Tag: yarndyeing

Festivals, Yarn Dyeing, and Knitting; Oh My!

yarn dyeing Knitting Notions

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
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
wool gathering festival Knitting Notions booth
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.

yarn dyeing Knitting Notions
Day One Yarn Dyeing
yarn dyeing Knitting Notions
Day Two Yarn Dyeing

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.

knitting

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!

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Summer Activities: Knitting, Dyeing, and More Fun

knitting Muqarnas top body section

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.

knitting Muqarnas top body section

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
Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival 2025 Knitting Notions booth
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
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing
mixing dye stock and final colors

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.

dye studio
dye studio

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.

Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing day 1
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing day 1
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing day 2
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing day 2
Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing
Knitting Notions yarn dyeing day 3

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.

shawl and hair sticks

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.

turning a darning egg
turning tools

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!

double rainbow
double rainbow
tree frog
tree frog
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Colorful Moments: Yarn Dyeing After Scenic Stitches

yarn dyeing

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.

Knitting Notions booth
Knitting Notions Booth
Knitting Notions booth
Knitting Notions booth
Knitting Notions booth
Knitting Notions booth
Knitting Notions booth

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.

yarn dyeing
yarn dyeing

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.

Vest front knitting
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Yarn Dyeing is Done and Some Knitting Happened

yarn drying

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.

Midddle Tennessee Fiber Festival booth
Midddle Tennessee Fiber Festival booth
Midddle Tennessee Fiber Festival booth
Midddle Tennessee Fiber Festival booth
Midddle Tennessee Fiber Festival booth

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.

yarn drying
yarn drying
my office

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!

sock
sock
sock
Dora

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!

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All in a Week’s Work

padauk shawl and hair sticks

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.

painting the storage shed
new computer 2024

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.

shawl and hair sticks finish station
yarn dyeing
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.

purple heart shawl and hair sticks
padauk shawl and hair sticks
shawl and hair sticks
shawl and hair stick labels
sshawl and hair sticks packaging

Knitting

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

classic baby cardigan
spiral effect cowl
spiral splash socks

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.

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Time for a Few Much Needed Upgrades

It was time for a few much needed upgrades to our business equipment. A few weeks ago we made a purchase that we put off for too long. We were making do with an under-powered belt sander for ages. We kept tinkering with it to make it work. We finally decided it was time to upgrade. It is so much better and it’s even quieter, which is a bonus. I think it was worth it. We should have done it years ago. We got a small batch of Yarn Boxes sanded on the new machine. Big thumbs up!

time for an overdue upgrade

We have also needed to replace the trailer for awhile. We bought the black 6×12 in 2007. It has seen much service and we have kept it going but on my recent trip to Houston I was having trouble with my back door bar lock. It kept slipping out of the top guard and I had to keep a close eye on it and rig up a bungee cord to make sure it would stay closed. It can be welded at the frame on the bottom to repair the damage. It’s probably best for local use at this point though rather than long distance road trips.

We decided that if we would rather replace it than repair it, why not go ahead and get a larger one? I have been maxed out on space for a long time. This is a picture from a few years ago, but it’s accurate as far as how full it was. The front end was full to the top too.

So on Thursday we got this 7×16 and I am so excited! It is so much easier to access my stock. It has a nice roomy side door with a bar lock which I have wanted for a long time. It even has a work light inside which comes on when the side door is open. In my old trailer, I had to use magnetic flash lights stuck to the roof when I was pulling booth restock after dark.

I hope that the V-front will help some with gas mileage. I have only driven it home from the place we bought it and it was empty at the time, so we’ll see. We spent all day getting all the inventory moved over and I am really pleased with all the room now. This is going to make it so much easier to restock the booth. I will have a much easier time accessing the boxes I need.

When my booth stock and fixtures from the front end, plus those tables and checkout podium at the back right, are unloaded, the restock boxes lining the sides will be easy to access. It’s gonna be awesome! It almost makes me wish my next festival wasn’t almost six weeks away. Nah, just kidding. I am glad for the time at home. However, summer break time means it’s also yarn dyeing time.

We got a bit of a head start before leaving for Houston Fiber Festival. By the way, it was a great show! It was hot as the hinges of hell, but a great show, nonetheless. We will probably be back. But, I digress.

We dyed a new color in all four bases. I decided to call it Wisteria. It is replacing the Lavender in our palette, so all of the skeins left in that color are on sale for $20 while supplies last. We have received our order of yarn from the mill. I am working on dye preparations at the moment. So there will be more yarn on the lines soon!

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What a Week

It has been a full week around here. We finished the yarn dyeing on Monday. That day we dyed greys and teals. It was a half days work.

220 skeins

After we were all cleaned up for the day we got a text from the Ford dealership where we were looking into getting a new truck for me since my beloved 2014 F 150 has 120,000 miles on it now and Jerry wanted me to get a new one. The sales guy had one with the specs we wanted but it had some transportation damage that needed repaired. We went out and took a look and agreed on our terms for the purchase. From there it as a few days wait for the repairs to be completed.

In the mean time my mother, who had rapidly declining health and was in a nursing home took a down turn on Wednesday. We went out there and sat with her for awhile but she was totally unconscious. She passed away later that night. We knew it was coming and most of the arrangements were already taken care of. In a way it was a relief and probably was to her as well since her quality of life was reduced so much in the last two years. I am hopeful she is reunited with my Dad and happy for the first time in I can’t remember when.

Anyway, so around this time I got a contact from the alpaca mill I do dyeing work for that they had work for me. That was delivered to me on Thursday. We also got the call that the truck was ready so we went and finished that purchase. So I have a new ride.

We got the fiber order dyed today and can now get back to work getting all the yarn labeled.

Oh, I almost forgot! I am so close to finished the Midlothian shawl. I haven’t had much knitting time this week but as soon as I can devote a couple hours to do the picot bind off, it’s done. Maybe by my next post I will have a finished project to show you.

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Yarn Dyeing Day Two and Three

Yesterday’s yarn dyeing was greens and a few reddish purples. We dyed 465 skeins and then we prepped for last two days work.

Today’s work was dyeing the rest of the purples, oranges, yellows and warm neutrals. The total skeins for this day was 365, which was a half day. :-)

We have one more morning’s work and all the yarn will be dyed for the second half of the fiber festival season. There are more tasks to be done like printing labels, affixing labels and boxing in the trailer, but the hardest part is done.

I’ll have pictures of my knitting and the last day’s yarn dyeing next time. Thanks for reading!

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Dye Day One

I’ll update on my knitting next time since I haven’t taken a progress picture yet. Here’s what we have been busy with this week.

We dyed 565 skeins yesterday to see what the capacity of the new lines is and we found that out. As you can see it pretty much filled all seven of them.

They are awesome! Having them closer to the work area was great. We will take today to prep the next days work which will probably be done tomorrow. See you soon. 😊

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Summer Dyeing

Since my last post I have been working through my summer to-do-list while I am home. I talked a bit about my dyeing goals and I am pleased to say it is all done. The new colors are all dyed, the others colors are all restocked, and it is all labeled and boxed in the trailer for the upcoming shows. Whew!

This is just a sampling of all that I got done. I didn’t get any pictures of the labeling and packing but I do have some finished prettier shots of the new colors.

The new colors are all available to order on the website in the yarns above and they will be making their debut at the Natural Fiber Extravaganza in a couple of weeks.

I am hoping to have my Firenze pullover finished in time for Stitches Midwest. I only have about an inch or maybe less to go on the body stockinette section and then the ribbing. After that it’s only the 3/4 length sleeves, and they won’t take too long, right?

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