What to stash this week: Exploring Alaska

By Lisa | October 8, 2021

Ali of Explorer Knits + Fibers, who also loves the great outdoors, and donates a portion of every purchase of her yarn to the National Parks Foundation, was the perfect partner for this series and I’m so excited to finally work with her! Ali was inspired by the above photo of an adorable pika spotted along the Savage River Loop Trail at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska by wildlife photographer David Turko.

Two colorways — the speckled Mountain Floof and a semisolid pink called Rosehip — are available to preorder on the appropriately-named Denali Sock, a blend of 80% Superwash Merino and 20% nylon with a 2-ply twist, through Sunday, October 17, during Indie Untangled Everywhere, the online version. (Read on for more about show fun… and how to win some prizes!)

I’ve also been in touch with another national parks lover, designer Theressa Silver, who published her book Knitting Wild in 2019. It features 21 patterns, including shawls, cowls, hats, mitts and scarves, accompanied by descriptions about the place that served as its inspiration and exploring the issues of climate change, habitat conservation and endangered species protection.

You can use Ali’s colorways to knit Theressa Silver’s Here Be Puffins shawl from Knitting Wild, which is also available for preorder from Indie Untangled.

Maureen of Charming Ewe has added new items to the shop, including The Cocoa Collection of solids and tonals.

Michelle of Crafty Flutterby Creations has a new line of shawl pins that she crafted with vintage mother of pearl buttons from the 1930s through the ’80s, sourced from a vendor at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival. She’ll be debuting them at SAFF, which is being held October 22-24.

Sara of of La Cave à Laine, an Indie Untangled Everywhere vendor, has curated quite a collection of handy and attractive tools and notions for knitters and crafters, including stitch markers, handmade soap, different scissors, notion kits and more. Above are sock blockers that are handmade in Austria in Austrian beech plywood.

Monica of Gothfarm brought together three different fibers — bay black alpaca, Shetland sheep wool and Jacob sheep wool — to form Terra Preta, a rich brown yarn named after a soil created thousands of years ago by indigenous farming communities in the Amazon Rainforest. It will debut next week at Indie Untangled Everywhere.

Michele of MAB Elements is marking the upcoming holiday with a Glitzy Witch Stitch Marker Set. It includes seven handcrafted markers made with faceted crystals, including one beginning of round marker with the witch, plus seven plain bulb removable markers that fit up to size US 10.5 knitting needles.

Victoria of Eden Cottage Yarn is back with some shop updates with British wool, including Bowland 4ply and Bowland DK (100% Superwash British Bluefaced Leicester), as well as yarn packs for various patterns, including Andrea Mowry’s Douglas Cardi and the Cumulo sweater by Lili Buce-Chmelko from issue 1 of crochet mag Moorit.

7th Floor Yarn has a new base. Twisted Aran is 50% Fine Merino and 50% Alpaca, with 191 yards per skein, perfect for winter projects.

Crista Jaeckel is having a shop update today at 6 p.m. ET with a few XL tote bags with XL shoulders straps, zipper bags, and large drawstring bags.

The Indie Untangled swag bags are always super popular, and we wanted to share the love to shoppers in all the sessions at our October 15 show in Saugerties, as well as online! Everyone with a ticket to the 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. shopping times, or anyone who buys a ticket for the in-person or online events through Monday, October 11, will have the opportunity to win one of several event tote bags with swag from 10 of our fab sponsors: Scratch Supply Co. and the Make Good podcast, Knitrino, 29 Bridges Studio, Soak, Birdie Parker Designs, Three Irish Girls, Daughter of a Shepherd, Leo & Roxy Yarn Co., Wool & Vinyl and Yarn Over New York.

What to stash this week as you’re dreaming of spring

By Lisa | March 26, 2021

Stephanie, the dyer at SpaceCadet, has hit a new design home run with her new Striad Wrap, a series of short row triangles, knit individually in strips and joined together without any seaming up.

Nikki of Laneras Yarn Company has a new fingering-weight base made with 100% Uruguayan Polwarth. Like all Laneras yarns, it is custom spun using wool that is ethically sourced and sustainably produced in Uruguay.

Eve of Holly Dyeworks has fresh new colorways for spring, and kits for Stone Knits’ Alice’s Easter Bunny Socks.

Aimee of Pancake and Lulu just had a shop update with few new Spring 2021 colorways and she has a few yarn kits for the upcoming MKAL by Ambah O’Brien.

IU newcomer Telling Yarns offers non-Superwash and Superwash all-British yarns sourced from British mills, in Devon and Yorkshire.

Missy of This Craft Or That has restocked some customer favorite progress keepers, which can also be used as zipper pulls.

Maria G Knits, based in Portugal, creates project bags with crafters in mind.

Join Michele of MAB Elements this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. EDT on Facebook Live to see new designs.

Monica of Gothfarm Yarn now offers vegetable ivory buttons that serve as a sustainable alternative to plastic.

Sharon of Garage Dyeworks has introduced a new yarn club.

What to stash this week: Close-knit encounters

By Lisa | February 5, 2021

When Terri of AT Haynes House Yarns chose the above photo, of a lightning storm at Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, for her Knitting Our National Parks installment, I knew there was something familiar about it. Then when she sent me the photos of the yarn and told me the colorway name, I remembered its role in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Terri’s striking colorway, called I Got One Just Like It In My Living Room (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), is now available to preorder on Indie Untangled through February 19. You can order it on Bare Feet Sock and Community DK for your next close (knit) encounters.

Kate of McMullin Fiber Co is preparing for Valentine’s Day with a shop update full of new colorways and has opened just a few spots in her February Fiber Gallery Club, which will be inspired by the very cupid-day colors of John Singer Sargent’s painting Mrs. Hugh Hammersly.

Jillian of WooOnes’ conversation heart stitch markers look good enough to eat, but they’re more appropriate for keeping track of your project’s instructions.

The Yarnover Truck’s Super Nerdy Yarn Club is once again open to new members until next Friday. This club, which includes yarn from Forbidden Fiber Co., takes inspiration from strong female nerdy characters across a variety of different fandoms. New members can also access previous club colors if they wish.

You will be “constantly cozy” in Debra Gerhard’s latest sweater, which she knit up in Fully Spun’s colorful Postscript Aran yarn. This top-down oversized pullover has gentle waist shaping and Fair Isle patterning adorning the yoke and sleeves.

Dawn of Fairy Tale Yarn Co has mini skein sets with a new twist: tweed! These tweedy DK-weight mini sets come with five minis — one tie-dyed, one speckle-dyed and three tonals — totaling 230 yards to add stripes of color to your next project.

Attention Buffy fans: Jilly & Kiddles has opened sign-ups for her Buffy the Vampire Slayer Mystery Yarn Club. This three-month club includes a skein of fingering weight yarn, a set of custom Buffy/Yarn-themed goodies by DKGraham and some other fun extras. Sign-ups close February 22.

Erika of Liverpool Yarns has put together 100% Shetland wool yarn packs for Sarah Thornton’s Vaunt Shawl, featured in the Winter 2020 issue of Knitty.

Preorders are open for the Fiber Coven Full Moon Club, a witchy knitting kit from Lauren of Valkyrie Fibers and Emily of Kitty With A Cupcake themed to each month’s Full Moon for all of 2021.

Monica of Gothfarm Yarn often uses alpaca fleece to add a pop of color to her natural yarns. Current blends include Arkose, a Cinnamon red alpaca and White Rambouillet Merino wool pictured above.

Amy has a line of Valentine’s trinkets up in her shop! Grab them and add some love to your knitting.

Sandy of A Flame of Color creates designer buttons, closures and beads for fiber artists with copper and enamel.

Take a road trip with the Sedona Sunrise shawl from Ashleigh Wempe Designs.

Indie Untangled by the numbers

By Lisa | July 17, 2019

Rhinebeck trunk show illustration in coral, navy and mustard

Illustration by Eloise Narrigan

When I organized the first Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show in 2014, I got together the group of a dozen vendors by asking dyers and makers who had posted to the online marketplace if they wanted to bring a suitcase of their products to a meeting room at the Best Western. Since I started organizing this in June of that year, only four months prior to the festival, I even post-stalked them on Ravelry to see if they were already going to be at Rhinebeck.

This year, starting in March, I received more than 100 applications — 105 to be exact — for roughly 36 spaces. I had a jury of 10 people, plus my co-planner, Petrina, helping me make this incredibly tough decision. We wanted to make sure we had varied styles and a selection of non-yarn goodies, and that we brought in some new faces.

Here’s a look at Indie Untangled by the numbers:

36 spaces, including in the lounge at the Saugerties Performing Arts Factory, where Candice of The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers and designer Caitlin Hunter will be debuting an exciting new project

32 yarn companies (plus three others — The Blue Brick, Gauge Dyeworks and Onyx Fiber Arts — who will be providing exclusive colorways for the Indie Untangled booth)

9 bag and accessories makers/designers, bringing project bags, enamel pins, stitch markers, buttons and more

2 fiber-themed jewelry makers — that you can actually wear, not just for your projects!

1 needle vendor — after the past few years of sponsoring, Signature Needle Arts will finally be at the show!

Of these vendors, 25 of them are new (four of them — Julie Asselin, Twill & Print, La Bien Aimée and Nerd Bird Makery — had a presence at last year’s show, but now they will be bringing a full line-up) and they are marked with an asterisk on the event page.

If that all seems a bit overwhelming, ticket holders will receive a PDF guide prior to the show, so you can strategize your shopping.

What to stash this week: fab finds

By Lisa | January 11, 2019

Heather of Heather’s Yarn Barn is dyeing small batches of colorways each month all inspired around a theme. This month’s colorways have an antique theme and include Yellow Flowers (pictured above), Rusty Old Keys and Lavender End Table.

Yarn clubs are such a great way to explore the work of new-to-you dyers, designers and other creative folks, and to fall in love with colorways that you may not have found on your own. Of course, you need a perfect theme to tie it all together. Diane of Lady Dye Yarns has been dedicated to promoting the work of women color in the fiber industry, and her latest club, called the Fab 8 Craft Club, is comprised of products from eight black female yarn-trepreneurs, including Brooke of Fully Spun.

Laura and Co.’s January Bag of the Month serves up some cuteness, but you’ll want to wash these creatures’ mouths out with soap (hand wash, of course). They have chosen three super cool designs from artist Cynthia Frenette. Preorders open today 9 a.m. PST and close at midnight on Monday, January 14.

Heather of Earl Grey Fiber Co.’s Afternoon Tea Collection is a quarterly collection of sock sets inspired by the best hot beverage. Three new sock sets, which include one full skein and two coordinating minis, will be debuting in a shop update on January 19.

Julia’s new free Nimbus hat is designed to be knit with either fingering, sport or DK weight yarn held with mohair silk lace. The cable crown shows off your inner supernatural strength, even on days when a rain cloud is hovering over you.

Grab the Mrs. Frog colorway from IU newcomer Wobble Gobble Yarn.

Indie turns 5 at Rhinebeck

By Lisa | November 8, 2018

Organizing each year’s Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show is like completing a new knitting project. With nearly every one, I learn something new that makes me a better knitter. I get a little help — sometimes a lot of help — from my fellow stitchers. And I have late, often sleepless nights coming up with solutions to tricky problems.

And, as much as I knit, my stash continues to grow…

There were a lot of changes this year. The show moved to a new venue in Saugerties, which provided much more space, and natural light, for shopping than our previous home at the Best Western. We expanded the hours. It was also, for the first time, a fully ticketed show, and we utilized shuttle buses to ensure the venue’s parking lot wouldn’t be overtaxed. After the unprecedented crowds, long lines and parking issues of last year, these were things that had to be done, though I regret this meant that not everyone who wanted to come was able to.

While many shoppers were anxious about this new system, it was, overall, a relaxed and celebratory atmosphere — with a little bit of that festival frenzy thrown in.

My fellow helpers and I — including Petrina Hicks, a knitting friend who I discovered, via Instagram, lives across the street from me and is an event planner! — learned a lot from this year’s show. I know it will help ensure that future Indie Untangled events, whether it’s a kickoff to Rhinebeck or special event in Brooklyn, become my, and your, favorite FO yet.

And speaking of knitting friends, here are some photos of Indie Untangled 2018 taken by my talented friend Carolina of Triple C Photography.

Working the Night Shift at the Spincycle Booth.

Designers Catherine Clark and Caitlin Hunter pose for one of many pics.

A shopper spotted with multiple Indie Untangled bags.

A wall of color at the Hue Loco booth.

More beauties at Junkyarn.

Checking out the colors from IU newcomer Hu Made.

Taking a (short) break from shopping in the MDK Lounge.

Colorful project bags from That Clever Clementine and wooden goodies from Katrinkles.

Showing off my All Points South while taking in my other indie FO.

What to stash this week: knitting shop updates galore

By Lisa | June 15, 2018

Jen of Porterness Studio just had a shop update full of new shiny goodies, including a Radiating Eye shawl pin, shawl fork or button and sterling silver shawl rings that can be sewn or crocheted onto your summer shawls for a fancy embellishment. There are also awesome Yarn Life necklaces. Check all of it out AND get a 20% discount with the code IndieSummer20.

Trysten of Dragon Hoard Yarn is having a shop update today at 10 a.m. Mountain Time. Expect to see a bunch of new colorways.

Alicia of Knitspinquilt is celebrating summer with woodland creatures! Adorable hedgehog and owl print fabric have been sewn into medium and large drawstring project bags. As always, Alicia will donate 30% of the sale price to the Hispanic Federation for Puerto Rico disaster relief efforts.

If you’re a unicorn or cat fan, show off your obsession on your handknits with the latest shawl pin designs from Crafty Flutterby Creations.

It’s the final week to order your Knitting Our National Parks Leaf Peepers miniskein kits and The Road Less Traveled from Canon Hand Dyes, based on a photo of the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Maine. There’s a cap on orders because Amy is prepping for shows, so if you have your eye on this, the sooner the better. Orders close for good on June 22.

Canon Hand Dyes is one of several indie yarn companies creating exclusive-to-IU colorways inspired by photos on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Instagram feed. 10% of all sales this round will be donated to the National Wildlife Refuge Association.

There’s a batch of Automne à Rhinebeck in La Bien Aimée Merino DK in stock. These are the last skeins of this exclusive that Aimée will be dyeing for Indie Untangled, so order now! Just an FYI, I’ll be in Cleveland for TNNA this weekend, so all orders will ship out Tuesday.

If you’re a really experienced knitter, you’ll appreciate Murky Depths Dyeowrks’ Jimi Hendrix-inspired yarns, Electric Ladyland and Purple Haze.

This one is for you cat or dog lovers. Laura of Slipped Stitch Studios has bags with cuddly kitties and cute puggles for sale starting at 9 a.m. Pacific time today.

Lola’s Alchemist’s Tote collaboration includes yarn and a special project bag from The Tudor Rose Crafts Studio and an extra from Front Pocket Studio.

Casapinka is launches her Crown Wools miniskein MKAL July 19.

Eden Cottage Yarns just had a shop update.

Pandia’s Jewels has Zombie Outbreak colors available to preorder through June 24.

What to stash this week: Sunset over Yellowstone

By Lisa | April 6, 2018

The latest Knitting Our National Parks colorway from Candice of The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers is inspired by a sunset over Yellowstone captured by park ranger and photographer Jacob W. Frank. Candice named the glowing pinks and earthy greens, dyed on a Merino/silk fingering, Kiowa to pay tribute to the Native Americans who inhabited the land years before it became a place where visitors flocked to see Old Faithful erupt. The colorway will be available to preorder through April 20, with the yarn shipping at the end of May.

Hey, SoCal knitters: Jen of Porterness Studio is having a trunk show at Gather DTLA on April 20 and 21 during the LA Yarn crawl. If you’re not in the area, click here to get a discount code for her lovely shawl pins, buttons and jewelry.

Want a little April in Paris? Kate of McMullin Fiber Co. has added fun snips to the shop, including a pair shaped like the Eiffel Tower. You’ll get one free when you purchase a skein of Dusty Rose and a skein of Tres Bien, which are both inspired by imaginary strolls along the Seine.

ShelliCan just had a shop update and introduced a ton of new designs, including the adorable Get Kracken, which is available on enamel pins, T-shirts and keychains.

Rebecca of Fuse Fiber Studio also updated her shop recently, and it includes a bunch of fingering-weight yarn in complementary colors that would be perfect for your next Fade.

Knittyandcolor’s Acid Rainbow colorway is back in stock and available on her Acoustic Sock, Hardcore Sock, Glam Rock Sparkle Sock, Dubstep DK and Indie Rock Worsted. Also catch her at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in May!

Shanna of Lambstrings Yarn has kits for Andrea Mowry’s Rose cardigan on her new SW Merino 3-ply sport. The four-skein kits are available in three different color combinations to produce a fade that starts light on the back and ends dark at the sleeves.

What to stash this week: Fetch this yarn ball

By Lisa | May 12, 2017

I’m excited to debut these custom IU stitch markers! Crafted by Maria of A Needle Runs Through It out of San Jose, California — who I discovered last year when she released Gilmore Girls stitch markers — these wooden accessories are the perfect way to show off your love of indie yarn.

IU newcomer Long Dog Yarns is named for, as you might suspect, a dachshund, specifically a wire-haired dachshund called Rufus. Dyer Brandy started dyeing a year ago after publishing her own designs and her yarns are of the bright, speckled variety that we’re all crazy about these days. She’s just restocked her shop, so head over for your summer knitting needs.

Wingpoint, Pam’s latest design, is a bias triangle shawl with a twist. It’s decorated with stripes and bunting-like marled triangles that are a fun way to combine your main color and accents, whether they’re 75-yard mini skeins or scrap yarn. Best of all, it’s 25% off through May 31 with the code madmay.

In honor of Mother’s Day, Wildflower Button Studio is offering free shipping on any domestic orders over $25 through May 16 with the coupon code HAPPYSHIP.

What to stash this week: Knit start my heart

By Lisa | January 27, 2017

No matter what you think about Valentine’s Day, there’s no way you can’t fall in love with these handmade heart stitch markers by Ann Tudor. They’re available in classic red and a rainbow of colors, in four different sizes for knitters and two clasp options for crocheters.

Lola at Third Vault Yarns has a lot going on, including a new monthly yarn club that combines yarn, geekiness and tea; Rey of The Force Awakens is the theme for February. There’s also a new winter collection of yarn and large shawl called Blown Glass that utilizes short rows.

KarenDawn’s latest shawl design, La Belle Dame sans Mercy, is based upon a medieval love debate poem. It uses one main color and three accent colors, but is easily adaptable to other color options, from one solid color to a main body and border color to gradients.

Keya has a fever, and the only cure is More Sock Yarn. Her Cedar Hill Farm Co. Traveler base has a new look, as do her double-grommet project bags, available in seven new fabrics.

Because we could all use some closure, check out Melissa Jean’s latest ceramic buttons, including her scallop leaf design, modern waves and February-appropriate hearts.

Melanie of Go Knit Yourself is having a live shop update at 9 p.m. Eastern Time tonight over in her Facebook group.