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Aug 25

eclipsed.

a_total_eclipse_of_the_sun_skKaren Alfke here, Roving Reporter for Blue Moon, taking over today’s blog onaccounta Tina’s been ECLIPSED. (And besides, she did it first.)

Y’all, the response to the A Total Eclipse of the Sun colorway and the gradient kit has been beyond wonderful. We all know, as knitters, how a project can capture where you were in a particular moment – and the orders pouring in for those projects you can forever associate with our total eclipse are beyond inspiring for Tina…

She asked me to tell you, onaccounta she’s a bit buried under yarn at the moment…?

(We would have taken a picture of her buried under a pile of yarn, but she’s moving too fast to get that shot.)

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In the meantime: did you feel that?

That little bit of crispness in the air?

(That may have only been perceptible in my little corner of the PacNW today, but dudes: FALL IS COMING.)

More of a promise than a curse to those of you suffering under August’s cruel temperatures – but I assure you (all GoT references aside): the change of seasons is coming faster than we knitters might think.

It’s time, people.

Time to get ON that Rhinebeck Sweater.
Yes, you heard it here: the Rhinebeck Countdown is ON.

JUST A LITTLE LESS THAN 2 MONTHS, people.

If your Rhinebeck Sweater has 1800 yards in it, that’s 1800÷57 = 50 yards a day (leaving you a few days for blocking and seaming, #yourewelcome).

Whether you’re planning on going and will wear your sweater proudly amongst the throng of those queuing for their cider doughnuts, or celebrating #virtualrhinebeck with me and Clara Parkes, IT’S TIME. Time to get swatching and get started with that knitting, because time’s a-wastin’!

Choose the safe route with a worsted-weight yarn like CAKE Worsted or Targhee Worsted… for the adventurous/brave/foolhardy among us, choose cables or texture or lace or some extra complexity that will take your project into ‘bravado’ category for those late-night-oh-my-gawd-i’ve-had-a-glass-of-wine-can-I-do-it sessions… or go safe with a straight-ahead stockinette project (like my Better-Than-Basic Pullover from last year; such a great daily-driver sweater!). Up to you.

What will you cast on to wear at Rhinebeck this year? Because it’s extra-important: this year, Tina’s planning to be at Rhinebeck. Yup. You heard it here first. You could walk up to our gal and fan-girl/guy all over her WEARING HER YARN. (Which is totally like the best thing EVER. Trust me.) Tina’s hoping to be in the booth with Toni of The Fold, with all sorts of yarny goodness.

So get cracking, peeps.

Oh, and if you want some support around your project, we have some exciting news: the great crew over at the Socks That Rawk! group have graciously agreed to become the Official Ravelry Group of Blue Moon Fiber Arts – so that’s the place where you can find all sorts of support about yarns, projects, chickens, or anything Blue-Moon related in the future. We’re about to start official threads for the School of Yarn (study groups!)! C’mon over and enjoy the fun.

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I’m on the home stretch of my Timely Cardigan, so if I count that as my #RhinebeckSweater I’m well ahead of the game … but as you can see, it’s pretty much “Blue Moon All The Time” on my needles around here!

(Lower left is my Guernsey Wrap in CAKE Worsted, which should be making its debut in the booth at Rhinebeck, knitting gods willing. Upper right is an Adama out of Plushy in Bladderwrack on the Rocks. Soo yummy! Must finish.) The Ochroid piece is a new design – coming soon, I hope!)

Aug 21

Inspiration Monday: Round and Round in Circles

As I sit and write this in my little corner of the Pacific Northwest, the moon is finishing its valiant trip across the sun, and things are slowly getting brighter and brighter. That’s a nice image to start the week with, eh?

Sketchbook ShawlAmidst all the hullaballo about the eclipse, I haven’t stopped thinking about the quiet brightness of Suvi Simola’s Sketchbook Shawl. This beautiful, quiet design had been on the docket for last week’s Inspiration Monday until Eclipse Madness took over.

I can’t decide if it’s the sweet regularity of the yarnover lace pattern, or the simple geometry of the thing, but I’ve been a bit obsessed to cast one of these on…

I know a lot of us are fans of Blue Moon because of Tina’s masterful use of color – and the Multicolor Wave colorways are eye candy for any day of the week – but let me make an argument for the quieter side of the palette: the Spirits. “Wraithlike tints,” the Spirits are colors taken all the way to their essence; Tina says they are like homeopathy for color.

Seen side by side on their web page, you can tell the different tints apart – but get them alone and they register as a quiet version of white or off-white. I have some Jengu in La Luna Lace that’s quietly calling me to cast it on for one of these Sketchbook Shawls.unnamed

Jengu is ‘spirited from the color blue,’ and named after a mermaid-type spirit who inhabits the waterways in Cameroon and is the bearer of good fortune and healing powers to all they encounter. Sounds like an ideal Spirit to call forth in a pretty, lightweight wrap!

Two skeins and several weeks of calm-yet-entertaining knitting later, you’ll have your own Spirit to wrap yourself up in. And no matter where you live, there’s some weather coming up that would be ideal for a lightweight shawl like this over your shoulders.

In the meantime, in honor of the light returning from behind the moon, we’ll leave you with an inspiring quote from Paulo Coelho:

“You are the light of the world. Shine, and the darkness will disappear.”

Aug 19

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A Total Eclipse of the Sun!

Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I’m only falling apart
And there’s nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
Turn around bright eyes
Songwriter: James Richard Steinman
On August 21st, there is a Total Eclipse of the Sun which doesn’t happen very often and certainly hasn’t in this way, as the sun is rising over the Pacific. It is a good time to be an Oregonian!
Since the best place to see it is on the Oregon Coast, it’s pretty exciting! I wish I was going to be at the coast to see it.
Of course Blue Moon needs to document such a momentous occasion with a colorway. How could we not?!!
One part of the skein is sunny bright and blue and then we slowly getting darker and darker with less and less sunlight and more moon shadow ending with that very small ring of light.
I think this is my new favorite colorway!!
I love this description of what happens during the eclipse.

“No human action can disrupt the incessant dance of the cosmos, and the Moon’s shadow will not wait on you if you’re not ready. Like a mindless juggernaut, it plows its way through space toward a collision course with Earth. As predicted by the astronomers decades in advance, the shadow arrives with perfect accuracy, and touches down in the north Pacific Ocean at 16:48:33 UT*, at local sunrise. (At that spot, the Sun will actually rise while totally eclipsed. This is a sight few people – even veteran eclipse chasers – have seen, and from what we hear, it is quite uncanny.)

A minute later, the entire shadow (the “umbral cone”) will have made landfall – er, ocean-fall – and will be racing across the surface of the water at supersonic speed. Except for folks on ships at sea, and the occasional ocean-dwelling critter who dares to venture too near the surface, nothing sentient will note the passing of the umbra – until land gets in the way.”

Aug 19

KAL’S , School of Yarn, Eclipse, and a new sock pattern book!!!

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Nothing says Total Solar Eclipse like yarn and cupcakes!

As I told you last week KPTV was out here and interviewed me about our eclipse colorway, what inspires me to create a colorway like this one and then, a little bit more about our process knitting and the bigger picture that such an event represents. Well… as you can see a whole bunch of that they cut out as they tend to do.

All in all… kind of cool though! My kids were proud which just never gets old. We got a little more about yarn and knitting out into the world at large and really impressed one reporter. I think I will knit her a scarf out of our Total Eclipse. Also… I love it that it is a dyer and a baker!

Blue moon also made a brief appearance on the Grocery Girls podcast episide 44 this week thanks to Terri O’Brien who owns Feather Your Nest in Sarnia !! Terri is a gem and I am thrilled that she is one of our Local Yarn Stores!  We are a bout 1 hour and 15 minutes in.  Here is the link to their youtube page.

Thank you Grocery Girls and Terri for the shout out!

Speaking of our local yarns stores we have extended our introductory discount on our School of Yarn for another week because some of them want to join in on the fun!!! So if you were sad because you thought you missed out on the discount there is still time!

See this?!

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Hunter’s new sock book, Silk Road 2 Socks is almost out!! Just a few more days! I am so very excited. I pretty much love everything Hunter designs but most especially her socks. I love how her mind works!

Look at these beauties!!

Kazak inspired by the patterning in Oriental rugs.  So wonderful! Pre-orders on Silk Road start at noon on the 23rd.  We are brainstorming some fun give away once she launches!

All pictures are courtesy of Hunter Hammersen!

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And just when you think knitting could not get any more exciting or creative… I give you the lovely and talented Carol Feller!

Yay!!! It is finally time for the pre-sales on our Annual Fall Sweater KAL with Carol Feller.

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Camira a beautifully textured and and timeless cardigan knit in our CAKE Worsted in the Chana Masala colorway.

I am intrigued by the construction which starts on the back panel, then out towards the sleeves… then  you work the body down from the top. Carol says the bonus is you finish the sleeves first. See? Intriguing. We are offering a 15% discount code good for both our CAKE Worsted and Targhee Worsted both of which would work for this lovey cardi. Carol will send you the code when you purchase the pattern along with a supportive and informative rav forum.  Tomorrow Carol will have a live Q&A on instagram. So check that out @carol.feller

KAL Timing
Clue 1: 7th of October, 2017
Clue 2: 14th of October, 2017
Clue 3: 28th of October, 2017
Clue 4: 11th of November, 2017

Raffle: 25th of November, 2017 – Raffle drawing for the grand prize on ravelry, open to all completed projects with photos in the FO thread.

All kinds of knit joy!

Thank you Carol!!!

Photo credit goes to Joseph Feller.

Okay my lovelies, please take care!  Be the love you want to see in the world. If you are in an total eclipse zone be careful! Oregon is going to be so very full. I am going to spend a lot of time dyeing and shipping eclipse this weekend.

Thank you for your support!

xoxo

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Aug 14

inspiration Monday: Eclipsed

Happy Monday, y’all!

If you’re joining us from the Northern Hemisphere (and not under a rock or otherwised disengaged from the internet), you know full well that the big ol’ sun is gonna play hide-and-seek with us a week from today in the form of a total eclipse.

Tina and the Blue Moon Barn Gals are going to be just about in alignment to see it in its totality, since Mister Sun has had the great good graces to start his run over on the coast of Oregon. So what’s the best way for Blue Moon to celebrate this unusual celestial oddity? Why, a colorway, of course!

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Meet A Total Eclipse of the Sun – a glorious shift from buttery, sunny yellow through the turquoise of the daytime sky, all the way to the unusual sudden grey darkness that will take over for two minutes. All in one skein! (And you don’t even need special glasses to knit with it.)

So what to do what to do with this special colorway? Because of course we knitters want to commemorate this once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime event with knitting, right?

eclipse cowlYou could go thematic and knit up an Eclipse Cowl: a sweet free pattern with a pretty texture stitch that would show up beautifully in Featherlight or La Luna Lace.

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Or you could go gradient in the short-row garter loveliness that is this Eclipse – thanks to Tina’s Featherlight Gradient Kit which includes 6 skeins of Featherlight in shades from totality-grey to sunny-sky yellow!

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1230 yards of fingering-weight fun, and a lot of garter stitch punctuated by eyelets; there are 900 yards in the kit, so you could choose a companion shaded solid for the eyelet rows – there’s a certain symmetry in that, right?  I’ve got my (eclipse-glasses-covered) eye on 24Karat or Chillaxin.

But whatever you’re knitting, make sure to drop everything tomorrow (Tuesday) and find the segment that a local Portland TV station filmed WITH TINA about this colorway! I’m gonna google it first thing.

Don’t forget to wear your eclipse-viewing glasses next week, y’all! Safety first: as knitters, we need dem eyes.

 

Aug 11

TGIF!!!

I am seriously so very thankful it is Friday. It’s been a very full and eventful week.

We had a late start to the week because of the barn-sale and dye-day. Since my team worked on Saturday I gave them Monday off. I feel like the no team Blue Moon on Monday was what made the week so surreal. I spent Monday morning writing and drinking coffee and then the rest of the day I dyed so very many skeins of  our new eclipse colorway ~ A total Eclipse of the Sun!

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It seems from all the orders flying in that you all are as smitten with it as I am which make s me very happy!! I can’t wait until you get it and start knitting!. So much fun.

One of the reasons this week was kind of crazy was because of our eclipse colorway. KPTV Fox 12 was here on Thursday morning filming as many skeins as we had on hand and doing an interview with me (yikes) and also filming me dyeing a skein or two.

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I believe they are doing a small piece on the eclipse as artistic inspiration. I feel like I was a bit of a disappointment to the lovely woman doing the interview because I had not been planning this for months or a year.  She was pretty intrigued by the whole dye process and the and loved the colorway. I tried to impress upon her that the really special thing about all of this was that now knitters and spinners and weavers and crocheters all over were going to being inspired to create and how great is that. The wonderful circle of inspiration! I don’t usually do interviews with people who are not fiber friendly because it’s usually all kinds of awkward and they don’t “get it” but this was kind of fun. I was a little nervous though. Haven’t done anything like this since sock summit. I hope I did not come off as too weird or arrogant or vague or… .  I’ve been second guessing myself since they left. I think, maybe I might have said that hand-painting on yarn is harder than painting on canvas when I meant different but it’s all a jumble at this point and well, it is what it is.

Anyway that happened!

Tomorrow I will be at Coastal Yarns with a whole bunch of yarn for sale and a yarn tasting and a trunk show!  I would love to see you!

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Maggie was here this weekend helping out and she brought her Fructose hat by Alex Tinsley in our Plushy in the Goodby Kitty colorway! Check out our facebook group page for our holiday gift knitting KAL .

 

Our featured hat by Alex Tinsley is Fructose!
Fructose is a fantastic and clever hat with enough details to keep you engaged while enjoying the rest of Summer. Plushy’s plump plies will make each stitch sing. The versatile design and superwash combo make it the perfect gift, too!

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Alex loves Plushy as much as we do and is giving a generous 30% off her Fructose pattern – In addition, she is also offering an additional 10% off the hats in her Sweet Tooth collection: Dragee, Citrus, & Rocket Pop!
Check out our facebook group page for the discount code and will be available through August.

A huge thanks to Alex!

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A little reminder that our School of Yarn early enrollment discount pricing changes on the 15th which is this coming Tuesday. I hope you’ll join us.

I know I have other things to tell you but the dog wants to go out and I need to put finishing touches on the yarn tasting for tomorrow.

See this…

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It’s my knitting bag!! It went missing for most of the week and I think made me feel a little off kilter. I finally found it this afternoon making me so very happy! I LOVE this bag so much and I’ll tell you I felt a little lost without it. It’s full of all kinds of knit tools  and treasures, including ALL of my needles.

I’m calling it a good start to the weekend!

Happy knitting!

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Aug 7

One of those lovely circles of life!

Good Monday morning to you!!

So… I am going to hi-jack Karen’s Inspiration Monday today. I have not even told her I was doing this. So it’s going to be as much of a surprise to her, as it is to you, and quite honestly me too. (I promise she will be back next week!!)

Mondays are not my absolute favorite day of the week. Mostly because of the adjustment from weekend to work week. I’m pretty sure most of us feel this way. Also, it’s just usually pretty crazy here on Monday. This Monday is different because I gave team Blue Moon the day off since they worked the barn sale on Saturday. Which means it is delightfully quiet here this morning and I get to move at a slower pace. Heck, I even slept in!

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I wanted to take advantage of this quiet Monday morning moment to share a bit about how personal inspiration can be and send out a big ginormous thank you from my creative heart to yours!

 

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I love our barn sale and dye day event. I love it because I get to hang out and share with all of you!         Since we have not been doing shows for the past few years I do not get as much of an opportunity to visit with you all as I used to. So, really this is the one time a year I am assured of time with my people. I get to see your dear smiling faces and get hugs and hear your laughter and see what you are knitting and catch up with what you are up to and hear your stories. Seriously, such a wonderful time that is deeply important to me.

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It’s also good for team blue moon to meet interact with the knitters they serve and hear and see how the work they do is used and appreciated. I have pretty high standards that I try to keep us all to here and I think it’s helpful and rewarding for the team to see and hear what a difference it makes to you all.

And… then there is what my soul gets from you that nourishes and inspires. I’m gonna call it the inspiration circle of life.

The absolute best part of my job is that I have the opportunity to make people happy. I love the dyeing and color and fiber and knitting and spinning ….all of it.  However what keeps me going and helps me roll out of bed at the crack of dawn every morning is knowing that what I create and share in some way speaks to you enough to inspire your creativity, which hopefully feeds your soul and makes you happy.

It’s a powerful thing and a gift, which I am truly grateful for!!!

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When I get to see, feel and hear about how you have been inspired by a yarn or a colorway or a series of them and what you have made and how you feel about what you have made with my yarns and colors, I am truly humbled and touched!  I am often so moved that I am left speechless which as most of you know is a pretty rare event.

I am also inspired. Your thoughts, stories and feedback show me that what I am doing works and matters. I walk away from every single time with a very full heart, the validation of a job done well and a renewal of creative confidence and perspective.

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So…my dear fibery friends, to all of you that shared with me this weekend thank you so much!                       I can’t tell you how much I needed  to see, hear and feel  your part of our creative relationship. We all have our insecurities or low moments. I know for me I get stuck in the everyday running of blue moon and it can dampen my creative spirit. Which then in turn leads to all kinds of weird self-questioning of myself as an artist and creative person.

It is so important to let people know when and how they have touched your life. keep that circle of inspiration and creativity and love going!

Have a great week!

xoxo

 

Aug 5

A Total Eclipse of the Sun!

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A Total Eclipse of the Sun!!
On August 21st there is a Total Eclipse of the Sun which hasn’t happened very often and certainly hasn’t in this way, with the sun is rising over our wild and wonderful Pacific Ocean. It is a good time to be an Oregonian!
Since the best place to see it is on the Oregon Coast. It’s pretty exciting! I wish I was going to be at the coast to see it but not willing to sit in traffic for days!!
Of course Blue Moon needs to document such a momentous occasion with a colorway. How could we not?!!
Starting at one part of the skein is sunny bright and then sky blue and then we slowly getting darker and darker with less and less sunlight and more moon shadow ending with that very small ring of  endless light.
I think this is just might be my new favorite colorway!!
So much so in fact that I decided to make it into a gradient kit!!
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and then I also dyed it in Super Sparkle cause duh!!!!
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I love everything about this and if I didn’t have the Barn Sale and Dye Days to morrow I would curl up in a chair by a fan and knit!!!!!!
 We spent all day today prepping the barn for our Barn Sale and Dye Day. It’s a great excuse to do a deep clean so that is done for a little while.  All of the sale yarns are hung. I find this the hardest part, especially the Rare Gem wall.
Oh my… all the colors. I told Sarah she was in charge of not letting me get anywhere near them. She is very pregnant and stern so I think I’m safe.
I started the indigo vat and have the dye tables all set up! We are raring to go.
All we need is you!
Here are the directions again:

BARN SALE hours are 9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday August 5th @ the big red barn in the land of Blue Moon 56587 Mollenhour Rd. Scappoose 97056

Directions!

If you are coming from Portland or Vancouver you want I-405 to US 30 West towards St.Helens
You will be on this for about 14 miles.
You are going to drive all the way through Scappoose to the end of town.
Right after the fire station is the last traffic light which is Scappoose-Vernonia Highway
You are going to turn left onto Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy
Go about 7 miles up. It’s a pretty and curvy drive!
Turn left onto Chapman Road
Go about quarter of a mile and then turn left onto Mollenhour Road
Go about an eighth of a mile and  our gravel drive is right after a row of mailboxes where the 1st one has 56587 on it.
Also…there’s a huge piece of driftwood with a green house number sign on it.
The gravel road dead ends into Blue Moon. So drive all the way down.

Note: Before Chapman Road there is a Chapman Grange Road. You DO NOT want that one!!

Also please do come all the way down to us. We have parking and will direct you.If you want to carpool that is awesome. Please do not park on our neighbors land. Thank you!

Okay I am off to make signs and dinner!!

Have a lovely weekend!!

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