LavenderSheep's Fiber Garden Blog

Photo Friday: Self Portrait

2012-02-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

40% off all Printed Patterns!

2012-02-16T09:43:00.000-08:00

For the rest of the month of February and through the month of March I have put all printed paper patterns on sale for 40% off! This offer is also good with the buy 4 items and get free shipping! It's quite a bargain if you think about it! I'm starting to do some spring cleaning, so hopefully this will be just the start! I am moving some things onto the Sale page. I'm just thinking if I clear some things out then I will have room for some nice new things! So make sure to check out the page here: http://www.lavendersheep.com/shop.html

Workshop Wednesdays: Stranded in Your Socks

2012-02-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

I love socks! They are a great way to experiment with a new technique or pattern. That's what Stranded in Your Socks (Saturday, April 21st, 1pm - 4pm) is all about. This class focuses on stranded color knitting to make a sock cuff or tube. If you don't want it to be a sock, it can always be a wristwarmer or a very decorative sample! Mary Scott Huff walks you through the intricacies of stranded colorwork from swatching to starting your very own pair of socks!

Mary Scott Huff is an incredible colorwork designer. Her book The New Stranded Colorwork has been a knitting best seller and her new book, Teach Yourself VISUALLY Color Knitting, is sure to be one as well! She has such a great eye for colorwork and design! I have enjoyed reading her blog, Unravelling, for some time now. Her posts are both witty and insightful. I really enjoy how she intermixes her life with really helpful tutorials on a variety of knitting topics. I am sure her classes are incredible too. I'm so happy to be able to add her to the line up of teachers for this year. In addition to Stranded in Your Socks she is also teaching Eeek! Steeks! which I will cover in a future post!

Mary has also agreed to do a book signing at the Info Booth Sunday morning from 11am - 12pm, with a trunk show for her new book Teach Yourself VISUALLY Color Knitting. Preorders will be available at the Info Booth, too!

For more information, check out Stranded in Your Socks!

Photo Friday: Orange Crayon

2012-02-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

These are my favorite photos he has taken so far.

I really like the orange crayon against the fabric print. It seems so peaceful somehow. I really like how it all comes together.

Workshop Wednesdays: Turkish Drop Spindle

2012-02-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

Last year Turkish Drop Spindle was a huge success! The class filled up and there was a waiting list to get in! I promised this year there would be two sessions and now there are! There is one Saturday Morning and one Sunday Morning. In addition Wanda Jenkins and her husband Ed are going to have a booth in the Marketplace sharing with New Hues Handspuns! I'm so excited to have them as a new edition, their spindles are so beautiful!

What can I say about Wanda? Well, she is an incredible teacher. I have seen her demo Turkish Spindling both at Black Sheep and Sock Summit for what seem like hours on end and never tire out. She always has a smile on her face and a spindle in her hands. After her class last year she came and chatted with me for awhile in my booth and it was loads of fun!

So, what is the benefit of taking her class versus learning from her in the booth? Well I would say the one on one time only a classroom can give. Whenever I see Wanda at a show she has multiple people crowded around her trying to see what she is doing. Her classes are limited to 10 people, by her request, so there is plenty of time for each person to ask questions and learn how to spin. Definitely a big bonus!

For more information, check out: Turkish Drop Spindle (both time slots are listed on that page)

Photo Friday: The keyboard

2012-02-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

As most of you know I have a toddler. My toddler loves to play with my phone, especially the camera part of it. Every so often he actually takes a shot I think is really good. Those shots I will share here:

I have titled this one The Keyboard. He likes to stand next to me on my chair and play with my phone. This is my laptop, taken from the view of a very busy toddler.

Workshop Wednesdays: Kumihimo

2012-02-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

Kumihimo is the beautiful art of braiding yarn. I actually have experience with this. As a girl my grandmother's guild had a lesson in kumihimo. She showed me how to use the little cardboard wheel with the instructions to make a braid. Of course my braid was made from acrylic yarn my grandmother had on hand and not anything as beautiful as the works of art Linda Gettmann makes! She is an incredible and talented artist!

Linda first approached me about teaching a beginning weaving class, which is definitely in the works for 2013! However, I didn't have room for her class this year! So many good classes, so little time, as it were! Well, when Sivia had to drop her class due to a time conflict, Linda was at the top of my list to step in! I contacted her, but it simply isn't possible to teach all there is to know about a rigid heddle loom in 3 hours, so she suggested a class in Kumihimo!

Kumihimo is a quick and easy technique to learn! It uses up little bits of leftover yarn, including those high end specialty yarns! I know I want to use up every bit of silk or cashmere yarn when I get it and this is definitely the way to do it.

What is also great is it works really well with ribbon yarn and other novelties! Linda ordered a couple of small skeins of my handpainted nylon ribbon yarn from the sale bin. These necklaces only take 30 yards, so a small skein works really great! I always have these extras in the sale bin, because the yarn comes in 8 oz skeins, which are never exact. I always have a little leftover skein that I put on sale, because it has less yardage than a normal full skein. This was a quick photo Linda sent me when she was finished. She really liked the yarn and I really like how it turned out! I only wish I had time to take the class as well as setting up my booth and organizing all of the other vendors at the same time! However, you can take this class and learn this really wonderful technique!

For more information check out: Kumihimo Beaded Braid Necklace with Linda Gettmann

2011 Projects

2012-01-30T08:43:00.000-08:00

More catch up! These are all the projects I knit in 2011:

Stitchjones Top-Down Mitts

Blair Cashmerino Socks

Glove Repairs

So that is 2 pairs of mitts, 2 pairs of men's socks, 2 scarves, 2 baby hats, 2 cowls (one baby, one adult), 2 baby sweaters, 3 single mitts, 1 pair of women's socks, 2 single women's socks, 1 glove repair, 1 women's sweater, and 1 felted bag. That's a total of 22 projects for the year. I'm pretty proud, actually, because a lot of my projects are bigger than year's past, such as the men's socks and the women's sweater. I can't wait to see what I knit up in 2012!

Post Holidays

2012-01-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

Wow the last month has been a whirlwind! Blair took off time between Christmas and New Years so we ended up having lots of family time together. It was really nice. Then after New Years we all came down with an annoying but persistent head cold, so that took out another week. We were just getting back on our feet when Blair had MLK jr day off, which was nice. He managed to go to work on Tuesday then for the rest of the week we faced snow, ice, power outages, and all together bad winter weather. Now I have another cold, only this one is in my chest. I am slowly getting things under control. Mostly working on CGFF stuff, followed by winding yarn and dyeing yarn. I'm hoping to catch up while doing all of the Workshop Wednesday posts. I also have some ideas of adding something to Fridays, but we'll see if it works out!

So, to finish off 2011 before starting the new year, I present the mitts I made for my mom for Christmas:

These are the Hood River Top Down Mitts (rav link). I knit them out of the leftover Stitchjones yarn from the Keyhole Scarf I knit her for her birthday. They were a big success! I love this pattern, and yes I am biased because it is one I wrote, but still I really love it. I used up every bit of yarn, so no little ball rolling around in my stash. They ended up being about 4 rnds longer than the short mitts pattern, but that was easy enough. I just made sure to make a note of it when I finished the first, so the second would be the same. They came out perfect and I can't wait to use this pattern again!

Workshop Wednesdays: Portuguese Knitting & More Portuguese Knitting

2012-01-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Knitting was a huge success last year! Portuguese Knitting is a different way of knitting where the yarn goes around the back of the neck or through a Portuguese knitting pin to tension it instead of being tensioned by the hands. For people who suffer from carpal tunnel or arthritis this method can help, since the hands move much less than other methods.

Teri Zipf is an absolute guru on the subject. She even makes her own Portuguese knitting pins! In addition to teaching her Portuguese Knitting class she has added an advanced class for learning lace and colorwork. Between these two class you should be ready to tackle knitting anything in the Portuguese style.

The class was a huge success last year and is already half-way booked for this year! Make sure to sign up before all of the spaces are gone!

For more information on the Portuguese Knitting Class check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/portugueseknitting.html

For more information on More Portuguese Knitting check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/portugueseadv.html

Workshop Wednesdays: Snowdrop Scarf

2012-01-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

Snowdrop Scarf is taught by my good friend Donna Arney. Donna shares a booth with me at all of the shows I do. She is part owner of Gardiner Yarn Works and her and her husband own Plover Designs. Donna is my hero and has saved me more times in the booth than I can count! I love how steady and practical she is. I haven't had the joy of taking a class from her, but I have heard from her students that she is really awesome in the classroom too! She teaches a class once a week at All About Yarn in Tigard, OR. Her class is a help with anything class. She has a following of students who have taken her class for years, going from project to project. Her students are so loyal they even bought yarn back in September from our booth at Oregon Flock & Fiber in anticipation of her class in April!

The class she is teaching is the Snowdrop Scarf class. Donna originally designed this scarf to teach a beginning lace class. It was then added to the Gardiner Yarn Works line and is one of their hottest selling patterns. I have knit the pattern myself as a booth sample and simply loved it. It's very easy and makes a beautiful end result. I had the pattern memorized in no time! The scarf just flew off the needles!

For more info on the class check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/snowdrop.html

Workshop Wednesdays: Knit to Fit

2012-01-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

I wanted to try something to promote classes for the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival. I want to devote Wednesdays to highlighting one of the workshops from the show and the reasons behind why I chose it.

First up is the one and only class Friday morning: Knit to Fit. Friday morning can be a little bit of a difficulty to fill, because most people out of the area have to plan to travel here. However, this class had no difficulty last year filling up, so I felt comfortable putting it in this time slot again. Sarah Keller is the owner of my local yarn shop, Knot Another Hat. You can find me knitting there most Sundays with a group of wonderful people, checking out the new yarn and catching up on all the latest local gossip. Sarah has created a yarn shop like no other. She brings her enthusiasm for yarn and knitting with her when she teaches.

Nichole Reese, Sarah's partner in crime for teaching Knit to Fit, is one of the most technical knitters I have ever met. She will chart out a pattern line by line for her classes if she needs to, just so students get a feel for how it works inside out and backwards. Nichole's background is in accounting, which gives her an eye for detail when teaching any pattern. She has her own pattern line, bluegirl knits. In addition to Knit to Fit she is also teaching Brioche Knitting: It's not a French Bread, which I will touch on later.

As you can imagine these two make a stellar pair in class. They go over the ins and outs of how to make a sweater fit you in all the right ways. I'm sure you will walk away from this class inspired to knit your very own sweater, whether it is your very first, or hopefully, the one that fits you best!

Make sure to check out the Knit to Fit class, Friday, April 20th, 9am - 12pm.

Blair Socks

2011-12-22T17:20:00.000-08:00

My husband loves socks!

Especially warm soft ones. So I finished his Cashmerino socks (rav link) up just in time for Christmas. He has seen them and tried them on, so it is safe to post about them. They ended up using 2 balls of the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK in the main color and less than 1 ball for the contrasting heels and toes. They knitted up super fast on #3US needles. They were such a comfort to knit I actually miss them now they aren't on the needles. I need to cast on for another pair of socks for Blair. He loves them so much and wears them all the time!

Although, I am finishing up my Moonstruck Cardigan. I just have the collar to finish, then it's seaming and blocking. Mmmm...I can't wait to wear it. Then I want to start Christmas stockings for next year (not even going to attempt this year). I also have a baby sweater in mind too, that's uber cute (the peapod one from 60 Baby Knits). I also think I might splurge after Christmas and get yarn for a Swirl Cardigan. My lys is going to run a knit-along, and I really really want to join in on the fun.

I think that's all for now! I hope everyone has a great holiday season!

New! Plover Design Shawl Pins

2011-12-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Christmas, or a little after Christmas Shopping, Plover Designs has released 2 new shawl pin designs:

The first is a simple, but elegant Spiral design. It is shown in Aluminum, but is available in Aluminum or Copper. I can also get it in Silver upon request.

The second is a design they have called Eye. You can see why. It is definitely reminiscent of the Eye of Horus. It makes me think of Stargate, which I really should sit down and watch again sometime soon. Maybe over the holidays. It is also available in Aluminum or Copper, with Silver upon request.

Photos are courtesy of Plover Designs, for which I am very thankful! More photos are available on the website!

The Winner is....

2011-12-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

Teri with her comment: What a great idea, count me in the drawing.

Congratulations! I'll get it in the mail by the end of the week!

If you didn't win, don't worry, I should have something going on for my blogiversary in January. So stay tuned!

Moo

2011-12-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

I got this really good idea for Christmas gifts this year with my toddler. I went to Moo.com made stickers with everyone's faces on them. I plan on putting people's pictures on their Christmas packages. That way X can help hand out gifts without having to read the labels. I think it will be a fun matching game. I'll probably get my mom in on it too. It may end up being a disaster, but I think it will create a lot of laughs in any case. =)

Projects & Holiday Ideas

2011-12-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

I have most of my holiday knitting done. Of course I can't share all of it, just in case, but I can share these two projects:

This first project is knit out of my handspun yarn. It is Merino/Angora. I spun it in college with the idea that I would someday knit it into baby things. Well, that day has come. From this one skein I got a cowl, mitts, and a hat. I have a really awesome idea of adapting it for my yarn and writing up the pattern. So hopefully I'll get to it before my next show. Everything needs to be blocked, but hopefully I will post more about it again soon.

The second project is knit out of Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe in color #002 Cool. It is simply gorgeous! I knit it for my grandmother and it was a very simple pattern. Here goes:

CO 160 sts with a #8US needle.
Row 1: k
Row 2: p
Row 3: k
Row 4: p
Row 5: k

Repeat these rows 12 times all together.

For this width it uses 1/2 ball, which means I have another 1/2 ball I would love to give away to a lucky reader. So if you are interested in making this scarf and want the yarn leave a comment by Sunday night. I will randomly select and post a winner on Monday and get this yarn out to you. If you are a really speedy knitter you might even get it done before Christmas!

Announcements!

2011-12-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

So, I have been working very hard and I have 2 very fun things to announce!

First, Happy December! For the Month of December, enjoy FREE SHIPPING throughout the US and Canada! That includes everything in the shop, even the Sale Bin! Make sure to check it out for all your Holiday shopping needs: http://www.lavendersheep.com/shop.html

Second, I posted up Workshops for the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival. I'm really excited about the selection this year. I'm going to work on a series of posts to highlight each class here on the blog, so stay tuned! I promise more content is coming in the near future. Check out the Workshops here: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops.html

Busy is an Understatement!

2011-11-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged since the 1st! Eeep! I have some good reasons for it.

1. I finished organizing all of the classes for the CGFF. They will be announced in December, and I'm super excited about all of them.

2. I opened up registration for returning vendors, so applications have been pouring in for spots and such. It's been fun trying to fit people in the new space (and the old!). New vendor registration begins December 1st. I have nearly 30 vendors on the list! It looks like a rather nice list too.

3. Something new:

A new little Ellsworth coming in June! It definitely means a lot more time napping and trying to take it easy! Emphasis on the trying part, since I can't sit still for too long! I think nap time might be taking over my blogging time. However, I will try and make a concerted effort to do more of it. =)

Super Superwash Sale!

2011-11-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Happy November! Just in time for the holidays, and most importantly, holiday knitting, I decided to put all Superwash Merino Yarns and Fiber 20% off!

This includes Superwash Sock, Superwash Sport, Superwash Worsted, Superwash Bulky, and Superwash Merino Roving. It also includes custom orders, so if you don't see what you want in the shop, make sure to order it! Thanks!

Moonstruck Cardigan

2011-10-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

I finally had the chance to photograph the Moonstruck Cardigan (rav link) I'm working on. It's so hard to lay out the pieces and get a decent shot. I finished the back while at the coast and decided to pin it together to try it on. Thankfully it fits! I am the same size as Maud here, only definitely not as curvy! So I pinned it all on her and tried to get some decent photos together. It more or less worked. it's not quite that glaring blue, but you get the idea of the shape. I think it will come together very nicely when I finish the sleeves and work on the collar. I'm so excited to finish this sweater before it gets too cold out!

It is knit with one strand of Blue Moon Woobu (Merino/Bamboo) in color Twilight and one strand of Peru dyed by me. I used to carry Peru, which is Alpaca/Merino/Silk, but I never liked how it dyed up. I saved about 2lbs to make a sweater for Blair, but never got around to it. Then Blair told me that he really prefers socks to sweaters, so I reclaimed the yarn for myself. I dyed it blue to go with the Woobu. It is so warm and squishy!

I thought I would also share an awesome trick I just learned for pinning a sweater together. I have seen this often from my friend Jill when she is showing people how to sew a seam together. She uses a long knitting needle and "sews" it along the seam, which holds it together so it can be sewn. I think of it as knitter's basting. I thought this same technique would work very well for trying my sweater on. I used regular coiless safety pins for the shoulders, then carefully "sewed" my side seams together with one of the longer cords of my addi clicks. It doesn't matter what size the needles are as long as they go through the fabric well. After I was finished I simply took the tips off and ta-da, I could try on my sweater!

Vacation

2011-10-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

We are home from a wonderful trip to the beach. I love going in the fall. It seems like a good way to wrap up summer. We definitely needed the break! Here are some photos from our trip:

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. This is the view from our hotel room.

Here is a closer view (both above and below) with my new macro lense Blair got me! I love it!

It was sunny and beautiful most of the time we were there. We even had temps into the mid-70s, which if you know the Oregon Coast then you know how very rare that is, especially in October.

This picture reminds me of my inspiration for my Cannon Beach colorway. I love the Blue/White/Brown combo. I think it might be nice to knit up something for a boy out of it too.

On Wednesday the fog rolled in. It looked so cool! It was so beautiful!

We saw flocks of Sea Gulls. If you click the photo you will see there are two different types of Sea Gulls, which we thought was very interesting.

We also saw lots and lots of Sandpipers. They are so cute! If you look closely you will see they are standing on one foot. I think they put one foot up to stay warm and then they hop around on the other foot in the cold water. It's hilarious!

Pretty pink sunset.

Beautiful sunset over Haystack Rock. A beautiful ending to our trip! We are definitely happy to be home and back to work. We are happy for the break, but also love what we do!

Keyhole Scarf

2011-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, I did finish one quick project. About a month ago my mom showed me this scarf they got in at the shop where she works. The construction was interesting, but it was made out of acrylic yarn. She really wanted one out of a natural fiber, so I found a pattern and knit her one.

It's called a keyhole scarf (rav link). I found quite a few patterns on Ravelry. I decided to go with the free one by Martha Stewart. The pattern was good and very straight forward. I would say my only complaint is that it's too straight forward. It's definitely written for a base beginner with diagrams for every single step. The downside of this is that the pattern which could have been printed on a single page actually takes 3 pages. It is a pretty quick knit. I knit it in under a week. The yarn is also very special to me in that I swapped with a dyer friend of mine for it. It is Stitchjones Dyepot Worsted Superwash Merino in color Harvest Home. I have a bit leftover, so I might find something else to do with it too. I really love the colors and the way it turned out.

Pennant

2011-10-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

This last week has been a tough one. People on the outskirts of my bubble have had most awful things happen to them. They are close enough I would like to reach out to them but in more than one case are far enough away that I'm not quite sure how to go about it. So I am putting my feelings of condolence and love out there into the world with the hope that those who are closer to them are able to give them much comfort in their time of grief. I would share more, but it isn't mine to share.

Instead I am trying to get a bit of work done and by that I mean I am putting things on the website. I'm also knitting a lot, but with the dark grey weather which has rolled in I can't get a decent photo. The latest thing I have put on the website is the Pennant Scarf by Nadine Foster:

Nadine knit this out of one skein of Silky Sock in color Bordeaux. I have it packaged in kits on the website. I'm slowly working on adding kit options to all of the patterns in the shop. I am giving a 10% discount on yarn when you purchase it in a kit, Pennant included. It would make a great holiday gift or a nice luxury for yourself. Even a gift for a loved one who needs a little more comfort this time of year and I'm sure we are all in need of that right now.

More Knits by Others!

2011-10-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

I think I have been on a bit of a Moss kick lately! At least that's what it looks like from the yarn I gave my sample knitters!

This is the Frequency Hat. I love this hat for its bold cables. It actually is a rather quick and stylish knit. That's probably why this is the third one I have had knit up as a booth sample! The yarn is Worsted Wool in color Moss (of course!). This yarn is even on sale this month for $15 per skein. This hat weighs 64 grams, which means that you can knit this hat and have 50 grams leftover for a pair of wristlets or mitts to match! It's a great combination for holiday knitting or just keeping warm as the weather turns colder!

This is the Forest Park Sock, named after the beautiful park in Portland. I love the winding vine which runs up the front of the sock. My friend Jill, who knit this for me, said it's a great pattern and is really easy once you have done the repeat a couple of times. It is knit out of Panda Silk Sock. This yarn is really nice, soft, and durable. The bamboo in it gives it great drape, but also great durability for long lasting socks!

Happy October!

2011-10-01T05:40:00.000-07:00

It's fall and that means getting back to warm wooly projects! With that in mind I thought I would run a little sale through the month of October:

Wool Single and Worsted Wool will be only $15 per 4oz skein! Either of these yarns would look great knit up as hats or scarves. They are your basic go to worsted weight wool, only dyed up in pretty LavenderSheep colors, of course! I have some other fun projects in the works, which I can't wait to share with you!

Oregon Flock & Fiber 2011

2011-09-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

This year's Oregon Flock & Fiber was very exciting. It was great catching up with friends and seeing everyone for the last show of the year (at least for me). Lots of things happened like my friend LoraJean of Knitted Wit asked me to watch her booth while she chased down a shoplifter. She managed to confront the thief and get her yarn back! Way to go LoraJean!

The weather was also really crazy this weekend. On Saturday it was sunny, hot, and muggy. Our booth was right in the sun which made for a slightly uncomfortable day. Then on Sunday it was cold and misty in the morning. Then in the afternoon it turned into a sudden downpour. I got this video of the rain:

From Instant Upload

We could see the sheet of rain as it came towards us. We saw the cloud and thankfully pulled everything into the center of the booth before it came down. It went like this for probably 10-15 minutes then stopped just as abruptly. Then it rained steadily for the rest of the afternoon, stopping just in time for take down. What a huge contrast to the day before! I'm definitely happy to home safe and sound and out of the weather!

Squash Bread

2011-09-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Since the heat wave is finally over I have been back to baking:

I made Squash Bread! I made this from the Sunburst Squash we received in our CSA Box. I used it instead of Zucchini from this Zucchini bread recipe (minus the walnuts). It is very delicious. I can't tell the difference between it and Zucchini, so I call it a success!

On the Needles

2011-09-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have a couple new things on the needles:

This first one is in a bit of a time out. I know it doesn't look like much at the moment because there isn't any way to lay it all out. It is the Bulky Raglan Bolero (Rav link) by Sarah Keller of my lys Knot Another Hat. I am knitting it out of my new Superwash Merino Bulky in color Moss. Now the problem isn't with the pattern (which is excellent) or with my yarn, per se. It's that I somehow thought, even though all patterns state 3-4 skeins of yarn, that I could somehow do it with 2. I quickly figured out that was definitely not the case. So it is in time out until I get more yarn in and have time to dye it up. Personal dyeing time doesn't come that often, unfortunately. Hopefully I'll get it done before it is sunny again, so it can go with my pretty new sun dress.

This is the other project on the needles. I am quite enjoying making these socks for my husband (rav link). They are knit out of the leftover yarn from the Willie Sweater, which is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Dk on #3US. They are squishy soft and so cozy. I have already received confirmation of their excellence from my husband trying on the first one. I am knitting them from the toe up using Judy's magic cast on. I also recently read a post by JC Briar saying that kf-b makes the best toe up socks, so I thought I would try it out. I must say I agree. it is super simple and makes great lines. For the leg I did a simple 3x1 rib followed by my favorite loose bind off, which is k2, sl the 2 sts back to the left needle, k2tog tbl. These socks take one 50 gram ball for the main color and 1/2 a ball for the contrasting heels and toes. So for the pair that's 3 balls of yarn total, which isn't too bad for a man's size 12 foot!

Cuddly Baby Sweater Revisited

2011-09-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited about this new little sweater:

This is the Cuddly Baby Cardi (Rav link). The original version I knit to complement the Aztec Boucle yarn. That yarn has since been discontinued (though I still have some in the sale bin). I love this sweater so much I thought it needed a new sample. The fun part was picking out the colors and putting them together. I chose my Superwash Worsted yarn and knit it out of Sea Turtle for the main color and Columbia River for the contrasting color. The really cool thing is 2 skeins makes 2 sweaters if you switch the colors. I also love picking out buttons. These are from my button stash. I thought they were perfect and even reflect the original name of the sweater which was Cuddly Bear Baby Sweater. This sweater is definitely soft and cuddly like a teddy bear!

If you want to see it in person I will have it in my booth on the lawn at Oregon Flock & Fiber. I hope to see you there!

Baby Firsts

2011-09-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

This week has been fairly busy. I have submitted a pattern idea for a book, sent out all the contracts to the instructors for the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival (yay!), and took the car in for service. No wonder the blog has been a little quiet this week! I promise it will improve.

I thought I would share this with you. It makes me so proud! These are the first balls of yarn my 18 month old wound! Aren't they pretty?

Silk Hanky Mitts

2011-09-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

It has been such a busy summer, what with shows, travel, and fun! I suddenly realized I never posted the finished Silk Hanky Mitts (rav link). So here they are:

The pattern is the Seeded Rib Wristwarmers. One silk hanky makes 3 mitts! Which means with 2 hankies you can get 3 pairs of mitts!

They turned out super soft and lightweight, but sturdy. I had a lot of fun with the process. If you want a look back I did a tutorial on how to turn a silk hanky into spinning fiber or yarn here. The silk was very easy to knit with. Also, if you don't want to sew in any ends overlap the last couple inches of fiber with the next couple inches of fiber. You can knit the ends right in and because the yarn is naturally thick & thin it doesn't show one bit. I was so happy to get through this project and not have to sew in any ends at all!

New! Plover Design Shawl Pins

2011-09-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

Two new Shawl pin designs from Plover!

This first design is an S. Simple, yet stylish. It is available in Copper and Aluminum. If you would like to purchase it in Silver, let me know, I can have it shipped straight to you from the artist himself!

Next up is Design #10. It works the same way as the S, only with an extra squiggle in the middle. It is also available in Aluminum and Copper. Contact me if you want Silver (same as above).

I also had the opportunity to photo all of the shawl pins on shawls outside. One of the biggest questions we get at shows is how they work, and now you can see just that for all of the designs. Of course there isn't a right or wrong way to use the pins, these are just suggestions to get you started!

New Yarn! Superwash Bulky Yarn

2011-08-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, one more new yarn! I have been thinking about a bulky weight superwash yarn for some time. Welcome Superwash Bulky! I am in love with this yarn!

I just had to cast on a bolero with this yarn and I designed socks (below). Bulky makes everything go so much faster! I have a few more ideas for projects to knit out of this fabulous yarn. It is 100% Superwash Merino Wool. Each skein is 4oz (114 grams) and 100 yards.

Here are the Footsy Tiptoe Socks I designed with Spring Fling and contrasting Pear Blossom heels and toes. It uses 1 skein of the main color and 1/2 skein of the contrasting color. Which means you can get 2 pairs of socks out of 3 skeins! I think these would be awesome for quick holiday knitting. They are so squishy and soft! I can't wait to wear mine this fall and winter.

New Yarn! Panda Silk DK

2011-08-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

So, since I decided to take on Panda Silk Sock, I thought it would be fun to add Panda Silk DK at the same time. It has an eerie similarity to Panda Sock, with the exception of having the same blend of 52% Bamboo 43% Superwash Wool and 5% Silk as Panda Silk Sock. It also is a DK weight, which fills in that space between sport and worsted weight yarns.

I already have a plan of knitting the Gordian Twist by Gardiner Yarn Works out of this luscious yarn. I think the two will work out well together. Of course I will keep you posted on progress of this. Hopefully I can get to knitting it before Oregon Flock & Fiber. Panda Silk DK has 4oz (114 grams) and 300 yards per skein, which is ample for the Gordian Twist!

New Yarn! Panda Silk Sock

2011-08-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

A long time ago I used to dye this yarn. Then I had complications getting it from my supplier and I was also dyeing plain Panda Sock, so I decided I wouldn't carry it any more. Then my supplier discontinued Panda Sock, but seems to have an ample supply of Panda Silk Sock, so I am happily going back to dyeing this yarn!

So, what is the difference between Panda Sock and Panda Silk Sock? Well, the lovely addition of 5% silk. Which turns this already lovely yarn into a drapey work of art. This yarn is 52% Bamboo 43% Superwash Wool and 5% Silk. It is a fingering / sock weight and should be knit on #1-3US. It has 100 grams and 400 yards per skein, which is ample for a pair of socks, a scarf, or a small shoulder shawl.

I first introduced this yarn at Sock Summit and it literally flew out the door. Make sure to check it out!

Aquitaine

2011-08-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

New to the shop:

Kits! These are the Aquitaine Beaded Wristwarmers kits by Sivia Harding. This class was offered at the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival last April with much success. To knit these I simply followed Sivia's wonderful pattern and they turned out great! I knit them out of Tencel Sock in color Smokey Rose. Right now I only have 2 kits available, but I am planning on putting together more. The kit page gives you options for purchasing any sock yarn in stock. I can also do custom dyeing if what you want isn't in stock. I really enjoyed making this mitt and I'm sure you will too!

Colorado Yarn Shops

2011-08-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

While in Colorado I visited 4 yarn shops:

Mew Mew's Yarn Shop - This shop was alright, but not really out of the ordinary. It may be I am just spoiled by really nice shops here in Oregon, but this shop wasn't that impressive to me. I felt like the shop was kinda disorganized. I did end up buying 2 Dream in Color patterns which I have been on the lookout for awhile. If this shop had the kits made up I might have been tempted to buy one at the time too.

Shuttles, Spindles, & Skeins - This shop would be my go-to shop if I lived in the area! It was huge and carried just about every kind of commercial yarn imaginable. Not to mention spinning, embroidery, tatting, and weaving supplies. They also had a huge classroom where many notable teachers were on their class list. The store is owned by Maggie Casey, who is a frequent contributor to Interweave publications. As you can imagine they had just about every book, magazine, and past issue of fiber related Interweave publications you could imagine. I restrained myself and only bought a copy of The Intentional Spinner by Judith MacKenzie.

Gypsy Wool - This shop would be my specialty yarn shop. Everything is handpainted, mostly by the owner. She sells a variety of spinning fibers and yarns, as well as embroidery supplies (yes, those are hand dyed too)! I had an excellent chat with the owner about everything from fibers to dyeing and back again. It was very interesting to me to have the added shop aspect to the dyeing experience. I bought from her things which I don't readily dye myself, namely organic cotton and an alpaca boucle. I definitely recommend her shop if you are looking for locally dyed souvenir yarn or beautifully dyed yarns for a reasonable price!

House of Lambspun - We had an extra day before flying out, so we decided to go on a small road trip. About an hour north of Boulder is Fort Collins. If you have read the Knitting Mysteries by Maggie Sefton this shop may sound familiar to you. The books are pretty light fluffy reading, which I think has it's place now and again. The yarn shop in the books (of the same name) was based off of this yarn shop. It was a lot of fun to visit. I really got a feel for what the book was describing. This shop is filled with nooks and crannies everywhere! Every time I thought I had seen everything I would find a new room filled with even more yarn or fiber. A good selection of it is even dyed onsite as described in Dyer Consequences. There was also a group of knitters gathered around a table in one room chatting, getting help, and eating cookies and lemonade. I could definitely feel the homey atmosphere described in Sefton's books. I ended up with roving that is Merino/Alpaca/Silk from them. The only thing I will say about it is all of their specialty fiber is all priced the same, so you pay the same for simple superwash wool as you do for the merino/alpaca/silk, so you can guess why I made the choice I did! The yarn is Merino/Alpaca/Yak and super soft. It looks like it might be handspun, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking something nice and warm and woolly for Blair for winter. I haven't decided what, but it sure will be nice to knit up! Lastly, I found two older Dale of Norway books. I am a huge collector and prefer not to pay the high prices found on ebay, so I was thrilled to find these books to add to my collection for clearance prices!

Overall I had a very fun time in Colorado. There were a couple of other shops I would have loved to visit too. Hopefully on the next trip!

Colorado

2011-08-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

We are home from Colorado! Here are some of the photos I took of the awesome scenery! Click on them to see the whole album!

I'm getting some photos together and then I will have a review of the 4 yarn shops I visited on my trip. Yay!

Someone Else's Knitting part 2

2011-08-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

This is the last project I have to share for awhile, but it is definitely a favorite of mine:

This is Kiwassa knit out of Superwash Sport on size #6US needles in color Purple Blackberry. It only takes one skein! I wore this shawl through all of Sock Summit and got many many compliments on it. I may need to block it again since it got a lot of use during the show. I'm so happy it held up so well. Shoulder shawls seemed to be the fashion thing to wear at Sock Summit. I saw a lot of people wearing them including vendors, teachers and shoppers!

Here is a close up of the shawl pin. It's an Plover Designs Aluminum Bead shawl pin. I wore a similar one throughout the show. It's a great light weight shawl pin. It didn't come out even once during the whole weekend, except when I wanted it to. It got a pretty good workout and still did its job. I love it! I'm now a shawl and shawl pin lover!

Someone Else's Knitting part 1

2011-08-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

I think I mentioned awhile back I have some really awesome friends who are willing to be paid in yarn for knitting samples. So I thought I would share one of those projects today.

This is Ivy. It is knit out of BFL Sock in color Moss. It uses 2 skeins. It was knit by my friend Paula. You can see her notes for it here on Ravelry.

Here is the back. You can really see the Ivy pattern.

Here is a close up of the pattern. Mmm...I just love it.

Lastly, here is the shawl pin I used to hold it all together. This is a Plover Designs Copper Leaf shawl pin. I think the copper stands out really well against the green. Leaves also go with leaves, so definitely a winning combination. Overall I am super happy with this project. You can see it in person at Oregon Flock & Fiber at the end of September!

Socks After Sock Summit

2011-08-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

Right before Sock Summit I went on a bit of a sock knitting kick. I whipped out a pair for a friend's birthday as a test knit for a pattern I am writing and finished off a pair for my husband.

This is the test knit pair for a friend (rav link). They are knit out of Cascade 128 Superwash Chunky in color #845 Denim. I knit these up in just a couple of days. They were a lot of fun and used less than 1 ball of yarn. I'll definitely have more to say about the pattern later when I get it all together.

These are the socks for my husband (rav link). I finished them just about 3 years to the day. He has size 12 feet, which means sock knitting is very slow going on #2US needles. I think the next pair I knit for him will be out of much chunkier yarn. This yarn, which was a dream to knit with, is Alpaca Sox in color #1875. The pattern I made up myself. It uses a garter rib, which helped to hold my interest when I actually was knitting on them.

Note: I will be out of town this week, so any orders placed now through Friday will be shipped on Monday. Thank you for your understanding!

Sock Summit Classes

2011-08-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

I took 4 incredible classes at Sock Summit. Here are the highlights from each:

1. Chroma Zone with Tina Newton: In this class Tina walked through her process of dyeing yarn. It gave me a lot of food for thought on how I might grow my business in the future. I will definitely think about her class for many months to come.

2. The Deeper Meaning of Socks with Anna Zillborg: A philosophical look behind knitting and socks.

3. Fleece for your Feet with Judith McKenzie: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee said it best in her introduction of Judith for the class: this woman knows more about sheep than everyone in Sock Summit put together. This was an in depth look at the properties of different wool and their uses for footwear. Some day I would love to take a much longer class with her. I bet it would be amazing!

4. Perfect Buttonholes with Anna Zillborg: This class was on a totally ingenious way to make buttonholes. The best way I can describe it is a turned hem with kitchener stitch. If you have the chance, definitely take this class, it was very fascinating.

I really loved having the opportunity to take classes this time. It made Sock Summit that much more amazing. I definitely plan on taking classes again next time!

Sock Summit Highlights

2011-08-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

Sock Summit was incredible this year! I had a blast! It's actually hard to go back to regular life after all the excitement of the weekend.

Here is our booth! We had so much fun getting out all of the Gardiner Yarn Works samples and hanging them up. We really liked how the booth came together this time. Every time is a learning experience and this was no exception.

I had many many fun moments, including classes and visiting with people. This photo is a total fan girl moment for us. From left to right is Gordon Lendrum (maker of Lendrum spinning wheels), Colleen (Donna of Plover Design's wonderful and most helpful sister), me, and Judith MacKenzie. Kirsten (another wonderful helper) took the photo. Our booth was right across from them, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to sheepishly ask for a photo.

Hummingbirds

2011-07-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

I am so excited because we finally put up a couple of bird feeders. So far we haven't attracted the song birds I hear twittering in the trees, but we have managed to attract a couple of hummingbirds!

They love to perch on what should be the hangers for the seed bird feeders. This one especially likes this spot and will sit there and watch the other hummingbirds fly around before chasing after them.

They just love this hummingbird feeder. I love it too! I found it at Lowes and I think I just might need another one. So far we are getting a couple different ones which we think are Rufous Hummingbirds, or Allen. We have both in the area, so we might just be getting both.

They also like to look in the window at us which gives us a strange feeling of who is really watching who. I have some plans for putting in some hummingbird friendly plants in the future, now that I know they are here and like our feeder.

Bloggable

2011-07-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

So, two major projects I have been working on are now bloggable!

First, I dyed up the yarn for this month's Nellie's Never Enough Sox Club put on by For Yarn's Sake. The yarn is called Peace Rose. It's one of my favorite rose colors, so I was happy to work with Anne to develop this colorway. I was even happier when I found out Judy Becker is the designer. So she has now knit with a skein of my yarn. Yay! I forgot to get a picture of a single skein before delivering it, but you can see the finished sock and a skein of the yarn on For Yarn's Sake's website here.

The other project now bloggable is I am the featured dyer for August on Yarn 4 Socks. Donna chose some very beautiful colors of BFL Sock to feature for this month. You will be able to find the yarn in her shop and she posted an interview with me here.

Now back to work on Sock Summit stuff! If you are going make sure to stop by and say hi, I'll be in booth #604, right behind the information booth!

Free with the Purchase of the Yarn

2011-07-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

For awhile I have been meaning to put both of these patterns up on the website:

First off is the Ribbon Scarf. If you have been to my booth at a show then you have probably seen this scarf. I have sold tons of Ribbon Yarn because this pattern is a freebie with the yarn. It's so fun, fast and easy to knit it up. I also have some real followers who buy yarn from me to make this scarf and sell at craft fairs. I don't mind as long as they keep coming back for more yarn!

The other pattern is a new one I have been meaning to put up since about February. This past few months have just flown by! Anyway, this is the Cloud Cap Cowl I designed this cowl to use exactly one skein of my new Cashmere DK yarn. It is sinfully soft to wear, since it is pure cashmere. I simply love it! It would make a great project for getting a head start on all of your holiday knitting. It's small and portable for summer, but warm and soft for winter. A win-win in my book.

I have a couple more free-patterns-with-yarn currently in the works. Maybe a couple of other projects too. Some you might even see at Sock Summit (booth 604) before they make it onto the website!

Coming & Going

2011-07-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

First off, I am sad to announce another yarn being discontinued:

Aztec Boucle. This yarn is made of organic cotton. It has a soft nubbly texture which is great for babies or next to skin projects. When knitting with it I have thought it would make great washcloths or scrubbies. I have sold a lot of this yarn over the past couple of years, so I was very sad to hear that this yarn will no longer be made. So, I have marked it down and put it all on sale until it is gone. Not much is left, so if you love this yarn as much as I do make sure to get it quick!

Somehow there is always a balance to these things. I just added this new Alpaca Silk lace yarn to the shop. It is 70% Baby Alpaca 30% Silk. It has 100 grams and 874 yards. As you can imagine it is super soft and light and airy. It's perfect for summer knitting those lightweight lace shawls. It's light to knit, but should definitely keep your shoulders warm on cooler evenings. I have dyed it up in a variety of different colors, so there should be plenty to choose from!

Grandma's Perfect Pie Crust

2011-07-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I tend to think of pie crust as a pain in the butt. When I first read recipes for it I was daunted by the instructions and warnings about keeping the butter/shortening cold, using ice water, and keeping the crust perfectly cold the whole time. What a lot of work! So I was mildly surprised when I ran across my grandmother's recipe neatly written on a card. There was no mention of butter or shortening or ice water. In fact it uses oil and milk, which I thought couldn't possibly work. So I tried it out and it makes the most easy, lightweight flaky crust I've ever eaten. I documented my last go of it here:

Simply mix together in a bowl:
2 Cups Flour
dash of sugar
dash of salt
2/3 Cup of Oil - I use Safflower, but another light tasting oil would work just as well.
1/3 Cup of Milk

I use a spoon to mix it all together. I've tried a pastry cutter before, but it tends to get all gummed up and doesn't work as well.

Next, roll it between 2 sheets of wax paper. It usually ends up bigger than the wax paper, so I just tear off those extra bits and put them aside for later.

Then I take off one of the sheets of waxed paper and place the pie crust into the pie dish. I can position it and push it down into the pie dish before I remove the 2nd sheet. I take the 2nd sheet off very carefully making sure to keep the pie crust in place. It doesn't really matter if the crust tears or has holes because those can be patched with the extra crust from around the edges.

I tear off the extra bits of pie crust around the edges, patch any holes, then go around the edges shaping the dough edge with my fingers. It's very fun. Then I fill it with my favorite pie filling. This happens to be a Dutch Apple Pie, made with apples from our CSA box!

Mmm...Hot Apple pie out of oven! It's perfect on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The crust comes out nice and flaky and perfect. It makes me so happy!

And this is what you do with the leftover pie crust! Simply add jelly between two pieces and instant mini pies! I used Oregon Marionberry Jam from Costco. So tasty too! I can say all desserts were well received and disappeared all too quickly!

Black Sheep

2011-07-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

This week has been simply a whirlwind. We got back from Black Sheep on Monday. Our wedding anniversary (9 years yay!) was on Wednesday, then our 10 year class reunion was yesterday. Today we are going to have a few friends over for a BBQ for the 4th then go watch the fireworks. I think tomorrow we will sleep and that's about it! Anyway, I finally have a moment to post about Black Sheep, so I thought I would take advantage of it:

This is my final cast and what I wore for the show. It is a walking cast. I can't exactly get it signed, but I can take it off for showers and things. Which is something I am definitely thankful for. I didn't get out of the booth too much because I am still getting used to the crutches. Hopefully by the time Sock Summit happens I'll either be used to them or will find alternative transportation.

So here is the booth from my vantage point. This is our first year inside. So we had to try out a slightly different way to display everything.

We didn't have quite the same heighth we are used to with the tent, so the displays were much lower. We have some ideas of how to improve this for next year. I love how each show is different and we slightly change things every time! I think we are pretty happy with our new spot, so we should be there from now on.

The other benefit to our spot is it is right down the aisle from Blue Moon and Dicentra, two of my favorite vendors! I had a lot of fun chatting every day with the Blue Moon ladies. I even got to try on the Moonstruck Cardigan, which is definitely on my must knit list for the fall. I now have an idea of what size I need to knit, now to just choose which yarn before I see them again at Sock Summit!

In other news, I have joined Google+. You can find me on their either as Yvonne Ellsworth or through my email address: lavendersheep (at) gmail (dot) com!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! Stay Safe!

Silk Hanky (Muwata) Tutorial

2011-06-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

I am introducing a brand new product, silk hankies, and I thought I would do a quick tutorial on how to work with them, both for spinning and knitting. Here goes:

Silk hankies or Muwata come in squares, which are actually the silk cocoons stretched over a square frame and then layered and layered until they look like this.

When you pull the layers apart it looks like this. This is probably 3 or 4 layers of silk cocoons.

This is what a single layer looks like. It is much easier working with a single layer if you would like a finer yarn. Though it does start out fairly thick, so don't worry you can still get a medium weight yarn this way too.

Next put your fingers through the center of the hanky and pull out until your hands can fit through the center. Continue pulling, making sure to rotate the hanky from time to time to get it as even as possible. The fiber will end up thick and thin in the end, but you still want it as even as possible.

Eventually your hanky will start to look like this. You can go through and tug on areas that are thicker to thin even them out with the rest of the fiber.

If you want to know how thick your fiber is use a Wraps Per Inch (wpi) tool, or if you don't have one, try a ruler. Wrap the fiber around evenly, not too loose, not too tight for at least 2 inches, then divide by 2 to get the wraps per inch. The wraps should lie right next to one another, not scrunched together or with big gaps in between. To figure out what your wpi means I found a chart on Ravelry, or basically:

5 to 6 wpi = Super Bulky

7 = Bulky

8 = Aran

9 = Worsted

11 = DK

12 = Sport

14 = Fingering

16+ = Lace

Continue to stretch the hanky until you reach the desired size for your yarn. This is true whether you are knitting or spinning, because the silk is difficult to draft while spinning, so if you can get it as close as possible to your desired yarn size, then you will have much less difficulty spinning it. Break the circle apart by pulling on it until it breaks, creating 2 ends.

Wind the resulting fiber around a paper card of some kind. I used a business card, but you could also use an index card or other scrap of heavy paper. It is important to wrap it around something smooth which won't catch on the silk. DO NOT wrap it into a ball on itself, because this will make a tangled mess in the middle, which will be very difficult to work with.

If you wish to do all of your hankies at one time, you can continue to wrap them around the card one on top of the other. It can get a little rough on your hands to do it all at one time, so be careful and take breaks as necessary. Also you can stretch one layer of the hanky at a time as you need it for your project. I just got carried away with how much fun it was to see the colors all stretched out.

When you are through you are ready to either spin it into yarn or knit with it. This is the end for the spinning tutorial. The rest is all about knitting. As with any handspun or thick & thin yarn, make sure to knit an ample gauge swatch to see how your yarn behaves. A 4 x 4 swatch should be enough. Depending on your project or your preferences you may wish to block the swatch as well.

This is the end of the tutorial. Next time I'll show you the project I knit out of my silk hankies!

I will have the finished project as well as all of the hankies, while they last, at Black Sheep this weekend! We will be in room 3, booth #39, on the same row as Blue Moon and Dicentra. Make sure to stop by and check them out!

Hurt Foot

2011-06-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here is my current view:

I managed to twist my ankle yesterday and broke a bone in my foot. So I am laid up for a bit. Thankfully I have the most wonderful husband who is going to work from home this week and get us packed up for Black Sheep Gathering. I should hopefully have a hard cast by Wednesday. So if you are going to Black Sheep, make sure to stop by the booth and sign my cast! We will be in Room 3, booth #39, on the same row as Blue Moon and Dicentra.

I am thinking I might need to knit some kind of funky sock for over my cast for Sock Summit, if I still have it then!

New! Alpaca / Silk Roving

2011-06-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Introducing a new Roving to the collection:

This fiber is Alpaca/Silk. It is 70% Alpaca 30% Tussah Silk. It is very soft and luscious fiber. It comes in 3 different colors: Newsprint (shown above), Fawn, and Chocolate (shown below). I actually debuted this fiber at the Abernethy Grange Sale, but it all sold out. I just got it back in stock and I am super happy to now have it available in the shop.

I chose not to dye this fiber mainly because it comes in such beautiful natural colors. I love how this shows off the natural beauty of alpaca. Plus adding silk makes it very luxurious. The other reason is these fibers are very delicate. They hold up well by themselves, but I'm not sure they would hold up so well to the dyeing process. So I will happily sell them as themselves and try to keep myself from petting them all day!

Inca Hat

2011-06-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have a project to share with you today, which I didn't knit myself. A few of my friends who work at my lys said they would be willing to knit booth samples for me in exchange for yarn. I was more than happy to agree, so this is the first of them:

This is the Frequency Hat out of Inca Cotton in color Ecru. As is the fate of most samples, the moment I got it in my hands the yarn was discontinued. So I have since put it on sale. I'm really sad to see it go, since it makes such cool things as this hat! It was knit by my friend Destiny. I am having her knit the hat again out of a different yarn, so let's hope this new one will be in a yarn that sticks around! I have a couple of other things being knit as well. I'll make sure to share them as I get them. I definitely have some very talented friends!

Off & On the Needles

2011-06-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I still knit! I think for this week we will have a knitting theme, since last week was cooking. In fact next week I think it might be gardening, since we currently have a crew out turning our jungle of a yard into something far more manageable. Anyway, I finally finished my February Lady Sweater (rav link). I really love it! I knit it out of Malabrigo in color 608 Bijou Blue. Malabrigo, as always, was a joy to knit! This pattern was also a joy to knit! So a perfect matchup there. I might even knit it again someday! The only modification I made, was I didn't like how belled the sleeves looked in the pattern, so I eliminated the 7 sts under the armpit. I wish I had completed just one more increase round and it would fit completely perfect. It fits just fine, so I'm not going to worry about it now. Just a note to myself for next time.

After I got done with my sweater project, I felt a quick hat was in order. I finished this (rav link) up for x for a summer hat. It is knit out of Bee Sweet Bambino Taffy in color 881 Salt Water Taffy. The hat only takes one ball of yarn. The pattern is a free one offered by Knot Another Hat with a purchase of the yarn. It currently isn't on Ravelry, but I'll let you know if it gets posted up on there. I modified the pattern by casting on 90 sts, since X's head is bigger than the newborn size it is written for. It fits him perfectly with plenty of room for him to grow into it. So it should fit him all summer and hopefully next summer as well.

Awhile ago a friend of mine asked if I could repair these gloves, since he had worn holes in several of the fingers. I told him I could just as long as he didn't want them back right away. I managed to find a good matching yarn with Cascade Alpaca Lace in color #1417 Indigo. I tried it single and it wasn't thick enough, so I doubled it. All of the repairs are on #0USs. I'm knitting at a slightly tighter gauge than the gloves. My only concern now is that the repairs will outlive the rest of the glove!

Lastly I have cast on an Entrelac Scarf (rav link) as a booth sample, since Black Sheep Gathering is right around the corner! I am knitting this out of my Wool Singles in color Dragon Fire. I love how it is coming together. Entrelac is so peaceful for me to knit because I'm only working on one little square at a time. I love how bright this is turning out too. I think it will make a lovely booth sample. I may have to borrow it this winter to snuggle around my neck!

In shop news: I have a lot of things to put up on the website. I'll probably post on Twitter as I get them posted up. Twitter and Facebook are the fastest ways to find out when new things are put in the shop, so please feel free to follow or like me on either. I may have some posts here on some of the new things I'm adding to the shop. I have some major fun things I'm bringing on just in time for Black Sheep. So stay tuned!

Lemon Cilantro Chicken

2011-05-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

I didn't get a photo of this, but it was very delicious. To start with neither Blair nor myself are fans of cilantro, so when I found a bunch of it in our CSA box I was at a loss what to do with it. I searched around for recipes and came across one or two that looked alright. I found one for lemon cilantro chicken, but it had some bad reviews because it was too strong. So I decided to make up my own. Here it is:

1/2 cup lemon juice
1 bunch cilantro
2 T Olive Oil
Dash of Penzey's Florida Seasoned Pepper or lemon pepper

3 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 375F (I actually started baking potatoes before I started, so they were finished with the chicken)
Mix together everything but the chicken in a food processor or blender.
Place the chicken breasts in a 9x9 dish
Pour lemon/cilantro mixture over the top.
Bake in the oven at for 25 minutes covered with aluminum foil
Remove foil, bake for an additional 25 minutes.

We had this with baked potatoes and roasted asparagus (which was also from our csa box). The recipe for the roasted asparagus can be found here, though I used Penzey's Florida Pepper on them instead of salt & pepper.

We ate 2 of the chicken breasts the first night. Then on the second night we made a salad out of mixed spring greens (from the csa box), leftover asparagus, leftover chicken, tomato, marinated artichoke hearts, and organic croutons. The dressing we used was the leftover lemon/cilantro mixture that cooked with the chicken. Both meals were very tasty. I could see doing this again when the weather is warmer, since it made such nice light meals.

Spring Garden

2011-05-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been busy for me, but not so much with bloggable stuff. I have been dyeing lots of yarn, so the shop has been filling in. I have been cooking quite a bit, even experimenting with my own recipes, which I might share in another post. I also got my garden in and got pictures. So even though it is raining today you can have a nice sunny look at my veggies:

A Rosemary bush Blair picked out. It will make a nice shrub some day.

Sugar snap peas in the back, pumpkin in the front, and the bare spot I planted potatoes.

Onions on the right and I planted carrot seeds on the left.

Artichokes on far left and far right. Tomatoes in front and bush beans in back. I may end up moving some things as they get bigger.

Lastly a geranium, just because I think they are pretty.

Our yard is fairly disorganized at the moment. We have hired a landscaper to do some work, so hopefully by next year I will have a much nicer place to plant everything. For now I am experimenting with what will grow well here. We get a lot of rain and we have lots of shade from big fir trees. I have asked my mother, an expert gardener, as well as some people at the local garden store about veggies that like shade and lots of water. So far I haven't received much of an answer. I am using the one sunny spot for my veggies this year, but there is still lots of rain. So I'm testing to see which veggies love lots of rain. So far the tomatoes and artichokes seem to love it and are thriving. I would love to hear suggestions for things to try, since this is my experimental year. Thanks!

New! Spring Fling Colorway

2011-05-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

In honor of spring and the first year of the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival, I decided to design a new colorway: Spring Fling!

These are my favorite colors! Sure I am a purple girl all the way, but every spring I am inspired by bright lime green popping up everywhere! So I thought it was fitting to put them together with a little soft white. Above it is pictured in BFL Roving, which is now back in stock! I'm so excited to get this perennial favorite back on the shelves.

Here is Spring Fling in Superwash Sock! I simply love this colorway! (Though I guess I love everyone of my colorways, I just love color!) Somehow it makes me think of crocuses too. It just so embodies spring in so many ways! I love that we also have been getting some sun the past couple of days. Maybe I will get all of my veggies planted soon! I'll make sure to share some pics when everything is in the ground and Spring is truly here!

Experiments with Cream Cheese

2011-05-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

Most mornings for breakfast I have a bagel with cream cheese. For some time I have been kinda sad because I can't find cream cheese without any fillers. Even the organic variety has locust bean gum, which doesn't sound tasty at all. Well I have been listening to Animal Vegetable Miracle and I got to the section where they talk about making homemade cheese. One of the things they mention is how soft cheeses are incredibly easy to make. I was curious enough to do a search and see just how difficult it really was. Turns out it is incredibly simple!

I found a recipe on Mother Earth News, where you simply use a strainer, a towel, a plastic container, and plain yogurt to make cream cheese. Above is my cream cheese making device. I just used a clean hand towel, poured in my yogurt and let it sit over night. The results are below.

My first attempt was with yogurt from our CSA box. The yogurt to start out with was a bit runnier than I'm used to so it was no surprise the cream cheese came out softer than I was expecting. It was also fairly bland in flavor.

Not daunted I tried again with Nancy's Plain Lowfat Yogurt (I plan on trying whole fat yogurt next time). It turned out almost exactly like regular cream cheese! It was more sour than regular cream cheese, so I am going to have to experiment with sweetening it a bit. Maybe with maple syrup or honey for regular bagel use. As a side note, I got a huge tub of yogurt to work with. I measured out my yogurt when I made it. About 3 cups of yogurt makes 2 cups of cream cheese.

I did attempt to make my own yogurt, but it was a bit of a failure. Note: Do not use cast iron to make yogurt, it will turn out awful! I am going to try again and I'll keep you posted.

However, a big success came from making the cream cheese! I made a cheese cake for Mother's Day! It turned out to be the best cheese cake ever. Both my mother and my husband were skeptical, since neither one are fans of cheese cake, but both said it was delicious and had 2nd pieces. As you can imagine it has disappeared, so I don't have a photo. The recipe I used was one from Philadelphia and can be found here. I didn't put the strawberry preserves on top, but will probably make a fresh strawberry sauce for it the next time I make it. It was delicious without it. Also, since I can't eat graham crackers I substituted ginger snaps instead, which turned out perfect!

Getting my Feet back Under Me!

2011-05-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

I think I have just about everything settled from this year's CGFF. Of course where it ends it just starts all over again, in a good way, of course. Now there are all the possibilities of next year's show. Starting with planning classes and making all the improvements learned from this year's show, so next year will go even better.

Above is a bit of fiber acquisition from the show. On the left is a set of pygora samples from Rainbow Farms Pygora. On the right is 2oz of Merino/Cashmere/Silk from Abstract Fiber. There were so many pretty things in the market. I only wish I had a bit more time to go shopping! Thankfully Black Sheep Gathering is only a little over a month away! I'm so excited because we are going to be inside this year! We will be in Building 3, booth #39. I'm not sure what that means yet or who our neighbors will be, but I'm sure looking forward to finding out!

Happy May!

2011-05-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff going on this month:

First off

Inca Cotton has been discontinued from the mill. This makes me super sad because it was a very popular yarn. I have made sure to set aside some of it in my stash. I am so going to miss this yarn! It is now on the Sale Page and once it is gone, it's gone!

I also announced awhile back that Panda Sock has also been discontinued. It is on the sale page now as well, for a really good price.

The other thing happening this very next weekend is Maryland Sheep & Wool. Sometime I would love to attend myself, but instead I can only send yarn. Cloverhill Yarn Shop will have my yarn again this year. So, if you are planning on attending, make sure to check them out!

CGFF: Photos

2011-04-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a slideshow of the whole busy weekend:

You can find the whole album here, with captions and people labeled.

Door Prize Winners

2011-04-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

The Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival is over for this year at least. I'm puttering along getting everything back to normal, as it were. It was an incredible learning experience and I have lots of ideas for next year's show. Yes, there is going to be a next year. I thought I would clear on thing up and announce the door prize winners here on the blog:

I have emailed the winners who provided email addresses. Everything is labeled and ready to ship so winners should see their prize in the next few days. And here are the winners:
Dicentra Designs donated a whole stack of Mt Colors patterns so those were added to several of the other prizes.

Kathee Nelson Art Yarn donated a skein of Lamb Silk - 50/50 SW Merino/Silk in Color Summer Begonia + Mt Colors Ripple Socks Won by: Marilyn Smith of Washougal,WA
Alpha B donated a skein of BFF B Sock in Color Budou + Mt Colors Fish Ladder Socks Won by: Shelly Watson of Portland, OR
Sincere Sheep donated a skein of Tenacious Fingering Yarn in Color Anura + Mt Colors Kathy’s Socks Won by: Deloris Conrad of Estacada, OR
Three Fates Yarns donated a skein of Eponymous in color Think Mint + Mt Colors Diana’s Trail Socks Won by: Debbi Stone of Hillsboro, OR
Abstract Fiber donated a skein of Mighty Sock in color Sweet Pea + Mt Colors Kathy Socks Won by: Elaine Biggs of Vancouver, WA
Abstract Fiber donated Polwarth 4oz in color Vineyard Won by: Thom Myers of Redmond, OR
Pico Accuardi Dyeworks donated a skein of Louie Love in color Blueberry Hill + Mt Colors Cashmere Fingerless Gloves & Scarf Won by:Janine Vuylsteke of Forest Grove, OR
In the Buff donated 1oz of German Angora Won by: Joan Benedict of Hood River, OR
Star Eagle Fiber donated Handpainted SW Merino 4oz Won by: Cindy Marasco of The Dalles, OR
New Hue Handspun donated Bam Huey Fiber 3oz in color Agean Sea Won by: Brooke Sinnes of Napa, CA
Knitted Wit donated a Cupcake Kit Won by: Sheryl Ramm of Edmonds, WA
Stitchjones donated a skein of Crinkle Worsted in color Jollygreen + Mt Colors Patt Won by: Laurie Weinsoft of Portland, OR
LavenderSheep donated a Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival Project Bag + Merino Silk Lace in color Berry Pie + Mt Colors Feather & Fan Shawl Won by: Cheriti Watts of Portland, OR
Leave Only Footprints Fiber Arts donated a set of Stitch Markers + Mt Colors Patterns Won by: Jan Jaqua of Sandy, OR
Plover Designs donate an Aluminum Leaf Shawl Pin & Mt Colors Patterns Won by: Janet Anderson of Vancouver, WA
Textiles A Mano donated a Skacel Sock Kit Won by: Beth Webber of Portland, OR
Textiles A Mano donated a Skacel Sock Kit Won by: Carol LePage of Forest Grove, OR
Textiles A Mano donated a Skacel Sock Kit Won by: Tiffany Cook of Portland, OR
Textiles A Mano donated The Knitter’s Year Book by Debbie Bliss Won by: Lynn Fike of Vancouver, WA
Dicentra Designs donated 50% Merino 50% Cultivated Silk - 2oz in color Don Quixote Won by: Lois Johnson of Stanfield, OR
Dicentra Designs donated a selection of Mt Colors Patterns Won by: Susan Place of Cascade Locks, OR
Dicentra Designs donated a selection of Mt Colors Patterns Won by: Jaymi Osbar of Lenore, ID
bluegirl knits donated 2 Patterns - Machu Picchu & Wayna Picchu Earflap Hat patterns Won by: Melanie Thompson of Hood River, OR
Gardiner Yarn Works donated a signed copy of Toe-Up! By Chrissy Gardiner Won by: Joanne Fish of Beaverton, OR
Spindlewood Co donated a Knitting Bag by The Bag Lady and a Rosewood Nostepinne Won by: Michelle Adams of Carson, WA
Rainbow Farms Pygora donated a Sample set of Pygora fiber - 1oz Won by: Deborah Hucke of The Dalles, OR
Crystal Creek Fibers donated a Fiber Varieties Basket, including samples of Angelina and Silk. Won by: Rick Swayngim of The Dalles, OR
Lantern Moon donated a Basket of goodies including needles, silk bags, and more. Valued at over $300. Won by Nancy Roach of Hood River, OR

A big thank you to all of the companies who donated prizes for this event. It definitely added some extra fun to the show!

Counting Down

2011-04-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

I am down to the last couple of days before the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival! What an experience it has been so far! I'm sure I won't get to blog again before it is over, so I thought I would give a little peek at two new yarns appearing at the show:

First this is the Cashmere DK. It is a limited edition because I have only been able to procure 20 skeins of it. After it is gone it will be replaced with a cashmere silk blend. It is 100% cashmere. Recommended needle: 5-7US. All of the available skeins are on the website and will be at the CGFF!

The other yarn is Angora Lace. Unbelievably soft and fuzzy! People I have shown it to have had a hard time putting it down. It is 100% angora. Recommended needles: 0-2US. Thankfully it hasn't been discontinued, so it should be around for a long long time! All colors available in the shop and at the CGFF!

Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival

2011-04-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

Happy April!

The CGFF is only 2 weeks away! I'm super excited and a bit nervous to see it all come together! I have all sorts of fun things planned for this year and even some ideas for next year! Make sure to check it out April 15-17 at the Hood River Inn, Hood River, Oregon!

Sweater & Sock

2011-03-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

I figure at the current rate I am going I am never going to catch up on all the knitting I have been doing, among other things! So today is a twofer!

First up, I finished the Willie Sweater (Rav link). I was short 2 buttons from my stash, so a quick trip to the Button Emporium and I was on my way. I love this sweater! It is super cute on X. He wears it all the time! I especially love the added ear, which I ended up tacking down to keep it laying flat. I definitely plan on knitting another one of these in a bigger size when X grows out of it. I knit it out of Debbie Bliss DK, doubled to make the chunky weight. The colors I used were 041-Dusky Blue, 019-Petrol Blue, and 021-Chocolate Brown.

The second project I finished is another booth sample. This is the Cabled Lace Sock by Gardiner Yarn Works. I knit it out of my new Cashmere Blend Sock Yarn in color Summer Sky. What I love about this yarn is the cashmere makes it feel super soft and the added nylon makes it feel super strong. I know these socks would stand up to a lot of wear! I also love the stitch definition this yarn has. I definitely plan on knitting more things out of it. I can see where it would be wonderful for baby clothes or a scarf/shawl.

Thumbs Up!

2011-03-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

I finished a sample for my Hood River Top Down Mitts before we headed to the coast. As you can see I am catching up on all my knitted things!

I love this pattern and this yarn. I knit out of Superwash Worsted in color Mountain Sunset. One skein will make a lovely pair of mitts up past your elbow! I will also say that they are very toasty warm and comfortable.

I thought I would also take a moment and discuss the thumb. I have noticed a couple of comments about the thumb on Ravelry and I thought I would address them here. In order to do the thumb from the top down you have to cast-on stitches to make the hole for the thumb. In my pattern I recommend using a backwards loop cast on, but if you are more comfortable using a cable or knit-on cast on, then by all means do so!

There is also one other way to do the thumb. I read that some people like to have a longer thumb. I like a shorter thumb, so this wasn't an issue for me. However if you like have a longer thumb, the solution is simple. Use a provisional cast on for the cast on for the thumb. Then when you are finished with the mitts go back and take out the provisional cast on and knit in pattern for a few rounds, until it is as long as you like. I recommend picking up a stitch or two from the hand to avoid any gaps where the thumb and hand meet.

Also, as with any of the patterns I design or sell, please feel free to email me if there is a question or a problem with a pattern. I am more than happy to help with any issue.

Belmont Bag

2011-03-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Introducing a new pattern, by me! This is the Belmont bag (rav link):

It is named after one of the major streets in Hood River, because this bag is on the go. It's very cute and perfect for a tablet or favorite book. Finished size is 8" x 10", which can vary a little due to the felting process. First the handle is knit separate and then the bag is knit all in one handy dandy piece.

While we were at the coast I was able to get some photos taken with it. The yarn is held double, which makes knitting it super fast and fun! The bag only uses 1 skein of Worsted Wool. It is $5 for the pattern or FREE with a purchase of the yarn.

I will also have it on display at the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival, which is coming up very soon. Less than a month to go!

On the Road...

2011-03-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have been fairly busy lately what with the Portland Yarn Crawl and last weekend's Abernethy Grange Sale. So I thought I would combine both events into one big post as a start to everything I have to catch up on!

This first yarn is from Wynona Studios. I went with my cousin on Friday of the Portland Yarn Crawl and we visited Wynona and Pico Accuardi Dyeworks. Neither of us had been to Wynona Studios before, so it was fairly interesting. Mostly they rent out equipment for people to use at the shop, like looms and sewing machines. They also sell recycled yarn, like this beautiful 100% cashmere yarn above. There is around 550 yards of DK weight cashmere and it cost me only $13!!! I chose the white because, of course, I can dye it any color I choose. Now to decide what to make with it!

On Sunday I went and spent the day hanging out with Donna and Colin of Plover Designs at For Yarn's Sake. Of course when you sit me next to the Madelintosh and Malabrigo Sock yarn all day I have to come home with something, it's just too tempting! I have no idea what these will be either, but they will be something pretty. I think the Madelintosh (the green on the bottom) will probably end up being a scarf or something since it is a single ply. I'm thinking the Malabrigo (the pink on the top) might be a pair of socks or maybe a baby something for the next person I know having a girl.

This is pretty much what the setup looked like for both locations. Blair is only sitting there temporarily to check his phone. The guys hung out doing fun guy things like visiting the lego store and fry's electronics while I sold my wares. This is actually at Abernethy Grange. I'm happy this show is back and hopefully by next year it will draw in the crowds again.

Now we are down to the last few weeks before the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival! I am busy busy busy with last minute details, but I'm having loads of fun in the process. Hopefully I will be back soon with knitting and yarn!

Happy Birthday to my Baby!

2011-03-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Today my little guy is a year old! It's amazing it's already been a year since this!

In honor of his birthday we had a little party and I tried out some new recipes. I thought I would share them with you as a little birthday treat. Our friends and party goers have many different dietary needs, so I cooked accordingly. We had pizza made in the bread machine, which was super awesome. Then we had cupcakes. I made Vanilla Cupcakes from Martha Stewart with Billy's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. I only wish I hadn't mixed them as much as the recipe said because they came out a little dense.

Then I made orange cupcakes from the Vanilla Cupcake recipe by adding orange zest, substituting orange flavoring for vanilla flavoring, and substituting 1/2 c of milk and 1/4 c of orange juice for the 3/4 c of milk . For the frosting I made half the recipe and substituted orange flavoring for vanilla flavoring and orange juice for the milk. They came out tasting like orange cream soda, which was very tasty!

I made vegan chocolate cupcakes from this recipe, which is based on a depression era recipe that didn't use eggs to save on money. I substituted the cocoa and sugar for 3/4 c of Penzey's hot chocolate mix (also works with their mint chocolate mix) and 3/4 c of sugar. Then I used this recipe for the frosting. I substituted safflower oil for the vegan butter. I got a bar of 100% cacao for the chocolate part. Because of my diet I can't eat chocolate, but my husband and our guests said they were very delicious. Though probably shouldn't be eaten too late at night because of all of the chocolate!

We have also joined the Hood River Organic CSA, so I will be sharing more recipes with you as we try out new vegetables. I already have a couple of new favorites, which I'll make sure to share with you soon.

I will be at the Abernethy Spring Fiber Sale this Saturday in Oregon City from 10am - 4pm. Make sure to stop by and check out the booth!

To Be Discontinued...

2011-03-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

These past couple of months have been the worst for yarn. There has been a lot of upheaval. Pretty much all of my yarn bases have gone up in price. Some so high I have decided to discontinue them. Such as the Silk Sport yarn, which is a gorgeous 100% silk sport weight yarn. You can now find it all on the sale page. Other yarns have been discontinued before I even was able to bring them on, such as the Cashmere fingering and DK I showed you guys back in January. (I did manage to get 20 skeins of the Cashmere DK before they were gone, I just need to get them dyed up.) It will be replaced by a Cashmere Silk Blend sometime this spring, which I will definitely be looking at once it is available. The latest to meet the chopping block is this yarn:

This post was supposed to be about how much I love this yarn. It is the featured yarn in Chrissy Gardiner's CSK for the month of April. I dyed the colorway specifically for the book. It is named Owen, after Chrissy's son and my friend Lorajean of Knitted Wit's son. It reminds me of comfy jeans and playing in the dirt. I did have plenty to dye up for the CSK. However it means this week I am dyeing up the colorway, which will still be featured in the book, on a couple of different bases, so a new, not discontinued yarn, will be featured in the book. So, if you love the Panda Superwash Sock as much as I do, make sure to buy a skein or 2 from the shop before they are gone!

I'm hoping from here on out everything will even out and go smoothly in my little yarn world! Next Saturday is the Abernethy Spring Sale! I will be there all day from 10am - 4pm! I hope to see you there!

Cannon Beach

2011-03-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

We are back from our vacation to the Oregon Coast. We had a wonderful restful time. I thought I would share a few photos:

Of course it looks very different from the last time we were there in June, instead of February. Still, I love the Oregon Coast. and it's many changing ways. Click on the slideshow to read my captions.

I also had a wonderful time during the Portland Yarn Crawl this past weekend. More about that soon and what I was knitting during the trip!

Interesting...

2011-02-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

I was catching up on blogs while on vacation and I was reading the Blue Moon Blog when I came across their latest post. The part I found very interesting was that they dye their yarn when it is ordered versus keeping it on hand. I can see where it would work because once the yarn is prepared for dyeing it only takes a day or two to dye it, steam it, rinse it, and let it dry. I'm not planning on changing anything I do in the near future, but I thought it was rather interesting to think about. Other dyers out there, what do you think about dyeing to order? Customers, what do you think about a day or 2 wait to ship?

Also, I want to remind everyone that I'll be at For Yarn's Sake with lots of pretty yarn this Sunday, March 6th, for the Portland Yarn Crawl. Hope to see you there!

Going on Vacation

2011-02-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

For some reason this just keeps slipping my mind. We are going on vacation next week. So if you place an order between February 20th - 27th, it won't ship until the 28th. I'll have some internet while we are away, so will answer questions as I have time. I'm planning on lots of knitting time and taking lots of photos! I'll share more when we get back!

Calendar of Events

2011-02-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post up all the events coming up for 2011. It's looking like it will be a pretty busy year:

Portland Yarn Crawl - March 6th

For Yarn's Sake

11679 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway
Beaverton, Oregon 97005

Details

Abernethy Spring Fiber Sale - March 19th

Upstairs, if in the same place as last time

Abernethy Grange, Oregon City, Oregon

Details

Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival - April 15th - 17th

Top of the Stairs

Hood River Inn - Best Western, Hood River, Oregon

Details

Black Sheep Gathering - June 24th - 26th

Hopefully Inside, if not then out on the lawn

Lane County Fairgrounds, Eugene, Oregon

Details

Sock Summit - July 28th - 31st

Listed under Gardiner Yarn Works

Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon

Details

Oregon Flock & Fiber - September 24th - 25th

On the Lawn

Clackamas County Fairgrounds, Canby, Oregon

Details

I will definitely be talking more about each of these events as time gets closer! I hope to see you there!

Spotlight on Birch Scarf Class

2011-02-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

I am very excited about Birch Class. Although there has been a last minute change. Chrissy found there was a conflict with her schedule and this class. So she asked if it would be alright if her business partner Donna Arney stepped in instead. Since I do most, if not all, of my shows with both of them I was happy with the substitution. If you have been to our booth at one of the shows then you probably have met Donna, she is super friendly and can talk to anyone. Donna is an expert knitter, she has designed several patterns for Gardiner Yarn Works including the Frequency Hat and Glendalough Stocking, to name a couple.

The reason I chose this class in the first place is I actually knit this scarf back in April of 2010. It combines entrelac (or quilted knitting) with a simple lace repeat. It was super fun to knit and I knew this would be a great class, because there is so much to learn from it. If you have never knit entrelac before it is a great way to start. If you have knit entrelac then it is a great way to take it to the next level. Chrissy has also promised to show Donna all of her tips and tricks for knitting it. So, make sure you sign up for it today!

Chrissy Gardiner will still be teaching her class on Knitting with Handpainted Yarns on Sunday. She should also be around the booth Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon if you want to stop by and say hi, have her sign her wonderful book or even one of her patterns!

Also on a similar note, the Turkish Drop Spindle Class is full! There is still plenty of room in all of the other classes. They are all up to date on the Workshop Page.

Happy February!

2011-02-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

I have 2 new things to share just in time for Valentines Day!

First is my new Cashmere Blend Sock Yarn. It is 80% Superwash Merino Wool 10% Nylon and 10% Cashmere. I have dyed a few skeins up in happy spring and Valentine friendly colors.

The second new thing is Plover Designs just released a brand new Heart-Shaped Shawl Pin design. I have it for sale in Aluminum, Copper, and Silver. Also now available is a new leaf design which is available in Aluminum, Copper, and Silver.

So if you are looking for ideas for your special Valentine or even a little something for yourself, check out the Shop for more details.

Blue Sky!

2011-01-31T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today is a cold grey day. I even saw a few flakes of snow float by today. So I thought I would post a couple of pictures from a drive I took with my family a couple of weekends ago as just a reminder that sunshine and blue skies are right around the corner:

Mt Hood from the Portland side.

The Columbia Gorge from Crown Point.

It just reminds me again how much I love living here in this beautiful place! I hope that these cheer you up as well and remind you that spring is on its way!

Willie Sweater

2011-01-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

I have been knitting another sweater for X (rav link). I got the yarn for this sweater while I was in Dublin on purpose for knitting this sweater. I love it! The pattern is Willie! by Pamela Wynne. I also think the backstory for this design is super sweet. You can read about it here.

Here is the front.

Here it is all laid out. It is so super cute!!! To make the bigger sizes extra length is added to the dog!

So, I have run into one slight difficulty, which is entirely my own fault. I ran out of the main color of yarn about 2 rows from finishing! I was terribly sad about it, then I tried looking for the yarn. I am doubling Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK to get the bulky weight the sweater calls for. Like I said above I bought the yarn in Dublin. So first I tried looking on Ravelry, and nobody had the yarn even in their stash in the color, which is #041. Then I tried looking at the advertising retailers. I think only 1 had it and they wanted $9 for the yarn. So I went back and looked at the yarn store I bought it from in Dublin, called This is Knit. Doing a little math they wanted 5.99 euro for the yarn, which came out to pretty much the same price as buying it over here. Postage included I got the whole ball for $12.25. This worked out wonderfully since they still had the same dyelot in stock and everything. I think it took about a week to get here.

Oh, and the reason I ran out of yarn is actually 2-fold. First the lady at the shop recommended I buy 4 balls and I somehow thought I would be just fine with 3. The second reason was I added length to it is so it will fit my skinny little guy for an extra long time. I don't know why I didn't connect adding length to needing more yarn. Anyway, the yarn is here (as pictured above) and the super cute sweater will be finished post haste. Of course the weather has decided to reach up to the 50s just as I am finishing this extra warm and snuggly sweater. Hopefully we will get one more snow storm so we can put this sweater to good use!

Spotlight on Aquitaine Beaded Cuffs

2011-01-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a short series on some of the classes I feel are being overlooked for the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival. I feel a particular love of the Aquitaine Beaded Mitts Workshop because I am providing the yarn for the class. For the class you get a full skein of yarn in your choice of 4 colors of my Tencel Sock yarn, plus the beads to make a pair of mitts. The fees for the materials are only $24, which is actually less than purchasing a single skein of yarn from my shop. There is enough yarn in a skein to complete 2 pairs of mitts. So you are getting a real bargain there.

What I also love about this class is working with Sivia Harding. I have had so much fun chatting with her over yarn choices and color choices and bead choices. Believe me, I really wish I could take this class myself. I definitely plan on taking it sometime with her when I'm not managing the show at the same time. There is still lots of space in this class, so take a look at it and if you haven't already, go and sign up!

I also wanted to post on here some rather sad news. In case you haven't already heard about it, Mary Scott-Huff had the sweaters from her latest book stolen out of her car along with the gifts for her daughter's 12th birthday. Please take the time to read her blog post and keep an eye out for the sweaters she lost!

Brightening things up!

2011-01-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

It isn't spring around here yet. I have been feeling the winter blues a bit, so I thought I would change up the website a bit. Now in brighter, more springy purples I present the new shop and website: http://www.lavendersheep.com/shop.html

Let me know what you think! Also, if any pages look odd, let me know about those too. I think I got everything, it's always possible I missed something.

Cable Sweater

2011-01-19T18:55:00.000-08:00

I finished up one project on New Year's Eve.

This is the Provence Cable Sweater by Classic Elite (Rav link). The pattern is free and available online. The yarn I used was Regia Tweed 6-ply in color 32. I started this when we went to Dublin so X would have an Aran sweater of sorts to commemorate the trip. It isn't exactly Aran, but cabled is close enough in my book. It hasn't been blocked yet, but he has worn it outside the house. The only thing I wish is I had made it a little bit longer so he could wear it longer.

And the Winner is...

2011-01-17T18:21:00.000-08:00

Actually before I get to that part I thought I would announce a brand new Limited Edition yarn:

I got a few skeins of this luscious yarn and I have decided to dye it up and offer it as a limited edition. I can't get any more from the mill, so when it is gone, it's gone. It is 65% Merino Wool 35% Silk. It is a light fingering weight yarn, perfect for scarves and shawls. It has 100g and 635 yards. All of colors are available here! I love it!

So the winner is....Tammy of Lavendar Knits!!! I'll be sending her a skein of the Limited Edition Merino Silk Lace, she can take her pick from all of the skeins available. I'm also sending a copy of Gardiner Yarn Work's Amethyst Wrap pattern, which I think is a perfect match for the yarn!

Happy Blogiversary!

2011-01-13T01:13:00.000-08:00

Yay! Today is my blogiversary! The blog is 5 years old today! Check out my very first post back in 2006! Boy have things come a long way since then!

After that come back and join the contest! Check out the past 2 posts to see the new yarns. There was one on Monday and Tuesday! Then vote for your favorite! All of them are coming sometime in 2011, so stay tuned! Also you only need to leave your name and email address if you want to be included for a drawing for something special! A winner will be drawn on Sunday!

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Soft Around the Edges...

2011-01-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of yarns coming soon!

The third yarn I would like to introduce is Pure Cash Fingering. It is 100% Long Staple Cashmere. Like the DK version the long staple means this yarn will have minimal pilling. A real plus for any cashmere yarn. The skeins are 50 grams and 218 yards long. Recommended needle size: 1-3US. Retail price: $40/skein.

The last yarn I would like to introduce is Angora Lace or what I like to call Angel yarn partly because of how soft it is and also because of the ANG from angora followed by L from lace. It is 100% long staple angora. This also means little to no pilling and little to no shedding. I have put it through the rigors of dyeing and reskeining and so far it hasn't shed little hairs into the air at all. I love it! This yarn is super soft and has a soft light halo. I would say because of the halo that I would recommend a 1-3US needle to knit with it. The skeins are 50 grams and 437 yards. Retail price: $25/skein.

I also have 2 other yarns I am going to introduce in the near future as well. I just haven't had time to dye them up yet. I am very excited about all of my new additions. It's so much fun to play with new yarn. Class registration has also been going well for the CGFF. So far all of the classes seem to be filling up fairly evenly. There is still room in all of the classes, so if you have been waiting to sign up, now is the time to do it!

Let's Get this Party Started...

2011-01-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

Every year I like to do a little something special for my blogiversary, which is January 13th. I like to hold a little contest of some sort and hand out prizes. This year I have decided to give a little sneak peak into some ultra-soft luxury yarns I am adding to the collection and having you vote for your favorites. I'll introduce 2 today and 2 in the next couple of days. Voting will begin on Thursday for your favorite!

First up is Baby Alpaca Silk Lace. It is 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk. The skeins are 100 grams and 874 yards. Needle size 1US or smaller. It is dyed up in Smokey Rose. Retail price will be $32/skein.

Second is Cash DK. It is 100% long staple Cashmere, which minimalizes pilling. The skeins are 50 grams and 122 yards. Needle size 5-7US. Retail price: $40/skein.

Stay tuned for 2 more yarns in the next couple of days!

Projects 2010

2011-01-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

Here is the grand list of projects from 2010:

X Earflap Hat & Mitts

Cable Scarf

Beaded Ball Ornament

Snowman Ornament

Totoro & Chibi Ornament

Peas & Carrots Legwarmers

So that is 2 pairs of baby pants, 1 pair of baby socks, 3 baby sweaters, 2 pairs of baby legwarmers, 4 baby hats, 2 scarves, 2 dice bags, 3 pairs of mitts, 1 sweater, 1 hat, 6 ornaments, and 1 baby! That's 27 knitted projects and 1 baby who has become the most wonderful part of my life. I had such a wonderful and fantastic 2010. I hope 2011 is just as good or even better!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

Let's see, I have lots to catch up, but I think I will just try and post the last projects from the last year to wrap up.

First up I knit 2 more Chibi Totoros. A blue one (rav link) for my mom and a brown one (rav link) for her twin sister for Christmas. I still haven't figured out how to do the eyes correctly. I also have no idea why the brown one looks like he is really angry because he doesn't look that way in real life. They were both very appreciated, which makes this knitter very happy. I used the same pattern as the white one I did for our tree.. It's a free pattern on Ravelry. I also used the same yarn, Dale of Norway Baby Ull, only in colors 5701 Pale Blue and 2232 Tan.

The other project I finished was a Red Cthulu dice bag (rav link) for our friend Aaron. He requested one when I made the green one back in September, so I thought I could do it before Christmas. I really like how it turned out and it was a big hit for him as well. The pattern is a free pattern online. I only made one modification and that was to have a round bottom instead of a square one. I posted the modifications on Ravelry, so you can check them out there or leave me a comment and I'll post them there. The yarn I used was Cascade 220 Superwash in colors 815 Black and 1909 Ruby Heather. I don't think it needs to be superwash, but I had some leftover so that's what I used

I also finished a sweater for X last night at 10pm. I haven't had a chance to get a photo of it. In fact today was rather busy with the opening of registration for classes for the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival! There is still plenty of spaces available. So far I'm keeping on top of everything from questions to updating the website as registration notices come in. Make sure to check it out if you haven't already!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

2010-12-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

I think we are going to get it if it keeps snowing like it has been all day today. I have been super busy putting together the shopping cart for classes for the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival. (Sign-ups start January 1st!). I have the coding pretty much done and it has been tested. I tweaked it a bit today, so all it needs is to be tested again and then it should be ready for launch! Oh, and for those curious about time, I am thinking Noon PST January 1st, will be the exact time it goes up!

I have been knitting quite a bit more. Only the weather has been so dark I haven't had a good day to photograph in awhile. So, consider this a warm woolly post and catch up!

First up, I finished this scarf for my grandmother for Christmas. It's been blocked and I simply love it. Knot Another Hat has had this pattern knit up in several different yarns over the years and I have admired it for a long time. Now it's my turn to knit one! The pattern is Cable Scarf #112 by Barbara Selesnick (Rav link). The yarn I used was Alpaca with a Twist Highlander in color #0096. There are pluses and minuses to this yarn. On the one hand it is super soft and tweedy, which I really love. On the other hand I wasn't very happy because there was 1 knot in the first skein and at least 4 knots in the second skein. The only positive was I tried out spit splicing (with water) and it worked perfectly, so at least I didn't have to sew in all of those ends!

Next up I knit up an earflap hat and mitts for X. He is definitely going to put it to good use this winter. The hat actually stays on if I loosely tie the ties under his chin too. The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in color #9862 Tropical Seas. The pattern for the Earflap Hat (Rav Link) is my pattern Mt Hood Earflap Hat, which is knit top-down. I find it easier to fit the hat to the right size if it is knit top down. The mitts (rav link) are an adaption from the free pattern by Susan B Anderson for the Spud & Chloe Blog. I had to size them up a bit since the pattern is for a newborn.

Next I knit Blair (rav link) and X matching Turn-A-Square Hats. This was out of the leftovers from the baby hoody I knit X and a ball of Noro Silk Garden Blair picked out while we were in Dublin. I love this pattern so much! It's simple and has been a favorite for every guy I have knit it for. I did adapt the pattern down to a smaller size (specs are on Ravelry) for X, which was really easy.

Lastly, I knit a pair of mitts for Blair (rav link). These are my Hood River Top-Down Mitts. The yarn is my Superwash Worsted in color Columbia River. I actually started and finished the first one at Oregon Flock & Fiber. I started the 2nd one and then got busy with other things. So it was fun to come back to these and finish them off for the cold weather. Blair has been using them while driving to work and he says they keep his hands nice and toasty for the drive.

Production has also slowed down a bit around here since the counter to my skein winder decided to die. After 4 years the little plastic counter arm became brittle and broke. It took some interesting adventures, but I finally ordered one from Fricke and now I am back in business! Look for some updates in the next couple of days (hopefully!!!). I got quite a bit of roving dyed, since I don't need the counter for that!So they should be posted up soon. That's all for now! Happy Knitting!

Ornaments!

2010-12-10T12:31:00.000-08:00

This year I really wanted to have a soft tree for the baby. One without delicate glass ornaments. Instead have knitted and soft, unbreakable ornaments. I actually came across this idea a couple of years ago from Yarn Pirate, so it isn't 100% original. I have had lots of fun making ornaments, which knit up super fast. Here are the ones I have completed so far:

First up, I received this ornament kit (rav link) from Knot Another Hat at their Holiday Party. It was lots of fun and I enjoyed receiving this little item. It is made from a beaded silk yarn, which was awesome to knit up. Of course X had to add his own touch to it. Does anyone know how to get cookie goobers out of silk?

Next up, I purchased this little kit (rav link) last year. It's the Snowman Ornament from Knit/Purl. It was really fun to knit up. I love how adorable it is. The only change I made was I knit my own tiny i-cord nose for it. I was a little afraid that my little guy would accidentally eat the fimo nose that comes in the kit if it was only glued on. This was a quick and easy fix and I feel confident it will stay on with it being sewn on. Also being pretty high up on the tree will help too!

Lastly, I knit up these little guys. The patterns are both free on ravelry. It doesn't really give a gauge so I knit mine out of Dale of Norway Baby Ull and Addi #1US needles. They are characters from My Neighbor Totoro. I really love how they turned out. I will say that the little guy (rav link) is a really fun adventure to knit. The bigger one (rav link) is more of a pain that requires quite a bit more concentration than the mother of a 9 month old really has. I do want to knit it again and see if it goes easier the second time.

I have a couple other things I want to make up, so we shall see if there is time to complete them this year. If not, I have a feeling I'll have a soft tree for a few more years to come, so I can always make them next year!

I have been super busy working on the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival. If you would like to help me out with a bit of promotion, check out the thread I started on Ravelry here! Thanks!

Happy December!

2010-12-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again!

Time for FREE SHIPPING! This year I am offering FREE SHIPPING to US & Canada only, since majority of my orders are shipped there. Just my way of giving back for the holiday season!

Also, I have another shop announcement. I have decided to increase the price of my Silky Sock to $32 a skein, however the price change won't go into effect until January 1st. So consider this your blog reader discount! I have also decided to lower the price on my Superwash Sport yarn to $20 per skein. Which has already been changed on the website! So go stock up for the holidays!

Dye Your Own Yarn!

2010-11-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

I have put together a little Dye-Your-Own-Yarn Kit!

This is the dye I use everyday for my yarn. It is called One Shot. What makes it so wonderful to work with is you don't have to add anything to the dye other than boiling water. So no vinegar or anything! I love working with it. Each of the kits comes with a set of 1oz bottles of dye in primary colors (blue, yellow, and magenta). Also included is a 1/2 oz bottle of synthrapol (soap) and a skein of yarn of Superwash Sport Yarn. More yarns may be added later. The directions included give a choice of dyeing your yarn a solid color, or (my favorite) rainbow dyeing your yarn! Check them out in the shop! This would make an excellent holiday gift!

New! Copper Leaf Shawl Pin

2010-11-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

Plover Designs has a new shawl pin design out just in time for the holidays:

It's a new copper shawl pin with leaf design! I currently have 3 in stock, so if you want this perfect shawl pin for yourself or the loved one in your life, you should act fast! I hope everyone is having fun gearing up for the Thanksgiving this next week!

Baby Hoody

2010-11-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

I finished something!

I finished this super cute hoody for X. He has already grown out of the smallest size of the Debbie Bliss Hoody (Rav Link). The pattern is from Special Knits: 22 Gorgeous Handknits for Babies and Toddlers. I knit the 2nd size up, but with the 3rd size length. X is long and skinny, so hopefully this hoody will last him a long time. It sure is nice to just slip it on and go. I started it on our flight to Dublin and I finished a couple weeks after we got back, quick and easy. I knit it out of Cascade 220 Superwash Quattro in color #1929 Long Beach.

Hopefully I will be back soon. I have been super busy signing up vendors for the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival!!! There still are a few spaces left, so if you have thought about being a vendor, make sure to get your application in soon! Thanks!

Happy November!

2010-11-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have decided to extend the $10 yarn sale through the end of November!

There is still lots of good yarn available, like this California Poppy Alpaca Lace! The perfect thing to brighten up those rainy fall days. Also lots of yarn good for getting a head start on those holiday projects! I may be adding more over the next few days, so make sure to check it out!

Dublin, Ireland

2010-10-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

I finally got all of our photos together from our trip:

I hope you enjoy looking through them! We had a great trip! We hope to go back again someday! (If you click on the slide show it will take you to the album with captions for each photo)

OFFF & Valencia

2010-10-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am going to get caught up a little at a time. First off, here is the booth at Oregon Flock & Fiber:

As you can see it is packed with lots of yarn and goodies. It was loads of fun, as usual. Only Sunday it poured down rain on us, which is a first for this show. Still it was lots of fun to see everyone and hang out with Donna and Chrissy of Gardiner Yarn Works.

The Thursday before OFFF I finished the Valencia Sweater! Perfect timing since setup was on Friday. This is the front as modeled by Maud. It turned out a little big on me. I probably should have stuck with the smaller size, since the ribbing gives it lots of room. I might just need to knit another one of these to find out! Maud is also sporting the Farmers Market Bag also by Gardiner Yarn Works. A perfect accent to the sweater in my opinion.

The back of the Valencia sweater has another twisting cable pattern, which is much easier than it looks. You can see it puckers a little at the top of the cable. That's because I didn't have enough time to block it before the show. Now that I have washed it that part lays flat. I really loved knitting this sweater. I love that it is all in one piece, including the cap sleeves. The pattern is well written and a joy to knit!

As a reminder, the $10 or less yarn sale extravaganza is still going on in the shop! This includes many favorites including Silky Sock yarn, Twist, Wool Singles, and more! It's perfect for the holidays, which are right around the corner. Make sure you check it out!

Big Fall Sale!

2010-10-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

So while I was traveling I thought a lot about my shop. I have decided to have a big clearance sale. I really want to try out some new yarns and fibers, but that means clearing out some other yarn.

So, I thought it would be awesome to have a huge sale, with big discounts! Select Yarn for $10 or less! Patterns for $1. Plus more stuff! You can check it out on the Sale Page of the Shop!

Also, don't forget if you purchase 4 or more items you get free shipping in the US and Canada! 5 or more items for free shipping everywhere else. This includes sale items and patterns. Enjoy!

Home!

2010-10-17T11:30:00.001-07:00

I'm home! Just to let you guys all know. I'll write more shortly. Just a quick post to say I am back and as soon as I get caught up on some things I'll try posting about what I have been up to!

Oregon Flock & Fiber

2010-09-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Just a little note to say that they moved the food vendors this year off to the side of the lawn. So if you are looking for me I still have a booth on the lawn, only in a slightly different spot. My booth is next to Gardiner Yarn Works, which is next to the picnic tables.

The booth is all setup and I'm super excited to see everyone tomorrow!