Dying to Dye

There are 50 jars of dye out there, waiting to be shipped to a very eager me. Needless to say, there isn't as much fiber activity here as I'd like there to be. I could make do with the dyes I have, but no combination of their colors really speaks to me.
I have been knitting my mother's Christmas present. It will be a self-fringing simple garter stitch shawl made of a soft kid mohair yarn that I bought from Brooks Farm Yarn at the Kid 'N Ewe. I saw Mom drooling over the sample shawl they had on display. My friend Tess is also making one for her mother, in a different colorway.
Mom's will be in a lovely lavender/blue/green colorway. Aside from a few knots, this yarn is fantastic, and since the kid mohair can be spit-spliced, the knots were not a big nuisance. I'll post a pic later today.

What I've Been Up To

If you click here (or if you read on) you'll see what I've been working on this week (and just in time for Christmas):
click me

That's right..I'm a Louet dealer now!! Isn't that the greatest? I'm so excited about this, I haven't slept in 2 days.

I also dyed and spun up this soft, lovely Merino for the shop(I had to do something to calm myself down):

I call it "Santa Fe" because it has all those lovely hues you see in New Mexico... the caliche red, rust, and browns of the soil, the earthy reds, lavenders, and pinks of the sunsets.

Bottoms Up!

The shawl is finished. It took me just under 2 weeks to complete, and that included time spent spinning the wool for it.


and the obligatory shot of the back:


It was fast, easy, and fun to knit. The pattern will be in its beta stage a bit longer, then I'll type it up and add it to the shop!
I may include directions for 3 sizes (full, small shawl, scarf).

Natural Medicine

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. I'm recovering from a nasty cold. Yestaerday I did nothing but knit.....no housework, no paperwork, no stress.. just knitting and spinning.
Here is a sneak peak at the Bottoms Up Leaf Shawl:


The leaf pattern and scalloped edge will show up better once I block it and pull out the points. I've fully enjoyed knitting it from the bottom up. Normally, when I knit shawls from the top down, I get bored and end up with a shorter than planned shawl, so I decided to design this one in reverse. You knit the longest rows at the beginning when you are most motivated, then it just gets faster as you work up. The pattern will be available through the shop soon, and I may even offer it as a spin and knit kit, and as a knit kit with hand dyed yarn or handspun yarn.

The Kid 'N Ewe was a huge success, and the most fun I've had in some time. I am planning for next year already!!

By the way, I've added the pattern for the Reversible Cabled Scarf to the shop, as well as needle felting kits, which you can see here on this page

Kid 'N Ewe

The first day of Kid 'N Ewe was great fun. I'm too tired to say lots, so I'm posting some photos. Enjoy!!

Here is a shot of the back of my booth just before the doors opened:


and the side:


This is Bill Wyatt demonstrating on his great wheel.


Isn't it gorgeous? He makes several types of wheels, all beautiful and special. He specializes in mesquite wood, but will make wheels of cherry, bird's eye wood, black walnut, and others. Can you tell I was impressed? To top it all off, I learned how to spin (well, sort of learned) on the great walking wheel!!

This is the inside of the Brooks Farm booth, which was across from me. This is just a bit of the many hand-dyed yarns they brought, all beautiful.


Finally, the stars of the show:

taking a break

I thought I'd take a break from my fiber festival preparations to bring you some family photos:
Here I am with my 3 year old fairy princess and my 18 year old Mad Scientist at a Halloween fair:

By the way, I'm not really short (I'm 5'7"), he's just really tall.

This is my 16 year old daughter, as herself:


Here I am with my mother-in-law, the Fairy Princess, DH, and our scarecrow "Scarlet":


This is me practicing holding a bunny. I'm hoping to convince DH that we need an Angora bunny. I hear there will be some for sale at the festival!!


I've tagged and priced and skeined and rolled and made to-do list after to-do list, and I'm still feeling like I won't be ready for the Kid 'N Ewe !! It's back to work I go.....