STITCHES MIDWEST

Thank GOD! I got everything packed for Stitches Midwest. My booth is 831 & 829.

I brought A LOT OF BLANKS. I have everything from wool to silk to alpaca to possum. I also have the last 30 hanks of Supersock Select. It is a low micron count Supersock. I will have 20 blanks and at least 10 dyed. I have some beautiful mohair and silk boucle, and silk and mohair stranded as well. I will be bringing all my dyes, and Synthrapol, and some Citric Acid.

Also I am bringing several different types of 4 ounce blanks all suitable for sock/ hats, etc: Superwash DK, Fingering weight wool, Worsted worsted and bulky wool. Some of these yarns I have some free patterns for.

What I am most happy about is the other indie dyed yarns! I am bringing three different indie dyed yarns.

Unwind Yarns by Khetala (Rav) Shannon sent her yarn from British Columbia. She sent me a cute little Shrug pattern that her daughter looks adorable in to go with her worsted yarn.

Fire Lizard Yarn's Cara sent a great batch of sock yarn. She is from Huntsville, AL and does a variety of things, NOT JUST YARN! :) Her blog is here.


Last, but certainly not least is Ancient Thread's Lynda(blog) from Syracuse, NY has brought her unique touch to the party. Lynda only uses plant dyes for her yarn.

Finally, I am bringing 200 Superwash Manifesto DVDs, I have little guide booklets to go with them and I will be signing them at the show. I have a bunch of low cost getting started projects that are fun and easy and COST EFFECTIVE.

At least come by and say Hi I would love to meet you.

Jenna

And they are up!

Hello

I know I have been quiet, not my fault I swear!

New Yarns up :D
I have gotten good response to my dye ensembles and I will be making more soon. I have put up several new yarns for your dyeing pleasure.

Suri Alpaca Laceweight
100% Suri alpaca, 50 grams/ 466 yards This laceweight yarn is unbelievably soft. It dyes a little more muted then the superwash. Dying recommendations: Citric Acid 2 tbsp/ half gallon, Heat Set.

Orenburg Laceweight
20% Silk/ 80% Kidd Mohair, 50 gm/ ~600 yds This yarn is handspun in Russia, and hard to find. This yarn could be considered a cobweb or gossamer weight yarn. Often it is used for formal shawls like would be worn at weddings and such. The bit of silk gives this yarn a hint of sheen that gives the yarn a little depth. Dying recommendations: Citric Acid 2 tbsp/ half gallon, Heat Set

PlainJane Wool
100% Wool, 2 oz / 200yds, For all you purists out there who want just plain wool sock yarn or a nice fingering weight for other projects this is the straight up, real deal. This is good yarn to start on if you are tired of the superwash, it is easy to dye and easy to work with, and it has a nice feel to it. Dying recommendations: Citric Acid 2 tbsp/ half gallon, Synthrapol 1-2 drops in the dye, Heat Set

Simply Roving
100% Merino wool roving, This is the softest roving I have ever felt and it is very high quality. It comes clean and ready to be dyed. When I dye roving, I lay it out in a pan just like I would any other yarn. Cut to your specifications, I am sure you will be satisfied with this product. Dying recommendations: Citric Acid 2 tbsp/ half gallon, Synthrapol 1-2 drops in the dye, Heat Set

The other offering I have recently put up is my new video The Indie Dyer Experience: The Superwash Manifesto which is available for preorder and will debut at Stitches Midwest. I spent an entire day in the studio to bring you this one hour DVD that will show you step by step how to dye yarn. I dye 3 sample hanks, with the very dyes that I sell so you can see how to get colors lighter, make colors darker, how to reuse your dyes, and make mixing more dye efficient. Also we will show you many of the tips and tricks that can really save you time and money.

Happy Dye-ing!

Jenna
www.indiedyer.com

Ensembles Anyone?

After getting some feed back about the dyes I think it might be easier for people if I get together some dye ensembles so people can have a group of dyes to buy together.

In the Dyes section of my website you will find some new little dye packs. The number of dyes in the different sets varies so that people can have a wider variety to choose from every other the set "basic 4." That being said my starter set is a set of 4 dyes. Let me introduce my ensembles. You will notice that buying an ensemble will be a bit better price then buying each of these dyes individually. :)

Basic Primaries (4 colors/containers): Citrus Yellow, Coral (this is red), Bright Blue, Nickel( Black), technically you can make every color from these 4 colors. 4 oz of dye (4 one ounce containers) will make roughly 6 gallons of dye if you use it at "full strength" which is considered 2 tsp to a half gallon. If you want to color to look lighter or darker then "full strength", you are going to have to use more or less powered dye accordingly. $11

Extended Primaries(6 colors/containers): Citrus Yellow, Coral (this is red), Azure Blue, Nickel( Black), Ultraviolet, and Aqua, while technically you can make every color with the above set, both bright violets and turquoises/ aqua are hard to mix yourself and be brilliant. This set really gives you a wide range for which to mix your own colors and make 90% of the colors you want . 6 oz of dye roughly makes 9 gallons of "full strength" dye (see note above about full strength dye). $16

Crayola Colors (8 colors/containers): This what you would get if you bought a 8 pack of crayola crayons, pencils, or markers. Nickel (Black), Nutmeg, Coral (red), Musk Melon, Citrus Yellow, Emerald Green, Intense Blue, and Ultra Violet. These are basically the colors of the rainbow with brown and black. Nutmeg is a reddish brown and Coral is a bright scarlet red, between the two you should be able to make a good spectrum of reds. $22

Watercolors (6 colors/containers): Kiwi (my favorite all time color!), Iris, Soft Orange, Robins Egg Blue, Bubble Gum, Baby Blue. All of these colors are lighter then the other colors, they won't make a dark fierce hue, instead you will find a softer, more inviting color. $16


Faded Colors (6 colors/ containers): Bordeaux, Bronze, Curry, Olive Drab, Alpine Blue, Khaki. These are your off colors, they are sort of fall colors, and they aren't very bright. Perfect for a more muted color. $16

Blues (5 colors/ containers): Azure Blue, Sky Blue, Intense Blue, Robins Egg Blue, Electric Blue. With these blues your will be able to find the exact hue you are looking for and be able to make any color of purple or green! You will be surprised at the variation of these blues. $13

The Ultimate Collection(37 colors/ 37containers): This would be every color I have to offer, it is the ultimate indulgence. You will always have a wonderful selection to choose from and can explore colors with more control of what color you are going to get. You can easily work several different palettes just by putting aside certain colors. $ 99 (price is cut from $111, thats 4 dyes free!)

Anyways, I plan to offer more dye ensembles in the future, but these should get you started. Happy Dying!

New Yarns anyone?

With the launch of my new store I have been hunting around for more things to put up on my site for you to dye. At a really good price.

How does everyone feel about Suri Lace?

Suri Lace Alpaca
50 g / 466 yds

100% Suri Alpaca lace weight yarn that is well suited to fine lace work.

Specifications: Gauge: 7sts. per 1 inch on US 3 needle. Washing instructions: Handwash only and lay flat to dry.

I found about 30 skeins, so once it is gone that is all I have.
This yarn is a protein fiber so it will need citric acid in the dye bath, and you can use the standard mx dyes with a few drops of synthrapol in the dye bath.

I have heard a rumor about some certified ORGANIC sock yarn, and I am stalking it and should know tomorrow how much I can get. ....... plant dyers this maybe your way to get a totally organic experience......

As always.....hunting down the best prices.....
Sign up for my newsletter (sidebar) to get info on good deals on my yarn.

ITS ALIVE

BUSY SHOULD BE MY MIDDLE NAME!

These past couple days have been CRAZY! However, my site is up! www.indiedyer.com is now a live site!

I have been dying my little fingers off! Wanna see?
Here is my Indie Dyed Yarn, that I have been working on for several days.

This yarn is promised out to Loopy Ewe, but I have a bunch more not pictured headed out to Jimmy Beans Wool!

They are going to be carrying my stuff as well I am incredibly honored and excited to have both of these stores carrying my stuff!

Thats all for now, more tomorrow. I have some other BIG updates, but I can barely stay awake.
Night!

Back in the Studio.....

Today was awesome! I was got to test out all my new dyes. I entrusted a CERTAIN someone to order the TEN dyes I specified. Some how when I got the box there were closer to THIRTY dyes in the box. AND I couldn't find the black. Hmmm..... Well I did what any self respecting dyer would when faced with ALL THOSE DYES and BLANKS. I started dying! Umm we decided to label it "testing the dyes."


I love my Mom's studio, it is sooooo nice. My first big order (for me anyways) is shipping to The Loopy Ewe . I am so very excited for her to pick up my yarn.

Here I am poking my yarn, to see if it was done cooking.


This colorway is called Cactus Flower. Here I am caressing my about-to-be dried Cactus Flower.Later I realized that "Nickel" is actually black. I didn't realize that BEFORE I placed the order for Black that is labeled "Black." So my fellow dyers you lucky people will have TWO blacks from which to choose. Lucky Lucky!

Notice: The yarn on my Mom's site SOLD OUT. Thanks! My site should be up enough to order dyes and other stuff tomorrow. I won't be able to ship until I get back Tuesday.

Video Buzz

Hey

Today I head out to beautiful green Vermont to shoot my first dying video. I have borrowed my Mom's beautiful studio and I am looking forward to taking visiting my family and friends in the area.

Tenitive working title is: The Superwash Manifesto. I am so very excited to get this DVD out because now I can really showcase some of the finer points of dying and I think it will appeal to a wide range of people. In addition to a straight forward how to, I am going to show various stages of dyed yarn and the different tricks and tips that can help people understand the dye process itself a little better.

I am also thinking about making an appearance at Stitches Midwest at the end of August. I will have all my blanks, dyes, supplies and probably some of my own dyed yarn there for sale as well.

Anyways, I am off to catch my plane, I hope to see you soon!