I convinced a wonderful friend to join us, and Miss Wiseheart had [...]]]> Wow.  I’ve just had the best time ever.  One whirlwind weekend of yarn, fiber & friends.  The last weekend in May was the Mass. Sheep & Wool Festival, in Cummington, MA.  It’s about a 4 hour drive for me, and it was great weather. 

I convinced a wonderful friend to join us, and Miss Wiseheart had a wonderful time – or at least I assume she did… she began laughing when she walked in the door and was still giggling when the car drove away.  Sandi came a couple days early – “tempus fugit” I told her… no time like the present to come have a good time (and she helped me pack up stuff for the show so bonus points for me).  We gathered up ‘stuff’ and more importantly, Georg and headed out on Friday.  Now, every good friend likes to get something nice for her friends – it’s what friends DO afterall.  So, in the spirit of this, I took my friends…. to the chiropractor on the way out of town.  Don’t laugh.  He’s a miracle worker and with the weekend of standing, toting, hefting and smiling (hey, that’s hard too, ya know), well… getting yourself in order is what the doctor ordered.  (Plus, I was driving.  They really had no choice.)

We arrived at the Fairgrounds and I waved my magic wand in the direction of the tent (and muttered ‘erecto’ to no avail) but we still had to do it the old fashioned way.  In a couple of hours (really I’ve no idea how long it takes. Sometimes it feels like an hour sometimes it feels like DAYS) we had put this together:

Our neighbor, as usual, was Patrick from West Elm Farm.  Sadly, he will not be next to us next year… so I’ve decided to double the booth space.  Ya’ll plan to come visit next year because the place will be amazing.

Favorite picture this year:

Note the turkish spindle and fine thread that ties the boy’s attention.   Fascinated.  They’ll be spinning next year, you watch.

And then we went home.  Actually, have you ever noticed how easy it is to ‘say’ something, but it’s never as easy to actually ‘do’ the thing?  Thankfully, folks like Brewergnome (his yarn and roving are in my booth), Jesh (I carry her spindles and other sundries as well), and 100 of our best friends stayed to help pack it up into the van.  Ok, not really 100 – but it sure felt like it!!  I think we had it packed up and in the car in under 55 minutes – a new record for us.  I can’t thank  you all enough.

No rest for the weary – that would be us.  We got home late Sunday evening, and all crashed.  Georg left for home the next morning, and Sandi and I stared at the cat, too exhausted to pet him.  Tuesday, she helped me unpack (she is full of win).  Then… we dyed!  Or rather, Nora dyed and we assisted.  Nora’s 3rd installment in her yarn club needed to go out asap and so right after school I got her setup and going.  She very politely invited Sandi to ’guest-dye’ with her on several skeins.  When it was over, we had some dye left and so Nora dyed 2 skeins for me in a one-of-a-kind flower theme:

Not sure what I’ll do with it, but it’s mine-all-mine.  The 3rd installment of her club mailed officially today.  Her theme was ‘flowers’ and the skeins were dyed one of 2 ways.  Either looking down on a field of grass and flowers, or standing in the field looking at the horizon of flowers and sky.  Here’s one of the sky skeins:

Sandi finally went home – I could keep her hostage no more.  Basically, she announced her vitamins were all gone, it was time to go home and refill.  She had a profound affect on the household here though.  The cat is basically never going to be the same – I thought he was demanding before but now that he’s had attention lavished on him constantly, he expects to be maintained in the manner to which he has become accustomed.  We hope she’ll come visit again some time – I will remind her that laughter is excellent stress relief and to come back for a refill.

Onwards.

What’s next you ask?  Usually, things would be quiet on the show front until the fall around here.  I’ve decided to change things up  bit instead.  I thought I’d throw in a Lace Club to begin with (check back the end of the month for details), and Nora wants to have another go-round for her club (she’s saving her pennies for a pony.)  And then… well, do you like Far Side cartoons?  Do you remember this one?

One of my top 5 favorites.  I’ve decided to fill the summer months with projects instead of anything to do with a vacuum (empty time/space or cleaning).  For example, next week I leave for Columbus Ohio.  I will be a vendor in my first ever wholesale TNNA show. (Yes, I wholesale my yarn – tell your local yarn store!)  Then I thought we’d spice it up with Stitches Mid-West in Schaumburg IL.  Still hoping the good folks over at the Fingerlakes Fiber Fest see fit to let me in this year (I keep trying…), and then I think I’ll head over to TNNA in St. Louis - but wait! I can’t be in 2 places at once… that one is the same weekend as the delightful Southern Adirondack Fiber Fest - this will be their 2nd year!  I know… I’ll have Georg help.  She’ll go to the Adirondack Festival with the show gear, and I’ll…. just have to dye twice as much so we can finally prove if the cat is alive or dead – no wait. we just want to be in 2 places at once. No problem!  Phew.  Anyways, after the 2nd TNNA/Adirondack Fiber Fest comes the mother of all festivals for me:  Rhinebeck.  Now, take a breath and then join me at Stitches East directly afterwards (ok, so there’s a couple of days between and that’s good because I’m pretty sure I’ll need to dye more yarn there somewhere.)  After that?  Assuming I’m still coherent, I’ve got a space all lined up at the 1st Annual Fiber Fest of New England at the Mass Expo Center (assuming you find me there with little of my wits about me, just speak slowly).  Then, I would like a nap.

Booth:

That’s 18 legs across the back.  (54 more legs and we’ll have a full set of Rockette Dancers for Radio City Music [...]]]> My brain is still fuzzy from the long but wonderfully exhausting weekend, so we’ll just put up some pictures for you to look at instead of me trying to write anything coherent.

Booth:

That’s 18 legs across the back.  (54 more legs and we’ll have a full set of Rockette Dancers for Radio City Music Hall.  It’s good to have goals.)

It was a very cold weekend – it rained on Saturday, and we saw a house fly by in the wind on Sunday.  Creativity was key in staying warm and an Icelandic Pelt from West Elm Farm was just the thing (he had a few left - email Patrick if you want one.)

I saw some bacon socks:

and there were new yarn colors to be found in the booth:

Fiji:

and Bellini:

and 2 new socks released at the show:

The Seven Chakras and Fearful Symmetry:

Fearful Symmetry:

Kit and Size Choices

Medium Seven Chakras $32.00 Large Seven Chakras $36.00 Medium Fearful Symmetry $32.00 Large Fearful Symmetry $36.00

Please note: a Large kit is a women’s size 10 or better.  Items ordered here from the blog will be combined with anything added from the main website on your shopping cart, if you have not ‘checked out’ yet with paypal.  I’m off to get more tea as I’m extremely caffeine-deprived today.

**Warning!  If you don’t want to [...]]]> …All packed inside one single 7 year old.  On Wednesday last week, we dyed yarn for Nora’s Yarn Club – the 2nd installment.  I was sure it would take us 2 evenings, I mean how much can one 7 year old do in one evening?  Apparently, quite a bit.

**Warning!  If you don’t want to ‘see’ your Nora Club yarn #2 yet, SKIP THE REST!!**

4 gallons’ worth of dye, 26 skeins of yarn and one dinner break.  I was exhausted and she was ready for more. 

Nora’s yarn shipped officially Monday, complete with goodies.  Her chosen theme, was ‘Oceans’.  We’ve been looking at ocean pictures for a solid week, comparing blues and greens and beaches etc.  We looked at oceans via the Int’l Space Station (http://twitpic.com/1gklve) and google searches on ‘ocean colors’ (http://tinyurl.com/2akx55m).  When it finally came time to dye the yarn, she picked out 2 blue/green dyes and we blended them to get it ‘just right’.  Then I asked her what other blue?  Maybe this aqua?  No. 

“Mom, I need some bright pink…”. 

Pink?  “Nora, the ocean isn’t Pink.” 

She looked at me as if I’d grown another head. 

“Mom.  The Fish?  Hello?”

The FISH.  We’re dyeing the FISH in the Ocean.  (I must have missed the memo.)

Ok. Brain regroup.  No problem.  You want Fish?  We gotz Fish.

(I like how in this picture, it looks like the fish has his mouth open.)

Georg seems to have come up with an appropriate stitch pattern with a little ‘wave’ action going on – here’s a picture of her ‘ocean’ sock so far:

Here’s the stitch pattern (based on 32 stitches on top, 64 after the heel.)

Row 1 and all odd rows: Knit.
Row 2: (K2tog, k6, yo)4
Row 4: (K2tog, k5, yo, k1)4
Row 6: (K2tog, k4, yo, k2)4
Row 8: (K2tog, k3, yo, k3)4
Row 10: (K2tog, k2, yo, k4)4
Row 12: (K2tog, k1, yo, k5)4
Row 14: (K2tog, yo, k6)4
Repeat sequence at Row 1.

Cool, eh?  Feel free to knit along!

As with Nora’s Butterfly Yarn, your colors will vary, depending on the colors Nora used on your particular skein.  The yarn also came with Stitch Markers with an Ocean/Fish theme and guess what?  The Dolphin stitch marker glows in the dark wicked bright. 

(Click for Video)

We’re working on the 2nd installment, expecting to ship it out the first of May!

She dyed the skeins 2 at a time, as it gave her a larger ‘canvas’ to work [...]]]> Nora’s Yarn Club, shipment #1 shipped yesterday.  Complete with decorated packages, the folks at the post office we usually visit were very proud of her.  So was I, she carried the bag of packages in from the car  

She dyed the skeins 2 at a time, as it gave her a larger ‘canvas’ to work with.  While we were working, she said we might have to send 2 skeins to each person so they’d have the whole picture.  I explained that maybe the 2 people would someday meet and both be wearing the socks made from that yarn – they would meet and their socks would match…. she interupted me and announced that they would then be best friends.   I love that of all the skeins of yarn she painted for this are different – even the 2 painted together are different from each other.  No two skeins are alike, each painted within the theme, kind of like snowflakes.  I admit to knitting a few rows on an existing project just to see how one of them would come together and it was like a bouquet of flowers. 

Georg might have gotten a head-start by taking her yarn home with her after helping out the other day… she’s using ‘Ambrosia’  (rav link) by Ann Budd:

Remember, no 2 skeins are alike and there were several colors involved for Nora to choose from.  Some skeins, she didn’t add much pink at all   Can’t wait to see all the different socks.

*******************************************************************

I’ve taught other people to dye who’ve gone on to be very successful at dyeing yarns and fibers.  I’m always amazed at how different their work is – how each person is so creative and expresses it so differently.  Give 5 dyers 3 colors and tell them to dye a skein of yarn and stand back.  You’ll have 5 completely different and unique skeins of yarn – it’s all in the interpretation.  Each dyer’s style and personal tastes are reflected.  With enough experience (or yarn in your stash) with a particular dyer’s yarns, you can even recognize their work in a sea of unlabeled yarn – much like recognizing a painter or knowing the music is Mozart after just a minute of listening. 

 Nora’s work is unique and her own.  I’ve known it for some time now.  She does not dye yarn like I do.  Add to her own creative skills the uninhibited art-stylings of a 7 year old, and you get some unique things.  She doesn’t limit herself to yarn, either.  The other day, Eric bought a bouquet of fuschia tulips.  They were lovely, but beginning to fade.  While we were talking in the dining room, Nora was in the kitchen working on something.  Turned out to be the tulips.  They’d been studying ‘still life’ art at school.  To my knowledge, she’s not really familiar with Water Lilies or Lotus flowers but if you look closely, she’s got that new flower floating on the water.  

Who would have guessed what you could make with a medium of wilting tulip flowers?

Click to run

Don’t miss out – there’s only a few spots left before we ship on April 1st!

We’ve got a 400 yard skein of yarn in a brand new Nora colorway, fun stitch markers, and [...]]]> (*Warning!  If you want to be surprised for your first installment of yarn from Nora’s Yarn Club, do not run the video! )

Click to run

Don’t miss out – there’s only a few spots left before we ship on April 1st!

We’ve got a 400 yard skein of yarn in a brand new Nora colorway, fun stitch markers, and goodies picked out by the 7 year old – let your inner child hang out on a monthly play-date with my 7 year old. It’ll be great! $80.00 for the 3 month subscription covers it all including postage. Questions? Post them here if you like, and Nora & I will do our best to answer them, or you can email me at jennifer@holidayyarnsDOTcom.  *(Full details here.)

Woops!  You missed it!  Now you have to wait 3 months to get ahold of Nora’s new colorways (and matching stitch markers!).  The first one goes out tomorrow (April 1st – no fooling!) and it’s full of spring – like a bouquet of flowers!

If it’s green… it’s on sale.  Or rather, the postage is.  Here’s how it works:

Purchase something from the website with green on it… and I refund your postage – anywhere on the globe.

Purchase something from the website that’s NOT green?  No problem.  Add something green, [...]]]> (That’s ‘Happy St. Patrick’s Day’ to all of  you out there).

If it’s green… it’s on sale.  Or rather, the postage is.  Here’s how it works:

Purchase something from the website with green on it… and I refund your postage – anywhere on the globe.

Purchase something from the website that’s NOT green?  No problem.  Add something green, and the postage is refunded.

Need an example?  Purchase the Imbas sock kit – get free shipping.  But… what if your ordering Kitri – a red sock?  Well, now might be the perfect time to add a skein of ‘Monster Mash’ or ‘Key Lime’ to the order – if you do… I refund the shipping on the whole shebang.

The one and only exception to the rule?  (there had to be – you knew it couldn’t be this good)  No wait, it is good.  The exception, would be to purchase a skein of the newest colorway, ‘Fool’s Gold’ (watch out for the Leprechauns).  Order ‘Fool’s Gold’, and you’ll get free shipping.  Order Kitri… and add ‘Fool’s Gold’ but NO green items:  Refunded shipping.  Get it?  Fool’s Gold is ‘green’ for you on this deal.

Fool’s Gold:

Or you can purchase the new colorway here & now all by itself, free of postage:

 $20.00

So, the list of what’s green (and I might miss something – feel free to order it if it’s green but not on the list)

Sock Kits
Imbas Sock Kit
101 Learn to Knit Socks Kit (In Sage colorway)
Vintage Sock Kit (there’s a green leaf in every kit)
Vintage Leaf Kit (same here)

Yarns:
Mintish
Leaves of Grass
Evergreen
Key Lime
Monster Mash
Dark Olive
Gold Olive
Gecko
Salazar
Sky’s the Limit
Dreams
Rose Garden
Wintergreen
Mint Mojito

Did I miss any?  Probably.  Go see, the postage sale runs for the next week (midnight March 24th PST), or as long as it takes everyone to sober up.  In the meantime… skip the pint and watch this.  It’s Brilliant!