Search Results for: dye yarn

In a Reverie

Like many knitters, as soon as I feel a chill in the air and the days start to get shorter, I start to daydream of what I like to call my perfect autumn sweater. For me – that means it’s a sweater that is cozy and super soft, it’s longer in length and has a big, billowing cowl neck. If all of the stars alligned and my aesthetic requirements were met, I would also throw in another request: to be made of a light and lofty fiber that is at the same time very warm.

And after much contemplation, I finally found the sweater of my dreams: Francis Revisted by Beth Silverstein.

Now, I have to admit – usually when I have all of the specifics imagined
and planned out, it is almost always close to impossible for that dream
to become a reality. So you can imagine how delighted I was as soon as
Reverie arrived at the Knit Picks headquarters! It definitely met my
light and lofty requirements in addition to being super soft and warm.

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Crochet Crazy!

Ever since Kim and Jenny K taught me to crochet a few weeks ago, I’ve been on a roll! I’ve hardly put the hook down.

I grabbed some scraps of Brava Bulky
in Black, White and Dove Heather and made a few Granny Squares to make a
pillow! The squares are all done and ready to be attached – I’ll just
have to pester Kim again next week to show me how to put them all
together. I’ll sew a pillow base with some of the beautiful fabric from Connecting Threads…

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Book Review of Indie Socks

How many times have you fallen in love with sock yarn skeins that have been hand-dyed by a talented independent artist know as an “Indie-Dyer”. Oftentimes, I am drawn to more than just a couple of skeins. I find myself wanting nearly everything that particular artist makes. I call it the “sensibility” of an artist.

Attending the two Sock Summits that have taken place here in Portland highlighted the concept of sensibility. Think of it as walking through a huge museum of Indie Dyers. Each booth full of yarn and fiber had a definite sense of color and style.

 

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Holla Knits Fall/Winter 2012

Our friends at Holla Knits! have a new collection out!

All of us here were big fans of the first Holla Knits! collection and couldn’t wait to see what Allyson Dykhuizen would come up with next. And we were not disappointed! Once again, the Holla Knits! designers show two different versions of each pattern, one in an indie yarn and one in Knit Picks yarn. We are so excited to be part of these wonderful collections and delighted to be included on their blog tour!

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Am I Regressing?

So all I want to knit at the moment is fingering weight garter stitch scarves:

Does that mean I’m regressing as a Knitter?

Well, in all honestly, they’re not like the garter stitch scarves I made when I was first learning to knit – these all have a unique construction, which makes them much more entertaining to work on. I’ve made all three of these over the past couple of months (and this doesn’t include my Color Affection, also in garter stitch with unique construction that I also finished this summer!).

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Seattle Stitch N’ Pitch 2012

I make no secret of the fact that I love baseball – from April to October, my brain is filled with practically nothing else. While I’ve always liked baseball growing up, it wasn’t until the last couple of years that I became completely obsessed with the sport (living in Boston when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2007 will do that). And since I now live here in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve become a big Seattle Mariners fan as well – I’ve gone to several games at Safeco Field, and I watch as many televised games as I can during the season. But one surprising thing I’ve never done is go to a Stitch N’ Pitch. Well this year I changed that!

This year’s Mariner’s Stitch N’ Pitch was less than a week after our beloved #51 Ichiro ran off to join the New York Yankees. But all us M’s fans were determine to cheer on our team in their game against the Kansas City Royals.

Arriving at Safeco, all the crafters were greeted by The Mitt with a special addition to it:

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Meet Lisa, from Dicentra Studio

A while back, I got to spend the day with Jen, from Hanks in the Hood and learn all about how she makes those goregous spinning batts
of hers! Additionally, Jen was kind enough to take some time to share a
bit about herself, how she got drawn into the wonderful world of fiber,
and her inspiration. And it was awesome! I find it so amazing that so
many different people can connect with something as simple as fiber and
yarn, in such a lovely and inspiring way.

I simply love hearing these stories from everyone I meet. Which is
why I was thrilled when Jen asked if I would like to also spend time
with Lisa from Dicentra Designs! My answer was a resounding yes, the
more – the merrier! I got a chance to sit down with Lisa, an amazing
fiber artist, to chat with her about her love of all things color,
fiber, spinning and of course dyeing. In addition to dyeing her own yarn
line, Dicentra Designs, Lisa also helps Jen, from Hanks in the Hood, with the processing and dyeing of the stunning silk hankies!
And with Lisa’s love for bright and vibrant colors, it’s no wonder that
her color sense is a perfect match for working with Jen’s fearless
color combinations. Just look at all of the amazing colors you’ll find
in the silk hankies from Hanks in the Hood to see for yourself!

To hear more about Lisa’s color inspiration, the process for dyeing the silk hankies, and some of Lisa’s favorite ways of working with silk hankies – be sure to check out Lisa’s video!

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Spinning Angora

As some of you know, I live with a delightful little (well, fairly large) angora rabbit named Linus. He was the little spokes-bunny for our Special Reserve Sugarbunny line
when I first started working here and periodically comes to work with
me here at the office! Every three months I give him a big shave and
wind up with about 2-3 ounces of useable fiber. I’ve had several years
to practice spinning angora fiber and have figured out a few things
about this specific fiber type that I thought I’d share today!

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Color in Spinning

You’re spinning? Isn’t it just too much fun?

Once you are confident with your skills, I know you are going to be happy for years as you feel all sorts of fibers slip through your fingers. But, handspinning isn’t just a tactile experience. Color is a whole other world of spinning. I think it is even more fun because it is a way for you to add your own color preferences to spinning.

Color in Spinning by Deb Menz is a large book but Deb’s lessons make working with color completely approachable. The page sizes and quality paper provide a excellent canvas for the large, colorful, detailed photos.

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Have you any wool?

Why, three bags full in fact!

Actually, I have so much more than that! But I did get those at the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival last weekend!

I can’t really pass up a deal like that – it’s scraps and seconds,
but $6 for 8 oz of fiber is just too good. Unfortunately I must come
across deals like that too often, because I have so, so, so much
spinning fiber that I’m quickly running out of places to put it.

So, obviously knitting is not my only pastime. Spinning is certainly
one of them, and although I wouldn’t consider myself to be a great
spinner, I love the process of watching a big ball of fluff turn into
something wonderful and useable.

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