Okay… so now that yarns have been ordered, I can announced that new yarns are coming and two new lines are now introduced on the Custom Dyes page:

Knitterman’s Daily Lace

• 100% Merino
• 1125 yards
• $24.00 for 1; $22.00 apiece for 2 or more

and

Knitterman’s Daily Fingering

• 100% SW Corriedale
• 460 yards
• $17.50 for 1; $19.00 apiece for 2 or more

I was going to go with Knitteman’s House yarns, but I like Daily better as it suggests the yarns you go for everyday regular shawl and sock knitting.  There will be additional lines of yarn coming, but it seems (among my main customers) that people are using laceweight and fingering weight yarns.  I went with the 100% superwash corriedale partly because it is the same superwash corriedale that is in the Phydlbitz sock yarn, so I know how it works up, pretty much, and specifically because it is NOT superwash Merino — I just don’t like Merino for sock yarn.  It’s great for so many other wonderful things, but the constant wear on socks just doesn’t make Merino the best choice.  For something being stuffed inside a sweaty shoe, you want something that doesn’t pill so much, or something you have to knit so tight the socks can walk away on their own.

As for the Knitterman’s Daily Lace, it is a 100% Merino yarn, so it is lovely enough for the task but  more affordable than the Merino/Silk blend.  Depending on how well it is received (determined by ordering volume), I will reserve the Primo Lace for special occasions and limited editions.

I could be totally wrong, of course (which would totally suck), but it seems that knitting trends are moving away from the segmented hand-dyed sock yarns from when I started, and moving into the subtle vibrance of lace weight yarns that are more ‘alive’ than a flat solid, but not so garish as to overpower the fine stitchwork of lace.

So, anyway, between my color applications and the less expensive yarns for lacework and everyday sock knitting, I am hoping there will be increasing demand (and thus, increased sales volume) so that I can stay in business another few years.  That would be great to hit 10 years as an independent art yarn dyer, wouldn’t it!   Coming up Oct 1 makes six years, so I’m more than half way there!

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