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TOTW: Up Your Color IQ

I hear crafters talking all the time about having a hard time picking colors for projects. Especially those large multiskein projects with requirements for spreckles and gradients and variegated colors. As usual I’m here to help. At a festival or during our month open studio, I’ll help you pick colors that will make that project really shine. But when you are on your own, I have some suggestions as well.

First of all watch this video. I talk about a sure fire way to up your color IQ. My answer to use Pinterest. Make a color inspiration board and start pinning photos that really excite you. Photos that you love. DO NOT pin yarn. Nope. Pin photos of landscapres or animals or flowers or closeups. Pin 4-6 photos a day for a week or two. This will help you to define your color style.

And if you are interested in learning more about color, listen to my podcasts from Season 2 Episodes 6-9. You can find links here.

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Special Podcast: Who Are You Now?

It’s been 18 months or so since our world turned on its head. As a small business owner, my day to day world really didn’t change all that much. I still worked from home. I still worked by myself. As an introvert, I didn’t mind being by myself.

First Hat I Designed in 2015ish

But what did change was DH working from home. The small business opportunities that I depended on were cancelled. I needed to pivot my business tasks to reflect the world.

But now that things are opening up, my friends and I are starting to wonder, will we just go back to the way it was? Or are we indelibly changed? Will we become a combination of the old and the new in our new world.

So listen and and let me know what you think your new normal will be. Click here to listen or subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.

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Why I Love Online Learning

I have to confess, I’m a lifelong learner. I love to explore new ideas and new techniques. I am currently taking a 10 week intense natural dye class. I’ve taken a lot of in-person natural dyeing classes. I always learn something but I never incorporate that new learning into my dyeing practice. If you have been following me, you know that I am adding a naturally dyed Fibershed line of yarn to my store offerings. So I have got to work this into my practice.

Here’s the epiphany that I had this week. In this class I am taking, I am totally responsible for EVERY part of it. If I make mistakes, they are mine to fix. If I have a question, of course I can ask the instructors or my fellow students. But ultimately I am doing all the work. It isn’t divvied up between all the members of the class. So this time I am really learning it. I’m learning it all.

So in this past year, I have developed 2 dyeing e-classes for people who want to learn to dye. These classes are each 4 weeks. Dyeability 1 is about dyeing yarn with an emphasis on self striping socks and Dyeability 2 is about dyeing roving for spinning or felting. Each class is on sale for $49 (regular price is $99). You can find more information here about both courses.

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Small, Quick Projects for the Dog Days of Summer

It’s hot. I think it’s hot just about everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. My friends in LA and Oregon have been talking about trees becoming sunburned and the forests dying. And we here on the East Coast are stuck in the heat and humidity of summer.

Zephyrette yarn

Knitting becomes more of a chore in summer. Even so, I feel like I need to have the rhythmic motion of slip, wrap, slide of each stitch to let my mind get into a flow and to let my mind wander. I don’t want a big project that is sitting in my lap. I want something small and light.

Rivulet cowl

I have some perfect little cowls that fit the bill. They are quick. They are smallish. The yarn is Oh-So Soft and gives your fingers joy just touching it.

What are they? They are my Zephyrette Cowls. Zephyrette is our signature yarn. It is made from soft baby alpaca fleece with long, strong silk and the king of all softness: Cashmere. Alpaca is cool to the touch. So it is a good choice for summer knitting.

Lacy cowl

There are 3 choices of pattern: Lacy Cowl, Interlaken and Rivulet.

Interlaken cowl

Here’s how you get a kit for a project. First, go here and pick a color of zephyrette. There are so many choices. You just need one skein. Then go here and pick a pattern. Click on the shopping cart and check out. Your new project will be out in the mail to you and you will get it within days.

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Next Crafting Event: Hellenics Games 2021

That’s what I’m going to call it anyway. In years past, there were Ravelry groups and the event was called Ravellenics. But since it’s basically crickets on Ravelry, I’m picking my name.

So here’s what this event is about…. It is an event for all crafters. The goal is to craft each and every day of the current Olympic games. Each crafter can set their own goal as well. Some people in the past have set the goal to start and finish a particular project during those 2 weeks, such as a pair of socks or a hat or maybe an embroidery.

My goal is to make good progress towards my new Fibershed, handspun top. I will be casting on Friday and working towards completion. I’m not sure I can get enough knitting time to actually finish but I would like to be about half way done by that time. My ultimate goal is to have that top ready by the Fall Fiber shows: Shenandoah and Rhinebeck.

I am forming a team for this year’s games. Are you ready? The opening ceremonies are Friday. And the closing ceremonies are August 8th. That’s 2 weeks. To be a part of my team follow my Facebook group here. Introduce yourself and let us know what your goal is. Each day I will start a thread about that day so that you can post your updates and some photos. It is really fun to be a part of a community all working at the same time. What will you be making?

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New Podcast: Tips and Tricks for Spinners

In this episode, I share 9 tips and tricks that will take you from preparing your fiber until setting the twist in your yarn.

You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or click here to get to the episode.

You would rather watch the podcast? You can watch it on Vimeo here.

And I’ve posted many of the tips here on YouTube.

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Thoughts on Summer Knitting

This summer has been really weird, right? No matter where you live in the US and probably even in the world. There have been crazy heat waves, crazy storms and early hurricanes and even historic droughts in the West.

Hay waiting to be cut

Here in the East we have had the hot and muggy days for a couple of weeks now. It is hard to think about knitting, but even so my fingers are itching to pick up the needles and my mind really needs the “down time” that knitting provides. The quiet space where I am making and I can stop thinking. Does that happen to you?

So I was thinking about what I would like to knit or spin in this heat. And what jumped into my head is alpaca. Alpaca is cool to the touch. I don’t quite know what causes the phenomena. But it is true. Our Zephyrette yarn is baby alpaca, cashmere and silk. It is perfect for summer knitting. I have designed 4 cowls with this yummy yarn. The patterns come in a variety of skill levels and all take just one skein of yarn! These cowls make great, quick gifts too!!

Lacy Cowl

I was also thinking that small projects that wouldn’t cover my lap would be a nice thing to make during the summer. So I’m thinking a cowl or mittens or a hat even socks could fit the bill.

Weaverly cowl up close

Let’s make some great alpaca based projects while the summer is hot!

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TOTW: Video Tips for Spinners

It’s Tour de Fleece right now. We are in the last week. There are many challenge days as the cyclists are in the Pyrennes, climbing up and racing down mountains. I am hignlighting some tips for handspinners. These originate during my FaceBook Live presentations (Thursdays at 1pm on the Flying Goat Farm Page).

In this video I talk about how to manage your fiber when making a large project, such as a sweater or spinning an entire fleece.

And here is a video about pre-drafting. I know that this is a controversial topic. I pre-draft nearly everything that I spin. In this video, I tell you why I do it and why you should too.

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New Podcast: Resources for Hand Spinners

In this episode, I talk about some of my very favorite resources on the bookshelf. Some of the books include: The Intentional Spinner, Yarnitecture, Intertwined, The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Design, Color in Spinning, A New Look at Color, Spinning and Dyeing Yarn, Start Spinning and The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook with it’s companion, A Field Guide to Fleece. Lisa also recommends some spinning teachers to follow including Jillian Moreno, Judith MacKenzie, Maggie Casey, Esther Rodgers and Alanna Wilcox.

Click here to listen to the podcast

Click here to watch the Vimeo video