Summer Updates

Well, we are mid-way through summer, and I am sad that I have abandoned my blog once again.  But with summer here I am going to try and update a little more often, just to share a few things happening in my life and on my needles.

The biggest update for me is last week's fiber festival. I have been planning and preparing for several months now and now that it's over, I'm sad that I don't have that anticipation anymore, is that normal?

The Houston Fiber Festival had it's fourth year and I was one of the vendors this time around.  I spent a good deal of May and June dying yarn, ordering and matting prints and getting my fixtures together to take.  I love that I am able to share my yarnie art with people on top of my lovely yarn colors.

Having both payed off! The large art was able to draw in visitors that wanted to hear my story and having prints of my paintings meant that I was able to sell and share my art with people who wanted a little pop of color in their homes and offices!  And the yarn did well too! I quickly learned which colors - speckle-ish (go figure) and cool tones - and bases - fingering/sock wins out over worsted - were the most popular and what to focus on going forward.

The event was a week ago and I spent the following Monday updating my shop with the leftover inventory.  Take a peek if you are wanting a lovely art print or some beautifully painted yarn!

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In other life news, I will be moving to a new apartment/studio in a week, so sadly not much dying or painting will get to happen for a period of time as I adjust.  But moving is for the best sometimes.  It allows you to purge and clean as well as start fresh in a new place.  I am excited to make this transition and see lots of amazing things to come.

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On my needles I have been working on a few things lately, finishing many since summer started.  While that is a post for another day, I will share my latest finished project.  The "Mini Madness Shawl" was started about three weeks ago when I found that I had a fair amount of sock yarn scraps that could fade into each other.  I purchased this pattern and went to town.  The last section I even decided needed some weight and bling, and added beads to make it sparkle! I am very happy with this huge shawl and know that it will get worn a lot when the school year starts up again.

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How are your summers going? Too fast, not fast enough? What's on the needles right now?  Leave a comment and let me know, I always love hearing from readers.

Until next time!

~Lisa

On My Needles and In My Studio

Well, 2018 hasn't been a fantastic year for blogging, but that doesn't mean I don't at least think about it.  I will try and get better, but when there is little progress from week to week it's hard to think of topics to discuss.

Luckily I have some things going on right now that I can share!

First up is a FO in the form of socks for my friend Jayde.  Finished the week of March 26th, they have reached their recipient safely and fit well.  I love the pattern - Hermoine's Everyday Socks - as it is just subtle enough to show off the stripes but also add interest, and the yarn is definitely a favorite.  I wish I had more (time to stash hunt on Ravelry!)

Shown with original artwork by Jayde Archebold. 
Check out her site and shop if you like what you see :)

As soon as the socks went off, a new project went on.  This lovely shawl is for a friend who is moving to London at the end of the summer.  I think the weight and size will work well for her over there, and the pattern - Madeleine Shawl from Vintage Modern Knits - is knitting up so quick that I am already on the decreases!

The yarn is worsted, single ply from the UK titled Mapuche.  I don't really have any other info, as it was a gift and the tag was bare bones. 

The other knit project currently consuming my mind is this fantastically interesting knitted sculpture project.  I came up with the idea a few months ago and have been obsessed since.  I am creating ball sculptures that, to me, represent fallen memories and dreams, and are completely hollow (thanks to balloons and glue) and have a light inside! They started out as standing, table top pieces, but I recently acquired some hanging fixtures and have been playing with hanging them.  I can't decide which I like more, but I do know that I am going to keep making these!

Shown with a yellow "bug light" bulb inside.

Finally, I have been developing a few new colors of yarn! Although I haven't been able to dedicate a good chunk of time to dying full skeins, I do have a few minis I created as tests for color.  My plan right now is to roll out a new "series" of colorways based off my EnchantKnit Forest paintings, with the first two being in the purple family.  

Frozen Summer Harvest is on the pale purple and blue side with pops of pink and green, while Sleeping Moon Ice is on the darker side, with indigo and navy showing through.  When I finally get full skeins I bet they would knit together really well!

Sleeping Moon Ice

Frozen Summer Harvest

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Is it summer yet? I know spring just started, but I am really ready for a break from school! April has many many events happening and I am trying to take it one day at a time and also get some knitting in.  I hope I can make that happen!

~Lisa 

My Weekend in San Antonio

This past weekend I had the the privilege to host a trunk show at a new-to-me yarn shop in San Antonio, TX.  Yarnivore is a located in a strip mall just outside the SA Airport, and while it looks basic on the outside, stepping inside is anything but.

It's a lovely little shop, run by a really excited and energetic knitter and you can tell her passion radiates throughout.  There is a reason it's called "Our Happy Place"

My show consisted of both art and yarn, and was well received. I didn't have a huge turnout, but several people came to meet me and talk about my mission.  And at the end of the day, the own even purchased some items to keep in her inventory.  So if you are in the San Antonio Area, you can pop on in and pick up a skein or two!

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Given that it was a bit of a drive for me, I decided to stay over and make it a weekend. And my first stop after the yarn shop was to visit some friends at Mantle Art Space, a space I exhibited at over a year ago.  Their current show, "The Light That Remains" consists of resin based works as well as reflective and transparent materials arranged into abstract compositions.  You can read more at the website, but aren't these just beautiful? 

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Weekend trips always need a little knitting time, and I was able to find the perfect spot to do it on Sunday morning.  "The Art of Donut" was a cute little shop that featured gourmet donuts and a fun atmosphere.  I got to try both an egg sandwich on a donut and a white chocolate pistachio sweet donut, all the while finishing up the first sock in my 'Jayded Gemstones'. I will for sure be back!

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Finally, I spent Sunday afternoon exploring the SA art scene with an artist friend.  We got to experience some amazing spots, including Blue Star, Cinnabar and The Southwest School of Art.  One highlight was this fantastic mural they just put in at the Blue Star Complex!

Overall, it was a fullfilling weekend and a great start to my Spring Break.  However, how that break must come to an end and I am not sure if I'm ready to go back to teaching.  Some days I really just enjoy a good day off, knitting and creating.  But doesn't everyone? 

~Lisa 

Spinning Stories

If you have followed my blog over the years, you'll know that, on top of everything else, I am also a spinner. I have a decent, handmade spinning wheel that was gifted to me a couple years back and when the the feeling is right I find myself sitting down at her to spin a yarn or two.

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday I finally sat down to finish a skein that had been waiting since the summer.  It's hard to have motivation when you have to reattach the treddle or put a new string on your tension.

Spun at about a DK weight, this yarn is 1 ply BFL dyed by The Fleece Artist, and 1 ply SW Merino solid lavender violet.  It comes in at just about 300 yards, which seems to be my norm with wheel spun yarn lately.  It's so luscious that I just had to name it "Cotton Candy Anyone?"

Finishing this skein is making me want to find a pattern to utilize all of my handspun yarn. I really do have a decent amount of 300yd+ skeins ever since I acquired the wheel.  

Violet Sparkle for example is a nice yarn that is 1 ply dyed alpaca, 1 ply SW merino held with sparkle. The pops of glitter really make me smile and would shine in a hat or scarf.

Springy Rainbows is another, being my first chain plyed yarn as to keep the rainbow color of the BFL.  I like the result, but it's a little too springy.  Maybe it'll become something fun someday.

Of finally, a very special yarn.  Friendship wool was spun on my spindle and has a story.  I bought two ball of roving and sent one to my friend.  She spun one ply, and I spun the other.  We then sent half our plys back to each other and plyed them together.  So we have a nice collaborative yarn :) <3 p="">

This year was 12 pairs of socks, maybe next year will be only Handspun,   Seems doable, but doubtful given the size of my stash.  But it may become a goal to use more of my handspun.... 

If anyone cares to peek, all of my handspun yarn is stashed over on Ravelry. 

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Do you spin? Have you thought about it? Or even just bought a skein of handspun yarn?  Any pattern ideas would always be loved <3 p="">

Have a great week!

~Lisa

Socks, Socks, Socks

Happy Halloween friends! What a month it has been. Full of knitting, dying, selling, painting, and making! I have loved every minute of it.  

Tonight it's all about socks, as I finished my October pair last night, just in time for Halloween, and have the next pair pretty much planned out.

"Lacey Pumpkin Socks" are toe up, short-row heel and toe done in a fun orange and black colorway.  The yarn is 'panda' - Merino/nylon/bamboo - that was handdyed by my LYS.  I have been saving it for this month for pretty obvious reasons. 

Because... well... because :)

Next up on my list will be a simple pair made in my own dyed yarn on the new "sock" base.  I haven't had a chance to knit any samples in this 75 merino/ 25 nylon and need something for my upcoming Fiber Fest (in 2.5 weeks....wow). So what better time than to make some socks! Hopefully at least one will be done in time to use as a demo.

I'm sure it's the nylon content, but it does seem interesting that the sock base tends to dye up more pastel than the 100% merino.  Oh the things you learn when you start to really play with dying!

Now I just can't decide what socks to make.  I probably should just do some vanilla socks, as this yarn is highly variegated and I don't know how it will pool, but what fun is that? Maybe I'll try Flowers and Sunshine, a pattern I found via Instabgram.

Image (C) Dana Gervais

Or there's always the standbys - Vanilla Latte, Hermoine's Everyday Socks, and Jeck. 

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Do you have a stand-by for your sock knitting? Any suggestions for patterns with highly variegated? Shout out below!

I hope you have a safe and wonderful Halloween (if you celebrate).  Until next time!

~Lisa

My First Yarn Show

I had truly meant to post this last week, but somehow time escaped me again and now here we are a week later.

I also hope that all of you out there are not sick of me talking about my yarn dying adventures! I promise soon I'll post something completely unrelated.

Just over a week ago I had the privilege of spending my weekend in Wimberley, TX, hanging out at a cute little yarn shop - Ply! Yarn, Art and Handwovens.  It's a small, quaint little destination in a small, quaint little town.  A friend and I drove up for the weekend and had the luxury of spending our down time in the beautiful guest house of another friend who happened to live in the hills.  Check out that view!

  

The town itself is a hidden gem, with a very cute downtown square made up of boutiques, specialty shops, art galleries and cute restaurants.  Ply is located towards the back, hidden away a bit, but still fits right in with the town.

The owner, Kathy, has been very gracious in offering me a chance to sell my yarn during the annual Yarn Crawl, and I made sure I utilized the opportunity well.  Setting up a little space on an end table, I had the chance to meet many knitters as they walked in the door, telling them my story from art to yarn and selling a few along the way.

People really responded to my inspirations and colorways, as well as the base yarns that I have chosen.  I feel as though I made a new friend with each skein I sold!  Speaking of friends - the ladies working at the shop were all super sweet and so much fun to get to know during my two days.  I will be returning soon!

Tip for dyers: Always have samples! Having several samples of my yarn knitted up helped me sell at least 5-6 skeins.

At the end of the weekend we added everything up and did some math before heading back home.  I won't go into money, but I am proud to say that I sold 19 of my 27 skeins of yarn! That feels like a success right?

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Oh and I almost forgot! She had lots of other indie dyers to show off as well.  Here's the list and a few photos to tempt you all. :)

Chasing Rabbits Fiber Co.

Noti Yarns

Open Skies Yarn

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Have a fabulous week everyone!

Knitting Road Trip

I'm not really sure what happened to updating on Monday or Tuesday, but somehow I got off. Either way, I wanted to update today while this post was fresh in my mind.  I will get back to the regular schedule soon.

Yesterday I didn't have to teach due to state testing, so another teacher friend of mine offered up a quick road trip to a couple of the Yarn Crawl shops.  As much as I wanted to resist, it was just too hard and so off we went.

The first stop on our trip was Yarnorama, a cute little shop in the very tiny town of Paige, TX.  I really enjoy this ship every time I visit, as she has a huge selection of great brands as well as her own line of hand dyed - Fiber Obsessions.  It's always an adventure to explore her cute little shop.

The second shop on our little trip was The Quilted Skein in LaGrange, TX.  This is always a favorite stop for me, because of the amount of color and light that fills the space.  Their yarn selection goes all the way to the ceiling and yet it's still not too crowded.  They carry some really great yarn brands as well. One of my favorites is The Knitted Wit, which is so squishy.  I also discovered a couple of new brands here - Jitterbug and Leon Alexander Yarns. 

A quick lunch and we were back on the road, headed for Rohan Meadery, which is a supporter of the crawl and even carries yarn! The tasting room manager is also a yarn dyer and has some AMAZING things! Check them out for yourself - Blue Mule Fiber.  It was hard not to resist buying a few things.

The final stop on our trip was a little town called Roundtop, which is centered around the antique business.  A few times a year they hold HUGE antique festivals that draw thousands to the area.  Luckily we missed that this year, but were still able to stop and check out some of the cute little shops, including Copper Shade Tree.  This shop features lots of local Texas artists, including new favorites Joan Bohn and David Vollmer.  Check out that Wire Knitting, holy cow!

Image (c) David Vollmer

My budget wasn't as high as I would have liked, but I managed to stay within it, which makes me feel good.  I walked away with some Fiber Obsessions roving and some Blue Mule yarn.  Both are gorgeous colors and I cannot wait to get working with them.

Finally, I discovered a few new patterns that are now in my Ravelry favorites.  Hopefully at least one will get knitted soon?

Hexagon Petal tee

Barnstable

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Been on any knitting road trips lately? They sure are fun, especially when you can play hooky from work for the day to do it!

Have a fabulous week!

~Lisa

Dye-ary

Well this is an early post for this week (or a late one for last week?).  Either way, I'm here and ready to share more yarnie things.

Somehow every other post seems to be about my dying adventures, but it also seems that dying is the only changing thing for me to post about lately.  I'll have more knitting WIPs next week, I promise!

This coming weekend into next (Oct 6-14th) is the Hill Country Yarn Crawl in TX, which is a huge deal down here, with 20+ shops opening their doors to crawlers from all over Texas.  Free patterns, specials and indie dyers await at each spot.  

I'm super excited I get to be one of those Indie Dyers this year, participating in my first ever truck show at a little shop called Ply! in the gorgeous town of Wimberley, TX.  While I will only be physically there for the second weekend, the shop asked me to provide product for the whole crawl and needed it by the beginning of October.  Well you can guess what I have spent the last two weeks doing (besides art show things, which was it's own level of stress). 

Making sure I had a decent inventory was priority number one of course, and so it began.  I played around with my color  recipes a bit and was able to finally find satisfaction with all three of my main colorways.  

Sadly, I wasn't able to acquire the large amount of my original base - 100% sw merino, light fingering - and therefore had to improvise.  But improvising ended well, as I was able to introduce a new base - 75/25 merino/nylon, perfect for socks!  Once the crawl is over I will be stocking it in my Etsy as well. 

On the left we have the sock base, on the right we have the sw merino base.  You can definitely see a difference in the yarn type! As for color, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting them to match so well when they were dyed on different days! 

I'm also sending off a batch of my 50g tonals to pair with the merino.  The colors came out a bit bolder than I hoped but they are really pretty regardless if you wish for them to match the paintings.

The other task at hand was making sure I had samples! I was able to get my Morning Garden Stream pattern finalized and have the Fallen Moon Drops one typed up, so I am sending those two, along with something in my new version of Fallen Moon Drops (that a friend graciously knitted for me) and a cowl knitted with Mushroom Petal Bloom that I overly stressed over to get done in time.

Pattern - Elevations by Sharon Lex

Pattern - Willow Cowl by Amelia Lyon

I'm sad I had to send the cowl off so fast - I LOVE the drape and how it looks in my yarn.  I will definitely be making more!

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Well, fingers crossed the sale goes well, I could really use the sales to help justify that what I'm doing isn't crazy.

Interested in my yarn? I have a few left in my Etsy, and will be updating it again after the crawl!