On Hiatus.

Having a pile of undyed yarn and several unfinished patterns isn't my favorite state of being, but there really hasn't been any help for it. Today, my Etsy shop went into Vacation Mode - this is a first, I've never used it before - so that I don't have to worry having orders to ship out.

I have no intention of being gone for very long from dyeing, although I may have to start slow at first. Its been five years since my first boy wonder was born, so the details are as fuzzy as they should be about the first several weeks. Boy wonder #2 is arriving less than a week and I'm ready (more than ready) to move on to the next stage of our family's adventure.

Enjoy your knitting & spinning and see you in a few!

Great Strides - 2 Weeks To Go!

I know 119 people in Facebook and have over 500 followers in Twitter. If every one of those people contributed $5 (that's a scant bit more than a latte and less than a fast food lunch!)to Great Strides and Cystic Fibrosis research through my page, together we'd raise over $3000 to to find a cure. Please donate now and help show Ella that we're all ready to see her live a long and healthy life!

Of course its secure. Of course its tax deductible. Beyond all that, its absolutely the right thing to do.

Siesta Preview

Just thought I’d share the of the description from my next forthcoming pattern:

I’m the kind of knitter that prefers knitting socks, and nearly always cuff-down, thereby creating the accidental by-product of lots of itty bitty balls of sock wool. Having a practical and useful solution to my bin of tribble-like woolen orbs and cakes would pretty much make my day. Sometimes, a girl has to go and create a solution for herself.

Thus was born the Siesta Baby Blanket – Siesta for short because little ones always seem to be in need of a little shut-eye (well, mine do). The smallish size of this project is ideal for a traveling bit of warmth in strollers, car seats or infant bouncers and swings. The larger size is offered for those of you who really, really need to use up a few bits and bobs. It will make a fantastic crib blanket, and probably a beloved comfort blanket down the road. Both knit quite quickly, of course, and adapt well to any color choice. You can pour your creative heart into choosing colors and arranging them just right, and then have a give-able gift in no time.

Personally, I’m just glad to have an excuse to whittle away at the contents of that left-overs bin.

A New Beginning

Its rather notable how much I like to just play with color, taking notes occasionally but mostly just futzing with a little green here, a little blue there, maybe some teal or brown or Oh! how about my favorite stand-by, black! I’ve been at this nearly two years, and a way of dyeing hasn’t really called to me so much that I do it more than another. Then something settled inside my head - all the experience and the play really came together.

I've been dyeing in this fashion a bit here and there, but testing and retesting "Mean Reds" for Yarn4Socks' April Sock Club was the final confirmation. Colors like "Black Trillium", "Midnight Emerald", "Indigo", "Turquoise Gothic", and "Foxglove" fit right into the scenario of color change based on markedly different dyes being brought together in one pot with yarn that takes the hint and moves with alacrity to suck up the love. As the process crystallized I could see in front of me vast ranges of choice regarding when, which and how much of what crazy color I would add in this multi-stage technique. Why not start with bright green and see where it goes when you add orange? Or purple? There really isn't a limit to how fun this could be, in my view.

With all this excited talk it might be easy to assume I plan to stop dyeing any other way. However, variety is what got me to this place where I feel inspired and excited to keep dyeing. Colors like "Vampire Holiday" and "Pop Culture Zoo" aren't going to stop showing up on my Etsy site. The upside to all this, really, is that the new colors getting posted are going to be a lot more repeatable, making it easier for those of you who do multi-skein projects to get what you want.

So without further ado....

Introducing “Color Delta”: a dyeing process using layers of color in non-intuitive combination that result in striking and multi-dimensional results that are anything but boring.

Great Strides Progress Report

We're making some really great headway on reaching that goal of $300. Click to check it out!

You might also like to check this out if you're a Farscape or Doctor Who fan and like to win DVD's!

Thanks and keep up the great work!

Calling All Black Trillium Customers....

Its time again to think about how we give back to our community here at Black Trillium Fibre Studio. I'm co-leading our school's Great Strides team this year, so please read my page for more details. You all were so wonderful and giving last year, thank you!

Here's what I propose for this year's walk: if you're a US or Canadian customer, donate $3 or more, and if you're outside the US and Canada, donate $5 or more. Then, on your next Black Trillium order, I'll pay your shipping! How's that for easy?

Take a moment and get a little news from the source, and then I'd love to hear from you in the comments and on my Great Strides page:

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And the winner is...

...total lack of consensus.

For the March & April Black Trillium Knit-along, that is. Which is actually not a bad thing, because as usual my pal from Knit Night had a brilliant plan instead. Speed dating with yarn, she calls it.

So pick your pattern, join the thread and keep us all up-to-date on how your chosen pattern is coming along. After the craziness of the 2010 Ravelympics, it seems like a nice idea to choose a crowd-pleaser.

You know what? I get to knit these!