a smaller life

on the color pink

Cosyknits recently wrote a post about her changing views on color that is so appropriate to how I've been thinking, lately. I am coming to view colors differently- I've been watching myself shift from murky deep dusk colors into the bright and clear tones. There is still depth there, but I've been feeling a lot more playful with my color choices lately.

 

(This amazing, thigh- high sample sock was knit out of Skinny Bugga summer colorways by the lovely and talented Katydid Knits.)

This summer is full of surprises for me- some positive, some negative, some just… well, surprising. Looking at all my new colors on the lines, I can't help but wonder exactly what is happening with me, lately; my colors are bright and rich and jewel- toned. There are even a few strong pastels in there- strong enough to almost not qualify as pastels, but so light… well, maybe I need a new word for whatever those are.

They are gorgeous, though. That word fits. They are lovely and they just flash out at  me. They are influenced by the time of year, I'm sure, but even more by the people in my life; a lemon- chartreuse for Pamela, a darkish blue for my sister Megan (like her eyes), a purple- magenta for my aunt Karen. But there is nothing in there to explain the pale pink, or the orange with hot pink flashes; they are just there, lovely and colorful, and I've no idea where they have come from, of why I want to make them. 

It is the pinks that startle me. I've always hated pink; I've seen it as insipid, or obvious, or silly. But I don't, any more: certainly there are pinks that fit that description- Barbie pink, how I hate you- but there's something sweet and sensual in the pinks I've been making lately, delicate and generous.

 

 

Somehow, I am turning into a girl who loves pinks. Peachy pinks, nude negligee pinks, soft buttery yellows with pink tones, it's in everything. I've dyed a champagne color that I am so in love with, and I have thoughts of dusky grey- pinks, too. 

I have no idea what that means, but while I'm figuring it out, I'll be dyeing silk scarves for myself in every pink I can dream.

currently making me happy

 

A goblin of my very own, from Goblin Road. (Shortcut to their shop here.) He needs a name, of course. Currently considering: Gilbert, Thornfield, Hareton, Jude, and Farfrae. (My Vic lit obsession, it is eating up my year.) I'm open to other ideas, of course. Suggestions/ votes? He'll be in Atlanta at Stitches South with us, in case you need to see him in person to make up your mind. 

in which there is a puppy and there will be gutters

Today was rough- a killer headache, incipient flu, a sick kid, a sicker business partner, tech issues, slow downloads and a far- too- full plate, but it all worked out in the end. The kid was sweet, the business partner was sweeter, I managed to get most everything I needed to do done and the gutter estimate is reasonable.

Also, my work- day always ends with a lap full of Hugo.

  

 

And I get to spend my evening working with a skein of lovely color from a dear friend.

 

 

It's a hard life, right? I don't know how I stand it, either.

 

 

in which I am a day late, and a pug short

  

 

I know, I'm a day late. There were sleep issues and updates to worry about, but I didn't forget, I promise. Translation on Flickr! Can you tell I was hungry when I wrote this one?

We're still looking to adopt a pug- happily, the one boy we went to meet today was returned to his owners. Not happily for us, of course, but that's a nice outcome. We're still looking. We were in PetSmart this afternoon and a woman walked in with a baby pug and we both, briefly and crazily, considered a puppy. Madness. I recommend a new law against puppies in public. Either way, we're not puppy people. Puppies always find homes. 

This week is all about resting up and stretching for the Homespun Yarn Party this Sunday- eeep! I'm so excited to finally get to go to one- I've missed them all so far. Oh, and dyeing for our Summer and Fall releases. It's a little weird to be that far ahead of the game, but I think I could get into that. Planning and organizing and all of that.

Haitian Relief Auction

"My own experience and development deepen everyday my conviction that our moral progress may be measured by the degree in which we sympathize with individual suffering and individual joy." -George Eliot

Haiti's recent misfortunes are hard to write about; how do you even begin to get a mental grip on suffering at such a scale? It's mind- boggling. In case you've missed the news this week, Haiti has been hit by a series of terrible earthquakes which have devastated the nation. The number of dead, dying and injured is staggering, but aid is finally reaching the country; supplies are being flown in daily, and more and more aid personnel land every day. The outpouring of support and assistance is one bright, shining point in all of this; there has been a stunning amount of fundraising and humanitarian aid offered.

While we know we can't fix the world via yarn, we do make our efforts. Tonight, from 7pm EST to 10pm EST, we'll be auctioning off 4 custom- dyed skeins of Bugga on the Ravelry CPA Haitian Relief Auction boards- a sweater's worth of yarn. We'll dye the skeins in any colorway past or present- you name one of our colors, and we'll make it for you, whether it's a current colorway or a discontinued one. All proceeds go towards Doctors Without Borders.

The details are in the auction thread itself, but to sum up: the auction occurs on the actual thread itself. Winners of every auction- and there is a lot more going on there than just us, some really lovely items!- are asked to pay their donation directly to the charity itself, and then to forward the reciept to us, at which point, we'll get into our dyepots and get working on your skeins.

Please, do take a look at the auctions, and if you've got a Facebook account, or a Twitter account, or any other social networking website, please help us spread the word. Thanks, everyone.

oh my coldness

It is freezing out here. Literally. FREEZING. This was our rinse water at the Baltimore studio today.

 

 

Cacie and I went out to the barn this morning to fetch tools; we just stood there, staring at our frozen bins of water, rather in shock. This isn't even the worst month of winter- we still have January and February to look forward to! That measuring cup has hot water in it, to help us unfreeze some skeins that needed repair- didn't make a dent in that frozen water. Luckily, we're doing repairs (indoors!) and twisting/ tagging today.

 

 

 

Even with the weather, though, I'm happy. The overall vibe at the studio (and oh, how I hate to use the word "vibe") is one of cheerful industry. This is so different from so much of my previous work; even when the weather is miserable, when we're outside working with cold water and wet fiber, I'm 329472390358 times happier than I ever was in a warm cubicle. That seems to me the biggest indicator possible that I'm exactly where I need to be right now; working in the winter wind, huddled over a stove, making colors. It's definitely not everyone's idea of a dream job, but oh, it's nice to be happy. I think about where I was at this time last year, and it all seems like another life.

 

 

 

a quick peek

 

It's been a good week- decent weather, a fair amount of yarn and lots of rovings dyed up- and a ton of laughter.

 

Exhibit A: Baltimore Elf Corrine with a merino- silk Fu Manchu.

 

 

 

Exhibit B: Baltimore Elf Cacie with her hands of blue.

I wish I had a photo of our third Elf, Noelle, but she always seems to be moving whenever I have my camera out. As proof, I offer about three seconds of video, instead.

 

We're having a good time out here. How many people have this much fun at work? It makes up for those cold, rainy miserable dyeing days we occasionally have.

 

 

 

on the lines, this afternoon

 

  

Also this gorgeous soaker skein of Kypria; completely unrepeatable, this was a blank skein that caught extra dye from all of last week's work, and it's very, very unlikely to ever leave my house. Look at those fall, maple-ish colours! Love love love love LOVE.

  

 

 

in which I am a slacker (but a slacker who finishes things!)

   

Sadly, I didn't make it to SAFF, opting instead to spend the week in emergency rooms and doctors' offices. It's no big thing- more medications, more tests, more bother- but I got a fair amount of knitting done, knitting myself a hat, converting new and lapsed knitters in waiting rooms, and finishing woefully neglected old projects.

     

  

This sweater, for example; this is my first attempt at making a sweater up off the cuff, begun about seven years ago. This languished, armless, for at least six years; it's made of Handpaintedyarns.com Handspun Bulky. HPW has gorgeous base yarns in infamously unreliable colorways- things are not always as they appear on the website- which is how I wound up with a pinky- green instead of the blueish purples I'd seen and dreamed of on the website. I needs blocking, and overdyeing (and not in that order!), but at least it has arms and all the ends are woven in.

   

 

  

There's something lovely in finishing old projects- remembering what I'd initially loved about them, what frustrated me, why I deserted them- so rarely the objects' fault, and usually a refresher on important knitting lessons past. For example: if the color of a yarn makes you crazy, overdye it before knitting the sweater, because if you don't, you'll just abandon the thing for AGES. But it's a pleasure to revisit this: I can see how new of a knitter I was in my choices here- I'd have gone about my shaping differently today, and I would have made the bottom bit of ribbing longer, too, and the neckline doesn't lay quite right, but it's mine, the first sweater I ever made up by myself, and there's a real sweetness to that.

Currently on the needles is another sweater, knit in two shades of Thirteen Mile Worsted I got for a song at Spinster Yarns- she's closing the shop, and everything is on sale for 40%- 50% off. Here's hoping it takes me less than five- six years to finish this one, eh?

 

where I was a Flower of the mountain

 

Well, the poll was pretty definitive; fingering- weight sweaters are out. Not that I won't be making them, or possibly even designing them for others, but as of this morning, it's 80% for sport weight, so I've been swatching in Bugga!- which, while listed in Ravelry as a fingering weight is really more of a light sport and seems to me like a happy medium.

I've also begun thinking about color- something rich and red and joyful, which is where the photo comes in; I've got to start planning my half of our winter seasonal colorways, and this seems too perfect, the darker russet-y loveliness of these leaves, spotted while doing errands on Saturday. It seems the best bits of inspiration are always just sitting out in public, shamelessly exposing themselves in the everyday.

The test dyeing will begin in earnest once we're back from SAFF- we leave this Wednesday morning, gulp! I never feel as prepared for a show as I wish I did. Asheville is beautiful, though, and it's such a perfect time to head out there, which makes up for a lot of my last- minute flailing. (Where, oh where are my fancy- dress shoes?!?!?? And my travel kit? And my conditioner? Eeep!)