Well that was a crazy week!

I have a new goal for 2011 - do better long-term planning! I forgot about spring break and the fact that I would have both kids at home and not have any time to work on custom orders. Then on top of that we left for a weekend getaway, again preventing me from doing any dyeing.

Somehow I still managed to keep my schedule and get everything done, but it was certainly hectic.

At least I have something to show for all this stress. Actually, it wasn't that bad, it was just strange because I didn't have my usual dedicated work time slots. But this week we're mostly back to normal and life is good.

I absolutely love this March club. It came out absolutely drool worthy and of course now I am sad that all of this yarn is going to live somewhere else.

Thinking out loud

So I'm toying with the idea of offering some kind of a small business incentive to other small businesses, specifically other knitters who knit for pay.
When I was predominantly knitting for others I felt the "ouch" of retail cost yarn to my bottom line. Sure I could have raised my prices, but then that would have put woolies out of reach for many. That was of course until I discovered yarn purchasing through co-ops. That made yarn purchasing more bearable on the pocket book and the bottom line, but co-ops took forever to fill and then I had to wait for my items to ship.
- A certain discount on yarn purchases, but also a minimum requirement of some sort.
- No waiting, no co-op fees, ships direct.
- I would require a proof of business in a form of a license or tax EIN.

Sometimes mistakes are meant to happen....

....or why Raya should be labeling her dyes....

Over the weekend I had some spare yarn I wanted to dye up. I had the colorway in mind, I had the name picked out and the dyes that were going to go on it. Well imagine my surprise that as I started rinsing the yarn after the dye has been set when I realized that something wasn't right. My black wasn't black at all, instead it had turned a silvery blue gray. I thought I had made some kind of a mistake, or that perhaps I forgot to set the dye properly. But a closer examination of the dye bottle made me realized that I was never using black, but instead something called "gunmetal" which is exactly what I got. So, silly mistake, but gorgeous results.

So... here is "Fenrir" on Mountain Meadow Rambouillet

Getting ready for sock summit

I could not be more excited when the postman dropped a huge box at my doorstep. My 50/50 silk merino blend finally arrived. It took it about two weeks to get here from Australia.



Can't wait to get started on dyeing this, its going to be so amazing!

Yarn yarn yarn and more yarn!

I have been dyeing up a storm this past week. I try to commit myself to dyeing nightly once the kids are in bed. I have been able to streamline the dyeing process and make myself a little more efficient. Once I can get the sink hooked up in the studio it will make life even easier!

I have been on a girl kick lately with lots of pinks and purples. I discovered an unopened box of magenta dye and I just went crazy with it. How did I ever live without magenta???

Here presenting Novela Rosa

And Very Berry

But no worries, the boys have some fun new colorways too!

Muir

Madrona Fiber Arts Festival 2011

Last week was my first night away from the kids. Well not totally true. Back when I was doing doula work I did have a few nights that I spent at the hospital while others watched Elliot, but somehow that doesn't count ;)
It was certainly the first time away from Reid.

The kids did great, and I wished I could have stayed another day or two. Since I made the reservations in the last minute I couldn't find lodging at the conference hotel and so I had to drive 8mi to the nearest non-slum location.

I spent most of the time knitting by the hotel's fire place and listening to the knitting chatter around. I talked to a lot of interesting people and got some great booth setup ideas from the marketplace.

In other business news, I have 5kg of sock silk coming, as well as a good amount of BFL (finally!), and I have recently opened another wholesale account for some specialty yarns and organic merino.

Vagabond Sweater - Cable Patterns

Hope to continue expanding this entry and offer a variety of modifications to the vagabond sweater!


Cable #1
Round 1-3: P2, k10, p2.
Round 4: P2, k 2, sl 3 sts to dpn and hold in back, k3, k from dpn, k2, p2.
Round 5 - 7: P2, k 10, p 2.
Round 8: P2, sl 2 sts to dpn and hold in front, k2, k from dpn, k2, sl 2 sts to dpn and hold in front, k2, k from dpn, p2.


Cable #2

Round 3: P2, k4, p2, k4, p2.
Round 2: P2, sl 2 sts to dpn and hold in front, k2, k from dpn, k2, sl 2 sts to dpn and hold in
Round 1: P2, k10, p2.
Round 3: P2, k4, p2, k4, p2.
Round 4: P2, k3, p4, k3, p2.
Round 5: P2, k2, p6, k2, p2.
Round 6: Same as Round 4.
Round 7: Same as Round 5.

And the finished result!

Bee Mine

I can't get over how cute this set is! Knit with my Chickadee Overalls pattern. I striped yellow and black cestari (the yellow was dyed by me). On the chest panel I embroidered two flying bees. The hat has little antennas and I'm working on some matching black leg warmers that will have little bees embroidered on them too.

I swear I'm not procrastinating!

I've been so busy working on patterns that I have forgotten to give myself a few extra minutes to write in the blog.

This past week I released the Charlotte Collection pattern, the pattern can be knit as either a tank or a sleeved dress, tunic or sweater. I've been told that it has very modern and stylish lines. I am pretty sure I've shown it off before when I knit up the samples, but here it is anyway.

Tank:

Sleeved:

Both were knit with my Rhea Silk blend yarn.

Of course in parallel I have also been working on a new cardigan design, here's Reid modeling :)

As usual I'm playing catch up

Things have finally settled down around here and I am no longer feeling the pain of saying goodbye to our beloved sitter. The baby is now in childcare twice a week for a total of 6 hours. I have also had the husband help me clear out the garage and now I can officially say I have a studio! It was so much fun moving everything out of the kitchen and into the garage. The biggest perk is that I now have a new microwave and kettle!

My first dye project was Koi Pond, along with other vivid girly colors. I also dyed Princess Buttercup, Wildflowers, Full Bloom, and Spring Delight. I must have hit the spot with these colorways as most sold out within minutes of stocking!


Knitting wise I am an effort to only knit up with my own yarns. So I used Rogue on Licorice Twist to make a super cute pair of overalls.

Weekend update

With so much going on and with me back to dyeing strong I don't even know where to begin.

Last week I stocked a series of sock yarns on MainStreet.


After a nice holiday break I went on a dyeing spree. Here is 'Woodhaven' (it does not actually contain any red). Lots of browns, golds and green. This one is done on a superwash DK yarn and should be stocked sometime next week.


I have probably a gazillion (not really) more colorways coming. I just need to get them all photographed and edited.

On the business side of things there has been much progress done.

• I have been putting together a sample package to take to local yarn stores.
• The Charlotte and Vagabond patterns are now being tested.
• The Wildwood pattern is almost ready for release.
• A third romper pattern is in the works (eventually the patterns will be released together as an e-book).
• A cardigan idea has been born
• I have a new wool supplier of amazing 2 and 3 ply USA grown and spun yarns. They take dye like a dream and are incredibly soft
• I ordered a professional book on size grading for men, women and children. I hope it comes with baby grading too. It cost me a pretty penny but I think its really going to make a huge difference in the way I design patterns.

I feel like I am at a point where I need to "go back to work" one day a week. or a few half or even third days. Right now I am working _all the time_ I try to be efficient with my time. So when I'm playing with the boys I'm knitting, when the boys are asleep I'm dyeing, and when I get "mommy time" I work on patterns.

Happy New Year!

Well its certainly has been a while since my last entry. The holidays came at me with full swing and sadly I had no time to dye, though I did get some knitting in.

I got two large scrappy rompers done. I thought they were going to be the end of me! Its been a long time since I had to weave in so many loose ends. But all the hard work was worth it, they came out super adorable.

Size 6M, Tessa Ann buttons, lots of scraps!



Wildwood romper pattern!

Cascade

In the turmoil of the last week I have forgotten to post the big news: a pattern of mine has been released by the Petite Purls magazine.

Beach Knits

Had a wonderful time at the coast with the family last week. Didn't get as much knitting done as I was hoping, but I did manage to finish a sweater for Mr. Elliot :)
Its a new pattern I'm working on, very easy top down with a lovely cable work down the chest. Hopefully I can publish it in the coming weeks.

It was my second time knitting with Eos superwash merino. The two ply yarn is thick and soft with a great twist to it. I was concerned that the sweater would pill on my active kiddo, but so far its holding up amazingly well with practically no piling.

Yarn on the House

How could I have missed mentioning this in my blog before! I was featured in Veronika's blog AND we did a video interview together. I haven't watched the video yet, but everyone says I did great!

http://yarnonthehouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/giveaway-43.html

There are still a few days before the drawing. I am giving away lots of yarn and the Julian Vest pattern.

Ruffled Sunhat Pattern

Before packaging up the romper and hat to be shipped off this afternoon I just had to do a quick photoshoot with Reid in the hat. I'm going to hang on to these until his senior yearbook >:) Doesn't he look just darling.

I also wrote up the pattern for the hat and its now up for sale on Ravelry

Reid's Romper in the Pheobe Colorway

Gosh I just love how this colorway has knit up. I always like knitting my own colorways as it gives me good insight into my color placement and repeat.

The hat is a top down pattern I made up, maybe one day I will write it out. Its super easy. The hat is going to be a surprise. I had a bunch of yarn left over and I just thought it would look totally adorable on the little girl.


Top down view of the hat

New and Exciting

The last few weeks have been a complete whirlwind. I finished knitting two versions of the Charlotte Collection; a tunic and a sweater. I wrote up the pattern for said collection and have sent out copies for testers to work on.

For the sweater option I went with a 50/50 silk merino blend dyed in shades of lilac. The yarn has incredible sheen and drape and is baby soft. Perfect for a holiday dress. I think the satin ribbon ties the look together.


For the tunic I went with the same yarn base but in a different color. The emerald green is absolutely stunning.


I hope that the testers can get through the pattern in the coming few weeks and then the pattern will be up for sale on Ravelry. I have also began working on two additional patterns. One is a modification to the romper, and another is a quick and easy cabled sweater.

New Colorway!

I'm so excited how this colorway turned it, I envisioned something bright bold and beautiful and I got exactly that! I'm calling it 'Electric Rainbow' and its fantastic.


I have so many ideas and so many things in the works. I wish I had more time and more hands to get it all done.
The dress pattern is coming along nicely. I have sent it off to my testers this week. I imagine that there will be many revisions in the coming weeks. I still need to finish the sweater option, but sadly I cannot find my size 5DPNs and magic looping is not working well with the teeny sleeves. So hopefully today I can pickup some new needles for myself.

Weekend Knits

What a busy and fun filled weekend we had.

Saturday we ran from a birthday party to a lantern walk at Elliot's preschool. I managed to finish one glove on Friday day, then the next glove was done on Saturday. To my dismay I realized that the gauge on my second glove was much tighter than on my first, so I had to redo the first glove to make it snugger.
Then on Sunday we went hiking and I cast on for the lacy Julian hat. I got most of the hat done during the drive to and from the hike and then finished it off Sunday night.


The yarn was absolutely amazing to knit with and has reignited my love for handspun yarn. Last week I also made a matching feather and fan cowl/scarf but haven't had a chance to photograph it yet.

Chickadee Overalls

Here is another pattern I have been asked about over and over again and so I finally decided to write up the instructions.
These overalls are knit in a top-down fashion, starting with the chest panel/bib, when the panel is finished additional stitches are cast on for the body of the overalls.
The pattern features back straps, buttonholes, a pocket option, and a gathered area in the back.
Perfect for all times of year, just change the inseam and you can go from shorts to long pants.

The body features ample short rows to accommodate diaper bulk.

A wide range of sizes from newborn to 2T makes this a versatile and great fitting pattern.

Here comes another coffee infused post from yours truly

I'm having a lot of fun photographing yarn. Here is what I'm putting up this week for the Wonderland congo. Its really too bad that calendars are becoming obsolete, I would love to do a yarnie calendar.


I've been putting a lot of effort into the Chickadee Overalls pattern. In fact just as I felt it was finished up I made a major design change and now will need to have the pattern tested again.
I've also knit two samples now, using the same traveling stitch design as the Julian vest. Hopefully during our Seattle getaway this week I can write up the instructions. Here I am modeling the hat. I really wish I had used a different yarn, something I could actually wear. But I'm a total snob and find plain wool to be too scratchy. And red, I am not a fan of red!

Apple Orchard

I tried a new dyeing technique and I am very pleased with the results. I love the control hand painting gives me, but dyeing yarn in repetitive sections can cause pooling in stacking. Of course the best way to create random repeats is to use the kettle dyeing methodology. The downside to kettle dyeing is that it can lead to unintended color mixes and is very difficult to control the final results. So I've been working on a scatter dyeing technique which blends kettle dyeing with hand painting to give myself the control I need while still maintaining random color repeats.

As busy as ever and new colorways!

The Julian vest pattern comes out tomorrow. I'm crazy busy getting ready for the release. I still need to review the pattern one last time and then publish it on Ravelry. I was going to wait until tomorrow morning, but with us having to leave for preschool in the morning I really should have everything ready to go.

I had a very busy day and then I still managed to dye up some yarn after the kids were in bed. I did a new "apple orchard" kettle dyed colorway, a fairly solid "cinnamon" and the ever popular "full bloom". Too bad I won't have time to dry and photograph the yarns for tomorrow's stocking. I seem to do a lot of mini stockings rather than bigger ones. Maybe my new goal will be to wait until I have a whole bunch of stuff saved up.

I have worked with all of the new bases now and I am really enjoying the process of learning how different yarns take up dye. I do have some new things coming up tomorrow, "bewitched" "Esmeralda" and "Phoebe".

Playing catch up

Naughty me forgot to take my laptop along this Monday and so I missed my regularly scheduled Monday morning blog updates.

I've have been knee deep in pattern design and yarn dyeing. I had a really fun time doing a custom job for my auction winner. She settled on bright red, turquoise, brown, orange, pink and white. I did a shorter than normal color repeat to help reduce pooling. I really hope she likes it!


But because of the custom work and other little things (such as horrible tangled skeins that took hours to untangle) I did not get a chance to dye up as much yarn as I was hoping to for tomorrow's stocking. Plus the battery on my scale ran out of juice and I couldn't prep any more yarn.
I must have been in a very green mood as I've realized that 3/4 of the stuff I have listed has some form of green in it!

I am especially fond of my silk skeins. I actually carry the yarn around and pat it every once in a while. I might be addicted to luxury yarns.

'Emerald City'