Woodland Woolworks

60% off, last day will be June 15th

2011-06-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

We've decided on a last day, and that will be June 15th, and increased the discount to 60% on everything in stock.

Thanks for everything!

45% off & Website Woes

2011-05-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

We've increased the discount to 45% off everything in stock, and I sent out an email to announce that, and the response has overwhelmed our server again (and again and again). I'm VERY sorry about that... as you might imagine, I'm not keen on spending more money for more space at this time (especially since the next level is a big $jump$, I'm just trying to make it through...) I split the email list into 3 separate mailings, hoping that would help and maybe it did - but not enough, clearly. I can't apologize enough...

In case you were wondering and can't make it on the site - there are no more spinning wheels. There are no floor looms, table looms, or rigid heddle looms. There is not much fiber. There is a LOT of knitting yarn, a fair amount of weaving yarn, a LOT of patterns, a lot of books, needles & other gadgets.

If you're local, we are still open our regular hours of Mon-Sat 8:30 - 4pm, and that's when we answer the phone too, if you'd rather call to place an order or check on availability.

Thanks for your patience! (anybody else getting tired of hearing that? yeah, I thought so... I'd like it to just WORK too...)

Deeper discount - save 35% off

2011-05-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

We're catching up at last after a phenomenal response to the sale (thank you, thank you!), so now it's time to increase the discount, so you can now save 35% off anything in stock. Use the coupon code Going - but if for some reason it doesn't work or you forget to enter the code, don't worry, we're taking 35% off everything when we process the order no matter what.

Thank you so much for everything. I wish I had the words to express what you have meant to us, sharing your passion for all things fibery, sharing your joys, your sorrows, everything. It's meant the world to us.

Of Websites & Discounts

2011-04-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

I am really sorry that our website keeps misbehaving. 2 of the 3 big crashes I can explain, today's I have no idea. Why is our website a plain white screen? I don't know. I wish I did. We're trying to get it fixed. It's making me nuts, and I really don't need any help with that.

When the website IS working, please know that we're applying the 25% discount on all orders, regardless of whether the code was applied or worked when you typed it in or not. You will get the 25% off.

Thank you so much for all your many kind words, hugs, and tears. We're all very sorry this is happening and wish (WISH) it could be otherwise.

Going out of business

2011-04-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

Woodland Woolworks is going out of business.

Those words leave me with a dead space in my heart, but unfortunately it’s true. Like so very many knitters & fiber people, working in this industry – owning a yarn store – had been a dream for many years. There had even been a couple of false starts, negotiations to buy other yarn businesses, thoughts of starting from scratch, and then the dream came true when I was able to buy this business. I met so many wonderful people, I learned so much. I have so many treasured memories, and I thank you all for those.

But the world has changed since 2005 when I bought the business, as it always does. Changes we should have seen, changes we could not have seen, competition in more forms than we could imagine (digital downloads, anyone?). I tried to ride out the economic storm, I tried a lot of changes internally. But it’s not working, so the time has come.

I want to thank all of our loyal and wonderful customers, the fabulous vendors and yarn reps we’ve worked with, and most of all, my employees who’ve been such a joy to work with. That’s the hardest part of all, having to let them go. Please, I know you will be patient and kind with them as we go through this transition; it’s really hard for them too.

If you use the coupon code Going, you’ll get 25% off your order – even 25% off stuff that’s already on sale. In stock items only, of course. If you have a back-order with us, we will not be able to fill that order and we will be contacting you about it as soon as possible.

Free Scarf Pattern from Classic Elite

2011-03-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

Classic Elite sends out a terrific email every week that includes a free pattern in one of their lovely yarns. A while back, there was a terrific lace scarf that Alice Halbeisen designed using Silky Alpaca Lace.

There's a link on the page to download the directions for the scarf. It looks fabulous! I'm trying to resist casting it on, since I AM trying to finish up a few other things. It's pretty tough to resist!

Housecleaning

2011-03-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

Do you know about the Spinners' & Weavers' Housecleaning pages? You should. It's a terrific place to look for used equipment of all sorts - spinning wheels, looms, books, fleeces, carders... and also to put up ads for your own equipment to sell, or if you're looking for something in particular. There are even some fiber animals on there, under Grandpa's Barn...

We're always passing along this gem of a site, and thought maybe we could share it with a few more folks this way.

Happy looking!

Playing with double knitting

2011-03-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

I love color (who doesn't?), and I love things with lots of colors and things going on. I like to get lost in patterns and color. Noodling around on Ravelry, I saw a bunch of interesting patterns that were double knit. If you don't know what that is, it's basically making a double-faced item, with colors reversed on front & back. Here's a Rainbow Scarf on Ravelry by Eline Sanders that is just gorgeous, knit using Kauni Effektgarn. I wasn't ready to jump in on the whole scarf, so I took some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride and Plymouth Boku that I had left over from a hat I knit, and decided to make a hot pad to learn the technique.

It's tough to photograph black, the reverse side shows up better!

I'm knitting it on big needles (10.5), and I'll throw it in the washer to full it once I'm finished. If you look closely at the needle, you'll notice that every other stitch is black (except where the color changes). Basically what you do is a knit 1, purl1 sequence, with the colors alternating. All the knits show up on the "front" side, and all the purls show up on the other side - looking like stockinette on both sides. This is the coolest thing! It's VERY fun. You slip the 1st two stitches on every row, then knit 1, move BOTH strands to the front, purl 1, move BOTH strands to the back, knit 1 and keep going. Eline's instructions for the scarf explain it very nicely. It's addictive. Doesn't hurt that I adore the Boku with its sexy color changes. Yum. Just look at that color blending, mmm mmmm mmmm. :) Good eye candy.

Plus, depending on how you twist the 2 strands during the more solid portions, you actually get 2 layers of cloth. Sort of a mind bender. I haven't done it, but maybe this is like those magic mittens that people knit, one inside the other, knit at the same time - finish knitting and pull out the inside mitten! A great magic trick. Double knitting is great for scarves and hats - double warmth, and I can see making a reversible vest and oh, all sorts of things! Imagine doing a hat or mittens with the inside layer as cashmere or angora for super soft, super warm. What decadence!

There are socks!

2011-03-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

I finished up a pair of Monkey Socks last week. Love 'em! Like a lot of things, these took a while. I found a picture I took of the 1st sock taken before the heel turn. The picture was taken in the fall of 2008. Yowch. How did that happen? Somehow it took me 2 1/2 years to knit 1 sock and about a month to knit the 2nd. Ah well.

I tend not to do any patterning over the top of my foot - sometimes that's kind of uncomfortable, so I just skip it and do plain feet. The patterning didn't show up all that much in this yarn anyway... It's a fun knit though.

And I started another pair of socks. Here's hoping these don't take over 2 years!!

They're called Spring Forward, and they're from the Summer 2008 Knitty. The yarn is a wonderful merino/cashmere/nylon blend that I dyed a while ago. (I'm sensing a theme here... things just need to percolate for a while maybe).

The cashmere makes this yarn so incredibly soft. I'm really loving it so far! Can't wait to see how it looks as it goes along. Can't wait to get it on my feet.

It's going to take a while

2011-03-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

Back in December, I mentioned wanting to spin enough yarn for one of the sweaters in A Fine Fleece. I have to preface this by saying I'm not a technical spinner, and spinning to a standard that isn't my normal mindless spinning just sounds way too hard. I know, I know, I should be a better person and learn to do this and I would learn a lot in the process and improve my spinning and all that. To do this properly I should spin up some samples and knit samples and do lots of math (shudder). Yeah, that all sounds like a lot of work. Plus I worry that I wouldn't have enough fiber if I have to dedicate who-knows-how-much-of-it to sampling, and then where would I be? A bunch of samples and I couldn't make the sweater anyway. So I decided that I would spin all the fiber as a 3-ply. The yarns used in the book for the patterns I like were all worsted weight, and my usual 2-ply would be too fine. I AM trying to spin a bit fatter, cause I'm not sure that a 3-ply would be the right weight either, but again - in a not-too-technical way. Mostly I'm going to wing it and hope for the best. This is supposed to be fun, so I'm just not going to go and try to make it hard!

The fiber I'm spinning is a blend of unknown wools with maybe a touch of mohair in it too - it's random stuff I dyed over the years and when I took it in for blending/carding, I meant to keep all the info about the fleeces with it, but it didn't happen. It's really pretty though! I love the tweedy look to it, with lots of different blues.

There are 4 of these little mini-bumps of fiber to spin up, totaling close to 2 lbs I think.

And here is what it's looking like on the bobbin - it's spinning up with a bit of texture, as well as the mix of color. I think I'm going to like the finished yarn!

So far I've filled 2 bobbins and have maybe 1/2 of the 3rd one. So, yeah, it's going to take a while. I'm not even through the first bump, although it is one of the larger weight ones, if that's any consolation. I wonder if I'll even get it all spun this year? Let alone get started knitting... This is definitely a long-term project. I so admire those people that get lots of spinning & knitting done!!

And then if this blue one isn't enough, I have a touch more of this purple blend. It's not as tweedy looking, but it has some silk noil in it for interest, and it feels like a higher mohair content. I adore mohair. But it's REALLY going to be a while if this blue stuff doesn't work out, and I opt to go with the purple!!

Maybe I should consider this a 5-year plan. So far so good! :)

New yarn, new colors

2011-02-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

We recently received a new yarn from Classic Elite - this is Cricket, which is a 60% cotton, 40% linen blend DK weight yarn. I think this will make some great spring & summer tops. The pattern booklets for spring weren't available yet, so I can't show you the designs they've come out with just yet.

There were some new colors in Firefly as well - yummy jewel tones. That red is HOT! A friend of mine used to say that every woman should have a red sweater. He may be right.

And a new lovely shade of Silky Alpaca Lace. It's called Beach Glass, which seems appropriate for this dreamy muted shade of green.

Plying options

2011-02-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday when Anita came in to teach the beginning spinning class, she tossed me a hank of heaven. She brings in lots of examples of hand spun to show her students, and this was a new one. She plied a strand of hand spun wool with a some Rowan Kidsilk Aura. It was exquisite! I wish my photos had feel-o-vision so you could touch this too. She said it's VERY loosely plied - you're basically throwing the plies together onto the wheel. I seem to always forget about the possibility of plying your hand spun with a commercial yarn.

The brushed mohair of the Kidsilk Aura lends a bit of halo that gets tempered by the smooth ply. I really liked it!

Thanks for sharing, Anita!

Finishing things

2011-01-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

An eon ago, I started a quick little cowl out of Classic Elite's Fresco, using a pattern they sent in their e-newsletter. I got pretty far along on it, and then for who-knows-what-reason, or no reason at all, it was set aside and languished. I even had a hard time finding it when I decided to work on it again. Entirely too many projects sitting around all over the place. Do you ever have that problem?

Well, I finally found it and sat down and finished it. There were something like 3 rows left to do. THREE ROWS. This is ridiculous. But there you have it. I absolutely adore this yarn. There's a smidge of angora (the bunny) in it that gives it just a little bit of halo and soft soft soft. PERFECT for a cowl. I'd love it as a pair of fingerless mitts too. Oh, hey, a sweater would be terrific too. Yum. You can't go wrong with this yarn.

Looking a little pale, is my styrofoam head. But that's life in winter in Oregon. I could have made this longer, but I think I was afraid I'd put it down for another year. I'll probably just wear it around my neck, instead of over my head - long hair does weird things with cowls (and hoodies).

And for a closer-up (not close up, but closer):

Restoring Henry VIII Tapestries

2011-01-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

A friend passed along a link to a story about restoring the original colors to tapestries that were made for King Henry VIII nearly 500 years ago. Here is another site where you can see something of the size of this tapestry. It boggles my mind to think of the work that went into making these amazing tapestries, and to think of them lasting so long. Do we make much these days that will last so long?

In an interesting bit of synchronicity, I recently finished reading a book called The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir, and my friend didn't know that. Funny how the world brings such things together. Thanks Cheryl!

Woodworks?

2011-01-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

What's in a name?

Last week I happened to be outside getting something from my car in the side parking lot when I heard someone pull up in front and SCREECH to a halt. I came back in and a nice couple were in looking around. The gentleman had been driving, and saw our sign, but he thought it said "Woodland Woodworks", and was excited to think he'd found a place for folks who like to do wood working. We had a laugh, and he admired the spinning wheels. His wife happens to be a knitter though, so she didn't mind the stop in the least!

Speaking of names, we've had several people read our new town as "Yarn hill" instead of YAMHILL. It would be great if we were in Yarnhill! Somebody even asked if we'd had the town's name changed just for us. Hmmm, now there's a thought!

Finished Chenille Scarves

2010-12-30T11:19:00.000-08:00

I managed to get all 3 scarves woven, off the loom, fringes twisted, wet finished, dried, in the mail and TO the recipients in time! Hurray! I didn't even begin to make a dent in my stash of chenille (how I love this stuff), alas. Or maybe that's okay, because really - what's WRONG with surrounding yourself with stuff you love? I like just moving the cones around looking at different colors together and thinking of all the possibilities.

Here is the greeney one that was but a blob of warp yarns in the last post.

I used the outside stripes color (a rather marled yarn) for the weft. I thought I'd like the pale green for weft, but I didn't... This one turned out the softest once it was finished - like butter! (why do we say that? I don't think I'd want to be wearing butter... maybe soft like a kitten! not so easy to wear either, but I'd rather pet a kitten than butter...).
Next up was a scarf in red tones... I used two shades of red wound at the same time for the red stripes. The other stripes are another marled yarn that turned out to be quite green in the light of day. In my basement when I was choosing it it looked like something else. I don't know what, but not so ... green! Oh well, covered in red weft it's a whole lot less green. I outlined each stripe with 1 strand of blue.

This scarf started out 11" wide in the reed, because I can't count. Well, more that I wanted the red stripes to be 2" and the green 1", and I wanted 3 stripes of green, and to surround them with red makes for 11"... Surprise!

Now my upstairs loom is naked. I have 2 looms in the basement that have been in a state of partial warp for waaaay too long. I need to finish warping both of them and get them woven. Resolution! Weave off both these projects!! One is a shadow weave chenille throw, and the other is 8/2 cotton for dish towels to try out 12 harness weaving.... I'm entirely too tempted to toss a mixed warp I measured and dyed a long time ago onto the upstairs loom... it's a gradation of greens from light to dark, intended for a vest. I'd love to wear it to Madrona. But should it be light to dark across the width once, or narrower flows of color back & forth (light dark light or dark light dark or light dark light dark light..... sigh) Sometimes the decisions are paralyzing. It's a good problem to have.

We're going to Madrona!

2010-12-28T16:42:00.000-08:00

We get to have a booth at Madrona in Tacoma this February! I'm VERY excited about this show. I attended a couple years ago as a participant & class-taker, but this year we get to have a booth. More formally known as the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat, this is an amazing event with many of the top names in knitting, spinning & weaving. Take a look at that class schedule - some of the classes are still available (many of them fill within nano-seconds of registration opening), and the wait list is actively maintained as well.

Let us know if you want us to bring something specific (save shipping, we'll bring your order there! and if you pay for it ahead of time, the Oregon tax rate applies (zero!)).

Very very excited! It's going to be a BLAST! Will you be there?

Socks (the cat)

2010-12-15T12:05:00.000-08:00

Socks is our newly adopted shop cat. Or, I should say, we're her newly adopted laps. Once we moved in to our new location, she decided to come on in the backdoor and welcome us to the neighborhood. Ever since, she's been coming by every morning, meeting us at the back with a few hello meows. She comes in, decides on who's lap she plans on sitting in today and makes herself at home. As you can see in the picture above, she really likes to help out with the work being done around here.

Socks actually lives across the street, but it seems like she's made the whole neighborhood hers. Her real owners are gone during the day, so she comes and visits us. We do our best to keep her out of the actual shop part and only in the office, but she does her best to do otherwise. Anytime she sees the opportunity she makes a bee-line for the showroom. Must be all those balls of yarns in there and visions of batting them around.

It's come to the point now, that if Socks doesn't show up we get worried about her. Some days she strolls in a little later than others, but so far she keeps coming by, so I guess she's our shop mascot now. And who are we to say no?

Handwoven chenille scarves

2010-12-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of chenille in my stash, so I'm trying to weave a few scarves for Christmas for some extended family members. I want to get 3 of them done. At this point, I'm on #3 so it's looking pretty good.

First up, and completely finished, is one in shades of purple.

I sett it at 20 epi for plain weave. Chenille likes to worm (send out squiggly bits from the surface) if it isn't sett nice and snug. Some of these yarns could have been sett further apart, at say 16 epi, but some of the colors were finer, so I just went with 20 over all.

Off the loom, the scarf has all of the drape of cardboard. It's really stiff!! But I've since twisted the fringes, and washed and dried it - I hand washed, but threw it in the dryer. Now it's soft and plush and lovely! But I don't have a picture of that...

Next up I used 3 shades - one is a marl-ey green, then 2 solids.

The blob of yarn (warp chains!), ready to go on the loom.

This scarf is also off the loom now, but I haven't twisted the fringes yet, or wet finished it... The 3rd scarf is wound and sleyed, and I've only just started threading it. I'm a pretty slow warper, but I actually enjoy the process. I just turn on my iPod and listen to some podcasts, and make my way through it. I do need to get a hustle on this though so I can finish these other 2 scarves and get them in the mail in time!

Tick tick tick tick... hope your holiday projects are coming along nicely!!

Decisions, decisions

2010-12-04T12:37:00.000-08:00

I've been admiring and drooling after most of the designs in the book A Fine Fleece ever since it came out. How I adore cables!

This book shows every project in both a commercially available yarn, and in handspun. I recently started spinning some fiber from my stash that I'd had processed by Fantasy Fibers into roving, ready to spin. A few years ago I gathered up a LOT of fibers - fleeces from all over in wools, mohairs, angora, silk - you name it. I'd dyed lots of things without any projects in mind, just because it's fun. Stupidly though, I didn't mark what I took in and had blended, so I don't know what sort of fleece or blend I've got in any of the colors I took her that day. Sigh. So Janell blended up the blues in one batch, the reds in another, etc. I recently started spinning up the blue and I have a bit over 2 pounds I think. Enough for an interesting project! Now, I don't typically spin for a project. I spin for the love of the process, just like I dye for the love of the process. BUT, looking at this book, I keep thinking hmmmm, maybe I should spin for one of these sweaters. And then I back away - way too ambitious a thought! But I keep coming back to it.
This week I committed to buying the book, and now I'm trying to decide which of these sweaters to make: (I apologize for my crummy photos, they looks sooo much nicer in the book!)

I have an abundance of wonderful choices! I don't know how I'm going to decide. They're all worsted weight, so I can probably spin a bunch of yarn before I have to decide. And that's another thing, I'll have to spin some and ply it and SWATCH like crazy! I tend to do swatches anyway, although I'm not as rigorous about it as I should be. But this will be really critical - this will tell me if I'm making the right yarn to begin with!!
There's a lady in Salem named Helen who is making EVERY project in the book. I am so impressed with that goal! Here I am barely able to commit to one of them. Helen, you're my inspiration!
Maybe this will be my New Year's Resolution. It will definitely be a stretch goal for me. What goals are you stretching for?

A Handwoven Scarf in Tofutsies

2010-12-03T12:34:00.000-08:00

I recently tried weaving some Tofutsies sock yarn, and REALLY like the way it turned out! I used it as warp, sett at 16 ends per inch in a 2/2 twill, and used 8/2 cotton as weft. It has a nice cozy hand and was super easy to warp and weave. I'll be doing this again!

I put 2 ends per dent in an 8 dent reed, and used a floating selvedge. Because a twill doesn't catch the side warp with each pick, using a floating selvedge keeps the edges tidier for me. Some people don't like them, but I do! A floating selvedge is a strand on each edge that goes through the reed, but not through a heddle, so it "floats". When passing the shuttle through, you go over one side and under the other - it doesn't matter which side is over and which is under as long as you are consistent. I go over at the starting side, and under at the far side - this wraps the edge thread every time.

I really like a fairly long twisted fringe... I use a double pronged fringe twister and twist 2 bunches together in the same direction - I count how many twists so I can be consistent across the whole warp. On this scarf, I put 4 threads in each bundle, twisted a while until it was over twisted, and then put the 2 bundles together and let them ply together and tie an overhead knot at the end. I like somewhat finer fringe bundles, but you get to choose the look you like.

I really like the way this fabric feels, so I'm toying with the idea of weaving some fabric to make a blouse... It would feel yummy! But first I need to finish up my Christmas weaving... working on it! Tick tick tick... Hope your holiday weaving/spinning/knitting/felting is going well and that the recipients love what you make them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T12:23:00.000-08:00

On behalf of all of us here at Woodland Woolworks, we'd like to wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving! Safe travels to anyone traveling!!

Thanksgiving Wine Weekend

2010-11-20T11:28:00.000-08:00

There are dozens and dozens of wineries and tasting rooms in the Yamhill/Carlton area, and there are 2 weekends of the year that are especially big for wine tasters. One of those is the Thanksgiving weekend. According to the website Willamette Valley Wineries there will be more than 160 wineries and tasting rooms open with special events for the weekend! I wonder how many people have been to all 160? That would be quite a goal - NOT all in one weekend, of course!

Stop on in for some yarn & fiber fondling on Friday & Saturday, we're right on the way!

Small cones of perle cotton

2010-11-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

We've had the small cones of 5/2 and 3/2 perle cotton available for years. The company we get these from also started offering the 10/2 and 20/2 sizes on small cones as well, but I kept hesitating about offering them because we kept being told by the company that their winding machine was old and cranky and hard to repair and one of these days it was going to die and they just weren't going to replace it. I just knew that as soon as I made the commitment to all those colors (well over 100!) in both those sizes, that machine would croak. Well, this has been going on for some years now, and so far it's still winding away. So, we're going to offer the 10/2 and 20/2 on small cones. If you order it, we'll order it. I'm not going to push my luck by trying to invest in all that yarn at one time, but will bring it in as we get requests for colors. Since they come in boxes of 6, if somebody orders 1 cone of a color, inventory will be built over time.

I'm sure their machine is laughing now, and about to keel over. But maybe not! Fans of finer weaving will be happy to get smaller amounts of lots of colors instead of being limited to 1 pound (plus!) cones. A bit much when you want 5 colors for a scarf!

Pioner Loom by Northwest Looms

2010-10-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

We recently got a very interesting loom in as a trade-in. I'd never seen anything like it, so thought I'd write a little bit about it. This very innovative loom is built by Northwest Looms in Wyoming. It has "open heddles" and an open reed. The threading is from the top of the heddle, just slide your warp in from the top. In the picture below, the reed/beater is resting on the front beam. The wooden levers on the right side raise the harnesses. The levers are graduated in length to make it easy to find the harness you want.

The front beam will slide forward so you can put the warping peg segments in, and then warp directly from there. I think it's a fascinating little loom! And with 8 harnesses, your patterning possibilities are huge! This would be a great loom to tote to workshops.

Art Harvest Studio Tour

2010-09-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

This coming weekend (Oct 1-3) and the following (Oct 8-10) is the Art Harvest Studio Tour. This event is a self-guided trip through Yamhill County to visit 40 different artist's studios in the area. It's a great event, especially with this warm early Fall weather taking place. You get to drive through the scenic hills of fields, wineries, and orchards on a lovely Saturday or Sunday and stop in to see fantastic local art along the way. If you add in a winery stop (or two) and a visit to a wonderful little knitting store called Woodland Woolworks- you've got a perfectly relaxing and entertaining afternoon. ; )

Although most of these artists use paint as their mediums, instead of fiber like ourselves, we feel a connection to the creative spirit and use of hands to create something stunning. This tour is especially interesting because you get to see where the actual creative process takes place, not just the artwork hung in a gallery. It's a kind of behind-the-scenes look at art being made which can be as interesting as the pieces themselves.

You can learn more about buying tickets and find a map of the locations at the Art Harvest website.

Oregon Flock and Fiber Recap

2010-09-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

Before the mad rush

Well another year and another OFFF is in the books. It was a lot of fun as usual. A big thanks to all the volunteers that make it happen. We loved seeing and meeting everyone there (lots of hugs!) and were glad for at least one sunny afternoon on Saturday. Sunday, not so much, but we're thankful to all who braved the downpour in the morning to make it out. You just can't keep good fiber fans down! It's always a shame that we're so busy holding down the fort we don't get to do as much exploring as we'd like - there's so much good stuff! We were able to catch a quick glimpse of the duck herding demonstration though, and that was fun to watch. We're already looking forward to next year.

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

2010-09-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is coming up on the weekend of September 25th through the 26th (with workshops also on the 24th). It takes place at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby, Oregon and is a weekend full of fun for the fiber arts enthusiast.

We really look forward to the OFFF because of all the great events and people we get to meet. There's competitions for livestock, spinning skills, fiber, yarns, fiber creations, and even a cook off (Entry forms). There's also lots of workshops on dyeing, weaving, knitting, beading, and almost anything you can think of when it comes to fiber. There's also live music, crafts for sale, fiber for sale, and activities to keep you busy all weekend long. It really is quite an event! We'll be there on The Porch with a booth, so be sure to stop on by and say hello. We'll have all kinds of fiber-y goodness with us, ready for you to take away and create with.

Carol Hummel Artwork

2010-09-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

Carol Hummel is an artist that often uses knitting, crocheting, and yarn for her outdoor sculptures. We thought we'd share some of our favorite pictures of her unique work today.We love how the brightly colored yarns contrast with the concrete and rock. Just another example of how far you can take knitting, crochet, and the fiber arts - there are no limits.

L.A. County Fair

2010-08-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

If you're in the L.A. area this month, then you should try and make a stop at the L.A. County Fair, taking place September 4th through October 4th at the Fair Plex in Pomona.Our good friend Patricia Woods will be on hand at the California Heritage Square, demonstrating and teaching people how to spin fiber on Wednesdays and on the weekends. The Heritage Square also has other fun historical experiences to partake in, like panning for gold, grinding corn, and quilting. Patricia will be by the Big Red Barn; through the tunnel, veer to the left where you'll see Texas Donuts. It will be right next door.

There's also a Spinning Contest taking place on Saturday, September 18th at 5:30pm. The contest is put on by the California Rabbit Society and entry is only $5 (and we think a free ticket to the fair). You can email Hilary Godfrey for more details: hilarygodfrey@therancheslol@sbeglobal.net or click on the link above for an entry form. There's 3 different divisions: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. We'd love one of the winner's to be a Woodland Woolworks fan!

If you're looking for some fun, fair entertainment and want to see some spinning in action or are looking to show off your skills, the California Heritage Center and the Spinning Contest is the spot.

(Might want to stay away from the cheese fries though- yowza! And we're not sure we want to know how big a Texas Donut is.)

Lantern Moon

2010-08-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

We just got in a shipment of new products from Lantern Moon the other day, and it reminded us that we should do a blog on this company, as many who buy or see their products might not know much about them, and they're an interesting company that's worth writing about.

Lantern Moon supports socially and globally conscious living. They work directly with producers to provide income, education, and self-reliance to Vietnamese women and their families. In 2004, they established an educational trust fund to benefit the children of these families.

With your purchases you provide a market for these wonderful products and contribute to the economic and social well being of the areas where they are produced, providing income and self-reliance to women and their families.

The women create all these products by hand, so most are one-of-a-kind and highlight their artistic skills that are often unique to the regions with which they live in. They create really beautiful items, and it's good to know that they're getting paid a fair wage and have their well-being watched out for while doing it.

Lantern Moon's environmental policy is also something worth cheering about, as they check to make sure how viable the resources are long-term, and how much impact using those resources will have in the regions they come from. They have begun shifting the balance from using local and regional woods to woods that can be certified sustainable through independent third party verification, making sure their footprint on the environment is even a smaller one.

Because of these policies and philosophies in running their business, we thought it'd be good to call attention to it. It feels that much better purchasing a product that not only is gorgeous to look at, but also good in it's core values. Take a look at the Lantern Moon products we carry here (just click on the category links).

We also have their bags currently on sale here.

And the newest items from them can be seen here.

eCatalog and web findings

2010-08-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well, we just finished our Fall "eCatalog" and got it up on the site. Trying something different to see how well it works. The cost of printing and especially mailing has risen so much - plus the environmental impact of printing all those catalogs up, takes a toll. We thought/think that we can still satisfy those who look forward to our catalogs, plus make it quick and easy to access on the internet, as well as easy to order by adding links to all the products. You just click the picture and voila! you're taken to the webpage of the clicked product. Technology is pretty cool. It's fun to get a chance at pushing forward with technology and web capability to make a more interesting and entertaining catalog. Who knows, maybe we'll even get video clips in future issues. This format will also allow us to create catalogs more frequently, keeping y'all better up-to-date with all the new products we add and events that are up-coming, so that'll be great.

Surfing around the web, I found a couple fun blog articles I thought I'd share:

First off is a really simple and fun pattern for Woven Square Slippers. It comes to us from the Knitting Interrupted blog. Basically, you weave up a square (or possibly knit/crochet), sew up the sides, felt, and just like that, you've got a new pair of slippers. If knitting socks looks too daunting, this might be the way to cheat and get yourself some warm slippers on the easy. I won't tell, I promise.

I thought the Kool-Aid dye color recipes at Tried & True were pretty clever. Who knew you need 2 lemons, 1 grape, and 1 orange to make brown? Nice color chart. Not sure how well it carries over to wool though...

Speaking of wool and felt - this site has a lot of great information on learning how to felt. Lots of videos. Maybe it can inspire you to do some felting.... we've got fun little felting wool packs on sale right now too. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

-Tim

Interesting definitions

2010-08-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

I found these interesting snippets when I searched for "yarn retail" on the magicyellow.com site... (a sort of yellow pages type place)

When shopping for knitting string, otherwise known as yarn, spend some time fingering the different weights in order to find a variety that suits your purposes. If you are planning on creating a baby item, or a piece of delicate lace, you do not want to choose a bulky yarn of heavy weight, since that will make your item too thick. Heavier yarn is a good choice, however, if you are knitting throws or cold weather item, such as hats or scarves. While you are shopping for yarn, visualize the item you will be knitting and consider how close to the skin the item will be. You do not want to choose a bulky, heavy weight if it will be in direct skin item for long periods of time, because it may turn out to be scratchy and uncomfortable.

And this one:

Yarn is a bulky, thick string-like fabric used in knitting socks, baby sweaters, throws, slippers, shawls, lace, wraps, hats, mittens, oven mitts, scarves, skirts, tops, bags and it comes in many different colors. The string can be thick and weight heavier than other strings, sometimes has a lace texture but it can still be bulky for fingering work. Similar to crocheting, knitting is a favorite past time of many, providing a relaxing outlet. Yarn retailers sell yarn and knitting supplies to customers. Large craft or fabric stores typically have yarn or knitting sections where customers can purchase their supplies. Yarn comes in all sorts of colors, sizes, fingering weights and textures. Be on the lookout for sales and cheap discounted prices. Many stores offer weekly sales and promotions, as well as yarn or knitting clubs. Check out your local yarn retail store for more information about knitters' clubs. You can find retail yarn stores or craft stores in your local phone book or in online directories. Consider what type of yarn you need for your project, and how much of it. Keep your budget in mind before heading out to shop at the store. Many yarn retail stores and online stores sell knitting kits, which can feature anything from shawl kits and poncho kits to sweater kits and sock kits. Such kits come with all the yarn and instructions you will need to make that particular item. This is ideal for the amateur or beginner knitter. Remember that Yarn is a weighted string, so you may need to use new specialized tools that you may easily find at a local shopping center.

I wonder who writes these things? Bulky string-like fabric? huh... Course, that makes me wonder how the dictionary defines yarn. So I wandered over to dictionary.com and found this:

–noun
1. thread made of natural or synthetic fibers and used for knitting and weaving.

2. a continuous strand or thread made from glass, metal, plastic, etc.

3. the thread, in the form of a loosely twisted aggregate of fibers, as of hemp, of which rope is made (rope yarn).

4. a tale, esp. a long story of adventure or incredible happenings: He spun a yarn that outdid any I had ever heard.

–verb (used without object)

5. Informal . to spin a yarn; tell stories.

Origin:

bef. 1000; ME; OE gearn; c. G Garn; akin to ON gǫrn gut, Gk chordḗ intestine, chord¹, Lith žarnà entrails, L hernia a rupture, Skt hirā vein

Urgh, had no idea about the origins. Okay, time to back away from Google and get back to my weighted string.

Moving Update

2010-06-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

It's time! We will be open in the Carlton location through Saturday July 3rd, and then we'll be closed July 4th, 5th and 6th, and will re-open in the new Yamhill location on July 7th!

We've started moving some stuff already and holy cow, there's a lot of stuff in here.

The new location is 262 S. Maple Street, Yamhill Oregon. The 800 number remains the same, and the local phone number will be 503 662-4849. The mailing address is PO Box 543 Yamhill, OR 97148 Maple street is route 47, so we're right on the main drag through town, in the big blue building on the west side of the street at the south end of town. It's going to be great!

If you come in between now and Saturday there are some special deals, even more than is available through the website... Help us not have to move it!! Books, take the books! :)

We're Moving!!

2010-04-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm saying this out loud, it kind of makes me panic a bit to think of what lies ahead, but it's true! We're moving!! It'll probably be in June, not sure of dates yet because a lot has to happen between now and then.... We'll be moving to Yamhill, it's going to be great! (once it's all done)

So we're having a BIG sale in the Stash Room, where nearly every yarn is $3 (three buck chuck!) You can take advantage of it online too in the Closeouts section. We're adding more yarns to it as we speak, and some of the new additions will appear in the Sale Yarns area of the website.

I'll let you know when we know the dates we're moving.

Upcoming handwoven show & sale

2010-04-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Portland Handweavers Guild is having their big show and sale next weekend - April 30-May 2nd, at the Oregon Convention Center. Admission is free, and so is the inspiration!

Their advertising post card says:

Showcasing the creative work of outstanding regional artists in Oregon & Washington, featuring one-of-a-kind hand-crafted items including towels, jackets, scarves, baskets, rugs, wraps, handspun/dyed yarns and wall hangings
Daily demonstrations of weaving, spinning, basketry, and Ravenstail weaving, an ancient NW Coastal Indian technique with John Bead
Fashion shows at 2 pm Friday and Saturday
Children's hands-on activities

A fabulous place for inspiration and supporting local fiber artists!

Melda's Inspirational Weaving

2010-02-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

Melda brought in some wonderful weaving she's been working on. She weaves on a 24 harness AVL, which is a monster loom. She wove some curtains to hang in her weaving area. Wouldn't these be wonderful to stare at while you weave? This is 24 harness uneven tied overshot using 20/2 perle cotton in approximately a zillion colors.

She used many colors in a shaded wash across the warp. I couldn't get the entire width in the photo, but you can see how the color changes across the width. Lovely!

Here is what the reverse side looks like:

Here are a couple of the leaves a little closer:

Melda did some sampling of colors to get just what she wanted. Here's one of the versions:

I'm just so impressed with this, I thought you'd like to see it too. Lovely lovely weaving!

Some new spring yarns

2010-02-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

Spring must be coming, because the spring yarns are starting to show up! It's always such fun to see the new yarns. I love meeting with the yarn reps twice a year to see what the various companies are bringing out. Course, it's really hard not to want to buy ALL of them, so restraint must be shown. Rats.

Rowan is bringing out a recycled yarn in their Purelife group, called Revive. It's tweedy and wonderful!
There are 8 colors - some rather earth-tone ones:

And some brighter shades:

And here's a close-up of the purple shade:

I think this will be on my needles before too long!

And the other yarn is a sock yarn from Regia, called Hand-dye Effects.

Pretty fun stuff!

An Incredibly Gorgeous Loom

2010-02-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

We got a used loom consigned recently that is just amazing. It's a J-Made 16 harness walnut beauty.

It's tough to get a decent picture of it in the warehouse... but it's WALNUT!

There is a bench too, with a laminated top:

If this loom weren't computerized it would be going home with me - what can I say, I'm a Luddite. But at least I get to walk by it and pet it every day while it's here.

J-Made looms are made right here in Oregon City, and his looms are wonderful. Furniture quality.

Goal settings & resolutions

2010-01-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

I haven't set any resolutions in a few years, although I always like the idea of them. So I decided maybe I'd try setting some monthly goals for my fiber stuff - knitting, spinning, weaving, whatever else might wander in. Usually my resolutions would run along the lines of "spin more" - more than what? When I participated in the Tour de Fleece my goal was "spin as much as I can".... really - so any amount could in theory be "as much as I can", since if I spun it, I could and if I didn't spin it, evidently I couldn't. Too wishy washy.

So, my January goal is to finish weaving the scarf that's been on there for entirely too long. I've debated cutting it off, I've let it sit for months on end, we moved the loom into the living room so I'd have no excuse, but still, there it sits. Lately I have spent more time on it - after spending a frustrating 20 minutes searching high and low for the weft material when I needed to fill a bobbin. Oh great, finally decide to do it and now the weft is gone. Naturally. It turned up, right where I left it - in the side storage of the loom bench. Sheesh.

For Christmas I got an iPod - my very 1st mp3 player! I know, I'm rather late to the party. I've loaded it up with probably more podcasts than I can possibly listen to, and have been happily weaving and spinning along to the voices in my head. It helps keep me in place instead of weaving one little repeat and deciding I should be doing something else - I'll weave for the duration of the podcast instead! yay!

What helps keep you focused on working on a project when the 1st blush of starting a project has worn off?

Oh, other goals - finish knitting that pretty Fresco cowl I started a few entries ago, and finish spinning up some raspberry colored roving I started who knows when and then abandoned in favor of another fiber (I have a number of those - I'm a little scattered for spinning pounds of the same stuff).

I've only got another week to go on this, so I'm gonna need some luck - and days off in the middle of the week! My only reliable day off is Sunday, and sometimes I take a day off mid-week, which is wonderful.

What are your goals for January?

Spinning Class at Woodland Woolworks

2009-12-18T16:57:00.000-08:00

Our next introductory spinning class will be held February 6th and 20th! For the full write-up, please see our website. You can take one, or both sessions, depending on where you are on the spinning journey.

Hope to see you there!

Knitting Along

2009-12-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I was enchanted by a pattern from Classic Elite, sent out in their email newsletter, for the Fresco Basket Whip Cowl (free pattern here). I printed it out, thinking it would be fun to do "sometime"... I must have queued it in Ravelry too... Then the very next day, I received an invitation on Ravelry to join a Knit Along (KAL) for the very same pattern! Queue the Twilight Zone music! (do do do do, do do do doo). Oh yeah, I queued it - she's not reading my mind, right? (do they know about the felted double knit trivet-y thingeys I'm thinking of trying? - no pattern, just want to try out double knitting... is there a Knit Along for that too??)

Anyway, I joined and found a lovely shade of blue and am enjoying making this! It's a quick knit (I'm NOT a quick knitter, alas), it only takes 2 skeins of Fresco from Classic Elite. I ADORE this yarn! It has 60% wool, 30% baby alpaca and 10% angora so it's wonderfully soft. In the skein it's not overly remarkable, but once you start knitting it, it softens up and the angora halo introduces itself and is as charming as it can be. ("Hi, I'm Angora, and I will be caressing your neck, and keeping you warm").

The Ravelry KAL is ongoing, so feel free to join in! I put Fresco on sale to make it even easier. I put a couple of Dale of Norway yarns on sale too - check it out!

Miniatures

2009-12-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

One of our lovely customers recently gifted us with a beautiful spinning wheel and loom - miniatures! The detail is amazing on these, and you can even actually weave on the loom. Paper clip added for perspective...

Would you just look at that little reed! I think it's threaded with sewing thread.

Thank you so much, Mary!!

Moving the furniture

2009-11-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

We recently rearranged a good portion of the main showroom at Woodland Woolworks.

I don't know how I got the camera set into panomara view, but I did... this is the in-progress group of shots that got smushed together...

And here is a shot at the final version:

It's a lot more open, and easy to see things when you first come in the room. We hope you like it!

Thought for the Day

2009-10-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

Why do golfers wear two pair of socks?

In case they get a hole-in-one....

Courtesy of my dad!

Natural Dye Workshop with Cheryl Kolander

2009-10-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

I got a flier that there's going to be a natural dye workshop for THREE DAYS! in Portland in November. If you're interested in natural dyes, you should look into this! Cheryl Kolander is the author of "A Silkworker's Notebook", "Hemp! for Textile Artists" and "Brilliant Colours with Natural Dyes". The workshop is November 20-22 and will include indigo and surface design as well as immersion dyeing. Check out all the information at www.aurorasilk.com or email her at dyer @ aurorasilk.com .

Looks like a great opportunity!

(no affiliation, just spreading the word)

Rabbit rabbit!

2009-10-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

A million years ago, I knew someone who would always say "rabbit rabbit!" on the first day of the month. According to her, doing this would get her good luck for the rest of the month if she said it to you before you said it to her. Anybody know where this bit of lore comes from? Anybody else every heard it? Ever said it to everyone you meet on the 1st day of the month?

Funny things we do.... Can I just wish good luck to everyone, every day?

And would saying "knit knit" mean we get happy knitting all month?

Getting Ready for OFFF

2009-09-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

Like lots of folks, we're getting ready to go to the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival (OFFF) this week.... deciding what to take, should we do something different, or mostly the same, should we change our layout of our booth of stay mostly the same.... Every year, at every fiber fest we think of all these great improvements and things to do, and sometimes we even write them down. Then, just before the next fest we try to think up what all those great improvements were. It's a tradition. If we wrote them down, we can't find them later anyway. So we get to do it again! THIS time we're really going to write it down and act on those fabulous ideas!

This time we get to see Karen! Karen who worked here for several years and made everybody just a little bit happier all the time with her happy chipper positive attitude. Karen and her hubby moved away (DARN this economy and what it's done to the school budgets and everything else), but she promised to come help out at the fests anyway, so we get to see her this weekend!

Please come see us, and make us write down all the great ideas! We'll be on the porch, as usual.

New Colors

2009-09-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

New yarns for fall are starting to roll in, and they're getting all the glory via the email announcements. We're also getting new colors of existing yarns, which is just as fun. The temptations just never stop around here.

Here are some new colors of Crystal Palace Panda Soy:

I don't know what I did to the lighting for that poor picture, sorry about that! The colors are 2223 Aqua Lullaby, 2225 Bluebell, 2226 Happy Baby, 2222 Lilac Lullaby, and 2224 Pink Cameo.

We've also added 6 more colors of Fibra Natura's Yummy sock yarn (where "yummy" is both a proper name AND an adjective!)Above are Yummy 92 Tequila Sunrise, 94 Grilled Chilies, and 61 Grapesicle. I love how colors are named, don't you?

And these three are Yummy 91 Raspberry Mocha, 87 Mint Julep, and 93 Madorie Margarita. There's a nice variety here, from the manly Raspberry Mocha and Grilled Chilies, to the wilder Tequila Sunrise. Too much fun!!

Lizard Ridge in Poems

2009-09-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

We have a new yarn called Poems that's a lovely worsted weight self-striping yarn with wonderful colors. I sent out an email announcement and sale notice and a wonderful customer shared pictures of her project using Poems - a Lizard Ridge afghan! (free pattern found on Knitty.com) I've been wanting to make one of these myself, and this may be the push I need to cast on.... And Poems is on sale through Labor Day, so it's a great time to snap some up!

Here is Lisa B's Lizard Ridge. She tells us that she used 18 skeins of Poems for this afghan, and did the edging in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted. It looks wonderful!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

I just love how the ridges and valleys are in different colors. I think a project like this goes quickly because you just keep knitting to see what the next color combo looks like, and you can't stop. And then you get to curl up in it, or wrap a loved one in it when its done. Perfect! I can also see doing pillows in this technique, or felting some up for a purse/bag. Wouldn't that be cool?

Happy September!

Dyeing is such fun!

2009-08-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great time dyeing last night, and hope to do this again while the weather is decent for hanging out in the warehouse, maybe on a Saturday.

We did a 2-step process on Karen's first batch. She wants to knit a shawl with these 3 skeins. We put some dye in the dye pot and heated it up, tossed in the skeins for a semi-solid look. Then we laid them out on plastic and put "dots" of a darker version of the same color (more intense amount of dye, plus a dab of dark blue) on the yarn. These were rolled up in their plastic robes and steamed to set the 2nd dye job.

Here are some rolls of painted yarns in the steamer:

We had some very lovely helpers, who dyed their skeins in coordinating colors for the outfits they were wearing:

And here are some pics of some skeins that have been steamed and rinsed. Yum, color!

Hope you can join us for the next dye party!

Diane

We're Dyeing on Monday

2009-08-15T14:14:00.001-07:00

Come join us! We're going to throw some dye around on yarn, and who knows, maybe even roving or fleece.

Our own Karen is leaving us, moving to points east, and we thought she couldn't possibly leave without dyeing first, so that's what we'll do. We'll dye on Monday evening from 5 till whenever. Be here, or be, uh, un-dyed.

Diane

A Nebraska Fiber Fest

2009-08-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

I just saw this on Ravelry, and thought I'd pass it along for all the mid-westerners who aren't as lucky as we to have such events as Black Sheep Gathering and Oregon Flock & Fiber every year (not to mention SOCK SUMMIT and SOAR this year!)

1st Annual Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair!

Saturday, October 17, 2009
10am-4pm
@The Farm and Ranch Museum
2930 M Street
Gering, NE 69341

Brown Sheep Co. and Barn Anew Bed and Breakfast will be co-hosting the event.

Vendors and demonstrators will be coming from all over Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and South Dakota to offer a variety of fiber art related products, projects, and techniques to share with participants.

Join us for this interactive fiber arts event! There will be activities like educational demonstrations, hands-on projects for children and adults, the sale of local/regional artists work and fiber art supplies, information and instructional resources, and a chance to pet and interact with some of the animals that provide the fiber we love to work with!

Our goals are to:
•Foster connection and education between the generations
•Explore the history and contemporary importance of fiber and textiles
•Inspire others to discover their talents for creating with fiber
•Share new techniques as well as offer an opportunity to relax and work on your projects with us. (Bring your latest fiber project to share)

Exhibits and on-going demonstrations for all ages!

~Knitting
~Spinning
~Crocheting
~Weaving
~Needlepoint
~Wet Felting
~Needle Felting

And much more!

We will also have door prizes, a silent auction and great food catered by The Feed Barn in Mitchell, NE.

This is the first fair of its kind to be held in Nebraska and we are so excited for you to be a part of it! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to post on this thread or pm me and I will get back to you as quickly as possible.

If you are interested in being a vendor, the deadline for applications is August 15th, 2009. Due to limited space this will be a juried show and applicants will be notified by August 19th, 2009.

So gather your friends and family and plan to come and spend the day with us! With a good turnout we are hoping to make this an annual event here in the Panhandle! Hope to see you there!

Donna
Store Manager
Brown Sheep Co.
100662 CR 16
Mitchell, NE 69357

Sock Summit Report

2009-08-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

What an amazing and wonderful weekend! The amount of work that goes into something that runs this smoothly has got to boggle the mind. People everywhere were in happy overload. Happy to see old friends, happy to make new friends, happy to see incredible yarns, incredible knits, happy to learn more things than we all thought possible, happy to see so many of our own personal knit idols, all in one place!

I took a fabulous class called "Cast On Cornucopia" with JC Briar, who does an excellent job of pushing an amazing amount of information into an all-too-short 3 hours. We got to practice a slew of different techniques, and learn where they might best be employed. JC has a great method for showing a whole room how to do stitches - she has an enormous length of knitted I-cord in 2 colors to use as her "yarn", and huge needles, so everyone can see it - and performs the stitches up over her head, standing with her back to the room, so that we get to see it as we would see it, not trying to translate it backwards. Excellent! I highly recommend taking classes from her, she's outstanding.

Karen and Wanda got to participate in the attempt to set a world record - most knitters knitting at one time. Here's Wanda:And here's a crowd shot (somebody said there were 935 people??)

And Karen got to meet Stephanie, AKA the Yarn Harlot, which made her day!

It was a really great event, we all had more fun than can be recounted, and will have many wonderful memories! Here's hoping we all get to do it again soon!

Diane

See you at the Summit!

2009-08-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

We moved into our booth (317) yesterday, and the whole town has this Happy Place vibe going, this is going to be great! Karen and I had dinner at the Burgerville ("where you go when you know!"), and saw lots of people wearing their Sock Summit badges. Sometimes you'd see somebody take their badge off, and then look around and see everybody else wearing it, and they'd put it back on. We all want to be part of the cool gang! Everybody is walking around with these goofy grins on their faces, everybody is an instant friend, admiring each other's knits. Disneyland for knitters.

I can't thank the organizers enough for all the incredible work they've put into this, everything is working well without a hitch from what I've seen.

This is going to be great!!

Fiber Bucket List

2009-08-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

I ran across a link for a person at Storey Publishing that is working on a new book - a knitter’s “life list” of projects to complete, techniques and yarns to try, places to visit, and more. She needs as much input as possible from passionate knitters. If you are interested in helping her out, click here to give her your input. Your name will be entered in a contest to win three Storey Books of your choice.

This, coupled with the Navajo weaving class we had last week got me thinking a bit about "bucket lists" (have you seen the movie? - the list of things you want to accomplish before you "kick the bucket") for fiber. One of the ladies in the class said that learning to weave a Navajo style rug was on her life list. Do you have bucket lists? Fiber related bucket lists? Things you want to add to your repertoire of skills? Knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving? I've always wanted to make a fair isle sweater. One of those amazing catches-your-breathe-with-their-beauty ones. Course, I'm intimidated by the thought of it, so it stays in the background of "someday". When I first started making sweaters I really liked the Lopi style sweaters and thought that "someday" when I really got good, I would try one of those. I finally did it, and you know what? It was EASY. When I taught a friend to knit, I had her make one of those as her first sweater because they're so easy. I don't know if a fair isle will fall into that head-smacking, why-didn't-I-try-this-sooner category or not, but probably it will. I should pick a pattern and go for it.

What's on your fiber bucket list? What are you putting off for "someday"?

Weaving Progress

2009-07-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying watching the weaving progress upstairs in the Navajo weaving class this week. You can really hear them thwacking away from the show room downstairs. Someone asked if we were under construction. Not exactly, although sort of! But that's not a hammer you're hearing... Who knew soft stuff could make so much noise? Here are some pics of the progress made through last night. I love seeing the different color combos chosen!

The recommended weft for the class is Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, a nice single ply blend of wool and mohair that comes in a zillion colors. It seems to beat in nicely too! Some of my photos are from the front, and some from the back, so some have the butterflies of different colors showing, while others do not.

No more naked plastic chairs

2009-07-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

I just ran across a place where you can get patterns to knit covers for your plastic chairs. The Knitted Chairs started out as a final-year project for her degree in product design at Middlesex University in London, and includes free patterns. Be sure to check out the gallery. You'll want to use really big yarn - maybe ply together a few strands of dead-in-the-stash yarns on your spinning wheel, and dress up your plastic chairs! (and clear your stash of guilt...)

I wanna see pictures if you do one!

Navajo Weaving Workshop this week

2009-07-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

We're very excited to be hosting a Navajo Weaving workshop all week with Sarah Natani. This morning everybody lugged their looms upstairs, ready to learn.

Warps are wound, and the looms are warped and it looks like everyone is ready to start weaving! I can't wait to see everyone's progress this week. Just wish I could take the class too! It's a wonderful opportunity for everyone in the class.

The Lendrums are here!

2009-07-03T12:24:00.001-07:00

Our UPS driver just unloaded 1/2 his truck here, bringing us much Lendrum and Leclerc joy. We're operating on a skeleton crew today, so I don't know how much we'll turn around for the afternoon UPS driver, but we'll try! And if not today, then Monday...

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend! We're closed tomorrow, but we'll be back on Monday.

Slight delay on Wool Rag

2009-07-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

We're trying out a new format - size, shape - on the Wool Rag and had it all done and ready to take to the printer... and that's when they tell us that oh, by the way, the postal service has changed the rates on the type of stuff we send out... Long story short, we're changing the size AGAIN, and switching to a different paper. It sure would have been nice to know it before we were ready to take it to the printer... Tim is going to be more than ready to see the end of this project! I think he must be really good at Tetris - getting all the funky shapes to meld together and fit on the page.

He'll have a pdf of it up on the website next week, and here's hoping there are no new bombs from the printer and it can get mailed as soon as possible!

Random Fiber Shots

2009-05-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

Because we all need more fiber...

This is a Romney/Perendale blend that came in with an interesting shading, I really like it.

Have a happy weekend!

Sock Summit

2009-05-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

We're getting pretty excited about Sock Summit in August! Tuesday was class registration day, and I just want to commend the whole Sock Summit team for a really amazing job! I'm really hoping that they'll want to do this again, but know that I have only the faintest glimmer of an idea of the amount of work that has gone into this. THANK YOU x100000 for all this work!!

We've got a booth there, and would love suggestions on what you'd like US to bring! Know that there will be a ton (or 20) of hand painted yarns there, so we won't be bringing any of that! Also keep in mind that if anybody would like to place an order ahead of time we're happy to bring it there so all you have to do is grab and go. We do this for Black Sheep Gathering too! We've already got the box for that started....

I'm excited! It's going to be a fabulous weekend!

Artfelt class

2009-05-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

We had an intro to Artfelt class here recently with Joanne Ellis, and I thought I'd share some pics of what the students took home with them. Not all of these are finished, but you'll see where they're going with them, I think. These squares can be used as pillow fronts, or little purses, or a bunch of other things. There was a lot of creativity in the room!!

Off to the Printer

2009-05-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hurray, hurray! The spring knit catalog is off to the printer, and with luck will be out on its own in the big big world within a matter of weeks... Depending on the speed of the mail service, some could have it as soon as next week, if the stars align and all that... Tim did a great job, as always. Check out the cool infinity cover he did... Now we're working on the next Wool Rag.

It's less than 2 months till Black Sheep Gathering, which is hard to believe. It's coolish and rainy today, so hard to think that June is just around the corner.

Maryland Sheep & Wool festival was this past weekend. I used to live about 5 minutes from there, and it's because of that that I learned to spin and weave. Well, maybe I was destined to learn, but Md S&W played a big part, that's for sure. I found the lady who taught me there! I bought my first spinning wheel there! It was a used Peacock, which was made in New Zealand, and evidently no longer made. Cutest darn wheel, I should get a picture of it. I'd determined that I would buy a wheel, but I had zero confidence in spinning in front of anyone (let alone the masses and hordes at the festival!), and looked around at wheels everywhere, but of course wouldn't try any of them... then I spied this little used wheel, MUCH cheaper than all the fancy new wheels. I didn't really want to spend a lot of money, not knowing just how likely I was to continue this little hobby, so I told the person selling it that if they could prove that it did indeed spin yarn, I'd buy it. They did, and I did, and so the story began. Funny the paths we take... had I not lived near the Md S&W festival, where would I be today?

May your paths be interesting and happy!

Some Assembly Required

2009-04-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've been making slow progress on my Monday Night Knit Night project... This sock first made its debut on the cover of our spring knit catalog. Last year... Now it's a completed sock! ONE completed sock. I started the 2nd one last night. I took time out in the past year to try my hand at some stranded Selbuvotter mittens, which also aren't finished. Gads, somebody's going to take away my License to Knit if I don't get something finished pretty soon!
Sock yarn used: Alpaca Sox from Classic Elite
Pattern: Hellen's Favorite Socks from Fiber Trends

I love this yarn, it's lovely soft, and with alpaca in it, it's going to be nice and warm & toasty. I only knit on it at Monday night knit night, so a max of 1-2 hours per week, and I don't make it every week, plus the mitten hiatus in there explains why the progress is so slow. At least, that's my excuse anyway!

Hope your knitting is speeding along!

Diane

Lendrum Saxony wheels

2009-04-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

We recently got a shipment of Lendrum Saxony wheels in, and they are so beautiful! I wish we could have put them all together and had a photograph of the whole herd, but no such luck. We did get to finish one walnut wheel, and it turned out gorgeous. My photos don't do it justice. We use a couple of coats of tung oil to finish wheels. It allows the gorgeous wood to be the star, as it should be.

The boxes for shipping that Mr. Lendrum designed are a pretty amazing feat of engineering in their own right. There was obviously a great deal of thought put into these, as well as the boxes that the regular folding Lendrum wheels come in. To be able to fit so much wheel into such a small amount of space takes a lot of skill! We photograph the packing when we need to finish a wheel for a customer and put it BACK into the box, because it's like a big puzzle. All these pieces couldn't possibly fit in here! And yet...

The wheel itself is in the next layer below this... A marvel of engineering! This is a maple wheel in the box.

Happy new Saxony owners!

Festivals & Shows

2009-02-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, this is turning out to be quite a year for festival and show possibilities! We always have a booth at the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, and the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival in Canby and have entirely too much fun at both. This year we're also going to have a booth at the brand new Sock Summit at the Portland Convention Center. AND I've put in for a booth at SOAR (Spin Off Autumn Retreat) at Sunriver. Twice as many shows as usual! I won't know about SOAR till April, so cross your fingers.

I'm pretty excited about these. Seems far away right now, but I have to remind myself that Items on Calendar Are Closer Than They Appear.

Pendleton Woolen Mill Celebrates 100 Years

2009-02-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

There's a great article in the Oregonian about the Pendleton Woolen Mill, which is celebrating its 100th year anniversary this year. Check it out! There are so few mills left in the US, it's nice to have this one in Oregon (and Washington). There's also an interesting Wikipedia entry about the mill, with a surprise connection to the Beach Boys! Who knew?

A little bit of Oregon history...

Knitting as Art

2009-02-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed reading Franklin's blog post about a knitting/art installation at a museum in Chicago. Check it out. Wishing I could get to Chicago to take part too, and get into a discussion with other folks taking part! There are so many hobbies nowadays involving things that used to be requirements for life - knitting, spinning, weaving... gardening, cooking even. It's so easy to get meals that don't require any real knowledge of food and cooking. On the other end of the spectrum people that make cooking an event are getting rare. Is cooking turning into a hobby, like handweaving?

Random thoughts on a Thursday...

Finished socks!

2009-02-07T14:57:00.001-08:00

Okay, imagine if you will that the picture shows a finished pair of socks, artfully posed. Because they ARE finished. Right now they're posing in my bathroom waiting to be washed, having been worn... did I get a picture of them on the feet, proof that they were done? Uh uh. Nope...

They are superwash merino/tencel yarn that I dyed using Procion dyes. I THINK I steamed the bundle of painted yarn after I dyed it, but to be honest I've forgotten. I think I did though because when I tested out all sorts of methods of dyeing the merino/bamboo yarn I found that while all the methods work just fine, the fiber reactive worked better with some heat than as a cold dye. And these colors are nothing if not vivid! Too bad my one and only photo doesn't show that as vividly, but there you have it. Oh wait, I thought I talked about this sock before (besides on Ravelry, that is) - I did way back when. The colors show up better there maybe. Anyway, the yarn worked great, took the dye beautifully, and felt good on my feeties.

And I'm making progress on the other sock shown in that same post! I've turned the heel and am moving along on the gusset decreases. Soon I'll be to that Peter-Pan moment in sock knitting - "Straight on 'til Toe!" Probably my favorite part. Well, besides casting on, which is really the most fun, all that anticipation...

Karen and I were talking at knit night last week that we have a different sort of Second Sock Syndrome. Once we start on the 2nd sock, there's no stopping. We want to have that Pair of Socks! No other project gets worked on. While it's in the 1st sock stage we cast on other socks, we cast on other hats/wash clothes, etc. We work on this and that, and mosey along at something maybe slightly above a snail's pace... but once that 2nd sock is underway it's Katie bar the door! I have 3 different socks on the needles as 1st socks.... plus that green sweater that never makes any progress... But 2 of the socks are at or near the Straight on 'til Toe portion, so there may be more finished socks coming in the near-ish future. One of them only gets worked on at Monday Night Knitting.

I need more hours in the day. Don't you?

Smooshy!

2009-01-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

The Dream in Color Smooshy is here! This is a wonderful sock yarn in colors that are vibrant and just draw you in. The name is very apt too - squeezably soft, not to mention fun to say... Smooooshy, smoooshy, smoooshy!

The only trouble comes in deciding which one to do first...

The other hat

2009-01-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

I got a picture finally of the 3rd Fake Isle hat. I'm going to have to figure out what to make for mine! Then again, I have some socks & a sweater to finish too...

The color on this one works great for Ed because it goes well with the moss from the trees he's trimming and cutting up. We've got dozens of trees that fell or lost large limbs, so lots of chainsaw time... One paddock's fencing was demolished in FOUR places... Luckily Daedalus was too wigged out from the noise to think about going and visiting the girls! "I'm not going out there, are you nuts? it's a war zone!"

Catching up

2009-01-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

Is there such a thing as catching up? Not really, is there? We use the term all the time, but what does it really mean? "catch up on the laundry" - I'm still wearing clothes, and they're gonna need cleaning... "catch up on reading" - too many wonderful things to read in a dozen lifetimes... "catch up on weeding" - yeah right, maybe slow down some of the weeds for a short while, but the weeds will win.

But still, it's nice to think we could actually catch up, isn't it? I mean, what's the alternative? Chaos, pandemonium and fields of thistles...

So, in the spirit of catching up, I present some hats! Because winter had a few dirty tricks up its sleeves for us recently, I spent more time at home than at work for 2 weeks, and had more time for knitting. It was more fun than dwelling on the field of destruction that exists everywhere there are/were trees in my area and all the damage to fences that we'll be cleaning up for months to come (catching up, ha ha ha!). We were very lucky though - barns & house were unscathed.

I became addicted to the Fake Isle hat! I've made 3, and can't help but eyeball all the rest of the self-striping yarns in the showroom...

This red one is made with Plymouth Boku for the multi-color, and Nashua Creative Focus Worsted for the solid. I made this for a friend who looks terrific in red.

This one is also Plymouth Boku, and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted for the black solid. I made this one for my friend's sweetie, so they can be twins. Course, I don't know if he likes bright colors or not so it may never ever be worn. And I had a really hard time giving it away because those are MY colors! I adore purples and greens! I hope he does too, because he would look good in it. The 3rd hat was for MY sweetie, and I have no pictures! It's greens & browns, and he wears it all the time. I need to get pictures.

AND I got my loom warped and started weaving! I haven't woven in years, which is tragic, and needed to be rectified. I really need to weave more - dare I say it? I have project after project in mind to catch up on! I crack myself up.

This is a kit I bought at Madrona last year from the good people at Just Our Yarns. It's handdyed tencel and it's perfectly lovely.

Website problems

2008-12-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

If you've been trying to order in the last couple days and are having trouble, it's because the USPS is having trouble with their software that gives the shipping quotes. Here's the latest info I have:

Webtools Interruptions: Updates

The Postal Service continues to experience intermittent system interruptions in our Webtools API’s.. We apologize for the inconvenience this is causing, especially at what is one of the busiest times of the year. We are hopeful that full service, across the country, will be restored as soon as possible. We thank you again for your patience.
We have taken every step to resolve the situation, and continue to work around the clock both internally and with our external partners.

We appreciate your business and your patience.

Yeah... no pressure USPS, but we'd all really like it to work! Me and every other business that's relying on the postal service for shipping - and it turns out, ordering as well, since you can't order if their software won't calculate shipping.

Please call if you have trouble with the website!

Mittens - the new sock?

2008-11-29T13:05:00.000-08:00

A while ago we decided we'd try our hand at knitting some mittens on Monday nights. I've been intrigued by the Selbuvotter mittens described in the book by Terri Shea, and mittens seem like such a warm and cozy little project. No heals to turn, so how hard could it be, right? One of our wonderful customers shared her Selbu mittens with us:
Aren't they lovely? Shari is an amazing inspiration!! I loved the pattern of the pink ones too, but I chose a blue color:I'm a few rows further along now, but I keep messing up and having to unknit. I've only worked on them here on Monday nights after work, maybe that's jinxing them! Maybe I should take them home to make some progress on them... I'm knitting mine out of O-Wool Classic 2 Ply, which is lovely stuff!
Karen decided to tackle some fingerless mitts - Winter Twilight (Ravelry link) from Interweave Knits magazine using Brown Sheep's Wildfoote sock yarn.
And Wanda! Wanda is making two pair for two of her daughters, starting with a Selbuvotter inspiration and charting her own:Aren't these cute? I'm completely in love with these. Here's the other pair she's making:
Tim heard we were making mittens, and he whipped these out in one evening. He wins! Sorry about the lousy picture...

I think mine are going to be another one of those Epic Projects - you know, "2 years in the making!", said in that big movie announcer voice. Before I got started while I was still dreaming of them and flipping through the book saying I want to make this one, and this one, and this one, and wandering around the show room looking at yarns saying these colors, and these colors, and wouldn't that combo be divine too? Yeah, well, these puppies are taking f o r e v e r and keep being difficult and needing to be unknit, and it's NOT a hard pattern! Maybe I just don't have Monday Night Mitten Mojo. Maybe Monday nights I need miles of easy stockinette. I do adore the concept and the patterns, and I would like to make a bunch of pairs. I definitely need more fingerless mitts for keeping my hands warm...

Hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Diane

Fall things

2008-11-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Autumn Test

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a energetic, warm, optimistic person. You approach everything with a lot of enthusiasm.

When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy.

You tend to be afraid of change. You are never ready for things to be different.

You find solitude to be the most comforting thing in the world. Being alone with your thoughts feels very peaceful.

Your ideal day is spontaneous and surprising. You like to play things by ear, and you always end up doing something interesting.

You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

I have to say that the part about being afraid of change cracks me up. Let's see, I've lived in Arizona, Missouri, Maryland, Oregon, I gave up a perfectly good job and left the best friends anybody could have to come to Oregon to be closer to my parents and live in paradise without having a job lined up, or anything else.... I got another perfectly good job with a large corporation and then 8 years later took a severance package and risked it all to buy this business. Nope, change - it's way too scary, not gonna have any of that around. Yeah, good luck with that!

A Little Help

2008-11-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Some time ago a good friend of mind saw a report on NBC about a lady that's doing a lot of good things in Afghanistan, including working with the Kabul School for the Blind providing knitting needles and yarn and whatnot - see the story here on NBC. My friend isn't a knitter, but she wanted to help, and hoped I'd get involved too. She sent some money for yarn, and I provided a couple of tubs of yarn from my personal stash as well, and we sent over a large box of yarn. I haven't heard yet that the yarn has arrived, or gotten any pictures from that side, but I'm still hopeful. I have no idea how long it takes to get from here to there via the APO system, and I know Rosemary has more than enough to do!

Rosemary Stasek's organization is called A Little Help, and I'd like to use this as an ongoing project for one of the ways that we give back. If you'd like in on this, drop me a line and we'll see what we can do together.

Diane

Naturally Fun Fiber Holiday Show

2008-11-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

We're joining the fun at the Naturally Fun Fiber Holiday show this Saturday at the mall in Albany Oregon. Come see what fiber artists in our area have been up to! We'll be there doing some demonstrating and helping people make their own fiber art.

Have you received your fall knitting catalog? They're out there! Followed quickly by the next Wool Rag, which went to the post office on Friday.... now we're starting on the next spinning & weaving catalog, which should be in mail boxes in early January. Since this catalog only comes out once a year, it's something of a balancing act for when to publish it. A lot of the manufacturers put out their new price lists right around the beginning of the year, and we really hate to print the catalog and have the prices be wrong immediately. It's frustrating for everybody! ("what do you mean the price went up? I just got your catalog!") We do know, we do feel your pain. I go around kicking walls when I get a new price sheet right after the printer has taken the catalog to the post office.

OFFF

2008-09-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Alternate title - more weeks & weeks. Sheesh.

This week we're scrambling around packing up for Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival, which is this weekend in Canby. It's a great show, you should all come! We'll be on the porch, just like last year. If you want us to bring something specific, just let us know!

We're also VERY close to having the catalog ready for the printer. We're just editing for last minute stuff, so any day now....

Monday Night Mittens are progressing with some ripping back and small amounts of gnashing of teeth. Wanda's are looking great! TIM is done, even though he won't stay and knit with us. Show off. I'll post pictures next time, when I have some...

I also have some socks to show, but not today. Really I'm just popping in to wave and pretend like I'm still around, even though clearly I'm not.

Hopefully my next post won't have a title with anything to do with weeks passing by silently....

Diane

Weeks & weeks

2008-08-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

I hate it when weeks and weeks go by, silently. We're working away on the Wool Rag, which should go to the printer next week; and on the fall knit catalog, which should follow in a couple weeks. Then the next Wool Rag, then the spinning & weaving catalog, followed by another Wool Rag.... it's that time of year that starts feeling rather relentless.

New yarns are arriving almost daily, which is very fun. I like going and seeing what Dwayne, our UPS driver brings. He looks like a younger Kaffe Fassett, which is appropriate, don't you think?

We're going to start a Monday night knit night here, so come on over! We're going to be doing MITTENS - although anybody can knit whatever they like! I want to try something from Selbuvotter
Two color knitting! I've done a little, but want to do more. I simply adore fair isle, and want to do some of that soon. I keep ogling all the yarns and dreaming up color combinations. The possibilities are endless. I can see this getting like sock knitting, and having stacks of mittens soon. Fun! We're going to start the 1st Monday after Labor Day - so Sept 8th, from 5 till 7pm, and open to suggestions too. Join us!

Diane

Wanda's Tour de Fleece report

2008-08-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

My challenge was to find time, no matter how short, to spin everyday. I really enjoy spinning but you'd never know it based on my "output" in the last year. So, when Diane emailed me about the Tour De Fleece challenge I jumped on it. Initially, I planned on prepping/spinning this long-neglected fleece, that was solar dyed. My neighbors, being the polite sort, never even asked what the long black container parked (for days!) on my front lawn held.

The fleece took a lot of time to prep and the end result were lovely little fiber "buns" which would've been fine if my goal was to "comb more". So, it was set aside and I turned to other neglected in-progress spinning. I finished spinning & plied a mystery batt on my "meeting" wheel. Poor thing, it hadn't seen action for months! My spindle got a lot of use during the challenge and I put it to work on a wildly colored batt I picked up at this year's BSG. Being able to spindle during waits (kids, errands) and long car trips sometimes was the only way I got any spinning in on a day. Now, it has a home in my purse:)

So, though I don't have miles/pounds of handspun to show at the end of the TDF, participating in it has revived my "spinning life". The challenge is finished but thru it I discovered new ways to keep on spinning. Count me in for TDF 2009!

- Wanda

To Spin is to Win!

2008-07-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

I did a bit more spinning on Wednesday, but for some reason I wasn't getting enough twist into my cashmere, and it started drifting apart, so I walked away rather than get frustrated. I tried a couple times, but sometimes it's better for me if I just set it aside for the day. When I first started spinning I used that as a tool, and I think it still serves me well. This is supposed to be fun, this is a hobby I love, but when things are conspiring against me and it's getting frustrating and nothing seems to help, I can walk away before I hate it and never come back to it. I don't want to approach spinning as something I have to conquer, or sidle up to in trepidation, or whatever - I just want to do it and enjoy it. If today it's not working that way, tomorrow it will be fine. So I walked away.

In the endurance (horse) world, the Tevis Cup ride (a grueling 100 mile in one day ride with incredible changes in altitude) has a saying that to finish is to win. I've never ridden in the Tevis, but I like that saying, and attitude. I think for the Tour de Fleece, to spin is to win!

Here's to all the winners who are spinning today, and every day!

Diane

Another one!

2008-07-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

This guy, in spite of sticking his tongue out for the camera, is actually a rather charming fellow. He's about 2 weeks old now, and pretty full of himself! He and his 1/2 sister (same dad) were let out together yesterday for the 1st time and they had a good time racing around together. His mom would occasionally intervene though and make nasty faces at the filly, telling her not to try to corrupt her perfect son! HA!

On the spinning front, I'm not making a lot of progress on my big pile of cashmere fluff. I can say that the Tour de Fleece has encouraged me to spin more than I would have in this period, but I wouldn't say it's a lot! My goal was pretty wide open ("spin as much as possible"), but I still may have to pass on taking a yellow button. We'll see, there's still time!

Wanda is participating too, and she hopes to get her story written up and pictures too - she's working on a fleece she has.

Saturday we had a fun group of spinners from NwRSA here for the day spinning - I was very jealous, getting to spend the day spinning and chatting with friends! And shortly after they left I did the V-8 move and said Dang! Why didn't I take any pictures?? Bad blogger.

We're laboring away on the fall knitting catalog, picking patterns, arranging pages, deciding what fits and what doesn't fit. Tim is a master of layout, and can get a lot of information on a page! He must be really good at Tetris - getting odd shapes to work together.

I think it would be pretty amazing to see the full life cycle for yarns, etc. I get to see the new lines in late spring/early summer that are going to appear for the fall, but they had to be developed and colors picked and getting the spinning just right, and patterns developed and knit and re-knit with the yarns. I wonder how long the process really takes? What are they working on now? Fall of 2009, or later?

Tour de Fleece!

2008-07-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

I read about this recently and thought it sounded like a great idea! For the full story, go to the Tour de Fleece headquarters, but basically it's a self-imposed challenge for spinning for the duration of the Tour de France. So, starting today spinners everywhere are starting their challenges! My challenge is to work on some Cashmere that's been a part of my personal history for quite a long time.

Many years ago, before I moved to Oregon, I had this passion for all things fibery (that much hasn't changed!), and I thought maybe I'd be interested in raising fiber goats. I'd had sheep as a child (Southdowns - 4-H project with my brother), and while I like sheep, I didn't much like the idea of what you need to do with tails of lambs. So goats sounded like they had potential. With a very good friend, I visited 2 goat breeders here in Oregon - one Angora goats, and one was Cashmere. I don't remember the name of the Cashmere breeder, but I know she lived somewhere pretty close to here because I remember going through the town where Woodland Woolworks was at the time - Yamhill, and wishing there was time to stop. Funny old world, isn't it? Anyway, Cheryl and I bought a couple of ounces of Cashmere each with the plan being that I would spin the fiber for both of us, and she would knit us some fabulous scarves. I THINK there's about 8 ounces total, but I can't find my scale.

So, my challenge for the Tour de Fleece will be to spin as much Cashmere as possible. And Cheryl, I think as penance for taking so darn long to get brave enough to spin this lovely fiber, I should either knit it or weave it into scarves for both of us... That may be a challenge for another day though. First step, get spinning!!

I'm trying to talk a couple of other people here into joining in the fun, so there may be more to report.

It's whatever kind of challenge you make it - perfect! To spin is to win!

Happy spinning to you,

Diane

What happened to June?

2008-07-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Good grief! No wonder I'm being chastised for not blogging lately. I thought those last 2 entries were in June, but noooo, they're from May! I lost a month, oh dear.

Well, Black Sheep Gathering, of course, eats up a lot of June, what with ordering for it, packing for it, loading the trailer, being there, unloading and then figuring out what we have after all is said and done. While packing the trailer I thought a picture of the STUFFED TO THE ROOF trailer would make good blog fodder, but of course it didn't happen. Maybe for OFFF I'll remember! Oh, and a pic of the booth might be nice too.

Black Sheep was, as always, a lot of fun. It was a little hot on Friday but we tried not to whine too much, knowing it was still nearly 20 degrees cooler than it was my first year as a vendor there (talk about your trial by fire - a gazillion degrees and I had the worst cold I've had in YEARS, ugh). There were many fabulous and wonderful things to see and touch and dream about, and friends to catch up with and hug, and things to learn and teach. Ahhhh, and soon it will be time for OFFF, and more of the same! Life is good.

I do have some pictures of some dyeing I did recently. We have this new cool Seacell/Silk blend yarn and I wanted to see how well it dyes. I'm not the least bit scientific - measuring is not my forte, repeatable will never be on the agenda. I greatly admire all those dyers who can make a consistent product! I dyed with both Landscapes, and with Procion - and used heat with the Procion, rather than doing the maybe more expected cold batch/soda ash routine. I would like to know how that works on this yarn too, but there wasn't enough time really that day. I dyed with my sweetie's daughter A, who enjoyed it too I think, though the gloves were not a good fit! A is 9, and has small hands.

Anyway, I like to dye using a couple of spaghetti jars with different colors of dye in them, inside my dye pot with water, acting as a double boiler. I drape the skein of yarn across and into the jars, and move it around a bit to get all of it dyed, and maybe mix some colors together.

Below is the yarn getting rinsed - I didn't have much dye wash out (I didn't use much dye either for one skein of yarn, maybe something on the order of a 1/4 teaspoon of each color). Looks like I didn't get quite as much coverage between colors as I might have liked, but I think it will be fine.

And here are the 2 completed skeins - Procion on the left, and Landscapes on the right. The silk gives it a nice luster! Interestingly, the Seacell when wet does indeed give a bit of a whiff of the sea! It goes away when it's dry, but it's definitely there when wet. I was surprised!

I'm going to knit a lacey scarf for A with the Procion version - feather and fan, should be fun.

One of the perks of Black Sheep is that all of us that work the booth hang out together in the evenings - go have dinner at Thai and Indian places (YUM!), and then knit and gab usually entirely too late into the night. I talked Anita into teaching me to knit the "other" way - picking, rather than the throwing I've always done (self taught). So I'm trying really hard to continue that and make it be the way I knit, cause it certainly looks like it's a lot faster. My poor unsuspecting skein of Seacell/Silk was my guinea pig (I had this crazy idea I could learn the technique while knitting the scarf, but GOSH my tension looked horrible!)... so I can also report that the yarn stands up fine to being knit and frogged and reknit. Really - learning a new technique should be done with a nice worsted weight wool instead of a slippery lace weight. Character building. You'll notice there is no picture of the scarf in progress. It's not! Yet anyway.... but it will be.

I uh, found another pair of sock needles at home and started another sock too. Not that there's been any progress on the socks OR green sweater written about in May... But I've finished my 2nd Jaywalker sock, and I'm about done with the Balance tee shirt I knit, except the neck thing has to be changed. I do adore starting things.

Happy 4th of July!!

Diane

She's here!

2008-05-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with knitting, or spinning, or weaving, or dyeing, or really any sort of fiber. Too bad!

This lovely filly was born a couple weeks ago, and she's a dandy! Saying a newborn is cute is redundant, but true. Here she is, about a day old - already contemplating hay. What IS this stuff that mom chews on all the time?

And this is about a day later, out for a romp in the arena, getting mom her exercise as well.

She likes to jump things, but I didn't catch any good photos of that. She's a Davenport Arabian, and if you'd like to know more about this bloodline, this is a good starting point - http://www.davenporthorses.org/history/ . Homer Davenport, who imported the ancestors of these horses in 1906, was born in Silverton Oregon!

Hurray for babies!

Ancient History

2008-05-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

I talked about this sweater a few months ago (and said "ask me again in two months". Ahem. No progress.) I started this sweater in 1994, and I'm up to the sleeves! It'll be a nice sweater someday. But heck, it's not like I can wear it this summer, so finishing it up over the summer should be perfect, right? The yarn is Heilo from Dale of Norway.

I like doing both sleeves at the same time. Makes the going slower, sort of - but when you're done, you've got both sleeves and they MATCH without having to make notes and measure a bazillion times. Just like the attraction of doing 2 socks at the same time. Not that I've tried that yet, but I like the idea.

I definitely have a ways to go on the sleeves, plus they're - what's it called? saddle shoulders? where they come up the arm and across the shoulders and end at the neckline. I like the cables and stuff. Must work on this sweater....

Meanwhile there's a few more socks that have been started because, well, I could. The first one is Lacewing from Fly Designs in color Desiderata. It's a dream to work with! I also have some in Halogen, with thoughts of combining the leftovers from both colors in a scarf... It may be a while, having not cast on the Halogen socks yet!

And then these ones below are in the merino/tencel blend that I dyed - boy howdy did it take the dye nicely, or what? I started out doing a pattern from Favourite Socks, but the colors were competing too much so I switched to regular old Helen's Favorite Sock from Fiber Trends. This would have been a really handy one to do both socks at once, since now I have to remember just where I left off from one pattern and switched to the other! Ah well.

What are you knitting these days?

Also considered

2008-05-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd show some of the other pictures we took in our search for a likely front-page-of-the-website picture... We all brought in some handknit socks and tried to think of ways to show them off to best advantage.

First, posing with the sheep. (does he look like a sheep?)

Then a chorus line:

Then another view:

Or maybe without feet in them...

Or maybe a closeup??

Alright. We need some nature in here. Where are some flowers?

Wowee, those are bright! What about socks in trees?? A nice touch of silliness, maybe.

And then we got the one we thought was just the ticket!

So there you go, Diary of a Homepage Picture.

Happy weekend! Happy Mother's Day! Give your mom a hug, I wish mine were here so I could, I miss her each and every day. I love you mom!

Diane

We've launched!!!

2008-04-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

The new website is LIVE! I think it looks fantastic, and sure hope that you do too. There's still a ton of work to do on it, but it's got a lot more stuff on it, and more information and photos will be added daily. It's been a long road to get here, but I think you'll agree it was all worth it. Everything in all our catalogs, and all the stuff that didn't even make the catalogs is on the site now.

Go check out the beautiful Mickey Mouse daffodils on the front page, proudly posing with handknit socks. The daffodils are in Karen's back yard. We had fun going around Carlton looking for likely photo opportunities for our socks.

More to come!

Diane

Weighty matters

2008-04-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

We're coming down to the wire! We're set to launch our brand new website (same address - www.woolworks.com) in under 2 weeks (gasp!) and we're feverishly trying to get as much done as possible. Getting everything done is not possible, of course. I think the nature of a website is to be "under construction", because as everyone knows - things change. New items are brought in, things get discontinued, things change price, more information becomes available....

With our new website launch, we're going to do delivery charges a little differently. We want to do ACTUAL shipping charges. That means that we need to know what everything weighs.
E v e r y t h i n g .... There are approximately 16,000 individual items in inventory. Well - should say SKUs, because some SKUs have multiples in inventory (10 balls of yarn X, color Y). So we're weighing things and entering them. We're getting images of them. We're writing up descriptions of them. It's a rather big job. Back to the shipping charges - you'll get the opportunity to see what it would cost to send your package via Priority mail, or UPS, and decide which way works best for you. It will be based on the weight of the things you order, rather than some other seemingly random method of assigning a delivery charge. If you buy a lightweight but expensive item, it won't cost as much to ship as it would a heavy cheap item. We're hoping that people will like this. I wish we could send stuff for free, but it does cost money to ship stuff, plain and simple. We will continue to offer the free shipping for orders over $300 (except floor looms, which are sent by freight company..... fuel surcharges have tripled in the last 6 months...)

AND we just finished up the spring knit catalog. It is at the printer, hurray!! Typically it's about 2 weeks from printer to mailbox, so look for it soon! Right about the same time the new website launches! egads.

AND I somehow got talked into being the vendor coordinator for Black Sheep Gathering (it seemed like a good idea at the time - I mean, I DO want to give back to the Black Sheep community!) and I'm trying to get all that stuff worked out and sent out and managed.

So if the blog seems a little neglected, maybe you'll understand.

Oh, and I have a mare due to foal in the next couple weeks...

Timing is everything! :)

Happy spring!

Diane

Milestones

2008-03-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

Ta-da! My first 100k on this car! This one came faster than the first one on my last car. This car is a 2004 model. Kinda scary. I put 350k on my last car, guess I like to hang on to them. I had that car for 17 years! and probably would have kept right on going if I hadn't hit a deer... it didn't kill the car outright (tho it did the deer, alas), but it definitely was a lot less happy after that. So here's hoping there are no deer out there with this car's name on them!

Choosing between inspiration and perspiration

2008-02-29T09:10:00.001-08:00

I have a dirty little secret. I have this sweater that I started when I moved to this state back in 1994 (gasp!).... The first yarn I bought in Oregon! The body is done, and I've started the sleeves. I like to work both sleeves at once, that way they'll match and both be done when I'm done - sort of like the appeal of working two socks at once on circular needles. They'll both match without having to measure 40 hundred times, and when you're done, you're done. I haven't tried the 2 socks on circulars yet, but it definitely appeals.

Ever since Madrona I've been mentally casting about for the Perfect Project, something worthy of the knowledge poured into my ears, maybe something I could parade about in next year at Madrona. But this little voice keeps nagging at me to finish up that poor lonely green sweater. Maybe THAT'S what I should parade around in next year. Except of course it lacks the allure of the new. What is it with us - or at least me - that makes us (me) want to just keep casting on new and exciting projects? I cast on another pair of socks because I only had 2 other pairs on the needles.

I'll have to get pictures of the Poor Lonely Green Sweater. It started with the best of intentions, like all projects. Then I moved again, and it got stuffed into a piece of furniture that I couldn't get to (literally - I had furniture and boxes stuffed to over 6 feet in height in a "spare" bedroom with no walkways at all while I lived in a temporary place for nearly a year - the cats ADORED this room because it afforded them much amusement, not the least being that once they were in there, there was no way I could get them out. Vet appointment? Gosh, that's a shame, I was taking a nap 4 boxes back...)... then I worked on it some more, then who knows what sort of angst possessed me to abandon my knitting for years at a time. The lure of the loom? Then I knitted on it some more while spending a lot of time with my dad when my mom died. Then the sweater was at dad's house, but he was coming over to mine to visit. And now.... well, maybe now it's time to buckle down and knit. The sleeves are easy! One simple cable up the center, how hard could it be?

Ask me again in 2 months....

Diane

Madrona report

2008-02-23T14:27:00.000-08:00

Wow that was wonderful! I think it's pretty much impossible not to have a really good time at any fiber/knit/spin/weave fest of any sort, so saying I went to one and had a good time is sort of repeating myself. How could I not??

There were classes Thurs through Sunday, and vendors to see and a constant parade of spectacular hand knits (I think I got whiplash), and a lengthy list of Knitterati (see the list of teachers for this year). I didn't have a class on Thursday, so I got to poke about in vendo-land at leisure and catch up with some folks I don't see very often, or hadn't yet met but needed to. Then I went to the Museum of Glass (in another life, I'm going to learn to do glass, woweeee) for the afternoon.

All of these pics are from the glass bridge, which is an overpass over a busy freeway and you look up and see all of these amazing works of art. These are looking straight up. There was more, much much more.

This charming fellow was in this wall of amazing vase-type pieces also before you get into the museum. I'm really amazed at how much glass art they've put out there to share with the world all the time, for free. You could spend days studying these and looking at them in different lights. What also struck me was that there is a freeway and a freight (train) yard right below all this glass. The amount of vibration that this bridge is subject to boggles the mind. I don't know how they cushioned it so well, but I'm sure glad they did!

Inside the museum they have a huge furnace and many people working on pieces, demonstrating how it's done. Fascinating to watch! Plus of course various exhibits and the museum gift shop, also filled with color and shape and inspiration. I highly recommend a trip!

And I got to knit and knit and knit, and watch the scenery from our 18th floor (!) hotel room. I've never really lived in a city, so it's definitely a case of the country cousin coming to town. (I suppose college in Tucson does count as a city, but really - it's the Old Pueblo! it's not a City, is it??) We had really fabulous weather, which meant that we got some gorgeous sunrises!

Mt. Rainier in all its glory!

And then the classes! I took a sideways sweaters class with Margaret Radcliffe, lace knitting with Evelyn Clark, and intarsia with Lucy Neatby. They were all great classes, and I learned a lot - not the least of which being that I am a very slow knitter and need to find a better way to knit. I didn't keep up with the rest of the class ("It's not a race".... okay, but I don't want to be last either! I miss out if I can't keep up). I'm self-taught, like many people, and what I learned from the little pamphlet from the Coronet store when I was in single digits for age was a good start, but it can be improved upon!

I'll leave this post with a couple of pics of Lucy Neatby's works - the lady knows how to play with color! I love it, I love it, I love it!!

Madrona 2009, here we come!

Diane

Well phooey

2008-02-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

So there I was, innocently minding my own business, blogging away.... got finished, clicked preview, yup, looked good. Clicked "back" and it was GONE! nooooooooooooo!! Apparently that's a bad idea. Apparently you should click "hide preview" instead. And all that nice saving that blogger does while you blog? Sort of useless apparently, if you click back... Let that be a lesson! That was Saturday. I hadn't the heart or the energy to attempt it again that night. Of course it was an exceptionally clever entry, full of witty turns of phrase. Gone, lost forever. Sigh.

Tim, our wonder web and catalog guy, knit some hats! He was kind enough to share with me, and then I took some really rather horrible pictures, and didn't have the foresight to look at them before the hats left the building. Another lost and gone forever opportunity. I'll share one picture anyway, because, well, I can. It's a great hat! Too bad you can't see that. There were 2 hats, made with the same yarn (Big Wool from Rowan, in a brown shade). Tim said something about one of them being more feminine than the other. They're both the same yarn, and same shade. I looked at the hat, looked at Tim, looked at the hat, looked at Tim and said in my most articulate manner "huh?" He made one of the hats in a seed stitch, and felt that the extra texture made it more feminine. What do you think? Is seed stitch more feminine that stockinette?

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for Madrona! I'm so excited I can't stand myself. My buddy Anita and I leave tomorrow for four full days of knitter madness! I'm going to be completely star struck with all the big names that will be everywhere, and will attempt photos (but given the spectacular proof seen above, that may be more of a threat than a promise... if you see me pointing a camera, you might want to duck). My poor sweetie has been very sick and I'm been avoiding him (can I say "like the plague"?) cause I really really really want to be fully functional. Here's hoping!

Happy trails to you! And I'm just going to publish with no preview.

Diane

Snow place like home

2008-01-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

It snowed last night in my little corner of the world. There isn't any snow here at work in Carlton, or for most of my commute, but at home in a funny little quirk of micro-climate, I got dumped on. My little car dragged bottom down the whole hill and squirreled around a fair bit, but got me to work safe and sound.

It's pretty, isn't it? I used to really hate the snow, but I guess I'm coming to terms with it (about time). It'll probably be all gone when I go home. Course, if it doesn't melt at all, I'll be walking the last 1/2 mile 'cuz down hill is one thing, but up is way different! My vet couldn't make it up the hill this morning in 4 wheel drive (it's a steep hill and really wet snow), so I know my little car wouldn't do it either. The vet visit could wait, so it will.

Meanwhile, a here are a couple of snow cats:

Is it my imagination or has this month been the longest January on record?

Stay warm!

Diane

Brrr

2008-01-22T15:33:00.000-08:00

It's pretty chilly around here, as I know it is in many places. We leave the big roll-up door in the warehouse open while we're here, and the breeze was such yesterday that if someone opened the front door, the doors in the shipping area would be blown open. Is that a venturi effect? Your basic wind tunnel through the whole place. brrrr! It's sunny and gorgeous out with blue skies, which are pretty unusual during winter, but nippy. A good time to be knitting.

We're frantically working on info for the website, which we hope to have go live in a couple more weeks. If only we could clone ourselves and get a lot more done!

We should be working on the spring knitting catalog, but it's sitting on the back burner for the website. It's that cloning thing, and that irritating mere 8 hours a day for work (well - 8 hours for everybody else around here! I try not to add up my hours, it gets frightening). All things in time, right?

Just last week I noticed that it's no longer pitch dark at 5 pm. And this weekend I noticed the daffodils starting to poke through the ground. Spring is coming, spring is coming! Such a tease...

First toe up sock

2008-01-18T17:31:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty new to knitting socks, and trying to round out my learning by trying various different techniques. I've done a few pair cuff down, so it was time to try toe-up. Seems perfect for those sock yarns that you buy 2 of to make a pair, like Panda Wool and Panda Cotton and Panda Silk and Lorna's Laces and ..... well, you get the idea. You take a ball of yarn, start at the toe and knit until done. Perfect! (like those old cook books "bake at medium heat until done").

I turned to Wendy's generic toe up pattern (thank you Wendy!!) with feather and fan for the top, and used the undyed panda bamboo/wool yarn we've got that I dyed a while back using Procion dyes. (I needed to do an experiment - do you dye a yarn thats bamboo and wool (plant and protein) using a dye for plant or for protein (Landscapes)? The answer is they both work great!)

And a close up of the feather and fan:

I'm pretty pleased with them! Well, "it" and a half, I'm up to the heal on the 2nd one. I think I like the heal flaps and gussets type socks better, but looking at all my store boughts of course, that's not what they use! I never considered the making of socks before, other than the difference between regular socks and those icky tube socks. THAT would be a quick knit, but yuck!

Somewhere out there in cyber land I saw something about toe up with gussets, so I may have to hunt that up. But no hurry, there are too many on the needles now. There's just no end to the inspiration and experimentation. Gotta love it!

On a side note, if anyone tried calling yesterday morning and were perplexed by no answer, it was because we couldn't get in! The ~one month old lock mechanism on the door decided to fall apart and keep us all locked out while Charlie feverishly tried to get it to cooperate. He was successful (thank you Charlie!), but no thanks to Schlage and the lousy lock they made. HEH. So, new knob, new lock, new keys and away we go. It's always something!

Happy weekend!

Diane

Another bag completed

2008-01-16T17:18:00.000-08:00

Here is another of the bags we all worked on together. This one Paula made using Lamb's Pride Bulky. It's designed to carry a laptop. Much more stylish than a boring brief case sort of thing, don't you think? You could make one to match all your outfits.

The strap is sewn on after the felting, and she didn't enjoy that part, but otherwise loved the project.

I'm thinking I'll need to make one for me now. I made the beaded number as a store sample to show what the beads look like in action. It was my first fulled project, and it was more fun than I'd imagined. Narrowing it down is the hard part. Oh, and maybe finishing up a few others that are nagging at me... Hate it when projects nag. So unbecoming. I'm knitting as fast as I can! Thursdays are my big knit night - Ugly Betty and Gray's Anatomy! I didn't watch any TV whatsoever for something like 15 years, and now suddenly I'm addicted. It's good for the knitting though. Too bad October Road is on so late, it's past my bedtime. My alarm goes off at 5 am, so a program that starts at 10 pm is too late. See - addicted. Not just one show! What is the world coming to?

Diane

Delinquent

2007-12-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

Where did December go? Has anybody seen it? whooooosh! And the same goes for 2007. How can this be the last day of the year?

What will you remember for 2007? I've got entirely too many not good memories for this year, and yet I wouldn't say it was a bad year. Just seems like the things that stand out are all bad. Weird. So let's see, let's come up with some stand out positive things! Black Sheep Gathering and OFFF were really fun! Getting together one night a week after work with the gang here to knit has been a lot of fun, and I sure hope we'll pick that up again soon. Making progress on the future website (but there is so much left to do, worry worry worry).

I have a couple pics of finished bags - somehow I'm missing a couple of them too though. Anyway, here are 3 of them:

The top one is Lamb's Pride, the middle one is a mixture of yarns including Boku, Lite Lopi and others - with the ring around the "planet" being needle-felted, and the bottom one is Galway, with beaded fringe (see page 60 of the fall knitting catalog) . These are such fun to knit, and fast! The possibilities are endless, of course, with so many great yarns that full so well and color combinations. There are a couple of ladies that make a lot of bags and it's fun to see the yarns they pick out, and their finished products. Wonder if they'd let me take pictures to share? hmmm...

Meanwhile, while I'm on this felting/fulling mission, I started some slippers for my sweetie -

One done - but not yet thrown in the washer. Isn't it huge?? His feet, of course, are not so big. The magic of shrinkage... I'm using a lovely dark green heather Galway, think it's going to be great! I already picked out 3 colors for my pair... Goes fast since it's double stranded on fat needles. Not like socks on toothpicks, much as I love them.

Any fibery resolutions for the year? I'm taking some classes at Madrona in February and can't wait!! Didn't manage to catch all the classes I'd hoped, but am thrilled that I got some of them. I suppose a good resolution for me would be to actually spend some time at my loom and get a warp started. I have 2 warps hanging dejectedly partially on the loom - some 8/2 cotton for dish towels, and some chenille for a shadow weave throw. They've been there WAY too long, and they're both nearly warped... but not quite, and there's the catch. So, here's to getting to WEAVE them both in 2008!

Well, back to work. Please have a happy and safe new year!

Diane