SOAR

Vendor List

Set up Rollercoaster

This weekend is the TKGA show at the DoubleTree Lloyd center here in Portland. We're in booth 49 and having a blast. But getting here was a little rough.

I was well organized, we packed the car, it wasn't too full, and off we went, in two cars since all the seats in the van were removed. Then I notice Gail is saying something like **&^%^! Uh, oh... The car lights are flashing as the autolock has engaged and she's noticed her purse is on the front seat. Keys inside. I'm thinking **&^^! too. **&^^%! Rebecca patiently takes out her knitting.

We got very lucky and AAA arrived in about 15 minutes. We were on our way for real now. Next stop Trader Joe's. We always have snacks in the booth in case lunch doesn't happen. Besides that, chocolate keeps the whole crew happy. I'm in the zone, heading to the hotel, zipping right along, hmmm, hmmm, oh, wasn't that TJs we just flew past - both of us? ((*&*^^!

After a few illegal turns, we are back at TJs and all is well. Gail and Rebecca head off for gas, as Gail realized she was on fumes and we all needed more caffine. Gail thoughtfully gets me my favorite, Earl Grey, in a fancy commuter cup. Yeah Gail! I already have Earl Grey in the car, but more is always good, right? I drink the tea the next day. It was hermetically sealed right?

We arrive at the hotel without further trouble after a few more illegal u-turns. I check us in and realize I forgot to get a badge for Rebecca. Get that fixed. Then go see the booth. We're in the back, but there are a couple of rows farther back, right? Well, no. They didn't sell all the booths and my "premium" corner booth is at the very back corner of the show, in the dark. ((*&%^!

All turns out well, as I get a refund of the booth premium, and we end up with a ton of space by spooging out all over. We bring lights the next day to eliminate the dark cave effect. Elecrical is free at these things if they don't notice you using it.

Setup went really well until I ran out of yarn. The show hasn't started and my yarn display is about 1/3 empty. I simply didn't have enough stock of yarn. (((&^^***((*!

An emergency call to Jasmine, along with Rebecca's offer to help label, and the two of them are set to wind yarn all evening while Gail and I sell yarn at the preview show. Do I have a fabulous group of women working with me or what?

(We do leave one skein unwound, as it is for Deb and won't be sold at the show. Deb shows up on Saturday and needs the skein of yarn (yes needs, she's designing something for the June newsletter with it). I fix this on Saturday night by delivering the yarn to Ginos, where we have the best pasta dish I've had in years. If you get a chance, have the wild mushroom pasta with cardoons. I may go back for more. Yum!!)

So setup is done and we had sushi at 3:30 as our reward. This place has fried calamari, so we were very happy. The show last time was totally dead on the preview night, so I'm planning on doing some labeling and knitting. But no, the booth is busy, people are shopping, and I get a surprise visit from my friend Nicci from California. She's my sister's best friend, and neither of them told me she was coming, so I was practially knocked over with delight! Nicci is a wonderful knitter, loves bright color, and is just a blast to hang with. Yippee!

The show is going very well, we have lots of extra chairs and room to hang out. Come by, knit, spin, visit! I hope to see you there!

At the Kitchen Table

I listen to a number of knitting podcasts while I dye yarn. Today, I was listening to a relatively new podcast At the Kitchen Table, by Deb Accuardi, a local fiber artist, cook, and gardener. Deb's been podcasting since late 2008.

Right from the first podcast she had me hooked with the antics of her numerous fiber animals, the harsh mountain weather, delicious cooking, plus lots knitting and spinning. Deb's voice is pleasant and her ability to connect to her audience and tell stories is delightful.

So when Deb approached me about pairing my yarn with her newsletter, I didn't hesitate to say 'yes.' Today we met and agreed on the yarn for her June newsletter. June is a great month for color in the Northwest, and I'm sure you're going to love the yarn she chose.

We also talked about her plans for pre-Sock Summit luncheon at her restaurant, Gino's. She's pairing a 4-course lunch with wine and, of course, yarn! I'm providing one of the yarns, so we tossed around some ideas. The lunch is on vendor setup day, so we'll setup early and take a much-deserved break for lunch at Gino's. I can hardly wait!

Fresh from the Dyepot
Today, I've dyed Broadway Bridge, Black Opal, and Smith Rock in sock yarn, plus I dyed some of the new Baby Alpaca DK. I'm limiting the colors and quantites until I see the response, so I've planned 3 skeins of each color for now. But then I got to thinking, this yarn is irresistably soft, Smith Rock is deliciously red, so why did I plan only 3 skeins? Because I'm idiot! I dyed 3 more. Come and get it Friday at TKGA, booth 49!

Jasmine came over and wound yarn too. Some of the skeins were experimental colors. I had them all hanging to dry this week, but, frankly the colors just didn't make me happy. Then Jasmine comes running down the stairs to show me the green one fresh off the re-skeiner. Ooooh, the green one. We have a new deep green yarn! I've got to dye this in SuperSock. It's going to be even better! There is also a possibility of a cool grey and maybe even one more.

New Samples!

The samples just keep coming in! What talented people knitters are! This scarf arrived in the mail last week from Caryn. It has lovely gold beads and is an original pattern for sale very, very soon. Thank you Cooper for the photos!



Jasmine just finished this cute hat she designed. Check out her projects on Ravelry for this pattern, Vertical Sock Victory, in a darker yarn (this one's in Opal). She's a very cooperative model too! This pattern will also be available soon. We'll probably put it on a bookmark and make it a freebie. It's fun, fast, reversible, and easily re-sizeable too. Practically perfect in every way!


Wool Picker Delight!
I got a new toy too. I found this video of someone using this novel (to me) wool picker.

It's not super-expensive, and I've already picked a whole fleece with it. Works like a charm and the carded batts I made up were utterly delightful in only one pass through the carder. I do love spinning freshly carded batts! I gave the first two to my newest spinning student, and she just oohed and aahed. We have another spinning addict!

TKGA Next Week
I've been painting yarn for next week's TKGA show at the DoubleTree Lloyd Center. Violetta will be back in stock, and High Desert will make it's debut. High Desert is one of my favorites, lots of grey, plus blues, touches of brown. This yarn was reserved for something special, but that's changed and the yarn is available now.

New Yarn Colors

Coming soon!!
Remember I said I was designing new colors? What do you think?


NEW YARN ALERT!!!
I've just purchased 154 skiens of ShiBui Baby Alpaca DK. If you're not familiar with it, take a look next time you're in Knit Purl. This stuff is super soft, nicely spun, and not too fuzzy. It's light enough for socks. Considering how warm alpaca is, I think it's just right for a sweater too. And I have a wonderful pattern for a simple reversible cable scarf that will soon be knitted up in this yarn. The question is, what colors? If you look at all the colors of sock yarn, what would you like to see in Baby Alpaca DK? What do you want dyed up before TKGA?

I'm also testing out another Shibui yarn, their merino/alpaca. It is a cabled yarn. This means it is dense, but also very round. The stitch definition is unbelievable, just perfect for cables and textures. It feels a bit like a cotton it is so smooth. The merino/alpaca is about an aran weight and makes a heavy sweater. Anybody familiar with this yarn?

Charity Knitting

Barn Raising Sock Yarn Quilt

Everyone's so excited about Sock Summit! We're all oohing and aahhing over the class lists. Someone said the vendor spots are full. I hear a trainload of people are knitting all the way across the country. Deb's doing a special lunch pairing food and yarn. The Ravelry group is abuzz with information and ideas.

Did you know there is also a charity project? Larissa Brown, author of Knitalong, is offering her barn raising pattern for free just for this project. You knit a square out of leftover sock yarn, Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks collects all the squares, more volunteers put them together, and they resulting quilt will be auctioned or raffled off for Doctors Without Borders.

I just made my first square! This pattern is so easy, and it seems rather magical to make a square by knitting in the round. I took the hint on the pattern and used Judy's Magic Cast-On so my square does not have a hole in the middle (the link takes you to a list of techniques and there is one for casting on to knit in the round - Ok I found this after I did my square, so the next one will look right better different). It is knit in MightySock Black Opal. I hope you'll join in the fun and knit a square or two. Get your pattern here!

Samples You Can Touch

I dropped 4 samples off at Knit Purl today. Now you can see these lovelies in person!

Spinning Resource - Woodland Woolworks

Gail called me today and invited me to join her on a jaunt to Woodland Woolworks. I couldn't go, because I was busy inventing new yarn colors (photos later this week), but I think you should know about Woodland and why we call each other when we are going to make a pilgrimage.

Woodland Woolworks, in Carlton, Oregon, has a wealth of spinning resources (and stuff for knitters, felters, weavers...). It's about an hour for me to drive there, but the drive is through farm and wine country. I'm happy to have any excuse to make that drive! They have nearly every brand and model of commercially made spinning wheel, all set up and with wool to play with. You can rent a wheel for a month and then either buy it (I think you get credit for the rental), or try another one. Woodland has fiber. Tons of it. They've got all the stuff I have - undyed - plus many talented dyers' wools, silks, cottons. Ingeo, Soy Silk, Latte, nylon, bamboo, Tencel, and more man-made fibers. Flax, many forms of cotton, endless varieties of wool and blends, alpaca, llama, possum, silk hankies and caps (dyed and undyed).

Woodland also has parts for spinning wheels, used wheels and equipment (there are some seriously good deals in the sale room), books, magazines, spindles, carders, combs.

They also have a thorough online catalog if you live too far away.

This fiber's going on the website very soon, maybe tonight. It's merino/Tencel in Sea Turtle.