How fun are these?! All available from Wearthou's etsy shop. She's a little backed up right now, as she was recently featured on etsy. I think these will be worth the wait!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Knitwear, silver style
How fun are these?! All available from Wearthou's etsy shop. She's a little backed up right now, as she was recently featured on etsy. I think these will be worth the wait!
Friday, June 18, 2010
On the Plate...
Farmer's Market season is in full swing in Western Washington. While I always have high hopes for having my own abundant vegetable garden, the reality is that it takes a green thumb (which I have) and a significant amount of time (not so much.) That's why I am so grateful that we are lucky enough to have several amazing farmer's markets in Seattle. Depending on how early or late it is in the season, you can find just about everything you need to make quick, healthy meals. Plus, the fruit! Oh the fruit! I'm pretty sure I have eaten more cherries, raspberries and strawberries in the last three weeks than I have all year - yet I gotta get them while they are hot.
Another thing I love about the farmers markets is that you can find things that aren't often available in the typical grocery store. For example, last week we found these awesome blue potatoes (appropriately named "All Blue") and this gorgeous heirloom tomato.
There hasn't been much cooking outside of the grill as of late and no new recipes that have tried and true, however I did come across this recipe for Cherry Granitas which sounds delicious - perhaps even more so with a little spirits (read Vodka) added? Hmmm... now there's an idea... :)
If you're not sure if there's a farmer's market in your area, here's a LINK to the National Farmer's Market database.
Another thing I love about the farmers markets is that you can find things that aren't often available in the typical grocery store. For example, last week we found these awesome blue potatoes (appropriately named "All Blue") and this gorgeous heirloom tomato.
There hasn't been much cooking outside of the grill as of late and no new recipes that have tried and true, however I did come across this recipe for Cherry Granitas which sounds delicious - perhaps even more so with a little spirits (read Vodka) added? Hmmm... now there's an idea... :)If you're not sure if there's a farmer's market in your area, here's a LINK to the National Farmer's Market database.
Knit Happy!!
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a Post It note fiend. Specifically, a Post It FLAG note fiend. Seriously. If you take a look at any of my stitch pattern books, you'll see a plethora of brightly colored papers sticking out the tops and sides, marking all of the stitch patterns I like. Same with my pattern books in general. In fact, I didn't really realize how bad the problem was until I started gathering up my books to photograph. I found the same situation with cookbooks and gardening books. And it's not really limited to Post It's either. Lots of ripped up little pieces of paper live in the tops of those books too. Now combine with love of sticky notes with the disarray of my purse/knitting bag and you can see why I was so tickled to come across these nifty Knit Happy Sticky Note Organizers. Finally a way to keep things more contained when I'm ready to daydream. I hope you will be able to find many, many uses for these little sticky wonders as well!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Welcome Sock Clubbers
I hope you enjoy this new format of a dyer's journal of sorts. It is a work in progress - I'll need to do some sprucing up on the template to make it pretty, but for now, I'll share some thoughts about sock club and here's and there's about how I come up with color ideas and what's happening in the studio during our favorite time of the the month - dyeing time!
This month's inspiration comes from the garden and of course, climbing!
As many of you know already, I'm an avid rock climber. It's a fairly new sport to me (about 18 months now) yet I've taken to it like a bee to honey. While I enjoy climbing at a local gym, what I really love is to get out for a good hike and then spend some time up on "real rock" (we call them "crags"). Out in the mountains I can feel my worries and stresses totally relax, while my heart races out of excitement (and a little fear!) And, most importantly I get to surround myself with nature and all sorts of vivid colors that our world has to offer.
The inspiration for the "Belle" colorway comes from a patch of spring flowers that I spotted on a recent climb. They look a little like pansies, yet I'm not exactly sure of what they are. Not quite blue, but not really purple, these little lovelies had deeper hints of color with a very soft gradation towards the outer edges of the petal. Oh how I wanted to pick some, but there weren't very many and I do like to tread softly on my ventures. Can anyone identify these??
The idea for "Leaf" came from this lovely Columbine plant I recently purchased for my garden. These mottled leaves are so pretty - and although it hasn't bloomed yet, I can only guess from the little picture on the planting instructions that the blue flowers it will produce will be quite close to the "Belle" colorway. The picture to the left are the wet skeins waiting to be rinsed. Doesn't the green really look like that leaf??
These were really fun to dye. Of course they will look great for socks and the Belle colorway, with it's subtle shading will be wonderful for shawls, scarves, etc. And for fun, I did a little Ravelry query on leaf patterns. How fun to make something with a leaf design from "Leaf"!
If you're interested in more, I have a few "knotty" skeins left from this batch. Also, I was very careful this time around in notating the formulas, so I can dye more. Enjoy!!
This month's inspiration comes from the garden and of course, climbing!
As many of you know already, I'm an avid rock climber. It's a fairly new sport to me (about 18 months now) yet I've taken to it like a bee to honey. While I enjoy climbing at a local gym, what I really love is to get out for a good hike and then spend some time up on "real rock" (we call them "crags"). Out in the mountains I can feel my worries and stresses totally relax, while my heart races out of excitement (and a little fear!) And, most importantly I get to surround myself with nature and all sorts of vivid colors that our world has to offer.
The inspiration for the "Belle" colorway comes from a patch of spring flowers that I spotted on a recent climb. They look a little like pansies, yet I'm not exactly sure of what they are. Not quite blue, but not really purple, these little lovelies had deeper hints of color with a very soft gradation towards the outer edges of the petal. Oh how I wanted to pick some, but there weren't very many and I do like to tread softly on my ventures. Can anyone identify these?? 
The idea for "Leaf" came from this lovely Columbine plant I recently purchased for my garden. These mottled leaves are so pretty - and although it hasn't bloomed yet, I can only guess from the little picture on the planting instructions that the blue flowers it will produce will be quite close to the "Belle" colorway. The picture to the left are the wet skeins waiting to be rinsed. Doesn't the green really look like that leaf??
These were really fun to dye. Of course they will look great for socks and the Belle colorway, with it's subtle shading will be wonderful for shawls, scarves, etc. And for fun, I did a little Ravelry query on leaf patterns. How fun to make something with a leaf design from "Leaf"!
If you're interested in more, I have a few "knotty" skeins left from this batch. Also, I was very careful this time around in notating the formulas, so I can dye more. Enjoy!!
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