FO Friday 54

I was hoping to have finished my hat for this week, but sadly, I STILL haven't knit since last Wednesday. I'm feeling much better, and thank you all for the get well messages. They brightened my week. :) You'll all just have to wait for the hat next week.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'm off to Vegas to watch the LA Kings and Colorado Avalanche play at the MGM Grand. It's a great time each year, so I hope this one is fun as well. Then next weekend is the Vista Fiber Fiesta!!! EEK!!!

Share your FOs!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 60

Soooo, I'm still sick. I'm feeling better, but STILLL SICK. Tonight (Tuesday night), I left the house for the first time since Thursday afternoon pretty much. I needed some human contact from the outside world, so we went to In N Out (an amazing burger joint here in CA for those who don't know). That all being said, I hadn't touched yarn since Wednesday night until today. Insane, right? I'm lucky to have an awesome husband who even reskeined a ball of yarn for me and shipped out two packages. I didn't want to touch any of the Candy Skein yarn while sick. Unfortunately that means I'm SERIOUSLY behind for the upcoming show (Vista Fiber Fiesta, October 8-9). I was able to dye about 6 skeins today.

Even more unfortunate, I don't have a normal WIP. I haven't knit since Wednesday afternoon. I just haven't felt well enough (this weekend was BAD BAD BAD...that's right. I had to miss Vogue Knitting Live.) So, what will I share today? It's a WIP in some sense!




Yes, that is a pile of Candy Skein yarn needing to be re-skeined (sorry for the terrible picture. It is 10pm and it's dark so I had to put some lighting on it which in turn just made it look weird and spooky. LOL). Sadly, that's not all that needs to be re-skeined right now. There's 4 more waiting to be put into cakes, and 6 more drying and a LOT more to dye. Umm...yeah, I have my work cut out for me. LOL

That's all for me today sadly. What are you working on?

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

FO Friday 53

Hi all! So, I am SO close to finishing the hat. Seriously, like practically finished. I have two more rows and then just gathering the top. I was ready to finish it for FO Friday.

But I'm sick. :( I've felt really tired and have been going non-stop to prepare for the show. Thursday I woke up with a sore throat and by 2pm, it turned into a full blown cold. I'm so so so disappointed. I had a good post planned for yesterday but didn't have the energy. I have Vogue Knitting Live in LA on Sunday. I've been looking SO forward to it, so we'll see if I can still go. Right now, it doesn't look good.

So please, cheer me up and share your amazing FOs!!!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 59

Hi everyone! Happy WIPW and a HUGE happy birthday to my mom!!! I hope everyone is having a great week and had a lovely weekend. We have a great time at Disneyland and it was much needed. I feel like I've been doing non-stop recently, which sadly doesn't lead to much knitting time and which also leads to not much to share for WIPW. :(



You may remember this hat from last week. I'm using this pattern, which is so easy and fun. It makes the hat reversible (which is awesome) and funny enough, I like the inside better than the outside. Here's the outside shown above. I don't have too much to do left. I'm going to add one more row of the pattern and then start the 8 row decrease. The pattern is for a slouchy hat, but I didn't really want it slouchy, so I didn't go up the needle size for the lace pattern part, and I'm going to stop before it gets too big at top. So far, so good. For those who missed it last week, I'm using Candy Skein Ripening Tonal in Blackberry, which will be on sale soon.


That's it, you ask? Well, yeah, sad isn't it? I only get to knit at knitting night to be honest. The rest of the time is doing this:



That is a HUGE tub of Candy Skein yarn in all different weights and fibers. The ones on the top not in bags need to still be tagged. Pretty soon, I'm going to have to get a new tub, as this one is almost full. I have 17 (yes 17) more skeins that are in the process of being re-skeined and 8 drying right now. I won't even tell you how much I still have to dye between now and the Vista Fiber Fiesta, or maybe I don't want to know! I've been averaging about 10 skeins a day though (as far as the dyeing is concerned) so that's the good news! I'll try and take some better pics this week of some of the fun new skeins!

That's it for me today. What are you working on?


For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

FO Friday 52

Happy Friday and happy one year of FOs!!!!!!!!!! I'm super excited for this weekend as it's my husband's birthday tomorrow! We're headed to Disneyland (we used to go ALL the time because we had year passes, but don't anymore so it's a real treat. We're considering them again, but that's another story) for his birthday and the new tiki bar at Downtown Disney afterward called Trader Sam's. I can't wait!

Beyond that, I've been dyeing my little heart out lately. I can't wait to show you the piles and piles of yarn I've dyed, balled and re-skeined in the past week. It's insanity. This weekend (or at least Saturday) will be a nice break. :)


I actually have a FO to share with you! I know, you're shocked, right? So am I! It's nothing too major, but I'm still really proud of it because it's insanely small. Remember me mentioning in WIPW last week that I got the Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi book and started the elephant? Well, I fnished him!! WOOT! Here he is:

Materials Used:
Size US 1 needles
Knit Picks Stroll Tonal (Thunderhead)
Pattern: Tiny Elephant
Beads for eyes
3 cotton balls

Share your FOs!

Candy Skein Monthly Sock Club- October colorway Halloween Treats!

Welcome to the Candy Skein Sock Yarn Club! Each month, there will be a new colorway exclusive to that month in Yummy fingering weight. Once the month is over, the colorway will no longer be available, so make sure to get them while they last!

October 2011 colorway- Halloween Treats!

Available now through October 31!

What’s so great about Halloween? The costumes, the parties? In my opinion, it’s the candy! This colorway combines the pumpkin and blackberry colorways that just screams Halloween. Be sure to get this colorway while it lasts, so you can make fun socks, or the awesome pattern it was inspired by, the Witch Warmers by Amanda of Amanda’s Happy Hearth! The pattern is available for knitting or crochet.

Colorway: Halloween Treats
Fiber content: 75% Merino Wool, 25% Nylon Superwash
Weight: Fingering Weight
Yardage: 463 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Machine wash/Tumble dry low

Price: $16

BUY

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 58

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday. I don't have much to say today, because I'm beat. I'm on a dyeing frenzy for Candy Skein since the fiber festival is just around the corner and I'm having to make up for lost time from the blackout/boil water restrictions. In 24 hours between Monday and Tuesday, I dyed 17 skeins of yarn. Wowzer! I'm not looking forward to the time I'll spend re-skeining it all, but I do love the dyeing process. I can't wait to share it all with you soon.

I haven't had much time to knit (I'm sure you can guess why), but I did start a new hat! I wanted to try the single ply yarn that I ordered for Candy Skein before putting it up for sale. I'd hate to sell a yarn that isn't up to standards. I have to say, I freakin' adore this yarn. I'm a huge fan of single ply to begin with, but the combination of baby alpaca, wool and silk gives this an amazing soft and strong yarn base. What I was most impressed with was how it took the dye. You may remember, I tested that out in the gradient yarn I shared with you awhile ago. I wanted to put it through the huge test, and dye a skein of Blackberry.





Isn't it GORGEOUS!?! In person, it just GLOWS. It's downright breathtaking, in my opinion. I'm making the hat (pattern here...thanks to whoever linked to it last week! I'm sorry I forgot who did!) with magic loop, so I was able to try it on. Some wool/alpaca type yarns bother my skin, but this was so soft and didn't make me itch one bit! I had to give you the close up of the picture just so you can see the stitch definition and the halo of the yarn. I'm calling this yarn Ripening Tonal and the pink to red one will be the Ripening Gradients series. They will both be available soon in store, I promise! If you're really dying to try it, I will custom dye a skein.

Anyway, I finished the ribbing and the first increase row. I'm now about to move into the lace portion of the hat. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out!

Edit: I forgot to link the pattern! Now it is linked up in the paragraph above and here!

That's it for me today! Don't worry, I'm still working on everything else. I just haven't had a chance to get enough time to make progress to show you.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

FO Friday 51- Blackout edition

Sorry I'm just posting this, but if you haven't heard, San Diego had a massive blackout that ran through parts of Mexico into Orange County and parts of Arizona even. We have been without power since 3:45 pm on Thursday, and only had it restored a few hours ago while sleeping. Let me tell you, I was seriously confused when I was awoken by the fan and hall light turning on. I thought it was the sun rising REALLY bright. That being said, it was fun having no power for a night. My husband got to come home early, and we got to hang out among tiki torches and candles. LOL

Edit: Just heard we're in energy conservation mode, as well as having to boil our water in our area! So not cool!

Now all is well and we're back on track (kind of, see above edit). If you have a post from earlier in the day, please add it to the Mister Linky, despite it being a little later than usual. I don't have an FO to share today, as I haven't knit since WIPW.

Share your FOs!

Tons of Candy Skein News & a Few New Skeins!

As promised I have a ton of news regarding Candy Skein that I've been keeping secret for some time. I'm about to burst with it all, so I wanted to share it all with you today. I'll get right to it.




First off, I am most excited to announce that my Delicious series of yarn, both lace and fingering weight, will be featured in the November/December issue of Interweave's Handwoven Magazine on the Goods page. They contacted me in July expressing interest, and I must say, they are so easy to work with! As the date gets closer, I'll share the picture I took for them that will be used in the magazine. Be sure to check your LYS and magazine retailers when it hits stores 10/25/11!




Next up in exciting Candy Skein news, I'm happy to announce the new Candy Skein Addicts KAL for October-December (starting October 15th)! We will be making the Rhombi (Ravelry pattern link) short sleeved cardigan. Not only is the designer super excited for the KAL, she is also going to be discounting the pattern for us starting September 21st! Also, if you order yarn for the KAL, I will discount $2 per skein from the original price of the yarn.

Thanks to ninja8tofu (the pattern designer) for allowing me to use her great picture. The pattern is originally knit in a sport weight, but a friend of mine knit it in fingering and it's gorgeous. We will be doing the KAL in either Yummy fingering or Delicious fingering (I'll be making mine in Delicious fingering in Brain Freeze), which I am currently swatching for so that I can help convert the pattern for fingering yarn use. It only takes 2-3 balls of yarn, so it's a perfect versatile cardigan. Great with a tank top, short sleeves or even a long sleeved t-shirt. Here is a link to my friend Christi's Rhombi that she made in fingering weight yarn.

If you're interested in participating, please contact me at Candyskein@gmail.com so that I can get your yarn in the dye pot ASAP. You can pick from any colorway in the kettle dyed section! Be sure to scroll through all three pages of colors.



Candy Skein will be participating in the Vista, CA Fiber Arts Fiesta from October 8-9. It is the first year for this show, and one of the only Southern California fiber shows. I'm very very excited, as I will have a booth filled to the brim with Candy Skein yarn! If you live in the area, or know someone who does, please be sure to let them know or come on down to visit me! I'll be there both days, along with Ami Amour! She will be displaying/selling her original amigurumi designs, as well as the patterns.

Due to the fiber show, today will be my last day posting yarn for sale on my website until the show in over. However, I will still be taking custom orders for Yummy lace, Yummy fingering, Yummy worsted, Delicious lace and Delicious fingering (and of course for the KAL). If you're interested in ordering any of those and don't see the color you'd like up in my store, please contact me on Ravelry (hpseeker4) or at my email (candyskein@gmail.com). Don't worry, I'll still be keeping you up to date on all of my fun Candy Skein dyeing, it just won't be going up on my page for sale!




Last but not least, I'm so excited about these. What are those adorable little candy beads? Each skein of Candy Skein yarn will now come with a little matching (or as close as possible) bead hanging from the tag! Don't you just love these little guys?


PHEW! That is a LOT of news. As each exciting event gets closer, I'll be reminding/updating you!

Now on to this week's new yarn!

Colorway: Grape Fizz
Series: Yummy
Fiber content: 75% Merino Wool, 25% Nylon Superwash
Weight: Fingering Weight
Yardage: 463 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Machine wash/Tumble dry low

Price: $16
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Colorway: Cherry
Series: Delicious
Fiber content: 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight: Light Fingering Weight
Yardage: 437 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $28
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Colorway: Banana
Series: Delicious
Fiber content: 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight: Light Fingering Weight
Yardage: 437 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $28
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Colorway: Apple-tini
Series: Delicious
Fiber content: 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight: Light Fingering Weight
Yardage: 437 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $28
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 57

Wow is it hot! It was in the 100s in LA this weekend, and we get home to rain and 102. I don't have AC at home (because honestly, you only need it like 2 weeks out of the year in San Dieg0), but with the humidity being so high, it's not pleasant, that's for sure. We had an amazing time in LA, visiting with family and friends. We even got to help a friend work on his production line of tiki mugs he's making for an upcoming event! Another great thing we did, Monday we went to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and went to the Tim Burton exhibit they had going on. We'd been really wanting to go, and were so glad to have not missed it. YAY for us! It was amazing, as it took 1 1/2 hours to walk through it all. Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed in the exhibit.

All of the fun means I didn't really knit/crochet. Before I left for vacation, I was busy dyeing yarn, so that stopped me from getting anything done beforehand. I was hoping to get SOMETHING done over the weekend, but alas, did not. Well, that's kind of lying actually. My husband bought me Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi while we were there and I started a little elephant.



As you can see, I'm about to pick up stitches for the ears, but the little guy is SO small, it's a little hard to. I was also trying to do it in poor lighting, so hopefully I can get it started up again later. It measures only about an inch big (yes, an inch...). All the patterns are amazing in the book, but I decided on the elephant first because I had gray yarn for my skirt with me! That being said, I fudged the truck. It was supposed to be an i-cord, but I didn't have double pointed needles with me, and all the LYS were closed Monday for the holiday (I knit the little guy with magic loop), so I just k2tog until I had two stitches on each needle, then knit the trunk and cast off. It's not as clean as an i-cord, but not too shabby. I will say, I can't wait to make another one with less splitty yarn!

That's it for me. Again, I still have the skirt, socks and shawl going, but didn't even touch them this last week. What are you working on?

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

FO Friday 50

Happy Friday and happy Labor Day weekend to my US readers! This is going to be short and sweet, as I don't have too much to say. Actually, I don't even have a FO to share sadly, but I wanted to show an amazing shawl that my great friend Terri knit for me! This is another Candy Skein sample, this time knit with Yummy fingering in colorway Golden Pineapple. This is actually the only skein I've ever dyed in this colorway, and did it special for this project (but don't worry, I can do more! I just haven't gotten around to it). So Terri, if you're reading this, YOU ARE AWESOME! Don't I have the best friends?

Materials:

Candy Skein Yummy fingering- colorway Golden Pineapple (she had 190 yards left over)
Pattern: Ginkgo shoulderette shawl

Share your FOs!

Candy Skein- New Yummy and Delicious yarn

Hi everyone!! If you missed it on Wednesday, I announced that I will be posting new Candy Skein yarn now on Thursdays instead of Mondays. It works better for my schedule and I want to balance everything to make Candy Skein better and grow it to awesomeness. :)

Before I share this week's yarn, I want to let you all know that I will be making a few big announcements next week, including the new KAL coming up that will start in October. Stay tuned for that!

Now onto the new yarn! I have a new colorway that I LOVE, Royal Rock Candy. If you'd like to see more pictures of any of these yarns, please visit the Candy Skein website, and choose either Delicious lace, Delicious fingering or Yummy fingering.

Colorway: Blackberry
Series: Delicious
Fiber content: 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight: Lace Weight
Yardage: 875 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $32
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Colorway: Fudge Brownie
Series: Delicious
Fiber content: 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight: Lace Weight
Yardage: 875 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $32
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Colorway: Royal Rock Candy
Series: Delicious
Fiber content: 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight: Light Fingering Weight
Yardage: 437 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $28
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Colorway: Cotton Candy
Series: Delicious
Fiber content: 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight: Light Fingering Weight
Yardage: 437 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $28
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Colorway: Sour Apple
Series: Yummy
Fiber content: 75% Merino Wool, 25% Nylon Superwash
Weight: Fingering Weight
Yardage: 463 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Machine wash/Tumble dry low

Price: $16
Quantity Available: 1
BUY