news & events

Wow! I didn't mean to let a whole...*ahem*...more than two months slip by there...

Picnic in August went swimmingly - I sold a lot of yarn to very appreciative knitters, saw some good friends, and, most importantly, the weather was gorgeous. Not a raindrop to be seen! The hurricane was nice enough to stay away until the following day. Since then, I've been letting the yarn business rest a bit. I've listed all the stock that I didn't sell at Picnic and I have some new products that I introduced there - blank cards!

If you don't already know, I'm also a photographer. And, clearly, I photograph all my yarn for the shop. Well, people love yarn. People also love photos of yarn. So why not make up some blank cards with some of my photos on them? I did and people loved them! I'm just now starting to list the ones I have left in the shop. Check them out, if you're so inclined!

Hope you all have been having a wonderful fall so far!

the calm before the storm

If you don't know, we're expecting a hurricane. (If you don't know, where have you been?) But...

But!

Tomorrow's weather is suppose to be fine and dandy here in Portland, ME! And you know why that's awesome? Because it's time for Picnic! We're expecting some sun and clouds and mid-70s in our lovely town by the sea. What better way to enjoy it than to head downtown to Lincoln Park and peruse some fine handcrafted wares by myself and other crafters?

You can buy a bunch of yarn to keep you occupied on Sunday, when we actually will be dealing with a hurricane. Stay safe everyone!

Spam? No ma'am!

I'm starting up a new mailing list for Ye Olde Yarn Shoppe. If my attention to blogging here is any indication, there won't be a lot of activity. Which is nice for those of you who may like to get notice of sales and coupons and other goings-on, but don't want to be inundated with email. I can assure you that won't happen!

Click on over here to join up - the inaugural issue will be going out later today or tomorrow and I can promise you there will be a coupon code! *wink, wink*

Merchant Company

Calling all locals!

Or anyone visiting from out of town, of course. (Maine is a delightful summer destination!)

If you're interested in fondling some of my yarn with your very own hands, before you buy it, head over to The Merchant Company at 656 Congress St. in Portland, across from Local Sprouts, where there are mounds of squishy merino and silk (and even a bit of alpaca) just waiting for you to come enjoy them!

The Merchant Company is a new(ish) retail venue for us crafty folk to display and sell our wares. It has a great location right near downtown and loads of other art, craft and cultural points so it's easy to stop by and see what's new! The shop plays host to a myriad of craftspeople - you can find yarn, pottery, clothing, lamps, stationery, bath & body products, vintage items and more. They also have space for classes - always wanted to learn to sew or knit? Stop by and see what's being offered!

Personally, I have stacks of sock yarn in stock, both superwash merino sock and silky merino sock. There's also a basket of silky merino worsted and various random skeins of lace - alpaca, merino and silky merino. I've tried to keep a good mix of colors so there's something for everyone and I restock as needed, but I highly recommend snapping up yarn you love right away - there's no guarantee there will be more in that color! (In fact, it's fairly unlikely, due to the nature of small batch, artisan dyeing.)

They're open Tues-Sat 11-6 and Sun 12-5. Head over to their Facebook page and check them out. Then head on down in person and check out the whole shop! (While you're already on Facebook, click on over to my page and see what's new...)

4 skeins, 3 types, 1 dyebath

The above photo shows four skeins of three different types of yarn that were all dyed in the same dyebath. Pretty crazy huh?

From left to right: two skeins of silk lace, one skein of 100% silk, single ply DK and the aforementioned 50% silk/50% merino DK.

It's fascinating to me to see how different yarns take dye completely differently. Most of the differences come from how varying fibers react with the dye and how the yarn is spun. For example, I frequently dye batches of superwash merino sock yarn and silky merino sock yarn together. The silky merino always comes out much lighter and more muted than the 100% merino, while the superwash sock takes the dye in a way that is very vibrant and rich.

Another factor is just where the skein is, physically, in the pot while the dyeing is happening. Did it get poked and stirred a lot? Did it remain relatively untouched by me? Was is at the bottom? The top? Stuck in the middle somewhere? Skeins at the bottom of the pot tend to be much lighter than skeins at the top, so I try to rotate them frequently during the first part of dyeing, before the dye has had a chance to completely set.

Sometimes, who really knows why two skeins came out so differently! The two skeins of silk lace above, for example. Yeah, they're pretty close. But far from identical! This is why when a customer orders multiple skeins of one color from me, I make sure to go through the whole batch and pick the ones that most closely match each other.

I, for one, love the variation. Indie dyeing doing what it does best - being unique!