Yarn Botanika

Finally, an update

2007-10-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hello. I realize that I hardly ever blog anymore. I even lost some readers or maybe it was my cooking posts, who knows! Life has just been busy. I have to update the One Planet blog with new items, and then we have a new One Planet Knitters blog that I also need to post to. But mostly, I have not been spinning or knitting much myself lately. This is changing now that the weather is finally cooling down here. Although it is still a record heat wave. It was 95 degrees yesterday! I mean this is ridiculous.... I have been reading and learning so much about global warming and all the environment changes through groups I am involved with lately and trying to make a lot of changes around my house and in my daily life.

I finally am getting close to the end of knitting this beautiful baby blanket for my friend Andrea who adopted a little boy from Guatemala. I am now just working on the finishing which should be interesting, but not too difficult. I did snap one photo here inside on my couch. The yarn is Plymouth Encore worsted which I chose because I wanted this to be washable and last a long time. I still worry about my hand knitting falling apart though in a washing machine or dryer so I think I will tell Andrea to still handwash this or machine wash on gentle and then airdry outside. That is how I am going to wash it when I am finished. This is the Modern Baby Blanket from the Mason Dixie Book. I really love that book. There are so many things in there I still want to make!

My next project is going to be this vest sweater designed by Jo Sharp in Silkroad DK Tweed yarn in Emerald. I keep trying to get away from greens but then I see a gorgeous yarn like this and I can't resist. The Jo Sharp yarns really are very luxurious, I just love them!! I hope to cast on this week!! I just have to finish the blanket edging........

Well that is the update for the end of October. I hope we have a COLD COLD November. I am dying to get away and might plan a trip to Colorado or Northern California or Oregon, we'll see!

summer blahs......

2007-08-24T13:39:00.001-07:00

In the Phoenix area we now have had over 30 straight days of triple digit heat. It is very hot and it is so hard to ignore. My typical way of dealing with this every summer is to just ignore it, sort of blocking it out psychologically but this year, wow, there is just no way! Right now it is 106 which means it will probably go up to around 112 or 113 today. Also it is humid and we never used to have humidity.

It was SO nice in Taos. I guess I did not blog about that. It was so green and refreshing and full of flowers. What a beautiful place. I definitely am going to go back and spend a good week or or more there. If I could swing it, I would be going back for the wool festival in October, but I don't think I can...... the problem is you have to really fly into Albuquerque and then drive a few hours up to Taos, but we'll see. Definitely next year.......
I thought I'd show some of the photos from Taos and how pretty it is. Some of these are from the grounds of the Old Taos Guesthouse, a B & B where we stayed....

Here is the front entrance of the guesthouse and the really cool back gate which led to where our rooms were, and also a shot of some flower gardens somewhere in Taos. There were so many flowers everywhere and at night, it cooled down to 50 degrees and was just so beautiful.....

We visited LaLana wools. I posted about it on the One Planet Blog. What an amazing amazing store. And the people are just so nice. I can't believe the owner really. I have to say that their yarns and patterns (to me) are really the top of any I have ever seen ANYWHERE. Their designs are just stunning. I can't think of another word. They have an "almost wholesale" program so in the next month we will be getting in some of their yarns and kits, which I can't wait for......... I need to pick out something to make for myself, if only I would get more motivated to knit... We have a few other special things we are going to be working on with LaLana and it is really exciting...... I wish I had the time and space to learn more about natural dyeing because I just find it fascinating and it goes so well with my love of plants and food and all......

Here is a photo of my mom and my sister Jodi in front of La Lana. We were celebrating their respective birthdays, big years for both of them.......

I have to get my motivation back to start knitting. I want to knit. My projects are all organized. I know what I have to finish first and what comes next, but I just can't seem to motivate. I haven't been spinning either, and it is the same story. I want to do it, but I just don't. I could blame it on the triple digit heat or my period I suppose!! What a bad PMS month by the way. A few of you I have emailed about it. There have to be some solutions to this......

I am still enjoying my organic boxes. And the one great thing I have done is stay on my organic diet so that is good. Look at this weird item that came in my box this week. They are called Royal Trumpet Mushrooms....

At first I wasn't sure what to do with it, but then I just treated them like any other mushrooms. I ended up making a fantastic omelette. I just sauteed these sliced up with organic red onions in a bit of olive oil for awhile. I added some chopped fresh dill and a bit of feta cheese. Then I whipped up some organic eggs (which really do taste better by the way) and scrambled it all. It was really incredible to be honest..

This weeks box was not too exotic. I received a beautiful cantaloupe and some more red simka plums. The one thing I have noticed really tastes better than conventional produce are the salad greens. I have been enjoying the red leaf lettuce and baby arugala. I have some sweet onions and zucchini and I am not sure yet what I'll do with those. Zucchini is not one of my most favorite vegetables I have to say, but I am wiling to try. So I think actually I am going to make some pasta tonight that I saw advertised at Trader Joes. It is their new lemon zest papperadelle (not sure I spelled that right) and I will just saute some of these veggies and mix them with the pasta........

If anyone has ideas for how they love zucchinis and sweet onions prepared, let me know. Or if you have a recipe or recipe site you love. I do look at epicurious.com and cookinglight.com. I like epicurious but some of the recipes are a bit fattening and I am trying really hard to keep things low fat or good fat is more like it! It is funny, so many people email me about the food posts, but you don't leave comments for me here! I'd love some comments friends..... I am glad some others like to eat green as well.....

I hope there will be more knitting posts soon. We are starting a new One Planet Knitters group. It is for people who are on the affiliate program and anyone who wants to make a new project to show off on their blog, gets an added little bonus, so join up if you want......! So anyhow, I have to pick out what project I want to do...... it is hard to decide! I want to do more sweaters but the reality is I don't wear a ton of sweaters but if I can find a light weight one, maybe..... I am waiting for a few new things to come in.......!

Happy weekend!

More Food And Cooking

2007-08-05T16:38:00.001-07:00

I promise there will be new fiber posts soon. Next weekend, I will be in Taos New Mexico so I plan on going to any fiber / yarn stores around. Any recommendations anyone? The one I am most looking forward to visiting (that I know of ) is Lalana Wools, of course!! We have thought of contacting them many times about carrying their stuff at One Planet but I am not sure it is a good idea since they sell online already. Their patterns and yarns are absolutely exquisite! And expensive! I will have to buy something for myself, of course. I am not sure they even sell wholesale. They had an ad recently that said "almost wholesale" and I am not sure what that means. Since they naturally dye all their own yarn in small batches, I can understand why it is hard for them to move to all wholesale, because of the cut and all. It is hard for all indie artists... I am going to ask though when I am there............

I still have not been knitting or spinning. I admit I am in a funk. Maybe it is the icky hot and humid weather. 100 in Arizona and humid is just gross. I have knit a few rows a day of this or that but nothing too intense..... I don't feel motivated to do a lot of things now. I even broke my great organic diet after not losing any weight. I got very frustrated and really I am just going to have to join a gym which will happen soon, after my weekend away......

I did get another great organic boxed from Boxed Greens this week. I really enjoyed the fresh organic red leaf lettuce and spinach in salads and the tomatoes were yummy as well. I got a mango and some seedless black grapes that were unusual and amazing. They were really as sweet as candy..... I also got a few things that I didn't know what I would do with, so I ended up making a great soup. The first item was a Delicata Squash and I had to look it up. If I would have known how amazing it tasted by itself, I would have eaten it plain. It has a peanutty sweet type taste and it is fantastic. It is an heirloom variety of squash. Here is a photo and that link has some great info about the variety. I am going to buy this again and I think just bake it and add a bit of olive oil and cinnamon. I know that sounds weird but it is a great combo. Or make a sweeter soup with delicata, sweet potatoes, and orange...... This would be great.

I also received two large pure white onions and a head of this rosy red garlic. I have to say these aren't the onions I usually buy. I grew up I guess buying either the yellow type or eating sweet vidalia or red onions. In culinary school, we never used these pure white onions either. I discovered that they are actually sweeter than the yellow variety but they do make your eyes still water...... I looked up these onions and they are just called white sweet onions and they come from an organic farm in the midwest

I decided to make some soup using only ingredients I already had in the house. I have a huge sage plant outside in my herb garden so I wanted to use some of that. I don't have a photo of the final result but it turned out amazing so here is a recipe for you. I usually only add in a little of this and a little of that, but I wrote it down this time.... This is very low fat by the way. For the vegan version, leave out the butter (substitute olive oil) and use veggie broth instead of chicken broth. And of course, I used 100% organic ingredients...

Creamy Delicata Squash Soup

2 large white sweet onions
1 head of garlic
1 tablespoon sweet cream butter
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 medium-large delicata squash
4-5 small gold potatoes
1 large garnet yam
3 cups organic chicken broth
2 cups spring water
1 teaspoon powdered ginger (you could use fresh too)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage (or substitute 1 teaspoon dry)
sea salt - to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

First, chop the garlic and place in a large soup pot with the butter and olive oil. Put the heat on low and let the garlic cook for 15-20 minutes. The heat should be very low so the garlic doesn't brown. Add the onions and continue to cook on low until the onions are very wilted. You might have to add some of the chicken broth so that this doesn't burn.

While this is cooking, preheat the overn to 350. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place in a roasting pan with the sweet potatoes and the gold potatoes and let these all roast for about an hour until cooked through.

The onions and garlic can simmer this entire hour. Just keep the heat on low and add broth if necessary. When the vegetables are done, let them cool and then chop the gold potatoes and add to the soup (don't peel). Peel off the skin of the garnet yam and coarsely chop and add to the soup. Also scoop out the flesh of the delicata squash and add to the pot. Add the chicken broth and water, bring to a boil and then turn the heat down and simmer for about an hour. It is just soup so have fun, no rules here, you could add other veggies if you wanted too.

Let it cool slightly, then puree in a blender and put it back in the pot. Add the herbs and spices and taste and adjust the seasoning. It is pretty yummy. It has an interesting tang from the spice combo......

You could make it look pretty by serving it with some sage chopped on top and a add a dollop of fresh yogurt, light sour cream or creme fraiche depending on your taste..........

That is it for now. I never thought my knitting blog would get into cooking but life changes. This used to be my love in life-cooking and food, but the constant struggle with my weight just made me turn away from the interest. Plus it is weird but working as a chef diminished my interests too...... I don't want that to ever happen with yarn!

Weekend cooking

2007-07-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

I sure haven't been knitting too much. It just has been hot here! I have been working still a few rows here and there on a baby blanket and also the sizzle sweater....... I have been focusing a lot on trying to improve my diet. I signed up for this fantastic service called boxedgreens.com. Every Friday, I get a box of very fresh organic vegetables and fruits delivered to my doorstep. I am just loving this because lately that is about all that I am eating!! I am trying to lose weight, but also I am just trying to focus on healthy living. If you live in Arizona or anywhere else for that matter, and decide to try this, let me know because I get a free box if I refer someone and they have the service for three weeks.

Having been a foodie my whole life and a professional chef in a previous, I can tell you that this is some of the most amazing produce I have ever seen. First, I love the idea of supporting local and small organic farms. Anyone seen all the scary news reports on all the food coming from China lately? FRESH food!!! Why do I need garlic from China when I live next to California where anything can be grown! We live in the USA ! Why do we need to get food from so far away, it is nuts! Pretty much anything we need should be able to be grown here....! There is a great book I picked up called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. If you want to understand some of the reasons why it is so important to eat locally grown food, this is a good place to start. Besides HEALTH, another great selling point is TASTE!! This veggies and fruit I get in my weekly boxes are amazing!! OK, here are a few things from my "gourmand" box. Last week, I got the essentials box, this week, the gourmand. It alternates.......

First, fresh organic kale. A lot of people are clueless about greens unless they grew up in the south. But they are one of the best veggies for people, loaded with vitamins and minerals. I made a great recipe out of this from the Moosewood Low Fat Cookbook-garlicky greens and black eyed peas. You can't get more healthy than this.....and it was really good...... I don't understand those people who don't like vegetables and/or won't experiment with food!

YUM,
Organic fresh and juicy watermelon, strawberries and my new favorite "red simka plums." I had never heard of these little simka plums before and they are just amazing..... They are only about 2 inches around each and are amazing. Look for them at a Whole Foods market or farmers market, depending on where you live. I am going to start frequenting the farmers market more....

A few more interesting and unusual produce items in this photo. Italian Red turbinado onions are the long thin onions. They are incredibly mild and sweet and I have made an omlette with them and also a cold salad. They taste a bit like a scallion or sweet vidalia onion only different. Really yummy. Second, the round off white item is a "lemon cucumber." I had never heard of this or seen one and it is fantastic. I think I could just eat these every day by themselves, that is how good they are. They were so fresh..... with a light lemony tang..... Then the brighter yellow "heirloom" tomato is a special variety with a lot of flavor........ I made a salad with cooked black eyed peas, brown rice, tomatoes, cucumber, the onion, fresh dill, white balsamic vinegar, virgin olive oil, sea salt and black ground pepper and I have been eating a little bit of each day.....

I also got some fresh shitake mushrooms and dill in my box, fresh green beans and broccoli. I made an egg scramble with some of these items for breakfast yesterday along with a bit of fresh feta and it was really good......
So I am enjoying my weekly veggies and definitely getting in the recommended daily amount of five servings per day plus.

Three years ago I went to Canyon Ranch in the Berkshire mountains. It is a spa that many people go to for health reasons. It happened to be a wonderful gift to me from a friend. There were many lectures on health and chronic disease. One thing they really focused on was eating more produce. They said that if every American ate 8-10 servings of FRESH produce every day, it would pretty much eliminate most of our diseases over time..... Of course they make everything organic....... As I do some stuff on the computer today, I am listening to CNN and a new report just came out linking pesticides to Autism. Did you know that Autism rates have grown drastically in this country? I think 1 out of every five children born now has autism. I can't help but think this as well as our increased cancer and other disease rates come from how many pesticides we use on our food, but also we just are eating more and more processed junk and not real food.........

I don't think I could do what Barbaa Kingsolver did, which was to actually live on a small farm and grow all my own veggies and chickens and pigs, etc....... But I can try to eat locally and eat fresh food and help our planet in our own small way.... I know it makes me feel good. I feel healthier eating this way and it is fun to do some cooking again...... I have a lot of friends with kids whose kids simply won't touch veggies. I am lucky I grew up in a house where very night we had salad and at least two vegetables. So I might not have liked everything when I was little but we had healthy food always and we weren't allowed to eat a lot of junk which is good......

It sure can't prevent every illness but it can help and its fun too........

Sorry no knitting photos but I have been in a non yarn mood for awhile!! I guess it just goes in cycles................

Happy Monday.........

PS I am still listening to CNN and now yet ANOTHER special report came on about tainted food coming from China.. It is pretty scary what is going on with food safety in our country. But it isn't just tainted food from China, it is also labeling laws and other issues that are affecting the safety of our food......and what is also scary are the big food companies jumping on the health bandwagon and calling things natural or organic when they aren't at all!!

Saturday morning

2007-07-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I feel like doing nothing yarn related or one planet related this entire weekend! I wish, I wish, I wish. I have assigned myself one chore for the weekend and it is not too bad!

I have to go through all these Jo Sharp pattern books and find some patterns that we want to feature on One Planet. The books are so incredible, each one is inspired by nature and the season and the photography is beautiful and so are the patterns! But the problem with having an online store and pattern books is that when people view the link for the pattern book, they don't really know what yarns to buy . So we somehow have to figure out how to show some individual projects within each book. I hope I am making sense! It involves going through each book and then doing some web page tweaking basically.... So my only goal this weekend is to really go through the books and make a list of patterns that we will have the yarn for, which is not too bad of a chore.

Yes, Jodi, I can cook!!

My sister swears I can't cook even though she knows I graduated from culinary school and worked as a chef a decade ago. Time flies..... I think when I moved here, she expected that I would be cooking for her and her family all the time and it didn't happen! :) I am on a new organic kick and eating lots and lots of veggies so I decided to actually cook / make a few things this morning for the week with my ingredients.... I realized though why don't cook anymore. I have a back problem and I couldn't stand to chop ingredients or to stir the pot. This really bummed me out. The pain was so extreme (deep burning down my spine and into my neck) that finally I brought a chair into the kitchen, but even then I was barely able to finish. I have to figure this out... I guess I could pop a bunch of pain pills 1/2 hour before cooking but that doesn't sound great. Mix them with some wine? No... Hire a gorgeous male chef to simply follow my direction? That sounds good, but hmmm..... no money!

Well here is what I made anyhow. First I made this yummy organic beef stew. It smells great and it is still on the stove. The recipe has a Moroccan bent to it. Every ingredient was fresh and organic----- stew beef, herbs, fresh chopped tomatoes , crimini mushrooms, and other veggies! The Moroccan bent is the addition of yams and Moroccan spices. It should be good. I think I am going to add in a bit or red wine from Oregon soon and then it will be done....

The second "dish" was a guacamole kit put together by Melissa's Vegetable company-you chop up fresh garlic, shallots and a serrano pepper. Add a ripe chopped plum tomato and chopped Hass avacados and then squeeze lime juice over the whole thing. It looks great. I also added some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. I am not sure what / how I am going to eat this since I am on a no grain/low carb diet. I could eat it with a spoon but that is way too many calories! So I might eat small amounts over the next week with some broiled tilapia fish or some scrambled eggs.

I do have some knitting this weekend. I am trying to work hard on the baby blanket for Kaylon, an adorable little boy who will be moving here from Guatemala in the next few months to live with Andrea and her hubbie! I only have two more squares of the blanket, but I admit touching wool is hard in the 105 plus heat!! So in between, I just started working on Wendy Bernard's Sizzle Pattern using the new Lanas Puras Clarissa yarn. I love love this yarn, it is 50% cotton/50% wool. The pattern is going to look quite different I think but still adorable. We have some cute patterns hopefully soon in the yarn as every designer who has gotten a hank so far loves it......

Happy Weekend, I am off to a coffee shop with the Jo Sharp pattern books......Maybe I'll try to get in a swim as exercise has to help my poor aching back, right? It is very hard to cope with, this is my blog so I can say that here.....

Estes Park

2007-06-20T02:56:00.000-07:00

The Estes Park Wool Mart really was a lot of fun. Kirsten and I had a wonderful time! On the first day, we drove immediately to Boulder, which is my favorite city. To be honest, I really would like to move there, that is how much I like it. I might even start looking into it. There are so many reasons that I think I would be happy there. We went out for dinner with a new knitting friend Debbie O'Neill. Debbie does not have a blog yet, but she might soon! Debbie is a talented knitwear designer and she also teaches at Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins which is the very large knitting/spinning/weaving store in Boulder. She is working on a few patterns for One Planet which is how we met. We have become great email friends as we have so many common interests so I can't tell you how much fun we had talking and chatting!!! We went to the coolest place for dinner called the Dushanabe Tea House. If you are ever in Boulder, you MUST visit this amazing place. We had a great meal, great conversation and laughter!! The next day Kirsten and I of course went shopping, shopping! We ate lunch at a wonderful organic restaurant called Sunflower. My favorite type of place. It was yummy! We spent a bit too much time and money looking at natural cosmetics and clothes and then we headed to Estes Park.

Estes Park Colorado is totally different from Boulder. It is a small resort town in the mountains. I wish I had great photos but this time all my photos taken were of fiber animals!! On Saturday we headed to the wool market. Look at all the fiber animals we met.

(A cute alpaca)
(1 week old baby paco vicuna
with his mom)
(angora goat)

blue faced leicester sheep-
my favorite wool
along with Cormo
Of course the most fun is spent in the vendor booths. There were tons and tons of things to buy. I really did overspend on this trip. Here are a few of my fiber finds. This is just a small percentage of what I bought overall on this trip :)

Bonkers Superwash Merino Roving in
Dragonfly; i wanted more of this to spin as
I already have one huge skein done!

Textiles A Mano- beautiful hand dyed cotton
and rayon yarn for a sweater. This photo is not that
great, it is too dark. Her yarns are gorgeous! Plain and Fancy Hand Dyed Merino
Color - Autumn Leaves- This is going to be used
for a Knitspot.com shawl

That is the report. I ate too much, spent too much and did too much! It was a lot of fun though and it was nice to be in the fresh mountain air for a few days.

Dog Blog -Funny Cartoon

2007-06-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

I thought this was funny.... I have it on my fridge but finally scanned it to post :)

Lack of posts...some finished stuff.

2007-05-23T16:32:00.001-07:00

Yes, I have not been blog posting! Just a lot going on. Next week is my trip to the Estes Park Wool Festival in Colorado and I can't wait. I will post some photos when I return! I am trying to decide whether i will buy mostly knitting or spinning things. We will just have to see when we arrive.. I am looking forward to it.

I have finished a few things but I haven't been doing too much knitting or spinning the past week. It has been super hot here and I haven't been well. That sounds like a broken record statement, not feeling well, but its true unfortunately... The past week has been really tough.

But here are some of my recent finished items.
First this is a an all cotton washcloth I made - the pattern is out of The Mason Dixie book and it is a slip stitch pattern. I used two different 100% inexpensive yarn yarns, but they are perfect for this. The purple is Lion Brand and I don't remember the name of the cream variegated color. I have to say these are VERY VERY fun and easy to make. It didn't take long. I am going to make a few of these a gifts and pack them with something else fun for the kitchen.. First the full view followed by the close up. Not great photos!!

OK, here is here I need some help! I have been a spinning fool lately which is great, but I am really awful at doing something with my handspun. If anyone has ideas or patterns, I should would love to know about them. This first "spin" was spun with a gorgeous batt from Spritely Goods. I have spun a lot of Stephaine's batts and I just love them. This one is a beautiful raspberry color (pure merino) blended with fire star for sparkle. FUN FUN. I have about 300 yards to of DK weight-light worsted weight yarn too!

This next finished handspun was from some roving from a company called Bonkers, in the colorway Dragonfly. I am REALLY REALLY in love with this yarn and the colors. What can I make???? Really we all need better patterns and ideas for handspun. There are so many gorgeous handspun yarns out there......... If anyone has any ideas or patterns , let me know. I mean mostly one skein projects. I am kind of tired of scarves...... Maybe it is better to mix in the handspun with other yarns into some kind of shawl or bigger project.... I do know I am going to start buying bigger quantities of roving, like 8 ounce at least of each color so after I spin, I can make something with it.

I am currently spinning some roving I bought last year at Estes Park. I hope this vendor is here again. The name of the company is Handspun by Stefania. OH GOOD!! She is going to be at Estes Park again!! She has the most unusual and pretty naturally dyed yarns and rovings. She had tons of fiber their last year. This fiber is dyed with indigo and something else that gives it a bit of a yellow green cast. It is much prettier in person, but here is a photo on the wheel:

After this, I have a beautiful blue faced leicester roving that I bought from Georgia at Yarn Pirate. I just loved the colors and BFL is by far my favorite fiber. I like it much more than merino! It has a sheen to it that is hard to describe and it is next to your skin soft too!

We are getting in FIFTY rovings from Fleece Artist in about a week so I will have a lot of spinning supplies around!! HAHA And we have all these gorgeous new spinning batts from Madelinetosh too. They really have a lot of character too which I appreciate. My other new favorite fibers are from Funky Carolina. Her color combos are just amazing. Actually the fiber is all gone I just noticed, so I need to get more more more! SO my point is, why am I looking for more fiber at Estes Park???????? I guess I'll buy yarn instead. Last year there were a few dealers I particularly loved! I'll bring back a full report.

Time for bed........

May May May May

2007-05-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yes it is May and that is most creative title post I could come with. Still have been busy and it is getting HOT. It was 100 today!

I did finish my FLAIR sweater but I don't have photos because I need to still sew on the buttons. Tonight, maybe I will do that while watching IDOL results. Still I can't believe I am watching it and so addicted too, but others are more into it than I am...

I knit a silk scarf for my mom for mother's day. It is one of my favorite patterns for using yarn in my stash for gifts. It is called the Ladder Scarf by Chris Bylsma and it is also a good pattern for handspun yarn. I have made the shawl too which is similar, just wider. For this pattern I used two yarns, a silk boucle yarn that my friend Georgia dyed for me, along with a similar color merino and tencel. There is a lot of shine and it is really long and silky and I hope she likes it. I know I am lucky to still have a mom. Some of my friends have lost theirs in recent years so I try to show appreciation even though we sometimes don't always get along.

We got these incredibly beautiful spindles from Israel made by Avi Wasserman and I want to buy one for myself and I am trying to decide which one. I am super attracted to this maple one he dyed light blue and also to this olive wood one that has silver in laid into it. I just love these and I am trying to figure out how to let spindle people know we have them. Most of the people who come to our site are more knitting people I think but I am not sure. We will just have to see over time.... I know spindles like this are hard to find because our LYS can't seem to get hand crafted spindles due to a shortage.

Let's see. What else. I am 80% done with a blanket for my friends and now I need to figure out what my next knit project will be. I still have a Noni bag to finish for my mom and also the Ruby sweater for my niece is not quite done. I guess I should finish those before starting something new! I am thinking of starting either this cardigan from Be Sweet which I am just totally in love with. It is called the Magic Cardigan and I love it in these exact colors. I love it, I love it. I love Autumn colors, that is why. Or I am going to use either Sheep Shop 3 or a new cotton and merino yarn we are getting in for Wendy Bernard's sizzle pattern. I guess I'll have to knit up a swatch of both and then decide....

I am getting excited about my trip to the Estes Park Fiber festival which is coming up in June. That should be fun too. That reminds me, shoot, I owe someone a reply email. I am really really bad about personal email or phone calls lately. I just am having the hardest time keeping up with everything and people actually get mad at me and I wish they wouldn't......

Well almost time for American Idol (HAHA)

FLAIR and photography

2007-04-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd show a photo of my FLAIR sweater. It was close to being done and I tried it on, and then I needed to pull a bit back as I needed it a bit longer. I should have done that before adding on the seed stitch ribbing on the bottom. The color is absolutely gorgeous (to me, a total green lover). It is the Lanas Puras melosa in Fern Green. At first glance, the yarn didn't seem to show any color variation, but I love how it looks knit up with just slight variations in the shade. Take a peek of the sweater laid out and then a close up. OH i must say, I LOVE this pattern!! It has been so fun to knit and the no seaming part is absolutely fantastic!!!! I can't wait to finish and I am close!

I am taking a digital photography class and really enjoying it. I have learned a lot about all the settings of my camera. I still don't understand how changing the fstop and the shutter speed, etc etc. I still have tons to learn like how to set the various options for different subjects and lighting conditions..... Next week, we have to turn in two 8 x 10 photos as a project. My first photo shoot was up flowers close up. This is one of my favorite subjects to shoot, but I really want what is called a macro lense-a close up lens. But I need a better camera for this. But I still love how this turned out. I bought a bouquet of freesia flowers to take photos of. I think this is the one I am going to turn in... I want to turn in. I don't want every flower to be in focus by the way. I want it to look slightly abstract.

Or this one...... Actually, this one might be better. I am looking for something a bit artsy...Something I might want to paint actually.

Then I played around with taking photos of my little bichon. It was NOT easy. He is really a hard subject. First, he wiggles all over and just wants to lay on my lap or have me pet his little head. Plus he is so fluffy white!! I tried to increase the ISO which is the shutter speed (I think?) because he is so fast moving and it did seem to help. I also played with other various settings....here are two I like.

Isn't he sweet? He does have a bite though :)

This weekend, I think I'll go to the zoo and/or botanical garden for some more practice. I need to get a tripod though.........

No time for blogging

2007-04-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much time for blogging lately.... Surgery recovery, taxes, and life have just taken precedence.

I had friends visiting last weekend from California and we had so much fun. Monica, from Santa Monica, is a fantastic friend. She is very supportive and we have many similar interests and she has taught me a great deal about life and how to embrace it in a more positive way. She got into knitting about a year ago and had turned into an absolute fanatic! So needless to say, she enjoyed coming over and looking at all of the One Planet Yarns.

I gave her one of the Radiance Lace Headbands, a new pattern at One Planet with Yarn Botanika's Radiance yarn (merino and tencel). It just looks so fantastic on her. This is the one in the Organic Greens color.... I love the merino and tencel yarn we are getting now. It is not the same yarn or fiber contents exactly as all the other merino and tencel yarns on the market now. It is spun exclusively for One Planet Yarn and Fiber in Europe. It is a lot fluffier for one thing and a skein of this looks twice as big as the old merino tencel because of the fluffiness. The headband looks so cute on Monica and she says she wears it all the time!

Monica tried on the Radiance Lace Headband in Rum Raisin too, but we chose the Organic Greens one for her...

Wow, her husband, Bill, takes great photos! We wish they lived here and we would have them do all of our pattern photos for us.... Both of them are very into photography and they have wonderful cameras. We went to the Desert Botanical Garden another day which was very interesting as always. The desert is in bloom and they were having a butterfly exhibit. When you live in a big city away from plants and flowers, it is a real treat to go to the garden even though it is the desert. I thought I would share a few of Bill and Monica's lovely photos from the garden.

First, here is a photo of all of us at the garden! We are all smiling because it was such a lovely morning.... From left to right..me, Monica, Traci (with Audrey on her lap) and Bill standing behind. It was quite a challenge to get a good self-timed photo!

Here is a wonderful photo of one of the butterflies sitting on a flower. They were beautiful!

And this is one of my favorite close up cactus photos that either Monica or Bill took. I love how this turned out and it could be great inspiration for a painting for my painting class actually. I have one of these redish colored cacti in my back yard too. I think it is a prickly pear but some of them have this gorgeous purple/ red cast to them. This might be in an interesting inspiration for a yarn colorway as well.

Here is a photo I took at the garden because I flipped over the intense blue of this flower. I think I am going to use this photo for a watercolor painting in my new class. I cropped it quite a bit because I like kind of abstract paintings, we'll see!

I do have knitting stuff!!!!! I am ALMOST done with the Flair sweater. It turned out a bit too short for my body so I have to take out the bottom and knit about another inch and one half. It is a really fantastic knit and I would high recommend it to someone who wants to make a sweater but has fear of seaming issues like I do! I will take some photos of it later today. I am trying to decide what my next project will be... One of the Fleece Artist Kits, no doubt, but the question is which one!!

American Idol-and Life

2007-03-22T01:52:00.000-07:00

OK, no knitting content really, but I will have photos soon of a few projects and I have been spinning again. I really have been knitting most every night, but I keep forgetting to take photos. I also have a great yarn I am about to ply.. I really will try to snap a photo of it tomorrow to plug in here. I wish I remembered my Navajo Plying Instructions.

I just have to blog about American Idol. I confess, I started watching it and now I am addicted. I swore up and down that I would never watch reality tv but when my mom was visiting she had to watch it and now I am hooked... She also turned me on to Dancing with the Stars. I have never watched so much TV before and I really wonder how many of my friends and also readers here can admit they watch these reality shows too. I am also hooked on BBC mystery and other shows, Criminal Minds, 24, Lost, Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy. Way too much TV! But I am enjoying it, so hey! Everyone deserves some mindless relaxation....I just kind of miss reading.

And what a shocker that the person sent home tonight was Stephanie who really can sing in my opinion. I think she just looks nervous. I guess I wasn't shocked but if it really is a "singing competition" she surely is not the worst by far. And what did you think of "crying girl." She scared me. Was that happiness? Here is an interesting read and explanation of why Sanjaya is still on the show if you haven't heard of this. Read this blog! http://www.votefortheworst.com. Blame them and Howard Stern. Are they (vote for the worst) ruining American Idol or making it more entertaining? I have no idea since it is my first season, but lots of bloggers seem to have opinions about this.

Our society really is something. When I read the news and watch these shows, and look back on life since I left college, things seem so different to me now.. But there is certainly nothing wrong with watching something entertaining mixed in with all the shows about serial killers. I watched Criminal Minds also tonight, another favorite show of mine, and the images are so graphic, they are sickening. Was TV like this 20 years ago? I feel like I need to do something meaningful with my life like I used to and so I am going to do some volunteer work for some kind of cause. I can't spend my days doing yarn stuff and my nights watching American Idol type shows. I don't have kids so I don't have that focus..... Yep, I feel like I am floundering a bit. I read that surgery and anesthesia can do a lot of strange things to people, like cause depression after and reassessment of one's life...I am definitely "there."

Time to relax....

Out of Commission

2007-03-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

I have been out of comission for the past 10 days or so. I won't go into detail other than to say I had quite a surgery about a week ago. It was over four hours long, and even though it was done laproscopically, it still causes major havoc! I still am having a great deal of pain and my body just is not functioning. I wanted to post because I got some private comments and emails, thank you! I appreciate it..!

I have gotten some knitting done. I will try to take a photo in the next few days of FLAIR. I am about 1/3 done I would say. It is really an enjoyable knit...I love knitting with the Lanas Puras Melosa worsted weight yarn. The color (Fern Green)is also gorgeous as I will show you in the photos. I need to pick out some interesting buttons. I met a woman who has an ETSY store and she does "button searches" for you! I told her I wanted something 1940s art deco style.. I do not have her link now, but I can post it later. These are two I am thinking of but I need to email her and ask a few more details. I am hardly on the computer right now.

I also am almost done with the blanket I am making for Andrea for her baby that she is adopting from Guatemala. It really is turning out gorgeous. I am not quite sure how to do the last two squares because I have to use an intarsia technique. I have not done this so thankfully I have a good friend coming for a visit in two weeks and she just finished an intarsia sweater and she will help me with a few things.

Well, off the computer now...... I will be in touch with some of you soon via email. Just know I am here, an ok, just sore and tired and cranky. I can't sit for very long at the computer. It is kind of scaring me because I have about tons of products to enter into our One Planet page. Heather and Gina, your stuff is first!

More soon!

Bored and thinking about food, food, food

2007-02-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

I admit, I feel very bored lately. I feel like my life consists of sitting in front of this computer entering photos of yarn into one planet. I feel like I need a break and to expand out a bit. I have been taking this weekend off as much as possible. I do have to spend a few hours entering the rest of the sheep shop yarns-all 100 plus colors or whatever it is! I admit they are incredibly gorgeous and I like that we now have every color. And I am also knitting flair in between things and I have to say it is quite an enjoyable knit and I love knitting with a semi-solid yarn...

But, I am bored so I need to try to expand out and do a few other things. The first is to get back into cooking a bit more. Here is a fun fact about me-i actually went to an east coast culinary school and graduated and worked as a chef for quite awhile. my job was as a private chef in various peoples homes. I met quite some interesting people.....

right now I am very into anything asian and I just bought these two new cookbooks.....
Quick & Easy Vietnamese: Home Cooking for Everyone and Authentic Japanese Cuisine for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide
Note that both of these books say "beginners" and/or "quick and easy" which is kind of funny for someone who actually is a chef. But I am into fast these days. Fast, healthy and yummy......
The goal is to make just a few items over the next few weeks that are healthy and not too high calorie......
1. Udon Noodle Soup-
2. Japanese seaweed salad--this has lots of B12, did you know that?
3. Vietnamese-spring rolls-the fresh ones-with peanut sauce-these are actually easy I just need the right ingredients and
4. Vietnamese Bun with grilled steak and shrimp

I am getting hungry writing this. I have a collection of close to 250 cookbooks and I swore I would not buy anymore but I think I need to start adding to my Vietnamese and Japanese collections especially..... I hope to get to our huge Asian market this week to buy some ingredients and I'll try to post some photos of my culinary adventures.....

I am supposed to be on weight watchers core plan by the way (anyone do this diet??) and instead I am making ingredient lists here. The other thing I can't stop thinking about is having an In and Out Burger this weekend. Do you have this place where you live? I had one the other day and I have to tell you these burgers are just too fantastic. I couldn't figure out why there was such a long line of cars for this place when it opened but now I know. A hamburger and frenchfries are under 4 bucks I think (?) I really have to have a double double cheeseburger (with grilled onions) and fries before I get back on the diet and I think I'll even throw on a milkshake (what is this meal-4000 calories?) Who can eat like this and not get obese??? Now I realize why I don't cook anymore. I used to cook almost every week, picking out an introducing dish to try, until I started gaining weight around the age of 35. It isn't fair. So I'll have my double double tomorrow but then I better be on a mission to find some good low fat things to cook.

Time for sleep.......

PS I just looked up the nutritional info out of curiosity! HAHA A double double cheeseburger (my favorite) is 670 calories! Leave off the bun (Atkins style) with lettuce and it is only 590 calories. The fries are 400 calories and the shake 690 calories. No wonder that burger tastes so good........

busy busy busy busy.......and some yarn porn!

2007-02-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Yep, I have been super busy. Busy is not even the word for it. I am also surrounded by tons and tons of yarn. And fiber! The yarn has to all be photographed and then listed on the site and this is no easy task...! Plus I have company here from out of town this week and a lot of personal stuff going on. My poor little baby boy was at the vet this morning for a simple teeth cleaning. It turned out to be much worse and he had to have four extractions and now he is very miserable sitting at my feet with a bleeding mouth. There is not much I can do but comfort him and I have some anti-inflammatory medicine for him...the poor baby......
So I am sitting here posting and listing one yarn after another hoping I am not making some kind of mistake. And also thinking about all the things I want to knit, but can't, because I am sitting here posting and writing about yarns.

I am in love with this yarn we just got all the way from Australia. I met Michelle through her ETSY shop Wooldancer. Her yarn is so gorgeous and so soft and squishy, I don't have the right words for it. I learned this new word "scrummy" from someone in Wales recently though and that is exactly what this yarn is SCRUMMY. I am guessing that is a combo of scrumptous and yummy! See photos of the Wooldancer yarn below and it is also listed in our store now. I can't stop petting it and squishing it and staring at it...It is really gorgeous and I see a ton of yarn!! And the names she gives are too cool. This first one is called Sting of the Thai Orchid (what a great name!! And the second one is called Splash!! HAHA It does make me want to splash! If you like sock yarn or superwash fingering yarn period, you have to try one of these. You can tell the fiber is different from what we have here. It is made of pure 100% Australian superwash merino.

Now, here is a test. How many people even read these posts? And should I keep writing them? If you read this post and want to buy something at One Planet, enter the discount code BLOG in the post and then I'll know that someone REALLY read my entries here. I see tons of people cruising through here on a daily basis and I have statcounter, but I don't get too many comments. I used to get quite a bit more. So if you do read, and want something, go ahead and use the BLOG discount code for 10% off. By the way, what is with the online yarn stores that advertise 40-70% off yarns. There is something wrong there readers! None of the commercial company yarns are really marked up that much discount like that, from what I can see. There has to be some kind of gimic somewhere, or I am really missing something.. By the way, did you know that many yarn and related companies won't even sell to online only stores? That was an interesting thing to learn about.... Their reasons are many...not competing with the LYS which is silly to me. Any LYS can open an online shop too. Umm, others are massive discounting on the part of online stores only, which I agree with. The people who do that kind of ruin it for the others and how can they be making money anyhow doing that... OH another reason I learned this week was apparently some online only stores want to only order 5 or 10.00 orders. I don't know who those people are but that was a reason given to us this week when we tried to buy something......

I got off subject. Is that why I get so few comments on my blog? Rambling? OK back to yarn porn, the other thing I am listing on the site that is taking days and days are all the new Sheep Shop Yarn company colors. I am amazed how many colors the owner has added to this yarn line. It is AMAZING. We now will have every single color they have once I get them all listed!
I made this little photo montage so you could see some of the new ones. They are truly gorgeous!! I love this yarn!! And Sheep Three will be here soon....watch the other blog for that, the one planet one. Here is a montage of some of the colors, but there are so many more! OH gosh I have so much more to list, and I feel like I need a nap, BADLY!!

I am doing some knitting. I try to knit every day but lately it is like an instant sleeping pill. Sometimes I can't even finish a row and I fall asleep. I don't know if it is because of the boring garter stitch on the log cabin blanket I am trying to do or because all I can think about is how many yarns I have yet to list....maybe thinking about that is like counting sheep!
Did you see Wendy Bernard's new pattern Flair? I love it. So I cast on for it last night. Of course I had to use Lanas Puras Melosa and I was so excited she listed it as a yarn alternative. I am a green nut so my sister convinced me to use the Fern Green color and I have to say I absolutely love it. I love this yarn. I love knitting with a worsted single like this. The Sheep Shop One is the same way. For some reason, it adds a lot of character. I thought the Fern Green was a solid but really it has some slight color variation which I just love.......... Here is a peek.....

See the slight color variations? It is so pretty and soft and really enjoyable to knit with.... I am going to try to find some unusual buttons for the coat too..... It looks like a quick knit so if I can stay awake, I'll post my progress.....

Ahh, one more exciting thing. Do you get Interweave Knits magazine? When you get it, go peek at page 53! :)

Yes I have been busy and tired

2007-02-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

I feel like I don't post much anymore. I am SUPER TIRED and I feel I say that all the time. And wow, I have awful PMS right now. I am also trying to figure out the benefits of this new blogger. So far....I see labels that I can put by each post. So is that like categories for the posts? Well mine are mostly the same so how boring that will be......

I have been knitting. I cast on some of the Lanas Puras Melosa in the fingering weight for some socks and I love it . I figure I should knit with some of our own yarn instead of that encore stuff I am using for baby blankets now!:) This yarn is a spun single and I love the colors. It is really soft. I am knitting with fingering weight opal and when I compare the two it is amazing. I love Opal too but it feels scratchy scratchy by comparison. Of course it is machine washable and so that superwash treatment makes a difference......

Here is a photo of the colorway I am using, called Sangria.... It basically has a light pink, a coral and a mahogony color. It is just gorgeous......

Here is my gauge swatch.....

I have spent many hours researching various yarns and mills around the world. Quite interesting. Today I received this package in the mail of these lovely yarns that have been dyed naturally with walnuts, teas, cochineal and other things. I tried to take a photo and let's see how they show up! The colors to me are simply lovely, very soft . I just ordered some more organic yarn that is dyed with natural dyestuffs by another company and I can't wait to see the samples... I need to win the lottery though more than anything....

From left to right here, we have walnut, something from the rose family, tea, cochineal and thena plant that is a species of the acacia tree. Cochineal as you might know, comes from insects. The tea coloring is from several varieties of tea. The thing is so far this yarn is available only in a bulky wool, although the spin of the wool is gorgeous (see this boucle and then there is another unusual one). Soon there will be regular bulky wool. When they add the lace weight in these colors, then maybe we'll get it. Maybe its me or maybe it is just our online place but I don't see that much bulky being sold so far.. I think though it is because I am used to the ETSY world and duh, I live in the desert!

We are having a little contest this month at One Planet. I haven't put it on the blog yet but maybe I will, we'll see...

I have to say the photo thing works better on this new blogger... It will be interesting to see what else is new...........or improved........

Introducing the Cabo Hoodie

2007-01-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

I posted about this on the One Planet Yarn and Fiber blog, but I felt I had to do it here too, but I am adding MORE PHOTOS HERE!!

Check out the One Planet Blog for all the details about the yarn offers for this pattern and a few other things. There is a special offer if you buy the pattern and the yarn using the discount code CABO and it includes other weights of Lanas Puras Melosa as well... I got some pretty new colors. !!!

But look how cute these photos are. This is the Lanas Puras Melosa worsted weight yarn in Hibiscus (for the girls) and Mountain Sky (for the boys). Thank you to my friends for letting me use their gorgeous kids as models. I think these kids did a great job!! Let them know you think they did a great job if you read this post!! Leave them a note here! Thank you!

A quick post

2007-01-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

I thought I would make a quick post while I could. I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. Just not getting much sleep these days!! There is just a lot going on in my personal life and I am having trouble keeping up with all that I have to do. Plus I am not literally NOT sleeping. It is a nightmare.. It is really getting to me. One or two nights ok but when it is several in a row, ouch....

I did finish something!! This is my sister wearing the Garnstudio sweater that I knit. It took a long time. The yarn is really wonderful I have to say. It is the Knitpicks Alpaca and Silk yarn and it is very soft. It is a really warm sweater though too. It doesn't quite fit me right, in that it is a bit short. I am kind of longer on the top then on the bottom. Still I am very proud of it!

Garnstudio does have the nicest patterns and now they are all free on the their website. The only thing is the ones on the website are not written as clearly as the hardcopy ones so I hope they keep selling their books.

My goal now is to finish the Ruby sweater I am working on. Then finish the baby blanket and the Noni bag and then finally I can start something new. It has been really super hard holding myself back from starting something new!!

My next project will probably be something lace I think. A shawl. I am looking forward to the new Lace Style book which is releasing soon from Interweave press.

I have one more photo. Nicole sent me a photo of a pair of socks she made in merino and tencel in the rum raisin colorway.

I think they turned out really pretty. Thanks Nicole for sending me this. Anyone who sends in a photo with something they have made from our yarn, will receive a special coupon in their email for One Planet. So if you have photos, send them to info@oneplanetyarnandfiber.com. The other thing you can do to get a coupon is to write a product review on the site. Just send an email letting us know you have done so.

Well, got to go. We have a ton going on this week at One Planet. A pattern release of a sweater designed by Knit and Tonic Wendy is the biggest thing.... Check out the blog for all the details.....

Happy Monday.

Call for Submissions

2007-01-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

From Melissa, Creative Director of One Planet Yarn and Fiber

Hello All!

One Planet Yarn and Fiber is looking for submissions to compliment our exclusive yarn lines. We are looking for all types of projects, focusing mainly on: smaller projects, shawls, bags, socks, household items, and sweaters. Please note we are also looking for crochet and felted designs in those categories along with knitted items.

We are focusing on developing patterns for our Lanas Puras line of yarns, which come in worsted, fingering, and lace weights. However, we have some new things coming soon that will also need pattern support.

We will supply yarn for all projects and designers will have 45 days from yarn receipt to complete the project. Photography, tech editing and all graphic work (schematics and graphs) will be provided.

In addition to any design ideas you may send, we would love to see some of your past work to get an idea of your design style and experience. Don't have prior experience? Don't fret! We are always looking for fresh talent also.

Please send all sketches and swatches to Melissa by Jan 29th: melissa@oneplanetyarnandfiber.com

If you have any questions or would like more details, please feel free to email me!

Thanks!

Melissa Wehrle
Creative Director
One Planet Yarn and Fiber

No time for blogging

2007-01-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

I feel as if I haven't had much time for blogging or much to say. I did just put a long post on the One Planet blog about all of the new items if you want to take a look.

I am still knitting the same Log Cabin baby blanket which is going to be much bigger than a standard baby blanket! I think I am going to have to crochet this baby a real baby blanket and this will be more his "big boy" blanket!! That is ok, it is turning out gorgeous. I am bummed out that I made a big mistake on my Ruby sweater!! LAZY LAZY LAZY I kept knitting the back and didn't even stop to count stiches every so often! By the time I got to above the arm holes, I am missing 11 stitches somewhere! So I have to rip it out to at least below the armholes. This is not easy on these tiny needles but I am determined to finish this!!!

We have been spending loads of time trying to figure out other yarns we are going to add to the shop. It is incredible, I mean incredible how many yarn companies there are out there!!

The best news of all though is that within a few weeks, we are going to have a completely revamped line of Yarn Botanika yarns. There are going to be yarns of pretty much every knitting weight in several fibers. This is pretty exciting and I can't wait to reveal it to everyone!! All the yarn is being exclusive spun for us and hand dyed for us in England and Wales!

No knitting photos today but I will show you a cool photo I took in Sedona. This is of a huge glass "plant" believe it or not outside a glass studio. Kind of interesting!

One Planet Sale, knitting, etc....

2007-01-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I forgot to post on here about the one week only sale at One Planet Yarn and Fiber. It started last Monday and I have been so busy I hardly know what day it is. Anyhow, there are only two days left, so please check out the One Planet Blog for all the details. Several of the colorways have completely sold out in Black Pearl Yarns cashmere, Lanas Puras and Yarn Botanika yarns. Also we have all of the Indie company yarns on sale which is unusual and won't happen often. Handpainted yarns from Yarn Pirate, Sunshine Yarns, Felt Studio UK, A Piece of Vermont, Serenknity, and RMD Designs. I hope I didn't forget anyone...... Just please go read the blog!! LOL And if you have wanted to try one of these yarns, now is the time! Plus we have a lot of great new patterns. All of the patterns from Bees Knees Knits, which I have not posted yet, the Zephyr gal patterns which I love, Heartstrings sock and shawl patterns and soon Chic Knits patterns and more. I am not posting all the links sorry!! Just look at our site or google.com the names! I know! I am lazy!! Sorry!

I just found out that I mixed up two people's orders. I did this one time before and I can't believe I did it again! I am so embarrassed. Do I need a better system? How does Sunshine yarns do it correctly? I have seen photos on her blog of millions of packages!!

I hope everyone had a great New Year and Christmas. I am kind of glad the holidays are over. Am I a bad scrooge!! The commercialism just really gets to me and it seems like it gets worse every single year. UGH and the crowds everywhere!!

I went up to Sedona and Jerome Arizona last weekend, two of my favorite cities. Jerome has a GREAT yarn store!! I love it there. I bought two skeins of Manos and some Lana Grossa sock yarn to try out.... uh uh in my spare time!! Here is one photo of the red rocks of Sedona. Every time I go up there, I want to move there. I look at a few houses even. Why don't I just do it? It is a bit expensive, but I could do it... my other choice is Boulder, Co. Lots of thinking and I probably won't go anywhere. This is not the best photo, but......

I have more of the Modern baby blanket done. Here is a peek. No it is not traditional baby colors but it is going to be gorgeous I think!

Happy New Year!!

Oh no, one of these meme things

2006-12-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Gina! I hate these things in a way, but I like reading them about other people! Also it gives me a chance to post since I don't have much knitting to report. I have to pick five people.. hmmm, I'll give that some thought! Gina, we would not make good room mates reading your weird things.....

OK WELL, here are FIVE weird things about me!

1. I am super sound sensitive. Actually right now, there is some click click click going off here and it feels like Chinese water torture! My computer is making this regular sound and I am checking every window to see where it is coming from and I can't find it! ahhhhhhh See, I get really weird about it. I REALLY REALLY like peace and quiet . When my dogs bark, I feel like I am going to freak out..... I also happen to be extremely sensitive to smells . Is this number 2 weird thing? You really don't want to wear perfume around me because it causes a violent reaction. No, I don't turn red or anything, I will get violently angry and want to hurt you!! Yesterday I was in Trader Joes shopping and it was so crowded and this HEAVILY PERFUMED blue haired lady slopped along in front of me and I wanted to scream YOU STINK LADY. But of course I didn't. I held it inside!!

2. Number 2 weird thing----Sometimes I like staying in my pajamas like all the time, for a few days in a row....I feel very comforted that way.... I might just knit and lay on the couch and watch movies and eat a few days in a row in my pjs... Lazy? No..I just am a real homebody..... Some might think it is pretty weird though....

3. I also hate dirty bathrooms Gina... I really like them to be spotless. I am probably not as fanatic since I hurt my neck and back and hate to clean now, but if there is one thing in my house I do keep really clean it is the bathrooms.... I don't like dirt and dusty houses. I remember several guys I have gone out with where I was SHOCKED at how they lived. One had a black bathtub. It was really white underneath, but BLACK and I mean BLACK from dirt. I told him that I would never stay over again until he cleaned the house. Voila!! A week later it was spotless. I was shocked.. BUT, here is his weirdness (and also why we broke up), he sheepisly admitted to me after our nightly fun activities, that his MOTHER had come over and cleaned the house!! I could tell a lot of stories about "G" the doctor, but this is one of the funniest.

4. I have an extremely addictive personality. It is amazing I am not into drugs and alcohol and it is probably only because every time I drink more than a glass or two of wine, I have an awful headache and I throw up... But, I am addicted to sunflower seeds, which is a weird thing, right? I used to smoke, but it has now been over 10 years! I could probably be a sex addict if I wasn't shy about men because I DO like S, but I have gotten shyer about men over the years since I don't have great luck with them (oh wait, that is number 5 weird!!) Back to addiction, I also really am a food addict. I eat for emotional reasons. I also am addicted to whatever hobby I really get into..guess what it is now!! FIBER AND YARN! But in the past, it has been everything from acquariums, to watercolor painting.... I also have to stop myself from being an online shop a holic!

5. WHEW! Almost done.....Thank goodness..... Well, I do tend to cry a bit more than the average person I think? I am super sensitive and easily hurt and people set me off. I then have a hard time letting things go if someone hurts my feelings, but I am much better at it then I used to. I really HATE mean people. And I even more HATE jealous and mean people. And I hate narccisists even more than mean people! Since I grew up with very critical parents, I am sure this is the reason for my sensitivity, plus I am super super hard on myself and self-critical.

OH GOOD, I am done...... I have to now tag five people right? I tag my friends Woolyvines,Kirsten,Sarah,Melissaand Andrea!! No excuses you five about the holidays and not being able to do this. I had to do it!!!

Well at least I had something to post about! I do have photos very soon of the blanket I am working on (log cabin baby blanket) and also I am photographing these really cool earrings and necklaces for One Planet Yarn and Fiber that are actually made out of fiber.

Look at this pair!! I love the colors. More soon!

Happy Holidays if I don't post soon.

I am knitting a lot

2006-12-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

I have finished the front of this Bees Knees Ruby sweater completely and now I am working on the back. I really made a mistake which I will never forget. The directions for the back say to knit the length until it is equal to the front up to the armholes before you start the armholes. Well.....try to measure accurately a back knit in fingering yarn, stockinette stitch with a rolled hem! It is almost impossible! So I had to pin down the front like this here onto my blocking board before blocking it to really get an accurate length!

Thanks Melissa for that obvious suggestion (DUH!) but what Melissa really said is always keep track of the number of rows you knit in a little notebook to make sure you front and back halves are identical. She is right and I am going to do the same with the sleeves. I am just about done with the back and then the sleeves and hood will go quickly! Isn't this cute? It is made in Opal and Regia sock yarns. Here is a final photo of what it is supposed to look like.

I think we need to get these patterns, they are all too cute.

I also bought this yarn today at our LYS to knit a baby blanket for Andrea and Taylors beautiful baby from Guatemala. It is not exactly baby colors (Andrea, do you like them??) but they have the primary blue and green anyhow that they using in the bedroom and it will be in a great log cabin pattern......I am going to start this tonight because it is great TV / movie watching knitting and I am kind of sick still this week...

Once I am done with this blanket, I am going to make some cashmere socks (specifically the Haiku Flower Sock pattern) designed by Gina House that we just released at One Planet Yarn and Fiber under the Black Pearl Yarns. It is a beautiful pattern and I think I am going to make it in the bamboo green cashmere. I also love the Milanese lace gloves Sara Lucas designed that we released and I might make the short ones to wear when it is cold like now... I like the color in the pattern, Chai Tea.....

Check out the photos at the Black Pearl and One Planet Yarn and Fiber blogs..

It is great to be knitting again! See and my blog is going back to being my knitting blog again! It just took a bit of time....

We're pretty excited around here

2006-11-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

We have exciting news. Take a look at the Black Pearl Yarns and One Planet Yarn and Fiber blogs!

There are more and more patterns coming over the next month, a few each week.

And we came to several agreements today with some of our very favorite designers to do patterns for the Lanas Puras yarns. There are some very cool things planned.

I got some other great news I can't post about yet. We'll just have to wait.

Boy am I tired. I was trying to figure out if it was PMS week or not because at night I just sit and stare at the walls. I can hardly speak! Really, I can't even formulate sentences! I am so tired. I am worried I have been overdoing it a bit. This is my typical pattern of doing too much and then crashing and burning. I have to be a bit careful. I know a few friends of mine are upset with me for not calling them back and I am sorry to those of you if you read this. I will get to you. I just have not been 100% this week at all. Not even close..... I need a week or at least a weekend somewhere to relax. And I am planning that, so that is good.

I was really excited to hear that my good friend Andrea and her husband Taylor found out that they are definitely adopting a little boy from Guatemala. I could not believe all that they have gone through. I am going to start work on a baby blanket for them soon. I am thinking of doing one of the log cabin baby blanket designs in the Mason Dixie book. Andrea wants primary colors and mainly blues and greens..... I wonder if I could find a pretty crochet version of this because I am into crochet lately. I'll do a search but if any of you have seen anything like this let me know. Of course with a log cabin design, I could just make it up, right? Hmmmm

Good night.......

How are things going?

2006-11-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Not to brag (HONEST!) but this is my blog right? These are just this mornings orders from One Planet Yarn and Fiber. And there are still more to pack up. I need a nap now.

This leads me to these thoughts of how amazing the blog world is. Do you know that knit bloggers are really only 5% of the total knitters/crocheters market? I learned this in Estes Park last year. Yet the blog world is powerful!

The Lanas Puras yarns are selling like hot cakes since Wendy mentioned the Desert Bloom yarn on her blog and Yarn Pirate is having her contest. Thanks you two!!! Did you play the pirate's contest!?? I just sent her prizes!! (Mini soaks, Chiagoo needles and a Sheep Shop Yarn! so go play!!) There are still a lot of Lanas Puras colors left, but some of the prettiest ones are gone.... Here is Desert Bloom followed by Raspberry Ginger Tea and Mountain Sky because I think those are all gone. But I'll place another order this week. Also we are going to be getting in other weights of yarns AND we have about six patterns planned so far-kids sweaters, skirts, fun accessories, felted items and more sweaters of course.

This is what we have looked like at night around here. I nod off around 8 pm so tired, with my baby spread out in the chair across from me!

I also can't leave out my other sweetie and so here is his photo!

How many of you ate too much last week and are going through sugar withdrawl this week like I am! I WANT M & Ms!

OOPS, I digressed..back to fiber. Coming soon..this week and next........ incredible pattern releases for Black Pearl Yarns cashmere and a big box in the mail from Yarn Pirate. Her yarns are great and so is she!!! I nabbed another photo from her site!!

Yarn Pirate and her Blog Contest

2006-11-27T01:49:00.000-07:00

Oh, how exciting. A big box of new yarns from Yarn Pirate is arriving this week. If you haven't seen her yarn, it is wonderful! Great colorways and super soft base yarn! Plus she is truly wonderful to work with! Make sure to go check out the One Planet Yarn and Fiber contest she is having on her blog right now!!

It is so much fun! Win prizes and learn fun things!!!

PS Soon all these kinds of things will be on the One Planet Yarn and Fiber blog so sign up there on bloglines, ok? Thanks!Until then I am sorry for the double posts to those of you read! Really I am...........

Don't forget! Sign up on the One Planet Yarn and Fiber mailing list and receive special coupon codes in your email!

Spin Off Magazine

2006-11-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, pretty cool!! This issue just came out, and its on the newstands Dec 6th...... The spindle kits are already selling like hotcakes.... (Isn't that the right expression? Hmmmm.. where did that come from?)

Happy Thanksgiving......

2006-11-22T13:06:00.000-07:00

I just saw Dani post on her blog a great post entitled "The Important Things" and she is really right, you know. Just before I read it, I was sitting here fretting about what a complete disaster my house is right now. I have never let it go quite this long without a real clean up. And I was also feeling bad about the weight I have gained (while eating a piece of chocolate, I admit).

It really is true that, attitude is everything. So I am going to try to turn this around and think of the important things and how grateful I am for so much. How lucky I am that I even have a house all to myself when so many in this country are homeless, or when people in Dafur or many other places are starving and living in such awful conditions. How lucky I am that I have family, my wonderful sister who is patient with me, my niece and nephew that I love to pieces and my mom, who drives me crazy, but still I am so lucky to still have a mom when others have lost theirs. I am grateful for the good friends that I have. I am lucky that I have so many good friends. People that even if I don't see often, are there for me and hopefully vice versa. I am grateful for all the food that I can eat whenever I want to, when others don't have that choice. I am grateful that it is 80 degrees outside and sunny and just beautiful! And I am grateful for the huge room full of yarn and fiber in the spare bedroom! I can walk in, and pick out whatever I would like to knit!!

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thanks to all of you who registered on the new web site One Planet Yarn and Fiber. We had a great turn out actually and amazing amount of visitors. Are there really that many knitters out there?? Please don't forget to go to the site and sign up for the mailing list. When you do that, you'll get a coupon for a discount off a number of items in the store. The coupon is good until the end of December by the way!!

Back to cleaning, but first I'll leave you with something very interesting I saw on Kirsten's blog. The results were so incredibly accurate for me! I did grow up and live in Wisconsin but then moved to the Northeast for a long time before moving west! I'd love to see your results if you post them along with your grateful list! Let me know! And Happy Thanksgiving!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Sunshine Yarns at One Planet Yarn and Fiber

2006-11-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to have Sunshine yarns at One Planet Yarn and Fiber! I realized I did not post about them before the store opening announcment. Dani's yarns are amazing!! Come take a look:

HERE

A photo or two of my favorite of her colorways! Each skein of Dani's yarn is just perfect and it is such soft soft yarn! I love it!

The Store is OPEN

2006-11-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

The new store is OPEN!

Please come take a look at our new online store!

There are still items and photos to add and more things to do, but still you can register please and take a look.

One Planet Yarn and Fiber at http://oneplanetyarnandfiber.com.

We feature yarns, knitting and crochet items, spinning stuff, patterns and all kinds of other fun things from around the world!!!

Please register on the site to be on our mailing list to receive special promotions and information, and to provide product reviews. New items are still coming in and will be added continuously.

For those of you who register by , we will send you a special discount code to use for a discount on several brands of yarns and other items, which will be good until 12/31/2006. You must register by entering your first and last name, email address, and full address. This information is totally private and will never be given out or sold! Really, it won't be!

Thanks for visiting! Let us know what you think. Leave a few product reviews if you have used any of these products before which I know you have. We have yarns and other items from some of the best indie people in the world (we think!)

We'll be looking for your complete registration! And we'll send you a discount code with more information! Thanks!

Bad Bad Dog!!

2006-11-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

What a night I had the other night.

This is Bailie:

Now...see this beautiful pretty perfectly braided and dyed roving from Heather of Sereknity? I loved this!:

I woke up at 1:30 in the am to lots of scuffling and noise. My house, and in particular, the "yarn room" looked like a dozen 3 three year olds had a party in there. I have never seen anything like it. See what happened to the pretty fiber?

After a lot of clean up (and screaming), luckily there were only two permanent casulties including this roving. I do think I can wash it though and spin up a skein for Heather for being so nice about it....

I didn't get much sleep though!

Could a few of you do me a favor? Please check out the One Planet Yarn and Fiber blog to see if it is fixed now. Some people who had firefox could not read the print and the designer figured out why and it should be fixed now! Would love a comment on there!! I will put a test post on there with a pretty picture so please go look!

Thanks!

Open Sesame

2006-11-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

A glimpse of what is in some of this week's boxes......

Yarn and patterns from the Sheep Shop Yarn Company

This color is GORGEOUS!! This is one of their Sheep One yarns in worsted weight:

And here is another favorite of mine:

Incredible Handspun and Handpainted yarns from Daniela Kloppman of Felt Studio Co in England. Daniela is an amazing fiber artist..
This handspun is called Fruity and I am in love with it. I am tempted to steal it (I will pay her though!!) and make a pair of socks with this around each top in about a one inch band..

I need to learn how to spin these great coils like she does.

This one is called Da Funk and it has beads, glitter thread and coils!

And lots of fun things from Heather of SereknityBoutique-cool needles, kits, rovings and yarns.
I love these needles she made:

This kit is too much. Heather, you outdid yourself here!! Your talent shines!!! I tried to take a good photo. Can you see the little high heel shoe stitch markers?? Too cute!

My eyes hurt from photographing and listing stuff....

More soon..... I did knit two more tiers of the Lady Eleanor Shawl last night. I just had to! And tonight is nip and tuck night so I will relax!

No No Knitting....

2006-11-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

I am in knitting withdrawl because I have just been opening boxes and entering items into the inventory for One Planet Yarn and Fiber which should be open by next week by the way. I know the blog is still hard to read for some, but it will be fixed soon! It appears to affect Mac and Firefox users but no one else.

I love knitting and find it so relaxing so I miss it. But I have to say it is fun opening these boxes too. I'll show you some of the stuff that showed up in the mail last week. And more photos all week.

First, from A Piece of Vermont beautiful hand dyed yarns. I always loved reading Jessie's blog and we got to know each other a bit when she was selling her beautiful Vermont farmhouse and I wanted to buy it! I wish! Her yarns are beautiful. Here is just one to show you....

What I find amazing about all the yarns I am seeing is there are really only so many dye methods, or dyes or yarns out there, yet everyone does it so uniquely. Jessie has this way of getting tiny bits of different colors throughout her yarns and it is just so incredibly beautiful. Jessie, I want to sometime come dye with you up in your new house and I want to feed the chickens while I am there!

I then unpacked these amazing yarns from a lovely woman named Manasi who owns Monsoon Winds at ETSY.com. She also goes by the name Yarnahoy. I will come back and put the link here, because ETSY is down right now. Manasi grew up in India and it refects in all the fiber that she does. Her yarns are simply beautiful and they are very varied. Here is one my favorite of her handspun yarns.

Manasi also does beautiful weaving. She is going to be getting some other items for us from India for the store. Chakras, Tahkli spindles and handwovens from India to add to our One Planet international mode.

One more photo. A photo of one of the incredible Needle Rolls from Honeycake Designs, also on ETSY. Jen is an amazing young woman! We met when she first opened her ETSY shop and I drooled over her items. She makes beautiful containers for dpns, crochet hooks, straight needles etc. You'll see them all at the new site, but here is just one of my favorites. This one is for storing circular needles:

One thing I feel incredibly lucky about are the people that are working with us or supplying to us. They are the nicest, as well as the most talented group of people, I have ever met. How lucky we are.

More later, yarns from England, patterns, more incredible needles and kits, etc.....

I have to go take more photos...

I wish I could just knit today!

Needle Felting Pattern and Kit

2006-11-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

More in the mail:

Wow, the boxes are piling up and I am in the middle of dyeing. Too much to do! So just a few glimpses for all of you as I can't give away all the surpises right? Also this same post will be on the new store blog One Planet Yarn and Fiber so check it out and please subscribe via bloglines or whatever you use.. so eventually, this can be my personal knitting blog again ! With dyeing and spinning thrown in of course.

I worked with Laura (yarn thrower) in the development of a needle felting kit. Someone told me they were all the rage, so I did a blog search and found Laura's oopsie bag which I thought was so cute and asked her would she want to do a pattern for us for a kit. She really did an unbelievable job. First of all, the pattern is just incredible. It gives you complete directions for making the felted bag in several different styles..with long handles, with commercial handles and with several designs. It shows you how to do the needle felting too. She sent me the final bag with the long straps and I gasped when I took it out of the box because it is gorgeous in person. First, it is HUGE and wonderful for carrying my knitting in so that is what I will be using from now on! The photos don't do it justice. Here is the front and the back of the bag hanging on my door.......

The pattern is for sale in our ETSY shop alone and also with a complete needle felting kit. You know....I used to think needle felting involved heat, but not so!! The kit contains really everything you need to complete the design..different colored rovings, felting needles and a foam block, plus the pattern.

We are looking for other cool needle felting kits to carry at One Planet. We have one really neat one coming from England that I fell in love with, but still we are on the look out for more. If you know of any, let us know.

I have three more boxes of things to open up and photograph so there will be a few more posts this week.....

Back to the dyepot.....
YarnB

Every day feels like a holiday

2006-11-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

Every day now a package seems to come to either my house or my sisters house. It really is quite fun opening these things up!

By the way, the new blog is set up. Take a peek!!!! Put it on bloglines, please!! Then I can go back eventually to Yarn Botanika being my knitting blog!

There is also a pretty button here that you can put on your site if you are so inclined! The store is so cool, with stuff from all around the planet, that believe me you will want to at least look!

Here is a peek at a few things that came in this week.

Lots of Chiagoo knitting needles, made in China of mosa bamboo, which I just love for some reason. I once tried the other "C" bamboo needles and I hated them. The finish wore off really quickly. These are great and the finish so far has not worn off and I have been knitting with one pair for months now...

Some fantastic wool wash from SOAK in Canada arrived. It comes in incredible fragrances, no rinsing required and great packaging too.

And the most fun, although this is just glimpse,the amazing new Lanas Pura Yarns from Uruguay. This is our new line of yarns, handpainted by artisans just for us in about every knitting weight imaginable. We started with just the lace and fingering, but we'll be adding quite a bit more in solids and handpainted. Here are photos of the lace weight in "periwinkle rose" and the fingering in "desert bloom." Many many more to come!

Back to trying to get the shop open!

Show and Tell

2006-11-01T03:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I do feel like my blog consists of show and tell posts. I am always amazed by others who write so cleverly about interesting topics each time they post and then they get 20 or 30 or 40 comments as well! I just don't feel that clever all the time. I think that is why my blog feels more like a show and tell blog.

Anyhow, let's see it is 3:30 am and I am again up with a night of insomnia along with a killer headache and neck pain. If any of you suffer from chronic pain, you know what it is like.

Soon we will have the new One Planet Yarn and Fiber blog open and I'll post on there some of the new products for the store as we get them in. It will be a bit confusing having three or more blogs to post on, but this one will come back more to the personal blog. Black Pearl yarns blog will be for the development of that luxury yarn line from Asia with patterns, etc..

The new website is coming along (some of you asked) and hopefully it will be open within a few weeks. We have so many great things for sale from all over the world. It really has been incredible speaking with so many talented people.

Here are some glimpses of a few things coming in the mail.

I am in love totally with these knitting needles handcarved by Lee Chesson studios. The photos don't do them justice. He uses beautiful woods and they are very lightweight and have an incredible point on the end. They are the perfect length for straight needles. I just admire people who are so good with wood or any craft. I am trying to convince Lee to make spindles, which he has before...

Here is one of my favorite pairs made of birch wood with zebrawood ends.

We are carrying all the yarns and patterns from this new yarn company called Sheep Shop Yarn company. I read an article about the owner Fonnie, and I so admired what she was doing that we took on her product line. Look how cute this bag is. Her colorways are incredible and many more patterns are coming soon.

This is my absolute favorite Sheep Shop pattern but then again, I am a total green lover.....

More soon.. I received four huge boxes of yarn today from Uruguay. We have another one of our own lines in development called Lanas Puras yarns. The yarns are all handpainted and soft soft soft. I'll show some photo glimpses soon. I can't wait until the whole One Planet Yarn & Fiber site is released...!

More soon, I think it is time to try and sleep some more.

Gina's Podcast

2006-10-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

My friend Gina has a new podcast! I am just about to go listen to it!! Gina and I met when she bought a ton of roving through the Yarn Botanika etsy shop and then we started chatting! Our friendship has really grown and she also recently completed a beautiful pattern called the Haiku Flower Socks which will be available soon.

You should be able to listen to the podcast by linking to the button on the right sidebar under partners.

Or CLICK HERE if want to go directly to a link to Gina's podcast.

Read Gina's bio that I just posted over at Black Pearl Yarn blog.

Check out her blog: Sleepy Eyes Knitting

And there are directions there for how to get to the podcast....

Here is a photo of the Haiku Flower Socks, knit in Black Pearl Yarns blue topaz cashmere, coming soon.

Do you get Spin-Off Magazine?

2006-10-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

I am pretty excited about this so I am sharing a bit early! If you do not get Spin Off magazine, pick up the next issue when it is out! The spindle kits that are a collaboration between Yarn Botanika, Woolyvines and Knitted Bits are going to be in there, live photos and all!! The magazine mails to its subscribers in just a few weeks so I am not that premature in filling you in!

We are all pretty excited and there is a lot to do before hand to get ready.......!! It is amazing too what working together can bring to a project and it also makes it much more fun and rewarding.

If you haven't seen the Traveler Kits, here are a few photos of previous ones. Knitted Bits makes the spindle bags, Woolyvines, the stone spindle and Yarn Botanika dyes the fiber to match or tries to dye the fiber to match. I just ordered five more pounds of blue faced leicester to make up more kits. These kits literally sell out usually within a week of posting them... There is also just a regular spindle kit. Really the main attractions are April's spindles which are just so unique and beautiful! And then I think the color matching of the fiber and bag.....!!

Pretty cool!! We can't wait to see it.... The only disappointing thing is I felt I could not give the new parent store One Planet Yarn and Fiber yet as I am not 100% sure it will be open then although I think it will be! So we listed the spindles and kits for sale at the Yarn Botanika ETSY shop, Woolyvines and Kpixie.com. But I can always put a post up at the ETSY shop.....!! Any of you who have ever done a web site know it takes longer than you might think although it REALLY is coming along great!

Night!

You are never really anonymous:)

2006-10-26T01:26:00.000-07:00

I have been catching up on my blog reading, and I came across a great discussion on communication on the internet. They were talking about how people sometimes say things via email or on a blog that they would never say otherwise. This person posting happened to get quite a few nasty anonymous posts on their blog. Well. I had never gotten one before ever, but this week I got my very first one. What was interesting about it, is when I read the anonymous comment, I had a strong suspicion who it was from. Sure enough, I was able to trace the IP address and with the help of an ISP provider was able to confirm my suspicions. The lessons learned are one is really ever totally anonymous online even if they think they are and also, wow envy and greed sure are horrible personality traits! It is pretty easy to trace who sent an an anonymous comment by the way, so it really is smart (and kind) to think before sending something to another person that you wouldn't just say to their face.

It is amazing how the internet had changed our culture. I see so much more greed and narcissism in our society and also a lack of kindness towards others. It really is food for thought.

This has been a super busy week. Lots of dyeing and I have been trying to input products into the One Planet Yarn and Fiber store. There are boxes coming from all over the world.

I am have been also excited to see the photos of the work of some of the designers coming in.

Look at this gorgeous hand dyed ribbon that Melissa picked out to go with her cashmere sweater pattern. The entire sweater is just incredible and we hope to do the photo shoot with it this weekend.. I really have such incredible respect for designers after the last few months. It is just amazing watching the entire project go from the initial idea to completion! I can't wait for all of you to see the finished patterns, etc...

Isn't this ribbon beautiful? And the color of this ginger peach cashmere, I just love it......

So behind on everything

2006-10-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? How can it really almost be November? I feel like the days just speed by but that I don't accomplish anything! Do others feel like that? I was excited to finally get all of my knitting projects organized into these baskets I bought at a really cool new store called Storables. They have amazing things and I want to organize my whole house!

Thanks to Kirsten's suggestions,the bottem basket has all of the yarn for my projects that are "in progress." The top basket has each project with its needles all organized. These are just the projects that are already in the works. I love it!

I am almost finished with my Noni bag. Only three more flowers to go. What a fun knit and felting, wow!! I am making the bobble bag next for my mom and the baguette bag for my sister.

I also finished this gorgeous scarf using handspun by Rachael Dow of RMD Designs. Her yarns are just unbelievable. We are going to be carrying them in One Planet Yarn and Fiber. Look at this new yarn she just sent me. Yes, I did drool when I opened the package.

And here is the scarf with her yarn I am just finishing. I just am adding some fringe on with some pretty ribbon yarn.

The website is coming along but very very slow! But it is going to be absolutely gorgeous thanks to the hard work of several including Missa, midnight knitter, from Kpixie.com.

There are a lot of new patterns coming. If you check out the blogs of Gina, Melissa and Miriam you will just see a few glimpses!

Back to work on the website , more skeining (blchhhh), and have to dye this week! Now I know where all the time goes and why I haven't even been to a movie in months! I definitely need to get back to having more balance!

Happy weekend!
YarnB

A Glimpse of a Sweater Design and More

2006-10-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I posted this on the Black Pearl Yarns blog, but I thought I would put it here as well. If you haven't signed onto that blog through bloglines yet, please do!

We truly are so fortunate to have found the designers that are working with us on new patterns. Some of the patterns that will be coming out soon include amazing socks by Gina House, a lovely scarf and shawl by Miriam Felton, several sweaters by Melissa Wehrle and Michele Woodford. Crochet sweaters by Angela Best. A purse from Ivette Tecodor. Lacy fingerless gloves by Sara Lucas. AND MORE. I am only really giving you a hint of what is to come because the patterns are really amazing. All of the designers love the yarn and they all keep coming up with new project ideas. Plus there are a few more colors coming out soon. And also several new yarns.... You can read about any of these designers on the Black Pearl Yarns blog.

The Black Pearl Yarns and patterns will be for sale soon in a new internet shop called One Planet Yarn and Fiber. Bookmark One Planet in your favorite sites now as the site will be released in a few weeks. The URL will be http://www.oneplanetyarnandfiber.com. The shop will feature gorgeous and unusual yarns, fibers, spinning items, designs and patterns, finished items, goods from indie companies, artisan crafted wood needles and needle cases and much more from countries around the globe.

The idea for One Planet came to us during the last few years when so many horrible things were happening around our world. But it was amazing how people from all over could talk about their love of yarn and/or knitting,fiber, spinning, etc despite their political or religious or ethnic backgrounds. A percent of our net profits will be donated to an organization devoted to promoting world peace efforts around the world. In addition, our goal is to represent as many countries as we can over time.

If you have any products you think we might be interested in carrying in our store, please contact us at OnePlanetYarnandFiber@yahoo.com. We also might be looking for more designers for the future and independent pattern companies too. Several other yarn lines are also in development through both Black Pearl Yarns and Yarn Botanika. These yarns as well as some of the newer lines we will carry from Uruguay, Chile, England, Argentina, China and Australia
will be available on a much larger scale in the future.

There also soon will be a new blot for One Planet Yarn and Fiber at www.oneplanetyarnandfiber.blogspot.com which will show all of the new items are they are released.

Melissa Wehrle sent me a glimse of this gorgeous pattern she is working on in Ginger Peach. When we saw her sweater sketches, we flipped, to be honest.

Take a peek! I love this color!

Out of Chaos-Fall Project List

2006-10-09T23:35:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that I have not finished a single project for a long time! That is not good. Also despite my determination to not start any more projects, I ended up today buying some yarn to make the Lady Eleanor Shawl which I just love. It is in the Scarf Style book by Pam Allen. This is a great book. Except I don't even wear scarves because of the climate I am in (?) So why do I have several on my project list (?)

I organized all my projects today though so I know exactly where I am with each of them and I am going to make my list right here on the blog like I do every few months. When I do this, it really helps put things in perspective. There are so many sweaters and shawls that I am seeing now that I want to make. It is incredible how many wonderful designs there are out there really! How can I learn to knit with my fingers and toes? And how do people who weave and spin do all of these hobbies at once?

I know people who only work on one project at a time to completion and would never be a yarn stasher like I am, but what can I say.

OK, here it is, the to do list for this fall!! Starred items have priority for being finished already!!!

1. *Noni Evening Bag- in Plymouth Galway in black and purple- about 3/4 done. Pictures coming soon.

2. * Bees Knees Ruby Pattern in Opal and Regia sock yarns for Alexis-about 1/2 completed.

3. * Socks - two pairs- in self striping yarn and my own yarn.

4. Lace Tee - using Trinity yarn in a pale light green ( save for Spring!)

5. * Wrap sweater from Garnstudio-I HAVE TO FINISH THIS!! It is insane! I just have to seam it at this point!

6. Crochet Belt - Blue Sky Organic Cotton for my niece Rachel.

7. Crochet cap sleeve wrap sweater- also a Blue Sky pattern. I just finished the gauge swatch for this and I have no idea what I am doing. This is my first crochet pattern really. How do I add new yarn on in crochet??
Isn't this sweater adorable?

8. Vintage Velvet Scarf in Muench Touch Me Yarn in eggplant-Also from Scarf Style

9. Back Yard Leaves scarf in Olive Aurora 8 merino

10. Log Cabin Blanket in cream, eggplant and variegated (my own hand dyed) Yarn- Optima Worsted, a present from Ilana (THANK YOU!)

11. Mentionable Camisole in Rum Raisin, pattern by Wendy Bernard

12. Lady Eleanor Shawl-OK, Kirsten showed me this variegated yarn at Michaels made by Patons and I couldn't get over how pretty and soft it was for the price! It is called SWS and it is 70% wool and 30% soy. Now I must admit (OUT LOUD) that I am a total yarn snob, BUT......when I cast on tonight, I have to say, this yarn is gorgeous, especially for the price. This colorway is called Plum.

By the way, this kind of knitting, called Entrelac is really fun! I was reading a few blogs last night, where people described it as boring, but I do not find it boring at all.

12. I am waiting for some of the patterns from a few of the designers who are making them because I know already I want to make like every one of them! In cashmere? Probably not every pattern. But...there are lots of options......! There are about 8 or 9 patterns coming soon and I would say I want to make 80% of them for myself!

I feel so much better just making this list. I am determined this week to organize my house a bit more and make lists for the other things in my life.....broken things in my house that need fixing, clothes and shoes I need, diet and exercise goals. I feel this incredible need to organize myself and my surroundings for some reason.. Probably because I have been truly living in a state of chaos for the past month.....

Back to knitting!!

Tons of New Items in the ETSY SHOP

2006-10-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

I feel like this blog is turning more commercial and I have mixed feelings about that. I don't really like it and it is going to change a bit soon, just so you all know. I think once the new website One Planet Yarn and Fiber is up and running, I am going to turn this back into more of a personal blog where I show and talk about things that I am playing with, or developing for One Planet Yarn and Fiber. Since that is mostly what I'll be doing... It isn't my company, I am really more of the creative, idea gal. That is the role I love too. Coming up with ideas, and products for the store. The store is actually owned by another and the whole thing is really a team effort! Still, my influence is all over it!!

Anyhow, I just wanted to tell everyone to please go take a look at the Yarn Botanika ETSY shop because I just spent about 3 hours listing all of the new kits and yarns. All the Black Pearl cashmere yarns are listed there, along with the Knit Kits from the Garter Belt Team..... We are still waiting on one more Garter Belt project from Wendy in Italy and I can't wait to see hers! Hers is due here the end of this month.

The kits and yarns for Element, Autumn Walk and Mentionable are all posted though....!!

Element:

Autumn Walk:

Mentionable:

More soon. I think one of the most exciting things I am involved with now is talking to some incredibly talented designers about all of the patterns they are creating for Black Pearl yarns and Yarn Botanika. And also some of the new yarns that One Planet might be carrying, and talking to people from other countries. It has been pretty exciting I have to say. I have had a few negative experiences in this knitting and yarn world that put me off. I had to stop myself from blogging about the few petty, jealous and insecure people in the dye world, some big and huge egos in this online world.... but I have to say that for the most part 98%, no 99% of the people I have met are not like that and simply love what they are doing. I figure that small 1-2 % will crash and burn at some point or choke on their own egos...!! I do believe in karma.

Have a good day. Time for me to rest.........and have some lunch!!

Yarn Photography

2006-09-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

I bought this incredible new indoor photography studio recently. The lights are designed to simulate outdoor natural light so that you really can get realistic images of the colors. I just love it!!! It has these great little portable but very powerful lights and I can also use it for jewelry and other small objects....

I thought I would show off a few of the photos that I took today on here of some new handpainted yarns.....I can have yarn kind of floating like this:

In Mangoes and Raspberries:

Or like this in Pumpkin Spice:

Or I can have it with my usual rocks background still using the natural indoor lighting:
Like this in Raspberries and Chocolate:

Or like this one which is a Black Pearl Yarns Cashmere color. Actually check out all of the Black Pearl Yarns cashmere colors on the blog HERE...

Of course I picked my favorite "Bamboo Green" color to showcase!!!

Thanks to my "dye helper-you know who you are :)" for doing such a great job with these Yarn Botanika colorways. Do you think the lighting is pretty natural looking?
What a treat it is to not lug everything outside to take photos....!

Also, please make sure to check out all the photos on the Black Pearl Yarns blog. All of the fall colors are shown there....

Cool Knit Kits......

2006-09-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Pretty exciting.....These three knit kits will be coming soon to the Yarn Botanika ETSY shop.

These are all based on designs from the Garter Belt Design Team. Check out their webpage for lots and lots of great designs.

The first knit kit is a scarf design by Marie Grace, called Element. I just love the name she picked. This scarf used one skein of the Merino and Tencel colorway called Earth.

The second kit is also a scarf that was designed by Elizabeth Morrison. She named her design Autumn Walk and I love it!! The colorway of the yarn is called Madison in the Fall after my favorite midwestern town, and Elizabeth's city too, Madison, Wisconsin. Of course, these scarves can be made in any colorway.

The last Knit Kit, but not least of course, also available next week in the ETSY shop and also at KPIXIE.com is Wendy Bernard's Mentionable, a really adorable camisole top. These kits come in 3 sizes and 3 colors (Pine Forest-a dark green; Rum Raisin (plum colors) and Peach Spice (peach with beige and brown). The pattern is great and everything will be released at once next week, the first week of October, so keep your eyes open!!

Angela Best at Black Pearl Yarns

2006-09-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, so much is happening at once! First, did you see the post about Angela Best on the Black Pearl Yarns blog? She is designing a very cute cashmere lacy sweater top using the Henna Red cashmere.... The Henna red is sort of a deep red. There will be photos soon on that blog showing all the colors. Angela designed an adorable bolero jacket for Debbie Stollers recent Stitch N Bitch Crochet book: The Happy Hooker. Here is a photo of this design which I just love. I have thought of making this actually, but I am still nervous about my crochet skills.

I just got this new indoor "photography studio" and I hope to have some really cool photos soon of all the cashmere colors for Black Pearl Yarns. They are absolutely gorgeous. Really they are. I am in love myself with ginger peach and bamboo green colorways although the polynesian plum is also delectable!! My sister named them all and I think she did a great job.....

I also hope to have some photos up later today or tomorrow of my Noni bag in progress and also the three wonderful knit kits coming next week to the Yarn Botanika etsy shop, based on patterns by the Garter Belt design team.

Headaches and Fiber Therapy

2006-09-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

I have been suffering from a horrible headache for 8 straight days. Finally right now at this moment I have some relief and it is amazing, the difference in my mood! At first I thought maybe it was just PMS, or perhaps dye chemicals or doing too much. But it turned out to be mostly muscular from my neck. Anyhow, if anyone got a note from me and I was grouchy, then you know why.... I normally don't post a lot of personal things on here....but I like to now and then....

When I was up at night and couldn't sleep, I started doing some spinning again which was wonderful. I realized also this week that I have just not gotten in enough personal craft time and I really miss that. I have a pound of CORMO fiber that I bought from a small farm in Northern California. A few months ago, I was obsessed with CORMO sheep. I still want to own some quite badly. I have this fantasy of moving to northern California or Colorado (definitely somewhere COOLER) and having just maybe 6 sheep and two alpacas and a horse and of course a few dogs....

Anyhow, Cormo are very special sheep. The fiber is very very soft... it averages in the 17 -23 micron range and it should be a pure pure white. I saw some raw Cormo fleece at ESTES Park in Colorado and I really wanted one, but I knew I didn't have much spinning time. Next year, I think I will definitely buy a whole fleece and have it processed with maybe 20 or 30% silk and add some pure white alpaca in too. But by itself, it is luscious! I couldn't tell when I was spinning it really, but after it was washed and dried, it fluffed up to this incredibly soft skein of yarn and then I dyed it. Here are a few photos of it when I finished it. This is about 244 yards too! And I still have almost a whole pound left! Oh I wish you all could FEEL this yarn. It is so fluffy and soft. I think I like it more than merino! I just bought this gorgeous new pattern at KPIXIE called the Rosebuds, Ribbons and Bells Shawl. Take a peek at the pattern. Isn't it nice?It has three lace patterns in it. I was thinking of making it in cream colored cashmere, but my other option is to spin up enough of the natural cormo to use! Decisions, decisions!

Here is my Blue Lagoon Cormo handspun that I just finished:

About Miriam Felton

2006-09-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the Black Pearl Yarns Blog to see information on another designer designing in cashmere. The yarn is so soft it is incredible! And the colors, yum, yum. And the designers, wow!! I know its coming soon!!

Black Pearl Yarns-Designers

2006-09-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I told some of you recently about Black Pearl Yarns, but since then, I have had quite a few readers subscribe, thank you. Please take a look at the blog and sign up on bloglines to read about it. Black Pearl Yarns is a new company that will feature truly luxury yarn all the way from Asia. No, it is not my company, for some of you have asked, but I am helping a bit with it. I know that Black Pearl signed designed contracts with some fantastic knit and crochet designers. There will be designer bios shown on the blog. The first bio on there is about Melissa Wehrle, who is a very talented young designer. We can't wait to see what her first cashmere design will be!

Here is a really cute sweater design that Melissa did for HipKnits. It is available here on their website. Wow, and Hipknits has some really cool yarns. I have been wanting to feel that banana yarn!

I was doing some dyeing and playing with colors the past few weeks with the Black Pearl Yarns and here are a few photos. This yarn is the cashmere and silk yarn and I was playing with some semi-solid colors. I know the first yarns Black Pearl Yarns will have will be pure cashmere, without silk. And they are all solid colors. The pure cashmere is a very high quality. It feels literally like velvet. The silk and cashmere yarns are also really beautiful. After dyeing, they have the appearance of a silky suade. These yarns are for sale in the Yarn Botanika shop if anyone is interested. They are slightly reduced since they were for my color experiments but they are gorgeous!

The colors are from top to bottom, SLATE, PINK SAND PEARL and DUSK.

There are a few more coming that are drying!

Within a few weeks, the Black Pearl Yarns will be available exclusively at KPixie.com, in the Black Pearl ETSY shop and in a new shop called One Planet Yarn and Fiber, which will be coming soon. More about that soon.

Have a great day. I have a date with my skeiner for the weekend.

Theme Thursday At ETSY.COM

2006-09-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks for so many great comments on my last post! It is nice to know some people are actually reading what I write once in awhile.... So many interesting comments.

I too, can appreciate the artistry.....but well......I still don't get it, but that is ok. Really thank you for reading and for the comments. I really love getting them.

I just got a note that our spindle kits put together by WoolyVines, Knitted Bits and Yarn Botanika are featured in the Theme Thursday at ETSY.com......

Take a look at the post here!!

That was kind of exciting!

It was this spindle kit that was featured where I dyed the fiber to match the bag. I have to admit that I sometimes have trouble giving up these kits especially if the colors turn out interesting.

Last night I actually did some spinning for the first time in a long time and it was a lot of fun. I will try to take some photos over the weekend. I am spinning up some interesting batts I bought from Luxe fiber. Thanks N! And I think I am going to ply the singles with something interesting. I am still so new to spinning and I really want to learn how to make more interesting handspun.... Has anyone seen in person the new knitting and spinning book called Spin To Knit by Shannon Oakley? I am just very curious what the patterns are like. We really need more books like this. Many people just don't seem to know what to do with handspun yarn!

Good night

Is it Just Me

2006-09-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

I read the blog Whip Up quite often. Sometimes there are some interesting things on there, other times, I feel either really old or possibly I just live on another mental planet.

I mean look at this hat:

It is described as "fantastic" on this blog.....

A few months ago, they had a contest that was supposed to find some of the best crafty things around and I have to say I was pretty surprised at the winners. I didn't think they were that great to be perfectly honest. There is craft, there is art, and then there is just plain tacky that frankly isn't really artsy at all. Some people have talent and some just don't despite the expression that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Here is another hat that is considered a wonderful felt creation:

I mean who would wear this thing?? No offense to the creators as I am sure you worked hard at your artistic hats. And I hate to be a party pooper and a spoil sport. But I don't get it. Is it just me? Maybe I am getting too old for some of this crafty stuff.

I found a few more of these felt hat creations on this webpage linked from Whip UP:
These last two came from HERE. A few were kind of attractive maybe..others just plain ugly. What am I missing here? I've been looking for a new idea for Halloween so perhaps I have found it here?

I don't think I'll be wearing any on my next blind date. Can you imagine showing up in this one?

Have a nice night....

Fall 2006 Colorways

2006-09-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here are the fall 2006 Colorways that will be available. Not that there won't be "experimental colorways" as there will be!!! There are a few others that come to mind. " Mediterranean Sea and Earth" are special colorways I dyed for Wendy and Marie and silly me forgot to take skein photos before I mailed them off to them. But we'll see them knit up soon!

With this mosaic building tool, I can't put the photo names under each photo although I can do that with Photoshop and I'll work on that. In the meantime, here are the names of the colorways going from left to right across and then to the next row. Hope it makes sense

You can watch a slideshow of the colors here on FLICKR and it will list all the names: Fall 2006 Colorways

1. Blue Moon
2. Rose Quartz
3. Manhattan
4. Blue Lagoon
5. Pine Forest
6. Desert Sage
7. Chai Latte
8. Caribbean Seas
9. Madison In the Fall
10. Peach Spice
11. Japanese Maple
12. Vanilla Skies
13. Mangoes and Raspberries
14. Organic Greens
15. Mulberry Tree
16. Pumpkin Spice
17. Raspberries Chocolate and Cream
18. Rum Raisin

Here is another interesting topic for discussion and that it is what truly are "handpainted yarns" There are lots of people out there calling their yarns handpainted when they really aren't. To me, anyhow, handpainted literally means what it says. Physically apply the dye solution to the skeins with a paint brush or a syringe or squirt bottle, each skein, one at a time, wrapped in plastic usually and heat set (at least for protein fibers). There are many other methods of making variegated yarns...Sprinkling dye powder on skeins in a pot, computer generated dyeing, but these are not handpainted yarns. Why am I bringing this up. I got a catalog in the mail today which shall remain nameless and they were saying their yarns are hand dyed and I just don't think they are. Maybe I am a skeptic but if they truly are dyed by hand, I don't see how they can afford to sell them so low. True handpainting is very labor intensive......

Anyhow, I hope you like the colors! If anyone would like information on dyeing, I am glad to share it. After all this is a craft and crafters should help each other in my opinion....Plus there are no real secrets.
:)

Lime and Violet Podcast....

2006-09-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I am listening right now to the Lime and Violet Podcast because they wrote me and told me they were going to mention Yarn Botanika in their weekly podcast.....

If you go to their blog here:

You can link on a place to listen to this weeks edition.

It is a great show! I am enjoying listening to it. Now I need (I mean I would like!) an ipod! I have been wanting an excuse to buy one! I downloaded itunes and I am just learning this whole podcast thing.

Give the show a listen, ok? And let me know what you think!! Also they have a message board here and you can leave them a message.

Also check out the gorgeous Lime and Violet sock yarn by Lisa Souza! Yum Yum!

Thanks for the nice comments Lime and Violet!! Enjoyed the show!!

I am SO GLAD I BOUGHT this Skeiner!

2006-09-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

You have to see my new toy here. I have to tell you that I am counting my blessings this weekend that I bought this electric skeiner from Fricke. That is because we are dyeing lots of yarn this week for the knit kits for Wendy's Camisole. The kits are going to be at KPixie.com and our ETSY store. And the yarn comes on cones!!

If you ever need a skeiner like this, I would highly recommend this one!!
There are several versions and HERE is the website describing it.

Last night, I went with Kirsten and her family to the Stitch N Pitch game and it was fun.... We got bags of goodies and then we went out for a wonderful meal! I was happy to get out of the house after doing so many skeins of yarn. My neck is killing me right now... Thank goodness for my friends who have helped me with skeining too. Thanks to those of you who have helped! Thank goodness also I have dye help now. Is that enough thank goodnesses for one blogger post? Well........it is amazing in life how certain people come into it at just the right times or certain things happen that lead you in directions you never thought of before. If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be spinning and dyeing yarn and have a household full of fiber, I never would have believed them!

Back to skeining!!

Happy Sunday!

Personality Tests

2006-09-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

I am a sucker for these tests. I got this one from Elizabeth's blog. Gosh, I am more neurotic than her! Look how low her score is on that one! A 14 she scored! Hmm.. well I analyzed it further and my neuroticism is high because I have a temper. Oh well, it is there and I had to admit it being the honest person I am! I have struggled with it my whole life.... another interesting tidbit is that I scored low on "morality" which I don't understand at all. I think I am a very moral person actually! The only question that I can see that relates to morality was whether I vote for conservative party candidates at all. The answer is no, but that doesn't make me immoral! It asked if I lied or cheated to get ahead and I said no!! Interesting!

My Personality


Neuroticism	72
Extraversion	94
Openness To Experience	98
Agreeableness	65
Conscientiousness	62

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report

MySpace Surveys, Bebo and MySpace Codes by Pulseware Survey Software

You are sociable, outgoing, energetic, and lively. You prefer to be around people much of the time. You can be very easily upset, even by what most people consider the normal demands of living. People consider you to be extremely sensitive and emotional. Novelty, variety, and change spice up your life and make you a curious, imaginative, and creative person. You have some concern with others' needs, and are generally pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative. You are reasonably reliable, organized, and self-controlled.

This report compares you to other women between the ages of 41 and 60 in United States. It analyses you based on each of the five broad personality domains of the Five-Factor Model (Goldberg, L R. 1999), and the six sub domains at each level.

A few photos....

2006-09-06T01:15:00.000-07:00

First, here is Elizabeth's scarf pattern that she is working on using Yarn Botanika merino and tencel yarn. She is a member of the Garter Belt Design Team and I showed an earlier swatch of her scarf pattern. I called this colorway Madison in the Fall after one of my favorite towns Madison Wisconsin.... The scarf is looking gorgeous and I know she has some great plans for finishing it. The pattern will be for sale on the Garter Belt design site as well as in the ETSY shop... KPIXIE will be carrying quite a few of these new knitting kits as well, starting with the cami kits from Knit and Tonic.

Also, I have been making this drop stitch scarf from this INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS handspun yarn I bought from a woman named Rachel who has an ETSY shop called RMD Designs. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Rachel's yarns and I plan on buying a lot more.. I am also hoping my sister is going to carry her yarn in her new shop but we'll see...

Rachel's yarns have really inspired me to start spinning again. Take a look how gorgeous these colors are. This is hand dyed blue faced leicester and she spun multi-colored locks into it. I just hope the scarf is long enough. I don't have a lot of yarn left. If not, I am trying to think of some ideas for how to lengthen it on either end or what I could add that would look great with the handspun. Any ideas for finishing a too short scarf?

Here is a close up! BEAUTIFUL COLORS:

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Camisole Colors

2006-09-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

I just finished the three colors that Wendy's Camisole is going to come in. I really loved how these turned out and I hope that people who make the cami also love them...

First there is Pine Forest (here is another shot of it)

And then Peach Spice.......

Followed by Rum and Raisin......

I am going to make the camisole myself in the Rum Raisin color!

Making Kits for Wendy's Cami...

2006-09-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Have you seen Wendy at Knit and Tonic's cami that she designed with the Yarn Botanika merino and tencel yarn? The pattern will be out soon and we'll have kits for it too. I just love how it is turning out...It will have an actual name too! She is so cute in her photos I have to say that I hope one day I have a spa afternoon with her sipping gin and tonics by the pool....and chatting about yarn and knitting. It just seems that that should happen!! Only I don't drink much anymore and the idea of getting in a bathing suit now scares me! BUT, I am doing well on my diet and there are plenty of resorts around where I live and a massage sure sounds good.....:)

I don't think she'll mind my taking this photo from her site! I love that she makes her patterns in such a wide variety of sizes xs-3x.. Several commenters are asking for a wider strap version so I bet she will add that... What a loyal following she has and for good reason. She is great to work with, always keeping me updated as to the progress of the pattern, etc and that is very helpful....

There are also THREE other great patterns coming from the Garter Belt Design Team using the merino and tencel yarn.. I love working with them, they are all so different from each other and me too, yet we all have the bond of the love of yarn. I can't wait to see the other patterns but to be honest, I am glad they are staggered out a bit!

The cami kits will be available on ETSY in a few weeks I hope, yarn and the pattern to make this adorable top. Here is a photo of the Pine Forest colorway and more photos of the other colorways to come.

I was working on two other colorways I think it will be available in as well....Rum Raisin and Spice.... We'll see after they dry and I can get a better look how the colors are turning out.... Yarn Botanika yarns, kits, fibers etc will also be available soon in a webstore called One Planet Yarn and Fiber in addition to KPIXIE.com. Most of the items will start moving from ETSY to One Planet Yarn and Fiber over a period of time. I'll let you know more about that soon....but the store sells really cool and unique yarn and fiber from around the world.... It is going to carry Yarn Botanika and then the Black Pearl Yarns which I posted about and other things as well. By the way, Black Pearl Yarns is not my company as some of you asked, but I am helping a bit with it and doing some of the dyeing for it..... I hope you signed up to watch the site because I know the cashmere yarns are coming soon and they are incredible.... And I also know some patterns for the cashmere are coming.

I should still be sleep actually so I am going to go try to get in a few more zzzz...

Felting! WOW

2006-08-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

I just had to report that I just felted my first bag. WOW, it really worked!!! TOO COOL FOR WORDS!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know why I just didn't think it would work!!

I am making the Noni Evening Bag in black and purple just like the original pattern

HERE..

I just finished my first flower and I have four more to knit up and felt and then I'll put it all together.

Photos soon. I was just so excited, I felt I had to post about it!

On another note, have any of you seen the really cool Tilli Tomas yarns ? I am in love with the Cleopatra yarn for some reason but I am not sure what to make with it. I do think I am going to buy the yarn to make this Stitch Diva Pattern though or I will hand dye something to make it. I just love the long sleeve green version of the Simple Knitted bodice, but I'll probably make it in short sleeve....I am not sure how the neckline will work with bigger bazoombas, but I can wear a camisole. I am just in love with this pattern....

Here's a photo of it:

I love seeing hand dyed yarn knit up!

2006-08-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

My friend Karen sent these photos of the socks she knit from the yarn called India. This was in the first batch of yarn I ever dyed so it is kind of interesting to see these... I think they look really pretty....Thanks Karen!! You are becoming an expert sock knitter..!

And here is an updated picture of the camisole that Wendy from Knit and Tonic is working on using the Yarn Botanika merino and tencel in the colorway Pine Forest. I dyed a few skeins and put them on etsy and they are gone, so I will be doing quite a bit more for kits... I really can't wait to see all of the patterns from the Garter Belt Design teamcoming soon. They will be offering the patterns on their site and I will also have kits.

This cami is looking super super cute:

And this is Elizabeth's scarf in the Madison In The Fall Colorway.. I love this new colorway.....

Here is some of it in roving instead of yarn, yum yum......Watch for a photo of this in a very very exciting and special place soon (it is a secret where.shhhhhhhhhhh)

Hmmm, I just noticed the color looks quite a bit different on the roving than on the yarn, but it is the same exact dyes..... Interesting!

Good night......

Cashmere, cashmere

2006-08-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

I had to take this photo off Sarah's blog to show it off! I hope she doesn't mind! Isn't this gorgeous?

This is some cashmere yarn I dyed for her in a colorway called Raspberry Souffle. It is too beautiful.....I love the pattern stitch....

Speaking of cashmere, keep your eyes out for really incredible new line of yarns coming soon....... It is still a secret, but I'll give you a hint...

See this beautiful graphic??

Now, if you have bloglines......subscribe to this blog and watch the news as it comes along!!

http://blackpearlyarns.blogspot.com

:)

Natural Dyeing, etc., etc.....

2006-08-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to play around with natural dyeing for quite awhile. Since I have always been inspired by nature in just about everything I do, the idea of color from plants has intrigued me. I studied herbal medicine for quite a few years, formally for one full year, and when we studied the various dye plants, I never thought at the time, I'd ever be using the knowledge.

I hope to do more experiments and keep a journal of what I do.

I have a few great books I have been reading for awhile. My favorite is called Wild Color by Jenny Dean. The other book I have, which is very good too, but is a bit older, is called Ingigo, Madder and Marigold by Trudy Van Stralen.

Another intesteresting thing about natural dyeing is all the folklore that goes along with it going back many generations. Also everyone has various opinions about it when you talk to other fiber people. Some insist that none of the mordants are safe inside, while some say alum is ok. It takes quite a bit of reading to factor out myth from real science.!

My first experiment was using Brazilwood. Brazilwood is supposed to give pinks, crimsons and pinks on premordanted yarn. I premordanted in the yarn using alum and cream of tarter, both considered fairly safe for indoor use. I wasn't really sure what I was doing, but I figured since many dyed this way for years and years without recipes, I would be fine!

The color I got was more of a peach. Even with the added cream of tarter, which I thought would bring out more of red color, it didn't happen.... I would like to repeat this with some of the other mordants after I do more research on them. Please click on the photo to look at it bigger. More blogger problems so I am using flickr !

It is beautiful but more subtle than I expected.....

Second, I used logwood extract. I was talking to someone a few days earlier who told me it was impossible to purple with logwood unless one used copper mordant. Well I used the same alum and cream of tartar mordant and I ended up with a gorgeous purple. It was much deeper at first and I was super excited about, but then quite a bit rinsed out. Still it is a beautiful color. The only thing is the yarn seems a bit "sticky" to me which I was told could happen with the added cream of tarter. On the other hand, I have never used this yarn before to dye. It is the laceweight yarn from knitpicks that I had around... I am going to repeat this with some worsted weight at some point.

Isn't it pretty? Again, plese click on the photo to get a better look! THANKS!

Other news and photos coming soon including new fall colorways, cool India socks from a friend in Maine and information about a cool new yarn store coming soon......

:)

Garter Belt Design Team Project

2006-08-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

I am enjoying watching the Garter Belt designers work on their design project using the Yarn Botanika superwash merino and tencel yarn.

Look here at their latest blog post! http://www.thegarterbelt.com/blog/

I saw part of Wendy's cami the other day, and I was super excited to see the Pine Forest Merino and Tencel knit up. See a peak preview below. It sounds like Elizabeth is going to make a lacy scarf (yummy) and Marie also a scarf! I am not sure about Zib-Wendy yet! Very fun.

Photo Courtesy of Wendy at Knit and Tonic: beginning of her camisole

These patterns are going to be offered with yarns in the Yarn Botanika shop as kits..

There is also a new kit coming for Needle Felters...with a pattern by Laura, aka Yarn Thrower. Check out her Oopsie Bag on the sidebar of her blog. She is creating a really neat pattern for the new needle felting kits.

We are looking for other designers to work with the cashmere yarns...If you are interested, drop a line to yarn botanika at aol dot com. I am going to hit up the Garter Belt team for this too when they are done with this project. After all, who can resist pure cashmere??!

PS..How come whenever I write out Knit and Tonic I immediately think of GIN AND TONIC and I get kind of happy for a second??? It used to be my favorite drink back when I could handle gin...YUM!

Go for Baroque In Yarn Botanika Yarns

2006-08-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Cecille made this gorgeous sweater in two different colors of Yarn Botanika yarn. I just loved how it turned out. One of the yarns was in the Peace Rose Colorway and the other yarn was in the Fresh Berries colorway. I love how she used two variegated yarns and I don't think that is what the pattern called for. The pattern is from the new Happy Hooker crochet book by Debbie Stoller. I am taking a crochet class now and this is one sweater I would like to make! I might do it in blue shades doing what she did, using two variegated yarns. I just love it!Cecille!!!!!! Check out Cecille's blog and see her other projects! She also has a gorgeous ETSY store with many unusual handmade items. I love the crochet and macramed chokers!

Thanks for sending me your finished work of art!!

Here are the two yarns she used: Peace Rose and Fresh Berries (one availble HERE at KPIXIE):) and the finished Baroque sweater.

Tiger Lily - Marigold Socks

2006-08-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

My good friend Gina sent me this photo this am of these socks she made out of Yarn Botanika yarn. I think I had originally called this colorway Marigolds but left it off the tag!! So she renamed it Tiger Lily which is probably a better colorway name anyhow!

I think these turned out really cool actually.... Check out Gina's blog because she is one creative person! She is always buying the most amazing yarn and fiber too and if I want to know what is new out there in fiber land, I can find out from her!!

We are working on a fun project together which we will show you all soon...!!

KPixie.....

2006-08-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read here, you might want to go to Kpixie and see the latest items. I am so happy that Knitted Bits sock and spindle bags got on there in the kits. They look great with the handpainted yarns and fibers. Also more of Woolyvine's spindles and even more spindle kits will be on Kpixie towards the end of next week and in our ETSY shop too.

The link here shows all the new items as Kpixie posts them...
http://www.kpixie.com/catalog/products_new.php
There are new yarns, spinning fibers, traveler spinning and traveler spindle kits and the traveler sock kits which are my personal favorites.

Have a good weekend..! I have lots more to report but it will have to wait until my company visiting leaves. I haven't had time to even take any photos, sorry!

OK..one little photo and a quiz!

I am a
Snapdragon

What Flower
Are You?

Hot Summer Nights in Italy

2006-08-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!

You must see these photos!!!!!!!!!! Wendy takes the best photos I have seen. She is a great yarn photographer.

YUM!!!!!! The Hot Summer Nights Blue Faced Leicester looks amazing! I just ordered about 5 more pounds of it to dye some more in that colorway (and others!!).

Take a peek here:

http://tinyurl.com/jvext

OK, I know this is really a weird thing to say, but it makes me hot just to look at it!! HAHAHA !! :) Maybe that is why I called it Hot Summer Nights? Or maybe it is just because it is hot as anything here in the Southwest now! And everywhere else for that matter!

Yarn Botanika Is Getting Around!

2006-08-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Weekend!

Notice the new banner above and the avatar to the right! Aren't they cool? An ETSY seller Moxie Rings design these. She did a great job using a photo of the Meadow cashmere and silk yarn. She is working on some other things for us and I highly recommend her!

Quite a few people have photos of our yarn up on their blogs this week.

We are doing a project with the Garter Belt Designers as I mentioned in an earlier post. Here Wendy has a photo of her yarn that was called Mediterranean Sea listed on her blog Zibibbo is good. She also has a photo of the Hot Summer nights roving which is my very favorite colorway. I have to say that Wendy wins my award for the best yarn photography. I have been reading her blog for awhile now and she takes amazing photos....

Wendy from Knit and Tonic, whom I call California Wendy, also has a skein of merino and tencel only hers is in a different colorway called Pine Forest (I think!!). I can't wait to see the camisole she is referring to in her recent post!! And I can't wait to see what the others come up with as well..

Elizabeth in Madison (my alma mater and what I consider my home town or one of them) has a custom colorway I called Fall in Madison. I hope you like it! I have enjoyed emailing with Elizabeth for quite awhile now and she has sent me great Madison photos. So many incredible memories! I had fun hand painting all of these yarns for each of them! And then they have a new member Marie, who received a skein in the Earth colorway...

This is turning into a really fun project!! Please check out all of the designs on their site because they are truly wonderful...! And keep your eyes posted there for the new patterns coming out with the Yarn Botanika merino and tencel yarn... I hope they love this yarn as much as I do. I love that it is superwash merino and the shine that the tencel gives to it.. Also it seems very strong for a yarn of this knitting weight.

As an example, her is a photo of a recent merin and tencel yarn I dyed called Sunset based on the Arizona Sunset of course. It is available now in a kit in the shop. There is also a photo of it below with one of the bags from Knitted Bits.

Finally, last, but not least, my friend Karen in Maine, whom I have known for years now through the bearded collie world sent me this photo of a sock she made in the India Colorway. She said this photo really does not show off the yarn the way she wanted it too, but I still wanted to post it! Thanks for sending it to me Karen! Look at the beardies and little Dinah! Too cute!

I have a few new fibery type things around the house to take photos of....maybe tomorrow..

Definitely it is time for sleep now!!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

More on Cashmere and Cashmere/Silk Yarns

2006-08-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have finished dyeing the cashmere and cashmere/silk yarns I bought. Some of you were asking when they will be listed in the ETSY shop and I will be putting them there today.. These are very delicate yarns, best suited for a lace or other light project. Each one is about 400 yards and would make a beautiful lace scarf. They would not be good for socks or anything that would get a lot of wear. I just want people to know this if they buy one of them because the yarn itself is quite soft, even the one with the silk. These are all fingering weight and I am going to be buying DK weight next to evaluate it, along with some pure silk yarns and wool/silk combination yarns. I absolutely love how soft the cashmere is and the nice shine that the silk brings the yarn. Really they feel like velvet. The cashmere yarns are 100% pure cashmere and the silk cashmere skeins are 55 % silk and 45% cashmere.

If anyone wants to be on our mailing list for special offers and sales, please send me an email at yarnbotanika AT aol DOT com, ok? I don't like to do sales things on this blog and eventually there will be a separate shop blog, because I personally am only a small tiny part of the shop. I want to blog about knitting more and get back to my painting and maybe I should just start a personal blog.....Will let you know!

We are really a group of people creating fiber related things together. If anyone is ever interested in working with us, please email. We are especially looking for fiber artists and small companies in different parts of the world who make unusual yarn, handspun or fiber related things for an upcoming group venture.

On another note, watch KPIXIE towards the end of this week as we will have many new items shown in their shop, quite a few kits and yarns.

Here is a photo of the cashmere/silk skeins that are going to be listed. The colorways in order are: Meadow, Plum Crazy, Blue Moon, Rose Quartz and Kiwi.

And here are the pure cashmere ones. Note the last one is shades of black, gray and white. I got this idea from Illana's blog post about the new Vogue fall issue that shows gray is really in style this year!! I will be repeating this colorway again. Click here to see the Vogue Fall Knitting Preview. GRAY is in! The other colorways from top to bottom are: midnight, chocolate truffle, plum crazy, Blue Moon and Manhatten.

Now I have to list them all..... I am taking a break from all dyeing and most fiber stuff (except for knitting!!) for the next two weeks. My mom is coming to visit tomorrow for one thing, I have a lot going on. and I need a break.....

So thanks for reading and I'll try to post some knitting content in between!!

Cashmere......so soft

2006-07-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday,

I have been dyeing some unbelievable cashmere and cashmere and silk yarns. Truly they are gorgeous. The cashmere is very soft and I had to be careful when winding it as it will break easily. The added silk in the silk/cashmere blend makes that yarn stronger, but I will still keep the cashmere alone because it feels like velvet...! People will just need to know that it is more delicate. I am going to have these yarns available soon in the ETSY shop, but a few friends are test knitting the yarns right now.

I had to keep one skein for myself of course and it is this one pictured here in the Colorway Meadow. I know I am biased, but isn't it just incredibly beautiful? I even put the photo in this new "framing" software I found to show it off more, but not sure I like this tool. Hmmm, (thinking out loud!!) I am making a lace scarf and I hope to show it to you soon. I have never worked with a yarn so heavenly and so soft!

This is the one I gave to Kirsten and the colorway is called Caribbean Waters (thanks for the name Kirsten!). It turned out beautifully as well. Sarah has another photo on her blog of one called Raspberry Souffle that I forgot to take a photo of.

So once I make sure the yarn is as wonderful as I think, about 12 skeins of it will be listed in the shop. In the meantime, I listed a lot of new items in the past few days. Some beautiful new colorways in merino and tencel, a new silk and merino, superwash merino and also some adorable new kits. Take a look. The merino and tencel yarn is incredible and so is the new merino and silk. The spinning and sock kits have also been really popular and I enjoy dyeing yarn and fibers to match the fabric bags. All the fabric bags have been updated too with a lanyard for attaching to your belt or another bag and a great new toggle closure.

In other news, I am collaborating with some of my favorite knitwear designers, the Garter Belt Design Team. Check out the patterns on their website. These three, soon to be four, wonderful women each received a skein of yarn from me and will be coming up with a unique pattern. More details in the early fall, but I am excited about this.

Well, I think I am going out to breakfast and I feel like pancakes and bacon, despite the fact that I am supposed to be giving up all white flour sugary type things and well bacon is probably not on the plan either. But tomorrow is the day I really start, so in the meantime, I will enjoy this yummy breakfast. How many times have those of you who have to watch your diet, have said this? Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

YarnB

Naughtie the Nautilus Sock Puppet

2006-07-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

This is really pretty cute!! Knitpolis made this adorable puppet called Naughtie the Nautilus Sock puppet out of the YarnBotanika lime lemon twist superwash merino yarn. It is great to see it knit up. It looked more lime than lemon to me in the skein, so this is interesting to see, thanks.. Thanks a lot for the photos!!

Please check out Knitpolis's blog because she has great taste in yarn!! She has tons of my favorites including Handmaiden's yarn which I am just dyeing to buy some of. I really want to try that Seacell yarn!

On Line Tests-I Always Have To Take Them

2006-07-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

I am sure I got a higher score for being on the computer too much. I can't seem to avoid taking these tests. I got this from Elizabeth's blog in my favorite town, Madison, Wisconsin. She is one of the Garter-Belt designers!!

If you take this, let me know your score, ok? I'd like to know if you are more of a nerd than me....

Knitting Update

2006-07-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I have been really sick the last week so I haven't felt like doing much. Knitting has really saved me from getting down in the dumps. I started two new projects that I bought the yarn for. The first is the Ruby sweater which I showed before. You can see the front of the sweater here done in Opal bright pink sock yarn. Then I learned a new technique for making a front pocket... Let me show you the photo of the finished sweater as a reminder and then a photo of the pocket I am adding on. I am using a Regia sock yarn for that. I thought it was self-striping but it is more of a variegated yarn. This sweater is going to be adorable. The sleeves will also be variegated.

Finished sweater photo (Ruby):

The front of my sweater (not done of course) but you can see the bright pink background and the start of the pocket. This is a fun knit by the way!! To Wooltopia, I can't wait for you to start.

Second, I started the lace tee. I am using a yarn called Trinity by Jaeger which is made of silk and cotton and has sort of a nubby texture. I am using a pale green color. It probably was not the best choice for my first real lace pattern, but it is gorgeous and very light and shows the stitches and pattern quite well. I am in love with working on this pattern. Thank you Kirsten for your lace tips because they have helped quite a bit.

Here is what the finished sweater will look like.

And here is the start of my border which goes along the bottom of the sweater. You can see the border in the above photo. Then I guess I will pick up stitches from there and keep knitting. I can hardly put it down...!

Well that is it for my knitting update. I need to go lay down again. Feel awful!! Also to you luxury fiber fanatatics, I just put a few gorgeous rovings into the ETSY shop to take a peek. I am so bummed I have not been spinning lately and I need to change that. I just put a few alpaca, merino and tussah rovings in there which are heavenly and one merino and tencel. A few more should be at kpixie by the end of next week along with other things. More sock yarn coming soon.

Have a good day and stay cool!!!!!!

Fiber Fiber Fiber

2006-07-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

Hello, thanks for the compliments that a lot of you leave. My blog is pretty much showing new colors and fibers lately, but that is mostly what I have been doing. I have done more knitting but at this point, the photos would not be too interesting, so hopefully I will have some soon. I have been trying to figure out various ways to show photos here and blogger doesn't make it that easy. Someone I know who has a blog can put the photos side by side sort of in a table and they look great. I just emailed her and I hope she can help me. If anyone else knows how to do this, please let me know.

In the meantime, I made something called a "photo mosaic." Here are some photos of fiber that I dyed this past week. A few are going in the ETSY shop soon and some to KPIXIE.

I have done some yarn too and will try to post that soon. I am such a color addict. I want to buy even more colors but also I will be using a friends mixing log sheet where I will keep track of different amounts of one color mixed with another to get a multitude of colors. I LOVE COLOR!!
Here is one way of looking at the photos......
I wish these where thumbnails though and I do not think they are.....
HMMM.. too tired to figure it out now.

Good night........

This New Merino and Tencel Yarn

2006-07-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

I really love this new Merino and Tencel yarn. It looks like silk in a way, it has such a nice shine and it takes the dye very well. I think I sent kpixie 12 or 14 skeins and they were sold within 24 hours! So I think I better get some more! I just love the shine and I am going to use some for a project soon, I just have to figure out which project as it is a fingering weight.

I have also been trying to dye yarn and fiber to match the fabric of Knitted Bits bags lately and that has been an interesting challenge. A few have not turned out like I hoped, but this one turned out well. I have to do a lot of dye mixing to get the shades closer to the fabric since I couldn't keep every single shade of dye of course....

I can't tell you how cool this looks in person with the shine coming through. I am trying to post some new things on ETSy and having lots of trouble. Their server must be down.

Here is another colorway that turned out pretty neat. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. First see the photo of Lake Tahoe. For those of you who have not been there, it is just a beautiful place. The lake is so blue and so is the sky and it is contrasted by the sparkling white snow and the ever greens. I tried to capture all of this in this yarn and it turned out really great. As a matter of fact, I just tried dyeing some fiber in this same colorway and I can't wait to see how it turns out. It is in the dyepot now steaming........

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, California

Lake Tahoe Yarn, Merino and Tencel

Happy Monday!

UGH it is hot and humid

2006-07-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

UGH, I am really not used to all the humidity we are having. It is so hot... I am struggling with it this year, even in the air conditioning.

Last night I picked up the needles again and started working on the very cute Bees Knees Ruby Pattern. I learned a new technique that was pretty fun that involves making the front pocket. I will take some photos when it looks more interesting. Basically you move some of the stitches onto a waste yarn while also doing increases every stitch. Then you knit up the back part and come back and knit the front of the pocket. I can't wait to get to that part....I am using both Opal and Regia Sock yarns for this.
It is for my little cousin Alexis and I hope it fits her! I am making it in a size 4 T so that it will be way too big now.

KPixie posted a ton of our sock yarn today and it is fun to see them up on their site. They are great to work with and I enjoy my association with them very much.. I am hoping to do a dye day in a few days. The merino/tencel is pretty cool with a nice shine to it....

I went to Stitch N Bitch in a new location last week and really liked the people. I'm going to try to keep going to that meeting even though it is a short drive away. It was fun.

I joined this Mystery Stole KAL that looks so fun. But I am unsure because a) there is so much email already that it totally overwhelms me and b) I have to do a provisional cast on which I have never done and I don't know why but it intimidates me . We'll see... I might try the cast on tomorrow. I am going to print out this tutorial.

Well, time to go knit a few rows on Ruby.

Another Kit-The Traveler Sock Kit

2006-07-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

This one is fun because I can dye the yarn to match the bags that Sarah sews. The needles are actually handcarved by Lindsay, another knitter and blogger who lives in Wisconsin. I love her needles actually......I love wood and handcrafted items..!! I actually have a similar bag that I got from Trek (will look up her link later-it was on a previous post), and I carry it everywhere with my socks that I am knitting. I love it!

This one is Raspberries Chocolate and Cream.

Ripe Avacados (Merino and Tencel!)
I called this one Jamaica after staring at it for awhile. I really love how it turned out as this one was all mixed colors. Merino and Tencel in my favorite all time colors!! I finished the listings in the ETSY shop...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..Good night :)

Two New Kits and Lots of Fun New Colors & Fibers

2006-06-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I came up with these great new kits utilizing my handpainted fibers, her handcrafted sewn bags and using both April's and Kathy's spindles.

The first is called the "Traveler Spindle Kit" and it is now available in the ETSY shop and soon available elsewhere..... It has the cutest bag that Sarah made. They are reversible and washable and are the perfect size for packing your spinning stuff for a short trip or even a week away! The kit comes with the bag, one of the spindles and four ounces of handpainted fiber that matches the bag. I probably will be using blue faced leicester for these because it is such a great fiber for every level of spinner... We'll have the student spindles, and the stone whorl spindles and hopefully in the future some hand-turned wood spindles.

The second kit is called the "Traveling Spinning Kit" and it is similar, just without the spindle, for those who already have plenty of spindles or want to use their own. It includes Sarah's spindle bag and four ounces of handpainted fiber to match... See it here for sale.

I really enjoy working with other fiber artists. There are some really other fun new products coming out soon.....

I did lots of dyeing this past weekend. I bought some new fingering weight merino-tencel yarn which is just perfect for socks actually. I thought blogger would cooperate but no, I can only update just three photos it seems per post! I guess I will have to make a separate post for these...Some are going in the etsy shop and some are going to kpixie.

Here is one of my favorite new ones Amethyst Sparkles for you purple lovers...I wanted you mostly to see the shine of the merino/tencel. Sarah is going to knit up a pair of socks for another project so I am giving her a skein of this same yarn but in a different colorway......

Time for a nap...I have a huge headache today!

Estes Park Was Amazing

2006-06-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-there were so many sheep at Estes Park making that sound, I still hear them all in my head. I couldn't believe how loud they were! I am in love with sheep now....I want a few!

I truly enjoyed Colorado. I loved Denver. I loved Boulder. I want to move to Boulder as a matter of fact. If I could figure out a way to do it, I would. I loved Estes Park too. The mountains were gorgeous. We had perfect weather and great accomodations. We ate great food every day. The wool market was so much fun. This is kind of a photo heavy post so hopefully blogger will cooperate.

In Boulder, we first visited Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins, truly the most amazing yarn/fiber store of all time.

Since this is a yarn and fiber blog, I'll limit my photos to Estes Park. I also took a ton of photos of downtown Boulder, the mountain scenery, our cute inn, the Stanley hotel (where they filmed the shining) and other things.

When we first arrived at the Woolmarket Sat AM, we went to the "fleece judging competition." That was quite interesting. Our new friend Susan won first and second prize for her Cormo fleeces. Here is a photo of the shepherd judge going through the fleeces.

There was a children's booth where kids learned to spin and weave.

There were three or four tents of animals, one of goats and bunnies, one of various sheep, one of alpacas and one of llamas. Here is the cutest young alpaca boy having a bath. He was not happy!!!

We saw many sheep including my favorite, the blue faced leicester. BAAAAAAAAA We also met many other types of sheep..Jacob, Shetland, etc.... Lots of goats including pygora, cashgora and angora goats. And bunnies..angora and other bunnies.....Here is a photo of some angora goats. I love these guys..they look like they have dreadlocks.

And here is one of my favorite photos "pile of goats." The black one was sound asleep with his head on the white one's back. Too adorable....

We met some new friends Friday night for dinner.....These are friends I met through the dyehappy list.....Hi Susan, Peggy, Patty, etc...(forgot all the names!).
In the vendor area, there were booths after booths after booth of fiber and yarn and every related item you could think of!!

I did pretty well actually. My goal was to only buy things I had never seen ever before. I found these beautiful green dyed rovings at Lambspun, a very cool booth from a hot store in Colorado Springs.

I bought a mystery book, Knit One Kill Two, by Maggie Sefton takes place in Lambspun. I purchased the novel at their booth.
They also had these adorable chenille washcloth kits. I am waiting for the pattern.

I bought some beautiful hand dyed roving (corriedale and silk) all natural dyed in Osage and Indigo, from Handspun by Stefania. Her stuff was beautiful.

I bough two angora sock yarn kits (yummy soft, and a small sock loom that I have no clue how to use yet.

It was fun...

Happy knitting and spinning.......

My Wonderful Dye-O-Rama Partner!

2006-06-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

Krystal from Kindred Spirts Yarn sent me this absolutely beautiful hand dyed yarn! I can't wait to make socks with it. Thank you Krystal. She was a great Dye-O-Rama buddy. She always kept in touch and asked me a lot of questions. I was so excited when I opened this up. She also sent me some yummy m & m's and some kookaburra wool wash which I have been wanting to get!! Check out her web page!

My post from Estes park is coming along but taking awhile due to all the photos of fiber and animals. What a beautiful place!!! More soon.......

Leaving for Estes Park

2006-06-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

Well it is Wednesday night and tomorrow Kirsten and I are leaving for the Estes Park Wool Market in Colorado. This couldn't have come at a better time! I have had a lot of stress lately that I don't want to blog about but let's just say that life has been quite hard. So it will be so wonderful just to be in a new location for a few days, surrounded by the beauty of nature and mountains and tons of fiber and fiber animals.

In other GREAT NEWS......., check out the greatest on-line knitting store KPIXIE and see that our stuff is going to be on there for sale!!! They have not yet posted all the items but it looks like they are working on it. See Here: Yarn Botanika on KPixie. They have our spindle kits, hand-dyed rovings and hand-dyed yarns! It is really a compliment to be featured on their site and so I am very happy about that......

Talk to you you all next week.........

Dye Day Update-Finally

2006-06-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

I still am unable to post photos on blogger. It is driving me crazy. So what I am trying instead are linking these posts to my photos on FLICKR. Hope I am not breaking any "bandwidth" type rules since I am not sure of those. I wanted to post about our fun dye day!

....Last Sunday afternoon, Kirsten and April came over and we did some roving dyeing. It really was fun and I really enjoyed myself..... Here is a photo of my two new fabulous fiber friends! They are both incredibly nice, fun and talented people and I feel lucky to have met them. Kirsten is a great knitter and weaver. April makes great munch batts and gorgeous stone spindles-you can see them on her site.... Kirsten and I are going to the Estes Park Wool Market next week! I cannot wait!

Here are some photos of the completed rovings. The colors are gorgeous. They are already in the YarnBotanika shop and a few sold right away.
Here is Nude Beach (thank you Gina for this name, I want to hire you as a marketing consultant, ok?)

This one is GORGEOUS. Kirsten, great dyeing job. But I had trouble coming up with a name. It is a combo of deep royal blue, a brilliant deep blue and then a bright and deep violet color. I ended up calling it Deep Iris finally

Here is Jungle.

And Hot Summer Nights.

Followed by Lipstick.

In other news, I finally finished warping my loom in class and it was very tough for me. Not sure yet about weaving. The jury is still out. We'll see!
Estes Park is next week and I am looking forward to getting away for a few days. I really need a get away badly! I will take lots of photos of fiber, yarn and fiber animals for all of you!!
(BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!...LOL..Don't alpacas hum? I can't wait to meet a few!)

Lisa

TOTAL BLOGGER FRUSTRATION

2006-06-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

I have been trying for days to do the greatest post of the dyeing day I had last week with two wonderful friends. But I cannot get photos to upload!! Are others having this problem? I do not know what to do. I have tried many things and so far nothing has helped consistently.....

I have some real pretty photos to show you of all the roving we dyed. We had so much fun.....

Oh well. I will keep trying............

Gosh it is like 111 outside today. WAY TOO HOT.

I hate to have a post without photos. So go to this blog and take a look at my new friend's Anastacia's posts about her new spinning adventures. I love her name! And she has a cute ETSY shop too.... She bought a spinning kit and has been spinning away!! I am glad you are enjoying yourself so much Anastacia!!

Lis

First Sock Finished! Yippee!!

2006-06-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

It is not perfect by any means, but its pretty cute! It is a little bit loose around the foot area and I am starting to think it is because of the yarn. The yarn is Knitpicks 100% merino sock yarn. It doesn't have any nylon in it and I prefer sock yarns that have a bit of give in them.. I am knitting another pair of socks with some Regia sock yarn and I will try those. I also am going to be experimenting with the various undyed yarns that I dye for the YB store because it is important to me that people really like what they get!!

Still, I am so proud of my very first sock!!

Socks, Socks and Sock Yarn

2006-05-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Holiday Weekend......

I really am kind of obsessed right now (me, obsessed?? LOL) with making socks and also with sock yarn. I took a four hour sock class on Saturday at the Fiber Factory. Using number 4 dpns, and a heavier dk weight yarn, we made this tiny toddler size sock. Isn't it cute? Although....I must say the proportions look a bit goofy! I have to find a short footed kid for this one! HAHAHAHAHA Well it is just a sample, but the toe side is NOT long enough. How did that happen?? LOL.

It definitely has some mistakes in it but it was a great learning process. This supposedly is a "German" sock making method. I came home and started two other socks using this same method. I couldn't just start one of course... LOL Take a look. This first one is using Knitpicks variegated sock yarn (Sock Memories in Hydrangea) that I have had in my stash for too long. The second is using self-striping Regia sock yarn..

Here is the Regia self-striping sock yarn with this great great sock bag from Trek for a trade for some handdyed yarn. Isn't it adorable? I love it.....here is the bag with the Regia sock yarn. Contact Trek if you want to do a trade for one of her cute sock bags. I have to admit, I want another one.

Then of course, I have all my own sock yarns which I can't wait to try....some more colors coming soon of course..Here are a few of them, some need to be reskeined. Also watch soon for an announcement of where our yarns, handpainted rovings and spindle kits are going to be sold. Pretty cool! But I will wait a bit for a formal announcement to make sure and not jinx it!! LOL.....

I especially like these two new colorways Fresh Berries and Organic Greens.! My dye-o-rama partner Liz just got some of the Organic Greens Yarn. Check out her blog post!

I don't know how to make the self-striping yarns but I am going to learn soon I promise myself.. I have heard these self-patterning Jacquard style sock yarns are made by computer..kind of interesting.. Also......after these two pairs, I am determined to learn the other methods for making socks using circular needles. I just got the magic loop book and I am going to order the Cat Bordhi book on using circular needles for sock making.

My obsession with sock yarn also led me to ordering this pattern and yarn.. This is the Ruby pattern, by Bees Knees using self-striping or patterning sock yarn! Isn't it adorable? I am going to be using Opal bright pink yarn and Regia striping yarn for my little niece Alexis in New York. I also was just reading about Bees Knees, and 10% of the proceeds of this pattern go to the Alzheimers Foundation which is pretty neat. Great patterns for kids, check out her page! I just realized I don't know how to make an i-cord but hopefully i can learn!

In other weekend news, I have been looking a bit at looms. But there are many on the market and it is a bit confusing. I am being very good by sticking to my promise to myself of finishing my weaving class first. And then in just a few weeks, I'll be headed to the Estes Park Wool Festival so I should have time to look at lots of looms there before deciding a thing......

Today, April and Kirsten are coming over for awhile. We are going to do some dyeing and then some playing around with another project......Have a good weekend!

Lis

We Are International! See the Zen Yen Garden Store!

2006-05-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

It is a good thing that the people that read this blog like to look at yarn and fiber photos as much as I do!! LOL. Here is a photo-heavy but beautiful post! It is kind of exciting that my good friend Roxanne, is carrying our spindle kits and handpainted rovings at her shop in Canada! She is carrying the spindle kits with both the wood spindles made by Kathy and also the gorgeous stone whorl spindles made by April of Woolyvines. I also saved four of the handpainted rovings for her. Here they are. I love how these colors came out. More colors coming in both the YarnB shop and somewhere else soon that will be a surprise..... Please check out Roxanne's shop Zen Yen Garden!

Roxanne has two of April's beautiful Stone-whorl Spindles in kit form along with one wood one left.

This is "Summer Skies:" made of blue faced leicester, one of my favorite fibers!

This is "Sherbert"-A repeat because its my favorite!!

This one is called "Santa Fe Nights" I love this..it is merino with tussah silk-yummy.........

And this last blue faced leicester one is called "Organic Greens" I have to say this is my very favorite but I am a green lover!!!!!!

More coming soon. And yes I have been knitting at night, thankfully!!! And tonight is weaving class!! So far we have just done our warp and tonight we transfer the warp to the loom. The novelty spinning course on Sunday was fantastic! We learned how to make several kinds of novelty yarns: knot yarns, coiled yarns, Navajo Ply, boucle, etc. Now I need to PRACTICE!!

Lis

OverDyed.........

2006-05-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

This week, I did a lot of dyeing. I think a bit too much actually and I am feeling kind of sick from working with the dyes. Even despite the fact that I am very careful wearing gloves, apron mask and all..... I need a work studio, I really do. And one that is very well ventilated... It really caught up with me yesterday as I had a severe headache, etc.... This is the downside of dyeing for those of you in the dyeorama world! It definitely has its health hazards and it is MUCH better to do outside or in a well ventilated studio.... I never realized until this week how strong the fumes were. I never even noticed them before actually..... I mix the dye powders outside thinking that that was the dangerous part, but the fumes are just as bad......I am going to look into either finding a studio space to work in or adding on to the back of my house where the patio is (like a sun porch). Really I just need water and electricity...For the near future, I am going to set up a table in my back yard against the house and use a crockpot and turkey roasters outside....I just wish it wasn't 100 plus degrees out right now!

OK, enough cautionary stuff. The great thing is look at how many fantastic new colors I have. Once these are all sorted, organized, labeled etc, you will see each individual colorway (because some are TRULY INCREDIBLE) but here are just some photos of my bathroom with mounds of handpainted rovings and yarns.....I have got all kinds of fiber! Blue faced leicester, merino and tencel, merino and tussah silk, alpaca, merino and tussah, Brown sheep wool, superwash merino...the list goes on!!! OH YEAH, Cormo pin drafted roving (HEAVENLY) and soon some Targhee........So I hope I won't be dyeing for awhile as I need a serious break!!

I wanted to make a list of the knitting projects that I am working on and really get serious about finishing some of them....Here they are..
1. Wrap Sweater-Garnstudio...alpaca, silk and merino yarn (YUM)
2. Cotton/Rayon lacy sweater-garnstudio-----in gorgeous terra cotta yarn with glitter thread
3. Regia Striped socks (barely started)
4. Vintage Velvet Scarf from Scarf Style-here is a photo..This Yarn Munich Touch me is unbelievably soft and luscious.

5. And then I got this gorgeous Karabella Aurora 8 yarn in Olive in to start working on the BackYard Leaves Scarf also from Scarf Style.......This yarn is luscious so I might have to cast on and start this today....even though I shouldn't!

Well, five projects at once isn't too bad! I know others with many more started than that........Once I am done or close to done with these, the next projects are:

1. Lace Tee pattern I just bought-using pure silk yarn probably
2. Lady E Shawl-probably using Noro Silk Garden
3. Many sock patterns - I want to learn magic loop and two needle style
4. Crochet projects-so many cute ones in the new Happy Hooker book! I am signed up for a beginning crochet class in August.

It felt good to spell that all out. Sorry for the length! Today is going to be a relaxing day of lavender scented baths, knitting, movies and maybe dinner out........
Tomorrow I have a novelty yarn spinning class through the Telarana Guild which I am just joining... It is at the Fiber Factory and I am excited about this. I might have some photos for you from the class....And from my weaving class! I am glad I have so many hobbies I love. I feel so lucky in this lifetime to have so many good friends, family and other people and things around me that I love.

Have a good weekend.....

Lis

The Calmness Knitting Brings Me

2006-05-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends......

This was such an incredible weekend... Nothing that unique or special really happened other than I picked up the needles again. I was feeling like it had been way too long. I had a lot of stress the past few weeks and I had forgotten how much calm knitting brings me. I know others talk about this, and I don't know if its the quiet of it, the comfort of it, the rhythmic motions or what it is that I just find so relaxing. I finished the belt portion of my Garnstudio wrap sweater. Now I just have to finish seaming it. I also picked up the other sweater I started, also a Garnstudio pattern and did a few rows so I was once again familiar with the pattern. The other project I have on the needles is the Vintage Velvet Scarf from Scarf Style. OH I love the Munich Touch Me yarn, it is really extravagent, but oh so soft, and it was on sale last week at Jessica Knits. I am using a very dark eggplant color and it is gorgeous.

I am now mixing up some dye colors and am going to be dyeing some lucious roving that I have----- blue faced leicester, alpaca with silk and merino, merino with tussah silk AND merino with tencel. All wonderful combinations......

What is a post without photos? BORING! So, I don't think I posted all the recent yarn colorways I did so here are a few more..I have a lot of new color combinations coming soon......I love mixing color and sometimes it doesn't alway work out as I magine in my head, but that is ok. Some end up being keepers for future dyeing and some don't....I have a notebook where I keep samples of each colorway with the formulas I used so I can refer back to it.

First, I did more of the bluebells colorway but I was out of a previous blue I used so this one is a tiny bit different. Still I love how it turned out. I am pretty sure I am going to keep some of this myself to make socks with..

And here is one that actually was a mistake but turned out pretty interesting. I called this Dark Forest and actually I think this is going to make great mens socks. I put one skein on ETSY and it was gone by the next day.. But I have more I just haven't reskeined. Reskeining is a huge problem for me with my neck..boo hoo-had to get one sob in there.

And finally, I did this "watermelon" colorway and I put all of it on ETSY and it was gone by the next day. So I think I'll do some more of this in fingering weight. This is a sports weight superwash..... I bought a pair of 40 inch addi circulars to learn the magic loop method of making socks and I am just waiting for the book to arrive! Yippee.

Have a wonderful week....
Lis

Dye-O-Rama Meme

2006-05-12T14:10:00.000-07:00

My secret dye-o-rama pal asked me to fill out this meme, so here I go........

Specific to this swap:

Your favorite colors?
I love greens of all kinds. I love blues and I love earth tones.

Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)?
I like the fingering weight the best for socks......As far as for other items, I like all yarn weights.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?
I prefer multicolored yarn.

If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn?
Ooooh, I'd love self-patterning, but that must be hard to make! I would be happy with any of the above. I think self-striping is fun, but I love variegated yarn too.

Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)?
Sure!! Not all acrylic though. I don't like it that much.

Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it? The perfect colorway name?? Oh no, I have trouble coming up with my own colorway names. What about CONFUSED??

What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along?
I LOVE COLOR, I love dyeing. I thought it would be fun to get something that someone else dyed for me and I love making a skein for my secret partner as well........

General yarn/fiber questions:

Have you dyed yarn/fiber before?
yes, many times

If so, what’s your favorite dye and method?
I mostly use dyes from prochem, but I have also used standard dyes and other brands. I really want to experiment with natural dyes at some point. My favorite method is space dyeing or rainbow dying.

Do you spin?
YES

Have you knit socks before?
I have started several pairs and not finished them, but I am determined. Next weekend I start a new socks class though! It is learn to knit socks in four hours..... I also just ordered the magic loop booklet to learn how to knit on 40 inch circular needles and I want to try that method.

Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too?
In other patterns too! Fingering weight is good for lace projects too.

What are some of your favorite yarns?
Hmmmmm...anything soft! I love the Blue Sky yarns..alpaca and silk and their dyed cotton....I like anything with silk (Debbie Bliss pure silk is a dream yarn). I just got some Karabella Aurora and it is yummy and I also bought some Munich Touch me that is oh so soft....I love many yarns! I like natural fibers the best...And soft and breathable fibers.

What yarn do you totally covet?
I have always wanted to buy a bunch of Lorna Lace sock yarn or Koigu....but since I started dyeing, I can't bring myself to do that.

Favorite patterns?
none in particular, I would love to learn to make fair isle socks and lace socks.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?
Something out of a silk and cashmere yarn...

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?
Definitely ADDI turbos! circs metal

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?
I took a test and it said I was a novelty yarn because I like change.

Nothing to do with knitting/yarn/fiber in any way but seemed kinda fun:

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? m & ms (yum), chocolate kisses and chocoate covered cherries.....do you get I love chocolate??

What’s your favorite animal? DOGS!! I love all animals.... I am in love with the idea right now of buying a few sheep or alpaca, we'll see.

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages?
Bailie............bearded collie, age 10
Pepe, bichon, age unknown but around 3

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?
I love roses (peace roses). I love orchids. I like Japanese flower arrangements (Ikebana) and I would love to have a fountain in my yard someday with lillies and koi.

Do you have a wishlist? I have a wishlist on my blog on the top right and I have a very long wish list at amazon.com

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? NO, except that I wish my secret pal would fill this out because I feel I know very little about her!!!

Hope this helps you secret dyeorama pal!!!!!!!!!

Arizona Sunset Handspun

2006-05-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Can you see why I called this handspun Arizona Sunset? It is from some blue faced leicester wool that I handdyed in shades of red, gold and orange. Then I spun it with some gold firestar. The gold is just enough and not too much. I keep saying this, but this is my best spinning so far! It really is even. I thought it was going to be much thinner but it still came in at a WPI of 9-10 which is a light worsted weight. I am trying to figure out still how to spin fingering or lace weight. It must be just a bare thread of fiber!!

I still have another skein of it to take off the bobbin, but I think it might be slightly thicker as I got tired near the end of spinning this.

Lis

Beautiful Stone Whorl Spindles

2006-05-06T23:22:00.000-07:00

April, from Woolyvines, and I have gone in on a little joint venture in the YarnBotanika shop. I met April at a spinning class recently and I started reading her blog. You should too! I saw her beautiful spindles, and because I am so always attracted to everything earthy including gems or stones, I fell in love with them. I asked her if she would be willing to put some in the spindle kits I was already making. They are made of many beautiful stones, each one being completely different. Some have one stone and some have two on them. Here are a few photos of the kits which I put in the shop.

I am pretty excited about this! Plus soon, these kits with Kathy's spindles and April's spindles _(Note to Kathy: you need a blog!!!) along with the handpainted rovings are going to be in one of my favorite on-line shops called ZenYarnGarden, along with the beautiful handpainted yarns made by Roxanne. I am excited to have the products in her Canadian shop and so are April and Kathy. Soon (someday?) we hope to have hand-turned exotic wood spindles too made by Kathy.

I have met such great people through this hobby. It really has been amazing actually. And some neat people from all over the world!

Today, I went to the Arizona Desert Spinning and Weavers Guild meeting and that was fun. Too much food!! Then I came home and made batts on the drum carder that I have here that Terry from the Fiber Factory lent me. (Check out their new and updated web page!) I had fun carding blue faced leicester, soy silk, cashmere and sparkles and I will show you some of the batts tomorrow when I can take some more photos in the sunlight. Now, I have to get one of these drum carders. I love blending all the fibers and colors. I can not do it often though as it definitely strains my neck and I am very very sore tonight.

I need to get back to knitting. I am really missing it. I have have have to finish my wrap sweater. It is SO close to being done!

Go over to April's blog since it is new and say hi to her! And see her pretty spindles if you scroll down. I also have her button on my sidebar now. She also has a new drumcarder named "munch" and she is having a lot of fun making batts on her. Is "munch" a she? or a HE? Hmmmm. LOL

Lis

Summer Garden Colors

2006-05-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

I wish I would hear back from my secret pal for the DyeORama Swap. I have emailed her once and posted on her blog once. Then I would know what she likes so I could save one of the new colors for her. It is taking me FOREVER to reskein all the yarns I did last week for some reason. Maybe it is because I keep getting interuppted or maybe it is because it kills my neck to use the niddy noddy. I just found out I may have a new herniated disc below my surgery site of last year. This is not good news and I hope I don't need more surgery or I will be out of commission with dyeing and spinning, that is for sure. I see my neurosurgeon next week.

I wanted to do a lot of "fresh" bright and light colorways this time. Here are a few of them. There are 3 or 4 more coming.....Probably better to split up the posts anyhow.

This first one I called Peach Pie because it did remind me of that and I couldn't come up with anything else either....

This next one I called Raspberries, Chocolate and Cream. Pink and browns together are really one of my favorites. I'd actually like a room in those colors although it wouldn't go well in my current house.

Here is a new version of the Peace Rose called Peace Rose Two. I ended up using brighter pinks and peaches and so even though it is similar it is not exactly the same. I love this color combo. I really do.....

And last one for now is Lime-Lemon Twist. I am so into lime this year. I always liked that color but now I just love it. I want to use it everywhere! I am lucky that I can wear lime too and a lot of people can't...I want to make a lime lace shell that I saw. I just need to get the yarn and pattern. I want to use Debbie Bliss Pure silk for it and I hope it comes in lime. I think it does! I will show you the pattern when I get it and the yarn.

Here is one new "prop" I tried and I am not sure about it! But I have lots more ideas. I never thought photographing yarn and fiber would be so much fun!! All these yarns are at the ETSY store of course. More colors coming soon. I LOVE COLOR AND I LOVE DYEING. I LOVE SPINNING TOO!!!

Lisa

Naming Colorways--------

2006-05-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some new colorways I dyed this weekend. I have about 8 more coming soon. Not everything turns out as I imagine in my mind or even if I play with paint first on paper and mix colors which I sometimes do, it often looks different on the fiber or yarn once it is dyed, dried, and then braided or reskeined or spun up. I really welcome any comments....either on suggestions for color combinations you have always wanted to see or love and/or names for colorways.

First, here is serenity because I read about the color blue today and what it often emotionally evokes in people, and guess what, it is often serenity! Interesting, as blue and shades of blue and green are my favorites. And I do crave peace and serenity in my life and try to find within on a daily basis.

I had a hard time naming this next one. First I was going to call it Blueberry Pie, but no..it is too peaceful or something for that, so I named it Desert Summer because it reminds me of our wide open skies that are blue with sometimes patches of white clouds and then the desert earth landscaping....

Someone who bought some sock yarn from me told me she loved the colors bright orange, lime and turquoise together so I decided to try that combo. This came out very colorful bright and fun and I called it Tropical...I also thought of several fruit names but the turquoise didn't fit in there!! I also had to be careful with this one because if the colors blend on the edges you end up with a bit of brown which I want to avoid at least in this particular colorway...That is often why I like dyeing analogous colors because they blend beautifully. How do you like my new photography "props??"

And finally, this one is hot pink and orange. My mind just shut off and I couldn't think of a color. SO..I entered into google "HOT PINK ORANGE" and all these fashion things came up especially of bathing suits (LOL) so I named the colorway Summers at the Beach!!

Gosh, I just noticed that the ETSY.com shop is kind of messed up! Usually there is a counter that tells you how many times your item has been looked at and they have removed the counters because the site is just so busy!! That makes it very hard to judge what people are looking at. I am happy they are so busy but wow!!

OK, must run. EMAIL ME or leave comments!!!

I am so in love

2006-04-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

I am so in love with these rovings I just dyed. I know I just posted about them and I am sorry to repeat myself again, but you didn't see ALL the photos, did you?? I wonder if I will always love looking at photos of colorful yarn and fibers. I can't even describe how they make me feel! I know I don't want my blog to become all about the etsy shop because I hate when I see that happen on people's blogs and for me it is just a way to continue being able to create these beautiful things. But its also my blog (blah blah blah!! LOL) and I can post about what I want to, right? I just don't want any of my readers here to think I have gone totally commercial and can't talk about anything else, or that I expect any of my new fiber friends to buy from me, because I simply don't! If I point you to look at the shop, it is just because I am so excited about what I have just created and I want to share my enthusiasm!

So hey, go take a look ok? And see some of the photos of the rovings I just put on there! OH WOW, such incredible fiber porn!!! It is HERE to make it easy for you.

Here are a few of my favorite new colorways. I sat down at Starbucks the other day and wrote out about 15 new color combinations I want to try in the next few dye sessions. A few of them I think are going to look incredible, I hope anyhow. If anyone has suggestions for color combos they like, I would love to hear them! I do use the color wheel and theory from painting classes, but I also use intuition a lot in picking out what colors might look best together. I am also over time going to analyze which color groups are the most popular. I can tell you already that YELLOW yarn is just not as popular as other colors. WHY? My guess is that it doesn't look good on a lot of people. But that is just a guess and what I hear from other dyers. Many have told me yellow does not sell.

Here's some of the latest colorways all which went into "the secret recipe book" to be repeated in the future. Some don't make the book!
Sherbert-----peach (custom blend dye), and pink--i love this one

Ocean Deep---lots of greens--lime,mint,forest and various shades of blue!

Cherries and Chocolates-I love this new Earth Color sent to me from Standard Dye Company..only I changed it a tiny bit....it is sort of a taupe color and I have lots of ideas for what it will look great with!

And Lipstick, a combo of bright reds, hot pink and magenta! I usually don't wear these colors of lipstick but there are occasions for it! LOL This one is going to look gorgeous spun and perhaps plied with something slightly different.

What is kind of cool is half of what I dyed is already spoken for!!!

Oh and this last one, I dyed seven of these to go into the spindle kits that are coming out soon....They have one ounce of white and one ounce of blue. It is amazing how much fiber that is for a beginner. Much more and someone would really get overwhelmed I think! I am not sure what to name this colorway? Any ideas?

Got to get some zzzzzzzzzzzz's. One more test and I am done with school! Then the focus is on more fiber, exercise and weight loss. These three things will become my life!

Good night.........

So many pretty rovings

2006-04-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

I was just braiding these and I put them all together to take a photo. These aren't even all of them! COLOR COLOR COLOR!! And more to be dyed this weekend I hope!

And here is the latest yarn I spun. It is my favorite so far. It is merino and silk and let me tell you that silk is HEAVENLY to spin! I loved every second of this and it was my best handspun yet!!

Here is a close up so maybe you can see some of the pink glitz I put in it..

I kind of want to keep this one because I even have 300 yards from it! But I have more yarn then I even know what to do with, so I did put it at ETSY.com. I have so much more spinning that I am doing. I just love it. I only wish I could sit and do it longer but it really bothers my back so I can't get too much done. Still looking for a better chair.

ONE more exam and I am done with school!!

Lisa

Friday night

2006-04-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I just felt like writing a bit. It has been kind of a rough week. I had PMS followed by an awful stomach flu-YUCK. I really haven't been knitting much at all lately I realize. I am going to try to focus a bit more on that this week. Part of that is because I am still trying hard to finish my wrap sweater. I just posted an update on that over at the Year of the Sweater KAL. I have another more lightweight sweater started and I'll post soon about that.

I have been really enjoying spinning! I only do an hour or so a night as it is a bit hard on my neck and back. I am still looking for just the right spinning chair. Here is a yarn I finished this week that I am just in love with. I started it in the color blending class last week or so. It has different colors of merino in it (mint and light blue) along with some dyed Falkland wool in spearmint and blue and some kelly green merino and white blue faced leicester (SO SOFT) with some touches of firestar sparkle throughout it. It is really pretty (I think anyhow). It looks better in person as you can't see the sparkle really in the photographs.

I am not sure if I am going to keep this yarn ( I am calling it Mint Julep) or if I will sell it, but I really like it so I might keep it. I am starting a scarf with the 350 yards or so of handspun I finished from Stephanie's Twilight batts.
Here is what is on the bobbin right now. It is a heavenly blend of merino and silk. I had never spun silk before and I just love it. I can't imagine doing anything but luxury fibers again being the snob I am!!

Good night.Back to the merino and silk!!

Lisa

Sleepy Eyes Knitting Spins some Fiber!!

2006-04-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

I was excited to see this blog post at Sleepy Eyes Knitting. Please take a look.

She shows the yarn that she spun up using some of the fiber that I dyed and sold in the Yarn Botanika shop. It is very exciting for me to see it all spun up and she wrote a very flattering post, which truly made my morning!!

I asked Yoga Garden Girl (her name...lol) to send me some of the photos so I can put them right here on this blog and also I am starting a gallery for another web page (you'll see it this summer maybe.....)...... so once she sends me some photos I'll post them.

Her blog is GORGEOUS. Honestly this woman has awesome taste so poke around. For being a new spinner, she has found all the best places to buy delicious looking fiber!

Hey..yoga girl........more dyed rovings come soon and you inspired me to buy a bunch more today online. I have have have to have more Blue Faced and some merino and also some Falkland wool........... I actually love to dye roving as much as I love to spin it!

Happy Day!
Lisa

OH and PS Yoga garden girl...funny you should mention calendar or coffee table book because that is a dream for me....and a goal! I have a great book idea and need to figure out how to go about it....

Creativity-Colors Inspired by Nature

2006-04-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

I actually have a beautiful rose garden and I have been neglecting it! The flowers still are beautiful though! This week, I think I need to get to a greenhouse to get some mulch and rose food and some new flowers. I was so excited when I finally had the room for a rose garden because I always loved this variety called the Peace Rose (photo below). It can vary slightly but it is usually pale pink with cream and a touch of yellow. TOO pretty. Have you ever been to the Portland Rose Garden? What an amazing place. This colorway I named Peace Rose is gorgeous I think. The other day, Kirsten said it looks like sherbet! Then I saw a fellow spinner/dyer on ETSY with a similar colorway named sherbet! Kind of funny...Happy Weekend.......

Peace Rose 1:

Followed by Peace Rose 2 (just to show a slightly different view):

Followed by the Yarn Colorway Peace Rose in super super soft Superwash Fingering weight merino. I really want to make a lacy scarf of this but I have too many projects in the works now and I can remake it some day!

PS I am going to enter this post and skein of yarn into the Whip Up Whiplash competition...

It isn't as easy as it looks to try to dye fiber to capture the essence of nature. I love my rose garden and I love this yarn! This weeks Whiplash theme was "creativity." Click on the link to read about Whip Up (a wonderful crafts site) and the Whip Lash competition... Not sure I can enter every week but I love to look at the other entries!

Too Much Fun - Color Mania!

2006-04-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how excited I get over color and yarns. Really it is.

Can you see why I named this colorway "Bluebells?" See the flower followed by the yarn. Its not exact but finding names for various colorways is not always easy. If I create the colorway from the inspiration of a plant it is easier of course but if you are doing a bunch of dyeing it is hard to do that. Also, I need to very soon figure out how to use yahoo flickr to post photos so I can do them differently, like next to each other . I have seen others do that!

This one is called Rainforest. I really go for the greens myself and a few more are coming.. Lots more re-skeining to do but I can only do it in small time frames!

Just had to share my color mania! The possibilities are endless. I think I am going to do some interesting earth tone mixtures next time I dye. They aren't as colorful, but they go with so much and they are so pretty. I just need some new dyes. I am going to try a new dye company, Standard Dye. If you like dyeing, I highly recommend the Dyehappy list on yahoo. It is a nice group. There is another dye list, but it is too huge for me.

Happy Day

MONDAY!!!!!!!!

2006-04-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

I had a really wonderful weekend. I truly enjoyed the Color Blending class I went to at the Tempe Yarn and Fiber. I learned a lot and when I came home that night, I couldn't stop spinning! I have a few amazing skeins of yarn (I hope they are amazing) in the works.

Here is one I made in the class, or I made the singles part which was handspun merino painted roving. Then when I got home, I looked through my stash to find something to ply it with and I found some beautiful alpaca and silk yarn. SO, that worked out wonderfully to a beautifully balanced yarn!

Yeah yeah yeah, I like to photograph yarn on some rocks? Why is that? I need to find a few new photographing ideas! Here is a close up of the yarn.

Wow! I just got DSL today and I am shocked how fast these photos load now. What did I wait so long for??????

I am so into this spinning. I have a million color and fiber and texture ideas in my head when I go to sleep and occasionally I have to get up and spin a bit in the middle of the evening! I don't want this to take away from my knitting but it is a bit. My sweater is getting close to completion though and I started another one. Photos of that soon............

Time to spin :)
Lisa