Our Trunk Show is almost here! It will be at Yarntastic! Friday November 29th through Thursday December 5th. Stop by 6802 SE Milwaukie Ave. Portland, OR 97202 for a visit and some yarn/fiber petting:) We will also have our Custom Carbon Fiber Needles available. Don’t miss this chance to do some test knitting with these light weight strong needles!
Here is a sample of my “show”. For those of you who have found me at fiber shows this will look familiar. Come by Yarntastic and say hi!
New Hue Handspuns at Oregon Flock and Fiber
Unfortunately my shipment of dyes has been detained somewhere between Australia and Portland Oregon. That means I won’t have as much dyed fiber available for the Trunk show as I would like, but don’t worry there will be plenty of fiber and I will take orders:) I’ve been packaging up the fiber I dyed last week. How many people have a dinning room table as colorful as this!?!
Dye day results
I will be knitting and spinning away at Yarntastic! throughout the week. I hope you will stop by!
My first Trunk Show is coming up right here in Portland! Next posting in just a few days I will have all the details. I have done quite a few fiber shows over the years, but never a trunk show in a yarn shop. Fiber shows always seem to have a high energy buzz about them, where every thing is go go go!!! You have to move so fast from one person to the next and there are so many faces that they blur together. I’m not sure how the trunk show will go, but I’m expecting that it will be a bit more relaxed and that I can actually chat with people for more than 30 seconds.
Yesterday I had the chance to get some nice pictures of my latest shawl design.
Bam Huey Twister.
The Bam Huey Twister is 2 colorways plied together. This one uses a plying pattern of 1/3 – Wisteria X Wisteria, 1/3 Wisteria X Raspberry Sorbet, and 1/3- Raspberry Sorbet X Raspberry Sorbet. The pattern should be out on Ravelry a few days before Thanksgiving. I will be sure to announce it here.
Here are a few more views of the Bam Huey Twister Shawl
Not my backside view of Bam Huey Twister ShawlBam Huey Twister shawl in Wisteria/Raspberry Sorbet
I probably won’t be doing a large stocking of Bam Huey Twister until after Christmas. I do have one skein in blues you can check out here . I’m always happy to spin up a custom order, just ask:) Does the yarn store in the pictures look familiar to you? If it does, you just may know where my Trunk Show will be!
The work on the Just add knitter kits is almost done! The Neck Warmer kit is done and just a few more tweaks on the mitts pattern and it will be ready to go! Here is a picture of the test mitts…just one more mitt to finish.
Just Add Knitter Mitt Kits almost done!
The Yarn -A – Long over on Ravelry is starting up, it isn’t to late to join up. Come on over and play!
The next few days will be consumed with dyeing fiber. I hope to share some dying pictures with you next time along with the details for my Trunk Show! Mr X’s sweater didn’t get much attention this week, but it should make it’s way back to the top of the knitting pile once the mitt kit is finished.
Mr X’s handspun sweater has been on the to-do list for a few years, and because of Spinzilla it is now on the needles! I needed lots of fiber to spin for the week of Spinzilla, so I dug out the fiber I had been stock piling for Mr. X’s sweater. I hadn’t decided on a pattern, or yarn size prior to spinning. I went with that time trusted method and let the fiber decide what it wanted to be.
natural Black BFL for Mr X’s Sweater
I started with the Black BFL Wool…..well they call it Black but it sure looks Brown to me:) Either way I love the fiber. It has a nice crimp and about a 4 inch staple length. It was crying out to be a big lofty fluffy spin, but knowing it was going to be used for durable sweater I put a bit more twist in the yarn, but kept it a little on the fluffy side. I knew I wanted to ply this with another color so that the yarn would have a bit of a tweedy look when knit up.
Some of the fiber I had set aside for this project was rejects from a custom dye order. Some times I get the dye job just right on the first try, some times it takes a few test. A while back I was testing several colors on a combination of fibers to see how differently the fibers took up the dye. I ended up with a lot of test bits all in the same colors, colors that would be just purrrrrrrfect for Mr. X’s sweater. The only problem was that there wasn’t enough of the Greens to ply with the Brown/Black. As you can see from this picture I solved that problem…..
Baa Baa Huey Handspun for Mr X’s Sweater
but it wasn’t easy! I used one ply of the Black/Brown BFL and plied it against the 2 shades of green BFL and the natural BFL. I rotated through the 3 colors 8 feet at a time. VERY time consuming and a whole lot of joining to do, but it was soooo worth it in the end. This heavy DK weight handspun yarn is exactly what I envisioned.
Regular and Jumbo yarn balls ready for knitting!
I hate weaving in ends so I always make my skeins LONG. That did get me into a little trouble with my yarn bowl….big ball doesn’t fit…lol . Fortunately for me the small ball of 3 ply merino/silk fits just fine. I did a higher twist and a Navajo 3 ply to keep this a tight smooth yarn. It will be used for the ribbing on the cuffs, neck band and waist band, all areas that take a lot of abuse . I wanted a good strong yarn that would stand up to years of abuse.
After the frogging of my first attempt at the sweater things are going along well. I’m still a little concerned that it may be a little bit large, but according to the numbers is should be fine….I hope:)
Anne’s pattern Aztec Maze is a fun knit. I did have a bit of a surprise when I opened up the pattern and saw that it was charts……ummm I don’t do charts! I have managed to do a little with color work charts, but this was looking scary. I knew I still couldn’t follow a chart while knitting, but I knew I could read it. Well if I can read it then I must be able to write out what I read. Boy was I grateful that it is a fairly simple pattern containing only knits and purls. I wrote out the patten and all is smooth sailing.
Latest progress on Mr X’s Sweater
Almost time to split off and make arm holes, and before you know it I will be casting on some arms! Work is progressing on the Just add Knitter Kits, a few more test knits to finish, then I should have pictures next posting. I’m still trying to schedule in time for some knitting videoing so I can show off my cool new pit knitter circulars. I am LOVING them!
The New Hue and Newhouse Yarn -A- Long is gearing up over on Ravelry. Come on over and check it out. There is only 1 Rule.
Rule #1 You must use some product made by New Hue Handspuns or Newhouse Needles. That is the ONLY RULE:) You can spin any New Hue Fiber, knit with any New Hue Handspun Yarn , Felt , weave, crochet, or what ever you use yarn/fiber for. You can knit any pattern with Newhouse Needles using any yarn. Last but not least you can knit one of my FREE Patterns, using any yarn and needles.
If this sounds fun to you and you like to win prizes Click HERE . The more that play the more prizes. If you check out the Yarn -a – Long thread you will find a coupon code for a $5 savings at New Hue Handspuns .
I’m knitting my first Sweater….or should I say I am sweating out my first sweater! The sweater is for Mr X. I don’t have his exact measurements, I’m making modifications to the pattern, and my yarn and needles are different than the pattern is written for….lol….I’m not making this easy for myself! The first attempt was ripped after about 50 rows, it was WAY too big. I screwed up on the math. Second attempt is coming along well, but I am concerned that it is still a little too big. I’ve decided that if it turns out too big I will give it a little time in a hot dryer and shrink it up a bit:)
Mr X’s Aztec Maze
I am really enjoying this pattern, Anne Hanson’s Aztec Mazes . The pattern is written with cables up the sides and intended to have some shaping. We decided that this maze pattern is purrrrrfect for Mr X but the sweater needed to be a bit more manly so I’ve dropped the cables and shaping.
I learned a few things while knitting the sweater. I am a lever/pit knitter and have always use long dpns for knitting in the round. I recently had to learn how to use circular needles to test all our carbon fiber needles. I’m slower with the circulars, but I did come to appreciate not having to deal with all the points involved with dpns. I enjoy using 9 inch and 16 inch circulars. For this sweater I pulled out the 40″ circs….. Uggghhhh! long circulars are NOT for ME! all that moving of stitches over all that cord was driving me batty. I missed my 14″ dpns, so I switched back over, but once again I had to deal with all those points. It finally dawned on me that I could have the best of both worlds. A long needle to tuck under my right arm and attached to the other end of the cord a short needle to knit off of. I plan to make a video of the needle in use very soon…pit knitting with circulars…I’m a happy camper:)
here’s a closer picture..
Circulars for Pit Knitters!
I have a little more testing to do with these needles, but hope to have them listed in the shop soon.
It will have to wait for my next blog post for me to go into more detail of the yarn used for this project because it is getting late and I need to get some sleep and I know that you are all hanging on to find out who is the winner of the Spinzilla spun yarn
this one…
432 yards of Handspun Bam Huey – High Tide
There were 67 entries and I gave each of you a number in the order of entry. I cranked up the old Random Number Generator and it spit out number 13…… and lucky #13 is Audrey! If you don’t get my email Audrey, please email me your shipping address.
The fun isn’t over yet! I’m hosting a Yarn-a-Long over on Ravelry Here in the New Hue Handspuns Creations group. Rules and prizes will be posted on Saturday 11/2/13 and the Yarn-a-Long will start on 11/11/13. You will need to join the group to play along and use something produced by New Hue Handspuns or Newhouse Needles. This includes spinning fiber, handspun yarn, carbon fiber needles, or one of my free patterns on Ravelry. Be sure to check in on the group on Saturday for all the details.
This week has been a busy one, but here are the highlights….. A Win, a Dream, and a Frogging!
Before I go on to explain the win, dream, and frogging I want to THANK everyone for the nice complements on my Spinzilla spinning. I had wanted to reply to each one of you, but then I saw how that was going to muddy up the numbering for the drawing. Besides thanking the kind writers there were also a few questions I’d like to answer. Roxie wanted to know if my Hansen needed a rest… My little Miss Mini is a trooper and kept up with me the whole time! Vicky asked when did I sleep……Let’s just say I don’t sleep a whole lot:) Ashley thought I should do something rewarding for myself…..my reward is that I have all the yarn I need for Christmas gift knitting!…..now to find the time to get the knitting done..lol.
Now on to the Win, the Dream, and the Frogging
The Win was most yards spun by an individual during Spinzilla. Team Fancy Tiger was the first place team, and Team Storey Publishing (which I was a member of) came in 3rd place. You can check out all the winners and prizes on the Spinzilla blog post My award, A Yarn to Yards Balance with the Spinzilla plaque arrived in the mail from the Woolery.
Spinzilla Award, Sweater yarn, and High Tide prize skein.
It is about the Spinzilla competition next year. Those who know me, and put up with me, know I have done long marathon spinning sessions many times. Spinning all day for weeks at a time is what I love to do. Some people run marathons, some climb mountains, and others swim the English Channel…. me, I spin. My dream is to spend the week of Spinzilla next year in a hotel. This would be a fund raising spin in. I would have a room at the hotel, and the spin in would be in one of the meeting rooms that would be open 24 hours a day. Spinners could make a donations for the opportunity to spin along. When I dream, I dream big, so in my dream there would be a fiber supplier/mill that would donate the fiber, and all the spun yarn would be sold to benefit the Spinzilla education program, oh yeah…and my room and room service would be paid for:) It’s a big dream and I know I don’t have the skill to organize it, but boy do I want to do it!
Last but not least….the Frogging. …
I started a sweater from some of the yarn I spun for Spinzilla. I chose Anne Hanson’s Aztec Mazes This is my first sweater and I am a bit worried that it won’t fit. I’m knitting this as a surprise for Mr X. I don’t have exact measurements for Mr. X , and I am working with a different size yarn and needle than the pattern calls for. This means I have to work a bit of math to figure out gauge and which size to knit.
Mr. X’s sweater…Pre Frogging
One does start to wonder if the sweater is too big when it doesn’t fit in the photo box…. Yikes! it was WAY TOO BIG! Turns out I rounded up when I should have been rounding down…lol…to the Frog Pile! There were a few tears among the Ripppp- it Rippppp-it noises, but all is well now. I’ve started over in a size smaller and will have some progress pictures of it next posting on November 1st when I announce the winner of the skein of Bam Huey yarn in High Tide. I will also have some pictures of a new needle style I made for sweater knitting.
Hand painting spinning fiber is the second step in making my yarn, and that is what this post is going to be about. BUT first I just have to share with you what has been consuming me this past week, and has made this post a few days later than I planned:)
Now that I have that out of my system, back to the subject at hand!
Dyeing fiber can be done so many ways and every dyer has their favorite method. I’ve tried a few different methods and eventually settled down with my favorite combinations. First I always start by hand painting spinning fiber. This gives me my best chance at controlling the colors and their blending. Better control for me means more consistency when repeating colorways…..other say that I just have a control issue…lol.
Remember those fiber cinnamon rolls the last post? well here they are rolled out waiting to be hand painted. People have asked me many times why my packages of Bam Huey Spinning Fiber are of the unusual weight of 3 oz? Here is the answer….. The length of my dining room table with all the extensions can only hold the length of 3 oz. I love that table, and I am not getting rid of it, so 3oz packages of Bam Huey fiber it is!
Bam Huey Fiber rolled out for Hand Painting
Across from Dining/Dying room Table is my little dye studio. This is where I blend the colors, first in my mind, then with the dyes. I’ve enlarged this area, but it is such a mess right now I thought it better to share an older picture with you.
Were the Creations/mess:) Happens
My inspiration for colorways comes from everything around me. I almost always have my camera with me to snap a picture of colors that catch my eye. Sky photos are my favorite to work with. It isn’t about the focus, but the colors. here is one of my favorites, how many layered shades of blue do you see!!!!
layers of blues
This one is destined to become a New Hue colorway!
Eventually I do get the dye onto the fiber
Last step is to wrap and roll up the fiber and steam away. After a few hours the fruits of my labor are hanging to dry.
Drying Bam Huey Spinning FIber
I’ll leave the fiber to drying for now, and when I come back next time it will be time for SPINNING!!!! I will also give a little peak into what I am prepping up for Oregon Flock and Fiber.
You must be logged in to post a comment.