Fiber Arts Friday: Hodge Podge

This week has been one of those "a little of this, a little of that" kind of weeks. I did some knitting and crocheting and designing, oh my! Wanna see?

This is a knit and crochet version of the same pattern; I'm calling it Tea with the Dowager Countess (Knit) (Crochet) and it's available now on Ravelry. The yarn you see here is my Storied Yarns Superwash Bulky in the Violet Crawley colorway, inspired by Downton Abbey. The pattern is written for 2-cup, 4-cup and 6-cup teapots.

I also did some spinning this week. This is my BFL top in my "Matthew Crawley" colorway (also inspired by Downton Abbey), n-plied:

I also made a messenger style purse/bag for myself for spring. I followed this tutorial by Obsessive Crafting Disorder and bought the fabric from Sew Fine Fabric and I love it!

Now to fill it up with all my junk!

What have you been up to this week? Show it off over on Andrea's blog and link up with other fun fiber artists!

Fiber Arts Friday: Random Fun

Hello, and welcome to Fiber Arts Friday! I'm sorry I've been a little absent from blogging lately; things have just been busy as usual around here!

Recently, most of my fiber arts activity has involved buying fiber, ha! I've been on a real combed top kick, though I haven't spun any of it yet (I think I'm starting to hoard for Tour de Fleece). It's funny, though, because just when I think I'm on a combed top kick, I pull out my drum carder and start playing around. Then suddenly I want to keep all the batts I make!

This week I whipped up a few beauties to add to the shop, like this one:

or the silky-shiny-sparkly goodness of this one:

At this point I remind myself that it's good to have a stash with plenty of variety to suit your moods. :) If you're looking to boost up YOUR stash for Tour de Fleece, might I suggest having a peek around the Storied Yarns shop? The batts above are just two of the beauties I've added recently. :)

In other news, I have actually been knitting and spinning this week! My first-ever sock is coming along nicely; I've done the heel decreases and now just have to do the increases and then move on to the ankle portion:

I'm also knitting a Shimmer Lace Top using KnittinK Black Canary sport weight yarn:

In the spinning news, I've been spinning up the mini wool samples from my February Phat Fiber box and a few others I had here using my Threads Thru Time medium hot pink spindle:

I'm planning to include them in the shop as a mini skein set for hexipuffers who want some handspun in their blankets. So far, though, I only have three samples done:

Left: Storied Yarns BFL/Firestar in "Lady Chatterley." Middle: Masham top from BohoKnitterChic Spins. Right: Berry Gelato batt from Zauberzeug.

Anyway, that's about it from here. The Hunger Games KAL/SAL kits will be going out very soon, so follow along with us in the Ravelry thread and cheer on the Tributes as they compete to have the best yarn or FO!

Happy Friday! Head on over to Andrea's blog and have a visit, will you?

Meet My Characters: Haymitch Abernathy

Hello, and Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Today I'm going to introduce you to one of my "characters" and explain the back-story of the creation of that character.

May I introduce you to Haymitch Abernathy?

Haymitch is one of the leading characters in Suzanne Collins's "Hunger Games" trilogy, and this colorway was inspired by him.

Haymitch serves as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta, but in the beginning of the series he isn't much of one. He's the town drunk, and a bit of a joke. There are times when he pulls off being lucid, but you just never quite know which version of Haymitch you're going to get in any situation.

As the books go on we learn that there's a lot more to Haymitch than meets the eye. After all, he wouldn't be a mentor if he hadn't won the games in his youth; this is a fact it can be easy to forget during one of his drunken episodes.

For this colorway, I chose to play up Haymitch's strength and his unpredictability. This is a kettle dyed colorway, so no two skeins will be identical (though they will of course be as similar as possible). Haymitch is a blend of grey, rust, olive green and purple. I love the way the different colors work together; this is definitely one of those colorways where I think we'll all be surprised by how it knits up, too!

Knit Haymitch when you need some sage advice or someone to lean on in a tough situation. Knit this colorway for someone who has been a mentor to you or supported you on a hard day.

In the film version of the first book, Woody Harrelson will play Haymitch, and I'm really excited to see how that turns out! I think he will be great.

Haymitch is only one of my many Hunger Games inspired colorways; you'll see more later this month when I debut them after my Hunger Games KAL/SAL ends. If you want to get in on the action, I have listings available for roving, yarn, batts and mini skeins!

Thanks for visiting for Fiber Arts Friday everyone! Now head on over to Andrea's place and check out the rest of the fun!

Fiber Arts Friday: The Countdown is ON!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!!

Ok, so this week I don't have much to show off. I did spin a few yarns, but I'm lazy so I haven't taken photos. I've been knitting, but there isn't much to show for it and for now it's a big secret project anyway.

So instead, let's talk about what I'm gearing up for next: a new
 

Storied Yarns Spin-Along/Knit-Along!!

This time we're going to count down to the film premiere of The Hunger Games. Dun Dun Duuuuuuunnnnnn!

Don't know what this is? Have you been living under a rock? It's okay, let me teach you. Go here and read all about this amazing book, the start of an amazing trilogy. Then get thee to a library or bookstore, STAT! (Here's a tip: you're going to want to have a copy of the second book immediately upon finishing the first, and ditto with the third, so it's best to get all three at once.)

Once you're finished reading all that awesome, or perhaps you already HAVE read all the awesome, now it's time to join me over at Storied Yarns Ravelry Central for a Hunger Games themed KAL/SAL!

Just like my other KAL/SAL packages, this one will be lots of fun! You'll get yarn or fiber in your choice of Hunger Games inspirations and extra goodies. I'm going to hold little contests amongst the participants, too, and award mini prizes along the way. Then at the end there will be a larger prize package for one big winner!

If you want to see my Hunger Games colorways, visit my Facebook photo album. For this SAL/KAL you can choose one of these colorways or a new inspiration from the series.

I hope you'll join in or follow along with the fun. And may the odds be ever in your favor!

Now go visit Andrea and say hello for Fiber Arts Friday.

Fiber Arts Friday: What's Happening?

Hello, fellow fiber lovers! It's Friday, and you know what that means - Fiber Arts Friday time, yay!!!!!!

Anyway, today is sort of a random post with the things that are going on here at Storied Yarns Central and in general. :)

This week I'm knitting away on the Shinkan Zen shawl by Susan Ashcroft. I'm super close to doing the pleated section; hoping to get to that today.

Here's an in-progress shot of the shawl - sorry it can't be a better idea of the shape, but I'm in the middle of a row:

The yarn is from Mulberry Fibers; it's the Carolina Beach colorway on Superwash Basic Sock.

Ok, let's see. I'm also spinning for my big Sweater Project. So far this is what I've done:

I've still got two more sets of batts to spin, then I'm going to ply them as a 3ply, so I've got a ways to go. But progress is progress, right? :)

I'm following along with some interesting things right now so I thought I'd share those.
- There's a group on Ravelry called Fantasia; each month they select books and they make knit/crochet/weaving/spinning/dyeing projects inspired by those books. I'm really loving the idea of it! Right now, for instance, we're exploring new skills as inspired by Snoopy and the Red Baron and completing projects about friendship inspired by The Burning Bridge. It's lots of fun to see what everyone makes!
- The Sexy Knitter Group on Ravelry is voting on their next KAL from the Sexy Knitter Patterns collection. I happen to know that the prizes this time around are going to be fabulous! ;)
- I'm reading along with the Focus on Free Motion Quilting Month on Sew Inspired. I really want to learn how to free motion quilt, because so far my quilts have been limited to "stitch in the ditch," and I want to explore beyond that. These posts are all about how to use a regular sewing machine, not a long-arm, so I'm excited to practice!


Ok, I think that's about it. Head on over to Andrea's blog now and check in with the rest of the group. :)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: FREE Baby Ear Flap Hat Crochet Pattern

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!

The year may be almost over, but I'm still really busy - how did that happen? Oh well, it's a good kind of busy! I've been updating the Storied Yarns Shop with exciting goodies like small and large yarn/fiber surprise packages, new batts and yarns and rovings! The sale section is full of great deals for year-end fiber stocking, too. I've also added listings for an awesome sweater knit/crochet-along. We'd love for you to join us on Ravelry to knit or crochet a sweater in the New Year!

Today for Fiber Arts Friday I thought I'd move another of my previously-published patterns to its new home here on the blog. As with all of my patterns, feel free to use this for your personal use or to make gifts or even make hats to sell. Please just do not sell, distribute or copy the pattern itself. Thank you!

Cover Those Ears: Baby Ear Flap Hat
by Jessica Cook

Materials and Abbreviations
To crochet this hat you will need:

• Crochet hook size US G
• Worsted weight yarn in two colors
• Two safety pins or removeable stitch markers

Abbreviations used in this pattern:

• ch = chain
• sl st = slip stitch
• hdc = half double crochet (US terminology)
• BLO = crochet in the back loops only of these stitches
• sts = stitches
• hdc2tog = half double crochet two stitches together; makes one decrease

Directions for the Hat Body
NOTE: This hat fit my son when he was a newborn. For a larger hat, increase the size of your starting chain and add rounds after round 13.
Using Main Color, Ch 60. Join with a sl st to form a circle, being careful not to twist the chain.
Round 1: Ch 2, hdc in 2^nd ch from hook and every ch around. Join with a sl st.
R2 – R13: Ch 1, hdc in BLO of every st around. Join w/ sl st to beg. Ch-2. Fasten off.
Turn the hat inside out, fold it flat and whipstitch the starting chain edge together to make a flat top. Fold the hat right side out again.

Directions for the Ear Flaps

Hold the hat so that the back seam is in front of you and the open end of the hat is facing up. Fold the hat flat and find the end stitch on either side of the fold. Put a safety pin or removeable stitch marker in each of these stitches.
R1: Open up the hat and count four stitches to the right of one of your safety pinned stitches (to the right as you are looking at the hat with the open end up). Join your Main Color yarn in this stitch, chain one, and make 9 hdc sts across; the 5th stitch you make will be in the stitch holding the marker or safety pin. Remove your marker or safety pin as you go.
R2-R4: Ch 2, hdc in each hdc across.
R5: Ch 1, hdc2tog across 1^st 2 sts, 5 hdc, hdc2tog over last 2 sts.
R6: Ch 2, hdc in each hdc across.
R7: Ch 1, hdc2tog across 1^st 2 sts, 3 hdc, hdc2tog over last 2 sts. Fasten off. Repeat on opposite side of the hat for the 2^nd ear flap.

Finishing

Contrast Edging.
Join contrasting color yarn with a sl st. on the back of the hat. Ch 1 and sc all the way around the edge of the hat, including around each ear flap. When you get to the center st on the bottom edge of the ear flap, ch 36 for a tie closure, then make 35 sc back down the ch sts and continue to sc around the ear flap and the front of the hat. Repeat this for the other ear flap as well and continue around the back of the hat. Join with a sl st. into your first sc.
Toppers.
Join CC yarn with a sl st to one top corner of the hat. Ch 6, then sc in the 2^nd ch from hook and each ch back toward the hat. Sl st to the hat itself. Repeat this until you have made a total of 5 sc toppers. Fasten off and repeat on the opposite corner of the hat.
Weave in all loose ends using a large eye blunt needle.

 I hope you enjoyed the pattern! Now head on over to Andrea's Blog for the rest of Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: December Phat Fiber Contribution

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!!! It's almost Christmas, which of course keeps all of us makers busy, doesn't it?

If you're looking for the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway post, CLICK HERE! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out - it's an amazing bundle of giveaways, including mine!)

Ok, back to Fiber Arts Friday. Today's post is brought to you by the new colorway I created for the December Phat Fiber Sampler Box:

Dragonriders of Pern!!!!!!!!!

This colorway was inspired by the dragonriders in the late, great Anne McCaffrey's novel series of the same name.

From the Weyr and from the Bowl,
Bronze and brown and blue and green,
Rise the dragonmen of Pern,
Aloft, on wing, seen, then unseen. (from the Dragonriders of Pern series)

This month the theme for the Phat Fiber boxes is "Childhood Favorites." After the recent death of Anne McCaffrey, I had several customers contact me to tell me that she had been a favorite author during their youth and ask if I would create a colorway (or several) inspired by her works.

This colorway, a combination of bronze, brown, blue and green, is going to be the first in what I hope will be a whole series of Dragonrider colorways available in the Storied Yarns shop. Just give me time to read the rest of the books!

The holidays are approaching! I hope you take time from all the work you're doing to make them special for others to actually do something for yourself. Buy yourself a lovely skein of yarn (gee, if only I knew a fiber artist who was having a HUGE SALE), pour yourself a cup of cocoa (or a cocktail, depending on the type of day it has been and your personal preferences, HA!), give YOURSELF the gift of handmade love. You deserve it.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Yule, and all the rest!

Now head on over to Andrea's blog and visit the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday participants. :)

Fiber Arts Friday: Spinning Locks!

As part of my offerings at the fiber festival, I sold hand dyed merino locks. A few customers asked me if they had to be carded or if you can spin them straight out of the bag. Of course you CAN card locks or fleece before spinning, but my preferred method is to spin straight from the locks.

Here's why:
1. Spinning from fleece is cheap and fast. You can just grab the fleece (clean or dirty, technically, though I prefer to spin clean wool so as to avoid dirt in my lap) and start spinning. You don't have to pay for all the extra fiber preparation steps and you don't have to wait to do those steps either. Instant gratification at its best!
2. Spinning locks sort of forces you to relinquish control. This can be especially fun once in a while for spinners who like to force the yarn into submission or who stress out when a yarn doesn't turn out the way it was "supposed to." Spinning locks/fleece is like controlled chaos, and you pretty much have to let the locks be in charge, which can be fun (I swear)!
3. Spinning locks gives you instant texture. I love to corespin locks, but they look equally well as singles, tail-spun or a plied yarn. It's so much fun, and it gives you the chunky funky texture of a commercial "fun fur" yarn but without all the plastic. Bonus!

So I thought I'd do a little post today about spinning locks. It's also kind of a lesson in learning from the fiber while you spin and also in how to improvise to create art yarn when you can't afford the wheel of your dreams, so stay tuned! It's a good one. :)

This time I started off with some hand dyed (by me) merino locks and some hand dyed Wensleydale locks that I got as a gift. I tossed the two fiber groups together, like tossing a salad, and I held it in my lap as I spun. Here's what it looked like at that point:

 

Super fun, right?!?!?

Anyway, as I spun the singles I just grabbed a handful at a time, drafting slightly but still retaining that lock formation and shape as I went. I tried to grab handfuls of each fiber type in proportionate amounts as I spun. Here's a close-up of the singles as I spun them:

You can see here how much I drafted and how the curly locks are still taking center stage, so to speak.

Here's the part where I learned a lesson. I started spinning these singles and I realized that since merino has something of a short staple, it's hard to hold the locks together as a strong single-ply yarn. I started wishing I would have corespun the yarn, but at this point I had already spun so much that I didn't want to waste what I'd used so far, so I kept going. At times the singles broke, either during the merino sections or as I joined merino to Wensleydale, so I ended up having to wind it back out the orifice and re-join in several spots.

As I considered knitting with this yarn, I figured the singles would break in that process, too, and that's just no good. So I figured I'd better ply them to make them more sturdy. The problem with that is that my wheel has a standard orifice, flyer and bobbin. As you can see in the last photo, those locks were barely fitting onto my darling Babe as singles; they were never going to fit through there once I plied them.

What was an art yarnista to do, without an art yarn friendly wheel at her service?

Well, this art yarnista went out to the laundry room where she keeps the Storied Yarns shop inventory. She grabbed her Rule of Thirds spindle and took it for a test spin (product testing is very important, after all!). She loaded that puppy up with a super bulky, 2ply locks-only yarn until it looked like this:

That's almost 3 ounces of super bulky 2ply locks on ONE spindle! Pretty awesome, eh? So, lesson learned: as I save up to buy my dream wheel, I can at least still make art yarns on a heavy spindle. Handy!

Here's the finished skein - sorry the photo is a little dark, I took this picture in the wee hours of the morning:

Pretty awesome, huh? I got about 25 yards of super duper bulky texture out of this little exercise, and it's super soft and gorgeous!!! I'll be putting this baby in the shop soon, but if it doesn't sell my sister might get a new scarf for her birthday out of it. :)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!! Head on over to Andrea's blog and join in on the fun!

Fiber Arts Friday: Blogs I Love

So, all of my fiber arts stuff is packed up in suitcases right now in preparation to travel with me to Fiber in the Boro tomorrow. I'm vending at my first-ever fiber festival, wahoo!!

Since I don't have anything fiber artsy to show you, I thought I'd take a minute to share some blog love today instead.

I read a lot of blogs. I find it really inspiring to read blogs about what other people are crafting. I've discovered in the past few years that you can learn how to do virtually anything if you Google it, and blogs are a great resource for tutorials, patterns and general crafty inspiration. Here are some of the crafty blogs I love and why:

- Sew, Mama, Sew!
This blog is full of sewing inspiration, as the name implies. Right now I'm participating in a holiday decor sew-along through this blog, where I'm horribly behind in making a table runner and a Christmas tree skirt. I'm hoping to get back on track with those projects after the festival. In addition to sew-alongs, the SMS blog features links to sewing patterns and tutorials as well as a wealth of in-house tutorials and guest posts. It's a really great blog for beginning to advanced seamstresses.


- Pink Chalk Fabric Studio
I first discovered this blog because of Fat Quarter Tuesday; every Tuesday the ladies at the studio put together two sets of fat quarters and give them away, which is pretty awesome, right?!? They also do sew-alongs; right now they're sewing through all of the projects in One-Yard Wonders, which is great for me because I own that book so it can be really helpful to see a more experienced seamstress tackle the projects before I try them. There are also tutorials and posts about new fabric trends and patterns, which I love.


- Made (aka Dana Made It)
This blog is full of great tutorials, too, especially ones for kids' clothing and projects. I really love the clean look of the blog and even though I've only been reading it for a little while, I really enjoy it.

- I Still Love You
This is another mostly new blog for me, but I really enjoy the crafty tips and tutorials. She includes great refashion/upcycled fashion projects, too, which is something that's right up my alley.


- What I Made
Um, wow. This guy is amazing. I mostly don't try to re-create his projects because they seem really complicated, though I know usually they're not. I just love to see what he comes up with, because it's always really individual and amazing.

- Prudent Baby
I love Jaime and Jacinda over at Prudent Baby! They're two moms who admit that sometimes life feels like a hot mess, but that doesn't mean you have to LOOK like it! They have great tutorials for sewing projects and patterns, kids' crafts, gift ideas, recipes and more. They link to other amazing blogs and projects and they really connect well with today's modern mommies.

- Wee Essentials
This blog is owned by Candice, the owner of Wee Essentials and also my friend. She has some great information about eco-friendly living, taking care of your home/family and green products.

As for fiber arts blogs, here are a few I enjoy:

- Liberty's Yarn
I first "met" Liberty through Twitter, where she posted a call to fiber artists to join her for a series of interviews. I enjoyed my interview with her immensely, and if you're a regular visitor here then you know I interviewed her as well. This week she interviewed our very own Andrea of Wonder Why Alpacas, so that was awesome! I also love following Liberty on Twitter because she posts some really awesome and helpful links for crafty business owners.


- Who Needs Gauge
This blog belongs to my friend Steph, who comes up with really creative and fun projects for her kids. The posts she creates aren't exclusively related to fiber arts but it fits in well with her title and she does post plenty of things about knitting, too!

- Adventures in Wool
This is the blog of Johanna, aka Ever Improving Me on Etsy/Artfire/Ravelry. Johanna posts her shop updates here and other information that can be helpful for fiber artists!

- KnitFiber
This is my friend Carrie, who uses her blog to showcase her great fiber arts projects.


- Wonder Why Alpaca Farm
Of course! Our fearless Fiber Arts Friday leader always has something fun and interesting to share with us, doesn't she? I'm so glad I found Fiber Arts Friday and Andrea's blog, because I really enjoy sharing her creative journey through the blog.

I feel like I should have more fiber arts-related blogs that I read regularly. If you have a fiber arts blog or a favorite blog you read, please leave me a comment so I can come and visit! I regularly visit the other FAF contributors but I don't often remember to check their blogs the other days of the week. Leave me a comment to tell me why I should make a note of that! :)

When you're finished, head on over to Andrea's place and link up with the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday fun!

Fiber Arts Friday: Meet Liberty!

Today for Fiber Arts Friday I have a special treat to share with all of you - an interview with Liberty of Liberty's Yarn!

Liberty is an amazing fiber artist and blogger extraordinaire. I was lucky enough to "meet" her when she interviewed me for her blog series, Better Know a Fiber Artist. After that I started following her blog and her tweets and I realized that she is an amazing source of inspiration and information, so I asked her to come and share some of that with us today!

Lady Liberty! (Photo from Liberty's Yarn site.)

Here we go! (Bold sections are the questions I asked.)

1.       Tell us a little bit about the nitty gritty details – name, location, family:

My name is Liberty of Liberty’s Yarn. I live at the foot of Mt. Rainier in the beautiful Puget Sound. (That’s Seattle/Tacoma for all you non-PNW’ers.) I live with my darling hubster, one teen girl, the boy-beast child, and one rambunctious pup. When I am not chasing the kids, juggling their specialists, making dinner, (trying to convince the hubby to add more yarn to his newest book series) and avoiding housework – I dye yarn, make soap and try to sell it.

2.       Having read the About section of your blog, I know that you have moved around a LOT and held a LOT of jobs. Which location/job was the wackiest? Which one will stay in your heart the most?

I love them all for different reasons. Alaska will always be home. It was a real challenge to go from Alaskan island fishing town to subtropical big city. And yet, if I had to get culture-shocked I am so grateful it happened in New Orleans. It was such a divinely magical city. My greatest hope is for its return to splendor. New Orleans was probably the wackiest town I’ve lived in the totally awesome way. It still inspires and enchants me.

Jobs…I have had some weird ones. Some that were just boring, and some I don’t talk about.  Staying home with my kids has always steered my job choices. I have not always been able to be a SAHM, but I have taken some odd jobs trying too. The yarn shop was born from a love of fiber and the need to be flexible enough to stay home and manage my kids’ special needs.

3.       When it comes to making yarn, what inspires you? What’s the process you go through when you create a new colorway?
That’s a tough one. Nature, movies, stories, beautiful produce (Farmers Markets are like porn LOL). My interest change from moment to moment – so it is usually whatever I am interested in at the time. I tend to be drawn to the fiber artists like Kathryn Alexander and Kristin Nicholas. Their unabashed use of colors teases me out from my all-black-all-the-time wardrobe and inspires crazy things like wearing bright orange boots to the grocery store. (gasp)

When I create a color it always goes one of two ways. Either Option #1: I plan, measure out, plan some more, test samples, worry, hem, haw ... and then end up unhappy and overdyeing the whole mess. OR Option #2: I heat up the pots, grab a dye whose name strikes me, and just play. Little of this - lots of that. My colors almost always end up more vibrant than I had planned - sometimes WAY too intense - but I am always happier in the end when I play. I try not to compare my colors to anyone else's. It can be a challenge when I walk into a yarn store and see an amazing colorway. My first reaction is almost always, "I can make that”. And sometimes I do. But it never feels right. And it always takes Option #1 to achieve.

4.       You dye yarn, you make soap, you care for a family and you support causes like the Special Olympics. How do you balance all of those things and still find time for yourself?

Short answer is…I don’t. But I am working on it. On good days - I practice yoga, meditate, and take time to cook vegetarian yummies for myself. But usually that is abbreviated down to 5 minutes alone in the shower and a nice cup of tea. It’s a work in progress. LOL

I am learning to do the things that need to be done when I am in the mood to do them. That way it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like fun. I have gobs of stuff that needs to be done all the time. Chances are I am in the mood to do at least one of them at any given time. (fingers crossed) And I am getting really really good at using the word, “no’. This is a brand new and strange concept for me. But I like it.

 

5.       What motivates you and gets you excited?

Learning new things. Being around people excited to learn something new. Exploring new places. Negativity and drama are my kryptonite.

In fiber it is the magic of metamorphosis. There is nothing like taking a fleece through processing, dyeing, spinning, knitting or crochet or weaving. How that grungy hunk of stinky wool can morph at every stage into something more beautiful than the last is truly magic. Watching a hand painted yarn’s color take a stitch this way or that. Seeing an argyle pattern appear where one was never intended. I know its super nerdy – I don’t care. It is true awesome-hood-ness!

6.       If you could do any job in the world, what would it be?

Other than what I do now? Hmmm…Some days I think I was meant to be a librarian. I love books, learning, (quiet time)…but I would need some travel added. Could I be an action-librarian? Oh oh could I be a librarian on the starship Enterprise?! Replicators, no money, endless travel, interesting people – that would be awesome!

7.       Your blog is both entertaining and educational, which I love. What advice do you have for other bloggers or would-be bloggers to make their blogs more inviting?

Thank you! There are gazillions of people out there who want to tell you how to do it ‘right’. There is no one ‘right’ way to knit, and there is no one ‘right’ way to blog. My favorite tips have been:
1)look at blogs you love, take note of what they have/are doing that you love, and try to integrate it into your blog 

2)figure out a focus and try to stick to it
3)write in your own voice and don’t let anybody tell you different 
4)keep your blog simple – easy to navigate, not too busy – let your content be what jumps out at the reader.
5)and everyone loves a list post. Ha ha

Play with confidence! Have fun boldly! 

Liberty's Logo - photo from her site.

8.       You write a lot about Crafty Biz, both in your blog posts and in your tweets. If you could give just one or two pieces of advice to crafty businesspeople, what would you say?

Own your ‘why’. Why do you do what you do? Why are you different? Why should I spend money with you? People don’t buy what you do; they buy into why you do it. So fly that freak flag and get noticed.

Another thing I had to learn the hard way was to delegate. There is so much that goes into running a business. I just can’t be good at everything. It is often cheaper to pay someone else to do the things I suck at. (And if I’m really lucky – they will trade me services for yarn. Hee hee)

9.       How did you grow your own crafty business to bring it to the place it is today (wholesale accounts, your own web site, fame and fortune)?

Not a lot of fame or fortune – just yarn. Lots and lots of yarn. Oh, and soap. If the zombies come, I will be very clean. LOL

I started out super small on Etsy. A few months later, I worked up to my own site complimented by my existing blog. I was a vendor at Sock Summit 09 (next to the beer – prime real estate). I now wholesale to a handful of shops and host a monthly yarn club on my website. I do my best to keep my tribe in what they love while staying true to what I love to make. It can be a tough balance.

I find the most success and feel the most growth when I reach out to other crafters/artist. I am a huge supporter of the notion of coopetition. When we support each other, everyone wins.  

It wouldn’t be the Storied Yarns blog if I didn’t ask these questions:

10.   What’s your favorite book? Soup Makes the Meal by Ken Haedrich (every recipe works, delicious, sanity saver)…oh, did you mean fiction? (Did I mention I have a book ‘collecting’ ‘issue’?) Would have to be Sense and Sensibility by the marvelous Jane Austen.

11.   What’s your favorite TV show/series? Lost/Eureka/Castle/Miss Marple (I think I am going to be very bad at these.)

12.   What’s your favorite movie? Big Fat Greek Wedding/A-Team/Pride and Prejudice

13.   If you could knit your own freak flag, what would it look like? What yarn would you use? I would use my yarn – cause its here and easy to get too. It would probably begin as a dizzying array of overcomplicated stitches with wild urban primary colors and then transition to dominos, entrelac, chevrons, and finally stripes.

14.   If you could create a skein of yarn inspired by your life, what would it be like? It would be rustic, simple with many layers of water color. It would be wool – probably Shetland – with a smidge of tweed flecks. It would have many plies, but probably only be about DK weight. It would probably be deep dyed pewter with specks of pumpkin, aubergine, and cranberry. 

My personal fave - Liberty's Empyrean colorway on her Aran of Green Gables (LOVE, ha!) base.

15. Is there anything else you want to share with our readers? Thank you Jessica for having me. This was fun! I am getting into all sorts of fun on the blog/shop – just posted the Poison Rose Mystery Mitten pattern, collecting interviews for BNAFA, and the Yarn Co_Op is going strong. 

Thanks so much, Liberty! 

Happy Fiber Arts Friday to the rest of you fiber artists out there. Head on over to Andrea's Blog and check out the rest of the adventures!!

Fiber Arts Friday: Character to Colorway - Edward Cullen

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!! I hope you've had a fabulous week playing with string. I know I have, mostly the kind of playing where I get dye all over my hands and my clothes.

(Have I considered changing my T-shirt before playing with dye? Yes I have. Have I actually done it? No, I have not. Gimme a break, my kids are home from school for two weeks.)

Anyway, I dyed up a new colorway this week in response to a request from one of my favorite customers, Chris of GHL Designs. Chris is participating in my Halloween Knit-Along and she wanted Edward Cullen sock yarn.

Hmm, I get to spend the week obsessing thinking logically about a sexy, sparkly vampire? I love my job!

Anyway, this week for Fiber Arts Friday I thought I'd take you on a little journey with me about how I take a character and turn him into a colorway. In this case, Mr. Cullen.

With Edward, I thought about the book and movie versions of his character. I loved the books when I read them, but I also think Robert Pattinson is a hottie, so for me there was no way to separate the two versions of Edward in this colorway creation.

When I think of Edward Cullen, I think of him as being an old soul, since he's actually a really old vampire in the body of a young hottie. So I wanted his colorway to be sophisticated and distinguished rather than loud/bold. Here are the main points that came to mind:
- I thought of how Bella's first impression of Edward was that he was a "stupid shiny Volvo owner," so I added gray to the colorway.

Hello, sexy. (Photo from GraphicsHunt.com)

- I thought of how hot Robert Pattinson looks in that slate blue color from the movies, so I added slate blue to the colorway.










- I thought about how Edward's eyes change colors as he goes from satisfied to hungry (mmmmm), so I added topaz and black to the colorway.

Here's the finished result, in all his glory:

Now I just need to dye this up on my Starlet Sock base so it can sparkle! ;)

This isn't the way I always do my colorways. Sometimes I have more of an emotional connection with a character and I use the colors that bring out those emotions (like my Eric Northman colorway that's all sexy reds). Sometimes there's an actual color description in a book and I use that (like Octarine, which is a greenish purple color b/c that's how Terry Pratchett describes the color of magic). Sometimes I use the images from a film to come up with the whole colorway, and other times I take my customer's input. In any case, I like to think I have a pretty good system for putting color onto yarn and making it work, and I thought it would be fun to share at least part of that system with you!

I didn't put Edward in the shop, but I did add six other skeins today! Check it out:

Now it's time for you to share with me! What have you been up to this week? What has inspired you? Why don't you blog about your fibery adventures and then share them at Wonder Why Gal's blog so the rest of us can enjoy sharing your creative journey? Have an awesome, yarn-filled weekend everyone!!

Fiber Arts Friday: Knitting and Crocheting with Handspun Yarn

Happy Fiber Arts Friday! It's my favorite day of the week because I get to remind myself to sit down and write about something fibery and amazing. :)

Recently I've been knitting and crocheting with a lot of handspun yarn. Truth be told, I rarely use commercial yarns at all any more. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them, it's just that I enjoy using handspun so much that I don't get around to the non-handspun projects as frequently.

Awesome arm warmers I knit with gifted handspun.

I've been trying to figure out what it is that I find so amazing about knitting or crocheting with handspun. I think it comes down to the idea of the knitting and crocheting as an art form. When you knit or crochet, you put a little bit of yourself into the project; you weave your energy and emotion into every stitch (at least, I think you do). When you spin a yarn, I feel that you do the same thing. You create beauty and art with every yard you spin. So knitting with yarn that was created by an artist only adds to the beauty and wonder of the finished item.

Citron I knit for my grandmother using 2 handspun skeins.

Even if you feel like your handspun isn't "good enough," or you wouldn't ever consider yourself an artist just because you spin yarn or knit, let me tell you: it IS good enough - more than good enough! - and you ARE an artist. You are creating a little bit more beauty in the world every time you spin a yarn or knit/crochet an item, and I think that's amazing. If that's not art, I don't know what is.

Anyway, I know people who are knitters/crocheters who have never knit with handspun before. I used to be one of them! And I think that's sad. :( I feel like if everyone could knit or crochet just ONE thing with handspun, they'd be hooked for life! Sometimes I think people are just not sure what to do with handspun, either because the texture is so different from commercial yarns, or the yardage is low, or it seems "too pretty to mess up," or whatever. I'm here to tell you to just put all those doubts aside, pick up a skein and start knitting!

Neck Warmer I knit with only about 40-50 yards of bulky corespun.

Here are some tips for knitting with handspun yarn:
- Let the yarn determine the finished product. I believe handspun will "speak" to you and tell you what it wants to be. It may not happen right away, but eventually that right project will come along for every skein.
- Keep your stitches simple if the handspun yarn has a lot going on. Art yarns, in particular, look fabulous in a simple garter or stockinette stitch pattern because then the yarn gets to be the star of the show in the finished garment.
- Don't be afraid of thick and thin textures, add-ins or artsy effects. Just start knitting! These qualities will enhance the texture of your finished project and make it look amazing.
- If the yardage is low, never fear! Use a larger set of needles and an open stitch pattern and you'll get a lot further with that skein than you ever thought possible.

Here are some examples of things I knit with handspun yarn:

I knit this baby hat just recently, using a skein of single-ply thick n' thin (exaggerated, with some fairly thin parts and some big floofy parts) yarn. It was only a 2-oz skein to begin with, and it was over-twisted in parts. See?

I didn't let that worry me, though! I used a top-down pattern formula for a pixie hat (in case you run out of yarn, that way you can add a different yarn to the brim instead of the crown) and size 10.5 DPNs and went for it. I love the result:

I also had a gorgeous skein of corespun yarn in my stash. I got it in the handspun swap from Julieeeeee (Ravelry ID), and I fell in love with it! In this photo it's the skein on the far left. (Remember this photo, we'll be back to it later.)

I really wanted all that color and texture to show through in the finished project, so I knit it into a big, soft cowl. I just cast on until I figured it was wide/long enough for my liking, and I kept knitting until I had just enough yarn left for the bind-off. I used a plain stockinette stitch for the body with a few rounds of garter stitch at the beginning and ending, and I love it!

Using that same photo above, I crocheted the giant chunky skein in the middle into this hat - I only had 58 yards or so to begin with, and I got one heck of a hat out of it using a size US N hook:

Sometimes you just love the yarn so much you want to display it as it is. I did that recently, too! Go back to that photo above and check out the awesome skein of purple super-coiled handspun. It's a work of art in and of itself. I immediately draped it around my neck when I got it, and I loved how it looked that way so I wrapped a little yarn around one section to secure it and voila! I had a new accessory:

Anyway, I could go on and on, but you have things to do today I'm sure! I hope I've shown at least one person that knitting and crocheting with handspun is an adventure all to itself. As a special bonus, I'm offering a sale on the handspun sections in my Etsy and Artfire shops! Use code handspunisfun to save 20% off handspun yarns for one week only!

While you're at it, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for my Trick or Treat SAL/KAL! More information can be found in this blog post.

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world! Head on over to Wonder Why Gal's blog and check out the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday fun!

Fiber Arts Friday: Blog-Warming Party

Hi there, and welcome to my new blog! I had a lot of fun blogging at my old location, but it was time for a change and some positive moves in a new direction. So, here I am!

In celebration of Fiber Arts Friday, allow me to welcome you to my little corner of the blogosphere! Here at the new Storied Yarns blog you will find updates on my Etsy shop, new colorways, progress on my knitting and crocheting and spinning projects, and other crafty tutorials and fun. Check out the side bar - you'll find links to my free knitting patterns, free crochet patterns and my Storied Yarns shop.

While you're thinking about my Etsy shop, I want to invite you to join me and some of my friends in spinning and knitting to celebrate Halloween this year! I'm hosting a Trick-or-Treat Spin-Along and Knit-Along.

You can read more about it in my last blog post or in my Ravelry group. Then head over to the shop and purchase your listing for roving or batts or yarn! I will dye up a Halloween colorway inspired by your favorite things about the holiday and send it to you along with other fun seasonal goodies. Then you can spin or knit up the contents of your package and post in the Ravelry group to enter to win prizes!

As an extra special "thank you" for visiting my new blog, use the code Blogwarming to earn 15% off in my Etsy shop! This code will be good for ONE week only and will work on anything in the shop, including this SAL/KAL, my fiber and yarn clubs and any in-stock or custom order listings!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone! I hope you'll add my new blog to all of your blog readers, RSS feeds and e-mail lists so you can join me on my crafty adventures from now on! When you're finished with all of that, visit Andrea's blog and say hello to the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday participants!