Dyers Unite!

Hi ladies. Check the board on Ravelry when you get a chance. There's a thread titled "Dyers Unite! Will you join me?" that I would like for you to check out. Thanks. :)

pictures at last

Pictures at last of the beautiful pacakge of hand dyed yarn that Cathy sent to me. I have been so busy with family here from England that this is the first chance I have had to post pics. As you can see she did an awesome job and I cannot thank her enough, it makes me very sad to see she was herslef flaked on after she did such a wonderful job for me.

Angel without a photo - oops!

Yes, it was me who sent a little something to our dear Cathy-Cate. Since I had to dye it up and get it out fast, I couldn't find a photo to suit the needs of the colours I had in mind. So she got yarn but no picture.

I hope she enjoys anyway :-)

Here is a photo of the yarn, from my end. I thought I had a photo of them once re-skeined, but I can't find it! So here is the yarn before reskeining, as seen in Cathy-Cate's photo:


I used a mix of Jaquard Acid dyes and Louet Gaywool Dyes, and used the hand-dipped/dip-dyeing method, rather than kettle-dyeing, to get a repeatable in-the-round colour pattern.

An Angel From Canada!

Thanks so much to Ursa, who took pity on my yarn-less state and sent this gorgeous hand-dyed yarn which arrived yesterday afternoon, lighting up a grey day.



In real life, the colors are a little deeper -- my very favorite jewel tones. Beautiful!

She has more similarly lovely yarn and roving at her etsy shop, Roaring Bravado.

Thanks so much, Ursa! I very much appreciate it!

Look at my yarn!

A very belated public thank you to Lindsey. I absolutely love this yarn--so much that I started knitting with it immediately. I love how the colors pooled into zigzags on this scarf.

So far, I've only used half the skein. The pattern is Yellow Dog's Trellis Lace Scarf free on ravelry.

I love this swap!

Especially for Natalie

Here's a shot of the yarn I sent to Natalie last month. She told me she likes LOTS of color and prefers DK weight sock yarn. The photo that inspired this yarn was a gorgeous picture of Party Fuchsias...one of my favorites! I can't wait to see what she makes from this fun yarn!

Janet

From Bridget to Shelly

This was my greeting as i returned home after my evacuation to Texas from Hurricane Gustav.
Thanks for your patience in awaiting my post to this blog. Bridget was inspired by an early morning sunrise photo she took after a long nights work. The sun is just rising and the dark blue sky is fading into the horizon.


The yarn she dyed for me is beautiful; wonderful hues of pink, white, red, and soft purple signalling "a new morning" combined with "end of the day" dark blues and purples. I LOVE the YARN Bridget Made for me! i plan to make a pair of pedicure socks. Bridget also made 5 little silver leaf stitch markers and included them with a butterfly paperweight, breakfast blend coffee, and some handmade peach soap. This was all worth waiting for!

My home never lost electricity and i am OK. This was my first swap ever and i enjoyed it all so much. I think i now have a new hobby: dying yarn. This swap has inspired me. Now i just have to study, drink some breakfast blend, knit, study more; so i can start to earn my first money; money that i will inevitably spend on yarn and more swaps!

so sorry.

I am firstly so sorry I have not done this earlier.

I recieved an absolutely amazing package from Cathy and I jsut have not had time to post. suprise visitors all the way from england kind of freaked me out.

anyway Cathy did a wonderful job with dying my yarn I cannot wait to use it. She did it in many shades of blue it looks almost like denim. 2 skeins. But that was not all she also sent to me a dyed sock blank in blues, a set of lovely knitting themed note cards, a wonderful pattern to use for my sock yarn , cherry blossom socks which are beaded at the top, so she also sent me the beads to go with
and many candy items all of which were eaten the day they arrived not all by me i have to add.

thanks cathy for a lovely package.
i will post pictures later this morning as my camera is in the car and i really wanted to get this done as it has been so long

Thank You Cari!!!

Thank you so much Cary for the wonderful package! Peach cobbler inspired yarn with her peach cobbler recipe. Also a great pattern she wrote for mittens and socks. And even more ... two samples of spinning fiber from her farm! I was spoiled rotten! :)

And thank you to everyone who volunteered to be an angel. Sorry I haven't gotten back to anyone yet. I will shortly. We've had a super busy past week filled with a birthday party, my son's first day of school, selling my car & in the process of buying another one. I'm looking forward to resting this coming weekend. :)

Falling Leaves

It arrived in the mail this week ~ along with the full moon, clear cold nights and change in the air that signals autumn...my favorite time of the yarn and my yarn gift from Natalie:



Beautiful yarn in flaming fall colors and a pattern written by Natalie herself called Falling Leaves. The photo that inspired her is inspiring to me, too...I love it!

I did reskein the yarn (see below) and I really, really want to start on the socks right NOW ~ LOL ~ but I have so many other little projects close to completion that I should finish first. But couldn't I at least cast on?!?



Thank you so much, Natalie, and thank you Celena for a fun swap!

Thank You Kristie!!

Today I received a package from my fabulous swap partner, Kristie. I LOVE IT!!!



She sent me this beautiful yarn and the picture that inspired it. Not only that, she also sent me New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bhordi and some Ghirardelli chocolate.



I can’t wait to find the perfect pattern to make myself a pair of socks. Thanks so much Kristie!!

First Sock Done

I have the first sock finished.
I looked through all my
books until I found the perfect

pattern. I ended up using Embosed Leaves
Socks out of the Interweave
Knits Favorite Socks.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out now for sock number 2.

MMMMMMMMMMM, Yarn!

As scheduled I received my hand dyed sock yarn on Monday. It's funny now when I look back on the emails from Celena, because it was me that she wanted to surprise, and boy did she! Not only did she dye the perfect colorway for the sock pattern I've been itching to knit, but she also dyed merino/nylon spinning fiber! Oh, the two together bring me back to "The Crush" season in Sonoma,CA. My yarn is perfumed by the fragrance of the most adorable chocolate goat's milk soap in the shape of a sheep. Do you know how hard it is not to eat it! Underneath it all you'll see the largest knitting bag I now own. Oh the possibilities!


Thanks, Celena, for all your thoughtful touches.

Felicia

Ursa's yarn from Susan

So my package arrived today. The person dyeing yarn for me hadn't contacted me so I didn't know who she was. And surprise! It's Susan, or JustKeepKnitting from San Fran. She certainly paid attention to the colours I like, as the skein contains my favourites - blues, greens, purples, burgundy...
It came with a fun sock purse and a lovely card with a painting on it of some wine, a big wedge of watermelon, what looks like a half of a cataloupe melon, both on plates. With the variety of colours on this painting, the colours she could have used are varied indeed: gold, creamy yellow, white, the pink/red of the watermelon flesh.
The yarn up close.

Thanks again, Susan!

cheers
Ursa

Yarn From Cassandra For Meghan

I received this in the mail on Friday, but was unable to get pics up until today.

I love love love what Cassandra sent me!! It is based off of my Wedding colors (we will celebrate our 3rd Anniversary this October)
Ironically it came in the mail the same day as a Jury Summons for Kings County Superior Court for, no lie, September 11th...

The Yarn was by far the better of the 2 things in my mailbox that day!

my hand dyed yarn arrived

Thank you Christina for your "The Litte Mermaid Princess Ariel" hand dyed colorway. It's a skein of lace weight, 440 yards. It included a sock pattern on the inside of her home made label.

Thank you, Felicia!!!

I am so thrilled with my package from Felicia!! Just look at this gorgeous yarn!! The photos do not at all do it justice. It's wonderfully muted shades of greens and blues, with a bit of yellow. Felicia dyed this yarn for me with Superwash Merino in sport weight. She calls it "PG Getaway" after her home in Pacific Grove, California.

Along with my beautiful yarn, Felicia also sent me some really fun gifts. There is some lavender-scented vegetable oil soap, some "beak balm" (not sure what to do with that, yet), a lovely Lantern Moon notepad, and a postcard with a photo of the beach at Pacific Grove. Each item is fabulous!

Now, on with the search for the perfect sock design to showcase this beautiful yarn. Thank you, Felicia!!

My package from Shelly!!

I had a very sad day when I found out that two of my skeins of sock yarn were ruined in what I call "The Sippy Cup Incident of 2008." My day was made better when I found this in my mailbox. It's a beautiful tweedy orange yarn, perfect for a pair of Halloween socks.
Included in my box was a crocheted business card holder, which is the perfect size for my ipod!!
I love the sock yarn that my partner made for me. Thank you so much Shelly!!
She also sent me a note that something else is on it's way to me, I can't wait!! This was my first
swap, and I'm definitely going to participate in more.

A little extra info about Christabel's yarn

So here is some info about the yarn I dyed for Christabel (who has already posted below). The second photo below is the "inspiration" photo, of Chestermans Beach near Tofino, on Vancouver Island (I'm in Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island). It wasn't a postcard but a photo I told when I was there in June. Our family goes there every second year, and I love it! I had planned to print out the photo to include in the package, but my printer would have none of it! So I had to settle with emailing the photo to her, and including it here for all of you to see.
I call the colourway, oddly enough, "Chestermans Beach". I dyed it Kettle-dyeing style, adding a little extra water so that it wouldn't be too dark of colour saturation. I wanted to leave some areas white to show the fluffy clouds in the sky, a little brown and green for the trees and small islands shown, and some sand, and of course, the blues and blue-greens of the sky and sea.



I look forward to seeing the socks later on!

cheers
Ursa

Adding to the Blog

I had a request (which I think is a great one btw) that after the yarn you dyed is posted you create a reply post of your own telling everyone what method you used to dye the yarn. If you took any pictures during the dyeing process we'd love to see those too.

I LOVE this yarn!

Okay I finally figured out how to do this after spending WAY too much time trying to understand how to post a blog before asking for help which Celena was nice enough to provide. I'm so happy with the yarn I received! I'm looking for the perfect sock pattern for it right now and have it narrowed down to 4. Meghan's inspiration was Niagra Falls which was a really unique thing to dye yarn to go with. There was more candy but my 3 year old ate it before I took the photo. She also included a pack of notecards which was really nice. I was really happy with this swap! Thanks Celena and Meghan!

Perth to San Francisco in record time

I received my swap package from Christabel on Friday. Wow--what a package! This yarn is amazing--it is honestly the best sock yarn base I have ever seen. And Christabel--you did such a wonderful job dyeing the yarn. It practically glows--I really like the orange. And the sockdown challenge for September is to knit with orange yarn, so the timing is perfect. I'm planning to make Nancy Bush's First sock in Shell Pattern--I'm really looking forward to knitting with this yarn.



The entire package is very generous--Christabel even included a hand-crocheted peach pin. Home canning peaches is a summer tradition in my family and peaches hold special memories for me. Thank you very much for everything Christabel--it is wonderful and I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Yay!

My yarn arrived yesterday. Many thanks to Ursa!



Such beautiful colours. I can't wait to knit it up.

The Fun is About to Begin

I've heard from several participants that they already mailed their swap packages out. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's blog posts. This is where the swap really gets fun!

Partners!

I sent out swap pals last night. I did not do partners for this round. This means that the person you are sending yarn to (the questionnaire you received last night) is NOT the person sending yarn to you. If you did not get a forwarded questionnaire last night, please check your junk/spam mail folder. Let me know if you have any questions!

Happy Swapping!
~Celena

Last Chance!

I'm going to assign partners this weekend so if you still want in on this swap you've got a couple more days to get me your questionnaire answers.

Housekeeping

I did a little housekeeping to help me keep track of things for this round. I deleted all the blog authors so the list was clear so if you have participated in the past, please look for your new invitation. Thanks!

Questionnaire for Round 4

Sign-Ups for Round 4 Open

1. Name and mailing address:
2. Website/blog (if you have one):
3. Ravelry username (if you have one):
4. Email Address (I know I have it already but this is for your pal):
5. Have you ever dyed yarn before?
6. What are your favorite colors?
7. Are there any colors you really don’t like?
8. Do you have a preference for sock yarn weight? For example, do you prefer to knit with larger yarn (worsted, bulky, etc) or with smaller yarn (dk, fingering, etc)
9. Are you allergic to any fibers?
10. Have you participated in any other swaps? If yes, which one(s)?
11. Do you spin?
12. What other hobbies do you have besides knitting/crochet?
13. Do you have pets? Kids?
14. Is there a sock pattern (or two or three) that you’ve had your eye on for a while that you really want to knit but still don’t have the yarn for?
15. What are the last three things you knit? Were they for you or did you give them away?
16. What’s on your needles right now?
17. Do you sell yarn or other knitting related items? If so, how? (Etsy, LYS, eBay, etc)
18. If you had to pick only one type of item to knit for the rest of your life, what would it be?
19. Are you willing to ship internationally or would you prefer a pal in the same country?
20. When you think of summer, what comes to mind?
21. If you could go anywhere for a summer vacation and money were not a factor, where would you go/what would you do?
22. Is there anything else you want your pal to know about you?

Round 4: INSPIRED BY PICTURES

Round 4 is on for this summer! Here are the details:

1. Round 4 will be “Inspired by Pictures” - Your yarn should be inspired by a picture (postcards are okay) and you should include it in your package. Some ideas floating around are your favorite beach or vacation spot, an interesting animal, etc.
2. We will swap sock yarn again. Enough for an adult pair of socks. Whether you dye one big skein, split it in two or do mini skeins for toes and heels is totally up to you. Feel free to be creative, as long as it’s enough to make an adult size pair of socks.
3. To sign up, send the answers to the questionnaire above to swappingyarn@gmail.com.
4. Please make sure you are able to take and post pictures before you sign up. A big part of this swap is this blog. If you don't intend to take and post pictures, please do not sign up.
   
5. After I receive your questionnaire, I will send you an invite to this blog or an email if you were already invited in a previous round. That will serve as your acceptance to the swap.
6. Any questions/concerns/ideas .. please let me know.
7. Let's have a great summer swap!
   

Interest in Round 4?

Checking to see if there is interest in doing another round of the swap this summer. Please leave a comment to this post if you are interested. I'm thinking it will be another round of sock yarn. Maybe with a pattern, maybe not.

Hooray!

Quick post to say I just returned from a 10-day trip last night, and finally the post office had coughed up the package from Heidi Kim which she had mailed about a month ago!

Hooray!

It's awesome!

Here are the pictures now, and all the juicy details.



First, some Norwegian chocolate (mmmm, through sheer willpower as well as lack of time, untouched, you will notice! Then, two, TWO lovely skeins of not only hand-dyed but hand-spun gorgeous yarn! Heidi Kim and I must have been channeling each other, because the yarn I dyed for her looks like a combination of these two yarns. The shades of purple yarns is a thick and thin spun merino, for which Heidi Kim included the pattern for My So-Called Scarf. A pattern I've been wanting to try for hand-dyed yarn, but the yarn I tried it in was too stiff. This one won't be! It is so soft.

But not as soft as the blue yarn. Ooooh. See the cute little face on the label?

That's one of Heidi Kim's angora rabbits, and the yarn is 100 % handspun angora!

Wow! I've never had anyone hand spin yarn for me before, and most especially not from their own bunnies! And in my most favorite jewel tone colors! I feel so special.

I think this might become a special lacy scarf; it definitely has to be next to the skin somehow.

So back up to the first picture, she also sent a scenic postcard from Norway with explanations, two pretty stitch markers (and given that there are two, if I don't require them as stitch markers, I can always wear them as earrings!), and blocking pins that are much more lovely than my T-pins!

Wowzers. Totally worth the post office kidnapping and wait. Thank you so much, Heidi Kim!

Cathy (Cathy-Cate)

Thank You Again, Penny!

I just received a SECOND package from Penny. She included sock patterns, more yarn, Eucalan samples and some Smarties candies!! How fun! Thank you so much, Penny...you are very generous and the yarn is so nice!!!

Promote Your Yarn/Fiber Shop

Later this month, I will be attending Yarn School . It's a dyeing and spinning workshop in Kansas, in a relaxed setting with great people. Many of the attendees have their own etsy shops, yarn stores, or other crafty business. This session we've been invited to add a contribution to the goodie bag that every student receives!

It's short notice, but I think it's fun and a great way to reach more people with your product. The guidelines are here and I hope many of you can participate because you're all so talented and I'm sure everyone at Yarn School would love to see your creations.

Any questions, or to participate, you can contact Nikol Lohr

Think about it.

Sometimes the mail makes me happy....

....sometimes the mail makes me sad.

Right now, it's sad. Heidi Kim mailed a package from Norway that left there March 25 and still hasn't arrived on my doorstep. I'm leaving tomorrow (before the mail usually comes) and will be gone for 10 days, so I won't be able to see it if it does come, or tell you, until I get back.

But I know she mailed it! Just wanted to let everyone know.

P.S. Cute puppies at her blog.

Cathy

Need some caffeine?

Bridget says that she got her yarn from her buddy and she was really excited about the package.

Here is a link to her blog for the juicy details!

Thanks Felicia

HOW DID I FORGET?

I guess I was tired when I wrote the last post but despite still being tired I can't seem to sleep (and I need to be somewhere tomorrow or later today at 1:30PM and it is now almost 5AM).
I forgot to tell you about the two sock patterns that Jan also sent me. I got a Lisa Souza pattern called Petal Lace Socks which doesn't look too difficult and a sock pattern called Esther by Stephanie van der Linden which looks a bit more complicated. Well actually a lot more complicated.They were by my bed on my reading pile and I forgot them in the previous post. I didn't have either and this is my first Lisa Souza pattern. I love the picot edge on the Esther pattern and have always wanted to try knitting sock cuffs like that so here is my chance.
AND the candy Jan sent is gone. I must have inhaled it faster than usual as I can't even remember it now which is not like me. I am terribly sorry Jan.

MY PACKAGE ARRIVED.....

...this past Wednesday from Jan of Janknits. I was so worried about it as it was taking so long to get here. I still have two other swaps that have yet to arrive and were mailed way before Jan sent hers. She got mine before I received hers and I sent here several days after she mailed me my packge BUT PHEW it arrived at my home intact and safe. What a wonderful package Jan sent me. The color of the yarn is just perfect for me and such deep bright colors.

In addition to the yarn, Jan sent me some coconut tea, beads which I love, and a Lavender Sachet a favorite scent of mine. In fact, as soon as I opened the puffy I could smell the lavender scent. Is this yarn not lovely? AND it is oh so very soft.


Thank-you Jan for the lovely package you sent and being patient until I posted this. Now I will go and post it on my blog which will be be dated Wed as that is when I started that post.

Thanks so much, Susan!

I've been very remiss in posting, since I actually got the package last week. (And I'm very happy you liked your yarn too!)

Susan sent me 6 skeins of beautiful shaded autumn-colored merino wool and the book for making and felting the entrelac Market Squares bag. I also got some snacking chocolate, a cute card, and an intricate lace bookmark (now I know what to do with those lace swatches). I am absolutely stunned. I can't say thank you enough for sending me on the path to a neat new technique and reusable bag goodness!

Package from Bridget

I received a lovely package from Bridget. I got Knitlite needles, that my daughter asked if she could have (no) and some really lovely worsted yarn in greens. Also some flower patterns, a hat pattern and some really yummy caramel corn (love it, opened it immediately). Thanks for the fab package! Oh, and Bridget published the package I sent her on her blog instead of this one, so check it out through the blog link on this page.

Yiah, I got packet from Cathy.

Yesterday I run to the post office because I got two note about packets arrived, one of them was from Cathy. I love all of it, look at this gorgeous hand dyed yarn - called Ultramarine. She also send me Knitpicks Bare 70% merino and 30% silk that I can dye and look at all the other goodies :o)



You can read more in my blog.

Thank you so much Cathy, now I hope my packet soon arrived to you :o)

Checking In

Hi swappers! You all are coming up with some great stuff this round ... as I knew you would! Life is settling down for me and i'll be back to run the next round. Many thanks to Felicia for stepping up and running round 3 for me. Looks like things are going well. Make sure to post pictures of what you receive (even if you don't love it) so the rest of us can get a glimpse. Remember that's part of what makes this swap so much fun. (hey, it wouldn't be a round of the hand dyed yarn swap if i didn't do just a little nagging about posting pictures now would it?)
Happy Swapping!
~Celena

ps... i'm having a big sale in my etsy shop to help me fund the purchase of a piano so come check it out (RocketYarn). i'm also destashing so if you're on ravelry (username: celena) check out my trade/sell page. thanks!

Thank you, Penny!

Your package arrived today!

Penny included a skein of Kool-Aid-dyed sport-weight wool/nylon yarn, lots of goodies, several Avon products and a copy of Canadian Living. She also enclosed a letter that was that was apologetic for her dye-work.

Penny, please remember that we all start at the beginning. The yarn you dyed for me is wonderful and will make cozy socks. Please don't apologize! It's just lovely! And I thank you! --Janet

IT'S HERE!!

CARMELL!!!
I love, love, love my package, my yarn, my pattern, everything, thank you!! I was away for the weekend and returned to find it here on Monday. I will post photos asap so everyone can see all the goodies you sent, you are awesome... Wendy

Howdy Partners

For those who are participants in the swap, please check your email for the latest developments:)
Hope things are going well!

Felicia

Belated Yarn post!

Hello....I wanted to let everyone know that yes...I did receive my yarn and I apologize for not posting earlier. Felicia sent me some awesome purple yarn and a link to the satchel @ knitty.com. I also received some awesome man soap, that has such a great smell, I feel clean just sniffing it at my desk! There is also a his/hers bar of soap that I can share with my significant other! Thanks Felicia for the great gift...I know we will love it! Fib3rG33K