Dyeing - Knitting Notions

Festivals, Yarn Dyeing, and Knitting; Oh My!

There has been a lot going on since my last post. There have been festivals, yarn dyeing, knitting, and more.

Festivals

I wanted to write this post so many times in the last three weeks. By the time the days priorities were completed, I had no steam left.

The first weekend in September, after Labor Day, I was in Jefferson, WI for the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival. What a great weekend it was too! The weather was cool and sunny. It was super busy all three days. I left totally exhausted and needing to dye more yarn. More on that in the next section.

Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival Knitting Notions booth

The third weekend in September, was the 29th annual Wool Gathering at Young’s Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs, OH. This is an outdoor event in big tents. The weather was hot and sunny for setup day on Friday and also on Saturday. It was cloudy with some afternoon showers on Sunday. The attendance was great even in the heat. Thanks to all who support the vendors no matter what the weather. :-) I especially enjoyed seeing Maureen of KnittingIsSoFun blog. It was so lovely chatting!

wool gathering festival Knitting Notions booth

I had a short day and a half at home, and now I am on the way to Winchester, VA. This coming weekend is the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival. I drove halfway up today and will finish the drive tomorrow. I will be setting up the booth on Friday. I am excited to see another blog friend there over the weekend. :-)

Yarn Dyeing

So, as mentioned above, after Wisconsin Sheep &Wool Festival, there were some gaps in the yarn inventory. I wasn’t out of anything yet, but the weekend between the two festivals was my only time home long enough to re-dye some yarn. So, yarn dyeing was what we did on the second weekend in September.

I spent most of three days getting the dye and yarn prep work done. Saturday and Sunday were dyeing days, and Monday and Tuesday was spent labeling and storing. Wednesday was packing for Wool Gathering. I had one day after returning from Ohio to reload the trailer with a few things and pack my stuff again. That brings me up to today where I am now, in southwest Virginia for the night. Whew!

Knitting

It will probably not be a surprise that not a lot of knitting has happened in the last three weeks. I did manage to complete the knitting of the back piece of my Summershine Top. I have begun and knit the ribbing for the front piece, but that is it.

I may be planning to knit the Stephen West MKAL when it launches. I will be in VA that week with a few days to rest between festivals. I have not picked what colors of Classic Merino Superwash Sock I plan to use. I’ll let you know in my next post. This year’s palette is four colors, and I will probably do a gradient set. Is anyone else taking the plunge this year?

Reading

I’ll end this post with a reading update of what I have finished and what I am currently reading.

During my drive to and from Wisconsin, I ended up listening to Gilead**** by Marilynne Robinson. I enjoyed the story but I don’t know that I will read the other books in the series.

During my drive to and from Ohio, and still continuing during my drive to Virginia, I am listening to Blackwater: The Complete Saga by Michael McDowell. This is classified as Horror, but honestly it’s not that really. It’s more of a family saga with a weird monster/supernatural element. The prose isn’t bad, but it’s not fancy either. I am enjoying the story even if it is a bit strange.

I am almost finished with my bedtime reading; Light in August by William Faulkner. Now this one is some fine prose. I love Faulkner’s writing. I am enjoying the story too. Definitely a ****1/2!

I started The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith/J.K.Rowling. I only read the first 12 chapters though. I decided to save it until I finished Faulkner so I can devote ALL my attention to it this week. I am excited to really dig in soon!

Okay, I am kinda tired and really to chill for the evening. I’ll be back soon. Thanks for reading!

Posted on September 24, 2025September 24, 2025 by yarnmama — 2 Comments

Summer Activities: Knitting, Dyeing, and More Fun

It is high time for a catching up post about our summer activities. There will be some content about my knitting, reading, yarn dyeing, and a few other odds and ends.

Knitting

First, let’s get right to the knitting content. I am working exclusively on the Muqarnas top. In my last post, I showed you the finished sleeves and the ribbing for the body section. At this point I have knit 4 of the lace repeats on the body section. The intended length of the body before joining it with the arms, is 14 inches. I have almost 9 inches right now. According to my measurements, I need to knit about 3 more lace repeats to reach that goal.

I am looking forward to that milestone. It will slow down the progress even more at first. The addition of the sleeve stitches makes the rounds longer, after all. The momentum of the decreases makes the progress much faster at that point. I can’t wait to see how the finished top looks! I love how lace changes after blocking. It is worth the wait!

Yarn Dyeing and other Business Stuff

The first half of the festival season came to its conclusion for us in early June. Our last spring show was Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival in Franklin, IN. It was another fantastic year and I am so pleased to be a witness to the growth of this festival over the years. I began with the show in 2008, and it is one of my favorites now. I’ll share a few pics from this year.

Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival 2025 Knitting Notions booth

Upon returning to Nashville, we went straight into yarn dyeing time. I spent about a week with dyeing preparations. This involves lots of math and spreadsheet work, dye stock mixing and final color mixing. Then more math and spreadsheet work to make work order plans. Then finally, get all the yarn prepped. For me, that means bundling and soaking for the dye pots.

Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing — mixing dye stocks

Other preparations were also some much needed upgrades to our “dye and finishing studio”. This area is in our daylight basement which opens out onto the covered patio area we built 5 years ago. I have been relying on clip on shop lights on the floor joists and portable fans in hot weather. We decided to install a large fan that is suspended from the joists. Even more exciting, to me anyway, are the ceiling shop lighting. We got 4 of these and they sure do make a huge difference! I love how much better I can see. This is particularly important when measuring stock to mix colors. Notice in the above right picture, that was before we installed the new lighting.

We accomplished all the dyeing of the yarn in three sessions over one weekend. It was hot and mostly dry that week. That is a bit of a con for the dyers, but a pro for getting the yarn dry.

The following week, we got all the labeling and storing done. Now we are all set for the fall festivals. I have extra yarn in the event that we need to dye anything that runs low. The only catch will be time to do it.

In other product news, the wood shop has been in full operation all spring also. We have been adding a lot of Shawl/Hair Sticks to the inventory. Lately, that has been some Walnut, Mahogany, and Maple.

Currently, we are working on some more Darning Eggs. These were hot sellers around Christmas time and for a few months after that, so the inventory got a bit low in some woods. We are out on a few also, but more will be in stock soon! I will be back out at festivals in early August, and we should have plenty more by then.

Reading

Let’s switch topics to a bit of book chat. First, I would love to hear what you’re reading lately if you want to share in the comments.

I am making my way through my TBR but I am also a bit of a mood reader, so there have been many diversions. They were good ones though, and that’s the important thing.

My most exciting report is that I finished my re-read of War and Peace. I am so glad that I took my time with it. It took me 6 months, but it was time well spent. I definitely have a fuller understanding and appreciation for what Tolstoy was doing with this work than I did after my first read 13 years ago. If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to have a go at it. The chapters are pretty small so even if you only set a goal of a chapter a day, you can read it slowly through over a year. Anna Karenina is a bit more engaging, character wise, but War and Peace is just so magnificent!

Other books that I have read in June are:

Never Flinch – Stephen King (*** okay but not one my favorites)
Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier (**** a re-read sparked by reading The Trackers; really liked it!)
The Wedding People – Alison Espach (**** first read of this author due to a BookTube recommendation; liked it)
A Month in the Country – J.L. Carr (**** same as above; very good short summer read)

Currently reading:

Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen (reading for Jane Austen July)
Memorial Days – Geraldine Brooks (first read of this author, reading to fulfill a Kindle Challenge, borrowed in Libby)
Complete Stories of Eudora Welty (about halfway through this book which is actually 5 published collections in one volume)

Closing

As always, thank you for reading and hanging in there when I let the grass get too high. I will attempt to post before another month goes by. Blessings!

Posted on July 4, 2025July 4, 2025 by yarnmama — 11 Comments

Yarn Dyeing is Done and a Knitting Update

All the spring yarn dyeing is done. I also have a bit of a knitting update.

Yarn dyeing

We got all of the remaining yarn dyeing done before the winter returned for a bit. It was a challenge to get the drying accomplished in the cold, gray weather. We got it on the lines the day before a small snow storm and frigid temperatures descended on Tennessee.

We are having lovely sunny and warm weather this week. I have had the windows open for the last couple of days. That’s late winter/early spring around here. On Monday we did a custom dye job for a client. It is now wound up and ready for pick up. All of our yarn is likewise labeled and in storage.

I have a couple of festivals coming up in March and I am glad that all the inventory is ready. I do have to focus on one more task. It is one of my least favorite ones; income taxes. UGH! I will probably tackle that today after I finish this post. Wish me luck!

Knitting

Before I get to the taxes, how about a knitting update?

I am monogamously working on the vest design at the moment. As you can see in the photo below, I am almost to the armhole bind off. It would be great if I can finish this up in time for the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival.

I am already using the third skein of yarn. I am still hoping it will be enough. I hate starting a skein and not using very much of it.

Okay, I will close this short post. Thank you for reading!

Posted on February 27, 2025February 27, 2025 by yarnmama — 4 Comments

Colorful Moments: Yarn Dyeing After Scenic Stitches

The first festival of 2025 is in the books and now it’s yarn dyeing time again.

Scenic Stitches

Our first festival of 2025, Scenic Stitches in Chattanooga, TN was a great experience! I was very impressed with it’s first year. I can see a lot of potential for the future of this festival. There is room for improvements, as is to be expected, but overall a great time was had by all. I am excited to see what they will do for next year.

Yarn Dyeing

As soon as I returned from the festival, I got to work on the spring dyeing. I spent Monday through Friday doing all the preparations and Saturday we got the first day of dyeing done. We were able to put it out to dry on Sunday. It was chilly but it is mostly dry.

On Monday I prepped the yarn and dye we needed for the second day’s dyeing. Today (Tuesday) was unfortunately way to wet, cold, and miserable. That means day two will have to wait. I am hopeful that Wednesday may be a tiny bit improved. If we can get that dyed tomorrow, it can go out on Thursday to dry. Thursday will be cold but not rainy.

We have one more day of dyeing after that which we will have to get done as soon as the weather permits. It’s what you have to expect in February.

Knitting

I haven’t gotten much knitting progress to show. I cast on the front of the vest in Chattanooga. I haven’t had much knitting time, but here is where I am at the moment. I am getting close to the end of my second skein of Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn. I have the third skein wound and I hope I can finish the whole thing with it.

Posted on February 11, 2025February 11, 2025 by yarnmama — 4 Comments

New Hand-knit Socks and New Yarn

There are new hand-knit socks and some new yarn to show you, so let’s get into it. Since my last post, my knitting time is limited so I only have one item to show you today.

Knitting

I finished my Classic Merino Bamboo socks on Sunday. I used 67g/324 yards of yarn. I enjoyed making up the pattern by using various stitch patterns. I can see this pair being one of my favorites. They are comfy and soft, but the bamboo should make them pretty durable.

Yarn dyeing

The main reason that my knitting time has been limited is that it is yarn dyeing time again.

After I returned from Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival, my yarn arrived from the mill. I planned to do 2-3 new colors and restock the other colors.

I wound some mini skeins of 10g each to do some color samples. The three mini skeins in the right picture are the ones that made the final cut.

I spent the next couple days getting all the dyes mixed and doing other preparations. We divided the work into four dye days.

The week after this, I got all the labels printed and attached. Next, I packed the yarn in the trailer or in the back up inventory boxes in the workroom. Yesterday, I got all the new inventory logged into the system. That included taking pictures of the new colors and marking the discontinued colors on sale.

new yarn colors 2024 — New 2024 Colors Iris, Oregano, and Rose

discontinued yarn colors 2024 — New 2024 Colors Iris, Oregano, and Rose

I am excited about the new colors. They work well with the rest of the palette. I can’t wait to see them on the displays at the next show. I don’t know when I will get a chance to knit any fresh samples using them but hopefully by the fall. I don’t have a way to link to particular colors on the website. The new color names are Iris, Oregano, and Rose. If you select any of the hand dyed yarn bases, you can select those names to view them there.

The colors that are discontinued are also available for 50% off which is $14.50 a skein. The colors on SALE are Cerise, Pewter, and Winter Sky. I love all these colors. It is hard to decide which ones to switch out, but you have to do it periodically to keep everything fresh.

I will close with this and hope to back to work on my sweater or a new shawl in my next post.

Posted on June 26, 2024June 25, 2024 by yarnmama — 5 Comments

Yarn Dyeing is Done and Some Knitting Happened

The rest of the yarn dyeing is done and I managed to make some knitting progress too.

Yarn dyeing

Thursday was set up day, and Friday, and Saturday were the Middle Tennesse Fiber Festival, as I told you in my last post. We had another fabulous show! It was great seeing all the attendees enjoying the day and having a blast.

I took Sunday off to re-cooperate, but we were back out at the dye pots on Monday and Tuesday. We got all of the remaining yarn dyed. We had some wet and windy weather on Monday and early on Tuesday. We were able to work because of the covered area we built but we had to forego drying the yarn until late Tuesday and Wednesday. By yesterday afternoon it was all dry and ready to await labeling.

I spent some of yesterday and today working on labels and updating the inventory. I still love my office space!

Knitting

I got some knitting time while in the booth over the weekend. I tried to work a bit in the evenings too, but some nights I was too exhausted. Nevertheless, I finished the first Glittering Snowscape Sock. I am very happy with the fit. I like lacy socks and these are going to be fun to wear!

The Dora Cardigan is getting so close to the finish line that I am expending all my knitting energy on it. I was not totally sure that the color would show the lace but I like it. It’s the Classic Merino Superwash Sport in Damson Plum.

I am also getting to the part of the pattern that I will be revising. It will be easier than I thought to make the changes I want to make. I may also end up re-knitting part of the other two sizes after I make the changes so that I know they work and to update them to match the revisions. I can unravel the top of the yokes and just re-knit that part I think. That is the plan, anyway.

I think I may have this finished by my next post. See you next time!

Posted on March 28, 2024March 28, 2024 by yarnmama — 10 Comments

Back Home with Knitting and Dyeing Updates

I have been back home from Raleigh, NC for more than a week. I have tried many times to write a blog post with knitting and dyeing updates. Today is the day it worked out.

Carolina Fiber Festival

The festival was wonderful. We had a great turn out as usual and much fun was had by all. I am already looking forward to next year. I am sure I am not alone in being excited about the date shift which will mean we won’t be sharing the fairgrounds with the dog show. It will be nice to have easier parking access in the future.

Knitting

I was pretty busy the festival weekend and since I have been home, so the knitting has been less than I like. I do have some progress to share.

My first Glittering Snowscape Sock is almost done. I only have the toe to knit. I am glad I decided to make these in just a single color of Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn. I love the look and the textures. The three gradients look nice but it’s more work to change colors and these look fine with less fuss. There will only be two ends to weave in. I love that about socks.

I am about halfway up the lower body of the Dora Cardigan. I haven’t touched it since I got home though. Once I got close to finishing my sock, I gave it all my attention. I am planning to get back to the sweater as soon as the first sock is of the needles.

Yarn Dyeing

I received most of the yarn order I was waiting for on Thursday. I spent the days leading up to that getting the dyes mixed. On Friday, I got all the yarn prepared for a day’s dyeing. Saturday was Day One dye day. We will have two more dyeing days next week.

There are two reasons that we have to delay the rest of the yarn dyeing until next week.

One reason is that we are still waiting for one of the yarn bases to arrive. It is delivering tomorrow. I will get that yarn prepared for dye Day Two when it arrives. I already have all the dyes and the other three bases prepped for that. I would probably be doing that on Thursday and then the Day Three dyeing on Saturday. The reason I can’t do that is because we have a local festival this coming weekend.

We will be at the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival in Dickson, TN on March 22-23, 2024. On Thursday afternoon I will be setting up the booth. This is a Friday and Saturday show. The hours are 10-4 on Friday and 9-4 on Saturday. We weren’t given our booth numbers yet, but I think I will be in the same place I was last year. If you are in the area, please come say hello!

Posted on March 19, 2024March 19, 2024 by yarnmama — 9 Comments

Valentine’s Day Dinner with Knitting

We don’t get into holidays too much but I do enjoy making a nice meal. What better reason is there to make my guys their favorite meal, than Valentine’s Day dinner?

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Now, to be fair, I freely admit that fresh pasta is also one of my favorites. So, it isn’t entirely selfless, but it is a labor of love. I enjoy making fresh pasta by hand. I mix it on the table and knead by hand for 10 minutes. Then just let it rest, covered, about 1-2 hours. This allows the gluten to develop and relax before rolling it out.

The rolling and cutting doesn’t really take that much time, maybe 30 minutes for the whole pound. I use a rotary pizza cutter to cut it. I don’t have a pasta drying rack, so I lay it all out on two floured half-sheet pans. I let the cut pasta dry on the sheet pans for another hour. Then it’s ready to be cooked.

Meanwhile, while the pasta dough is resting, I start my marinara sauce. My secret ingredients for my sauce are fresh basil, lots of fresh garlic and olive oil, a bay leaf, and whatever red wine I have on hand. I like to slow simmer this for at least 2-3 hours, and sometimes even longer. We usually don’t add meat to the sauce, but I occasionally make turkey meat balls on the side. We had vegetarian style today.

Then comes the best part, the eating! A little red wine makes it a perfect celebratory meal. It was delicious and we have enough left over marinara for another day.

A Little Dyeing

Before I get to the knitting half of my post, I have a bit of dyeing to show you.

I think I mentioned that I put in a big order with the mill the first week of January. This is so we can restock for the spring fiber festivals. I like to do my dyeing for this in February, since the days are lengthening and there is usually some warmer weather too. I was expecting to have received it by the first week of February, but there was a delay with my order.

I always order more yarn than I need at the time, so I have extra on hand for situations like this. Yesterday I did this small batch to restock the yarns and colors that were lowest, in case I can’t get to the full restock dyeing until mid March. My first festival of the year, Carolina Fiber Festival, is March 8-9. I will have time after the festival to work on the rest since I only have one other festival in March, and it is here in Tennessee.

Knitting for this week

Now let’s talk about the knitting I am working on this week.

These two have seen a little bit of action. The left is Spiral Splash Socks and the right is Spiral Effect Cowl. Both are knit in my Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn. I want to work on them more and will do that as soon as I am done with the Classic Baby Cardigan.

As you can see I only have the collar edging to pick up and knit. I should be able to get that done this evening.

I began to run into an issue with yarn as I got to the edging. I was down to 11g of the Garnet, and only 2.3 g of the Earl Grey. I originally planned to make the edgings in only the Earl Grey if I had enough. My plan B was to do a small stripe of the red on the edging if needed. I didn’t even have enough of the grey to do one of the button bands though.

So, I found a swatch I made in this yarn for a sweater I made in 2022. I also found a 10g mini skein from when I was sampling the color mix 4-5 years ago. I like to keep these since they are handy for referencing, or in this case, cannibalizing. :-) I have ripped out the swatch and wound it and the mini skein for using in the collar and button bands. That brought my total of Earl Grey yarn up to 20g which should by plenty, along with the two rows of red in each edging.

I should have a finished sweater by my next post!

Posted on February 14, 2024February 14, 2024 by yarnmama — 10 Comments

All in a Week’s Work

Around here we are rarely idle. It’s hard to home educate and run a home based business any other way. It’s all in a week’s work most of the time. We do try to set aside one day a week for rest. This week has been filled with a variety of tasks.

Miscellaneous Stuff

I’ll start off with the news that my new phone and computer arrived. I took the picture with the phone so no shot of that. The new laptop is a nice upgrade, especially the 2.8K screen. I love my new S24 Ultra too. Jerry got my S22 Ultra.

Since the weather finally turned warm and dry, it was time to get the storage shed painted. The tornado damaged the roof and that was fixed right after Christmas. After that the weather prevented us from getting the painting done until this week.

Dyeing and Wood Finishing

While the guys were painting the shed, I was doing some wood product finishing and yarn dyeing.

The Shawl and Hair Sticks that we have been making are ready for the final steps. I applied the finish to them on Thursday. They need a day or two to dry and cure before packaging. I am so pleased with how the new Padauk ones look. I have them listed on the website. I still need to get pictures of the Padauk added this week, but they are available.

The yarn that you see up there is a custom order for a local percussion supply business. They use the yarn as a part of mallets for percussion instruments. I got this dyed on Saturday and wound it into balls for them yesterday.

Labeling and Packaging

In between these tasks, I got the labels ready to package the new Shawl and Hair Sticks. I have gotten some of them packaged but I still have the Purple Heart and Padauk ones to go after I finish writing this post.

Knitting

To round out my post I will update you on what I am knitting at the moment.

The top down raglan sweater is a large size Classic Baby Cardigan for a booth sample. I am using the Earl Grey and Garnet Classic Merino Superwash Sport yarn. I should have enough of the Earl Grey to knit the body and sleeves. I may add some Garnet to the ribbing if needed.

The middle picture is a Spiral Effect Cowl for the booth in my Classic Merino Superwash Sock in Heather. I introduced this one in my last post. My update is that I am currently almost at the halfway point.

The third project is Stephen West’s Spiral Splash Socks from the Year of Socks 2024 collection. I am late casting this on, since it was the January release. I did at least start them on January 27th.

I am excited to make the February ones so I am going to try and speed through at least the first one so I can start the current month pattern soon. I’ll talk about that when I get there.

Posted on February 6, 2024February 6, 2024 by yarnmama — 9 Comments

We are Wrapping Up the Summer Break Time

Yarn Dyeing

It’s the end of July and that means we are wrapping up the summer break time. The yarn is all dyed, labeled and in it’s storage bins. About 2/3 of the yarn is in the trailer and the remainder is stowed in the work room as back up to restock the trailer during the late summer and fall show season.

Yarn Bowls

In addition to yarn dyeing, we have some new Yarn Bowls in the works. We will be bringing a selection of these to the festivals and adding them to the website. There are a large variety of woods and sizes, so the best way to see them is in person. The woods used include oak, cherry, walnut, and mahogany. We ended up with so many different sizes that we will have a range of prices to fit most budgets and uses. They will vary from $40 to $70.

Fiber Festivals

I will be heading off to Charlotte, NC on August 9th for the Southern Comforts Fiber Market. The festival will be at the Oasis Shriner’s Auditorium on August 11-12, 2023. We have a full schedule after that, so hopefully you can make it out to one. I would love to see you!

Knitting

I have been working on my new shawl design when I can. I would love to have this finished and ready for displaying in the booth soon. You may recall that I am using my Classic Merino Bamboo yarn for this shawl. The pattern will be forth coming as soon as I decide on a stopping point.

At this point I could work one more repeat of the lace pattern and still have enough yarn left for the edging. I am currently on the the third skein. The shawl measures around 65″ long unblocked. If I add another section and the edging, it will add around 7″. That’s 72″ before blocking. I think I may want it about a foot longer. That’s my indecision at this point. Do I stop at a 3 skein project? Or continue on and use some of a 4th skein?

Is bigger better in this case? ;-)

Posted on July 29, 2023July 29, 2023 by yarnmama — 2 Comments

Festivals

Yarn Dyeing

Knitting

Reading

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Knitting

Yarn Dyeing and other Business Stuff

Reading

Closing

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Knitting

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Scenic Stitches

Yarn Dyeing

Knitting

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Knitting

Yarn dyeing

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Yarn dyeing

Knitting

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Knitting

Yarn Dyeing

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Valentine’s Day Dinner

A Little Dyeing

Knitting for this week

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Miscellaneous Stuff

Dyeing and Wood Finishing

Labeling and Packaging

Knitting

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Yarn Dyeing

Yarn Bowls

Fiber Festivals

Knitting

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