Our Winter Hat KAL starts on February 4th. It coincides with the Winter Olympics. One of the most popular patterns this time is the Correlation Hat.
This hat is made with one skein of our Synergy yarn. You can find it here. This is a merino farm yarn that is marled and when knit gives a gradient look as well. It looks handspun without all the work.
Here are some color choices:
Today, I thought I would highlight some of my naturally dyed yarn. This yarn is our PolyPay worsted weight yarn. It was grown in Virginia on a partner farm. I had it clean, carded and spun into this wonderful 2 ply.
Each set has four 50 yard mini skeins. Some are gradients and others are just colors that look great together.
I new yellow and green set is in the works. You can find them here.
I love fall. I love fall full moons. This year, our Rhinebeck colorway is “Moon over the Hudson”.
You will find fall colors and the gold of a Harvest moon too.
I have 2 fingering weight yarns, one is our MCN base and the other is our non-superwash Cormo Farm yarn.
Stop by our booth in Building A and snag some…it may not stay on the shelf very long!!
We have 2 new yarns this year and I’m dyeing up A LOT of it.
The first yarn is called LiViLy Bounce. It is a sport weight. Each skein has 330 yards in each 4oz skein. And it feels so great. It is made from our Cormo fleeces. I haven’t yet put any on the needles and I need to get to that. I know it will be amazing. You can find our available colors here.
The second yarn is Trasna Fingering. It is a fingering weight with 400 yards in each 4oz skein. It is made from our Cormo X fleeces and again so nice to the touch. I have knit a swatch of this one and it has amazing stitch definition. You can find some of the colors here. More colors to come within this week.
I know you will love these yarns that are sustainable, climate beneficial and beautiful to boot!! Remember that when you buy farm yarn you support our sheep and goats through the winter!
I have been on a quest, a quest for us to really, really love and honor the yarn we have for several years now. If you have been following my podcast or blogs or newsletter, you know this already.
But, it bears repeating, because I am still feeling the shame. And we are starting to have the opportunity for in-person shows. I want you to delight in the festivals. I want you to feel the pull of creating something new. That’s the best feeling right? It is for me.
So in order to do that you must banish the word….stash. I’ve spoken to many of you in person about ejecting this word and concept from your vocabulary. When I hear people talking about their stash it is not out of pride. I don’t hear “You should see my stash! It is lovely.” More often I hear, “I can’t buy anything until I use my stash.” It is said in a kind of Eeyore voice. It is said with shame. Let’s banish that word! Let’s trash the shame!
I propose that we all use the word, “collection” instead. You are the curator. It is your collection. Each skein and ball that is in your collection was lovingly acquired. Some with a specific project in mind and others just thrilled you with color or texture or softness. I know that when we change our language, we change our outlook or attitude about the yarn that we have collected. We will be able to see those threads in a different light. We may even go through them and realize, “Hey! I’ve grown out of using this yarn, or this color!” Those parts of your collection can be donated or gifted. You have the power to make the choices, after all it is YOUR collection. And you are the curator. That’s the job of a curator, right?
So, let’s make the commitment to value our collections, to explore them anew and discover what you love about them and which ones need to find a new home. Let’s find some new ways of using what we have and making room to buy new skeins to augment your collection. If you would like to explore your collection in an organized way, you can listen to Season 2 of my podcast. Click here to find the Season 2 Episodes or subscribe on Apple iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. I walk you through all the steps that I believe will help you organize your collection. I take you through these steps so that you don’t get overwhelmed.
And now is the right time to start this. Our first in-person show in the Mid-Atlantic is Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival and that is a mere 2 weeks away. So change your vocabulary and change your mindset. Really REVEL in your collection. And see what you need to make your collection more complete.
What do you think?
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.
I dropped the new episode of the Flying Goat Farm Podcast. This week, I talk about how the 12 hue(color) families grow to the thousands of colors. Just think about the color chips in the paint store or the beautiful bolts of fabrics in a quilting store or the wall of yarn at your LYS or needlepoint store. All these colors excite us and give us so much pleasure to work with. I also talk about how these colors provide the interest in your handcrafted items.
I talk about this color evaluator tool to “see” the values in your work, your yarn, or your fabrics.
If you are joining me on this journey, I give you a couple of tasks to do with your collection to build your color confidence and curate your collection further.
You can listen to the podcast here OR on your preferred podcast platform such as itunes or spotify. If you would rather watch on You Tube, click here to see it.
Yes, it’s that good. Actually I’m re-reading it and also listening to it as I work in my studio. What’s the book?
Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee
Why is this book resonating with me? I think because I can see so many textile, yarn, color, dyeing connections. I also think that with all that is happening in the world around us, I need to find some more joy. I need to savor what brings me joy. Bring more of it into my life. I want to examine what brings me joy and do more of it.
Lee organizes the joyful world into 10 aesthetics:
Energy (vibrant color and light), Abundance (lushness, multiplicity and variety), Freedom (nature, wildness and open space), Harmony (balance, symmetry and flow), Play (circles, spheres and bubbly forms), Surprise (contract and whimsy), Transcendence (elevation and lightness), Magic (invisible forces and illusions), Celebration (synchrony, sparkle and bursting shapes), and Renewal (blossoming, expansion and curves).
So for the Energy chapter Lee tells us that it is impossible to separate color and emotions. Just think about blue Mondays and having a sunny disposition. Having a red hot temper and looking for the silver lining in a hard situation (social distancing, perhaps?)
Color is energy made visible. If I go into my science geek again, well this is proven. Each color has it’s own wavelength. It is energy. And it is color.
And what about Chromophobia? That’s the fear of color, especially seen in our houses. People love colorful spaces but it is really hard to make a choice on a wall or room in your house. I see this fear all the time. I think that some are so afraid of making a mistake that they either decide to pass on the choice, or more likely they rely on their more color confident friends. Do you have to live this way? No you can train your eyes and build your color confidence. It takes looking at lots of colorful art or photos. You can do this in an art museum. You can do that in Pinterest. Get to know what you like. What makes you say “Ahhhh” or what makes you smile.
I will be blogging more about this book because it is just so full. So full of interesting ideas and “Aha” moments for me and I think for you.
Some are available in the store right now or when sold out you can order some for your autumn knitting in the web store.
These coneflowers are right outside my studio. They are abundant right now and full of butterflies, bees and other flying beauties.
