Hey, it’s Friday! And here’s a little something to get your weekend started off right: I’ve just put a bunch of great yarns in the shop! And best of all, most of them are in 4-6 skein batches, perfect for a larger project. Have a look…
Year: 2011
Want to Know What Forty Pounds of Yarn Looks Like?
This blog post was supposed to be a shop update, but my chief yarn-prep guy (my husband!) has been a bit under the weather, so I have to delay the update for a couple of days. Look for those new yarns to go into the shop on Friday instead. And if you’re on the Yarn Adventurers mailing list, keep an eye open for an email sometime in the next week!
In the meantime, let me share a little teaser with you. The InterStellar Yarn Alliance parcels went out in the post yesterday, and the Alliance members are in for such a treat. I can’t wait for their parcels to arrive! Can you guess what’s in them?…
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And ooooh! I just wanted to share this with you…
Ever wondered what forty pounds of yarn looks like all in one place? Well, that’s what it looks like! That’s forty pounds of freshly-dyed SpaceCadet yarn, all headed to fibre space in Alexandria VA. fibre space is one of the coolest LYSs in the country (I think my SpaceCadet might just have a crush on their space cadet!). And I am so excited to have SpaceCadet yarn there!
So if you’re in the DC area, do go check fibre space out — and look for the SpaceCadet yarn, because I’ve dyed some really gorgeous, never-seen-before colourways that you won’t want to miss!
Save the Date! Nov 19 for Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin
Hey, if you live anywhere in the Western Pennsylvania area, quick, grab your calendar and write this down:
Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin
November 19, 11am-5pm
Wilkins School Community Center in Regent Square
7604 Charleston Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15218
I am super-excited to have been invited be part of a brand new yarn and fiber show made up entirely of local Pittsburgh indie fiber artists. And if you love hand-dyed, handspun, and handmade as much as I do, you’ll want to be there too!
And I’m in some great company… Check out the other fantastic indie artists who are going to be there:
cosymakes
Emily Eckel Artisan Buttons
Fibernymph Dye Works
Gwen Erin Natural Fibers
Klotho
Beads by Eileen
Wren & Rita
Burgh Baby Gear
Sounds great, doesn’t it? And, right in time for some early holiday shopping.
What?!? Holiday Shopping?!?
No, I know. I know. But seriously, I saw it on Twitter the other day — there are less than 60 days until Christmas (ohhhhh, I am soooo woefully unprepared!). But if you’ve got knitters and crocheters on your shopping list and you want to get them something wonderfully one-of-a-kind, this show is the place to be.
And, y’know, even if you don’t have any other knitters or crocheters on your list… we-e-ell, we both know that you love one-of-a-kind yarn (that’s why you’re reading this, right?), so come on… come see us. You’ll have a great time!
…You didn’t actually grab your calendar, did you? No, I know. Look, grab it now — here’s the details again:
Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin
November 19, 11am-5pm
Wilkins School Community Center in Regent Square
7604 Charleston Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15218
Do you need a map? Yep, I’ve got one of those too!
And if you want to know more about the fiber artists that are going to be there, check out the Indie Knit & Spin website, where you’ll find interviews and profiles of each one. Here’s the one about me!
Most of the time, as a dyer, I’m working in isolation. I go into the studio, create my colours, and then post them off to customers near and far, all over the country. It’s a rare opportunity to get to meet my customers, and even more special when I get to meet my local customers. So please, mark Nov 19 on your calendar and come to the Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin. I’d love to see you!
Pattern Roll-Call: Mini-Skein Patterns, Part 2
Usually when I do a Pattern Roll-Call, I like to feature several patterns by different designers. But as I was sifting through all the mini-skein patterns on Ravelry, I came across a little treasure trove full of patterns that I just love so much that I had to dedicate a whole blog post to them.
It started with this sweet little Pinwheel Purse. Isn’t it lovely? It’s the same origami you did as a kid — but in knitting! So cool.
And so from there, I began looking through the rest of the designer’s work, and found that her sense of colour and shape really spoke to me. I love the gentle, organic changes of colours and yarns, the very simple shaping, the modular construction, and — maybe most of all — the almost complete lack of sewing up!
All of these patterns are by Frankie Brown. And instead of charging for her patterns, Frankie offers them all as free downloads on Ravelry — with the request that knitters who enjoy her patterns make a donation to the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation. So far, she’s raised about £2,500 and hopes go on to raise £1,000 a year. What a fantastic thing to do!
There’s a lot of yarns that would work well with these patterns, but I love how well these patterns would suit mini-skeins of fabulous variegated and semi-solid yarns. Can’t you just see it? All the colours coming together to compliment each other in some places and contrast one another in others. Beautiful!
If you’d like some amazing mini-skeins to knit these patterns in, check out the SpaceCadet’s new Mini-Skein Club. Each month you’ll receive a surprise selection of gorgeous SpaceCadet yarns delivered to your door, so that you can try out all the SpaceCadet bases and feed your mini-skein project addiction!
Two Rhinebeck Discoveries and a Shop Update
Last weekend was Rhinebeck, otherwise known as the New York Sheep and Wool Festival and one of the best and most exciting fiber festivals in the country. Or… so I’d been told. I’d never been to it before, but this year the stars aligned and I got my chance!
Rhinebeck was everything I hoped for. Sheep, alpaca, llamas, kangaroos (seriously!), fair food, fine food, wine, spinning wheels, spindles, fiber, and yarn yarn yarnyarnyarn. At the Ravelry meet-up (above), I got the chance to meet Laura Nelkin, a designer I’ve featured here before and whose work I’ve admired a long time. I also ran into the delightful Ariane of Falling Stitches, my friend Julia of Knitterly Things, my friend Gwen of GwenErin Natural Fibers, and Ravelry’s own Mary-Heather and Sarah (wearing a fast-asleep Carlton).
But never mind all that, because I discovered two people whose products I loved so much that I really thought you’d want to meet them!
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First is Melissa Tompkins-Stahl, whom I liked right from the moment I met her but — more importantly for you — who also makes absolutely lovely ceramic buttons. Seriously, they are like candy for knitters. My friend Kristen introduced us and pointed out how beautifully the colours of Melissa’s buttons and colours of SpaceCadet yarns go together. Kristen put several buttons against a cowl she’d spun with SpaceCadet fiber and she was right. Melissa and I clearly share a colour connection, and if you’re ever looking for buttons for a project you’ve made with SpaceCadet yarn, it’s worth looking at her website…
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And the other person is Leah LaFera of Ulster Soaps. I knew I needed to check out Leah’s stall even before I saw it — the smell of her soaps was tugging at me! And when I got there and met Leah, I knew I wanted to tell you about her. I’ve always wanted to try soapmaking (don’t you?), so I asked her a whole bunch of questions, and she answered them all so enthusiastically. It’s clear she loves what she does! I chose some soaps: Peppermint Delight, Lavender Dream, and Lemon Poppy Seed (nom nom nom!) and I knew I wanted to share them (and her!) with you too.
And of course, there was all that yarn — so much fun to look at it, to smoosh it, to pet it! And it inspired me to do a shop update…
Clockwise from top left: Fingering yarn containing Bamboo in a Dept of Rocket Science colourway, Celeste in Cove, Estelle in a Dept of Rocket Science colourway, BFL yarn in Algae, Celeste in Cove, BFL yarn in Salmon.
Pattern Roll-Call: Mini-Skein Patterns, Part 1
A friend mentioned the other day that I haven’t done a Pattern Roll-Call in a while and, as I realised she was right, I also realised I knew exactly which patterns I wanted to include! Usually, I focus on one-skein projects that work well with hand-dyed yarn but, just lately, everywhere I look it’s been mini-skeins mini-skeins mini-skeins… So I think it’s in the stars that I have to do a few Pattern Roll-Calls focusing on all the fantastic mini-skein patterns that are so hot right now.
And the place to start is with the Beekeeper’s Quilt by Stephanie Dosen of Tiny Owl Knits. It’s the pattern that’s turning everyone into hexipuff addicts and it’s just so intriguing. All those puffy little hexipuffs, all mixing their colours together gently, and the result is a like a patchwork quilt but with a funky, modern twist. So cool!
And here’s another that’s really calling to me: The Sock Yarn Blanket by Shelly Kang. I’m crazy about this design! That’s partly because I’m a sucker for mitered squares but also because I love how it looks like feathers of some fantastical bird flowing down from top to bottom. Again, a million colours that really shouldn’t work together and yet, somehow they do… This pattern also comes with some really helpful tutorials to get you started.
And then there’s the Babette Blanket by Kathy Merrick. And the thing I love about this pattern is that it demonstrates how beautifully the Mini-Skein craze works in crochet. And I also love how these three examples show the way Mini-Skeins can work in any colour combination — bright or subdued, matching or contrasting, each one is just gorgeous!
See what I mean? As a dyer, these projects really get my blood pumping, because they are just so full of glorious colour! I want to dive in and roll around in them! Mmmmmmm…. Gorgeous!
And if these patterns have got you as excited as they’ve got me, do check out the SpaceCadet’s new Mini-Skein Club. Each month you’ll receive a surprise selection of gorgeous SpaceCadet yarns delivered to your door, so that you can try out all the SpaceCadet bases and feed your mini-skein project addiction!