I love what I do!

Today was an exceptionally good dyeing day. I was productive and efficient, I got more done than I realistically expected, and my perfectionist self could find nothing to complain about. And the feedback from the Winesap pre-orders started coming in, with the kind of comments that make you all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm happy!

After a flurry of orders, I'm stocked back up with base yarns. Even the long-awaited silk and silver yarn turned up today. I really want to call this yarn Sparkle, but it doesn't fit in with my usual native plant names. I've already used Shooting Star for my superwash 100% merino sock yarn, or else that would be perfect. Alas.

This week I also got a brand new base yarn that I've been coveting for a while--a thick and thin BFL that will probably knit up on size 10 needles, so a quick knit. (I have a hard time saying no to acquiring new BFL lines.) It's even better than I expected--lovely texture, and never gets too thin the way some thick/thin yarns do. I'm caling it Madrona, after the native tree with the beautiful peeling bark. I'm itching to dye some up and get it on the needles. Probably a hat for me; I've been wearing a pretty ugly brown one that I got as a Christmas gift several years ago. It's comfortable, but it's not that warm (it's acrylic), doesn't match anything I own, and makes me look washed out. It's truly pathetic that I haven't made the time to make myself something as simple as a hat.

no sock club this fall

I had every intention of launching a sock club this fall. Then after Sock Summit, I acquired a lovely new exciting wholesale account. The first order, plus a small group order and the Winesap pre-order, have eaten up all my time and yarn storage space. After I finish with all those things, I've got another small group order and a different wholesale order for November and December. So no sock club until early next year, I'm afraid.

Mentally, I'm getting closer to leaving my day job and focusing on this. I'm penciling out the numbers and seeing if I can make it work. Kiddo and I recently lost insurance coverage through my husband's work, so now I'm paying for premiums out of pocket and it's eating up a fair amount of my take-home pay. But it's absolutely necessary, if only for peace of mind; due to paperwork snafus, we didn't have coverage for a month (though I know I could've applied retroactively for COBRA) and I was half-panicked the whole time.

Anyway. I'm risk-averse when it comes to finances, so taking the leap and depending on Huckleberry Knits for my living is a big mental and emotional barrier.

stocking on Thursday

A little bit of sock yarn and sport weight yarn is going up in my own store tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. ET:





And my congo, Venus Vanguard, is doing an Alice in Wonderland themed stocking this week. Items go live at 8 p.m. on Thursday night. If you like gorgeous hand-dyed velour, this is the place to be! I'm stocking some aran and bulky weights in new colorways, Queen of Hearts and Looking Glass.