Jun 02 2010

Birthday Bonanza, Day 2: Cummington

Category: Festivals,Friends & Fun — Mistress Rows @ 5:08 pm

For the first time, since I don’t count the disembodied voice of my beloved Garmin as sentient, I made the roughly 2 hour drive to Cummington alone. Note to self: next time I make this sort of drive to the back of beyond, plug the info into the Garmin ahead of time so I don’t spend 25 minutes on the side of the road trying to figure out why it doesn’t recognize the address. Anyway, I got there without too much fuss and by 10:30 too, woo!

This little Romney seemed to sense my love of the breed, she snuggled and nuzzled me. So cute.

As with last year, it seemed like attendance was down. There was no need to jostle, booths were rarely crowded, and I said “excuse me” far less than I expected. I hope that as the economy starts to recover, sales and attendance will as well. Also notable were absences like Buckwheat Bridge Angoras, JOY (Just Our Yarn), and Foxfire Fibers. On the plus side, the absence of one vendor meant that Rachel of Serendipity was able to get a booth at the very last minute. I felt for her, she had no idea she would be vending and didn’t have as much stock as she wanted, but at least she got the exposure, and that’s worth a lot!

I am strangely drawn to rug hooking.

Squee! Baby goats are just too adorable.

 Walking around the grounds, I was inspired everywhere I turned. Dyers I admired had beautiful work on display. Crafts I have no time or space to attempt called to me. Despite the heat, shoppers sported their very best creations and more than once I was struck by how impressive the work of our hands really is.

Risa & Lisa, two very cool ladies. That yarn in her hand is 8-ply sport weight handspun. Think about that for a moment.

The people parts of the day were the best of all. I saw almost all of the usual faces, including blog reader Donna and her daughter. Hi Donna!  It was nice to meet her, I only wish we’d had time to talk more. Strangely, I missed Jenny, Harriet and Tim, and a couple other friendly faces. I did, however, finally commit the lovely Lori’s name to memory. I met Lori at SOAR ’08. and she understands completely what it’s like to be shit for brains when it comes to names, totally not holding it against me. Lori is a talented dyer, as you can see from the stole she’s holding. She gets that whole “hand dyed lace yarn should work WITH you, not AGAINST you” thing I get all ranty about.

Lori, Lori, Lori! See... I'm going to remember for next year!

Afterwards I retreated to Jess’s house for the after party and had a really good time. Hanging out with fiber folk is always a good time, especially when I get to see people that I don’t have the opportunity to on a regular basis. Folks like Maeghan & Ian, Anne, and Risa. Good peeps!

Maeghan's glorious handspun "Just Figs" being knit into a lace scarf. Hands down one of the most naturally talented fiber gals I know.

Kimberly (Somebunnyslove), who now works for XRX, gave me a copy of the nifty and newly released “Think Outside the Sox” book.  All had to do was “bribe” her with chocolate cake. Woot! She gave Jess a skein of Wollmeise as a hostess gift and I think she just about had a meltdown. Not only is Kimberly interesting to talk to, but with prizes like that in her trunk, you know she’s welcome anywhere she goes.

Overcome by the legendary Wollmeise!

Cummington 2010 was good, if a little more subdued than in years past. As always, glad I went, and happy to have spent the day surrounded the friends and interests I love so much.

Loot will get it’s own post later in the week.

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Apr 26 2010

Chancellor’s Sheep & Wool Showcase 2010

Category: Bittersweet,Festivals,Vending — Mistress Rows @ 6:51 pm

Folks, you did it again. You came out, you supported independent artisans, and you rocked it big time. Sales were good in general for the Indie Oasis tent, and we have YOU to thank! We’re of a general consensus that wallets were a little tighter this year due to the economy, and we’re also sure traffic would have been even higher if it weren’t for the massive detour blocking traffic from the North, but it was a great show nonetheless.

There were MANY more vendors this year.

Gathering in one tent, full from end to end with friends and helpers, was better than I could have imagined. We laughed, we lent a hand, we supported each other. It’s a big thing, putting yourself out there, and I was giddy with happiness as so many of my fellow IO buddies came up to thank me for putting it together. Honestly, it was my pleasure! And come on… I benefited more than words can say since Steve was unable to help set up my booth Saturday morning. Matt, Becky’s housemate and budding wood carver, was indispensable, as was Jess’s nephew Brandon.  Thank you!

Matt, working on a crochet hook.

Each time I vend, and it’s only been a handful so far, I try to improve my booth. We were short one black tablecloth, but our redone from home fit the theme. Next time, more stock, and definitely adding the spinning fiber back in.

The whole booth, liking the new banner (despite resolution issues).

Strong morning sunlight makes for crappy photos, sorry. Still, yay!

Lace & chocolate, both beautiful things.

The heavier weight yarn table got no love, let me tell you.

My fellow Indie vendors made me proud to share a tent with them… if you were there, you know what I’m talking about. The amount of care that went into their booths, and how obviously skilled they were at what they do was plain as day. You ladies (and gent!) are incredibly talented, and I’m proud to call you friends and colleagues.

Sock yarn was a big hit, but even more so was the lace yarn below.

My first customers, a Concubine purchase on the left, and Angela's Ashes on the right. Thank you, ladies!

The lady on the left, a member of my former guild, fell in love with the Concubine (rich, tonal red) sock yarn and had to have them. She said she was going to knit herself a pair of red socks to wear to the Sheep to Shawl competition at Rhinebeck this year, and this was just the yarn to do it. You have no idea how awesome I think that is.

Natural light, yes!

This family of knitters is part of my quiet but fabulous customer base, I was thrilled to see them this year. Last year they wanted more lace yarn, and since I wasn’t vending I set up a yarn meeting at the show after doing the dyeing custom for them. Thanks ladies for your enthusiasm and for following me through the re-branding! These ladies are funny, sweet, and talented lace knitters. I look forward to seeing them next year.

Aliqae can model my lace yarn any time!

My sales were good, if a little less than in years past, but I am grateful for the influx of cash. Now I can restock my base yarns and get some forward momentum going. It was interesting, explaining to past customers about the rebranding and explaining what my thinking was. Everyone was supportive, and I got a lot of positive feedback on the new branding and on my dyeing. Vending is such a great time, even though it’s a lot of work, and it’s my favorite part of the whole business. Thank you, all of you… friends and customers alike!

Vending is fun. :)

Steve came by later and worked on his D&D stuff while manning the booth.

I have so many photos to share that I created a Picasa album to hold them, otherwise this post would be entirely too long. See the rest of them here.

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Mar 25 2010

Outta Here

Category: Festivals,Friends & Fun,Uncategorized — Mistress Rows @ 6:30 am

I have a Human Resources convention today so I’ll be leaving early and gone all day. When I get home it’s last minute chores and then we’re OFF! Where? Why to the geekiest place on earth, at least for one weekend.

Geeks Unite!

PAX is coming to Boston for the first time, and Steve and I will be there… along with 60,000 other gaming nerds. Well, me, I’m not so much a gaming nerd, but I do like games and I am happy to join my husband for a weekend of fun. We’re sharing costs by room with gaming buddies, and that really helps.

Me, I plan to hang out and knit or spin the entire time. What? I’ve done it before. I packed for fiber-geddon, just in case I suddenly become super woman and plow through my current spinning and fiber projects. You never know.

We’ll be back Sunday night, have a great weekend!

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Mar 23 2010

Indie Oasis

Category: Bittersweet,Festivals — Mistress Rows @ 11:48 am
When Clermont rolled around last April, my fiber friends and I were somewhat let down at how few indie vendors there were. But since Carolyn and myself weren’t vending that year, we certainly couldn’t blame the show, right? We stood around, panting in the shade, and someone said, “we definitely have to vend next year”. I agreed wholeheartedly, and that’s when the  idea sprang fully formed into my head.

“We SHOULD all vend next year, and we can call ourselves the Indie Oasis!”

People, I suck at coming up with names. I really, really do. That’s how I ended up with Phoenix Fiberworks in the first place, it was the least offensive option before me, but it didn’t really light my fire so to speak. So, when a name comes to me just – like – that, I know it’s meant to be. There’s a subsonic reverberation that pings through the universe and the gods smile because I’m not quite as dense as they feared. I kept the idea aside, and once October came ‘round I hit up my indie friends with the details. I would book all our booths together, under one tent, and we would be an oasis of handmade and indie panache at the show. The idea went over very, very well!

View from the Clermont grounds.

Within a few days I had a working list of talented indie vendors that were happy to band together at Clermont. Our merry band includes:

We can’t go too far in delineating ourselves from the rest of the show the day of, the show administrator doesn’t want other vendors to feel like they’re being left out of something. That said, it’s fine to promote ourselves as a group, and you’ll be seeing the banner ad I created on Ravelry starting April 1st. We’ll be in rotation on our shop groups (for those that have one) as well as the WOOL, Hudson Valley Ravelers, and NY State Fiber Lovers boards.

Jess & Cris will be part of our group!

To say that I’m excited about this venture would be an understatement. It might not seem like a big thing, after all, we’d all be vending anyway, right? But it’s more than just a name. It’s about support, sharing strengths and experience with each other. Some of us are vending for close to the first time, some of us are seasoned pros. All of us know each other socially, and we are committed to seeing each other succeed. Most of all, we are all adamant about the power of handmade, and the care and love that goes into bringing our visions of color and craft to light for our customers. Someday I hope to grow this idea into something bigger, but for now, it’s about Clermont and the fantastic Chancellor’s Sheep & Wool Showcase.

Cutie pie!

If you are local, please mark your calendar. The event is on Saturday, April 24th, with a rain date of the 25th, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The show is small, but a great way to spend a few hours enjoying fiber, beautiful historic grounds, music, animals, and demonstrations. At only $8 admission per car, it’s a great way to spend the day with the family!

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Mar 17 2010

One Step At a Time

Category: Bittersweet,Festivals,Knitting,Life & Stuff — Mistress Rows @ 4:22 pm

It’s been a trying couple of days here, where it seems like the world is on my shoulders. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband, someone who will do the silliest things just to make me laugh. He’s a keeper, and I want to grow old with this man. Between my goofy husband and the beautiful weather we’re having today, I’m starting to feel a little more like myself. Being able to take my knitting outside during my break times feels like a gift.

Sock number two is well on its way.

As you can see, I’m making good progress on the second sock. My gauge is all over the place, probably due to my hands not being up to par lately, but it’s getting there. I’m still in love with the yarn and the pattern. Whenever I work on the project in public it gets compliments, people are struck by the combination. I’m old enough to quote “I love it when a plan comes together”.

I’ve started taking my medication again and it’s making me dizzy and sleepy, as usual. It’s amazing what a single dose of the stuff will do, but also noticeable is the fact that it starts to blunt the pain almost immediately. It isn’t supposed to work that way, but for me it does. I will most likely take a nap this evening, before Steve gets home from work, just to try and take the edge off the sluggishness. There are dishes to do and yarn to wind, it’s not going to get done by wishing! Speaking of the yarn, I can’t wait to photograph and list it, I think you guys are going to really like the colors.

In other shop news, I bought my bittersweetwoolery.com domain and my super-tech brother-in-law got it set up and hosted. We’ll be installing WordPress very soon, and Jess is creating the CSS file I mocked up in Artisteer. It’s this close to be really real folks, and in plenty of time for Clermont. I’ll be sharing some exciting news this week about that very show, stay tuned.

Last, but not least, my latest post is up at the Fiber Lust Confessional, take a look and find out why you should totally respect the hook.

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Oct 20 2009

Rhinebeck 2009: Part II (Judgement Day)

Category: Festivals — Mistress Rows @ 4:05 pm

So, as you know from this post, I was lucky enough to help the hand knit judge on Friday afternoon. For those that didn’t read the post, I didn’t talk about my entry at all, and when we got to the class in which I was entered, I excused myself and let someone else write for her. Then, and a couple times earlier when I needed a break, I would move over to the skein judge’s table and listen to her judge the handspun.

Oh, how I wish I could have listened to her more, that was an education in the making. I got to talk to her a little bit before judging started and I liked her very much on a personal level, and professionally. I asked her what sorts of things she looked for, and all of it was the kinds of things I look for myself. Evenness of diameter, plying, and a skein that hangs balanced were at the top of her list. She was thorough, but fair by my standards. After she judged the first class I was in (3 ply, dyed), I thanked her for fifth place and told her I thought she was very spot on with the flaws she noted.

Dark Star (3rd in mixed blend, 2ply), Thistle (5th in the same), Sea Glass (5th in 3 ply, dyed).

Dark Star (3rd in mixed blend, 2ply), Thistle (5th in the same), Sea Glass (5th in 3 ply, dyed).

While I’m happy to have each of my skeins place, especially given the quality of the skeins I was up against, what makes me smile every time I think about it is the shawl. Oh sweet joy! I was a little annoyed that it was displayed purl side out when I came by on Saturday, but I fixed it quickly. Mom was so excited that the shawl did well, and I’m so happy I decided to enter it! The judge said the difference between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd was incredibly hard to differentiate, and I’m honored to be in such good company.

Aeolian Shawl, 3rd place in Class 27, Large Knitted Lace.

Aeolian Shawl, 3rd place in Class 27, Large Knitted Lace.

Now to take glamour shots of the shawl and then pack it away with cedar until it’s time to give it to my mom. I don’t think this shot counts, though it is pretty funny.

Steve, mugging for the camera. He's a tall guy with some amazing monkey arms, and he's still got some shawl left to spread!

Steve, mugging for the camera. He's a tall guy with some amazing monkey arms, and he's still got some shawl left to spread!

Huzzah! Ribbons all ‘round. I’m already thinking about what I’ll knit and spin next year!

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Oct 16 2009

Already?

Category: Festivals — Mistress Rows @ 9:00 pm

Holy smokes, today turned out very differently than I thought it would! But before I go there, here’s something I bet you’ve never seen before:

My dress form, which will display my shawl this weekend.

My dress form, which will display my shawl this weekend.

And another thing:

What's this? It's like Rhinebeck "28 Days Later"! Eeerily empty of the Wooly Horde.

What's this? It's like Rhinebeck "28 Days Later"! Eeerily empty of the Wooly Horde.

I went to drop off my entries at the fair, saw a bunch of great old guild ladies and gents… one thing led to another… next thing I knew I was the scribe for the hand knit judge, Mary!  Yup, I was writing all her comments down as she judged dozens of beautiful entries. Other people wrote for the handspun judge, who was by the way AWESOME, and I was there for hours and hours. Wow, did I learn a lot. In the interest of disclosure, Judge Mary was a different Mary than the Mary I know and love from the guild. I’d never met her before today.

I stood quietly to the side when skeins were judged, and was pleased with how she judged. Most of what I put in was ok, but not stellar. My strongest skein, Dark Star, earned a 3rd place ribbon, the other two got fifth place. She was fair, and her criteria were very reasonable. Much better than last year!

The very last category to be judged in hand knits was the large lace category. I thought I was going to have a heart attack as Mary started making her “also ran” pile and her “keeper” pile. I specifically didn’t tell her what one was mine, I kept silent about it the whole time I was working with her prior to then. So I squirmed and fidgeted several feet away, trying to listen to Don, a friend from the guild, talk to me while listening to her say things like “I don’t like beads on lace” and going over the piece. First she pulled out fifth place… then fourth… then she took a really long time going over the minute differences in quality between first, second, and third… AAAAHHH!!! In the end I took third, and I’m over the moon! I talked with her afterward and she was happy that I’d created something so elegant. When I told her that I almost hadn’t entered it because I thought it wasn’t good enough she scolded me. Just goes to show, you never know.

Mary, judging Mr. & Mrs. Fish mittens. Notice Mr. Fish's moustachio!

Mary, judging Mr. & Mrs. Fish mittens. Notice Mr. Fish's moustachio!

Now that I can breathe again… I’m having a WOOL meetup on Saturday for attendees, past and most recently. If you’re interested, meet me by the green picnic tables by Building A at 12:00, I’d love to see you! I know there are quite a few of you who really hit it off with fellow WOOL gals, this will be your last chance to see some of them until next year. And hey, if you’re a blog reader, why don’t you stop by too? Some of you I’ve never met, and I really do enjoy meeting great fiber people.

Please don’t be shy, if you see me walking around and would like to say hi, do it! I’m very friendly, and unless you’re covered in dark chocolate, I don’t bite. I’ll be wearing a brown coat with dark brown “fur” cuffs and collar, my black Maja as a thick scarf, and maybe a quickly whipped up dark brown headband to keep my ears warm. I’ll see you tomorrow!

By the way, this is what love looks like.

Steve helping me pin the shawl for the THIRD TIME.

Steve helping me pin the shawl for the THIRD TIME.

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Oct 15 2009

Praise Laneus

Category: Festivals,Spinning — Mistress Rows @ 5:30 pm

Lady Laneus*, the Knitting Goddess, in all her wisdom, has arranged a feat of meteorological might that will render Rhinebeck miserably damp and cold this weekend. Possibly with a hint of snow. While not uncommon in Upstate New York, as evidenced by the infamous Nor’Easter of October ’85 (?), this is actually very fortuitous for me. How so? There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I would have been warm enough wearing my soon-to-be Tilt sweater as outerwear this weekend, I would have frozen my ass off. The sweater I was giving myself tendonitis trying to knit would have been hidden underneath one of my winter coats. Maja, however, makes a fabulous bulky neck-wrap, and since it’s the border that steals the show, none of her glory will be lost.

Thank you, Lady Laneus! You are gracious in your quirky Providence, and all things wooly and lovely.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be throwing my competition bag in the car, along with the top of my dress dummy, in preparation to drop off my offerings to the fickle whims of judges unknown. I have three skeins of yarn tagged and presentable, and tonight we will block mom’s wedding shawl (again) so that it can compete too. Every time I look at it I see more unevenness and little flaws, so I’m just going to stop looking at it as much as possible until it’s safely back in my hands. Winner or not. The dress dummy is going along with it in the hopes that they’ll let me use it as part of how it’s displayed.

Sea Glass, Thistle, & Dark Star.

Sea Glass, Thistle, & Dark Star.

I have that fine hum all over me that presages Rhinebeck, it happens every single year. If you put a saucer and cup in my hand I swear they would buzz. So much to anticipate, so much to see and do! So many friendly faces to (hopefully) encounter, and so much temptation to resist. What’s a girl to do but channel it into some seriously lovely fiber spun seriously fine?

100% BFL, "Saturn", dyed by Carolyn of Seekay Craft. Like buttah.

100% BFL, "Saturn", dyed by Carolyn of Seekay Craft. Like buttah.

* I made that up, but feel free to light a candle the next time you’re THIS CLOSE to running out of yarn for a sweater in a discontinued yarn, or you’re trying to finish a superfine batch of spinning without losing your mind. You never know.

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Sep 18 2009

Vending: 2009 Jersey Sheep & Wool

Category: Bittersweet,Festivals,Vending — Mistress Rows @ 6:25 pm

Well, I’m back from my vending trip to Jersey, followed the day I got home with a business trip for almost an entire week to DC. I’m going to have to take this chronologically, and may even have to break it down or shuffle of quite a few photos to a Picasa album, otherwise there’s just no way I’ll get it all up here. So let’s start with Jersey, ok? Ok.

Thanks in large part to my Garmin, I got to Carolyn’s house in good time, with zero problems. Carolyn is such a fantastic hostess, she cooked me fish with spinach and garlic potatoes, healthy AND tasty. Not the least of what I’m grateful for is that she introduced me to Glee. Seriously people, watch it. It really is as good as the hype. I had a great evening, part of which was spent casting on for my first toe up sock since I learned to knit socks all those many moons ago. Not nearly as fiddly as I feared/remembered.

Peacock sock.

Peacock sock in my new sock yarn.

Unfortunately, sleeping in a strange place had me up at 4 a.m. Yes. FOUR O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING. Argh. Alas, no more sleep for me. We got ourselves ready, packed, and were on the road by 6 a.m. The fairgrounds were roughly an hour and a half away, but don’t think for a minute that we ended up getting there any earlier than 8:30. With a stop to Wegmans for lunch fixings (heaven on earth), and figuring out how to get an address-less address into the Garmin, it was all we could do to get there before the place opened at 9. With much help from one of Jessica’s minions, Sairy, we tamed the cubes of doom and were set up in time.

Early. Really, really early.

Early. Really, really early.

Not that “in time” meant much. The weather was poor, the foot traffic dismal… and yet, it was the better sales day of the two! Sunday was lovely, but much, much slower sales and attendance wise. Strangely, I did very well! Despite having much less stock than I thought, despite the poor weather and attendance, people were really enthusiastic about the yarn and roving! I kept a careful list and the final tally was 2/3’s of the stock I brought with me sold, not counting the two skeins I traded away for fantastic show mate product. One woman even tried to buy the third “defective” (knotty) skein of three I dyed in the Peacock colorway, but I’d used that one to cast on my sock with so I could show off the look and feel of my yarn.

Tada! Set up and ready to sell.

Tada! Set up and ready to sell.

Merry Minions!

Merry Minions!

My first customer!

My first customer!

I found that I quickly fell into a short spiel for what my new dyeing vision is, and it was easily understood (and very well received) by the fairgoers. I am creating yarn that provides you with options instead of taking them away. Sweet, simple, and effective. People got it! It’s not boring yarn, it’s not flat like a solid. It’s rich and subtle. Some of it is more strongly tonal than others due to the vagaries of kettle dyeing, but you still have more options than you do with most of the hand dyed yarn out there. I know I’m not unique in this path, but it is a relatively small percentage of the market. Before I’d even arrived home from DC I had an email order, which (let me tell you) is very affirming. I’ve got a long way to go, and a lot of work to do, but I believe I’m on the right track.

Yay!

Yay!

I forget how much I enjoy interacting with customers, who are really just people when it comes down to it. People I can do, no problem! It helps when they’re excited to be there, and excited about your product. Speaking of product, Jess’s bags got a lot of attention and sold well. Carolyn’s roving was incredibly inspirational and richly gorgeous, I brought home more than my fair share and then some. Jessica’s booth was party central, due in no small part to minions Sharon and Sairy backing up her lovely offerings.

Keeping busy between things. Seafoam roving I dyed.

Keeping busy between things. Seafoam roving I dyed.

Having such great booth and show mates was a huge help, both in setting up and watching, and also in morale support. It was a really big step to take, throwing all my eggs in one basket and doing this show ahead of buying a house and my first business trip. I owe a lot to Carolyn for getting me on the path, and for Jessica (who unfortunately couldn’t stay for the show) for sharing her booth space with us.

Carolyn's delicious fiber.

Carolyn's delicious fiber.

And I’d like to finish by thanking everyone who stopped by to say hi, offering words of support and encouragement. You ladies are all awesome. And yes, I mean YOU, blog stalker and groupie Carol from Cummington! Now you’ll have to comment.

Leann and her awesome husband. Check out the hand made man bag!

Leann and her awesome husband. Check out the hand made man bag!

Kim and her friend, whose name I've forgotten.

Kim and her friend, whose name I've forgotten.

Risa and the monkeys. :)

Risa and the monkeys. :)

The next booth over, Chris was awesome!

The next booth over, Chris was awesome!

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Sep 07 2009

Rainbow Blur

Category: Festivals,dyeing — Mistress Rows @ 9:28 am

That’s what this weekend has been. I’ve been dyeing up a storm, but strangely it’s not been a burden in the least. I’ve been having fun. It hasn’t been all roses and chocolate physically, but I’ve been having a lot of fun, and spreading out the work over the course of the days. My fingernails look like Halloween nightmare, my ankles are on fire, but oh how exciting to see all these colors come to be!

Murkwood, 100% Merino Wool

Murkwood, 100% Merino Wool

Shrinking Violoet, 100% Merino Wool

Shrinking Violet, 100% Merino Wool

Berry Bog, 100% Merino Wool

Blush, 100% Merino Wool

Each batch presented it’s own challenges, and unfortunately I ended up with a lot of reds and wines, but they *are* different colors when you see them up close. Red and pink are ghastly on my camera, so if the pictures look a little odd in some of those skeins, you know why. Most of my problem came from wanting to make a light pink and severely underestimating the power of Prochem “Bright Red”. I’d think I’d added just a splash and no, I had another cherry red skein to overdye somehow.

Berrylicious, 100% Merino Wool

Berrylicious, 100% Merino Wool

Sea Glass, 100% Merino Wool

Sea Glass, 100% Merino Wool

Earl Grey, 100% Merino Wool

Earl Grey, 100% Merino Wool

Flamingo, 100% Merino Wool

Flamingo, 100% Merino Wool

I’m extremely pleased with how the dye process turned out. It wasn’t a huge toll on me physically, mostly because it was efficient and almost entirely stress free. From an aesthetic viewpoint I couldn’t be happier, the colors are rich and surprisingly complex. And yet, very few of them are such that you couldn’t knit cables or lace and still see the pattern. Of course not quite as clearly as a solid yarn, but for those that want fun yarn with options… I hope to appeal to that need.

Bluebells, 100% Merino Wool

Bluebells, 100% Merino Wool

Amberleigh, 75/25 Merino/Nylong superwash

Amberleigh, 75/25 Merino/Nylon superwash

Cherry Bomb, 100% Merino Wool (shown open because the color is closest. Red is poison to my camera.)

Cherry Bomb, 100% Merino Wool (shown open because the color is closest. Red is poison to my camera.)

And oh, there’s more, but it’s drying. There’s one more color of sock yarn and then some worsted for those who wish to make accessories and small projects. I dyed at least two skeins of each color. You’ll be seeing a cotton candy pink, fantastic denim blue, a dark terracotta, and a blackish plum.

The thing I’m most nervous about is the roving. I dyed up to colors last night, each pot contained 2 4oz hanks of merino roving. The colors are mottled and lovely, just the way I wanted them to be. My question is, how do I take it from funky rope to fluffy and professional looking top? It’s not felted, though they’re still damp I teased out an end from each and it does draft. But I do need some know how, if you have any to share.

I’ve measured out 4 0z bundles of merino, almost two more pounds worth, and 8 oz of BFL. All are ready to soak and get their makeover. I don’t know if I’ll be able to dye it all up today, but I’ll do my best. There’s a lot of work to do, but I’m doing my best to spread it out. I’ve been reskeining a little bit here and there, not leaving it all for one day’s work last minute. It kills my shoulder after three or four skeins, so that’s about my limit.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m excited now! So, if you’re in Jersey, or just across the border in NY, please consider coming over to the Garden State Sheep Breeders Festival (aka Jersey Sheep & Wool) and visit me and my friends as we ply our wares with hope in our eyes and a friendly smile. I’m willing to be that our booth will be the most fun there.

Oh, and if you could take a second to voice your thoughts on the mini poll at the top of the right sidebar on the blog, I’d really appreciate it. I’m having a little internal dilemma as to the pricing of my products. Etsy was very illuminating, apparently hand dyed sock yarn has really gone up in price, even among little known dyers. I know the all wool sock yarn will definitely be priced at least $20 less than the silky superwash, but I need to figure out how much to charge for that in the first place so I can go from there. Thanks for your help!

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