Friday, June 30, 2006

Update

Alert for those of you that live in or around Philly: on July 13th, Rosie's Yarn Cellar is doing a handpainted yarns promotion. We're having a get-together at the shop to showcase some of our existing handpainted lines (including Black Bunny yarns, in a superwash DK and nonsuperwash bulky weight, that you can only get at Rosie's -- not even in my Etsy shop) and to introduce some new patterns and samples, and to show off some of the cool new yarns we're bringing in. A special batch of Black Bunny wool-nylon sock yarn will be making an appearance, along with some yarns that Rosie's hasn't carried before. Rosie's blog is going to do some posts specifically addressing the issues that arise when working with handpainted yarns (pooling and splotching, anyone?) so I'll let you know when these posts are up.

Reader question

Anonymous (if that's her real name) asked the name of a Phildar yarn shown in one of my swag photos. It doesn't even have a regular label on it yet but appears to be called Auteil, 80% acrylic/20% wool, in a color called Persan.

Knitting

How can someone with a knitting blog do so little knitting? I'm about to turn the heel on my pink Black Bunny sock, and I just mailed off some swatches to see if I can add to my extensive collection of rejection letters. I'm about to cast on for a sock pattern for Rosie's handpaint extravaganza, and then we'll see what's cooking next. I'd really like to play with my self-striping yarn that Amy sent me from the Dye-O-Rama, and Lars sent me a gorgeous skein, so who knows?

By the way, if there's any knitting-related topics you would like me to opine upon (and you know how much I love to opine), let me know.

Dyeing

I will repeat my offer of a free skein of sock yarn or 4 oz. of roving to the 200th customer of Black Bunny Fibers. Right now, we're in the 170s. I've been having some shipping delays in getting undyed wool; wool-nylon blend has been particularly hard to get but I should have at least a few skeins up in the Etsy shop soon. More spinning fiber, too.

Flood Watch

Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes. My parents (and about 200,000 other people) lucked out: the levees held and the Susquehanna River did not rise as high as was feared. So after an overnight evacuation (which they spent in relative comfort at my brother and sister-in-law's watching Aunt Mary hit on their elderly next-door-neighbor), they were back home today. I understand that many, many others were not so lucky, and I am truly sorry for them. In fact, I think I feel a Red Cross donation coming on.

Coming soon: Sneak Preview of Fall Stuff, and hey, didn't I go to New York a while back and forget to post about it?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

oooh, I'm first!

mazel tov to your parents escaping the flood! my M-I-L also escaped unharmed in bloomsburg.

looking forward to meeting you on 7/13 at rosie's.

have not knitted with any handpainted yarn (yet)...

anne marie in philly

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear your folks are safe and back home.

As for topics to opine upon, how about an informative post on ribbing? I'm designing a top and while I know I want ribbing for the waist, I don't really know what kind would be best. (3x2? 2x2? 3x3? 2x1?) I've found various little nuggets of information on ribbing, but nothing that really compares the different kinds and how they work differently. For example, how much does 2x2 scrunch a fabric as opposed to 3x2?

Just a thought.

Charity said...

I'm glad to hear your parents made it unscathed!

I'd love to hear you talk about lace knitting, or knitted lace. I don't know the difference yet, although I'm told there is one. Lace seems to be all the rage right now. Any tips, tricks, wisdom to share? How about care, blocking, steaming? I'm sure there's more to discuss that I don't even know about yet!

Christina said...

I have a coupler things that I'd like your opinion on, things that GET MY GOAT. You hear that? MY GOAT. First, why do designers stop sizing at 40 inch busts, especially since 67% of American women have more than 40" of rack? Secondly, why the HELL did Cheryl Oberle "size" her patterns in "Folk Vests" with bigger needles? Is being a designer really that hard, Carol? You design stuff, tell me- is designing hard? Because I basically have to redesign everything I want to knit because I have more than 40" OF TITS. Thank you, and good night.

Oh, and my word verification os "kxfuck," fitting my mood, really.

Carol said...

All righty, I think I have my next post cut out for me. Thanks, Christina; your topic is up next.

Carol said...

Don't be afraid, Christina feels better now that she got that out of her system. I won't let her hurt you. C'mon, comment away.

Christina said...

Hey Carol, sorry 'bout that. Delete if you'd like.

Anonymous said...

A little scared, but here goes.
I am crippledly left-handed.
Should I demand that there be lefty school desks everyewhere I go?
Lefty knives in every restaurant I patronize?
Or that all crochet directions be written for me as well?

I am also tall.
Should all knitting patterns accomodate my very long arms?
My very long legs?

How far do you want the bust sizes to go?
As far as your bust size?
Or as far as possible?

Get real.