Going Analog

Although the blog is quiet, the world headquarters of Smoky Mountain Fibers has been a flurry of color.  I dyed lots of fiber for a felting class and even more fiber for my retail business.  I am a contributing member of a local yarn shop here in Asheville (NC), Friends & Fiberworks (aka FFW).  As one of the friends, I work at the shop several hours a month and they carry an array of my patterns and fibers.  The shop participates in a number of fiber festivals and knitting and crochet shows, so my fiber travels in the booth.  If you were at the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival in March or Stitches South in Atlanta a few weeks ago, you may have seen my work.  They'll be at the Kentucky Sheep &Fiber Festival in May, so my fiber will be a large part of the shop's display.

So in the interest of all this retail business, I've been keeping the dyepots warm.  I try to dye around the spectrum, so this weekend I concentrated on the reds.  Rosy golds, rusty oranges, fiery reds.  Last week it was all about the greens - blue-greens, olives, froggy, grassy, emerald, chartreuse, every green I can make - even one that was a rather poisonous neon green seldom found in nature.

But with all this dyeing, why am I ignoring my Etsy shop (and my blog)?  I say that it's my lack of a decent camera.  I tell myself that it is the time factor.  I am right on both counts.  I don't have a decent camera, though I could buy one.  The camera built into my phone is better than any stand-alone camera that I own.  Not bad as you can see here.  Not fabulous, but not bad.  I think that researching the perfect camera (and they keep changing) is standing in the way.  My essential cheapness is an issue too.  The perfect camera is scary expensive. 

The time factor is more telling.  Even though I have a demanding day job that requires considerable travel,  I work most Saturdays and an evening every week in the yarn shop.  I design workshops and teach classes as part of my day job, but I also write patterns and knit samples for the yarn shop and it's fun! I've also taught a number of classes and hosted a knit-along or two.  I'm also doing a good bit of knitting for myself.  This winter I completed 5 sweaters, although 3 were in timeout since the previous spring.  (I couldn't help it.  Spring came in February, 2012.  Who wants to knit on a wool sweater when it's 70 degrees out? I have another one on the needles, but need to figure out what I want to do for the closures, so that will likely marinate until next fall.  Hmmm...maybe a zipper?   I've already started a cotton top.  See what I mean?). 

I think the real 'problem' is that I'm involved in a strong, lively, in-person fiber community, so the pull of digital is not so strong.  I get positive feedback from my colleagues at the yarn shop, for my customers in the shop and the felting teachers who purchase my fibers.  I'm teaching knitting and dyeing classes.  People seek out my help with knitting problems, they want my advice in choosing yarns for projects.  Cyberspace is a wonderful place to visit and indeed I go there everyday, but it is not my main sense of community. 

As I make choices about how I spend my time, I am liking the present time and space.  Yesterday I spent my time doing what I love to do:  I took a walk. I cooked.  I dyed fiber. I worked played in the garden.  I even packaged fiber for the upcoming KY show, but I didn't post a one of those luscious rovings to my Etsy shop!

This doesn't mean I'm going offline - not at all.  I'm getting ready to host an online knit-along on the FFW Ravelry group & Facebook page.  I'm back on the blog.  Watch for some new patterns!  But I'm living in the real world as well as the digital.  They're both good. 

Not as Bleak as it Looks

Although at first glance it looks like the roving on my clothes line is the only color in the February. landscape, but that seems not tot be true.  Here in western. North Carolina, the early spring and winter are in competition.  I took a walk around my yard and found many more shades of green.

When I look closely there are lots of tiny splashes of color. But looking closer is the key.  When I take a moment, I can admire the snow drops. These tiny flowers that are a reminder that spring can't be far away.  They  are so cute, even without any snow to help them show off.

It won't be long before the daffodils are blooming . With our frequent warm spells, these bulbs take advantage of sunny days to get a head start. And with Mardi Gras just a few days away, the Lenten Rose has begun to begun to bloom.

Today was chilly and breezy but with the moist feeling that feels like spring is coming soon.  Last year I was so late getting the early spring veggies in, that I didn't even bother with peas and spinach.  That won't happen this year.  The bed is already prepped and waiting.

The recent dye activity is to fill a good sized order for an upcoming felting class.  I want to be sure that the students have plenty of choices and I don't mind having extra dyed fiber around. 

Random Thursday Bits

Well, it seems that the only way to blog more is too...blog more. So, a few bits of blog...

1. Current knitting is a basic vest of my own design - hand dyed, handspun BFL in my rusty red colorway.  I'm knitting it in one piece to the underarms, then I'll separate the fronts and back.  Deep vee cardi. I'm very close to the separation point

2. I've been spinning a good bit lately, both the red BFL above and it's blue green cousin.  Also, even if the singles have been on the bobbin for and unconscionable time, you can still ply them.  Who knew?  That adds some lovely medium brown and creamy white to the stash.

3. I'm on my second round of sock classes with 2 fine students.  Since I knit along with them, I have (or will have) lots of new socks. Making a serious dent in the sock yarn stash, which is a fine thing.

4. Next weekend is the Winter Retreat at Friends & Fiberworks in Asheville.  Classes, vendors, yarn party all around.  Kind of hoping one of my classes doesn't make so I can take one.

5. Just got a big honkin' order for dyed mohair locks.  Kind of like these...

That's about all we have time for today.  Back to work (lunch hour blogging!  I like it!); then time for the little red Car-Car to get new tires.  Car-Car needs a new pair of shoes!

Still Knitting...

Yikes!  It's been since September?  Seems impossible that the whole fall season - ok, semester - has gone by without a post.  So, here's some of what happened...in no particular order...

SAFF - A wonderful weekend of fibery goodness.  I was holding down the action in the workshop building, so I didn't get around as much as I liked, but it sure was fun. Smoky Mountain Fibers sponsored the contemporary sheep to shawl demo, dyeing the yarn and roving in my Saturn colorway. 

Sock class - I taught a couple of people to make socks.  I knit my little fingers to the bone to keep my samples up to speed with my students & ended up with a pair of cozy purple socks.


Designing woman - Since my collaboration with Friends and Fiberworks, a yarn shop in Asheville NC, I am knitting lots of  small projects to show off the yarn.  Sometimes we knit up samples in the yarn companies' patterns but whenever possible we make up a simple pattern to give away with yarn purchases.  None of these are fabulous creations, but they are all just unique enough to declare an original.  And it really helps the yarn find its way to a new home. 

Knitting along - In addition to teaching classes, I'm also hosting knit-a-longs at the shop.  This evening it will be 'Fast, Fun Fingerless Mitts', or as I call them Fast & Furious Fingerless Mitts.

Just plain knitting - Both for myself and the various shops who carry my hats and scarves.  Now, can we get some cold weather, please? 

Dyeing - Both for my Etsy shop and the local trade.  I am currently spinning some delightful Blue Faced Leicester roving that I dyed in shades of orangey red.  And it's actually for ME! I have a vest in mind...

Other than these few little dibs and dabs, working most Saturdays at the yarn shop, the day job has been keeping me busy as well as my usual activities - yoga, gardening, dancing, goofing off with friends & family.  You know, life! 

On the line

It's been all about dyeing at Smoky Mountain Fibers this season.  Between 3 very nice orders and my regular business, I've been keeping the dyepots pretty darn warm.  My collaboration with Friends & Fiberworks has resulted in a good uptick even in the traditionally lean fiber months.  And with SAFF and the rest of the fabulous fall fiber frenzy, I won't stop until well after the winter holidays.

Although I'll be holding down the fort at the shop, my fiber, hats and patterns will be going to lots of shows this fall.  Some are local; others are far away - Stitches East in Connecticut to be exact.

One the production schedule this weekend...

• Overdyeing some lackluster yarns
• Pumpkin orange
• Leafy greens
• A bit of spinning
• Work Saturday afternoon at the yarn shop
• Taking care of my SAFF responsibilities
• Updating my bookkeeping (the decidedly unsexy part of the business).

I'll also go to an English dance, do a bit of yard work, and tackle the pile of paper on the dining room table.  What would life be like without a bunch of things (and people) I love!

Happy Fibery New Year

The new year has gotten of to a roaring start, in my fiber world, work world and personal world as well.  This upcoming weekend is the Winter Fiber Retreat hosted by Friends & Fiberworks, a yarn shop here in Asheville.  I'll be teaching a few classes along with some of the big names in fiber, including Kathleen Taylor and Chad Alice Hagen.  All my classes have people signed up, plus last year there were quite a few on-site registrations so it looks like I'll be teaching dyeing and knitting.

In preparation for the event, 2 cool things have been underway.  To help promote the Fiber Retreat, I appeared on the local midday news's Craft Corner. Click here watch the video, preceded by one of the most annoying commercials ever!  Now granted, I had all of about 3 minutes on camera, but it was LIVE and I got to sit in the studio while they filmed the broadcast.  It was a fairly slow news day, so I got to simply enjoy the technical crew and on-air talent as they did their thing.  I knit almost the whole sleeve of the Eloise sweater while I was watching, giving me something to do while keeping calm until the last 5 minutes of the program.  It was lots of fun, the crew was super nice and I had so much fun!  I dyed a roving similar to the one shown here, but a bit more blended since I immediately put the crock pot in my car, drove 25 miles and let the dyeing finish in the sunny car.

In addition to my close up, I now have my dyed fiber, yarns, hats and patterns in its own section at FFW.  In exchange for getting 100% of my sales, I'll work a few hours a week at the shop.  During the spring and summer this should not be difficult, though during the fall it could be a crunch.  I did my first shift last Saturday and will go in after work this evening to fill in the rest of the display. 

After a lovely break from work that included a trip to Portland, Oregon, I'm back in gear.  With only 2 sections of the same class to teach, I'm going to think I'm on sabbatical.  But I love my job and am feeling very refreshed and happy to work with students and teachers again.

Some changes on a personal note:: The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater came true.  My partner of 6 years and I have broken up.  We both realized that although we like and respect each other very much, we are better suited to being friends that lovers.  It's all very pleasant and civilized -after all Asheville is basically a small town and we are likely to see each other around town.  

Note that this is a Happy New Year post without resolutions - knitting or otherwise.  How about being happy, healthy and creative?  Is that enough?  I hope so.

Getting Close

1. Almost to the end of 50 Hats in 50 Days.  Last evening I completed hat #44, an olive green Windy City.
2. It's Friday afternoon and the weekend dyeing will be the many shades we call green:  bright, pale, grassy, mossy, turquoise, loden, chartreuse, and a few multi-tonals.
3. The semester is coming to an end.  Though there are still some finals to give and grade and a few portfolios to review and a student video to tinker with and grant work to complete, I am putting this one to bed.
4. It's nearly Christmas and that means I'll travel to Portland, OR to see my sister and her family whom I totally love.  I don't see them often enough so we hardly stop talking except to eat!  The kids will be bigger and the voices deeper.  Scary!
5. I changed my Facebook page from 'In a relationship' to 'Single,' but then hid it. 

When the Day's List Starts with '1. Make a List...'

...you know the week is going to be busy!

Last week, I facilitated a Professional Development 'Institute' (the code word for week-long workshop) and this week I am co-facilitating another Professional Development Institute at a university a few hours from here.  So I have exactly one day in the office to prep.  By prep I mean figure out what I have to do, say and take to make myself come off as a knowledgeable professional grownup, instead of a babbling half-wit.  Of course I also have to figure out what knitting I need to bring, as well as SAFF work that stubbornly refuses to do itself.

Between these weeks, I attended the Friends & Fiberworks Summer Fiber Retreat as a teacher, student and general hanger-on.  It was so much fun - Thanks to Lisa and Friends for pulling off another rousing success!

I taught 3 sections of Crock-Pot Dyeing to a total of ten students.  Small classes (like the 2 students here) mean lots of individual attention, but still enough variation in the dyepots that everybody can vicariously experience lots of color-ways. 

A wonderful weekend, but the rest of the list calls!

Getting Ready

Although I will not be at the Carolina Fiber Fest, my fiber will be festing away with the best of them.  One of the shops that I work with, Asheville HomeCrafts is a vendor at the Raleigh event and they are focusing on needle felting supplies.  So they have asked me to make up lots of grab bags, bonbons (little one-ounce rolls of hand dyed fiber) and larger quantities of hand dyed fiber for spinners and feltmakers.

So for the past 2 weeks or so I have been keeping the dye pots cooking away as I dye across the spectrum.  I make up the grab bags as multi-packs in color families of reds, greens, blues, skin tones, naturals and mixed colors.  This means I have to have at least 8 shades of red - red, pink, orange, purple, a bit of yellow, etc. to make up a red multi-pack.  That's a lot of dyeing as each shade is a separate pot.  I also like to use some of my painted fiber to make the multi-packs extra special.  I'll make about 5 dozen grab bags for the show  + a few extras because they sell well in the local yarn shops and in my Etsy shop.

The bonbons are the cutest.  Each is a one-ounce roll of roving, coiled up and tied with yarn. I attach a business card so people know where it came from.  So far I have made about 60 of these and I hope to make close to 100.

This is a big order for me, but as school is out, the timing couldn't be better.  So this past weekend, I dyed, weighed, packaged, and labeled fiber.  I dyed just about every color I could think of, but I may be short of blue.  Although the event isn't until May 20-22, I will be out of town before Judy and Marie leave.  That gives me an artificial deadline of May 15th or so, but since that conflicts with the Asheville Yarn Crawl, my deadline moved up to Thursday.  I chatted with one of the shop owners on Saturday, concerned that I was sending too much.  Impossible!  was the answer.  They need the fiber for the show, and besides, it sells well in their shop, so no worries!  

As it happens, I am dyeing for Smoky Mountain Fibers at the same time, so I will have lots of fresh stock!

So Much Fiber - Time for a Sale!

As you know, I love to dye  In the crock pot, on the stove, sock yarn in the microwave.  But every now and then I take a look at what I have on hand and I'm blown away!  I went down to take some pictures and see what I need to dye  The short answer:  I need to take a lot of GOOD pictures & I don't need to dye anything!

I need to move it out or spin it, and as it is getting into gardening season, I am spinning less these beautiful spring days.  I call the roving on the left Copper Penny.  It's a lovely merino combed top, that really wants to be spun or felted.  It has many friends and they all need new homes.

So, my faithful blog readers - Does 20% off get your attention?  All fibers, patterns and tools in my Etsy shop, Smoky Mountain Fibers are 20% off through the end of March.  I'll keep posting new stuff daily so check back.  Just use the code, SPRINGSALE.  It's an Etsy coupon, so the 20% will be deducted from your invoice automatically.  No revised invoice required!  I'll also refund shipping overages for purchases where Etsy's shipping calculations go beyond actual cost of shipping.

If you can't find anything that you like, drop me a line at amwalter [at] mail [dot] com (edited appropriately, of course) and ask.  I have some beautiful fiber that my point 'n' shoot camera can't quite capture & I may have more that I haven't posted yet. 

Phat Fiber's Sweet Shop: Caramelo

I have been sitting out the Phat Fiber Sampler box for the last few months.  The day job and dance calling responsibilities have precluded adding anything to my workload, even something as pleasant as being involved in marketing opportunities for my Etsy shop.

I did dye some samples for the February box, whose theme was gems and minerals.  As a rockhound, I could get around that.  I had lots of ideas, just not enough time to make them happen.  March's theme is 'Sweet Shop.'  Of late I have been interested in working in brown-copper-olive families.  So it was a short hop to 'Caramelo,' a caramel-colored merino roving that looks and feels just yummy. 

So over that last week or so, I played with dyes & I just finished making up and packing my samples.  They are all a bit over 1/4 ounce and will be shipped to the queen of the fiber sampler on Monday.  Now the Phat Fiber blog and Facebook page are worth following as the contributors frequently donate full-size rovings, batts or skeins of yarn and they are given away to people who comment on the blog.  I've donated rovings a few times and it does seem to generate a good bit of shop and blog traffic.  I've also won a couple of times - that's kind of nice.  There is a supporting Ravelry group that is quite active.

Now I do this to get my samples of my work into the hands of future buyers; but a fringe benefit is that contributors get a sampler box of their own so that I get to see what other fiber artists are doing.  I am so inspired by the work that I see people doing. Join in the fur and you can be inspired too!

Also on the list this weekend:  Knitting on Mossy Cardi II, finishing the tiny sweater for my tiny nephew and getting it sent off, working on the books for Smoky Mountain Fibers, dyeing & photographing fiber, making bean soup (it's gray and chilly out there) and plenty more. 

mmmmm....Mohair

One of my favorite goat herds called me up the other day.  Seems that it's nearly time to shear and she still has plenty of mohair so it was time to find new homes for the good fleece - nice enough to be processed by hand.  I bought 3 lovely fleeces.  Here's how it starts - a little stinky and dirty.

 








Then I soak it - at least twice - before I wash it.













 After a trip through the dyepot, it looks like this.  This is my fire colorway.  I dyed it together in my big turkey roaster.









Pretty, eh?

New Idea for the New Year

After a month-long hiatus, I am having fun at the dye pots again.  Part of the break is weather related.  My basement is quite cold and pulling fiber out of the cold water is hard on my hands.  Also, I had gotten ahead of myself and I had lots of dyed fiber.  But between my spinning, carding and sales (thanks, customers!) I needed to dye some of my favorite colorways.

I'm doing a project that seems to want some variations on a theme.  I had this idea.  Suppose I dye some of my multi-color rovings and dye additional rovings in a semi-solid version of the component colors. So last evening I dyed my Neptune colorway.  Then this morning I dyed 2 other rovings - one in the watery blue aqua color and another in the green color.  That way the spinner can decide whether she (or he) wants the yarn to be on the blue side, on the green side or just randomly Neptune-ish. This picture is the yarn drying in the sun this afternoon.

As a side note, after a false start the Mossy Cardi is coming back.  Note to self:  Check gauge better and earlier!

Getting Organized

I think of myself as an organized person.  I like to make lists and cross things off.  I keep both a private, online calendar and a public paper one.  I like to be sure of deadlines.  The undergrad course that I teach is well laid out at the beginning of the semester - at least the view that my students have;>)

But my creative work - the fiber that I dye for my Etsy shop, for my retail customers and my own work -can get a bit out of whack.  This weekend I spent a good bit of time butting my dye studio back together.

I unpacked the boxes from my workshops last weekend.  But because they were all sitting on an already cluttered table where the dyes and color cards live, that table had to be cleared of those boxes, the random papers and tools that was accumulated, I thought I might as well clear the whole thing off and wipe it down. Result:  One clean surface.

I have been accumulating dyed fiber: some leftover from the last time I was a vendor (different put up than the Etsy shop); examples for my classes, fiber that I dyed in my classes, roving I have set aside to overdye,  stuff that I haven't listed on Etsy yet, fiber that I have set aside for myself, etc.  You get the picture:  Large plastic tubs and copier paper boxes full of fiber that looks pretty random to the naked eye.  Now it is organized:  Fiber it now weighed and packaged for Etsy, drum carded fiber is properly stored away for future blending or spinning.  Dyed fiber is sorted by color and ready for its future destination - whatever that may be.

Detritus has been tossed.  Stuff (clothing, extraneous household objects, yarns that need to go to a new home, etc.) has been put into boxes for donation.  Some is already in my car.  Feeling pretty good here.

A friend who works in glass asked to see my studio the other evening.  I was all set to show off my newly organized studio.  Yet somehow it just didn't look that snazzy.  Of course I'm not finished.  Since I didn't have enough newspaper to put down fresh, The old spotty stuff was still down on the main dyeing table.  I have not yet swept the fluffy bits that letter the floor/  Empty boxes were piled on my nice clean table.  My sweetie's stuff was all gathered in a large area in front of his worktable.

So I'll cross off a few things on the list and add more, including taking pictures.  My life:  A work in progress.

Winter Fiber Retreat Recap

I had great fun participating in the winter Fiber Retreat held last weekend here in Asheville & hosted by Friends and Fiberworks, a local yarn shop and fiber community center.  Lisa and a corps of dedicated fiber enthusiasts have taken a lease on a large store in a mall that has been 'asleep' for the past few years.  I'm not sure why, but this shopping mall has never done well.  It has a good location, the space is attractive, but it's sort of ...well...quiet.

But last weekend it was the site of the Winter Fiber Retreat, a gathering of knitters, spinners, felt makers, dyers, animal enthusiasts of all stripes.  There were great vendors, amazing classes, and cool people all around.  From Chad Alice Hagen to Jazz Turtle Esther Rogers, Kimberly Nicdao Reynolds from Knittters Magazine, we had wonderful instructors.  Wild Hare Fibers, Earth Guild, Creatively Dyed, Hooked on Felt - those were just a few of the very tempting vendors.  

My classes went very well.  Crockpot dyeing (all 3  sessions) was a hit and all my talented students made beautiful multicolored roving.  The 2 knitting classes were a pleasure.  Although small, each student got started knitting a lovely hat and has the confidence to knit on.  I really enjoyed teaching and am preparing a proposal for SAFF as well as the Summer Retreat.

I didn't take a lot of pictures.  I just forgot.  But if you go to Friends& Fiberwork Facebook page, you'll see plenty more, including the vendors, the fashion show, the Saturday night band (Buncombe Turnpike) and lots of fun and sillyness.

There were a few hiccups.  The weather the preceding week was awful - cold and about a foot of snow and that hurt attendance.  The fleece to shawl event didn't happen.  A late start and a warping error meant that already busy and stressed people just couldn't pull it off.  Oh well, lesson learned.  The live animals in the mall were quite a shock for the mall management, particularly when the llamas ...um...fell in love.  I missed it, but I heard it drew quite a crowd.

But it was a lot of fun and the whole event had a very positive vibe.  So much so that a Summer Retreat is already in the planning stages.  And I can't wait!

Winter Fiber Retreat

It's a big weekend in Asheville - It's the Winter Fiber Retreat sponsored by Friends and FiberWorks, a yarn and fiber shop here in Asheville.  Many of the SAFF vendors, instructors and board members are involved.  I'm teaching Crockpot dyeing and a knitting class.

I'm nearly set up, but still have to finish up this morning and do a bit of knitting to get my samples in a couple of different stages.  Gotta go.  More later.

Hot Colors on a Cold Day

It's cold and snowy across the south and Western North Carolina is no exception.  Only 25 degrees Fahrenheit, we've had about 6 inches of snow and it's still coming down.  One of the joys of the South is that a single flake of snow can cancel everything, but this kind of snow would give my northern relatives pause.  This is the view from my front door.  I'm seriously considering going out a bit later and clear a path, play in the snow, take a bit of a walk perhaps clean off my car.  But it's cold!

Since it's too snowy to go to work, I've been working from home today: getting ahead on my class that should start on Thursday (tomorrow's classes have already been canceled), I've played around on the new Library of Congress web page (http://www.loc.gov/index.html), even read a couple of journals.

I've been coping with the cold weather over the last few days by dyeing warm colors.  These are the reds and golds that are some of my stock colors in the Etsy shop.  On the left is 'Fire.'  On the right is 'Mars.'  Mars came out just lovely in the Blue Faced Leicester base top.  The last time I dyed it it was a bit dark and murky and I could not photograph it well enough to out it online.  This time it is just cheery and bright.

You might notice that the roving is drying in front of the solar hot water heater.  We will not be making our own hot water today as the solar panels are covered with an insulating blanket of snow.

So here are my choices. Option One: Stay warm and cozy. Drink tea or hot cocoa.
Option Two:  Go outside and play.  Come back in and have a cup of tea.

I'm going for Door #2! 

Snow Days

Today,

Photo from the Asheville Citizen-Times by John Fletcher

Tuesday,  is my first day out after the Saturday evening snow and very cold temperatures that decended upon western North Carolina.  Now I grew up in NE Ohio, where this kind of weather was no big deal.  I lived for several years in Erie, PA and in my last year there, this became normal.  Of course, that is when I decided to move.
But we Southerners are not used to it staying cold and we are not used to driving on snow and ice.  Snow driving is a skill, much like archery.  I have chosen to skip it.  But the dedicated teacher that I am, it seems that sometimes I have to show up.  So this morning I got out in the single digit temperatures, warmed up my little truckie and headed about 20 miles north to the little college where I had an 8 am final scheduled.  Once I made it out of my neighborhood, the only mishap was trying to use my windshield washer when a big trucked sprayed me as he passed.  On the driver's side, the nozzle was frozen.  This was a big improvement over the passenger's side where the wiper was too frozen to actually connect with the washer fluid that promptly froze on the windshield.   

The upside of snow days is that when you are trapped in the house you can get a good bit of knitting, spinning and dyeing done.  Now dyeing can be chilly work, as my dye studio is in the basement of my home.  Putting my hands into the water where the fiber has been soaking is not fun.  I have found that pulling the fiber out of the dye water is easier on the hands if you do it about 2 hours after the dyeing is complete, rather than waiting overnight for the fiber to fully cooled down.

On Sunday I spent some quality time with Little Otto, my drum carder.  I have a goodly collection of dyed fiber, some of which is overdyed, seiously uneven, or - face it - ugly.  But a pass or 2 through the carder changes everything.  I made up a set of batts in a very pretty reddish brown, but mostly I just carded fiber and put it aside for more creative work later.

But for being snowed in, almost nothing beats watching movies and knitting.  I have been working on a new design for a felted cloche, so I knit up a couple of new prototypes and felted them in the washer, knit at least 3 or 4 hats for guys and started thinking about knitting fingerless gloves for a Christmas gift.  A cup of tea, a pot of soup, a good movie and an extremely large quantity of yarn.  Ah, the perfect snow day!

Peacock Yarn

Sometimes my dyeing comes out just beautiful.  Lovely colors, just like I planned.  Other times, not so much.  The dyes split, dye doesn't migrate to the inner folds of the roving, I am a bit heavy handed, you get the picture.  But sometimes mistakes end up being quite a nice surprise.

This roving - and the yarn is one of those.  Although I didn't take a 'before' photograph, you can trust me that roving was pale and washed out, with an obnoxious split. [A dye split is when the different colors of dyes that are blended, separate into their component parts.  For example, instead of purple you get  purple and red and blue.] Face it - it was ugly.

So I over-dyed it.  The original colors were blues and greens, so into a turquoise dye bath it went. Now I love it. I spun the yarn during last Wednesday's spinning night.  It was great fun to spin and I am looking forward to knitting it up.

The sad part - I can never dye this again!  That is a tiny problem with one-offs.  You just can't do another just like that one!

Another snowy day in Asheville.  It's pretty but quite cold - the low 20's F.  And as a fearful snow driver, I have great trepidation getting behind the wheel on snowy days.  Sounds like day to work from home!

Heathered Roving

I find that I love to dye and I love natural colors.  When they come together I get heather tones.  In my booth at SAFF, my heather colors sold first.  I also have good response to the oatmeal and sheep's grey roving.  This weekend I had fun dyeing oatmeal roving in the both warm and cool colors.

A few years ago I developed a line of colors that I call Andromeda Shades - colors based on the planets, and other heavenly bodies.  Two colorways are heatheres.  Mercury is blue and purple on a oatmeal base.  Uranus is orange and bronze, also on an oatmeal base.  Here they are drying on the line.


Heathered Pumpkin is just that: multidimensional orange on an off-white base.  People seem to like it for needle felted pumpkins.  It has a much more earthy feel - not even close to that international neon color that hunters wear in the field.

Oh, and hats?  Still on track.  Yesterday I knit #17.