Lookie, lookie!

Did you get your Fall Knit Picks catalog last week? It's a beauty, staring with the cover and going on to some great yarns in excellent colors. And the patterns are great. That's what I usually keep it around for.

Elizabeth noticed what I didn't. Page 17? That one's mine! My Messenger Bag pattern from Pints and Purls! Hurray! I'm not even sure i told you about this book; it came out in the Spring (when i was overwelmed andnot really blogging much) and features not one but TWO of my patterns. So here is the bag (Wheatberry Ale, I think:), knit in Wool of the Andes, a very pretty heathered yarn. The origininal is a pink and brown marled Cascade 220. And when i went to the website, i noticed, my NAME on it. That never happens. I think i may need to send a thank you note:) How cool is that?

The second pattern from Pints and purls is Barfly. Just went into a rav wormhole, discovering that my patterns are on the site and that PEOPLE HAVE KNIT THEM! Not very many, but wow. Clearly, i shall have to put a picture up of my Barfly, which actually fits me. Yay! One of the nice things about working with Karida and Libby, the authors of Pints and Purls, is that, not only are they lovely people, but they gave back the projects when we were finished with them How great is that? Except i let them keep the messenger bag for Cascade to use in a trunk show.

Ok, closing now with some shots of yarn that has benn put up in my shop, or will be by the end of the day.

Texas Bluebonnet Squishy Lace

Oceanic Gaia Dk

and finally, Shining Sea Milk Protein Fiber. Spins just like Tussah silk, only maybe not sticky. It loves the dye in the same way as silk though. And it really is this pretty in real life!

May I present

Djinni Sock! This beautiful new sock yarn is an exclusive cashmere blend designed by none other than those fabulous ladies at the Sanguine Gryphon. It is a true fingering, and is comprised of 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon for strength. The cashmere makes it uniquely soft, and loves the dye molecules, resulting in rich, multidimentional colors. It is 450 yards in a 4 oz skein and knits up to a fine gauge at 7-9 st/inch. I have just listed some in my shop and am working on an order for the Loopy Ewe. Yay!

This is Cinnamon Spice, a new old colorway that began life as a "one hit wonder" and was re-born at the request of Tiffany from Colorful Yarns. I guess I forgot to mention (whoops!) my yarn is in Colorado! Yay! At this awesome shop in Centennial.


I may have mentioned that I've been experimenting with dyeing in layers lately. A little like Gryphon and Sarah but not the same. It's intriguing for me to see how the dyes interact, and then to take advantage of these relationships. One of the many fun things about chemical dyeing is that the dyes don't always relate to each other as one would expect. Oh, and Delphinium, a one hit wonder.


I still struggle with photographing reds, but this is fairly close to true. Dragonberry is deservedly an older favorite. It glows in the new yarn base, doesn't it?


This colorway is Pumpkin King. I was trying to re-create an effect I had obtained when overdyeing this amazing silver Romney cross fleece for Steph of Loop. Didn't work as I'd hoped, but it is a snappy fall color, isn't it? PS, if you were thinking of signing up for Camp Loopyfluck in October, scheduled to coincide with Rhinebeck, and just hadn't got to it yet, or want to do a really great class of Art Yarn carding and spinning, or you just want to have a great time spinning with some grweat people and learn alot too, GO sign up now! They may have to cancel if they can't get enough students to cover the class:(

While I'm announcing things, I also want to tell you if you are anywhere near Rehobeth, DE, run, do not walk to Kitschy Stitch. (I didn't even know she'd blogged us;) Allison is adorable, her son is a happy soul, and her knit and stitch shop is fabulous. Beautifully arranged and full of yarn, fabric, books, patterns, wow. You definitely won't want to leave! Oh, and Dragonfly Fibers is there now, too:) She doesn't have Djinni Sock but she does have another new seasonal yarn I am carrying. But that is another post! And this beauty is Heroine. Yes, with an "e".

Finally, I give you Red Maple. Another one hit wonder turned regular colorway. She's a pretty blend of autumn reds and browns, just like the amazing red Splitleaf maple in the yard next door. Remind me, and I'll show you. I have more cool stuff to share, so do stay tuned!

This and that

I wanted to show you pictures from our visit to New Mexico. My parents have bought a condominium in Las Cruces for my father to live in when he retreats from the many allergy seasons in New Orleans. While this change in their lives has been mind-numbingly stressful for them, it has improved my father's quality of life exponentially.

The kids and i spent a week out there with them so we could check things out and maybe help them get settled in. We didn't help much:) We did find this part of the world is so different from New Orleans and the mid-atlantic region, it was like exploring the moon. Thrilling, but pretty scary if you've been used to the same community all your life. And, besides, we don't enounter signs like this too often:

Isn't my dad cute? He and mom did everything they could to make this a nice vacation for us, and arranged a trip to the Gila mountains, about a 4 hour drive, much through twisty-turny roads, so we could hike up to see pre-historic Mogollon (pronounced "muggy-own") Cave Dwellings. Unfortunately, we weren't prepared for the magnitude of the trip or the altitude, and it turned out to be too much for my parents. The sights were amazing, and beautiful, but hard to appreciate when we were all feeling pretty sick!

And onto today. Steadily settling into our fall schedule; sports, mad science, grad school for the husband, more dyeing for SAFF for me. The boy, who does not like transitions, and i have made an agreement that he can do Mad Science if he promises not to scream everyday when he gets home from school. We'll see how it goes. 3rd grade is a big year here. The expectations go up with the homework. He can do it but I need to be there with him. The girlie is taking Algebra, and also is needing alot of support with her homework. She can do it but needs to freak out alot at the same time.

I have dyed some new colors. You remember cinnamon Red Hots? That is this color. Very warm and cinnamonny. I am dyeing more in layers of color, rather than putting the colors next to one another. It is pleasing to me, and possibly a bit simpler. i hope to have an update ready this evening. So far, i have only shot Dragon Sock, however. Tomorrow, a dyeing extravaganza with beautiful new yarn line.

I have been knitting, too. I started these lovely socks with A Piece of Vermont's merino/bamboo/nylon yarn. I love Jessie's dyework. I suspect she does cold pour, but i am aiming for something similar with my kettle dyeing technique. These are Evelyn Clark's Waving Lace Socks

from Interweave's Favorite Socks. What a delightful, and speedy pattern. I think i'll give them to my mom for Christmas.

And this is the Leafling pattern from the Rockin' Sock Club that I told you about. i brought it to New Mexico so that i wasn't knitting my mom's Christmas present in front of her and the knit the first sock in a week. Super speedy for me, but also the yarn is STR medium weight. A pleasant knit, but the gauge is a bit tight, and, therefore, hard on the hands. These will be winter clog socks for ME:)

Finally, an update on my pretty, pretty February Lady. I've just started the garter stitch hem. I ordered some beautiful clay buttons from Jennie the Potter for it. I think it may take a while for her to get to them:) Go see why! Isn't she beautiful? Nothing like a new life to bring hope and joy to us all.

September again

Is it really September again? Time is a funny thing, isn't it? Sometimes it seems so endlessly slow (like anytime I'm bored and can't knit as in when work is slow and my boss is in our shared office) and then it speeds up exponentially. One minute it was the beginning of August and i was still basking in the glow of Sock Summit, and the next minute i've been to the beach and for 10 days in southern New Mexico, and BAM!, the kids are back in school.

The scheduling gods have been kind, though. We only had school starting and tryouts for one sport last week. This week, all sports start (3 for the boy:) and next week, we add on the girl's other activities. But that's ok; i just look at all the driving and fetching as knitting opportunities.

This year will see a decrease in volunteer activites for me and hopefully an increase in exercise. The other area I hope to focus on is reaching out and maintaining friendships. I'm blessed with more than my share of wonderful friends and I want to nuture these friendships in a very conscious way.

Naturally, any thoughts about staying centered and nurtured during our families hectic school year (including my darling husband's graduate study of accountaing while working full time) must involve the yarn business. I think I'm finally getting a sense of what i can really pull off in a week, month, and day and where the priorites should be. I also am finally accepting that Dragonfly Fibers isn't going anywhere. While i may cry a little from the stress, i'm not going to quit today. Even if it is hard. I need to make and dye yarn.

I used to think that it was selfish for me to spend time away for shows, and to make such a big mess in the house, and to always be braiding roving or tagging yarn instead of folding clothes or washing the kitchen floor. The house is still a mess, but the kids are growing up strong and healthy, and despite the little attention it gets, i really like my marriage. Somehow, our partnership is continuing to grow and be fun! I have also realized that our family benefits from the yarn biz.

Yes, the bball obsessed mer-boy was able to go to basketball camp this summer thanks to Dragonfly income but the intangibles may be even more important. Art and craft should be a priority, and it's good parenting to make doing these things a high family priority. To create is a fundamental human drive, perhaps after food, shelter, and safety, but still very important. If children learn how to be grown ups from what they see there parents do, then it's good to model making art, not to mention having a business, right? That's my story, and i'm sticking to it:)

For those of you who didn't come here to listen to me ramble on about family priorities, my etsy shop is OPEN. I have tons of Dragonsock and Sea Sock still to list and ...drumroll, a few new yarns to introduce. The first new yarn is so fabulous that it really deserves a post of it's own, so look for that to come soon. I'll give you a hint: my friends Gryphon and Sarah have developed it and have started selling it very recently;) Mine will have a different name that doesn't involve insects.