Little Skein in the Big Wool ~ Giveaway!

(photo provided by Little Skein)

Hi, Knitters,

First off, thank you so much for the fantastic response to the handspun yarn sale, it was sold out in a matter of hours (minutes for most of it), and to the Gratitude pattern sale. I appreciate you all and thanks for making last week so much fun.

Today I want to share a fun Etsy shop with you, Little Skein in the Big Wool. The name of the shop is what first got me interested. It's a great shop name. Ann Vally, the artist behind the shop, creates fairytale-themed stitch marker sets, gift cards for handknits, zipper pulls, and project bags. I have four sets of stitch markers from Little Skein and they are my favorites. I have never had a single stitch marker where the bead pops off (which I have had happen with other stitch markers in this style) and I love the special stitch marker with the charm in each set. It's all so sweet and well done.

All of the stitch marker sets come in tiny glass jars or vials with a cork at the top. I keep my sets right in the adorable glass vials. I love them and I think you will, too. The presentation is charming and the stitch markers feel so good on the needles in between your beautiful knit stitches.

Click here for the Little Skein Etsy Shop!

(photo provided by Little Skein)

Here is the description from the shop:

{ THEMED, ARTISAN KNITTING ACCESSORIES } Here at littleskein, you'll find artisan-quality project bags and stitch markers, handcrafted by a knitter for knitters. I design most items around a theme, usually inspired by children's literature and fairy tales. My items feature adorable and thoughtful details like extra top-stitching, a special zipper pull, or unique charm. I use materials sourced from around the globe -- particularly Japanese fabrics and European charms and findings.

 (photo provided by Little Skein)

Aren't they wonderful? They are worth a try! My newest set is Snoopy-themed. When I saw Snoopy pop up in the shop I had to get it. 

(photo provided by Little Skein)

The addition of little bunny-themed handknit gift cards and envelopes is another sweet item in the shop. I have a set of these, too, and each card is like a little piece of art. Sweet is the best word to describe everything in Little Skein in the Big Wool.

Ann Vally has generously given me the opportunity to share some of her delightful items with you! Thank you, Ann.

I will randomly pick 3 winners. Two winners will each win a set of stitch markers of your choice from the available sets in the shop. One winner will win a set of the lovable bunny gift cards. Please leave one comment on this blog post. Please leave a Ravelry id or email so I can contact you if your comment wins.

Good luck! Be sure to check out this fun shop on Etsy! Click here for Little Skein!
best, susie

The Great Gratitude Handspun Yarn Sale & Pattern Discount

(Sweetheart)

Edited to Add on May 24th, 2013: The handspun is completely sold out! Thank you for the enthusiastic and quick response!! 

Hi, Knitters,

I have a couple of firsts to offer you today. I want to send out to all of you a tremendous thank you. In the next few months I will be celebrating 7 years of blogging and book writing. So much has happened in these past few years that I want to stop for a second to appreciate all of you for coming along. My sincerest thank you.

I am starting The Great Gratitude Sale by offering a 20% discount off of all of my patterns starting today, Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 and ending next week, May 30th, 2013. The sale is being run through my Ravelry Pattern Shop and the discount code is THANKYOU (type it in just like this, all caps, no space). You enter the code at checkout. Here is what it says on Ravelry on how to use this code: Your customers can use their coupon codes by using the  "use a coupon code" links that appear during purchase.

This is my first pattern discount sale. Enjoy!

Click here to go to my Ravelry shop!

The second of firsts is that due to a great response to the idea of selling my handspun hanks of yarn (thank you for all of the emails and comments).... 

I am going to sell some of my handspun yarns right here on the blog! 

I love to spin and I love the finished yarns produced but I simply don't have time to knit it all up. So it sits and sits and sits. I need to make some room on my studio shelves so I am offering up some luscious skeins of handspun yarn for purchase today. I have knit lots and lots of projects with my handspun including socks, shawls, hats, mittens, scarves, and toys. I enjoyed every minute of it and I hope you will enjoy it, too.

Let me start by saying that I am not a professional spinner. The fact is that I have been spinning for a little over 2 years at this point. If you have been reading my blog over the past couple of years you will have seen the progression and joy in my spinning. The yarns are beautiful and completely knit-worthy but I still have a long way to go!

The yarns I am selling today are beautiful and fun. Are they perfect? No. Please keep this in mind when purchasing. The yarn is what it is. I am not trying to make the skeins out to be any more or better than they really are. There will be some thick and thin areas, some lumps and bumps, and other imperfections in between the perfectly spun bits, all of which occur naturally in handspun yarns. 

Every skein is imperfectly perfect.   

I have a smoke and pet free home.

I'm happy to sign any of the tags if you'd like on request!

With that disclaimer being said here are the purchasing rules (PLEASE READ!!!):

1. You must have a Paypal account to purchase. I will invoice you via Paypal. Once the payment has cleared and I receive the payment, the sale will be considered complete. 

2. There are no returns once the sale is complete. Please make sure you really want and understand the conditions and descriptions of the sale of these handspun yarns. I will not sugar-coat the descriptions, they are completely accurate to the best of my knowledge. All sales are final.

3. U.S. mailing addresses only, please. (We'll see how it goes this time and maybe next time I will open it up to international shipping.)

4. Sales will be determined on a first come, first serve basis. Once the yarn is posted and live on this post, you will need to email me to purchase and to give me your Paypal email address so I can invoice you for the yarn. 

To purchase the yarn you must email me with the name of the skein you wish to purchase in the subject line of the email:

Email address: 4busykids@chorus.net 

5. One person can purchase more than one skein. There is no limit on the number of skeins purchased per person.

6. I will mail the skeins via USPS as soon as possible (not more than a week after purchase) and I will send you an email once your package has been shipped. I will most likely wait until I have a few purchases to ship at a time.

7. The yardage of each skein has been hand-counted by me so there may be a small margin of error. 

8. The weight of the yarn (fingering, sport, dk, worsted, bulky, etc.) is an estimation by me. I can't be exact on the weight and gauge of the yarn. You will need to try out different size needles and swatch to see what gauge you will get with each skein.

9. Pricing! I have researched other handspun yarns being sold online to compare the prices of similar skeins to the skeins I am selling today. I think the pricing is fair. Considered in the final price is the cost and weight of the roving used, the amount of time spent spinning, plying, skeining, and preparing the yarn, and finally, the finished yardage and quality obtained. 

10. Flat fee shipping will be added onto the price listed for the skein. Shipping will be an additional $6.00 (this fee includes multiple skeins shipping to one address).

11. As the skeins are sold I will update the blog post with a SOLD in bold under the specific yarn.

Okay, enough of that! Let's get on with The Great Gratitude Handspun Yarn Sale!

(Sweetheart)

Sold

The first skein up for grabs is called Sweetheart. Sweetheart is a big, gigantic, squishy hank of mixed shades of barber pole pink and natural plies!

The Facts about Sweetheart:

Roving used: 

4 oz. of Dyeabolical Yarns Corriedale wool roving in the Sweetheart colorway

and

2 oz. of natural wool purchased by me at the Madison Farmers Market

How it's spun:

2 separate single plies of the Sweetheart roving were spun first and then were plied with a single ply of the natural Wisconsin wool to create a round 3-ply yarn. 

Yardage and Weight:

424 yards of a heavy-fingering weight traditional 3-ply yarn

Care: Handwash with wool wash, dry flat.

Suggested projects:

Shawl

Socks

Hat and mitten set

Price:  $55.00 + $6.00 shipping = $61.00 total

(Green River)

(Green River)

Sold

The next skein up for purchase is called, Green River. Green River is a gorgeous mix of greens and shades of teal. It is a soothing and beautiful skein of wool.

The Facts about Green River:

Roving used: 

4 oz. of Cloudlover Polwarth Handpainted Top 

How it's spun:

2 singles were spun and then plied together to make a 2-ply yarn. 

Yardage and Weight: 

294 yards of a sport to dk weight traditional 2-ply yarn

Care: Handwash with a wool wash, dry flat

Suggested Projects:

Shawlette

Hat

Mittens

Cowl

Price: $45.00 + $6.00 shipping = $51.00 total 

(Coral Reef)

(Coral Reef)

SOLD

This big, playful, squishy, uber-soft, skein is called Coral Reef. The colors in this skein have a summer day at the beach feel with a mix of coral, ocean blue, light green, tan and natural. The skein of yarn weighs in at 7 3/4 oz.

The Facts about Coral Reef:

Roving used:
The roving was 2 different 4 oz. braids of Polwarth from Springtree Road 

How it's spun:
Each 4 oz. braid was spun separately into singles and then plied together to make a traditional 2-ply yarn. Since there were two different colorways plied together the yarn has wonderful barber poling throughout.

Yardage and weight: 
268 yards of a thick and thin worsted weight yarn

Care: Handwash with wool wash, dry flat

Suggested projects:
Hat
Mittens
Scarf
Cowl

Price: $50.00 + $6.00 shipping = $56.00 total

(Little Plums)

(Little Plums)

(Little Plums)

SOLD

This skein is called Little Plums. The wonderful barber poled skein combines many shades of purple from plum to violet to lavender. The colors are rich and beautiful.

The Facts about Little Plums:

Roving used:

4 oz. of Sunshine Yarns 100% Superwash Wool

How it's spun: 

The braid was divided into 2 oz. sections. Each 2 oz. section was spun into singles and then plied together to make a traditional 2-ply yarn.

*Note: There are 3 ends in this skein so I am assuming it is not in one piece.

Yardage and weight: 

178 yards of a dk weight yarn

Care: Handwash in wool wash, dry flat

Suggested projects:

Hat

Fingerless mitts

Toy

Price: 

$35.00 + $6.00 shipping = $41.00 total

(Grellow with a Splash of Mint)

(Grellow with a Splash of Mint)

(Grellow with a Splash of Mint)

SOLD

This skein is called, Grellow with a Splash of Mint. Grellow is gray plus yellow. I recently spun this gradient skein and I couldn't get over how much I loved the movement from fresh mint to soft gold to heathery gray. The yarn is smooth, beautiful and calm.

The Facts about Grellow with a Splash of Mint:

Roving used:
4 oz. of Dyeabolical Yarns 60% merino wool/40% bamboo viscose

How it's spun:
The roving was spun into one long singles and then Navajo-plied or chain plied to make a 3-ply yarn.

Yardage and weight: 256 yards of a heavy fingering/sport weight yarn

Care: Handwash with wool wash, dry flat

Suggested projects:
Shawlette
Cowl
Hat
Fingerless mitts

Price: $42.00 + $6.00 shipping = $48.00 total

(Whipped Mocha)

(Whipped Mocha)

SOLD

This hefty skein of Whipped Mocha has a sheen to it that is spectacular. The yarn has Tencel which is the reason for the shiny look. The name of the skein, Whipped Mocha, is spot on. The soft shades of brown with a gentle hint of gold every once in a while is so squishy and inviting.

The Facts about Whipped Mocha:

Roving Used:

Two 4 oz. braids of Sunshine Yarns, 50% Superwash Merino/50% Tencel roving

How it's spun:

Each 4 oz. braid was spun separately into hefty singles and then plied together to create a traditional 2-ply yarn

Yardage and weight: 98 yards of a thick and thin, super bulky weight yarn

Suggested projects:

Mittens

Hat (I was planning on making The Vermonter Hat with this skein. It would be perfect! Click here for the free pattern!)

Cowl

Price: $38.00 + $6.00 shipping = $44.00 total

(Leafy Greens)

(Leafy Greens)

(Leafy Greens)

SOLD

This skein is called, Leafy Greens. The photos are not doing this skein justice. It is much richer and more varied in shades of green than appears. There are many greens mixed into the yarn from light spring green to olive to dark shades. It is a very sweet little skein of yarn, one of my earliest spins if I remember correctly. That's why there are some thick and thin spots throughout.

The Facts about Leafy Greens:

Roving Used: 4 oz. braid of 100% superwash wool from Springtree Road

How it's spun:
The braid was split in half into 2 oz. sections. Each section was spun into singles and then plied together to create a traditional 2-ply yarn.

Yardage and weight: 156 yards of a thick and thin dk weight yarn

Care: Handwash with a wool wash, dry flat

Suggested Projects:
Hat
Mittens
Fingerless Mitts
Toy

Price: $25.00 + $6.00 shipping = $31.00 total

(Rusted Root)

(Rusted Root)

(Rusted Root)

SOLD

This skein, which I've named Rusted Root, is perhaps my favorite colorway out of this entire lot of yarns. It is stunning with browns, olives, rust, teal and green. I LOVE this yarn so much. It is not a super soft wool, it is rustic and hearty. It is gorgeous!

The Facts about Rusted Root:

Roving used: 4 oz. of Dyeabolical Yarns 100% Shetland Wool

How it's spun: 

The 4 oz. roving was divided into halves, each 2 oz. Each half was spun into singles and then plied together to make a traditional 2-ply yarn.

Yardage and weight: 110 yards of a heavy worsted/aran weight yarn

Care: Handwash with a wool wash, dry flat

Suggested Projects:

Fingerless mitts

Hat

Toy

Price: $32.00 + $6.00 shipping = $38.00 total

That's that! I may not ever do this again, we'll see how it goes. It is my first time doing this so please be patient with me. 

Good luck if you are ordering!

best, susie

Adding Patch Pockets to a Finished Cardigan

Hi, Knitters,

Edited to add: I have a guest blog post on the Signature Needle Arts blog with another video tutorial.

Click here to see the post and video!

A couple of weeks ago I washed two cardigans. I soaked them one at a time in the Phil Basin filled with lukewarm water with Soak Wash in the Celebration scent. Each cardigan sat for 20 minutes or so after which I gently squeezed out the excess water and then rolled in a clean towel to get more water out. I gently spread the cardigans out on blocking boards and turned a fan on them to speed the drying. When the cardigans were still damp I placed each separately and at different times in a mesh laundry bag and tossed in the dryer on the delicate cycle. Using the dryer while the garment is still damp helps the superwash wool bounce back into shape. Superwash wool gets very stretchy when wet, frighteningly stretchy, and that's why I use the dryer at the end. You can wash superwash wool in the washing machine (thus the name superwash) but I prefer to wash by hand.

Both of the cardigans are knit in Madelinetosh DK. Here is the information for both cardigans.

The dark blue cardigan:

Yarn: Tosh DK in the Thunderstorm colorway purchased at Nina's in Chicago

Pattern: Calligraphy Cardigan by Hannah Fettig (great pattern - highly recommend!)

Buttons: Purchased at The Sow's Ear in Verona, WI

The green cardigan:

Yarn: Tosh DK in the Burnished colorway, purchased at Nina's in Chicago

Pattern: Tea Leaves Cardigan by Melissa LaBarre (great pattern - highly recommend!)

Buttons: Purchased at Purl Soho

The funny thing about both of the Tosh DK colorways, Burnished and Thunderstorm, is that they look very different in various lighting and photos. I think that is both interesting and kind of fun.

After the washing and drying of the cardigans I decided it was time to add the pockets to the Calligraphy Cardigan, something I had been planning on doing for a long time. I had plenty of leftover yarn. I couldn't remember the size of the needle I had knit the Calligraphy on but it was probably the recommended US size 6 now that I look back at the pattern. I just guessed and pulled out my US size 7 Signature Needles and thought it seemed close enough. It worked fine but I would recommend using the same size used for the body of the cardigan. (Don't do what I did!)

First things first, figure out where you want your pockets located. I tried on the cardigan to see where my hands would naturally expect a pocket to be on the fronts and kind of eyeballed where that would be in reference to the button bands and bottom ribbing. It's all very scientific and make sure you point to the spot you want your pocket to be placed. It will bring good luck.

I put the pockets 10 rows up from the bottom ribbing and 10 stitches in from the button band ribbing. This seemed to be about the perfect placement. I also decided on the width of the pocket which turned out to be about 5.5 inches.

 

With the circular Signature Needles (you could also use two dpns to work back and forth), I picked up the right leg of each of 30 consecutive stitches. I did this working from the right to the left and then pulled the circular needle back to the other side to begin the work.

I held the yarn at the point of the needle and began with a knit row on the picked up stitches. I left a long enough end to use later for stitching up the side of the pocket. For this basic patch pocket, work back and forth in stockinette stitch (you could slip the first stitch of each row, but I didn't) until the pocket measures about 4 1/4- inches above the pick up row. Then continue in a K2, P2 rib (I worked a K2 on each end) for another inch making the pocket measure 5 1/4-inches in total from the pick up row. Bind off in the rib pattern. Leave a long enough end to place on a yarn needle to whipstitch the side of the pocket to the cardigan front. Stitch up the other side of the pocket in the same manner. Weave in the ends to the inside seam of the pocket and trim.

I love the new pockets! They look super clean and perfectly placed. The new pockets were meant to be.

Here are a few finished pocket photos for you to enjoy!

The process for adding afterthought patch pockets is simple and quick.  I hope this helps a little if you are thinking of doing the same. I am very pleased with the final results and the cardigan is even better if that is possible. Who doesn't love a good pocket or two?

I added this post to the tutorial list on the sidebar of the blog, under Tutorials, if you want to refer to this information later.

Take care, Knitters. I can't believe it is already Wednesday....

best, susie

Three More for the Drawer!

Hi, Knitters,

Oh, how I love the sock knitting. Over the last couple of weeks I have finished up several new pairs of socks. I finished the first sock for the pair in the photo above months and months ago. I don't remember why I set it aside. I love the yarn. I love the pattern. I will use both again.

Yarn: Kristin Nicholas' Regia Garden Effects in the Holiday colorway (The colors are gorgeous!)

Pattern: Monkey Socks by Cookie A (free pattern)

Needles: Knit Picks 6-inch nickel plated dpns, US size 1 (I use these needles a lot and really enjoy them. I have a lot of sets of these. Only $6.99 for a set of 5! Can't be beat.)

The pattern is easy and fun. I used the free version from Knitty.com. I did 6 lace repeats for the leg and 6 lace repeats for the foot. I used my regular old heel flap and gusset which I think was different than the one used in the pattern. 

I did keep the twisted rib on the cuff, which I like. The yarn is so colorful and fun and just perfect for this twisty-turn-y pattern. Kristin is a color genius!

They fit like a glove..... or like a sock should! They are snug and squishy.

Next up I finished the Simple Skyp Socks in the Cakewalk Yarns. The colors are lovely and fresh and springtime perfect. As I have been traveling lately, I have worked on these socks quite a bit. I had a bunch of people mention that the socks looked so skinny as I worked on them, so skinny that they didn't think they wouldn't fit my leg and foot. The fit is excellent. When you are working in rib on socks, that's how it is. I would stretch out the sock to show how it would actually fit. I used to do a ton of 3 by 1 ribbed socks so I was used the skinny appearance as you knit. 

Yarn: Cakewalk Yarns on Etsy in the Hero Squad colorway. Hero Squad and Cherry Blossom are my favorite Cakewalk Yarns colorways so far. 

Pattern: Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku (free pattern)

Needles: Knit Picks nickel plated 6-inch dpns

The way this clever and simple pattern works is instantly memorized as you work the two row repeat. It was perfect for the speckled yarn and for travel. I highly recommend both!

I now have a shawl and two pairs of socks in Cakewalk Yarns and I have several skeins still on my shelf. I can't get enough.

The sock blockers with the carved out sheep are from The Loopy Ewe. I've had them for years and love them. I also have the red plastic sock blockers from The Loopy Ewe, as well.

I finally finished up the Opal Vincent Van Gogh socks. These are wonderful socks with loads of color and pattern. Opal sock yarn is always so good. I am looking over my stash and trying to decide which to knit next. It's a hard choice (not really as they are all good). I am staying committed to always having a pair of Opal socks on my needles. I have many balls to knit through so this shouldn't be too hard.

Yarn: Opal Vincent Van Gogh in the Red Vineyard colorway 

Pattern: How I make my socks by me! (free pattern)

Needles: Knit Picks 6-inch nickel plated US size 1 dpns

That's three more pairs of socks to add to the pull out sock drawers. I am pretty excited about that. 

I am finishing up today with a list of links to knitterly things I love just for the fun of it.

2 Knit Lit Chicks audio podcast (Love the mother daughter banter and humor and books and knitting!)

Snappy Stitches video podcast (She is a great knitter and sticks to topic in short episodes.)

Little Skein in the Big Wool (Much more on this shop later!)

Twinset audio podcast (I love the sisterly humor and banter so much! This is turning into an easy favorite with the smart knit talk, farm talk, and they both spin to boot.)

Betz White's Egg to Turtle!

Oh, I just remembered I was going to talk about adding pockets to a sweater or cardigan after it is finished. I have to do that next. If I don't and you are interested please remind me. My house is full of four kids and very, very busy once again so ideas may get lost in the shuffle. 

Have a great start to your week. I am going to try to knit and spin outside a bit yet today. It's so beautiful out there.

best, susie

Yarrrrrrn and a few rrrramblings....

Hi, Knitters,

First things first, the winner of a copy of Simon Leach's Pottery Handbook is boilerup (rav id)! Congratulations. Thanks for entering. I wasn't sure what kind of interest there would be for a pottery book on this knitting-based blog but it was surprisingly good. I'll have another giveaway very soon.

Before I get into the yarn-talk, I want to tell you that Leslie of the Knit Girllls podcast recommended a show on their last episode. The show is called The Great British Sewing Bee (click here to see it) and it is shown on YouTube. There are only four episodes. I watched it this week as I worked on my knitting. It is one of the best shows ever. The show is cute, clean, well-done, moves at an enjoyable pace, fun in topic and personalities, all-around entertaining and clever. The contestants are likable, pleasant and well-mannered (which most reality shows are greatly lacking) and there isn't a bleeping noise or a curse word in it. It's so refreshing! I really do get tired of the poor behavior and constant and unnecessary profanity in movies and television and books. This show is a competition for home sewers and it is simply wonderful. I wish there were more shows like this one available. Plus, I actually learned some things about sewing along the way. I love The Great British Sewing Bee and you might, too. I literally stopped watching television about seven months ago because there is such garbage on all of the time. This is exactly the type of programming I wish we would see more of in the future. 

One more announcement-type thing, I won't be at Yarnology in Winona, Minnesota on May 30th as planned. I have had a family situation come up that I can't miss so I will be rescheduling with Yarnology. The date is being worked out and I will keep you posted on this. My apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.

Now onto the yarn. We, as knitters, are all such yarn lovers. Even if we don't ever get to knitting with our collection of varied yarns, it is fun to admire and enjoy it as is. Today I am sharing a few different yarns, some handspun and some that I am getting ready to knit.

Above, is a lovely skein of Madelinetosh Merino Light in the Manor colorway (purchased here). This is a lovely light fingering weight single-ply yarn. 

Here is the unwound hank of Madelinetosh Merino Light. I am going to be starting a new shawl design in Manor. 

As an aside, I know I have said this a few times before but I am gathering a pretty enormous stockpile of patterns that I need to release in one form or another. These include baby hats, adult hats, shawls, toys, baby sweaters/cardigans, blankets. My hope is that this summer I can find the time to get this all whipped into shape and start releasing them in some form on my own (single patterns and ebooks) and with a few companies as already planned as the months ahead progress. I have just found myself with a lack of time over the past year. My sketchbooks are bursting right now. It is kind of a good feeling.

About 18-months ago I said I was going to slow down.... whatever happened to that plan I don't know. Although I do know that when fun knitting opportunities present themselves it is difficult to pass them up and I am forever grateful.

While at the Loopy Ewe Spring Fling I picked up a gigantic hank of the elusive Wollmeise Lace-Garn (purchased here) to make Nuvem. Sheri, the owner of The Loopy Ewe, was knitting on a Nuvem and I fell in love with it. You start with a large number of cast-on stitches onto two circular needles and using Judy's Magic Cast-On. I used this tutorial to get me through this task. I really do not enjoy working in the round on two circular needles so as soon as I was able I put all of the stitches on a single pair of Signature Needle Arts US size 5s.  

Nuvem will be a long-term project without a doubt. I have been leaving it in different spots in my house and I pick it up and work a round or two at a time. The yarn and pattern are both a lot of fun.

I am finishing the second Monkey Sock (the first sock has been finished for months now), in Kristin Nicholas' Regia Garden Effects in the Holiday colorway (click here to see all of the colorways). This is the perfect pairing of yarn and pattern. I would love to make all of the Garden Effects colorways in this sock pattern. For the Monkey Sock pattern, I used the free Knitty.com version. I am just using my standard heel flap and gusset and toe instead of the one in the pattern. It is a fun and fast pattern.

 My friend, Jaala Spiro, sent me another Sparkle Yarn Club package in the mail the other day. It came with this adorable skein of sparkling fingering weight yarn and a lace mitts pattern. It is the sweetest colorway I have ever seen. Click here to see more of Jaala's KnitCircus Yarns. 

I finished up spinning this beautiful merino/bamboo blend roving from Dyeabolical Yarns. I just love it so much. I Navajo-plied it to keep the gradient colors in line.

 Here I have the yarn strung on my Schact Niddy Noddy. In the end I got 256 yards of a heavy-fingering weight yarn. It is really lovely.

I don't know what I will make with this skein yet. I think it would make a lovely cowl or small shawlette of some sort. The colorway goes from mint green to gold to heather gray. It is a wonderful combination of colors. Rachel of Dyeabolical Yarns is amazingly talented. Please go check out her website, DyeabolicalYarns.com.

Here is a group photo of some of my handspun yarn. You know I am toying with the idea of selling some of my hanks of handspun. I love spinning and making the yarn but with my work knitting schedule, I don't have the time to knit with it too much. I love making and crafting and I don't have many strong sentimental feelings about my finished products. I think this is mainly because I am used to sending off much of my finished work to publishers and companies. It doesn't bother me to let things go.

Let me know if any of you would be interested in me selling some of my handspun yarns. Either email me or leave a comment if you are interested. My email is at the top of the sidebar on my blog if you'd like to just send me a note (click here for my blog if you are reading this on email subscription). If I end up selling, I would let you know the price of the roving so you could get an idea of my initial cost for the fiber, an additional cost for my spinning work, and I would include the shipping cost in the price. I have a smoke, perfume and pet free home so allergies are not a concern.

It's just a thought at this point. Let me know what you think!

I love this photo of the handspun hanks in my arms. 

Now on the wheel is a Loop Bullseye Bump. It is shades of green with the lightest bit of sparkle. What a pleasure this is to spin. I am making the singles thick and will Navajo-ply in the end. We'll see what happens. I can't tell you how much I love these bumps of fiber. Click here for the Etsy shop.

Here we are again with more Dyeabolical Yarns. I purchased 4 skeins of this worsted weight yarn in the Thistle Gristle colorway at the Kentucky Sheep and Wool Festival a couple of years ago. 

 

It is the most luscious black and gray and purple mix of colors. I fall more in love with it every time I look. I am making this little sweater with it.  I think it will be a cute one. I will be trying German short rows for the first time. It seems pretty easy. I looked it up on YouTube.

I wound it up into yarn cakes. I am using the label around the yarn cake held with a rubberband technique I saw at The Loopy Ewe. At least I think this is where I saw this being done. You can see the label around the Madtosh yarn in the back, too. I like this way of neatly keeping the label with the yarn after it is wound. That is some pretty yarn!

I was out and about with TC the other day and we popped into Barnes & Noble and I thought I would walk by the knitting book section to see if Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out was on the shelf yet. As I walked toward the knitting book section I was pleasantly surprised to see that my book was front and center on the display shelf. I promise that I didn't set my book out in front like this, it really happened this way. That was a fun experience.

Topsy-Turvy already has 31 finished projects posted in Ravelry. That's the advantage of small projects. Click here to see all of the projects in the book on Ravelry!

I'll be back soon with more on fixing a split stitch and adding pockets to a finished sweater. Take care you fun knitters.
best, susie