Giveaway #9

Up for grabs this week is a most beautiful skein!! I am keeping one for myself and plan to make a 2 color shawl for my Mom with it.

This particular skein that I'm giving away has some over-twisted strands in it. Not sure how long, but it doesn't look to bad at all! It is Luminosity (Superwash Merino, Bamboo and Nylon).

FYI: Just so you know, the second person drawn for the winner on Giveaway #7 was the winner. I still have not heard from the winner of Giveaway #8. So, you still have a chance at #8 if they don't come forward by Thursday!

If you are chosen the winner I will post on Friday in a separate post, you are responsible for contacting me by the following Thursday or I will draw another winner. angela@allforloveofyarn.com

To enter please leave a comment below!
Angela

Spring 2013...

...Tea and Yarn Club is now up for sale! 

Tea and Yarn Club

Spring 2013

March - April - May

 

You will receive 1 two ounce package of Teavana Tea per month with 1 skein of corresponding yarn of your choice, including Lace, Fingering and Worsted.

The colorway will be inspired by the tea of the month.

Each colorway will be a minimal pooling colorway, whether it be variegated, tonal or nearly solid. I dye them according to the yarn, for example if it's lace weight it will be a nearly solid.

International buyers! The teas are factory sealed so they are safe and get through customs just fine.

You have the option to purchase more yarn in addition to the regular subscription before or after you receive your shipment! These will be available 1-2 weeks after shipment.

Limited quantities available!

Purchase the Tea & Yarn Club

 

New Year's Giveaway...

...this time it's Up North, one of the colorways I dyed for Jimmy Beans Wool for Coyote Trail, Romi's design.

It's got a few (3-4 that I noticed) blue splotches on it. Can't sell it, so it's up for grabs! The yarn is Opulence Fingering: 80/10/10 Superwash Merino/Cashmere/Nylon.

The winner will be chosen with random.org and I will announce it January 2nd.

The winner is responsible for contacting me; I will not be searching you out! My email address is:
angela@allforloveofyarn.com

JB review!

 Check it out! Jimmy Beans Wool did a review on Opulence!

Thank you Kristen!

http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/knitting/yarn/AllForLoveOfYarn/OpulenceFingeringVideoReviews.asp?showLarge=true#detail

December Twilight

A few months ago I was commissioned to do a special colorway for Lila & Claudine's Advent Knit a-long. 

This was the inspirational photo they sent to me. I love getting inspiration like this to replicate it in yarn. It's the challenging part of my fantastic job. With 1 practice lot on a different base I tweaked it when I dyed it on the yarn they wanted. Opulence Fingering: Superwash Merino, Cashmere and Nylon. A fantastic yarn which I love!

The yarn is flying off the shelf at Lila & Claudine's; they have re-ordered twice, everyone loves it! I'm sending them more tomorrow in hopes that it will arrive on Saturday, the first day of the KAL. 

 "December Twilight"

They have chosen 20 easy scarf patterns. You get to decide how many repeats you do of each stitch pattern. The Knit a-long will begin on December 1, offering 20 days of patterns segments, giving you some flexibility with your time. 

They are including a daily devotion for you to incorporate into your knitting time or not, your choice.

If you want to participate there is still time, contact Lila & Claudine's to get in on this great KAL! 

Their phone number is:  651-429-9551  

If they run out of yarn you know who to contact! angela@allforloveofyarn.com

The party is happening here in their Advent KAL Ravelry group.

The Secret...

is out!

Romi of Designs by Romi is designing a shawl with my yarn. Romi choose the first colorway combo pictured and I cannot wait to see the finished design. I have no idea, well, no more idea than any of you readers, what she is doing with it. I only know what she posts on her blog...it's kind of fun being in on the anticipation with you.

Here are the colorway combos that I paired up for the release of this latest pattern from Romi.  I really don't know how she does it; one great pattern after the next!

All of this yarn is Opulence Fingering, 80/10/10 Superwash Merino/Cashmere/Nylon. It has a great tight twist and super soft and squishy!

Coyote Trail & Dawn Pink 

(Romi's brilliant color combo choice)

Smoldering Red & Halifax Shore

(Halifax Shore is an old favorite, but jazzed up a bit for this special pairing.)

Symphony & Tropica

Citrus Orange & Up North

(Up North was inspired by a recent trip up north (Duluth, Minnesota) in the peak of autumn.)

Greek Olives & Cabernet

(This pairing is a special one; my Mom choose these for a Kleio about 1.5 years ago. She is the only only one with the combo and gets so many compliments I had to go with it.)

The photo of my Mom's Kleio is not the greatest, but you get the idea. It was also dyed on a mostly alpaca yarn so it is lighter than the Opulence, which is mostly a superwash merino.

Where is it available you ask?? Jimmy Beans Wool has it all in collaboration with Designs by Romi.

New Website!

We are very excited to announce the launch of our new website!
We have a few new yarns and fibers, too.

Brilliance Lace

Vivacity Lace and DK

Variegated BFL/Silk

Superwash Merino/Merino/Silk

Our new website can be found here:
https://www.allforloveofyarn.com

We hope you enjoy it!
Angela

Blinded by...

...Science is the PhatFiber theme for March. Here is what I submitted for my samples to the box. Thank you all for your contributions via my Ravelry Group contest! It would not have been so easy without your help, I'm not much of a science fan. Although I was inspired pretty easily by the eye images. As a former Surgical Technologist I was drawn to the eyes! Fascinating don’t you think? I primarily worked in Neuro Surgery, but occasionally got to work in the eye rooms as well and I enjoyed it.

I hope you enjoy the fibers that were inspired by all of these fantastic images! Some are one of kind, get them while they are available here at AFLoY Shop!

Sublimity Lace...

...is being discontinued by the company so I will not be able to carry it in my shop anymore :(

 Here are the last few colorways I just added to the shop and more can be found in the lace section. 

They are in order as say are in the shop.

I have this gorgeous annis made from this yarn and my Mom and I both love it! My Mom is usually wearing it at the festivals and it's a hit among many! 

 There is still some of this colorway left in the shop, too!

The Tea...

...Clubs for JUNE only are now listed in the shop:

Tea and Yarn

Tea and Fiber

The clue this month is: In Full Bloom

Thank you for looking!
Angela

I'm so thrilled...

...with this awesome skein of yarn that I spun. I'm proud to say I spun it all on a drop spindle! I plied on a wheel, much better and faster!

8ounces/250 grams
350 yards

Alpaca, Merino, Mulberry Silk, Camel down, Bamboo, Firestar, Angelina
All spun from these 3 batts:

The fiber is from Boho Knitter Chic Spins and Birds Nest Yarns. It was so much fun to spin these; I started with my first batt last June, almost a year ago! I didn't know what to do with just 3 ounces of fiber, so when I saw another batt in October that was very similar I snatched it up. Then I saw the middle batt that someone else spun, the yarn was gorgeous and I thought it would go perfectly with mine. They all made for a perfect 3 ply and I'm very happy with how it turned out! I want to make myself an ear-flap hat and mittens, but I'm not sure I'll have enough for both, we'll see as I go along, not sure what I want more though, mittens or hat...

I've decided...

...on the name of both of my new yarns! Thank you, thank you for your suggestions!!

LUMINOSITY for the bamboo blend (Suggested by Emily)

and

SERENDIPITY for the alpaca, wool and silk single. I think it fits perfectly, isn't a single ply yarn a happy accident in a way, it was just so good the way it was they couldn't dare give it another ply! (Suggested by Nicole)

Please contact me for your prizes! SURPRISE!  I think I will give a skein to both of you!
contact me via email

You asked...

...I answer and give someone a FREE skein!  I've got a bamboo blend coming to the shop soon. I'll be dyeing it all up for Shepherd's Harvest and then it will come to the shop, unless of course someone wants a custom order, I'll be happy to oblige!

Here are the details:

Yet to be named ?? This is where you come in, details below!

70% Superwash Merino Wool
20% Bamboo (rayon derived from the bamboo plant), it has a touch much like silk
10% Nylon

465 Yards
115 gram skein

Okay, so you want to know how you can win this free skein of yarn?! I need a name for it. If you come up with a name that I like you'll win a free skein!

Keep in mind my other names that I have for my yarn, I'd like it to fit in (at least somewhat), we'll see...
Resplendence, Sumptuosity, Opulence, Sublimity, Soleful, Nogi, Lublu and Seella, the last 3 are Russian.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Deadline until I get a name I like!

Thank you,
Angela

P.s. The 300th sale in my shop will get a surprise in their package! If you order yarn it will be yarn, if you order fiber it will be fiber! 

This was...

...the first shipment for the Tea and Yarn Club this winter. It's Peppermint tea and lovely green merino and silk yarn!

What you see....

...is what you get. The December Holiday Special Edition Tea and Yarn club sold out quickly so I'm doing another one. It's the Holiday 2010 Tea and Yarn package. It is now listed in my shop and is available on 3 bases for you to choose from:

Nogi (Fingering)
90% Superwash Merino Wool, 10% Nylon

Opulence (Fingering)
80% Superwash Merino Wool, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon

Resplendence (Fingering)   (Pictured below)
50% Merino Wool, 50% Silk

This is my all time favorite tea, it has a delightful, gentle and yet still flavorful taste and it pares well with any treats or is great alone. You will receive 2 ounces (about 25 cups) of the inspirational Gourmet Teavana tea used to design the colorway for your yarn.  The tea is factory sealed for international buyers concerned with customs.

Oh no....

...it's the 17th! I was suppose to have the top 5 photos picked out and up to vote on by now! I'll get to it ASAP! The time has been flying by, trying to catch up on things since the festival and knitting or trying to knit my son's sweater, my first fair isle and it's 1 step forward 2 steps back. I keep going to something else, I'm not liking the process at all. I'm spinning this...

...75/25 Alpaca/Merino dyed by me, it's called earth and sky. I'm spinning it on my new spindle...

...that I got at the Fiber Festival. I like to get a little something at each festival, it's something to remember the event with in years to come. It brings back some great memories. I do this when I travel, or use to travel; I bought wine glasses, that was a lot of fun and makes for great conversation at the dinner table.

Anyway... about the spindle...it's from The Dragonfly Workshop. I broke my other favorite, but this was immediately a favorite for it's long, steady and balanced spin. I got to try it out at the festival, so that was a real bonus, and it was great to meet the person who made it and his family. I'm spinning finer and a more even yarn with it, too. It's all very exciting and now I like spinning even more, can you imagine that?

Congratulations...

...ZoePaige for your wonderful photograph of the Saskatoon Berries. It was my pleasure to dye this yarn because purple is one of my favorite colors. I think it turned out really wonderfully, first try, too! Lately this has been very challenging when I'm going for a certain colorway.

Since I wanted to do a semi solid I narrowed in on the dark purple/blue and the yarn is very rich in color; I just love it! Here is a sneak peak and it is listed in the shop.

Here's what has been...

...keeping me busy lately. I've been having more fun knitting and planning future projects than dyeing lately. I have been at the dye pot, but just not as much as I should be! I absolutely love knitting Katya's hat; yes I found an adorable pattern, called Rose Red. The instructions are so easy and organized to read; by far the best written pattern I've ever knitted. Here's my progress so far:

I'm also trying to design a neck warmer - cowl/scarf all in one to match my beanie hat. This is my second attempt, and I already have to rip the beginning ruffle out and add a few garter rows, too much curling, not enough ruffle to stop it. We'll see how it turns out when I'm done before I do that, though. I find with children scarves are not so practical for me so I want something almost tight around my neck and longer and fuller in the front to tuck inside my coat. I couldn't find anything like what I have pictured in my mind, so I'm really hoping this turns out!

I have plans for this Merino/Cashmere/Nylon that I dyed, it's called Victoria. I want to make socks with it since it will go with so many things. I love the colorway, it was sort of an accident, but the best thing is I wrote it all down and can dye it again. This colorway is my October Phat Fiber sample contribution. Victoria is also on 100% Superfine 19 Micron Merino Top and yarn Soleful, 40 Alpaca/40 Merino/20 Nylon.

This one is also going to be something because it matches this shirt I have perfectly. It was a happy accident as well! When I was re-skeining it, I was thinking to myself, this looks so familiar to me, then it came to me, my shirt!

I immediately went to my room and pulled the shirt out of my drawer and couldn't believe it; I couldn't have done it better if I tried to match it. In person it looks so much better and the sheen from the silk also matches the texture of the shirt perfectly.

It's one of those skeins I just used up some left over dyes and a few primaries and wallah, it's a gorgeous one of a kind and it's mine this time!

I've never made socks out of 50/50 Merino/Silk, what do you think? Will it be too slippery for socks? No doubt it will feel fantastic on my feet, but is it really appropriate for my feet? Hmm...

It's been...

...too long since I've posted here! Summer has arrived and we've been doing a lot of biking and playing at the parks! Waseca has some great parks and we love them all, there is something new at each park as far as play equipment so it's fun to visit them all, and even I don't get bored!

My dear husband is in the kitchen making truffles! Coffee truffles, and he keeps coming in with something new for me to taste, first it was the coffee flavored chocolate (whoever knows my husband knows he makes the best coffee ever! ~ I don't drink coffee so I wouldn't know, but everyone who has had some says so!), anyway, then the toasted coconut, so sweet and yummy! Oh, in between those was a kiss...how could I forget! I'll show you pictures later...of the truffles!

I've been doing some dyeing, though. I'm getting an order ready for one of my local yarn shops in Rochester, Minnesota. This is exciting for me!

Here are some goodies added to my shop. Stop by and take a look, they are pretty yummy! The blue and tan are sport weight, this is new in the shop and also, the tan is one of a kind, so get it while it lasts! Sometimes the one of a kinds are the best and it's a beauty! 

Phat Fiber...

...Blossoms and Bark Socks! As promised here are the socks in the kaleidoscope colorway for the May box! Thank you Robin for knitting these up for me in a flash! You're awesome!!