Morning Bright Yarn for you!

Hi, Knitters,

I have some exciting teaching opportunities coming up this fall and I sure hope you'll join me. 

September 17, 2016: Knit Circus Fall Retreat here in Madison, Wisconsin.

October 1-2, 2016: Knit City in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

November 4-6, 2016: Vogue Knitting Live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I have new classes that I am developing over the summer that I am loving. I've never been to Vancouver so I am especially excited about going there. I am always thrilled to be teaching in my hometown in Madison and I have long talked about Minneapolis being one of my favorite cities in the country. It's a good line up ahead.

I hope you'll check out all of the fantastic teachers at these events. It is going to be such fun. Can't wait. 

A quick update on my new sock pattern. The pattern is being professionally tech edited right now so that is good news. I am calling the pattern Smooth Operator Socks due to the smooth decrease lines and equally smooth transitions. The pattern includes four different sizes, child size up to men's size, both double-pointed needle and Magic Loop instructions, photo tutorials and links, and a Quick View pattern for printing. It is pretty comprehensive and I am super excited for the pattern release. The pattern is perfect for self-striping and patterning yarns (I give lots of tips for getting matching socks and using these colorful yarns), as well as tonal or solid yarns. The best part is that the socks fit great!

Now for a little about Morning Bright Yarn. Quite awhile ago a very sweet package arrived from Becky of MorningBrightYarn on Etsy. The yarn and intention behind the yarn took my breath away. 

Here is the description on MorningBrightYarn's shop:

Do you know where your wool comes from? Morning Bright does! All of the wool in our yarns and fibers are either certified humane and environmentally-friendly, or come from local farms that we've personally visited to ensure that animals are well cared for, and practices are ecologically sustainable. Together we can make the world a brighter place - one skein at a time.

Morning Bright's products are hand painted by artist Becky Robbins in her sunny home studio in Maine, USA. All of our yarns are dyed and ready to ship unless they have "Dyed to Order" in the title (you'll find more information about this in the individual listings). We love to chat - if you've got feedback or an idea for a custom order, please don't hesitate to send us a message!

A love of nature and animals is dear to our hearts and it's important to us to contribute all we can, in the best ways we know how, to help protect and care for them. To this end, we currently offer two "Colorways for a Cause" colors:

"Blue Tabby" (a semi-solid medium blue), for which all profits are donated to the Cat Coalition of Western Maine. This is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that tirelessly fosters and cares for the feral cats and kittens of western Maine and works hard to educate the general public about their plight.

"Harbor Seal" (a semi-solid medium/dark gray), for which all profits are donated to the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The National Marine Life Center is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) marine animal hospital and science and education center dedicated to rehabilitating for release stranded sea turtles, seals, dolphins, porpoises, and small whales, and to advancing scientific knowledge and education in marine wildlife health and conservation.

You can find a list of wonderful patterns written for Morning Bright yarns and read our blog at morningbrightyarn.com. And come join in the fun in our Ravelry group, Morning Bright, at ravelry.com/groups/morning-bright. We also occasionally offer luxurious angora handspun yarns from our own beloved rabbits.

How's that for a wonderfully thoughtful mission for an independent dyer from Maine?

Click here for the Morning Bright Yarn website!

Click here for the MorningBrightYarn shop on Etsy!

Click here for MorningBrightYarn on Instagram!

Becky sent me the two skeins above. On the left is fingering weight yarn in the Moonlit colorway, 80/20 Certified Organic Merino/Nylon Sock, 100g, 405 yards. On the right is the same yarn in the Azalea colorway.

The yarn is incredibly squishy and soft. It is not superwash but it feels softer than superwash. It is so scrumptious. I am itching to dig into these skeins. My favorite yarns are always regular-old wool rather than superwash so the two skeins suit me perfectly. Thank you, Becky! 

I think combining the two would make a really fun project. Maybe a gray sock with cuffs, heels and toes in the variegated and then reverse it for another pair? Yes to that! I love wool socks and this yarn is great because it has a bit of nylon blended in for strength and to help with wear and tear. 

The photo is from MorningBrightYarn on Etsy.

Above is my favorite yarn in the shop right now. It's called, When I See Birches, and it is beautiful.

Well, I have a treat for you. Becky has generously offered a giveaway from her shop for one lucky winner. Here is the prize offer in Becky's words:

Winner's choice of any skein in my shop with free shipping worldwide! Click here to take a look at the shop.

To enter to win a skein of Morning Bright Yarn of your own, please leave one comment on this blog post that includes your Ravelry username or an email address that I can pass on to Becky. Becky will be in touch directly to finish up the details of your prize with you! When leaving a comment please only click on "Publish" one time. There is a delay before you will see your comment appear on the blog.

Seriously, you will love this yarn and you will feel good knitting it, too. I totally agree with Morning Bright Yarn out of Maine that, "Together we can make the world a brighter place - one skein at a time."

One last thing I want to mention is that Operation Wedding Necktie has commenced. This week I started knitting a navy blue necktie at my son's request for his wedding that is a little over two weeks away. I searched all sorts of tie patterns on Ravelry and none of them exactly matched what we wanted so I have sort of combined some different ideas I gathered and started off on my own. He has a back-up tie (in case this doesn't work) that I am using as a template for the width and length as I work. 

I am knitting the tie in Quince & Co.'s Chickadee in the Peacoat colorway. It is a sport weight yarn and I am using two US size 5 double-pointed needles to work flat. The needles are 6-inches in length and are from Signature Needle Arts. I am knitting the tie in a tight and crisp fashion. I think the seed stitch will help give the tie some stability.

I am about 12-inches in so far and I have some fun ideas for the finishing. I'll keep you posted and will try my best to get a good shot of him wearing it if it turns out to be a success. There is something pretty special about knitting this tie. I feel good about it. It may just be the best thing I've ever knit. 

Alright, friends, please enter the giveaway for the incredibly sweet yarn from Morning Bright and good luck if you do. I'll be back soon with the winner.

xo ~ susan