Posted on by — 1 Comment

Local Color–Walnut

I’m starting to do my natural dye experiments for a truly “Fibershed” yarn. The base is our new Polypay worsted. It is made from fleeces grown at a partner farm in Virginia and spun in Pennsylvania.

First I gathered the whole black walnuts on our property. I cracked the husks off the nuts. (I really thought I took a photo of this step, but alas not). Then I soaked those husks for about a month.

In the dyepot

Wednesday, I heated the dye liquor up and put in 2-color skeins and a semi-solid skeins. I heated them for at least an hour. Dyeing with walnuts doesn’t need a mordant as the tanin in the dye is mordant enough. Then I let the pot cool down and let it sit for another day. Then on to rinsing and drying the yarn.

semi-solid and 2 color experiments

I think these look great. The pot still contains a lot of dye, so I’ll be using it until it’s exhausted. I’ll do some other 2-color experiments with maybe some madder or some cochineal too. Those would look nice. Stay tuned!!

Posted on by — 2 Comments

A Different Kind of Virtual

This week Camp Yarnsie is taking place. Yarnsie is a community based group. They offer a myriad of classes and groups for all kinds of textile crafts including weaving, spinning, knitting, and crochet. They have open rooms nearly around the clock, so you may meet other crafters from a whole different part of the world. It’s a great place to see and be seen.

maryland shawl
Maryland, My Maryland Shawl Kit

So on Tuesday, there is a virtual marketplace that is also a little different. There are featured artists each day. You can interact with new vendor friends as well as dear vendor friends. The “camp” takes place from 11/17 through 11/30.

Our “day” is this coming Thursday. There will be videos of our animals. I will also be walking viewers through all our yarn bases and wonderful garments you can make with them. I will also have a presentation highlighting gift ideas for your crafty friends…or for yourself too. There will be a social hour where you can share your sweaters and a free felted soap class. All these events are free but you must register. Click here to find out more.

I hope to see you there!!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Holiday Gifting: Experiences

For the last few years, I’ve enjoyed giving experiences rather than gifts. And some of my favorite gifts to receive have been experiences too. We’ve give tickets to plays and concerts. And these gifts have included spending that time with the recipients, like a double date. One year, Bill and I did nothing but experiences: a Holiday train ride, a scavenger hunt, a visit to an orchid show and tickets to a play. It was so much fun. A family member found a food tour in our own city, here in Frederick. We learned so much about our downtown area in food and also history.

Dye up sock yarn like this!!

I’m offering an experience for you to give or receive….I have been teaching dyeing in person for many, many years. I now have my classes available as an ecourse. Courses available now are two 4-week courses: Dyeing Self Striping Sock Yarn and Dyeing Wool Roving to Spin or Felt. These classes will begin at the start of 2021.

You could make dyed roving like this!

I also have a knitting class: Knitting Socks Two at a Time. This class is 4 parts and is self paced as you work through your socks.

I’ll be offering Black Friday-Cyber Monday deals on these classes. Interested? Sign up for my special Learn with Lisa email list to be the first to find out about these great offers on fun classes. Click here!!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Making is What We Need

Okay….now the wait begins. We may know who is president this week. But we may not. There may be recounts. There may be legal challenges.

In the meantime, how are you feeling? I’m feeling pretty anxious. I’m feeling scared. I’m feeling angry too. I’ve seen a lot of news coverage about election anxiety so I know that I’m not alone. If you’re my friend on Facebook, I’ve seen you all expressing your feelings too. I’m right there with you.

I know that for me making something whether it be a sock, a sweater, a felted soap, the making is meditative. It is calming. It helps me to focus on the task at hand. It calms my heart. It stops the loud voices in my head.

maryland shawl

So today, I’ll be knitting on my sweater. I’ll be designing a new holiday colorway. I’ll be staying away from the news. I’ll be listening to music that makes me happy.

Are you between projects? Or do you need a nice new project that is calming….not to hard, but still beautiful? I have 2 colorways for my shawl kit: Maryland My Maryland shawl now available again after a hiatus since last year. Click here to grab one for yourself.

Finally, take care of yourself. Find peace. Make something.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Holiday Gifting

Do you have a person on your list that is hard to buy for? OR are YOU that person?

We are now offering gift certificates. You can click here for a quick gift.

You can pick any denomination. It is a digital gift certificate. The recipient can come and shop at their leisure, in person or online. And you can help them to make their next great garment.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

New Podcast: Natural Colored and Naturally Dyed Yarn

I’ve been talking about Fibershed. And in that light, I know that I need to relearn all about natural dyeing again. I’ve done it a lot. I’ve taken a lot of classes. But I’ve never done it in a production with reproducibility in mind. I will have to really pay attention to water and temperature and weight. And still I know there will be variability….that’s just the nature of natural dyeing.

Corstorphine Sweater made with Cacao and Puck

As many of you know I do have a few naturally colored yarns in my line up already. They are more rustic yarns. They are not as soft as my Livily or Trasna yarns. They are just a little more hardy. And still, there are many items to make with these yarns. They are great for outwear. They are long wearing and will last a long time.

So in that vein, I’m now knitting a truly local sweater. I’m making a Shifty sweater. And I’ve had to do a lot of math and fanageling because I am using my own yarn that is bigger than the pattern calls for. And I don’t want a pullover style. So I added a steek area and so I’ll have a cardigan at the end. The back ground yarn is my Puck which is charcoal wool, mohair and alpaca. And the contrast yarns are mohair yarn that is naturally dyed. In fact this yarn has been hanging around for a long time since I dyed it. And now I have a project for it.

So if you would like to hear about fibershed and color. Tune into Episode 12 here. Or you can subscribe to it on itunes.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Holiday Knitting Part 5: Socks

I love knitting socks. I really have only knit them for myself. That is probably pretty selfish, right? It’s really never crossed my mind to make a pair for Bill. Maybe because his feet are bigger. Maybe because his feet are rougher. Maybe because his feet are more sensitive. But I think I really should think of making a pair of socks for him.

I do know that if I was to make a pair of socks for him, I would make a ribbed sock, that is really just a plain vanilla sock. I do love the look of a 3×1 sock. And I feel like those really stay up on my leg and they are stretchy enough to get over my high arch.

Chinook Sock yarn in Autumn colorways

My friend, Ellen, who was my sock mentor when I knit my first pair, makes socks for her family every Christmas. She is deep into sock knitting right now. So here are some great skeins of yarn for those special sock wearers in your life….or maybe just yourself!!