It's summertime--the season for fun and games! At Black Sheep Gathering last weekend, I kicked off my Summer of Fiber Fortune game. On the
back of each yarn/braid label, you’ll find a fortune cookie-style
message and three random numbers. All yarn and fiber purchased between
now and August 31 will have these labels.
Each week during the summer, I’ll be drawing random numbers for
little prizes, like free shipping, $5 store credit, 10% discount, etc.
If you’ve got a label with a winning number, send me a photo (or you can post it as a comment on my blog, my Facebook page, or in my Ravelry group), and claim
your prize!
All prizes and discount codes must be redeemed by the last day of
Oregon Flock and Fiber, Sept 23. They cannot be applied retroactively.
Other fine print: Each winning number can be used once. If a number gets drawn for more than one type of prize, the customer
will be able to choose which prize to redeem, but won’t be able to use
both (e.g., either free shipping or 10% off, but not both). If she has
two winning numbers with different prizes, she can use both. Discounts
are not additive, so if you have two numbers for a 10% discount, you can
only get 10% off a transaction, not 20%--but you can use your second
discount for a second transaction.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
getting ready for Black Sheep Gathering
BSG is this week, and I'm in the homestretch of prep work. In an effort to get more than nine hours of sleep during the 72-hour period before the show, I quit dyeing a few days earlier than normal, in order to do labeling and pricing. It feels utterly unnatural but I'm glad I did it. If I end up with some extra time, I'll dye a little more.
Because I'm already packing, I've taken down the fiber listings from my Etsy store. If you've had your eye on any of the yarn listings, those will be taken down on Tuesday.
I have a super fun game that I'll be launching at BSG. Details this week!
Because I'm already packing, I've taken down the fiber listings from my Etsy store. If you've had your eye on any of the yarn listings, those will be taken down on Tuesday.
I have a super fun game that I'll be launching at BSG. Details this week!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
HBK at Shepherd's Harvest this weekend
I'm buried under wholesale orders right now, so just a quick post to say that my yarn, spinning fiber, and silk hankies will be in Darn Knit Anyway's booth at Shepherd's Harvest this weekend, in Lake Elmo, MN. Wish I could be there, too!
For those of you who can't be there, I've been adding listings steadily to my shop over the past week. More next week, after my wholesale orders are on their way.
For those of you who can't be there, I've been adding listings steadily to my shop over the past week. More next week, after my wholesale orders are on their way.
Friday, April 27, 2012
new retailer, Yarnover, new listings
In the upper Midwest? Huckleberry Knits has a new retailer: Darn Knit Anyway in Stillwater, MN. They'll be at Yarnover (tomorrow!) and Shepherd's Harvest with my Willow BFL/nylon sock yarn, Cascara MCN fingering, and lots of spinning fiber. And silk hankies!
A few of the silk blends and BFL braids that DKA will have:
I also put up some new Etsy listings today: Polwarth/silk yarn, silk/merino, luscious yak/merino fiber ...
Have a great weekend!
A few of the silk blends and BFL braids that DKA will have:
I also put up some new Etsy listings today: Polwarth/silk yarn, silk/merino, luscious yak/merino fiber ...
Have a great weekend!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
thank you, self!
I love it when I put on a jacket I haven't worn in a while, and find money that I'd forgotten about. Sometimes, as a little treat to my future self, I deliberately leave a five or ten in a coat pocket at the end of the season.
A couple of years ago, when I knew I'd be quitting my job sooner rather than later, I bought myself a pair of my favorite Keens, and stored them away for the days when I'd no longer have a steady paycheck and might not feel comfortable about buying nice shoes anymore. I just broke them out a couple of weeks ago, and I love my old self for being so kind and thoughtful.
The latest example: I finally got my current wholesale order to the point where I felt okay about switching gears to working on taxes today. I steeled myself for the tedious task of sorting my PayPal expenses into the various categories--only to find that I'd already done it in January, before I'd even received this current crush of wholesale orders. You have no idea how grateful I was to my January self for having done that.
Now I need to think of something nice to do for myself during my next time crunch. Even though it was just planning ahead, it feels like a friend took time out of her day to think of a wonderful present for me.
A couple of years ago, when I knew I'd be quitting my job sooner rather than later, I bought myself a pair of my favorite Keens, and stored them away for the days when I'd no longer have a steady paycheck and might not feel comfortable about buying nice shoes anymore. I just broke them out a couple of weeks ago, and I love my old self for being so kind and thoughtful.
The latest example: I finally got my current wholesale order to the point where I felt okay about switching gears to working on taxes today. I steeled myself for the tedious task of sorting my PayPal expenses into the various categories--only to find that I'd already done it in January, before I'd even received this current crush of wholesale orders. You have no idea how grateful I was to my January self for having done that.
Now I need to think of something nice to do for myself during my next time crunch. Even though it was just planning ahead, it feels like a friend took time out of her day to think of a wonderful present for me.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
closing the shop for the weekend
I'm vending at the Whidbey Weavers' annual spin-in this weekend (Oak Harbor High School, open to the public from 11 - 1 on Saturday, $15 otherwise for both days, including spinning lectures and clinics). All the fiber at my Etsy is coming with me, and I was going to deactivate only those listings to avoid duplicate sales, but now I'm thinking my head might explode between now and the spin-in, so it might be simplest to just put the entire shop in vacation mode.
Anyway, if you've had your eye on something, now would be a good time to get it, because it may not be there after this weekend.
Look for some fiber listings the second week of April. I'll try to be consistent about listing fiber over the next couple of months, but Black Sheep Gathering is getting ever closer, so listings will probably tail off as we get towards June. Someday I'll have enough stock to both list AND hoard for shows, but today is not that day.
Instead, today is my last day of dyeing before the show, and you can tell. The dyeing plan never survives contact with show week, and there are all sorts of random things in various stages of dyeing scattered about the studio. The clinical observer part of my brain has noticed that the last few days before a show can produce some really interesting colorways. Cleaning up my dye table becomes a low priority, so splatters of color end up juxtaposed that would never have occurred to me otherwise. Leftover dye solutions get mixed together, the wrong dye bottles get grabbed, and oftentimes beautiful, non-reproducible things happen. They get released into the wild at shows, and sometimes that's the last I see of them.
Anyway, if you've had your eye on something, now would be a good time to get it, because it may not be there after this weekend.
Look for some fiber listings the second week of April. I'll try to be consistent about listing fiber over the next couple of months, but Black Sheep Gathering is getting ever closer, so listings will probably tail off as we get towards June. Someday I'll have enough stock to both list AND hoard for shows, but today is not that day.
Instead, today is my last day of dyeing before the show, and you can tell. The dyeing plan never survives contact with show week, and there are all sorts of random things in various stages of dyeing scattered about the studio. The clinical observer part of my brain has noticed that the last few days before a show can produce some really interesting colorways. Cleaning up my dye table becomes a low priority, so splatters of color end up juxtaposed that would never have occurred to me otherwise. Leftover dye solutions get mixed together, the wrong dye bottles get grabbed, and oftentimes beautiful, non-reproducible things happen. They get released into the wild at shows, and sometimes that's the last I see of them.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
The Four Commandments of Dyeing Fiber (Roving)
I have recently been trying to spin some fiber from another dyer, who has a reputation for good fiber prep. And I have to say that I'm a little shocked that people would consider this to be good. Yes, anyone can have a bad day and turn out something that's not up to their usual standard. But I had two braids, and to let two of these slip through the QA process seems like it's a standard rather than an exception.
One braid is a total loss--the felted bits of Wensleydale are knot-like, and despite the gorgeous colors, I've given up on spinning it. Disappointing, because I was looking forward to spinning my first longwool. But hey, maybe it was me, as a newer spinner working with a more challenging fiber.
Because the first braid was a waste of money, I was determined to spin the other braid, which was 100% BFL, a fiber I have dyed hundreds of times and am very familiar with. Imagine my disappointment when this, too, turned out to be difficult to spin. It's technically spinnable after you rip it apart sideways, and I've spun nearly 2 oz of it so far. But it doesn't draft easily at all, and leaves my thumb and forefingers aching for the next day, with tenderness radiating up to my shoulder and neck. I've decided that despite the lovely colors, it's not worth it to me to spin the rest of the braid. I have enough joint problems as it is.
Yes, people are always saying, "Don't spin bad fiber--sheep grow more wool all the time." But the fact of the matter is that buying fiber COSTS MONEY, and when you work hard for it, it's painful to just throw it away.
This experience has gotten me thinking about what I consider to be fiber dyeing rules. Others may dye it differently with great results, but here's what works for me.
1. Thou shalt not touch the fiber when it is hot. When you're intentionally felting/fulling fiber, you put it in the hottest water you can stand, with detergent, and agitate it. When you're dyeing fiber, hot water is unavoidable--it's an essential part of the process (unless you're talking about plant fibers and fiber reactive dyes--totally different process that I don't use). And detergent is present as well, since it helps to open up the fiber and remove the last bits of processing residue. Only the last leg of the felting triumvirate is missing--agitation. KEEP YER HANDS OFF OF IT. I try to avoid even bumping the pot.
How do I define "hot"? Anything higher than room temperature. If it's even a little bit warm, I keep my paws off the pot. Room temperature does vary with the season, and I dye fiber with as much success during the summer as the winter in my unheated garage--so I often try to justify to myself that if it just gets down to about 70, it's okay to rinse. But I talk myself out of it. Cutting corners to save some time often means that I just end up having to redo the whole thing again. It's not a timesaver at all.
2. Thou shalt not rinse too many times. Sad to say, I have (in my opinion) ruined BFL/silk with too many rinses. Last year, I did have a customer who bought one of my seconds at Black Sheep Gathering come and find me at Sock Summit, so that she could tell me that there was nothing wrong with my "second quality" braids. I'm not sure if I'm too picky or if customers are accustomed to doing some yanking and pulling during drafting. But ...
3. Thou shalt err on the side of being too picky. Every time that I'm on the fence about whether something is first quality or not, I throw it in the seconds bin. I think, "If this is the only thing of mine that this customer sees, would I want this to be her or his only impression of my work?" When I put it that way, the answer of what to do is always clear, even if it costs me some money.
4. Thou shalt not dye fiber for wholesale. I do have exceptions to this commandment, as I have retailers who take my product to shows that I can't vend at myself. But generally, when I'm filling a wholesale order, I'm dyeing colorways chosen by someone else, and attempting to match a stock photo. I'm focusing on accuracy, and if an interesting variation or idea pops up, I don't pursue it. By keeping fiber at a retail level, I'm preserving a certain creative freedom that makes me a better dyer.
One braid is a total loss--the felted bits of Wensleydale are knot-like, and despite the gorgeous colors, I've given up on spinning it. Disappointing, because I was looking forward to spinning my first longwool. But hey, maybe it was me, as a newer spinner working with a more challenging fiber.
Because the first braid was a waste of money, I was determined to spin the other braid, which was 100% BFL, a fiber I have dyed hundreds of times and am very familiar with. Imagine my disappointment when this, too, turned out to be difficult to spin. It's technically spinnable after you rip it apart sideways, and I've spun nearly 2 oz of it so far. But it doesn't draft easily at all, and leaves my thumb and forefingers aching for the next day, with tenderness radiating up to my shoulder and neck. I've decided that despite the lovely colors, it's not worth it to me to spin the rest of the braid. I have enough joint problems as it is.
Yes, people are always saying, "Don't spin bad fiber--sheep grow more wool all the time." But the fact of the matter is that buying fiber COSTS MONEY, and when you work hard for it, it's painful to just throw it away.
This experience has gotten me thinking about what I consider to be fiber dyeing rules. Others may dye it differently with great results, but here's what works for me.
1. Thou shalt not touch the fiber when it is hot. When you're intentionally felting/fulling fiber, you put it in the hottest water you can stand, with detergent, and agitate it. When you're dyeing fiber, hot water is unavoidable--it's an essential part of the process (unless you're talking about plant fibers and fiber reactive dyes--totally different process that I don't use). And detergent is present as well, since it helps to open up the fiber and remove the last bits of processing residue. Only the last leg of the felting triumvirate is missing--agitation. KEEP YER HANDS OFF OF IT. I try to avoid even bumping the pot.
How do I define "hot"? Anything higher than room temperature. If it's even a little bit warm, I keep my paws off the pot. Room temperature does vary with the season, and I dye fiber with as much success during the summer as the winter in my unheated garage--so I often try to justify to myself that if it just gets down to about 70, it's okay to rinse. But I talk myself out of it. Cutting corners to save some time often means that I just end up having to redo the whole thing again. It's not a timesaver at all.
2. Thou shalt not rinse too many times. Sad to say, I have (in my opinion) ruined BFL/silk with too many rinses. Last year, I did have a customer who bought one of my seconds at Black Sheep Gathering come and find me at Sock Summit, so that she could tell me that there was nothing wrong with my "second quality" braids. I'm not sure if I'm too picky or if customers are accustomed to doing some yanking and pulling during drafting. But ...
3. Thou shalt err on the side of being too picky. Every time that I'm on the fence about whether something is first quality or not, I throw it in the seconds bin. I think, "If this is the only thing of mine that this customer sees, would I want this to be her or his only impression of my work?" When I put it that way, the answer of what to do is always clear, even if it costs me some money.
4. Thou shalt not dye fiber for wholesale. I do have exceptions to this commandment, as I have retailers who take my product to shows that I can't vend at myself. But generally, when I'm filling a wholesale order, I'm dyeing colorways chosen by someone else, and attempting to match a stock photo. I'm focusing on accuracy, and if an interesting variation or idea pops up, I don't pursue it. By keeping fiber at a retail level, I'm preserving a certain creative freedom that makes me a better dyer.
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