October Tiger Club Reveal – Abyss

With Tiger Club going out just in time for Halloween, I wanted to do something ‘scary’, but not cliche.  I thought back to movies that were scary in ways not involving chainsaws, and thought of ‘Abyss’.  The deep deep ocean, the mystery of figuring out what was going on, the horror of the gal drowning on purpose since there wasn’t enough oxygen to get them both back….the relief when she was revived, the wonder of the creature communicating with them.  Seriously, that is about as scary as I like movies to get.  So anyway, I translated Abyss into yarn and fiber with a deep turquois-ey blue.  I don’t make ’em straight…there’s 3 blues in there which mingle and break out to make the lovely variations.

The fiber is Alpaca:
Abyss - Alpaca - October 2011 Tiger Club

The alpaca did its lovely thing of blending and toning the colors….and calming them all down.  It is much more intense in person….I’m just thrilled I could get a picture this close since my camera hates turquoise/teal colors with a passion.

The yarn is Bengal Twist:
Abyss - Bengal Twist Sock Yarn - October 2011 Tiger Club

As you can see, the superwash BFL did its thing, also, sucking up color as fast as it can, and making it all super intense.  These are going to make some rich socks!

Love these?  Interested in a surprise each month?  There’s still a few days to sign up for Tiger Club….do so by the 15th to receive November’s club.  Your commitment is only as long as you want….try it for a month!

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Favorites

It’s going to be a busy week here.  My choir, RiverChor, has our final regular rehearsal tonight for our concert next Sunday.  It is either going to go really well, or bomb terribly.  Sometimes I hope for the latter, because it gets people to practice (me included!).  I’m wardrobe maven for the group, so I’ll be getting our blue ties and scarves all sorted, pressed, and assigned for passing out at Saturday’s dress rehearsal.  Besides playing in the fiber, I have to say that singing is one of my favorite things.

Wool and other fiber (especially silk) prices continue to climb, and I’ve just received the new price list from one of my main suppliers.  I’ll be placing an order this week at the old prices for fiber and yarn, and would love to hear about your current favorites, and what you wish I had.  I can’t promise everything, since my studio/warehouse is only about 11 x 11 feet (vertical storage rocks!), but I’m open to suggestions.

Fortunately, the price increases for most things are small, so I’ll be able to hold most where they are for the time being.  I do my best to provide high quality in the base and the dyeing for a reasonable price.

So, this morning I’m enjoying my cuppa coffee while enjoying a great view of the golden tree tops, and watching the chickadees and cardinals snag a snack at the feeder.  Today for school, my daughter is building a solar system model, and I’m amused that my son got out our Lincoln Logs after reading a story that included them last week.  He even gnawed a cheese stick to look like a Lincoln Log!

Hope you are enjoying some of your favorites this week, and are keeping wooly and warm!

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Fiber Friday – Zephyr Lace Yarn

This week I have an armload of beautiful Silk and Merino wool blend lace yarn, the ever popular Zephyr in 2/18 weight.  These are all one of a kinds, so snatch up your favorite and knit or weave something incredible!  (And yes, I totally broke the blog boundaries…you can’t contain these colors!)

1. Mountain Stream, 2. Merlot, 3. Sage, 4. Rosewater, 5. Oliver, 6. Hot, 7. Mahogany, 8. Triple Berry Frost, 9. Clear Blue Skies, 10. Clear Sailing, 11. Aubergine Flash

Hand Dyed Silk Merino Zephyr 2/18 Lace Yarn at The Painted Tiger

I have to admit that these yarns made me remember why Fiber Friday went to the wayside…..I love love love the silk in Zephyr, but it is so tricky to photograph.  So do please note any color corrections I give in the descriptions.  I promise they are all even more beautiful in person!

Thanks for bearing with me.  My next update will be sock yarn in Tiger Twist and Bengal Twist.

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Fiber Friday – Roundup

To relaunch Fiber Friday after a long long absence, I did a round up of all the odds ends of fibers that have been hanging about hoping to be listed.  It’s an eclectic mix, so hang on for the ride!

First we have some Yak Merino.  It is so pretty and luxurious.
Merlot - Yak Merino Top

Next is some Merino Tencel:
Squall - Merino Tencel Top

This is Falkland:
Citrus Splash - Falkland Wool Top

I have some silk….this is Tussah:
Oz - Tussah Silk

These are Mawata Silk Hankies:
Harvest Rainbow Mawata Silk Hankies
Silver Fox Mawata Silk Hankies

And finally I have some lovely Corriedale:
Grape Soda - Corriedale Top
Golden Oaks - Corriedale Top

Oh wait! Finally finally, there’s some Bamboo (rayon) top!
Tropical Breeze - Bamboo Top

You can find all these lovelies, and more by checking out the New section in the shop.  Next week I plan to have some new yarn colors for you.

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Shetland Moorit Top – Fresh from the Dyepot

More listing marathon!  Today I have for you 6 yummy colors of rich Shetland wool, overdyed from the natural tan Moorit color.  I’ve named these after Shetland Islands.
Shetland Moorit - Hand Dyed Wool by The Painted Tiger

I dyed this originally for Tiger Club, and I bought a little extra that I’ll be dyeing beyond this, but I don’t plan for it to be a regular (unless it turns out to be wildly popular…who knows?!?!!!).  I have some other fibers like that, so I’ve made a new Limited Edition category in fibers, and that is where you will find the Shetland Moorit.

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September 2011 Tiger Club Reveal

It’s reveal time!!!

Bands of Autumn…..striping red, orange, gold, and green…with rich brown. In the fiber (Corriedale), there are two lengths of fiber….one with the colors, and one with the brown. Spin separate and stripe in the FO, or ply them together for a great stripey marl. Or totally recombobulate it however you like!

Bands of Autumn - September 2011 Tiger Club

The sock yarn was originally a Fillet of Sole. I have a new machine that helps me with making the blanks, and I thought I would try something to make the transitions go faster, instead of doing a separate BO and CO for each one. Although it was fast, and I liked how they were easier to dye, well….let’s just say ‘Yarn Confetti’ with the waste yarn. So I frogged them all for you. This is always available on Fillets you order from the shop (but those aren’t messy, either!).

Yarn Confetti!

I’ll be finding bits of yarn for years….it’s like glitter!

Anyway, we ended up with this:
Bands of Autumn - September 2011 Tiger Club

And here’s a shot with my completed sock in it to give you an idea. Yours will be not as bright in the colors.
Bands of Autumn - Tiger Club

There’s still time to sign up for the October Tiger Club….it closes on October 15.

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Superwash Merino – Fresh from the Dyepot

To continue the listing marathon, I have a few colors of soft foofy Superwash Merino for you. Deb Menz cleaned me out of gradients in this fiber to use in her class at SOAR (what an awesome problem to have….I was giddy all day!), so I’m trying to fill them back in. Superwash Merino in particular doesn’t like to behave itself, but I think I’m getting better at taming it….color through and through now, and gorgeous (even if I have to say so myself!).

So here are three hand dyed gradients, and one that alternates. They are in the shop now.
Peacock - Superwash Merino Wool
Hotter - Superwash Merino Wool
Shipwreck - Superwash Merino Wool
Autumn Blaze - Superwash Merino Wool

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Romney – Fresh from the Dyepot

I’m challenging myself to list something every day this week…..today’s offering is Romney!
Royal - Romney Combed Top
Autumn Oaks - Romney Combed Top
Princess - Romney Combed Top
Water Lilies - Romney Combed Top

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Polwarth – Fresh from the Dyepot

Yummy, squishy, soft, and cuddly warm Polwarth!  Pretty and like a cloud.  The last time I had some, it didn’t last long….so if you see something you like, snap it up!

Polwarth Update 10/3/11

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Planned Pooling Project – Third Time’s the Charm

Well, hope you enjoyed my trials and tribulations with trying planned pooling with the knitting machine.  Even my seed stitch didn’t work out….pretty, but it was going to end up about 17 inches long….more pillow-cover-ish than scarf-ish.  So on to round 3.

While at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool, I happened to be reading the latest Spin Off (tent, lantern, peace and quiet, and fiber….it was fun!).  Well, Carol Rhoades had an article in there (and I took class with her Saturday, BTW!), and her swatches were in Feather and Fan.  It looked beautiful, AND the pattern looked dead simple.  An idea sparked.

So the seed stitch was frogged, and I tried out larger needles (I grabbed #10’s), and cast on a few different times, and tried the pattern a couple of different times.  Um, dead simple pattern requires you to actually pay attention to how it is written.  Once I had figured that little ‘duh’ moment out, I was off and knitting.

Planned Pooling Project....take 2!

Yeah, yeah, I’m not winning any awards for lining the pattern up with the color changes, or even stitches or anything, but it isn’t too bad for a first hand knit lace project.  Most rows I can keep the stitch count going, and you can see the bit of yarn I put in the center for a stitch marker….it is very helpful and I may add a couple more.  I love that a repeat or two adds inches to the project, so that type of progress will keep me going on this for awhile (I hope).  I did some more math, and it looks like this will be about 55 inches with moderate blocking, which I think will do very nicely.

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