Fiber show this weekend!

It's been a while since my last post but I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be vending at the North Country Fiber Fair this weekend.  Come and see me.  If you bring or show me  this blog post you will get $5 off your purchase.

Hope to see you there!

Disappointingly Small

I'm still prepping yarn for my show and last week I ordered more undyed yarn, 170 skeins, about $1200 worth.  It arrived today in two disappointingly small boxes.  The boxes are 17" x 17" x 14".  It just seems like that much yarn should take up much more room.

Oh well, guess it's time to get back to work.

My first socks

In a previous post I showed you a picture of a sock I was working on and told you to expect to hear more about the socks as they progressed.  Well, here is some more :)

If you didn't read the article I am working on the pattern Mindless Socks by Mary Fellman.  Here is the picture from the previous blog post.

Mary's pattern calls for size 0 needles and 9 rows to start her toe.  She says however that she is a very loose knitter.  I apparently am a very tight knitter because when I first started these socks on size 0 I got past the increase section and found they would maybe fit a little child, definitely not me.  So then I tried size 2's and they were to big so I went to size 1's.  I also had to do 10 rows before adding the other needles becauseI just wasn't getting the inch and a half strip with 9 rows.  However, once I figured out those two things the rest of the sock progressed nicely.

Here is what I have so far.

I have a few more inches to go before I have to start the heel.  I've never done a heel before so this should be interesting.  The great thing about Mary's pattern is that she makes it easy for you to figure out how to adjust her pattern to fit your knitting style and foot size.  It's the sign of a good pattern writer who allows for the fact that not all knitters knit the same way or are the same size.

The yarn I am using is Regia's design line by Kaffe Fassett.  This particular one is the Mirage Twilight color.  It's a very nice yarn and I got it on sale a few years ago, its been hanging around my stash with no purpose so I figured I might as well give it one :)

Stay tuned for more progress!

Such Doge, Much Dyeing

Here are the two color ways I worked on this week - Night Sky on the left and Fandango on the right.

Doge appears courtesy of a free app I found on iTunes.  It cracks me up.

As you can see, I am still working hard on getting ready for my show in June.  I just ordered another $1100 worth of undyed yarn as I am starting to run low from my previous order.    I'm going to be a busy girl.  However, if you want yarn now, don't let my show prep stop you from ordering.  After all, I have to pay for the yarn I bought somehow :)

FEATURE - SnarkyLlama Creations

This week's featured artist is Melissa, THE SnarkyLlama of SnarkyLlama Creations.  Her tagline is - So Good You'll Want to Slap Your Llama.  Now, I don't know about you but I know how ornery llamas are - and something has to be pretty damn good to make me want to slap one.  So when I saw this tagline I had very high expectations for what I would find.

I was not disappointed.

Melissa makes some of the cutest stitch markers I have seen, and I make stitch markers so I have seen a LOT of them :)  Melissa's Etsy shop is SlapYourLlama and she has loads of stitch markers with both large and small loops depending on what needle size you knit with. They're also available in a locking form for crochet or areas in knitting where a locking marker is more desirable than a sliding one.

These are the stitch markers I got from her.

Aren't they adorable?  They say I knit so I don't KILL PEOPLE.  That is so true for me.  Melissa does a great job of packaging too;' it was like getting a little present in the mail.  

Melissa packs each set of markers in a little organza bag, her business card has another little locking marker on it and her invoices have adorable llama stamps.  Altogether it is a package that makes you feel very special for having bought from her and shows a great deal of care.

I am using a couple of her markers to help me with my a pair socks.  I have never completed a pair of socks before and I am convinced it is because I didn't have cute stitch markers.  So, let's see if these actually get completed :)

This sock pattern is the Mindless Socks pattern by Mary Fellman, the subject of last weeks blog feature.  You'll be seeing more of these in future posts.

These markers are perfect.  They dangle enough so they are obvious but not enough to be annoying while I work.  They are also light weight so don't add a lot of weight to the needles and they don't snag the yarn which is very annoying when you are trying to work on a project.

Melissa also makes jewelry.  She has a custom charm bracelet that she will make for you using any images you want (that you own the copyright to or are in the public domain);  there is a fantastic pair of earrings featuring the anatomy of the eye, and if you wish, she will make you your own custom charm to use as a keyring, zipper pull or whatever else you might want.

Melissa also has a Facebook page where she posts about sales, new items for sale, and events she is going to be at.  You can find her on Facebook as SlapYourLlama.

Melissa has been so kind as to extend a special offer to my readers.  You can get 10% off your order on her Etsy sight by using the code HEATHDES2014.  This code is good until the end of the year.

So, what are you waiting for?  Why are you still here?  Go, Buy, Save!

Last week's dye job

Normally I post what I have dyed the day or a day after I dye it.  This time I didn't, I don't know why. So, sorry this is late but here is what I worked on last week.

Sun Glo

As usual there is some roving from the previous dyeing still hanging out to dry.  At the bottom of the picture you can see some Romney wool that I dyed to make into art batts for spinning.

Today I am working on dyeing Fandango so you will be seeing that in a day or two.  Stay Tuned!

A Godless F#@K Palace with Yarn

I love Jon Stewart.  I love his take on what is going on with the world.  He states things so well and says what I'm feeling but much more eloquently than I ever could.  So his coverage of the Hobby Lobby case was right up my alley.

If you haven't seen his coverage yet here it is - Jon Stewart Explains Hobby Lobby's rationale.

And here is my favorite screen cap from the article.

I don't know about the rest of you, but IMO, Michaels really needs to use this in their next ad campaign.  I know I'd spend more money there if they did.  :)

FEATURE - The start of a beautiful friendship...

This week's featured artist is my new friend Mary Fellman.  Mary goes by the name of Lanafactrix on Ravelry and is a marvelous pattern designer.  You can find her patterns here and don't forget to check out her blog as well - Perfection on Sticks.

Mary and I are going to embark on a little fiber journey together.  I have created a new color way for her called Lana, and she is going to use it to come up with a brand new pattern.

This is Lana, if the picture looks familiar that's because I got it from Mary's blog, with her permission of course.

Isn't Lana the perfect color for our long delayed spring?  I can't wait to see what Mary is going to make with it.  Be sure to check Mary's blog as well to see her progress, and if you read her post about this yarn you will find a coupon code for my yarn.  So off with you now!  What are you waiting for?

The daily dye lot

Actually, this is two day's worth of dye lots.  On top is Rosewood which I dyed yesterday.  Underneath is Summer Berries which was done today.  There are a couple of bundles of London Fog still drying for variety.

Someone butter me, I'm on a roll!

This is what $2700 worth of hand dyed yarn looks like.

If you have read the blog so far you know I'm getting ready for a fiber show in June and then the first Sunday of each month I will be doing a spinning demonstration at a farm in Iowa.  I've been dyeing a lot and have been working hard.  Today both of the bins I had my labeled yarn in were full so I had to put the yarn out on the table to sort and bag it up so it is ready for the show.  This is about $2700 worth of yarn ready and waiting for packaging. 

It's sort of a disappointingly small amount isn't it?  This is about a third of what I will be dyeing though so it won't be lonely for long.

London Fog

I'm still working on getting ready for my show in June so yesterday I dyed my London Fog colorway.

Here's a quick shot of what I got done.

Stay tuned for more pictures as I get ready for my show.  And don't forget to follow my blog.  Every time I get 10 more followers I will have a giveaway!

Special Feature - Dorothy Dean Photography

My goal is to offer you, my lovely readers a special post each week featuring a talented artist.  This week, my first feature is about Dorothy Dean and her wonderful photography.

Dorothy photographs knit wear, weddings, and other special events.  She also works as a wedding planner, so if you are in the Tacoma, WA area be sure to look her up!

You can find her here on her Facebook page - Dorothy Dean Photography or here at her blog Dorothy Dean - Tacoma Wedding and Family Photographer.  AND!!! If you like what you see you can go here and buy prints of her work.  If you use the code HDESIGNS15 you'll get 15% off your purchase, this code is good till the end of 2014.

Take a look at some of these lovely photos she's taken.  This one is from Ravelry.  She even wrote the pattern!  If you want to make this yourself you can get the pattern for free here - Not a Sandy Bottom.

The following two pictures I took from her blog.  I couldn't decide which I liked better so you get to see both.

She is also a fantastic family photographer.  I found this on her Facebook page and love it.

Aren't they adorable?

So again, be sure to check out Dorothy's fantastic work, and if you are in the Tacoma area contact her next time you need a photographer.

I actually did something this weekend.

I feel a great sense of accomplishment because I actually did something this weekend.  I cleaned and organized my dye shop.  This is what it looked like before.  It was a total dumping ground.  Because I am trying to get ready for a fiber show this summer and spinning demos at the farm starting in May I had to do something about it.

So I did. I cleaned, organized, threw out, and recombobulated my space. And this is what it looks like now.

Now it is a space that I can really get some work done in.  Stay tuned to see what I come up with!

It's been a looooonnnnggggg time....

since my last post and a lot has happened.

The biggest change is that my husband and I have moved to Omaha, NE.  We moved into our new house Dec 22, 2012, my husbands birthday.  We spent 2013 unpacking, painting a lot of the rooms, and generally getting settled into our new lives.

Now that we are mostly settled I am devoting 2014 to expanding the fiber business.  I have signed up to vend at the Iowa Sheep and Wool festival June 14 and 15 in Colfax, IA.  I am also going to be partnering with a sheep and goat dairy and doing spinning demonstrations and selling my yarn at her open houses once a month.  The first open house at Does and Divas will be May 4th from 1-5.  If you are in the area come and see us.  Be sure to say hi and tell me you saw my blog post.

In the meantime, I am busy dyeing massive amounts of yarn for both the festival and the open houses.  I am also working on planning out my displays for both and practicing my spinning which has been sorely neglected for quite a while.

I hope 2014 will continue to be full of good things and that I will have time to tell you all about them.

Until next time!