Moving On

Life has been busy, busy, busy! To say the least! The shop is finally back open! I'm trying to juggle it all and something has to go and I think it is this blog. I really wish I had more time to write here, but I simply don't. So, here are all the places you can find me instead: 

Ravelry: LavenderSheep

Facebook: Yvonne Ellsworth (Personal and I keep it to people I actually know) and LavenderSheep (all yarn news all the time)

Twitter: @lavendersheep

Pinterest: lavendersheep6

Shop: www.lavendersheep.com

Shop Newsletter: Sign up at lavendersheep.com on the left hand side bar.

Email: lavendersheep (at) gmail (dot) com

Please feel free to contact me, even if it's just to chat. I realize there are people who only follow my blog, so please stay in touch!

Weaving!

Warming Hat & Scarf

So, things have been a bit odd lately. On the one hand I don't have time for things like dyeing yarn, but on the other I have time to knit. So, I thought I would spend that extra knitting time coming up with a new project. That new project is to knit warm things for the local warming shelter. I talked to Sarah of Knot Another Hat and she was totally on board. So, I went to work knitting the perfect man hat and scarf (rav link).

It is large enough to go over the ears or be folded up. I chose Rowan Pure Wool as the yarn, because I wanted the warmth of wool, but also machine washable. This is the hat and scarf I came up with for the project. Two balls make both hat and scarf. It is now available at Knot Another Hat for the project. The shop is collecting hats through December 22nd and is giving $3 in credit for every item donated. The idea is that the Warming Shelter is open all day on Christmas Day and they like to give out gifts to everyone who comes. A hat and scarf set is a wonderful gift to someone who doesn't have a home on Christmas. I have already knit 4 sets and I'm hoping to get one or two more done before the deadline. 

In addition, if you haven't knit stripes (which are optional) or a hat or scarf before I'll be teaching classes on both at Knot Another Hat. Hat class is November 15 & 22. Scarf class is December 6th.

If you aren't local and would like to donate items you can ship them to Knot Another Hat at their new location: 11 Third Street, #103, Hood River, OR 97031.

Spinzilla

Another Spinzilla complete! Can't wait for next year!

LavenderSheep's Fiber Garden is Closed

Dear Customers and Friends:

I am Yvonne's husband, Blair Ellsworth.

I regret that I must inform you that due to a family emergency, LavenderSheep is closed for business for the immediate future. Yvonne has asked me, to the best of my ability, to close LavenderSheep.

Unfortunately I do not have enough information to know if this will be temporary or permanent closure. Please read on for what information I can provide you at this time.

Oustanding Orders

At this time I cannot say for certain how existing orders will be handled, refunded, or delayed. I cannot make any promises on Yvonne's behalf, nor do I know enough about the business to fulfill orders or continue operations.

You can expect, at the very least, a delay to any orders that you have outstanding with Yvonne. Also expect a delay to all communications between you and Yvonne.

When Yvonne is available again, I expect that she will reach out to each of her customers to make necessary arrangements with regard to outstanding orders.

New Orders

At this time, no new orders can be accepted. I will disable the website, to the best of my ability, to prevent new orders. If you create a new order during this time, it will not be fulfilled, and will likely be refunded to you at a later date.

Future Shows

LavenderSheep, to my knowledge, is currently scheduled to have booths at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in September, and Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival in November. I am not aware of any shows currently scheduled past those dates.

I cannot say, with certainty, whether LavenderSheep will be present at either show. It is my personal hope that Yvonne may be able to do so, but at this time I do not have enough information to say. Yvonne will have to decide on that account. I expect that she will post further updates to this blog.

Thank You

Thank you for being loyal customers and friends, and I thank you for your understanding and support during this time.

Contact

For further questions, contact bellswor@gmail.com. I will not respond to messages on Yvonne's email, Facebook, or Twitter accounts.

Pickled Beets

I managed to can 3 jars of pickled beets so far this year. This was after we took out enough to roast and mix with feta cheese. I love beets! How about you?

Also, don't forget to check out the Sizzling Summer Sale!

Mittens

I am getting a head start on fall / winter knitting. I find it is nice to knit small things in Summer. They are quick and easy and don't warm up my lap too much.

I have also been on a bit of a handspun kick lately. I love knitting with handspun. So, using Ann Budd's mitten pattern, I cast these on for my son. They were really fun to knit. I love that they came out almost identical for colors. He loves them and now his sister is begging for a pair too. 

Aeron Hat

A few months ago the very talented Jean Clement of Desert Rose Fiber Arts contacted me because she loved my colors and wondered if I had a yarn which would be good for designing a Chemo Cap for her sister undergoing Chemo. I instantly recommended any of my Superwash yarns, because they are all really soft and machine washable. She settled on Superwash Sport in color Berry Pie, which is one of my favorites too! If you click the above link you can read through her design process as she created the hat and a review of the yarn too!

I think it turned out gorgeous. I love the slouchy hat style and the way it comes all together on the top. It is called the Aeron Hat. It uses 1 skein of Superwash Sport. You can purchase the pattern directly from her here!

I think it would be a great way to get a head start on fall knitting or a perfect project for anyone special in your life. 

Photos courtesy of Desert Rose Designs / Fiber Arts.

Kids Projects

I have been finding myself knitting a lot for my kids these days. It's fun and projects seem to fly off the needles.

First up is a pair of socks (rav link) for my son from some Lorna's Laces yarn from my stash. These took less than 50 grams of yarn. I had a little trouble getting the size just right. They are a little extra long, but I figured they give him room to grow. He loves them a lot and is putting them away until fall.

Next, I knit up another skirt (rav link) for my daughter. A girl just can't have too many twirly skirts! This is the Lollipop Skirt by Bekah Knits. This is the second time I have knit this skirt and I love it! It is knit out of Sirdar Baby Bamboo. I think this is the last time I'm going to knit it out of this yarn, because the yarn gets quite heavy. I'm worried that if I knit a bigger size with it (This one is 3T) that it'll be too heavy to be practical. I have thought about knitting it out of a lighter weight wool, instead. I do love the 3 tier design, so I'm thinking about it some more!

Sizzling Summer Sale

Just in time for the 4th of July, and running the month of July, is the Sizzling Summer Sale!

I realized after Black Sheep that I have a lot of leftover odds and ends that I need to clear out so I can bring on some new things! I have ideas for at least 2-3 new products, but first I need room on the shelf to put them there! So, I am doing a huge sale with up to 50% off all sorts of things in the Sale Bin. 50% off Chunk Baby Alpaca, 35% off Silky Sock, and 20% off Tencel Sock! I may be adding some things throughout the month, so make sure to check back!

Black Sheep Gathering

Here is the new map for vendors for Black Sheep Gathering. I'm so excited to be in the Fairgrounds building. The X in the middle of the map, I13, is my booth! If you are going to Black Sheep, make sure to stop by. I would love to meet you in person!

Tartan Scarf

It is good to be busy, but it sure does take time away from blogging! Life has been go go go lately. I'm in the midst of getting ready for Black Sheep Gathering, which is happening June 19-21, if you happen to be in Eugene, OR then make sure to stop by and say hi! You can even see this lovely scarf (rav link) in person:

It was a quick weave for my learn to weave class. It used 1 skein of my MIU Superwash Sock in color Tartan! I dyed this yarn on purpose to make lovely faux-tartan scarves. Just wind the yarn onto the loom and weave! Simple!

Looks like it will be all ready for fall. When I took it off the loom my husband immediately asked if it was for him. Sorry dear, but I need it for a sample in the booth! Maybe when I retire it, he can have it. Though, I have a few more skeins of yarn in the stash which will be perfect for him too!

Honeysuckle

The honeysuckle in my front yard is going a little bit crazy this year. My husband has the week off, so we have decided to spend it knocking out some garden chores. I've been too exhausted to do much else. Hopefully I'll be back soon with lots of new things to talk about!

Make Do & Mend

First off, kids go through clothing like crazy. I feel like I'm buying them new clothes all the time. Now with 2, I thought it would be easy to have hand-me-downs. After all, boy clothes work just fine for girls, especially shorts and pants. However, that is not quite the case with my kids. My daughter, who is almost 3, will argue with me that she has nothing to wear if the items in her drawer aren't pink or purple or have hearts or flowers on them. We will go round and round until I finally dress her and dramatic sighing ensues. When any piece of clothing isn't to her liking she will say it is her brothers or that it is too small. This even includes black leggings bought specifically for her, which she picked out. (I explained to her that neutrals, like black, make other colors prettier, so she has resigned herself to wearing them if she absolutely has to).

So, I have been saving 6 pairs of shorts sizes 2T-3T, which were my sons that I felt were pretty gender neutral. I know from experience that these just won't fly with my daughter, so I came up with the brilliant idea of embellishing them to make them more "girly". A little trip to Fabric Depot and we were in business!

My goal with each pair of shorts was that the embellishment would cost less than a new pair of shorts. So everything I did was around $1-2 or under. The first 3 I just added buttons. Off with the plain buttons and on with red heart buttons. You can't see it, but the upper left pair have strawberry buttons. These met the approval of my daughter and took under 10 minutes to do each set of shorts. 

The next pair I took polka-dot ribbon and ran it through the belt loops. I sewed it at each of the belt loops, stretching it at each one slightly, so it would stretch with the elastic. My daughter is very skinny, so I'm not too worried about them being too tight. Then I added a purple button from my button stash and called it good. She loves them!

Next pair I added a little ribbon to the pocket, I didn't think it was enough, so I added lace around the inside of the cuffs. 

The last pair, I added ribbon just under the elastic waistband and then added it around the cuffs of the shorts. I did it below the elastic, just so it wouldn't interfere with the stretch. 

It took me one afternoon and a bit of the next morning to do them all. I'm really happy with how they turned out. More importantly my daughter loves them all and thinks they are the best thing ever. So, hopefully this will mean a few less arguments in the morning and a little quicker time getting dressed!

X Hoody

I finished a hoody (rav link) for my son back in April. Of course, it's been so warm he won't really get to wear it until next fall. Good thing I made it extra long!

His sister is wearing the one that I made for him a couple of years ago out of Tosh DK. I really love this pattern from Debbie Bliss's Design It! Knit It!: Babies. It's really easy to modify, which I definitely had to do both times I knit it. The first time I made it longer. This time I used handspun I spun during Spinzilla, so the gauge was a bit different. I used Naturspun Worsted as the accent grey. Now, I can't wait for cold rainy days so they both can get use out of their sweaters!

Tonight I am speaking at the Tigard Knitting Guild at the Tigard Senior Center. If you are a member, I'm looking forward to seeing you tonight!

Knit Night

One of the things that's been keeping me busy is these mini events:

I took my yarn down to Knot Another Hat for Knit Night a couple weeks ago. This was the setup, which turned out very lovely. It was so nice that Sarah, the owner, asked me to keep it up over the weekend, so I did that. Only, I had Learn to Weave on Sunday, so I had to figure out how to get all of it and my loom into my van to get it all home. A big thanks to my friend Janeann who helped me get it all in!

I'm planning on having a similar setup next week when I give a talk at the Tigard Knitting Guild at their monthly meeting. If you are a member, make sure to stop and say hi!

Right now I'm picturing some time in July is when I'll be less busy. So, I'll try to pop back in here when I can for updates. I have lots of fun things I've been working on, but not enough time to photograph them all. I have a list of things to share, so we'll see when I can get to it!

Mother Daughter Socks

I can't believe how busy I have been lately. It just seems like there aren't enough hours in the day. However, I have been able to eek out a new knitting time during the children's bed time. My husband reads them stories every evening. So I have started taking advantage of it, by knitting something for the kids. First off the needles is a pair of socks for my daughter (rav link). These went so fast with her tiny feet. Look the pair I made myself back in August of 2006! I just had to get a photo of them both together! She loves them! Now to knit a pair for my son!

Edited to add: I realized going back through Ravelry that I never added these socks on there. So I just did and there is now a rav link. 

Stars & Stripes Towels

I just posted a new weaving pattern up on the website for my new Stars & Stripes Towels (rav link):

I made them out of Cascade Venezia Sport yarn, which is 70% Merino Wool 30% Silk. This yarn is so smooth and soft it is absolutely ideal for weaving towels. I stocked up on a bunch of it at Knot Another Hat's March Madness Sale, so I can make even more towels! Love them!

I'm teaching this class at Knot Another Hat Sunday, May 17th. The class is almost full, so make sure you sign up right away! If you aren't in the area, or can't make it to the class, don't worry, if you have woven a few scarves then you can tackle this project! I have the pattern up in the shop with step by step instructions to walk you through everything you need to know to make these towels. 

If you make them, please let me know! I would love to see your finished towels!

Shetland Gradients

Shetland Gradients are coming soon!

They should be ready just in time for Knot Another Hat's Knit Night, next Wednesday, April 28th, 5pm - 8pm. Come and check them out!

My Studio

I had a lot of fun setting up my studio for the Open Studio Day. Here are a couple of photos from in the morning before people arrived. 

You can see the rest of the photos here: https://plus.google.com/photos/107989652351991641796/albums/6140295248914218881?authkey=CK2TzN_FtoQr

If you missed out on the day, don't worry you can come and visit me any time! Simply email me at lavendersheep (at) gmail (dot) com when you'll be in the area and I'll be happy to open up my studio.