Knitting Update: December 5, 2017

I'm currently working on a sekret design project so no info/photos about that until it's ready to be released, but here are some things I can show you.

In my ongoing stashdown quest, I grabbed a partial and full skein of Rowan's Yorkshire Tweed DK leftover from a sweater I knit... oh... about 8 or 9 years ago.  I used all of that yardage up to knit Lete's Knits Tied Knots hat (which is a freebie pattern on Ravelry).  Super well-written pattern; charting and instructions are both very clearly done, and I had fun knitting a little cabled project.

Warm and cozy, with a good fit and fun to knit for the win!  (And another skein and a half out of stash.)

Currently, I'm working on a pair of plain vanilla self-striping socks (56-stitch circumference) in Gynx Yarn's Strong Sport in the Gingerbread House colorway. 

Another stashbuster project for me and holiday-themed to boot.  I'll be working on these this week. 

I'll have a 2018 planning post next week - one I'm really excited about!

Wooly Wonka Fibers Podcast - Episode 24

The newest episode is now live!  (Recorded July 31, 2016).

WIP Wednesday: July 13, 2016

The newest podcast edition is now live (recorded July 12, 2016):

For the quick low-down on what I'm working on, here ya go!

Sekret Knitting:

• Working away busily on The Yarn Guys September project in my Nimue Sock yarn.  Currently about 1/4 of the way thru this one. 
• I also cast on the first sleeve for the fall Sweater Club and that is 3/4 finished.

Personal Knitting:

• Plain vanilla stripey socks in the Calvin and Hobbes colorway from Desert Vista Dyeworks.

• Pumpkin Spice Socks: Pattern by CC Almon.  Yarn is Wooly Wonka Aerten Sock in the "Bittersweet" colorway.

WIP Wednesday: June 22, 2016

All the details about my WIPs can be found in this week's podcast episode:

For the short version:
FOs: 

Caramel Latte Socks: Pattern by CC Almon. Yarn is MCN Fingering from 2IBH in the “Fauve” colorway.
Shetland Shoreline:  Pattern by me.  Part of the Knitpicks Joyful Lace collection.

WIPs: 
Heathered cardigan 
Talisman Shawl 
Handspun Cabin Socks 
Design for Austin Yarn Crawl/The Happy Ewe

WIP Wednesday: June 8, 2016

The newest episode (#17) of the podcast is now live:

Here's the Cliff Notes version as well of what I'm working on:

Sekret Knitting

• The Fall 2016 design collection shawl is done!
• I have 1 sleeve left to knit on the Fall 2016 design collection sweater - that's my priority knit this week. 

Personal Knitting

• I put sock #2 of the self-striping Valentine's Day sock pair on the needles.
• I'm chugging along on my Whirlwind Romance shawl a bit every day.
• I still have the Heathered cardigan on the needles - will pick this back up once the last fall design piece is done.
• I'm also working on a pair of Caramel Latte socks from the Coffee with CC collection.  Sock #1 is done - and I'm working on sock #2 (about halfway up the foot).

WIP Wednesday: May 25, 2016

This week's podcast episode is now live wherein I talk about all the things (and I mean ALL the things) that I've got on the needles right now:

For those of you just here for the drive-by version, I'm working on:

Sekret Knitting:

• Fall 2016 design collection sweater #2: I've got the body just about done on this.  I have half the front to finish shaping at the neckline and about 14 rows to knit of the back.  Sleeve #1 is done, so I plan on working on sleeve 2 this weekend.
• Fall 2016 design collection shawl:  On the needles currently.  I just cast this one on (it's not even mentioned on the podcast!), but it's my focus project this upcoming week. 

Personal Knitting:  A caveat that I have several things at the 99% done stage - I'm waiting for Stash Dash 2016 to start on Friday (05/27/2016) to cast those off to be able to count the yardage.

• The Lizzie Shawl: I have 1 repeat of the knit-on lace edging to do and then this is done!
• Hermione's Everyday Socks:  I have just the final toe decreases to finish and then these are done!
• Espresso Macchiato Socks: I have 1 final heel to knit and then these are done!
• Handspun Targhee socks:  New to the line-up.  I'm not using a specific pattern, per se, but just a plain vanilla sock over 60 sts with size US 2 needles. 

• Whirlwind Romance shawl: Cast this on using one of my oldest stash yarns, Lisa Souza Sock!, 100% SW merino wool.  I'm using some silver-lined clear beads for this.

WIP Wednesday: May 18, 2016

Happy WIP Wednesday, y'all!  If you want a bunch of details, you can pop into my podcast, Episode 14, where I talk about the things I'm working on here:

Show notes can also be found in my Ravelry group here.

For the short version, here's what I'm working on:

Sekret Knitting:

• I've finished up the cardigan for the 2016 fall design collection.  That's heading off to my TE and testing shortly. 
• I've cast on for the pullover for the fall design collection.  This is a DK-weight pullover and I've got one sleeve just about done (I need to finish shaping the sleeve cap) and started on the body.  I'm hoping to get through at least half the body this week so I can hopefully put in some focused time and have that completely done by the end of the first week of June.

Personal Knitting:  In general, I'm gearing up for StashDash 2016, which kicks off May 27th,  and trying not to cast off very much right now, so I've got a bunch of things on the go!

• May self-striping socks in the "Kiva" colorway on Wooly Wonka Fibers Aerten Sock, using CC Almon's Espresso Macchiato Socks pattern. IOne sock is done (just needs blocking).  I've got the other one finished except for the afterthought heel - which I'll do after StashDash starts.

• Hermione's Everyday Socks knit from Spun Right Round's 80/20 Sock in the "Dirty Denim" colorway.  One sock finished and the second one is OTN, about a third of the way done the leg.  My plan is to try to get these done except for perhaps the toe on sock #2 so I can cast those off once StashDash starts.

• The Lizzie Shawl, a reknit of one of my designs with updated increases and a new colorway.  Working this up on Nimue Sock in the medium size in the Miss Elizabeth Bennett colorway.  I'm a bit further along than this progress photo.  This is at the end of the garter-stitch section, and I've done half the knit-on lace edging/border already.  Again.... I'm planning to try to have this done except for the last lace edging repeat, so I can cast it off for StashDash yardage.
  
• I'm also working on squares for my Cozy Memories/mitered square scrap sock yarn blanket.  Those are ongoing and I'm shooting for 4 a week or thereabouts. 

WIP Wednesday: December 16, 2015

Sekret Knitting:  And lots of it.

• The first Heroines Club shawl is done, off the needles and through testing and tech editing.  That'll release on January 1, 2016.  
• I've bumped a small DK-weight set up to the top of the list since it has a very short deadline.  That's for a fall 2016 publication.  I'm about 25% of the way through the knitting on that and hoping to be pretty close to having the samples done at this time next week.
• Still plugging along on the large Fair Isle project - I've opted to push that date out a bit for the finalized sample as I've gotten enough knit to calculate out all my grading and get that ready to send for testing/tech editing.  I'm working on that as I have time.
• I've gotten charting and preliminary numbers done for another Fair Isle project - I've wound yarn and that'll go on the needles today to double-check gauge and plot out any changes I need to make for that. 

Personal Knitting:  Believe it or not, I'm working on socks - I've got a secondary sneak colorway of my new Self-Striping Socks on the needles.  I've knit sock #1 to the point I'm ready to shape the toe. Once I get that one off the needles, I'll put the February Colors of New Mexico skein on and be sure I'm happy with the colorway progression.  I'm finding a sort of zen-like meditation in knitting stockinette stitch in the round watching the colors stripe.  It's a good way to rest my brain and not have to really think about my knitting and just enjoy it!  

At Year's End

2015 has been a year of a LOT of great changes around here - I can hardly believe I actually have had The Book released out into the world to you all.  And finally finally! after many years of working towards not having to work yet another day job on top of everything else, it feels really good to be focused on my designing and shop things 100% of the time!

So as 2015 winds to a close in the next couple of weeks, I have some fun announcements for things in the works for 2016 - the first of several in the next months.

To begin, look for a brand-new podcast from me sometime around the first of the year.  I wanted to have a way to share all the things I'm working on with y'all on a more one-on-one basis, and I've been thinking about podcasting for a while now.  More details on that closer to the launch, but I'm going to shoot for an every-other-week, maybe 30-minute or so podcast to keep you up-to-date on shop things, KAL's, sales, and other bits and bobs going on in my life.  There will definitely be some knitting, probably some spinning, and likely some other personal things like my reading list choices.  I'll hope to see some of you there!

Next up, I wanted to announce a new item for the shop - Self-Striping Sock Yarns!  Yep, I've taken the plunge there and will be posting rotating colorways all during 2016, as well as having an informal KAL in my Ravelry group.  The main theme this year will be Colors of New Mexico - I'm so fortunate to live in a state where the light is gorgeous, the scenery is spectacular and the colors are so vibrant and vivid.  I'll be posting an inspiration photo or two with each of the colorways - and that'll happen once a month.  Each colorway will be available for 3 months, and then will rotate out of stock, but I'll have a new colorway update each month around the 15th.  (There may also be some other sneak update colorways outside this theme, but those will be on a more random basis.)

The first colorway I've chosen is "Santa Fe".  Themed on these 2 great photos, the colorway has adobe brown, chili red, turquoise and purple in varying-width stripes.

You get to pick the sock yarn base and you've got 4 to choose from.  You can see all your options here on the website. All skeins are dyed to order, so please be aware it'll be a couple of weeks or so before you see yours in your mailbox if you choose to order.

My sample was knit on the Aerten Sock base (which is 80/10/10 superwash merino/cashmere/nylon), with 435 yards/100 grams per skein.  I knit these on US size 1 (2.25 mm) needles, with an afterthought heel on 64 sts. Your stripes will look similar to this, depending on what size needle and/or sock pattern stitch number you choose.

I hope you'll enjoy this journey through the state this year with me!

2016 Clubs!

Since I apparently needed a LOT more caffeiene when I posted my last WIP post not on a Wednesday and not even on the right day, I'm bypassing that category this Wednesday to talk about Wooly Wonka clubs for 2016!  Note that all club sign-ups will be open through December 31, 2015 (the fiber club will be open for those quarterly sign-ups throughout 2016 as well).

This year, I'm offering 3 clubs (with a preview of another new offering if you make it all the way through this post at the end!):  The Heroines Shawl Club and a subscription Sweater Club for knitters, and a fiber club for handspinners.

Let's start with the fiber club.  It'll be similar in format to last year's.  Each month you will receive 4 oz of either a 100% wool, a wool and something blend (like merino/tencel, BFL/silk, etc.) or a custom blended roving.  Since the club is set up in quarters of the year, you'll get one of those bases every 3 months.  You have the option of picking a handpaint or a tonal/kettle dye option.  On the months I send out the blended roving, everyone will get the same roving.  You may opt to do more than 4 oz, of course!  Shipping is included in the price, and you can sign up for just 3 months at a time, or go for the whole year and get yourself a discount.  Our theme for 2016 will be Art Gallery. Think colorways inspired by great masterpieces of art - Botticelli, Van Gogh, Dali, Degas.   Packages will ship around the 15th of every month.

Next up, a new addition to the line-up, the Sweater Club.   This club will get you enough yarn to knit two hand-dyed sweaters and their patterns during the course of 2016.

The first sweater will be a DK-weight cardigan, with my brand-new Aeslin DK superwash merino as the base. It will have a simple knit/purl texture pattern for the body, with the sleeves and upper raglan yoke knit in stockinette, and a casual, boxy fit. The yarn and pattern will arrive mid-March 2016.
The second sweater will be a fingering-weight cardigan, knit with Artio Sock, which is a 50/50 silk/blue-faced Leicester wool blend. It will have some optional waist shaping, with lace patterning on the back and set-in sleeves, with a bit more tailored fit; a great layering piece for the changeable weather of early fall. The yarn and pattern will arrive mid-September. (If you loved the Aspens cardigan from Free Spirit Knits, you’ll like this one).
You can pick and choose from multiple sizing options and can select any of the tonal-dyed colorways available in the shop Gallery section. All of your yarn will be dyed at the same time, so it will be the same “dye lot” for your project. Club members will receive both sweater patterns delivered as PDFs into your Ravelry library. The club will allow you to break up the cost of two hand-dyed sweater lots over 4 installment payments during the year, with payments for the remaining 3 installments due March 1st, June 1st and September 1st. Previews of the sweaters will be available in mid-January and mid-July, so you can select colors that best suit the projects and your personal preferences (and I’ll be sending out reminder emails to club members so they have plenty of time to pick).

And finally, the Heroines Shawl Club.  We’ll again have six shawl projects in the club this year, with the first one shipping out the first week in January, and then every other month (so March, May, July, September and November 2016). You will again have the option of choosing just the ebook collection that has patterns only, opting for an installment payment for the yarn/patterns or paying upfront for the entire year (which gets you the deepest discount). Each shawl project will be a different shape, ranging from half-hexagon, to a rectangle, to circular, and a few others in between.

The themes for 2016 will be:

• Freya from the book Iceland by Betsy Tobin. This will be on the Arianrhod Sock base (SW merino/silk/glitter), and will feature a gradient colorway based on fire and ice.
• Gustine from the book “The Dress Lodger”. This will be on Nimue Sock (50/50 SW merino/silk) in a mid-range cornflower blue. Genevieve from “The Lady and the Unicorn”. This will be a warm rich red on Aeslin Fingering (100% SW merino).
• Jo March from “Little Women.” This will be on a brand-new club-exclusive sockweight yarn (50/50 alpaca/merino) in a dark earthy gray with a heathery look.
• Lily Owens from “The Secret Life of Bees”. This shawl will be knit from a tricolor/gradient on Ceridwen Sock (100% SW merino) in warm honey golds.
• Isabella Byrd who wrote a series of memoirs in the form of letters back home to England while she was exploring the western mountains (Colorado to Nevada) on horseback, and knitting her way through all of that!  This be on Artio Sock (50/50 BFL and silk) in a dark forest green.

All the shawls will be full size, so at least 600 yards of fingering-weight yarn each. Shawls will also be intermediate in terms of skill set - all the motifs will be charted and not written out.

Whew!  Made it this far through this very long post? If so, then I'll sneak in just one more little bit of information.  Beginning in January 2016, I will be carrying self-striping sock yarns.  Each month I'll introduce a new color and in 2016, I'll be focusing on Colors of New Mexico.  January's colorway will be "Santa Fe", a gorgeous 4-color set of stripes.  This color will be available for the first 3 months of 2016 for orders, with a new color added every month.  These will all be on a custom-dye basis, so you can pick from one of four sock yarn bases and have it dyed up just for you.  More to come later in the month of December with some sneak peeks and info on KALs and giveaways!

WIP Wednesday: September 16, 2015

Back from the Salida Fiber Festival, where I had a lovely time as usual - lots of familiar faces to visit with and absolutely GORGEOUS fall weather!  Today, I'm getting back into the groove, catching up on emails and getting some wholesale orders dyed up.

Sekret Knitting:

• Still working on my project for the Interweave compilation.  I'm about a third of the way through and after 1 more repeat, will be ready to start the next section.  That's my focus of knit-time this week.
• I am about 3/4s of the way through the small shawl I'm designing for the November Yarn Club. This one is paired with a gradiant and yowza! - I love how it's knitting up!  I will likely get this one done this week as it's a fast knit. 
• Next up will be another sweater - I've got yarn wound and I'll likely get some preliminary numbers and charting done this week and get this one started. 

Personal Knitting:  I finally finished up the plain ribbed socks I've been working on.  Since I only have knit on this when I've had downtime in my booth while vending, they've been on the needles a while.  I did have some time to get the heel turned and started on the foot on Sunday - and then decided I'd just motor along and finish them since they have been on the needles for so long.  These were a trial run of my Zinnias gradiant.  I've since moved the purple further down to finish off the toes, and eliminated the yellow section, but otherwise, the colors are the same.

Now... if it'll just get cold enough to have a use for wool socks around here, I'd be all set!

Spinning Friday: June 19, 2015

This week I have another finished spin to share!  I dyed myself up a braid of BFL/silk (75/25) in the "Wine Country" colorway, which was from last year's fiber club.

I divided the braid into equal thirds, and I then spun each third lengthwise, leaving one third intact, to spin end-to-end; breaking the second third into 2 halves lengthwise; and breaking the final third into fourths lengthwise for a fractal spin.

Technical Specs:
Roving:  3.6 oz of 75/25 BFL wool/silk roving in the "Wine Country" colorway from Wooly Wonka Fibers.
Ply:  2-ply.
Weight:  Sport.
Yardage: 289 yards.

Finished fiber is earmarked for a pair of socks.

Next Friday, we'll be at the 1-week mark before the 2015 Tour de Fleece starts, so I'll be back to show what I've picked to spin for the Tour this year!

WIP Wednesday: June 10, 2015

This week I'm working on:

Sekret Knitting:

• The next Heroines Shawl project, which is not-quite halfway completed.  I'm taking this with me on the plane to Austin, so I'm hoping to have the main body finished and maybe even start on the edging. 
• The Spirit Trail Fibers sweater, which I'm sort of waffling about the cable motif on the back, so this piece will likely get frogged and restarted.  
• A summery cowl for The Yarn Guys in a super-soft pima cotton fingering-weight yarn, Pandora.

Personal Knitting: 

• The Through The Loops mystery shawl.  I've worked thru clue 1, and clue 2 just released Monday.  You can see the details on my project page on Ravelry here, in case any of you are working on it and not quite this far along yet.  I'm using Wooly Wonka Arianrhod Sock in Azalea for the main color and Dusk for the contrast color.  (side note: I really want to make a sweater for myself from Azalea.  I should just get off my keister and dye up the yarn for it.)

• The ongoing gradiant socks.  One is done - I need to knit another inch or so and then I can start on the heel flap of #2.

WIP Wednesday: May 27, 2015

This week's WIP line-up:

Sekret Knitting:

• Colorwork cowl is done!  I need to get the draft off to my TE and send it for a test knit, but the sample is finished. 
• Now I can focus more exclusively on my project for Spirit Trail Fibers.  I'm actually thinking of including this piece along with a few others in a winter Steampunk collection, but mulling over the details of that currently. 

Personal Knitting:
Working on my simple 2x2 ribbed socks.  I finished the first sock and cast on for #2 while I was vending.  While these aren't really my colors, they are very fun and I think will be a great donation pair.  I'm going to toss these into my bag as well to take with me to the TNNA conference this weekend in Columbus.

WIP Wednesday: May 20, 2015

This week's WIP line-up:

Sekret Knitting:

• Working away on the colorwork cowl.  I'm about 2/3rds done, so I think with a few more evenings of knit-time, it'll be done easily by the end of the month.  
• Started sleeve #1 of my project for Spirit Trail Fibers - Loving this yarn and I think this pattern is going to be a really fun, wearable piece.  I may have to get the sample back from Jen to keep for my very own wardrobe!

Personal Knitting:
I cast on a pair of simple 68-stitch, 2x2 ribbed socks to work up an extra gradiant skein of Wooly Wonka Arianrhod Sock I had dyed up.  I like to have something simple to work on while vending, and since I'll be at the ABQ Fiber Fiesta this weekend, this is that project. Nothing fancy with this - I just am enjoying watching the colors start changing down the leg. I've got these skeins dyed up in (mostly) matching halves, and I know if I get to the purple section in the ball, it's time to get the toe finished up - since that's the halfway point (although I will probably not need to knit the foot that long.  I'm thinking these will be a great donation sock for a female person based on the colors, so I don't need a huge pair.)

I'm also looking ahead to the Tour de Fleece that starts the first week in July.  I'm trying to decide on fibers to spin for the Tour, so expect some more spinning-related chat over the next 6 weeks before the Tour officially kicks off.  (And if you are a handspinner and want in on some casual, low-key fun, please consider joining my Wooly Wonka Fibers team in my Ravelry group here - All Are Welcome!)

WIP Wednesday: March 4, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• I started the next shawl for the Heroines Shawl club.  I am planning for it to have 4 sections, or maybe a fifth if I've got enough yardage, and I'm almost finished the first section.  My goal is to finish that section, and try to work thru the second section.
• The other shawl project is still on hold. 

Personal Knitting: 

• I cast on for the Furrow mittens by Kirsten Kapur.  I'm using some Harrisville Worsted from stash in Fawn and Teak with a bit of black for the contrast rows in the cuffs.  I had to drop down two needle sizes to 5s, and I wound up not increasing sts after the cuff was finished, since these were coming out pretty large.  I'm going to try to finish up mitten #1 this week.

• I also cast on a pair of socks: The Long Dark of Moria by Claire Ellen.  She had originally knit these using Wooly Wonka Fibers Arianrhod Sock, but I had a skein of Aerten Sock in the same colorway (Avalon), so I decided to use that.  I had originally cast these on thinking I'd knit on them in the car while we drove back and forth to Taos this weekend, but then we didn't make the trip, so these will likely be my travel project for when I go to Dallas/Fort Worth in another few weeks.  Nothing specific I want to get done on these - if I feel like working on them, and have the mitten finished, I'll pick them up for a bit. 

Pattern Release: Jabberwock Socks

I've just released the first of four patterns for the Mythical Creatures Club, the Jabberwock Socks.

This sample pair is knit with Wooly Wonka Fibers Aerten Sock, in the Jabberwock colorway (one of the two colorways for the February Yarn Club.)  They are knit from the top (cuff) down and feature a panel of twisted stitches that run down the front of the sock, and a smaller twisted stitch/ribbing pattern on the back of the leg.

They can be worked in one of three available sizes (to fit most women's feet), and are suitable for any sock-weight yarn that has a nice firm twist and not too much halo.

There will be 3 other patterns in the collection, released over the course of the year, about one per quarter, although you can also opt to pick up this pattern as a stand-alone as well.