The shop has been reopened and updated. It still needs restocking, but there’s quite a few new stitch markers, including binary and sock/lace markers.

There is also, Ramboulliet, Jacob, Wensleydale, Romney, SW Merino, Dorset, and Cotswold.

I’ll be putting up some new yarns shortly.

In other news:

I turned in my thesis to my boss for final edits on Monday. I’m applying to jobs this week. I’ve applied two one, am working on the cover letter for a second and third, and formatting my resume for a fourth. I’m also trying to get a handle on my apartment which has been escaping while my dissertation ate my brain. I’ve reclaimed ah… one room.

After much fighting with stupid fashion industry standards, I found two business/government interview appropriate dress shirts that aren’t ridiculously too long. Apparently the “fitted” shifts the shoulders enough to shorten the 32″ sleeves to 31″ effectively, making them only 1″ too long. Tomorrow I take in my pants to be taken in. Next up, another shirt or two, and comfortable dress shoes.

One week from Monday I hand in my thesis. Two weeks from that, I defend it all to the community and my committee. Wheeeeee. Scary.

OH! I totally forgot. I actually finished a hat. I started it on the plane down to MD, so I misremembered how many stitches to cast on. Ended up 10 short. Which is ok, it will go to a deserving young man I know of. It was mostly a conceptual exercise for me anyway. I have a concept in my head I wanna test out. I’ll get photos soon.

~The Gnome

Today, I will update the fiber part. Tomorrow I’ll update the spinning part. And I’m currently dyeing more fiber as we speak… type… read… you know what I mean.

First a bit of housekeeping. I updated the home page a little, cleaned up formatting, made it more clear what I carry. Did the same for the shop. Nothing big.

The largest of the batch was more Wensleydale, so we’ll start with that. Most of these are on the shop. Some, however, are getting mailed off to a real brick and mortar store.

Friday was… a bad day. So I was exceptionally cranky, and barely let Self have any time at the dye pot (don’t worry he’ll get some today). Apparently when cranky, not only do I go for warm, I apparently go for BRIGHT.

I was on an orange kick. Because the Daylillies colorway wasn’t bright enough, I made it brighter. Pretty, if intense.

Bright Daylillies: 4oz Combed Wensleydale Top

Then, I decided, that was nice, but not bright ENOUGH (I swear that wasn’t what I was thinking, but sometimes my dye hands do what they want). And out came the summer flower Trumpet Vine.

Trumpet Vine: 4oz Combed Wensleydale Top
This one will likely get mailed

Finally I got myself to switch out of intense orange phase, and try some browns. Mmm brown!

One thing that always comes with summer, for my family, is rhubarb. And with rhubarb comes… strawberry rhubarb cobbler. Mmmmm… shiny like the steamy fruit…

Rhubarb Cobbler – 4oz Combed Wensleydale Top

And another spring/summer visitor, the purple finch! Softly colored, but with a bright warble. They make me smile. A good thought for a bad day. I love the subtle gloss of this one.

Purple Finch – 4oz Combed Wensleydale Top
This one will also likely be mailed

Then I figured, why just do inland birds? Another summer bird (ok, any time, but I don’t end up at the beach much in the winter), the sandpiper!

Sandpiper – 4oz Combed Wensleydale Top

Now on a real brown kick, I went back to an old method I haven’t used since another fiber an age ago…

Brass Dreams – 4oz Combed Wensleydale Top

And finally a repeat of a colorway that never got to the shop, but was mailed to another event.

Summer Calls – 6oz Combed Wensleydale Top

Now we get into the non-Wensleydale fibers.

My last bit of the Alpaca/Merino/Silk, a small bit for a bit of lace perhaps? Back to those oranges again!

Daylillies – 2oz Combed 50% Alpaca / 30% Merino / 20% Silk Top

An ever popular colorway, a little different each time, and always different on different fibers, War for the Oaks. This fiber ate the brown and was not playing with the green.

War for the Oaks – 4oz Combed Merino Top

And a softer version of another colorway I’ve done before, one I like personally because of the images it evokes.

Forest Shadows – 8oz Combed BFL Top
This one’s probably getting mailed

Aaaand, finally, the first part of the next Spin-A-Sweater.

Moss – 1lb Carded Romney Roving
The next piece(s) will be in Earth and Stone

And that’s all for now. Off to update the shop!

Oh right, and this creepy little guy crawled out of the pages of my sketchbook! Watch out, he’s got long fingers for fiber!

I’ll take better photos later with a full list of what’s in there, but you can see, even at almost 10:00 last night I couldn’t resist pulling out a tiny bit of almost all of them and finger or thigh spinning it (that’s what those threads hanging out are). Oooooh. I’m really liking some of these.

And what’s even better? They’re picked to be ones that are harder to find on this side of the pond, so there’s only one of them I’ve even ever had a sample of (a sample that’s still waiting to be spun)! COoooool. ::drool::

Also, I made two sets of these stitch markers. I rather like them. The first set was donated to the Northeast Men’s Knitting Retreat. The second set will be up on the shop shortly.

A special note about these. The jasper and onyx for these were donated by the fabulous Habetrot. Many thanks.

A set of six, with a contrasting master marker.
Onyx – Serpentine – Lava
Master: Brecciated Picture Jasper – Serpentine – Lava

More soon. New fiber coming. New stitch markers planned. New fae in the notebook. Lab eating brain.

~The Gnome