We are having a yarn sale!

Cheryl and I are dying to dye more yarn. But we have a problem. The Rubbermaid containers are overflowing and we need to make room! Help us clear things out. All the yarn in the shop is 20% off, for this weekend only.

Misty Greens

It is always thrilling when a fellow “Esty-er” includes our yarn in a treasury. Here’s the latest Misty Greens by CaitlinSainio

Cereal Salad Socks

My mother-in-law is an expert at getting the most for her money. Being full-time mom to four kids, she had to be. My husband remembers fondly when his mom would serve “cereal salad” for breakfast, or maybe even dinner. Cereal salad is quite simply a random mix of all the remains of the nearly empty cereal boxes in the pantry. Some days he would have Fruit Loops and Frosted Flakes. Other days it might be a mix of All Bran and Cheerios. You never knew what you were going to get.

It is the same with these socks.

My plan is to use up all the odd remains of sock yarn that have accumulated in my stash over the years.  I am trying to be random in the color choices, and just mix washable wools together and keep the handwash only  wools separate.

I think these socks will be fun and a little silly. All while using up the leftovers. If nothing else, they will keep my feet warm when I shovel the snow this winter.

What do you think? Would you wear them?

Haruni

This pretty little thing just about leaped off my my needles in the past few weeks. It is Haruni, a deceivingly simple pattern by Emily Ross, available for free on Ravelry. The yarn is not my own hand-dyed, but two skeins of lovely Alpaca Cloud from KnitPicks. I used two strands held together, and had just enough to complete the crocheted bind off.

Today is a dyeing day – I am off to the new workshop in a few hours. Can’t wait!
Happy Saturday!

Natural Gas Knitting Commercial

What a lovely, cozy ad!

The best part was watching the “Making of” video and having a little moment of shock, then sadness when I realized how it was done.

Welcome Spring, New Work Space and New Moon

It’s taken a bit longer than we hoped, but Spring is here and we are dyeing again! Winter is a difficult time to dye yarn, especially when the dye studio is also the (unheated) garage. The snow and the wind and the rain and the freezing temperatures, make the work a lot less enjoyable.

The wonderful news is that we have a now have a brand new, beautiful light filled dye studio / workshop. Our new space is lovely, full of windows and sunshine (and heat). I was so excited to be working in the new space yesterday, that I forgot to take photos.  Not to worry, though, there will be plenty opportunities to for pics in the coming months.

The other good news is, for those of you who have been waiting so patiently, we dyed up a small amount of New Moon Worsted, on sale now in the shop.

Happy Spring and Happy Knitting

Choosing the best lighting for yarn photography – a simple test

In the dark and dull days of winter it is a challenge to take pretty pictures of our yarn.  With a lack of natural daylight, disappointing results with traditional light bulbs and a bag of new yarns to be posted to the shop, I’ve been searching for a good lighting alternative.

One of the most popular lights for crafting is the Ott Lite. I’ve seen the expensive fixtures at my local Jo-Anne’s, and I wondered if it was possible to just buy one bulb. These full spectrum bulbs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and while the Ott website is informative, it is a little overwhelming. And with prices around $10 for one bulb, I decided to keep looking.

Yesterday, while wandering the aisles of my local Lowe’s store, I came upon a four-pack of Bright Effects compact florescent bulbs (CFLs) for about $8. At only $2 each, it seemed like a deal not to be missed.

I did a little test using a newly dyed sock yarn we are calling “Neptune” and the results are spectacular.

This first shot was taken in my homemade light box, using one traditional 60 watt incandescent bulb.

Pretty ugly, right? All kind of sickly and pink looking. Why would anyone want to knit with this horrid yarn??

Well, here is the same yarn photographed under the new 26 watt CFL bulb. Are you in love now? Even with my blurry photo, it still looks, in the words of Randy Jackson, “a million thousand times” better.

The colors in this second shot are so much truer to life – the blues, teals and greens are brilliant and vibrant, and make me want to keep this yarn for my own stash!

In a side note, my brother-in-law, the master electrician would be quick to correct me, saying that the items we are discussing today are called “lamps”, not “bulbs. A bulb is something you plant in the ground.” Regardless of what you call them, lamp or bulb, if you want pretty photos, and can’t wait for the summer sun, I highly recommend making the switch from incandescent to CLF.

Happy Knitting

New Moon – We Are Dyeing As Fast As We Can

Photo by molliebug

If you’ve spent any time on Ravelry browsing through the Bristol County Dyeworks yarn projects, (something you are ALL doing, I’m sure), you may have seen that Cheryl and I have a bit of a following when it comes to “New Moon” yarn. Whether in Peruvian wool or Merino this particular colorway has created a bit of a stir in among Twilight fans on Ravelry,  and we are so excited by the reaction we’ve received.

Photo by molliebug

The thing is, Bristol County Dyeworks is a small operation. When I say small, I mean teeny tiny, itsy bitsy.  It is just me and Cheryl. Sometimes, our husbands help out. Cheryl’s husband carries pails of water and various supplies from the house to the garage on the days we dye.

Photo by MelanieJennifer

My husband drops off packages at the post office (and occasionally fills out custom forms) when we are blessed with an order.

This little enterprise grew out of our love for yarn and knitting, and the thrill of playing with color. So this whole “New Moon” phenomenon has been a bit overwhelming, to say the least.

Honestly, Cheryl and I were tickled when we made our first sale on Etsy. It could have all stopped that first day and we’d still enjoy mixing up new colors and seeing what comes out of the dyepot. We  continue to do a little happy dance each time a new order or Etsy convo comes our way.

And we continue to be thrilled each time we receive a request for more New Moon yarn. Trust me, we are dyeing it as fast as we can. We hope to have more available in the next few weeks. Thanks for your patience!

Photo by bookgrump

In the meantime, please take a peek at what our lovely customers have done.  They are a talented bunch!

Bookgrump planned to knit on her way to Ohio, but knit at home instead.

Mrs. Melanie had great success using DPNs for the first time.

And Maglia wasn’t about to let a little cold slow her down. She knit two pairs of mittens in one day.

PS – For those one or two who are not fans of New Moon, we have many other colorways in the shop, with even more coming this weekend. I’m just sayin’.

Happy Knitting

Happy Winter Solstice

According to weather.com the sun set yesterday at 4:16 pm. Without planning it, I happened to be walking past the window at just the right moment…

Happy Winter Solstice. Here’s to longer days and more sunshine ahead.

Silvery Winter Light

Predictions are that a blizzard is about to hit Bristol County tonight. We have shovels and ice melt, (and hot chocolate and knitting) at the ready. It is a perfect time to be featured in this Etsy Treasury! Thanks to Caitlin for including us.