tickets.
Let me know if you like these. They are currently on my experiment bases. The real collection will be on fingering weight yarn and possibly a worsted. Let me know what weight you want as well.
Even with no in-person shows, I still want to design a really nice autumn collection of colorways. Here’s a behind the scenes look at the inspirations I’m thinking about using this year.
So you have a favorite of these photos or colors? I’ll be revealing my experiments in the coming weeks.
So that’s it. All the fiber festivals that I was going to be at are now closed. They aren’t totally closed. Many will have a virtual marketplace instead and I’m participating in at least 3 of them. At this time of year, most Rhinebeck goers would be planning their Rhinebeck sweater. Now there’s no Rhinebeck. But we still need a new sweater, right? So let’s coin the new hashtag….#norhinebecksweater.
My #norhinebecksweater will be a yoked cardigan that is knit in the round and steeked. Yes, I will be cutting my sweater up the middle. And I’ve been planning this for a long while. I’m using my handspun lamb’s wool.
I have great farm yarns and one commercial yarn that are fantastic in sweaters. LiViLy is our cormo heavy DK/light worsted 3 ply yarn. It is super soft, next to the skin soft. I have some neutrals and some brilliant jewel tones of this yarn.
Trasna is our BFLXCormo wool that is a heavy sport/light DK 3 ply yarn. It is also next to the skin soft. It has a lustrous quality from the BFL part of the wool.
Synergy is a wilder farm yarn. It is a merino, marled, 2 ply yarn. There are 2 weights: their is a worsted weight and a sport weight. I have 11 different colorways of that yarn. In a garment, it will do some gradual stripping and it is super soft as well.
Finally, the commercial yarn is Alto. It is a 50/50 blend of superwash BFL and silk. It is a DK weight yarn. It is highly lustrous. And it has a fantastic drape to it. You will love your sweater knit with this yarn.
There are only a few of the sock blank—sock blanks left. Remember this is an opportunity to learn how to knit socks 2 at a time. You get 60 day access to my free ecourse with the purchase of one of these fun fabrics. Knit blanks–sock blanks are fun to knit with as you watch the fabric transform itself into another iteration. Grab yours here.
There is a lot of conversation on Instagram and FaceBook about designers and indie dyers. Some people feel discriminated against because they can’t use expensive yarn. I think I am hearing that some knitters feel unseen by the knitting industry.
There is a lot that goes into a collaboration between a designer and an indie dyer and even more when you think about farm yarns. There is the cost of the yarn and the marketing of the pattern along with the yarn. And sometimes, the yarn recommended in the pattern becomes unavailable. There are so many choices of yarns and many of those choices are regional.
New fingering weight Cormo farm yarn
Because of this it is important to learn how to substitute yarn in a pattern. That way you have all the freedom to use yarn in your stash, yarn from a big box store or yarn from a fiber farmer like me. I just published a podcast all about yarn substitution. You can find it on itunes or you can click here to listen.
Here are the highlights:
You can measure the size of the yarn in your stash with this tool.
You can search for patterns that would use this size of yarn on Ravelry.
There are times when gauge counts and times when it doesn’t. Know which is which.
If you are making a garment that needs to fit, you have to swatch….Sorry! You just have to.
I give you a couple of easy swatching hacks so you don’t feel like you’re wasting time, money and yarn.
I also show you 2 patterns where I totally changed the needles and the yarns and you can see how they turned out.
And if you like the podcast, I would appreciate you leaving a review on itunes. I’ll be addressing more on this topic in the future. Have a question? Let me know what it is. I’d love to have some Q & A sessions as well.
We’re living in a strange time. I don’t get to see you at fiber shows. I miss our connections, I really do.
I love this photo!
I’ve just started a podcast in these pandemic times. My goal is to keep you informed about new happenings here at the farm. I also want to give you information that you can use in your knitting or crafting. I want to help you build your color confidence. And I can do that through a podcast.
In this first season, if you will, I’ve been talking about farm yarns. So many dyers offer commercial yarns, and I do that too. But what sets me apart is my farm yarn. I’ve worked a number of years to develop my yarns so that they are soft to the skin and you can use them for shawls, sweaters, hats, gloves and socks. Each yarn is designed to be beautiful and to be fun to use.
I also want to answer your questions in the podcast. So be sure to shoot me an email if you have a question for me.
I am also planning to do some interviews of some great fiber farmers and indie dyers.
I dyed up a whole lot more sock blanks. Remember that I’m giving you free access to my knit 2 socks at a time class with purchase of a sock blank.
What’s a sock blank? It’s not a sock….not yet. It is hand dyed knitted fabric that you UNKNIT and then REKNIT into some other garment. You can knit socks with it, of course. Or you can knit it into a shawl or cowl, anything you want really.
The ones I’m adding today are dyed into gradients of color. They are so pretty. They are ONE OF A KIND!! Go here to grab yours!
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Where to find us
Open by Appointment! Email me for an appointment
We are located in Frederick MD. You can shop in person with a mask and lots of social distance! Or buy online and stop by to pick up…I’ll run your purchases out to you in your car.
