Sunday, October 31, 2010

Enter your photographs...

..and it could be the inspiration for a new colorway! You will get a free skein of the new colorway, too!  Here's how it will work:

I want you to send me your beautiful photographs, I'm looking for content and color in the photo, it doesn't have to be a perfect photo technically, you don't have to be a great photographer for this contest!  We here at All For Love Of Yarn will narrow the photos down to the 5 that I think I can produce the most beautiful yarn colorway. Then it is up to you to vote on which one you like the best and that will be turned into yarn, on the base of my choice, that will work best for the colorway. The winner of the favorite photo will win 1 full skein (around 400 yards, either fingering or sport weight) of yarn in the new colorway!

Rules:
Submission of photos:
 November 1st through November 15th. Submissions before and after these dates will not be accepted.
Photo Specifications:
One entry/photo per person.
It might be posted on my blog, so don't send anything you don't want the public to see.
Photo must be taken by you, not snagged from the internet.
Photo cannot be of yarn. 
Respectful and tasteful photographs please.
No person's faces please.
I have all rights to accept or not accept any photo for any reason without explanation.
Send photos as an ATTACHMENT with these specs please: Jpeg format, around 1200 pixels wide. Please do not send links to online photo albums, only attachments. Thanks.
Send  photos to: allforloveofyarn@gmail.com
Include with your email a name I can use on my blog to give you credit for the photo.  

Voting will be November 17th through 28th. I will post the top 5 photos and you will have a chance to vote on your favorite, the one you would like to see turned into some beautiful socks perhaps, or whatever you can imagine!  The winner will be announced before the end of November.

I will dye the yarn inspired by the winning photograph and the winner will receive one skein at the beginning of December, sometime before the 15th of the month.  It will be a fingering/sock weight in either hand painted variegated, kettle dyed variegated, solid, or semi-solid, around 400 yards, my choice.

You may post your photo in my Ravelry group: All For Love Of Yarn! There is a specific thread for September photos.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Another good...

...mail day today! My Phat Fiber contributor box came today! So delicious, especially the suri alpaca and sparkles fiber! I got a cool mitts pattern, too. Just what I've been wanting to go with a short sleeve sweater I'm making! Yeh!
I also got a shawl made from my Opulence base, knit by Judi, she's amazing and super fast! It's awesome Judi!


Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Just revealed...

...is October's Tea and Yarn Club colorway. It can be seen in the right hand column.

Side notes of the day...I got out of the shower this morning and Katya says to me: "Mom, you stink! You stink really good! Yes, you stink really good!"

All was going well today, until I smashed my left pinky finger in the bathroom door! It hurt like h***!! (JDN-good thing I didn't bring you the Hypericum-cause I'm almost out!) Still does hurt, but not quite as bad! I'm not doing so well at typing, this is going to be short...

We all took a nap after that, I felt much better. Katya fell asleep on the coffee table! (It's padded!) I didn't get a picture, she got up before I did...

~Angela

Saturday, October 16, 2010

20%...

...OFF in the shop through this weekend; ends Sunday, the 17th of October at midnight. (Refunded via PayPal excluding shipping.)

Caramels...

...anyone? These have always been a special treat in the fall, and I enjoy making and eating them! They are very good and a few of you have been asking for the recipe.

Caramels
1 C butter
2 1/4 C light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 C light corn syrup
1 -15 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in heavy sauce pan, add the rest of the ingredients (reserving vanilla to add last). Stir and cook to 245 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into buttered 9 inch pan. Cool, cut to your liking and wrap.

Enjoy!
~ Angela 

October Top 5 Photos...

...are up for you to vote on! Thank you to all of you for entering your photographs. I really appreciate the inspiration and enjoy the challenge of dyeing yarn and fiber to match a photo.


Autumn Star Light
Submitted by: Camille
I'm envisioning this on silk to capture the luminosity of the photo with gold as the main color accented with  deep blue violet, purple, magenta and burgundy. 

Autumn in Vegas
Submitted by: Allison
There were a few Halloween themed photos this month and I wanted to include at least one of them and this was the favorite. It is very captivating and I think it will produce a menagerie of color on some yarn.

Pink Petals
Submitted by: Pauline
This flower is just simply beautiful! I see it kettle dyed on some luscious yarn in a pale pink, I can just feel the smooth petals looking at it! 

Door Pink
Submitted by: Jessy Austin
This pink door in the middle no where is captivating and it makes me wonder what awaits our imagination on the other side.  I think I may focus on the door if I dye this, pretty bright pink and white.

Galway of Houses
Submitted by: Maeve
The serenity of water is very intriguing; I think a semi -solid blue would be gorgeous on a silk blend to capture the luminous water. 

Friday, October 15, 2010

Tea Cake Knitters...

...had a great time last night knitting, talking and learning how to cable! By request I taught everyone how to incorporate cables into their knitting. I got a few free patterns on Ravelry and they are making 2 different headbands. It will be fun to see the progress next month! I remember teaching myself to cable; I always thought it was so difficult, until my Uncle told me just the opposite and explained it to me without showing me, it then seemed to so easy, and really it is. I was so excited I went ahead and made my son ( not knowing he was a boy -- but I had a really good feeling) this sweater before he was born. I love cables!
I made delicious carrot cake, with toasted walnut cream cheese frosting, courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, mm-mm, so good, we ate what was left for breakfast this morning! It reminded me of when I worked in surgery; if someone brought treats, we always ate them on our morning break, or they would be gone by the time we went to lunch. Carrot cake was a favorite, a special lady whom I worked with for a while would often bring her carrot cake in, among other goodies she is "famous" for. That was a fun little trip down memory lane for me this morning...
I made peach tea to go with it, about all I had left in the cupboard to tell the truth. It was delightful with the cake I thought.
All the knitters in action, working on those cables...
Check out those pointy sticks! I've never been able to maneuver those myself, especially pregnant, I'm sure I would have poked myself a lot!
Remember those pots and buckets a few posts back? Oh, and they were hanging so pretty in the tree, too. Well here are a few all skeined up. Some may make it to my shop, but most are going to the festival with me. (Unless you beg me : ~)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Fall Fiber Festival

I will be a vendor at the Upper Midwest Alpaca Fiber Festival on Saturday, November 6th, in Hopkins, Minnesota. I'm excited to be doing this show, and hope to see you, my fellow Minnesotans and my neighbors in Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakota's there!
If you are unable to attend and you have your eye on some yarn or fiber in my shop, it might not be there when I get back!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

We had a lovely...

...relaxing weekend. Saturday we spent the afternoon and evening at my parents with my family and some friends. I brought a long my 20 some skeins of yarn and hung them in the tree, a perfectly beautiful day to be outside. They were dry in almost 2 hours!
I also got some inspiration for my November Phat Fiber samples. The theme is Seasons of Light. I have a few ideas, this being one of them. Every fall we look forward to bonfires, roasting marshmallows, eating smores and staying warm by the fire into the wee hours of the night or morning for some! I have not thought of exactly how I'm going to put it on the yarn or fiber yet, but I have some time to think about it. Some very yummy fiber is in the mail, coming soon, too!
Today was also spent with friends, the kids had a wonderful time playing together and we all feel refreshed and ready to start a new week! I'm feeling much better than last week for sure, a little bit of my cold is hanging on, but I'm feeling better by the day and ready to catch up from last week.

First to do is make bread and a deliscious cake, because my TeaCakeKnitters Club is on Wednesday night. I will be teaching how to knit cables, as requested by a friend. It's really much easier than it looks, I love them so it will be a fun time!

I need to skein up those 20 some skeins plus about another 20 or so, gradually over the week. I want to also dye more worsted weight. I've thought about how I want to dye it while I was sick and it's going to be fun oh so great to knit with! 

Too many other things to mention, both my kids are sleeping, so I'm off to do some knitting on David's sweater so he can wear it soon!
~ Angela

Friday, October 8, 2010

Didn't get much...

...done this week, I've been sick with a cold/cough! Yuk, I hate being sick, I hate lying around, there are too many things I want to do, and I didn't even feel like knitting!

Today, this afternoon I did a little catching up at the dye pots anyway...
20 some skeins and I'm pretty excited about a few of them, some are repeats, popular colorways for the upcoming show.
~ Angela

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Tea and yarn...

...October only is now available in the shop! This month it's on a new never before seen in my shop base. It's a lovely fingering weight and in a lovely color I must say. I'm very pleased with it this month.

Did you know I've added a page (right hand column) for my tea and yarn club? When I know that all the members have received their package I will post photos of the tea and yarn for you to see. Yes, one is there now! {Just a photo of beautiful tea, not necessarily what you'll be getting ~ can't use the same photo every time, too boring! }

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Enter your photographs...

..and it could be the inspiration for a new colorway! You will get a free skein of the new colorway, too!  Here's how it will work:

I want you to send me your beautiful photographs, I'm looking for content and color in the photo, it doesn't have to be a perfect photo technically, you don't have to be a great photographer for this contest!  We here at All For Love Of Yarn will narrow the photos down to the 5 that I think I can produce the most beautiful yarn colorway. Then it is up to you to vote on which one you like the best and that will be turned into yarn, on the base of my choice, that will work best for the colorway. The winner of the favorite photo will win 1 full skein (around 400 yards, either fingering or sport weight) of yarn in the new colorway! This is a sock yarn club listed in my SHOP. (Several months at a time or single months.)

Rules:
Submission of photos:
October 1st through October 15th. Submissions before and after these dates will not be accepted.
Photo Specifications:
One entry/photo per person.
It might be posted on my blog, so don't send anything you don't want the public to see.
Photo must be taken by you, not snagged from the internet.
Photo cannot be of yarn. 
Respectful and tasteful photographs please.
No person's faces please.
I have all rights to accept or not accept any photo for any reason without explanation.
Send photos as an ATTACHMENT with these specs please: Jpeg format, around 1200 pixels wide. Please do not send links to online photo albums, only attachments. Thanks.
Send  photos to: allforloveofyarn@gmail.com
Include with your email a name I can use on my blog to give you credit for the photo.  

Voting will be October 17th through 28th. I will post the top 5 photos and you will have a chance to vote on your favorite, the one you would like to see turned into some beautiful socks perhaps, or whatever you can imagine!  The winner will be announced before the end of September.

I will dye the yarn inspired by the winning photograph and the winner will receive one skein at the beginning of November, sometime before the 15th of the month.  It will be a fingering/sock weight in either hand painted variegated, kettle dyed variegated, solid, or semi-solid, around 400 yards, my choice.

You may post your photo in my Ravelry group: All For Love Of Yarn! There is a specific thread for September photos.