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Rose City Yarn Crawl…

I got back from Orcas on Sunday and all I can say is, it’s a good thing I unpacked and got all my ducks in a row Sunday night. Because come Monday morning it was, hit the dye barn running, and it hasn’t stopped all week. Paula has been out sick all week long with that super awful crud that is going around and around. So, Heather and I have been doing out best to fill her shoes, and yes, it takes two of us!  ( Feel better soon Paula!! please…)
This is pretty exciting week for a couple of reasons, the biggest and brightest one is, that it’s the annual Rose City Yarn Crawl. Yay!!! All kinds of happy dancing in the streets of Portland this weekend. I’ve been cooking up all kinds of Blue Moon goodness with Twisted not the least of which is there RCYC shop colorway. I love working with Shannon and Emily and all of the wonderfully talented people they attract. It’s the best kind of fun. Wooly color fun. I wish you could have been in the back room with us when we named our colorway. Kat and I almost fell off our chairs when Shannon did here interpretive KaPOW PaTIna. I wish you could’ve heard her because it’s just the best. I have it recorded on my phone and am considering making it my ring tone. I’m sure if you are at the store in the next few days she’ll happily say it for you. (That sound you hear is Shannon kicking my ass all the way down Broadway.It’ll be worth it though.) oh yeah!
My color inspiration was the Sellwood Bridge which I admit was a little challenging. I’m pretty thrilled with the results though. I think it does the bridge justice. I hope you will be too! I think when they’ve done the rebuilding project on it we should yarn bomb it with our colorway.
Twisted is chock full of all kinds of wonderful yarns. Knitted Wit has been dyeing and skeining her heart out for her wonderful sampling on Sunday and the ever lovely Jeannie Carver from Imperial Stock Ranch is going to be there on Friday with a trunk show and a wee little lamb. And that’s just a few of us.
I will be there on Saturday from noon until 4:00 with all kinds of silk hanky tricks.Knitting ones and spinning ones!  Shannon has designed a lovely little kerchief pattern ( free) and I will show you how to coax the hankies into knit submission.

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Also…a whole bunch of Blue Moon’s bright new spring color line-up will be there, as a sneak peak, before they hit the website next week.
Until then we decided to try something new. We’ are taking your wish list and putting it up almost in it’s entirety for a week. After a week some of them will come down to make room for the new ones. ( The color wall is only so big.)
There are two colorways that we could not rustle the pics ip for and those are Two Can Rock and Pisgah. We’re sorry! We’ll work on them for next go around. If you do not see a fiber or yarn type offered in the colorway you want please do email us.
Here is the list of the colorways from your wish list:
Lunasea
Peaseblossom
bleeding hearts
cobalt bloom
hot sox
spruced
Pineapple Express
Count Cluckula
Calico
Goody Goody
Pink Granite
Petunia
Drucilla
Pop Rocks
Mango Tango
Peek -a-Boo Peony
Foo Foo
A little Dab’ll Do Ya
Azure Malachite
Beached
Carbon Dating
Chickabiddy
Cracked Canyon
Easter Scramble
Flourite
Gibsom
Guppy
Hearthstone
Hurdy Gurdy
Iolite
Lochness
Minestone
Queen Rock
Quiet Riot
Saratoga
Sedona
Spot Rock One
The Claw
Atomic #6
Typhoon Tina
Sunnyside-up

I do have pictures of the plying part of spinning from my week with Judith and a few other yarny tidbits but they’ll have to wait for next time. I will say that it was one of the best weeks I’ve had in a very long time. Reconnecting with the why and how this all started for me, the making of yarn, was rejuvenating.  I spun until it the fibers woke up in my bones, flowed through my veins and tickled my soul. A very good week.

I hope to see you at Twisted this weekend.

Spinning

Day 1 of Spinning with Judith on Orcas Island.

Spinning…

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Tomorrow I believe there will be plying!

It’s showtime!

I’ve been trying to get a minute, to sit here and tell you all about our Madrona and Stitches West design line-up, our dye prep and the new blog we’re designing for days, but every single time a quiet moment presents itself and I settle myself down poof, moment’s vanished into thin air. Up in a foggy haze of; hey, the new dye is not the same as the last batch we ordered or the mill sent the wrong yarn or hey Debra’s got the flu or really just take your pick.  It’s the nature of the beast!  Today’s drama was that the server is turning itself off for no apparent reason. It’s working fine one minute and then all of a sudden of it goes.  I’m sure there is a logical reason for this but we could not find it. If my tech-brilliant son can’t find it then, it’s well hidden or ( and this one has my vote) just being difficult. Yup, just difficult. Actually, you know what I’ve noticed? Every single time I plan to leave here on a show or retreat the server acts up (out). It never fails. I’m starting to get a little creeped out by it.  It’s also seriously inconvenient and stressful. I feel that this has become a bit of a dysfunctional relationship that needs an intervention or maybe a back-up server to keep this one company. I don’t know.

Anyway, I’m here now.  So…as usual I’ll be at Madrona and Debbi will be at Stitches West.  If you are in the area please do come by and say hi and see all the wonderful designs we’re lucky enough to have with us (and the yarn to knit them up with) this season. We have two fabulous pieces from the latest issue of the Twist Collective which uses our Seduction and Gaea Sport.

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Celestarium by Audrey Nicklin and Barnsley by Mari Chiba

And…speaking of twists, we have a few shawls and cowls from our favorite PDX yarn store Twisted ( yeah I know, we most definitely have a twist problem!) designed by the owners Shannon and Emily. Shannon is one of the designers from this months sock club and Emily is the model of said design! Emily’s Cloudburst Cowl in LSS is delicious. I told Shannon today that it might just need to live with me for awhile. I think it’s only fair since it’s in Pond Scum. What was she thinking?

We’ll also have with us a few of Veera’s brilliant Colour Affection Shawls, one in Seduction and one in Silkie along with Carol Feller’s RAVI in STR Mediumweight and Star Athen’a Sartorial Cowl in DeVine.  There is just so very much all wonderful designs and fun knits. We have a few designs from a new designer we are featuring Samantha Kirby. I promise, if you don’t already, you’ll love her work. 

You’ll find a list below of some of these designs that we’ll not have hard copies of at either show. This way you can go straight to the designer and we can spread the love and save a few trees while we’re at it.

There’s lots and lots of yarn and spinning fibers and brand spanking new colorways. There might even be some cashmere and silk yarn. And… there will most definitely be be an unveiling of a few new Blue Moon Sweaters.

Here’s a teaser: Meet Ariadne by Karen Alfke.

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See… we have been very busy.  Debbi and I both look forward to seeing you all. I would love to write more but I have a teenager to get all packed and ready to go. It’s way easier to prep for a show then pack up a teenage girl!

Happy Knitting!

PS: New colors will be up on the website soon! Promise.

Here’s that list I mentioned:

Sartorial Cowl by Star Athena

Celestarium by Amelia Lyon

Barnsley by Mira Chiba

Ravi by Carol Feller

Sea Anenome Cowl by Shannon Squire

Axis Mitts by Sam Roshak

Colour Affection by Veera Valmaki

Pretty Thing Cowl by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Mesh Leaf Cowl by Shannon Squire

Leafy Greens by Shannon Squire

Peregrine Shawlette by (You guessed it.) Shannon Squire

Cloudburst Cowl by Emily Williams

Necessary Vest by Samantha Kirby

Emanating Sweater by Samantha Kirby

Queen Bee by Mary Scott Huff

Wild Hare by Mary Scott Huff

Note:  Photo Credits to Jane Heller Photography for Celestarium and to Carrie Bostick Hoge for Barnsley