madelinetosh merino restock

Luscious colors in madelinetosh merino back in stock.  This yarn is so soft.  Yum!!

Happy Knitting!

Regards,

Karen

OPYF

badlands

cousteau

ink

magnolia leaf

tart

Arizona State Fair Competition Registration

This past Sunday I dropped off my entries for the Arizona State Fair.  I entered 3 skeins of hand spun that I won ribbons for in the County Fair.  I know the competition will be much stiffer at the State Fair.  Many of my fellow, long time guild buddies are also entered.  I was going to spin up some fresh skeins, but when my husband had his heart attack last month I just didn't have the energy to create something new.

I also entered 2 hand woven items.  The project from this past spring, which was my first weaving on a four harness loom and my rigid heddle woven cotton shawl with glass beads that I made last year.

I am really looking forward to seeing all the wonderful work created by Arizona crafts people.  There are so many talented people!

Of course the big draw for me is when they judge the shorn fleeces.  I wonder what I can capture this year?

Have you ever entered any of your work into a competition?  If so, what was it?

Happy Spinning!
Regards,
Karen
OPYF

madelinetosh pashmina restock

Opps! I left out the comentary.  Back in stock, madelinetosh pashmina!

Silly Me,

Regards,

Karen

OPYF

How Many New Members?

Hello All!

I am just past the one year mark for OPYF.  I decided to check out how many fans OPYF has on the different social media sites.  When I took over a year ago there was no Facebook page.  There are now 285 fans and growing weekly.  I have no clue where The Ravelry count was before, but there are 486 fans at this point.  I checked a few days ago and there were only 484 members on the One Planet Knitters forum.  Twitter was around 900 followers when I stepped in.  That grows on a daily basis.  Twitter is at 1203 followers.  The number of new customers and email subscribers has grown by over 600 people.

I am so thankful for all the support that you have given me this past year.  On to the next one!

Thank You!
Regards,
Karen
OPYF

madelinetosh sock Back In Stock!

I love this yarn.  I have knitted 2 projects so far with it.  Neither of them were socks!  I am waiting to block my Multnomah Shawl by Hello Knitty and I knitted up the Cream and Sugar Cowl by Never Not Knitting with this also.  Each project used just one skein.  If you don't see a color that you would like to have, just let me know and I will order it in for you.

Happy Knitting,

Regards,

Karen

OPYF

jade

lepidoptra

fathom

toast

ginger

betty drapers blues

tart

Books I Added To My Library This Year

I love to read.  I love to read many types of books.  The last 2 years my reading has been mostly books about knitting, spinning, dyeing, rigid heddle weaving and 4 harness loom weaving.  I thought I would share with you the titles that I have added in this year along with a few more new releases that I am waiting to be shipped to me in October.  I have to admit that I have not read them all.  I love the designs inside and I will never be able to knit all the patterns or weave all the cloths or spin all the wool in these pages, but it's nice to have dreams.

So, not in any particular order, but grouped by topic-


Knitting Books:
Custom Knits- Wendy Bernard
Custom Knits 2- Wendy Bernard
Knitting on the Edge- Nicky Epstein
Knitting Over the Edge- Nicky Epstein
Knitting Beyond the Edge- Nicky Epstein
Power Cables- Lily Chin
Ready, Set, Knit Cables- Carri Hammett
Cables Untangled- Melissa Leapman
Continuous Cables- Melissa Leapman
Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques
Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders- Judith Durant
Charts Made Simple-  JC Briar
Brave New Knits-Julie Turjoman
Made In Brooklyn- Jared Flood
Knitwear Design Workshop- Shirley Paden
60 Quick Baby Knits- Sixth & Spring Books
Welcoming Home Baby- Tricia Drake
Knitting Brioche-Nancy Marchant
Lacy Little Knits- Iris Schreier
Modular Knits- Iris Schreier
Knitfix- Lisa Kartus
150 Knit and Crochet Motifs- Heather Lodinsky
Cat's Sweet Tomato Heel Socks: an eBook- Cat Bordhi


Spinning Books:
Intentional Spinner- Judith MacKenzie McCuin
Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook- Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson


Weaving Books, Rigid Heddle:
Weaving Made Easy- Liz Gipson
Weaver's Idea Book- Jane Patrick


Dyeing Books:
Color Works- Deb Menz


Books I am waiting for:
The Book Of Socks-Clara Parkes
Coastal Knits-Alana Dakos and Hannah Fettig
Teeny Tiny Mochi Mochi- Anna Hrachovec


Happy Fiber Fun!
Regards,
Karen
OPYF

New Spinning Fibers In Stock!

Oh boy!  New spinning fibers now in stock!  I have been waiting for months to expand the selection.  The images below include, in no particular order, -Blue Faced Leicester, Falkland Wool Top,Superwash BFL, Polworth, Merino, Alpaca/Merino/Silk, Merino/Bamboo, Merino/Tencel, Superwash Merino/Tencel, Merino/Bamboo/Silk, BFL/Tussah Silk, Merino/Tussah, Corriedale Cross, Colonial and White Firestar!

Happy Spinning!

Regards,

Karen

OPYF

Twisten' The Night Away - On Warping

Now it was time to start using my warping board so I could warp my new loom.  It took me several tries to get it right, with glances back and forth to my warping instructions sheet.  Phew!  At least I remembered how to do the warping cross.

Next I tied up the warp strings to be able to transfer the warp threads to the loom.

Apparently I used too many ties.  This new loom only requires that I had loosely tie the cross itself.  My friend Terri had me take out all the ties and tie the cross properly.

Time to warp.  Tie a loose knot on the cross end.

Use a comb to keep the threads lined up.

Feed the threads on to the back beam.

Once all the thread is on the back beam tie a loose knot.

And now I need to go back to the warping board and do this 9 more times.

Happy Weaving!

Regards,

Karen

OPYF

Yarn Place Yarns Vivace Back In Stock

The Vivace bamboo yarn from Yarn Place Yarns has been so popular that I have filled in the quantities of stock to 5 skeins each!  Each skein is 250 yards long and the yarn is a DK weight.

Happy Knitting!

Regards,

Karen

OPYF