Time definitely flies when you’re having fun. I was in New Orleans last week celebrating my mom’s birthday, after coming down from the high that was Andrea Untangled, and I completely forgot that Indie Untangled turned FIVE YEARS OLD a week ago!
When I sent out my first newsletter on April 4, 2014, in order to spread the word about indie dyer shop updates, I never could have dreamed what Indie Untangled would become: events like the Rhinebeck Trunk Show, Indie Goes West and Andrea Untangled, a place for exclusive colorways and a way to raise thousands of dollars for the National Park Foundation.
In honor of this milestone, I figured that a few giveaways were in order. Here’s how to enter:
Newsletter giveaway
Subscribe to the newsletter by midnight Eastern time on Thursday, April 18 and you’ll be entered to win an Untangled shawl bundle with the exclusive colors from La Bien Aimee.
Blog giveaway
Comment on this blog post by midnight Eastern time on Thursday, April 18, with your favorite Indie Untangled dyer/designer/maker discovery and you’ll be entered to win a Rainshadow shawl bundle with the exclusive colors from La Bien Aimee.
Keep your eyes on the Indie Untangled Instagram account next week for a separate giveaway there.
2018 Year In Review: IU dyers and yarns
I get so much inspiration from the knitters who find wonderful things to make with hand-dyed yarn — especially when they get creative and combine yarns from different indie dyers in colorwork projects, or find the perfect pattern for that semisolid or speckled colorway. Here’s a compilation of my favorite projects using yarn from Indie Untangled artisans.
Above is perhaps my favorite project of the year, Vicki’s All Points South with Dark Harbour Yarn Starboard, Duck Duck Wool Silky Singleton and The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers Foxy Lady. I love how the four colorways from three different dyers look meant for each other (and I definitely looked to Vicki’s pullover shawl, as the designer Casapinka calls it, as inspiration when knitting my version with Duck Duck Wool.
Mary’s Heart of Glass with Duck Duck Wool 80/20 Merino Silk Fingering
Carol’s Tulle Shawl with Spun Right Round Superwash Sock 80/20
Lavanya’s Rue St. Antoine with Astral Bath Yarns Astral Sport
Amanda’s Beeline with Marianated Yarns Scrumptious HT
Karen’s Yin & Yang Loop with Middle Brook Fiberworks Vintage No. 3
Jenn’s Stripey Cowl with Canon Hand Dyes Charles Sock
Elizabeth’s Sunset Highway with Hue Loco Single Sock, Skeinny Dipping Merino Single and Voolenvine Yarns Nouveau
Kate’s Guthrie with Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool and The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers Juicy DK — which won the 2018 Indie Untangled KAL
2018 Year In Review: IU exclusives
One of the best things about running Indie Untangled is getting to work with talented dyers to come up with exclusive colorways, whether it’s for the Rhinebeck Trunk Show, the Knitting Our National Parks project or the Where We Knit yarn club. And while I love collecting hand-dyed yarn as much as the next knitter, I truly enjoy seeing those colorways put to use in beautiful sweaters, shawls, cowls and more.
For the 2018 Indie Untangled Year In Review, I’ve compiled some of my favorite projects that use Indie Untangled exclusives.
Pictured above is Cecilia’s Sunset Highway with La Bien Aimée Merino Singles in Automne à Rhinebeck, Asylum Fibers Solitary in Rhinebeck’s All The Craze, Dark Harbour Yarn Port in Davy Jones Locker and La Bien Aimée Merino Singles in Yellow Brick Road
Aimee’s Rainshadow in La Bien Aimée Merino Singles Kingston and Hudson
Janet’s Local Yarn Shawl with The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers Foxy Lady in Kiowa
Kelly’s Glaciers and Wildflowers Pullover with Duck Duck Wool DK Limited in Glaciers and Wildflowers
Tawana’s The Doodler with La Bien Aimée Merino Singles in Automne à Rhinebeck and Asylum Fibers Solitary in Rhinebeck’s All The Craze and Sleepless
Deborah’s Do It Up with Gauge Dye Works SHAWL: MCN Fingering in Hudson Valley
Jerrill’s Birds and Ships with Little Fox Yarn Vixen in Birds and Ships
Amy’s Close To You with Asylum Fibers Solitary in Acadia Lights
Abigail’s Concentra Cowl with Backyard Fiberworks Terrain in North Cascades Night and Merino 2/6
Maggie’s Lemon Pie with La Bien Aimée Merino DK in Automne à Rhinebeck
See many more FO’s using yarn from Indie Untangled dyers here.
2018 Indie Untangled holiday newsletter giveaway
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In what has become an Indie Untangled holiday tradition, I am thanking the knitters who invite me into their inboxes each week with a special holiday giveaway.
For the 2018 Newsletters to Santa and Hanukah Harry giveaway, I’ve gathered together some amazing prizes from several artisans, some who were new to the Indie Untangled community this year and others who are favorites, and doing a string of giveaways (eight plus one) starting this Monday and running through Christmas Day.
Here are the rules: Sign up for the Indie Untangled newsletter by 9 p.m. EST and you will be eligible to win that day’s prize (anyone already on the mailing list is entered to win). After 9 p.m., I’ll pick a winner via random number generator and send out an email. The winner will arrange shipment with the dyer/artisan. The grand prize will be a very special package of yarn and knitting stocking stuffers that I will ship out to the winner.
PLEASE NOTE: Winners must respond within 48 hours of when the notification email is sent to claim the prize. If not, another winner will be selected.
Here’s the schedule:
December 17: A skein of the winner’s choice from McMullin Fiber Co.
Congrats to winner Donna!
December 18: A skein of the winner’s choice from Hazel Knits
Congrats to winner Kathy!
December 19: A sterling silver double sided “Yarn Life” and stockinette stitch motif necklace from Porterness Studio
Congrats to winner Janet!
December 20: A skein of the winner’s choice from Murky Depths Dyeworks
Congrats to winner Natalie!
December 21: A skein of the winner’s choice from October House Fiber Arts
Congrats to winner Cheryl!
December 22: Two skeins of yarn and a project bag from Lady Dye Yarns
Congrats to winner Rhianna!
December 23: The winner helps hellomello handspun create a custom color.
December 24: A Birds of a Feather kit from Junkyarn
Congrats to winner Shelagh!
December 25: A project bag from Woodsy and Wild, yarn from Magpie Fibers, pins from Shelli Can, project bag tags from Katrinkles and a Stash Rabbit pin from Indie Untangled.
One other winner will also receive a set of four OOAK skeins of DK-weight Selene from Spirit Trail Fiberworks and swag from this year’s Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show.
Congrats to winners Jody and Patricia!
Celebrating three years of Indie
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I’m sure you agree with me that time flies when you’re knitting. I can be doing the most mundane thing, including inching across the Manhattan Bridge on the Q train and, if I’m working on my latest WIP, I can almost (almost) forget the nonexistent “train traffic.”
Time has also flown for Indie Untangled, which officially launched three years ago, on April 4, 2014. Since then, I’ve sent out 157 weekly newsletters, published 766 Marketplace posts and welcomed hundreds of fellow fiberphiles to three Rhinebeck Trunk Shows. I’ve also given away countless skeins of yarn and, of course, some prizes are in order to mark this special occasion.
Today through Saturday I will be giving away three skeins on Instagram. Check the feed each day to learn about that day’s prize and how you can win.
Thanks so much for coming along on this yarn-filled journey with me!
A 2016 IU Year in Knitting Review
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Considering the year we’ve had, most of the looks back at 2016 are not going to be likely to lift your spirits. My hope is that this roundup of Indie Untangled FOs will be the exception.
For my Year in Review, I’ve culled a list of several FOs using yarn and/or patterns from Indie Untangled dyers and designers — or both, in the case of the photo above of my Drops of Honey shawl. Designed by Janina Kallio for the inaugural Where We Knit yarn club, it used Silk Single Fingering in an exclusive colorway from Lakes Yarn and Fiber (the photo above is from fellow knitter Carolina of Triple C Photography, taken for an upcoming blog post).
I hope these projects serve as an inspiration for your 2017 knitting.
Mindy/knitwithhappiness’s Goldfinch in Magpie Fibers Swanky DK
Kelly/KellyInTexas’s Safer in Cages in Duck Duck Wool DK Limited
Nance/kathynancygirl’s Toketee in Lakes Yarn and Fiber Kelso Sock
Erica/ejsufka’s Palier in Western Sky Knits Willow DK
Lori/Momwouldbeproud’s A Hat for Dana in YOTH Yarns Father
Lavanya’s Season of Persimmons in Astral Bath Yarns Tesseract DK
Amy/booeyedee’s Atlantique in Bare Naked Wools Hempshaugh Lace
Adrienne/killerb’s Crosshaven in Canon Hand Dyes Charles Self Striping Sock
Marta/sbnyc’s Imagine When in Skeinny Dipping Silky Worsted
Kim/Xarix’s Barley Wine Hat in Skeinny Dipping Polwarth DK
A new look for Indie Untangled
If you check out Indie Untangled on your phone or tablet, you may notice that it looks a little different — in a good way.
Back in 2013, when I came up with the idea for this site, web development was changing rapidly. I decided that Indie Untangled didn’t need a mobile version, since I preferred the desktop version to a lot of the mobile sites I had seen. However, I soon realized that was a big mistake. So I decided that once Indie Untangled was up and running, I would eventually reinvest in responsive design.
The story behind the redesign is a kind of a nice It’s a Small Knitting World story. When I decided I was ready to create a mobile site, I learned the original company I worked with, Aeolidia, was only doing complete projects. After a developer they referred me to ended up being booked solid for the next several months, I randomly decided to Google “knitter web developer.” The first site to come up was that of Laura Birek, a knitting designer and writer… who also happened to be a web developer with an expertise in responsive design and WordPress! Score!
Laura spend the last week or so making the site responsive, and also added some extras, like a button with a link to the Indie Untangled Instagram feed. I’m thrilled with the new design and I hope it makes things easier for those of you who, like me, do a lot of yarn shopping via phone or tablet.
Also, thanks to all of the artisans, yarn club members, trunk show attendees and those of you who have purchased yarn and other products from me in the last few years for supporting Indie Untangled and helping to make this redesign possible!
Where We Knit: A yarn club, blog hop and giveaway
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Earlier this year, I approached several Indie Untangled dyers and designers with an idea for an indie yarn club. My goal was to pair up dyer/designer teams and have them collaborate on a colorway and a single-skein pattern based on an overall theme. I tossed around many theme ideas (most of which revolved around food!) and settled on Where We Knit.
This Friday, sign-ups will open for the inaugural Indie Untangled Yarn Club, a quarterly club that will begin shipping in February 2016! I am very excited about the four dyer/designer teams — Lakes Yarn and Fiber/Janina Kallio, French Market Fibers/Toby Roxane Barna, Skeinny Dipping/Stephannie Tallent and Magpie Fibers/Lara Smoot. You can read about their yarn and design inspirations here, where you’ll also be able to sign up on Friday.
There are many exciting, and unexciting, places I take out my WIPs. In the warmer months, some of my favorite knitting spots are on a bench in Madison Square Park (which is where I was photographed for Humans of New York last year!), on the roof of my apartment building looking out over the New York City skyline, or on a blanket in the grass, waiting for the start of an outdoor concert or movie. When it gets cold, I definitely do my fair share of couch knitting while binge-watching TV shows on Netflix. When I commuted to Connecticut for work, I always had my knitting on Metro-North. The dyers and designers participating in the club have come up with a wonderful mix of indoor and outdoor knitting spots (and yes, there is food, or at least beverages, represented).
To celebrate the launch of the club, I am holding a blog hop based on the Where We Knit theme. If you have a blog, you can participate and enter to win one installment of your choice from the yarn club, or one installment free if you sign up (which I hope you do!).
Here’s what you need to do to participate:
• Write a blog post describing your favorite place to knit OR the most unusual place you’ve ever brought your knitting.
• Include this link to the page for the 2016 yarn club, as well as a short description of the club.
• Run your post anytime Friday, Nov. 20 through Monday, Nov. 23.
• Comment on this blog post with a link to your own post.
You are also welcome, though not required, to use the above image.
I’ll announce the winner on Nov. 24. I can’t wait to see where you knit!
Some true armchair travel
Knitting patterns are inspired by various things, but so many designers seem to find inspiration in the world around them, whether it’s Janina Kalio‘s Scandinavian minimalism, or Laura Patterson of Fiber Dreams naming a cowl for a mountain range in her new home state of Washington.
As I did last week with my map of dyers and makers, I created a map showing where the designers who have posted to Indie Untangled are based (I figured they would be a bit easier to explore if I separated them). Combine the two, and you could do a pretty awesome knitting tour…
A yarny tease, plus MDSW
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There are some very exciting plans being hatched at Indie Untangled HQ! Well, most of it is taking place via email. While I’m not quite ready to provide the specifics of what I’m planing with three of my favorite fiber industry folks, the above photo of a recent project by designer Lara Smoot provides a little sneak peek. If that intrigues you, you’re going to want to keep track of the blog in the coming weeks.
For something in the more immediate future — Maryland Sheep & Wool is almost a week away! I’m not sure when exactly I’ll be at the fairgrounds, but I do know where I’ll be Friday night: The indie pop-up at The Knot House, where I’ll be trying not to buy all the Duck Duck Wool/French Market Fibers/Magpie/Lakes Yarn and Fiber, etc. And, if you need somewhere to put all your pop-up purchases, That Clever Clementine will have some goodies for sale. You can also snag a free Indie Untangled button/piece of flare for your project bag. Are you planning to go? Definitely comment and let me know!
So many indie dyers. One email.