repeat from *

Hello and Happy New Year!

Thank you for visiting/continuing on here with me!! I loved my "first" blog. I loved having two blogs. But lately it has gotten a bit much, between ravelry and facebook and here and there. I've enjoyed the holidays tremendously, focusing on my family, and not worrying at all whether to blog something. Tall Son even gave me a t-shirt that says, "I'm blogging this" and it made me think...is that really what I do, all the time?

It was good to step away from it for a few days.

Now it is time to get going again.

I wish you all the best for the coming year. I love being able to start fresh, how about you? (Well we won't even talk about all my WIPs from 2009....does recurring tendonitis count as a good excuse?)

news update

It's been one of those weeks, I tell you.

The long and the short of it is that Tall Son has been sick with what looks to be mononucleosis for about 2 weeks now and there were some moments this week -- we were in the middle of a snow storm -- where I thought I would have to just get in the car and go retrieve him from college. Right before finals week.

Being on 24 hr alert there for a couple of days, I needed to make a decision, and it is this: I am not going to make it to tomorrow's Winter WonderLARK art bazaar. I am sorry to disappoint those of you who had been planning to get some yarn from me. I would have loved to see you, but it just wasn't going to happen. In the end I also did not have enough items knitted up for those customers who like to buy HandMade.

Right now I am just going to sit tight and try to finish knitting up the still long queue of Christmas gifts. We are waiting for more test results from the university health clinic. His last final is next Sunday, and he will be able to come home. I'll be so glad to have him here where I can keep an eye!

My etsy shop is open as usual; please message me from there, or email me, or leave comments here if you are looking for a particular color. Please also consider www.periwinklesheep.com for more links.

Much love!

new yarn on etsy!

Periwinkle Sheep

merino sport

100% merino wool

approx. 400 yds/skein

kettle dyed

5.5-6 sts /in

retail: $15

above: top to bottom: suede/sweet plum/juniper

antique pink

suede

juniper

I am having one of those moments where it is hard for me to put the yarn up for sale...the colors want to jump right on my needles! The 'sweet plum' is especially fine and festive.

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Where are you with your holiday knitting? I still have lots and lots to do. I actually bought more yarn today, can you believe it? My friend Stephanie is closing her yarn shop and it was imperative that I take a few skeins home...I have planned an Entomology Hat, two We Call them Pirates hats, some Norwegian mittens...we'll see how far I get.

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This weekend, I'll be delivering more sock yarn to The Yarn Boutique in Rochester, NY. I'm going out there to see Tall Son play in a concert with the University of Rochester Orchestra.

And that's all the news I have time to print right now! I hope you have a great weekend.

dy/eing to knit

I received an order from Berlin, Germany. This means I will fire up the dyepot one more time before the holidays. Then it's off to a winter's nap for the dyes (special orders will be fulfilled, as are yarn shop orders, and the etsy shop will be stocked, with colors on hand).

The needles and yarn are waiting, it's been way too long since I've gotten a good spell of knitting in.

thank you!

Thank YOU.

Thank you to everyone who has bought my yarn this year. I really appreciate it.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! ( It's my most favorite holiday.)

I hope you get a little knitting in here and there. :)

save the dates!

The holiday season is upon us!! Once again, I am participating in a couple of Holiday open house/art fair events.
Mark your calendars -- there are a great many wonderful handmade gifts available at these. And some handdyed yarn, of course...

November 22, 11-2
Holiday Open House
29 Burhans Place, Delmar
(jewelry, art prints, chocolate, handdyed yarn, and more!)

November 27, 5-10 pm
as part of Troy Night Out , with Tight Knit!
Historic Frear Building : 3 floors of vendors!
Corner of Third Ave and Fulton in Troy, NY.

December 12, 12-5
Winter WonderLARK

Thank you so much for passing this along to all your friends.

shop update

Just a quick note to let you know the following colors are now uploaded to my etsy shop.
They are all

Periwinkle Sheep watercolors sock yarn

80% superwash merino wool, 20% nylon (fingering weight)

approx. 420 yds., kettle dyed

7-8 sts/in

machine wash delicate, dry on low, or dry flat.

Suits Him
Navy


Stonewash Denim

Memories of Summer (I've sold out of this several times, so I am stocking up again)

Chai

Thanks for taking a look!!

PS: I am dyeing more Caramel Apple tomorrow, so I can stock that, too. :)

we have a winner! for real!!

I cannot tell you how hard it was to decide on a name for this new colorway. Your entries were so creative and imaginative!! All weekend long I kept thinking about the autumn theme....

But in the end I liked Caramel Apple. That name just really matches the colors of the yarn. Lots of caramel surrounding a red apple... So, the winner is Jana!! Congratulations!!

Apple Peel by Steph was a real close contender, and I know for sure I am going to use it in the future. I have a lot of food names for my colorways, and both of these really fit.

The second runner up is Rustle by Bonnie!! Love that name.

Thank you so much everyone! Would the winner and the two runners up please email me their addresses? First place Jana gets a free Caramel Apple skein; Steph and Bonnie will receive a surprise for their knitting bag. Hint: I got it at the Sock Summit. karinmaagtanchakATnycapDOT rrDOTcom.

Meanwhile, I have been busy working, and photographing yarn, and uploading to etsy. The uploading is going so slowly that I am selling skeins here and there before the whole batch makes it into the shop... adding new colors again over the next few days.

Anywhoo, the Spinning Room is ready to receive a batch of Caramel Apple on Wednesday!

I better get cooking.

and the winner is...

....I don't know yet!! THANK YOU everyone for all your excellent suggestions to name the new colorway. What fun!

There are so many outstanding ideas here, I am going to take the weekend to think about them. I have the field narrowed down to a few that I really like, but I simply cannot make up my mind yet!

All I know is I am so grateful to you for submitting suggestions, I will name a winner, and two runners up who will receive a small suprise.

Oh and by the way, Betty took her yarn home. :)

a new color! and a contest!

Monday's dyeing session yielded these four colors (I know, the two in the middle look awfully alike, but they are two different overdyes):


The one on the far left might be the new Chinese Lantern version, but I believe the one below is definitely a winner. See the skein on the far right, above? This is what it looks like re-skeined:

Periwinkle Sheep watercolors sock yarn

80% superwash merino/20% nylon

approx. 420 yards

7-8 sts/in

COLORWAY ???

I am hoping this is closer to what Betty had in mind. We are going to visit one of our LYSs together tomorrow and I will have a chance to show her. Either way, I am keeping this one for the Periwinkle Sheep line-up! I have all I can do not to make a Multnomah Shawl out of it, right this minute!

Now for a name....

....you wouldn't want to help me name it, would you??

You would? That'd be awesome, as I am torn between a few different ones, like Maple, or Fall along the Hudson, or ... what will you come up with?

If I pick your suggestion, you will win your own skein of this new Periwinkle Sheep colorway! If this color is not up your alley at all, send in your suggestion anyway, but tell me your color preference and I will do my best to accommodate you.

If there are several people voting for the same color, I will randomly select a winner.

This contest is open through Friday, November 13th, 10 pm EST. A winner will be announced sometime over the weekend.

PS: no worries. If Betty likes this color, she has a free skein coming already. I've put her though enough with this!

Chapter 49, in which we learn

that color can difficult when you're trying to achive a certain effect, and in which we learn that I may be slightly incompetent.

I did do some dyeing today. The skeins are still drying. I'm putting up the pictures as proof that I was not twiddling my thumbs (as a matter of fact, I had loads of fun trying out different combinations of colors and the way in which I applied them). I don't think I hit the color Betty was looking for yet! We'll see in a few days when these are dry and skeined up.

Betty by the way has long since called me and told me not to worry about it so much. I'm not worried. I am playing with yarn and color! I am finding out things that I never knew before!

Tomorrow I am having a little routine procedure done; Wednesday is Veteran's Day and we are attending a parade (Crafty Girl is in Color Guard); Thursday, I should be able to skein these babies up and take more pictures.

I'll see you then!

PS: I think the one in front there in the last picture is Chinese Lantern, v.2!

the color debate

Colors visible from my yard a couple of weeks ago.

I have to say I absolutely love this color debate. It is so interesting to me how folks gravitate towards or away from certain colors! Actually, the more you can tell me about your color preferences (see last post!), the better.

Tomorrow promises to be another fine day around here, and as soon as the breakfast dishes are put away, I will fire up the dyepot to see if I can't get my friend Betty the color she was looking for. I'll get it right one of these days, and in the meantime, all the ones I am getting "wrong", will be new colorways in the Periwinkle Sheep line-up!

let me run this by you

One of my long-time and beloved customers, Betty, requested a color in my Periwinkle Sheep watercolors sock yarn. The 80% merino, 20% nylon yarn is very soft yet durable, and it takes on color just so. Even bright colors have manners in this yarn, and when she asked for a flame orange with a deep red, I tried this:

Soon as it dried, I balled up a skein and did a quick test knit for a sock:

It reminds me of the flowers of a Chinese Lantern plant.

What do you think?

Hi Betty,

thanks for remembering to remind me. :) I'll put the kettle and dyepot on tomorrow! Deep red and flame orange...sounds like so much fun. Do you want to name your color?

Anyone else have any color requests? I am dyeing the 100% superwash merino fingering weight, and some sportweight merino.

A major etsy shop update will follow starting Wednesday. It will take me several days to get it all up.

Meanwhile, enjoy a few more hours of FREE SHIPPING on in stock yarn!

etsy shop update - free shipping thru Nov.1

Just a quick one - I am offering free shipping on all orders placed through midnight EST November 1st.
Good on all in stock items.
All orders will be shipped out FOR FREE within 48 hrs.

Click HERE to see!!

On November 2nd, I am pulling most current colors.
The shop will be restocked and updated on November 4th.

Always something up my sleeve (or is it pantleg? Since I dye mostly sock yarns?).

Rhinebeck 2009 - Sunday stroll

Sunday at Rhinebeck proved to be on the chilly and wet side.
Kay was prepared.


When my friend Anna came down with our families, we got to take a stroll. Here are some pictures for you.

The only thing I bought that day were 2 books, one of which is the Knitters Book of Wool, by Clara Parkes. Not only is she one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, gentle and funny, smart, and oh does she know how to write about, research, and design with her favorite medium.

I also caught a glimpse of Lily Chin.

After a wonderful few hours of walking around, it was back into the booth for me.

Here's Ava, one of my last customers that day. We had a great time talking yarn and knitting. She's going to make mitts for her friends. I do hope Ava will come see me again next year!

Too soon it was time to pack up. The animals were ready to go home.

Thanks everyone for making Rhinebeck such a success.

See you next year!

Rhinebeck 2009 - booth with a view

In past years, I realized AFTER Rhinebeck that I had managed to take lots and lots of pictures without any people in it. What's up with that? Thousands upon thousands come and I finally decided to make sure I got some people in the frame.

Our booth on Saturday. Three handdyers, two basketmakers, one sewn bag maker, one llama farmer. All of us knitters. Hint: sometimes, they were one and the same person!


Since the only time I left the booth was when I ran to the bathroom or to go stock up the Spinning Room booth, I tried to capture what was going on right out front.

Remember Jasmin? :) Hint: bright pink hair.


Lynn the basketweaver, knitter, and llama keeper, also has bunnies. This little girl captured her heart and she kept us company all day.

Kay and Laurie, most excellent handdyers of Sliver Moon Farm, gave me some prime real estate in their booth: a spinner rack for my sock yarn. (I also had a couple of baskets of worsted merino superwash). The basket below contains the Rhinbeck 2009 colorway, which sold out on the first morning. I guess I better come up with something really good next year, and dye more of it, too!

Kay's colors are to dye for....

...as were the colors on the trees.

My feeble attempt at a snapshot inside the booth.

I had the most wonderful visitors. GlennaC. from Toronto (far right), whom I met at the Sock Summit this summer, with her two friends Liz and Rebecca. Sorry Liz, I should have taken another shot...hope you can forgive me. MargoLynn (far left) from Hartford, CT, comes to see me every year, which totally brightens my day.

Elizabeth and her mom were customers at my store at the time. Elizabeth made her Norwegian sweater, of course. Her mom taugh her well, and then she just took off from there...

Laurie our dyer enjoying something apply crispy.

A podcast being recorded right outside our booth.

Booth helper Ben brought bags of maple cotton candy, which I mistook for wool fiber at first. Then they started eating it. Kay felt much better after that. :)

The clouds started to move in towards evening, promising a wet Sunday.

But try and keep the knitters from a sheep and wool festival!