Blonde Chicken Boutique » handdyed

Introducing: Colorful People

Tara — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:05:20 +0000

My world is filled with colorful people.

Destuckifying teachers who talk to ducks.
Amaze-balls wordsmiths.
Colorful dyers.

These people inspire my writings and inspire my spinning.

This week (and maybe longer?) I’m spinning yarns inspired by specific people: Colorful People.

Who inspires you?

Share the colors that would represent yourself or a friend and if I spin it, I’ll name the yarn after you.

Kneesocks in Handspun

Tara — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:21:56 +0000

As fall approaches, I’m finding myself obsessed with kneesocks.

I have several store-bought pairs, like these:

but I’m craving some handknit, handspun legs.

Inspiration

It never even occurred to me to knit kneesocks until I saw Rachel-Marie’s gorgeous pair last year:

(yarn, sock and photo all by KnittyDirtyGirl)

She used this fabulous Lifestyle Sock (it’s not a pattern, it’s a lifestyle). Here’s the Raverly link.

When I searched Ravelry, I found even more.

The Shaping Kneesocks (Ravelry link) is a super simple pattern.

Photo and kneesocks by cinemaknits
Another straightforward pattern is the aptly named Kneesocks! (Ravelry link)

Photo, yarn and socks, all by Pixiefarts

Have you knit socks from handspun?

What fall knitting project is inspiring you?

Share in the comments!

Shades of Hemp

Tara — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:52:02 +0000

This week has been all about the hemp.

I got a ginormous wholesale order from a fiber artist, so I have been winding + dyeing for days.

(This is actually a giant pile of yarn I sold to someone at Starbucks last month. If you’re ever in town, shoot me an email and you get your own pile of yarn + coffee!)

This color (pumpkin) seems to be the most popular:

Emily is making a gorgeous Waves of Grain scarf:

(the free pattern is here, on Knitty). Emily is @emilyroots on Twitter is a new spinning convert, so go welcome her to the club!

And @fracksmom is making a cowl out of it.
(I’m pretty sure it’s not for her dog, he’s just modeling it!)

If you’re wondering what you might make with hemp laceweight, I’ve compiled a whole list of patterns and you’ll probably love the projects other knitters are making on Ravelry.

Oh, and if you want a little skein for yourself (it’s actually a huge skein: 625 yards/2 oz), you can get it right here.

Farmer’s Market Inspiration

Tara — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:08:29 +0000

A photo tour of this week’s inspiration, all of it from the local farmers.

Green beans

Carrots and peaches

Watermelon

The result of the inspiration, which you can use to inspire your summer.

Name a New Color – Winner!

Tara — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:04:10 +0000

And the winner of a free skein of hemp lacweight is….

Gerri Newfry!

She will get one skein of hemp in the color she suggested which is…black!

I’m calling the new shade Midnight and it is now available in the shop.

So many of you suggested yellow (or gold or sunshine), that I’ve also added that to the line-up.

Daffodil

And several of you requested a red (or wine or pomegranate), so we have this:

Pomegranate

Pumpkin got a bit of a makeover and is slightly brighter to welcome Spring:

Pumpkin

You can find all these shades and your old favorites, in the shop, until they sell out! Check them out here.