new colorways two bases
Category: wool
new sparkly colors
In time for the Holiday Fiber Art Studio Tour, or even if you just want to grab some for you!
Store reopened after a lovely family weekend
This last weekend was full of family. A family wedding, lovely visits with two 93 year old aunties and their caretaker daughters, a scavenger hunt of Allentown and a concert that got cancelled. But instead we had a great time talking with Bill’s brother and sister in law and sharing our live’s stories and good, good wine.
So coming back I opened the store up with 2 major shop updates. First I added hand dyed natural colored yarns…what??? So I have a great yarn base that is made with 2 different shades of grey and 2 different weights, so it’s a thick and thin kind of yarn.
I overdyed this yarn with a brick red, a bright violet and a navy blue. The results are rich colors. These yarns are farm yarns. They are made with wool from farms of other shepherds. The yarn is highly durable and wearable. Is it soft? It is not too scratchy but it is not cashmere. It would make lovely hats, mitts, socks and even one of those great colorwork sweaters.
You can find this yarn here. What other colors would you like to see? Reply to this blog to let me know!!
One more day closer to Rhinebeck!
And even if you aren’t going, I wanted to show you our new colors of Synergy yarn. Synergy is a yarn that I have dyed before it is spun into yarn. So it has a hand spun look. It is made with merino fiber and has a beautiful hand and is next to the skin soft.
And what does it knit up like? Well it has a heathery look and there is some gradiation in the colors through the skeins. This yarn is perfect for those shawls or sweaters that are using a handspun looking yarn, like Night Shift by Andrea Mowry or one of her beautiful sweaters.
We now have 10+ colors of synergy. These 5 new colors will be added on Tuesday after the show when the store is back from vacation mode. But if you see something you love, you can send me a message and I’ll set some skeins aside for you.
fun hat that I just finished!
So the 21 day knit challenge is really working for me right now. I finished one UFO. Okay, it’s a hat. Not a sweater. Not a million stitches, but it is done and I LOVE it!!
I love it because it is next to the skin soft. The yarn is my Synergy yarn in the mushroom color. It is merino and each skein has about 232 yards in 4oz. It is somewhere between DK and Worsted weight. I was conflicted about whether I wanted to design my own pattern for a hat or use this one. So I thought I would just do the ribbing and then decide as I was knitting. Do you do that?
Well, I decided to try out this hat. I love the fact that this is a double sided hat, each side is so different. And it was also a stretch for me. The designer of the pattern wanted me to swatch and I didn’t. And I didn’t because I wasn’t sure I was going to make this hat. I just started.
So as I got closer, I got really worried. Would I have enough to finish the hat? I practically held my breath for the last series of 12 rows of decreases. I kept telling myself, you have less stitches, just keep going!!
And so I was able to finish with some to spare. And it fits just fine…see below!!
So this 21 day challenge is working. I’m finished with one project and I know what I’m going to pick up today. Another project that has only a little bit left to be done. What are you knitting? Want to join in the challenge? You can join our Ravelry group and use us as accountibility!
new marled yarns in the shop
I have added these yarns into my webstore here. Before the skeins were one of a kind skeins, so I only sold them in person at a show or in my studio. But now I have 5 new colorways that I can list online. There is still some variability within the skeins, but they are very consistent. And I’m just about to take 5 more colorways to the mill and they will be available in the next few weeks and hopefully at the fall shows.
What can you do with them? First of all they are made with really fine merino. Not superwash, just plain merino. And they are within the DK to Worsted weight. They are next to the skein soft, so you can make a lovely pullover or cardigan. They are great to use in a 2 color brioche pattern. And of course a hat or mittens or fingerless mitts would be perfect. In a stockinette stitch these yarns will look tweedy and wonderful. Here are some of the available colors:
sock blanks to knit or crochet
This week I added a whole bunch more sock blanks into the web store. Sock blanks are the serendipity of knitting. They are fun to pick out and you really don’t know what the end product will be. Of course it all depends on what you are going to make. Are you making socks with a 60-70 stitch round? Or are you making a cowl that has a 150-190 stitch round? Or of course if you are making a shawl that increases with each row you will get another different look.
Are you wanting to know more about sock blanks and how to use them, click here to a blog post that I wrote last year.
And if you are ready to dive in and try making something that will be surprise, click here for all the options. They are all one of a kind, so be sure to grab your favorite before someone else gets it.
modern graphic colorwork cowl
Last fall, Tanis stopped by my booth and picked up some of my Cormo farm yarn in 2 colors: Agate and Granite. She designed this modern graphic cowl. It is stunning visually and next to the skin soft. You can use Trasna or LiViLy yarn for this cowl. Here are some other colors you might use to make this cowl. Grab a set in the online store.
Busy preparing for the fall shows
I’ve been busy in the studio dyeing up new colorways for the fall shows. Now I have a huge job of labeling all of these skeins.
See something you like? You can join my mailing list so you know when these hit the webstore. Or you can find something similar already listed in the store.
lacy sweater for a quick fall knit
This is a lovely lacy sweater made with our LiViLy yarn. This worsted weight yarn is made from the fleeces of my Cormo sheep. Corrine Walcher , AKA Gingyknits, is the designer. If you haven’t used her patterns before, they are concise and come in a wide range of sizes. And our LiViLy comes in great colors.
Here is photo of the front of the sweater. I have worn this several times. It is well fitting and the yarn is really next to the skin soft. You can get LiViLy yarn here. You can get Gingy’s pattern here.
