Tag Archives: OOAK

What to stash this week: updates and an open studio

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Jennifer of Spirit Trail Fiberworks recently had a shop update with her Luna non-shrink wool as well as Birte, her Superwash Merino/Cashmere/silk DK. There are plenty of semisolids and speckles, as well as “lucky pot” one-of-a-kind colors like the one pictured above. Jennifer has also put some bases and colors that she’s retiring on sale.

Brooke of Fully Spun, who dyes wool roving and has it mill spun into “handspun,” just had a shop update that includes three new colors and three colors she just had to bring back.

Pam Sluter’s Stepstone combines a sideways band, woolly sportweight yarn, elongated slip stitches and two fun buttons. The band is knit flat and stitches are picked up for the body and crown, while the button flap is worked last. It’s perfect for “spring” on the East Coast.

If you’re planning to go to Stitches United this weekend, or are in the Hartford area, Rebecca of Fuse Fiber Studio is having another open studio with Gabby of Once Upon a Corgi. The one I attended last month was super fun and I highly recommend going for the yarn and the hanging out.

What to stash this week: yarn chicken

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Jennifer at Spirit Trail Fiberworks has been doing a fun collaboration with her newsletter subscribers in which she dyes a colorway inspired by a photo sent by one of her readers. February’s colors — one main and two complementary — are inspired by a photo of a Blue Laced Red Wyandotte chicken. The yarn will be available to pre-order until February 19 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

Jennifer has also created her latest design with TV knitting in mind. Craic — Irish Gaelic slang for “fun, a good time, a good conversation” — is a crescent-shaped, fingering-weight shawl with some garter, stripes and texture. It is knit with two 400-yard skeins of fingering, and you can even mix and match bases to get an even more interesting texture. Don’t forget that you can receive 20% off your order of any in-stock yarn through February 28 with the code Indie. 

Marian has a new six-skein gradient set called Beekeeper in the colorways Beeswax, Protect the Pollinators, Honeycomb, Dumbledore, Queen Bee and Hive Mind. It is currently available in fingering weight on her Scrumptious HT base, which is 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% nylon in three sizes.

Cat Sandwich Fibers is having a shop update this Sunday, February 18, with lots of new OOAK colorways and new Cat Sandwich enamel pins.

Pam’s latest design, Checkpoint, is a two-color sideways triangle with garter and what she promises to be easy intarsia.

Acadia Lights, the fifth colorway in the Knitting Our National Parks series by Asylum Fibers, is available to preorder through next Friday, February 23. You can get some ideas on what to make with either the Solitary Fingering or Golden Goose DK here.

What to stash this week: A bird in the hand

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Sue of Sandpiper Yarns creates her lovely skeins two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean on the South Shore of Long Island, hence her beachy name. Her yarns are comprised of a number of sheep breeds, including Merino, Blue Faced Leicester, Polwarth, Finn, Gotland, Icelandic, Corriedale and Targhee, with guest appearances by alpaca, Tencel, silk and Angora.

Terri of Whole Knit ‘n Caboodle comes from a yarny family. Her sister, Mary, owns Perfect Blend Yarn & Tea in Saugerties — I’ll be collaborating with the shop for this year’s Rhinebeck Trunk Show — and Terri dyes yarn. She has a huge selection of lovely colorways on a variety of fibers, as well as plenty of Fade combinations.

If you’re in the Connecticut area next weekend, you should definitely join Rebecca of Fuse Fiber Studio and Gabby of Once Upon a Corgi (and me!) for a pop-up shop and knit night at the Farmington Valley Arts Center. Rebecca and Gabby have even collaborated with one of the painters from a neighboring studio to create exclusive colorways based on one of her paintings!

I have a batch of Aimee’s Automne à Rhinebeck in stock and ready to ship! And if you’re interested in this Indie Untangled exclusive on LBA’s Merino DK, make sure to get on the list for a reorder, which is happening in mid-April. 

Get your hands on some Happy Little Project Bags for the Slipped Stitch Studios Bag of the Month. This tribute to the 1980s “leaders in imagination” include bags, accessories and three colorways from Anzula Yarns and Stay Classy Yarns. There will also be another cameo from Mr. Rogers. All of it goes on sale at 9 a.m. Pacific time today.

Laura’s latest design is inspired by a small island in the Pacific that you’ve probably never heard of, but that she’s been to twice, between Fiji and The Solomon Islands. Vanuatu features bright turquoise and dark sand that will make you want to escape somewhere sunny and warm.

Robynn is offering one free pattern with every three you buy from her Ravelry store, no coupon code required — just add four patterns to your cart and the cheapest will be free. Use it for any of her designs, from accessories to sweaters. Most include photo tutorials for special techniques.

Wild Hair Studio is having a Groundhog Day sale.

What to stash this week: You can knit anything

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Thought it may not feel like it, winter is coming. In anticipation, Julia has launched the Pandia’s Jewels Winter Collection. It includes a variety of new winter-inspired colors that range from speckled to blue/green tonal colors. All are in stock on a variety of bases and ready to ship.

For The Woolen Rabbit’s 2018 yarn club, dyer Kim has brought together five popular designers who will create color inspirations for her to dye as well as patterns based on women in history that have made an impression on them. The designers include Christina Campbell, AKA The Healthy Knitter, Skeinwalker Knits, Paulina Popiolek, Alicia Plummer, and Elizabeth Doherty of Blue Bee Studio.

Speaking of women in history, Courtney’s latest shawl design is inspired by Cathay Williams, who in 1866 enlisted in the U.S. Army under the name William Cathay, becoming the first documented black woman to enlist in the Army. This crescent shawl has sections of mesh and textured slip stitches and uses two skeins of fingering.

IU newcomer McMullin Fiber Co. has just finished celebrating Socktober. Head to Kate’s shop to check out her neutral “Fadients” and Squishy super bulky yarn, among other goodness.

Keya Kuhn and Michelle Guilmet-Buck have released South, a collection of eight modern accessory patterns using a variety of yarns, including Keya’s Sporty Sheep.

Sign-ups are open until November 15 for the new Round Table Yarns yarn club. For the club, a specific story from the Arthurian legends will be chosen as the inspiration — this club’s story is called the Abduction of Guenevere — and a part of the story will arrive along with each yarn shipment.

While many of us were at Rhinebeck, Lisa The Knitting Artist was selling her wares at the Hill Country Yarn Crawl. Luckily she still has some inventory to share with us, including a new 75/25 Merino/nylon sock base. The colorways are dyed to match Lisa’s original oil paintings, and each skein comes with a greeting card with the painting image on the front.

I’m excited to debut The Farmers Daughter Fibers in the post-Rhinebeck pop-up shop. I have some skeins of Candice’s luscious Foxy Lady Merino/silk fingering in several Montana-inspired colorways. I’ve also been having some fun pairing together Foxy Lady and Dark Harbour Starboard, which is also a wool/silk single. Pictured above is Nikki of Dark Harbor’s Ceasg and Candice’s Whispers of the Aspen.

And, the second round of Indie Untangled tote bags arrived from the printer yesterday, so if you order one I will ship it out in 1-2 business days.

You have just one more week to preorder Jill Draper’s Walk in the Park and Desert Dusk, which are both inspired by sunset at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.

What to stash this week at Rhinebeck or Whinebeck

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Anne of Middle Brook Fiberworks is debuting her Vintage No. 3 today! The yarn, which is a blend of fleeces from her Shetland flock — natural brown from Roobie and grey from Poppy and Quin — prime alpaca and cultivated silk, will be available at the Indie Untangled trunk show and online at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

Preorders for Carrie Sundra’s SkeinTwister opened this week, and even if you’re not a dyer, you can still join in the fun of the launch. Carrie, who is also a natural dyer through her company Alpenglow Yarn, has collaborated with Brooke of Sincere Sheep and created AlpenSheep. Just for the launch, they’ll both be dyeing Brooke’s Cormo Sport yarn, with beautifully twisted skeins available for sale in multiple colors. If you’re trying to cut down on the yarn buying, especially considering what weekend it is, they also have some fun gear, including rocks glasses, coffee mugs and T-shirts, featuring Pirate Red, the SkeinTwister’s sassy mascot. 

If you’re going to Rhinebeck this weekend, make sure to stop by the Spirit Trail Fiberworks booth in Building A to see tons of new colors and a few new bases.

Laura of Slipped Stitch Studios has a whole bunch of goodies for sale, including bags with limited edition Frida Kahlo, cactus and unicorn fabrics. Today, at 9 a.m. Pacific time, she’ll release Hocus Pocus extras, part of a tribute to the awesome Halloween movie. Then on Wednesday, the Slipped Stitch Studios Facebook page will hold a Facebook Live flash sale. And, last but not least, next Friday is the release of the October Bag of the Month, inspired by Pinky and the Brain.

Grab Eyelet of the Tiger, BBR’s new project kit for their newest yarn, Himalayan Summit. The lacy cowl is perfect for variegated colorways, like Old Fashioned Villian by Modeknit Yarn, pictured above.

Julia of Pandia’s Jewels has been busy dyeing new tonal and speckled colorways on several of her fingering weight bases that are perfect for your next fade. There are also some OOAK colorways sprinkled in.

If you’re going to Indie Untangled tonight, there will be a limited number of kits with both of Jill Draper’s exclusive colorways for the third installment of Knitting Our National Parks, along with a code to download designer Kirsten Kapur’s Joshua Tree Cowl. Both are inspired by sunset at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. If you can’t make it, the yarn will be available to preorder for a few more weeks (the pattern is for sale on Ravelry).

Pam Sluter’s latest design, the Haygarden shawl, was created in collaboration with Hampden Hills Alpacas. The sample will be on display this weekend at Rhinebeck in Building 39, booth 9.

IU newcomer Big & Bitty Bags has new bucket bags with a drawstring closure.

What to stash this week: Pre-Rhinebeck updates and sales

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Stephanie of Asylum Fibers just had her last shop update before the Rhinebeck Trunk Show and it included a variety of bases in both regular and OOAK colorways. If you’re going to Rhinebeck, be sure to check out the latest batch of project bags in new limited-edition fabrics from the Oak Grove Quilter, AKA Stephanie’s mom.

Here are some more photos of Jill Draper’s gorgeous exclusive colorways for the third installment of Knitting Our National Parks and designer Kirsten Kapur’s Joshua Tree Cowl. Both are inspired by sunset at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. The yarn will be available to preorder for a few more weeks.

Wild Hair Studio is discounting all custom blend and Mulberry silk top by 15% during the month of October.

Color Craze Yarn & Fiber is offering free U.S. shipping through the end of October.

What to stash this week: Buy yarn, help with hurricane relief

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Carrie of Alpenglow Yarn, who moved to St. John full time with her mom when she was 3 or 4 years old (her parents had honeymooned there, fell in love and built a home) was 12 when Hurricane Hugo devastate the island. While Carrie recalls the island’s 3,000 residents coming together and helping each other out in the wake of Hugo, with much of the island back to normal in six months, the unprecedented devastation from Irma and Maria, the recent Category 5 storms, means it will likely take much longer to recover. To help out her former neighbors, Carrie has listed the remaining inventory of her naturally-dyed yarn for sale, and will donate $15 from each skein sold to local community foundations that are providing aid and relief to the island.

In happier news, Halloween is less than six weeks away, so it’s possible to whip up a pair of socks in Karen’s new self-striping colorway. In keeping with the Round Table Yarns brand, the color has a medieval connection.

Speaking of Halloween, Slipped Stitch Studios has a new collection of project bags and accessories inspired by the cult classic Disney film Hocus Pocus. There’s also a special yarn colorway from indie dyer Lazer Sheep. The sale launches today at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.

Heather Anderson’s latest pattern is reminiscent of dragons (no, not the kind flying around Westeros), specifically that rascal Puff the Magic Dragon. The Magic Dragon Shawl, which can be knit using fingering, sport or DK, has a dragon skin body that would look fantastic in a gradient.

Julia of Pandia’s Jewels is offering up her Voyage Through Time Outlander-inspired color as a preorder until 8 p.m. tomorrow.

What to stash this week: Falling for color

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Stephanie of Asylum Fibers has created a few kits for Speckle and Pop, Stephen West’s mystery KAL, which launches Sept. 29. The shawl calls for a speckled fade of three colors, along with five mini “pop” skeins. One of the kits is already sold out, so grab yours if you want Stephen to take you on a colorful journey.

Julia of Pandia’s Jewels, based in the Hudson Valley — which is gorgeous year round, but particularly in the fall — has launched her Fall into Halloween Collection. It includes some old and new seasonal colors, both speckled and tonal, as well as some OOAK dye jobs.

We of course consider hand-dyed yarn works of art, but here’s yarn that is truly art inspired. Lisa The Knitting Artist has started dyeing up gorgeous hand-painted and tonal yarns to match her equally gorgeous knitting-inspired paintings. The hand-painted yarn comes with a card printed with the image that inspired the colorway.

You have through the end of the day today to preorder La Bien Aimée’s Automne à Rhinebeck, Asylum Fibers’ Rhinebeck’s All the Craze and Eloise Narrigan-designed tote bags for pickup at the the Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show on Oct. 20.

There are still a few skeins left of The Woolen Rabbit Silky Biffle BFL/silk sport in Corn Husk, which would be perfect for a fall shawl, hat or mitts. Use the code YAYRHINEBECK for 20% off through Oct. 1, or until the yarn is sold out.

What to stash this week: Game of Yarns

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At 9 a.m. Pacific time today, Laura of Slipped Stitch Studios is updating her shop with the extras from the popular Game of Thrones Bag of the Month preorders. The items, which include Mother of Dragons and Night’s Watch oath bags, will be available until they’re sold out and will not be made again. Kind of like what we hope happens to that army of blue-eyed zombies…

Switch is a new shawl pattern from Spruce Lane Designs named for a few different things, including the alternating stitch patterns that switch between the body and the border and the ability to switch to different yarn weights. The samples were knit in fingering and DK from Rhinebeck Trunk Show vendor Magpie Fibers.

IU newcomer Robynn of Studio Miranda has introduced Wraparoche, an easy introduction to two-color brioche. The pattern includes instructions for fingering or sport weight, along with a worksheet to help you work out the math for other gauges, making this an easy stash-busting project.

IU newcomer Samantha of Lavender Lune Yarn Co. has started a fun new yarn club, with her husband a creating mood board based on a movie that will inspire her colors. Additionally, through this morning, Samantha will be listing a surprise colorway, and 50% of the proceeds from sales of it will go to the SPCA of Texas to help pets displaced by Hurricane Harvey.

There are still a few skeins left of The Woolen Rabbit Silky Biffle BFL/silk sport and just one lone skein of Airy single fingering. Use the code YAYRHINEBECK for 20% off through Oct. 1 or until they’re all gone.

If you’re planning to go to Rhinebeck, you have just one more week to preorder La Bien Aimée’s Automne à Rhinebeck, Asylum Fibers’ Rhinebeck’s All the Craze and Eloise Narrigan-designed tote bags to pick up at the the Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show on Oct. 20, and avoid the frenzy in the Indie Untangled booth.

My Mama Knits has started a KAL for her Stitch Up Mitts pattern, which is a free download on Ravelry.

Untangling: Asylum Fibers

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Last month, I got to introduce you to Asylum Fibers, a brand-new dyeing operation started by Stephanie Jones, who I met via the knitting group she organizes here in New York City. I wanted to know a little more behind her inspiration for this new craft biz and share her story.

As I mentioned in my post about getting a behind the scenes look at her first shop update, Stephanie, who hails from Maine and now lives in Queens, N.Y., has a background as an opera singer — I actually got to see her perform a year ago and she is fantastic. While making her living in finance, Stephanie uses knitting and dyeing as her main creative outlets, along with crocheting and knitting. She creates bright and complex repeatable colorways, but her signature are unpredictable Chaos colors, which are OOAK and fleeting. Here’s a little peek inside the Asylum:

What made you decide to start your own dyeing business?

I love dyeing so much, and I can’t possibly use all the yarn myself. It only made sense to put it out there and see what the community would think. Every time someone purchases a skein, I feel justified in dyeing 5 more! I get so much joy seeing others knit with my yarn, and I really can’t think of anything quite like it!

A self-striping Chaos colorway.

How do you go about creating your colorways? Do you plan your repeatables ahead of time and improvise with the Chaos colors?

For the most part, my repeatable colorways have very specific inspiration. I have a word or phrase or idea that is translated into color within my mind. The next step is figuring out the recipe. Sometimes, the yarn comes out beautiful, but it’s not what I intended. In that case, we have a chaos colorway. I’ll let you in on a secret – Chaos 75 was my first attempt at Hydrotherapy. I absolutely loved it, but it was a lot greener than I wanted Hydrotherapy to be. Not all chaos colorways are failed attempts at a new recipe, though. Many are just for fun! I do use them for experimentation and find them to be extra special, since they’re essentially “limited edition”. Every chaos colorway is made up of no more than 5 skeins, so you know you have something special.

What are your favorite colors?

This depends so much on my mood. Black and grey are essential, but I also gravitate to blue, green, purple, and pink. Some days I’m all about yellow, and sometimes orange makes me really happy. ALL OF THE COLORS!

Bad Bad Girl on Golden Rule: Merino/nylon/stellina

What projects are you currently working on with your yarn?

Aside from a whole lot of swatching as I really settle on what bases I plan to keep long term, I have a couple projects going right now. I’m designing a two color brioche cowl in the round using Bedlam, my one ply super bulky base. I’m also doing a crochet along of the Movie Night Cocoon Cardi, using Errant Aran. I’m lucky to have some friends working on samples in my yarn as well. Anne is making a Waiting for Rain shawl using Golden Rule in Bad Bad Girl, while Devon is making a lace shawl using Lunacy Lace in a OOAK color I dyed special for her. Valerie is crocheting with Golden Age and Jenn has a skein of Bedlam Ombre that is soon to be a hat! I’ve seen some Instagram friends working with my yarn as well, which is so fun. I finally have Asylum Fibers up (at least in the most basic form) on Ravelry so we can all share our stash and projects there.

How did you learn to knit?

I learned at daycare when I was very young, but really started advancing in 2012 with the inspiration and motivation from other knitters in my Meetup group. When I ran into problems, I’d check Youtube for help. Since then, I’ve taken a ton of technique classes with great teachers including Lorilee Beltman, Steven Berg, Edie Eckman, Faina Goberstein, Franklin Habit, Amy Herzog, Felicia Lo, Nancy Marchant, Kristy McGowan, Alasdair Post-Quinn, Leslye Solomon, Debbie Stoller, and Stephen West.

Tell me about one of your most memorable FOs.

I made a pink cotton sweater for my grandmother for her 80th birthday. The pattern was Peasy by Heidi Kirrmaier and is available on Ravelry. I used Debbie Bliss Bella, which was soft and pretty, but since it didn’t have much stretch, it made my hands tire very quickly. I’m glad I made this sweater, though, because my grandmother is extra knit-worthy and wears it all the time!

Do you enjoy any other crafts in addition to knitting?

Of course I do! Dyeing and knitting definitely dominate my craft time, but I also enjoy crochet, sewing, beadwork, painting, and scrapbooking. I’m planning to try soap making soon as well.

Any future plans for Asylum Fibers you can share?

I’d like to put together some fun blog posts discussing my color inspiration. I’m also planning to take my yarn on the road in the near future. Otherwise, keep an eye out for regular shop updates, and be sure to subscribe to my mailing list if you’d like reminders!