Meet my Colorway: Jordan Baker

Hello, friends and fangirls! I've got a new colorway to introduce to you today - Jordan Baker, from my Great Gatsby series!

In the book, we learn that Jordan is a professional golfer; she's a fairly liberated woman, especially compared to the others in the book, and she's got lots of style. Also, an air of mystery; after all, "she had begun dealing in subterfugest when she was very young."

For Jordan's character I wanted something feminine but not girly, bold and attention-getting. I pulled together bright blues and greens and anchored them with deeper tones of violet, teal, and black.

Here's the colorway on my Sparkle Sock base, perfect for a Flapper:

A yarn like this needs a pattern that's worthy of it, right? After all, Jordan Baker is famous and doesn't like to be ignored! Here are a few suggestions for you:

Of course, how could I resist an adorable hat with ruching that's actually called Gatsby's Girl? 

Image from Kalurah on Ravelry

\And as soon as I saw Glitz at the Ritz on Ravelry I knew it would be perfect for one of my Gatsby colorways. Jordan could ROCK a shawl like this!

Image from Helen Stewart on Ravelry

And of course, what evening ensemble would be complete without an elegant pair of long gloves or mitts? How about Lacy Mitts!

Image from Roko on Ravelry

The Jordan Baker skeins are available in the Storied Yarns Shop right now, along with several others that arrived in my Roaring 20s shop update last week. Remember, now that I'm having monthly themed updates, the colorways I add to the shop won't come back around for quite a long time. So grab 'em while you can!

Happy stitching, flapper-inspired fangirls!

Pardon my Fangirl Moment

If you'll pardon my moment of Fangirl Geek-Out, I've got a bit of a shop update preview for you, kinda. You know what? It's Monday, and my children are off for two more days from school even though they've already been home for two WEEKS, so you know, this is what happens. I hope you enjoy. ;)

Adventures in the Dye Pots: January Edition

So last week, I was dyeing up yarn for my January Storied Yarns update. The theme is "Roaring 20s," which has me all excited. When I finished my dyeing for the day, I started imagining a sort of fanfiction played out in yarn form. Indulge with me, won't you?

Wouldn't it be cool if ... the girls of Downton Abbey made a trip to America, and wound up hooking up hanging out with the boys of Boardwalk Empire?!? Maybe it would go a little something like this:

Mary would probably consider herself way too proper for any of it, so I imagine she'd stay mostly indoors, hanging out with Margaret or something.

"Ho hum, this is dull. It almost makes me miss my kid, that's how bored I am."

"Sigh, I know. I'm so glad I finally got rich enough to have a nanny for mine, but it is pretty boring when you decide you're too good for the gangsters around here."

Then the good stuff happens. Of course, Nucky has to have someone to cheat on his wife with, and who better than Aunt Rosamund? You know she's got a wild child inside her, right? She has to! 

  

                          "I heard you like rich guys."                                                           "You heard right."

And of course Edith, she needs to have a little fun. I'm tired of her always getting shafted. I want her to have a new partner - in life and in crime - and for this little foray into the world of fanfiction I'm resurrecting Jimmy. Right?!? I know. So awesome.

  

                                 "Hmm, this could be fun."                                                     "Eh, she'll do."

And finally, Owen. He's one of my favorites! Since he's not technically a full-on gangster or a leader in the show, let's pair him with one of my favorite Downstairs Downton ladies - Daisy. She's looking for direction in life, and he's got it. Plus, he's hot, and she deserves a hottie.

  

"I totally get that whole repressed-servant-class thing."                           "I'm totally freaked out right now!"

Anyway, thanks for hanging out with me and indulging in my dye pot fantasies! Maybe it's the dye fumes, but these are the things I think about when I'm working. Stay tuned for the January update, coming later this month and featuring several of the characters I've been waxing on about today! 

 

Sport Weight Pattern Suggestions

Howdy! Today I'm happy to introduce the newest base to the Storied Yarns lineup: Storied Yarns BFL Sport! It's a 100% Superwash BFL skein and it comes in at 100g and 278 yards for $25.

Here's a picture of this base, all dyed up and ready to ship in the shop, in my "Ron Weasley" colorway:

I've got a few pattern recommendations for this yarn, so sit back and get ready to browse!

First up, socks! Sport weight yarn is slightly thicker than traditional sock yarns, making it great for warm, thicker socks or for gift-sock knitting (because it goes faster, ha!). Here are a few great sock patterns for sport weight yarns:

Boot Socks - Find on Ravelry

Kalajoki - find it on Ravelry

If socks aren't your thing, 'tis the season for hats, to be sure! Here are some adorable hat patterns (I think that first one is especially fitting for the colorway that's in stock right now!):

Hermione Hearts Ron - on Ravelry

Mel Ski's Drizzle - on Ravelry

Simple - but lovely! - on Ravelry

I'm a sucker for fingerless mitts any time of the year, so here are some of my favorite mitt patterns that I think would work out really well in this yarn:

Siren Sleeves - on Ravelry

Fallberry Mitts - free on Ravelry

And last but not least, a few more patterns just for fun:

Elk Tooth Shawl - on Ravelry

Summer Days - on Ravelry


Well, that's it from me! Be sure you check out the shop - I've done the final update of 2013 so there are lovely new skeins in store for you:

Thanks so much for a fabulous year! I'll see you back here soon with previews of the first update of 2014!

Get Away with Me

Hold onto your hats, I'm actually blogging! I'm sorry I've been away for so long. I've got some exciting new things planned for Storied Yarns in 2014, but before I get to all that I've got an exciting announcement!

I'm having a retreat again this year, yay!!!! This time I've teamed up with two ahh-mazing ladies: Dana & Brittany of the Just One More Row podcast. The three of us are planning and plotting to bring you a retreat that's full of awesome!

A view of the gorgeous Lake Frances

Here are the details:
Where: This year the retreat will be at the gorgeous Lake Frances Retreat Center in Crossville, TN. We'll be staying in awesome cabins so you won't have to share a bathroom with more than 4 people (unless you're part of a large group and you request that arrangement). The retreat center boasts a gorgeous lake, a peaceful setting and so many fun activities! We'll have nightly campfires, beach volleyball, corn hole, nature walks, a ropes course for anyone who's interested, karaoke and - of course - plenty of time for knitting, spinning, chatting and eating! The meals will be fully catered this time and we'll have snacks on hand for in between meals.
When: The retreat will happen May 16-18, 2014.
Cost: The cost is $170 which covers all your food, lodging, activities and goodies for the entire weekend (dinner Friday through breakfast Sunday).

The open-air building where we'll spend our time spinning and knitting!

We're planning to have informal mini-lessons in topics you'll love, so there will be time to learn new things without the pressure and structure of formal classes. We're also going to have a vendor marketplace and we've lined up some FABULOUS vendors for you - you're going to squeee!!! with delight when I'm able to announce them, I promise! We're also working to contract with two massage therapists to give massages by appointment over the weekend. It'll be like going to a spa with yarn!

The path to the cabins

I hope you'll join us for a wonderful weekend of relaxing and fibery fun! Check out our Into the Wool Ravelry group for all the details, including a link to the sign-up form and a list of FAQs.

My Freak Flag

As some of you may know, I've recently started working as a Virtual Assistant to a variety of awesome and talented creative business owners. One of the tasks I'm taking on in this Gal Friday role is to write posts for the blog at Patterned. Every Friday, we're doing something a little different - we're setting aside time to get creative, think about life and business, and step outside the box. We'd love for you to join us!

In this week's #ThinkCreateReflect post, we're making our own Freak Flags!

In case you're not sure, a Freak Flag is basically an outward expression of whatever makes you a unique, wacky, freaky individual.

One day I might make a giant Freak Flag banner for my Ready Room (aka my craft/sewing/home office room), but in the meantime I think this giant crocheted shawl of mine probably counts as a Freak Flag -

It's crocheted out of several different wild and wacky skeins of handspun. Some I spun myself, and others I got from very wonderful friends. I cherish this shawl not only because it keeps me SUPER warm in the cooler months but because it's like a Freak Flag I can wear - it's thick and thin and slightly garish and definitely weird, just like me at times. :)

What's YOUR Freak Flag? Head on over to Patterned and share it with us, or take a picture and tag it #ThinkCreateReflect on Twitter or Instagram!

How I Fell off the Face of the Planet

Looking for the candle giveaway? It's over here.

Howdy! Today I want to share a little bit about what's been happening around here the past few months (aka, How I Fell Off the Face of the Planet), as well as how I found my way back down to Earth. Please pardon the temporary interruption to the usual yarn-infused posts. :)

Story time!

A few months ago, summer had just started, and I was facing the prospect of having three rowdy kids home all summer while I attempted to work my regular part-time day job AND run Storied Yarns. Every day was chock FULL of To Dos, and plenty of stress.

For my kids, the #1 thing they heard from me earlier this summer was, "Not right now - Mommy's working."

UGH! This was NOT how I wanted things to turn out.

When you run your own business, the To Do list is really never-ending. I struggled to find the time to work on the day job tasks, work on Storied Yarns tasks, and take care of my kids and my household. I was a hot mess; so much so that nothing worked out well, and everything felt like it was falling apart.

Lucky for me, a few months before summer started I made the decision to join Tara Swiger's Starship. In the Starship I've had access to classes and counsel from other creative business owners like me, and I've learned that I can change my business (and really, my LIFE) if I just sit down and take the time to explore what's working - and what isn't working - and map out the steps to make the changes I need in order to get back on track with where I want to be.

So let's go back to earlier this summer. My path from stress to peace basically went something like this:
1. Freak Out.
2. Break down, cry, talk to a very understanding and sympathetic husband.
3. Put 2 + 2 together to figure out that I'm working 40 hours a week to earn about 20 hours' worth of pay.

In case you were wondering, working full-time hours for part-time pay was NOT my idea of a good life. 

4. Explore what's working, and what isn't.
5. Change schedule to focus on day job primarily, with Storied Yarns worked in around the edges.
6. YAY! Peace, yo!

Now, summer is over, and I follow a schedule that works for me: I spend certain hours of the day focused on the kids and the house, and other hours are reserved for work. I haven't turned into June Cleaver overnight, but most of the time I've got clean laundry, clean dishes, and clean floors - which is a lot more than I had back in June. I even get time for a break every day!

I'm not exactly happy that I had to get to such a stressed-out place to make these changes, but I'm glad for the changes nonetheless. That experience has helped me learn that I can handle anything that comes my way. I'm not 100% there yet (I'm still working to transition my existing day job, which is ending soon, to running my own business of a different kind for a day job income - more on that later), but I'm on the path to living the life I want - the life I choose for myself.

I'm still going with Storied Yarns, and I'm hoping that this new schedule will even give me more time to share my adventures here on the blog. I've already found that by not trying to make my business into a full-time job, I have a lot more fun working on it and it helps me feel more creative and inspired. I hope you'll continue to join me in my adventures, and to share with me through the comments!

Thanks for letting me share a little of my behind-the-scenes today! I'll be back later this week to show you what I'm knitting and what I've been cooking up in the dye pots.

NOTE: This blog post has been part of Tara Swiger's Exploration Party - a celebration of inner explorers, led by Tara Swiger of Explore You. You're invited to share your own explorations with us, too! And if you're thinking that there's an area of your business OR your life that could use a little exploration, Tara's new class could be just the thing you need. (Seriously, I don't normally recommend stuff like this, but the Starship has helped me SO much, and this class is like a mini-Starship experience. Also? She makes a lot of Star Trek references, has pink hair, and she's a knitter. She totally gets us.)

Diamond Candles Review & Giveaway!

Update: We have a winner! Congratulations to Cheryl-Anne!

Hello! Guess what? I'm back! I'm going to try to blog more often, though I make no promises about HOW often because I don't want to disappoint you. :)

I thought it might be nice to bring you a present as a welcome-back kind of a gift, so I got you a candle! Well, really I got you a coupon code for a free candle, but that's actually better because now you get to choose your favorite fragrance!

A little while back, Diamond Candles contacted me and asked if I'd like to do a give-away on my blog, and review a candle for myself. I jumped at the chance, because I love to burn candles to make my house smell warm and inviting any day of the week. Plus, Diamond Candles uses 100% soy in their candles so they're all natural, which is a definite bonus. I'll be the first to admit that I don't live a totally environmentally-friendly lifestyle, but I like to do what I can so I like that the (all-American!) soy beans used in Diamond Candles make them a sustainable, earth-friendly product.

I got to choose the fragrance I wanted for my review candle, and it was a tough one! I was tempted by so many - Rosewood, Gingerbread Latte, and Ocean Mist, to name a few - but in the end, I went with a fragrance inspired by one of my favorite indulgences: Cinnamon Tea.

At the end of a long, tiring day, all I want is to relax with a spiced cup of chai or cinnamon tea. I knew that burning that candle would help me relax all throughout my day, and I was right! The fragrance is nicely strong without being overpowering, and the candle smells really good even when it isn't lit!

Of course, the best part about Diamond Candles is that they put an actual RING inside each candle! Since they want the fun of burning a candle to be even more exciting than usual, Diamond Candles hides a ring worth anywhere from $10 to $5,000 inside each candle. When you burn the candle, you can see the ring inside it and after the wax burns down enough you can fish it out!

They take care to protect the rings; they're carefully wrapped in gold foil. After just a few hours of burning time, I was able to use a fork to pull this out of my candle:

I let it cool off for a minute or two, and then I unwrapped it to find this:

If you find "14K" written inside your ring, take it to a jeweler and have it appraised! My ring wasn't a "big winner," but it's still really lovely! I gave it to my daughter, who was just as excited about this whole process as I was. I definitely see more Diamond Candles in our future.

How about you? Do you want a Diamond Candle of your very own? Just enter below! I'll leave the contest up for one week, so it will end Monday, August 19, 2013. The winner will receive a coupon code for the free Diamond Candle of your choosing! This contest is open only to residents of the United States.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I participated in this review and give-away because I got a free candle for myself and a code for a free one to give away. Diamond Candles sent me my candle for free, but I gave an honest review and the opinions stated in this Diamond Candles review are all mine.