Monday, March 31, 2014

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!

Friday, March 28, 2014

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.  :)

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

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?

Friday, March 21, 2014

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!


Thursday, March 20, 2014

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.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

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!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

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.



Sunday, March 9, 2014

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!

Thursday, March 6, 2014

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!