Family members traveling, a family member dislocating a knee, yeah. It’s been pretty crazy.

So, I’ve decided to move the reopening of my yarn store back to June sometime. And (ready for this?) I’m keeping the name Maiden Yarn. It’s a good name, and it’s a name my customers know. At this point I’m thinking “Wildwood Fibers” will be a sub-brand for some extra special products I’ll be carrying. And don’t think this means the store won’t have some really neat additions and improvements! I’m still very excited.

In other news, I dyed forty-something skeins of yarn during the last two days for my friend at Annie and Co. That is a pile of yarn, y’all. I barely have room on my drying racks for all of it.

Yes, all the pictures for today are in black and white. My camera’s little electronic brain was so blown by the sheer gorgeousness of the tones, it flipped out and couldn’t portray them accurately. (And maybe I got a little filter-happy.)

So, the rest of May will be spent getting things ready for Maiden Yarn’s reopening in June, and having some friends come in from out of town for a mutual friend’s wedding. You can be expecting some pictures of the former (not the latter) in the weeks to come.

Lots of things are afoot around here, besides the pollen. We filmed a dvd on “How To Knit”, which will be added to this collection of dvds as soon as it’s edited and I’ve bitten the bullet and written the little booklet that goes along with it. I’m having difficulty buckling down to that, though, for a couple reasons.

First off, I have a few ideas for novels begging to be written, and in my humble opinion, a fantasy novel is much more fun to write than a series of materials lists. But, that’s just my opinion.

Secondly, I’m getting ready to dive into creating the inventory for Wildwood Fibers! Huzzah! (Round of applause.) As you may have noticed, Maiden Yarn on Etsy is temporarily closed, and Laceweights will be following soon, so if you want something, grab it quick.

Today’s work session revolved around deciding which colorways I’ll open the new shop with. At this point I have no idea if it’s a delicate balance of weighing data, or random chance, but hopefully I’ve narrowed in on a nice balance of colors. A few old favorites are carrying over, of course, but some will be modified for a fresh new look.

There’s lots of work ahead, but it’s looking bright and cheery.

In an effort to get the ball rolling, and new supplies laid in, all current inventory is 30% off, so have fun.

~ Velvet Slippers Sock Yarn

~ Not a Daisy Roving

~ Spring Roving

I made two. The first is “Not Quite Black and White.”

And the second one is “Late Summer, With Love.”

These pictures only show half of the items in each, but you can see the full sized versions by clicking on their names. Drop by and let me know what you think.

This one is a very smooshy single-ply of a wool and nylon blend. I think it would make gorgeous scarves, cowls, or even a shawl. I’ve already gotten to dye some up as a test, and this yarn is begging to be dyed in rich tones of a kettle-dyed nature.

As a side note – I will also be carrying a more familiar fingering base. The 70/30 merino/silk blend I’ve had in before. It’s a nice four-ply, non-superwash yarn with a little bit of shine to it. Lovely lovely.

In case you’re wondering, I’m moving Maiden Yarn to mainly fingering weight (my favorite to knit with) and spinning fiber at the beginning of October. It’ll simplify things for me, and allow me to offer a wider range of colors in the same weight (if not same fiber blend) of yarn. Plus, who doesn’t like fingering and sock weight?

I’m really rather excited, but I shall try to remain rational.

One moment while I get a grip on myself –

- ahem -

The second new base is this two-ply superwash merino. I’d call it more of a lightweight fingering, but we’ll see what it does after being dyed. I haven’t worked with this particular yarn before, and I’m really eager to see what it does. If I’m reading it right, it will probably have a lovely shine, and look great in variegated tones.

I bet it would do great fingerless gloves. Or maybe a hat. (Ooh, a tam or beret! I must try this now.) The two-ply construction seems fairly durable, while still being plush enough for comfort. (Yes, definitely a beret.)

Alright. Back to the subject at hand.

I have grand plans to have skeins in each of the two new bases dyed and in the stores during the first week of October. We’ll see how it goes! I can hardly wait to get that superwash one in the dye pot.

~Rebekah

After a lovely time together, my “Rondel” base laceweights are retiring. These are the lovely alpaca/silk blends with a unique construction, lots of drape, and a little touch of fuzzy halo. It’s been lovely having them, but it is their time to go.

All that being said, the skeins of Rondel left in my laceweight store are now on sale. So drop on by if you’d like to adopt one before they go away. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

~ Rebekah

I’ve come to the conclusion that fall could use a little shoving along. It’s been in the eighties around here (lovely!) and getting chilly at night. Let’s hear it for the caramel apples, candy corn and peanuts, and cold apple cider.

Wow. Do I sense a food theme here?

Lots and lots of Bluefaced Leicester roving. Yum.

It’s getting towards time to order in lots more undyed materials, and I’ve been trying to narrow down the plethora of ideas I have. Believe me, if I had my way I’d have twenty or thirty pounds of raw materials on their way to my doorstep right now.

One thing I’ve been pondering would be a new line of merino/cashmere/nylon lace in my Laceweight Yarns store. It’s a slightly heavier lace, (extremely soft and squishy) and I think it would make fabulous scarves and such for fall.

The other idea is coming up with a few special colorways on worsted or aran weight yarn, and offering special “sweater’s worth” deals. Something along the lines of “Here’s the yarn, I’ll custom dye it in one of these colorways, and you order eight to ten skeins and get a good sized discount” sort of a thing. As someone who loves knit sweaters, I don’t like the idea that you’d have to pay a couple hundred bucks to get enough gorgeous hand-dyed yarn. I think a discount should definitely be in order for such a large undertaking.

Lots to think about.

This first one ( “Violette” ) is named after a Maxfield Parrish painting. The painting is a rather whimsical piece in which the Knave of Hearts watches Lady Violette baking those famous tarts. But, while the subject matter is more humorous, the colors are downright gorgeous.

This scarlet and sapphire one was inspired by another of Maxfield Parrish’s paintings, but was very difficult to name. I finally settled on “Venice.”

And this one is called “Amber Lily,” and it was purely an accident. But definitely a happy accident!

I’m hoping to get up some pictures of the finished samples I sent off for Phat Fiber, but it’ll be a bit before I’m able to import them from the camera.