Last Week of the Month!

I just posted these to the Blog Reader Specials page; these are just the unclaimed yarns from the most recent BRS collection, but there are far too many other yarns available there.

Tuesday through Friday, all yarns will be invoiced at 15% off.  No special codes,  Just place your order by sending me an email (ray@knitivity.com)and I’ll calculate your invoice with your discount price.

I just put in my yarn order for April, and included a small portion of laceweight yarn —  100% Superwash Merino, 1300+ yards per 100gram hanks.   In order to make room for these and all the other yarns I’ll be dyeing in April, I need to empty the bins of current yarns on the Blog Reader Specials page.

If you know someone who hasn’t tried Knitivity yarns yet, this would be a great time to share the links and invite your friends to see what is available.

A Riot of Color!

Happy Saturday!

Yesterday was the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere, first day of Autumn for our friends below the equator.  I understand some areas up north are still rather chilly, but it feels great in Houston today.

I pulled out some interesting color combinations yesterday and managed to create what I think is an interesting mix of dye techniques and colors.

These yarns shown are Phydlbitz Sock 2.0, 75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards each.

The four-by-four technique I introduced a few weeks ago seemed popular, so I made to more Twinsets this week: #245-246 and #257-258.  Each Twinset has four colors on each skein, but speckled so that each quarter has two different colors.

There are several solids or nearly-solids mostly made of combined dyes, so they can’t be exactly replicated – #243-244, 247-248, 251-252, and 265-266.  Normally my solids come from combining whatever portions of remaining dye look like they’d blend well, so there’s no exact measurements.

This week you will also find some monochrome fades (#249-250, and 263-264), as well as some multi-color segmented dyes (#253-254, 255-256, and 259-260.    Twinset #261-262 is a straight forward overall speckle of green, blue, and violet.

Phydlbitz Sock is normally $28.00 per skein, but for Saturday and Sunday, visitors are invited to take the Preview Pricing discount so each skein is just $26.00 each.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your selections.  I’ll mark them off the Available Yarns tally chart below and send a PayPal invoice, including any shipping charges.  I normally ship with USPS Ground Advantage, but if you wish Priority mail (or are outside the U.S.), please let me know so I can calculate your shipping accurately.

I expect to ship on or about Wednesday this coming week.

Available Yarns
Rack 1 – 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254
Rack 2 – 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266

Photo of hand-dyed yarns in many colors, drying on the rack.Photo of hand-dyed yarns in many colors, drying on the rack.

 

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Want to always get the deals first? Insiders get a better Preview Pricing discount and sometimes reduced shipping, too! Subscribe to the Knitivity Insider.

Mother of Pearl?

Edit:   Here is a group shot of all the yarns not claimed during the Preview Pricing discount period.  They’ve all been posted to the Blog Reader Specials page at regular price. You are always free to break up a Twinset if you only want just one skein of a pair.  From Wednesday to Friday (March 18-20), all orders over $100 will get free shipping inside the U.S.A.

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Happy Saturday!

I went into the dye session aiming to re-create the Mother of Pearl colorway that I did many years ago.  I used to do it on laceweight yarns, so I wasn’t sure how it would work on Phydlbitz Sock.  I tried to use very pale salmon, sky, and teal.  My two attempts using different application techniques are on Twinsets #227-228 and #239-240.   The three solid Twinsets using the same dyes are #223-224, 231-231, and 235-236.  Combining all ten skeins would create a luscious baby blanket, perhaps using strips of cables, or maybe mitered squares or some other block method.

Twinset #219-220 is a rich teal, while #229-230 is a two-tone fade with medium navy and simple gray.

This week’s true DumpDye is Twinset #233-234 — at the end of the dye session, I combined the leftover navy with the leftover salmon, expecting some range of overall dark plum, but as it is drying it has a slight iridescent quality, full of life.  This would make a stunning shawl or stole knit up in a light texture like a simple seed stitch.   (This is actually the effect I was hoping to get with the Mother of Pearl experiment.)

This are all on Phydlbitz Sock 2.0  (75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards), normally $28.00 per skein.  For Saturday and Sunday, visitors are welcome to claim any two or more skeins from this week’s collection (#219 – 242)  at $26.00 per skein.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your selections.  I will mark your requests from the Available Yarns tally chart below, and send you a PayPal invoice.  On payment I will prepare your shipping label so your yarns can ship as soon as they are dried and ready to ship.

I expect to have these ready to ship on or about Wednesday.

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 – 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230
Rack 2 – 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240,  241, 242

Photo of hand-dyed yarns dryingPhoto of hand-dyed yarns drying

 

Tangerine? Indian Yellow? Charcoal?

Update:  All the claimed yarns are being shipped this afternoon.  I’ve just uploaded all the unclaimed yarns from this collection (plus an extra Twinset in pink that I’ve not shown yet) onto the Blog Reader Specials page.   Here is the group shot of the newly posted BRS yarns:


Happy Saturday!

First up — for all but a few states in the U.S., tonight we turn the clocks forward one hour, to begin Daylight Saving Time again.  For me this means I will have better opportunity for outside yarn pictures before the sun gets high enough to interfere.

Back in the Spring of 1984 when the clocks changed, I was quite oblivious in the moment.  I got up, got dressed and drove to church in plenty of time for the 11:00 service.  The parking area was full but I found a spot and managed to walk in the door just in time for  the 12:00 closing Amen and dismissal.  OOPS!    Thankfully I was not the pastor at that particular church. 🙂

Do you have a funny/awkward story about the time  change?

Anyway, I pulled out what seemed to be an unusual combination of dyes to mix for last night’s dye session, but I ended the session thinking I did fairly well.

A few I want to point out first — Twinset #201-202 is a deep rich Charcoal; #205-206 is a nearly solid Tangerine; #211-212 is a saturated Military Green with an overwash of Milling Blue.

Twinset #197-198 is a light wash of the Tangerine with all-over random speckles of black.  I could be mistaken, but I think a Triplet of the charcoal, tangerine, and the coordinating speckles would make a smashing shawl or scarf.

Last week I introduced a new-to-me technique of speckling 4 colors across 4 sections of the hank so that each quarter has 2 colors speckled together.   Both of those skeins were snatched up almost immediately, so I tried the same technique this week with four different colors to create Twinset #213-214.

As always, if you need a better view of a particular Twinset today or tomorrow, please let me know so I can isolate just that pair if no one else has already claimed it.

These are all Phydlbitz Sock 2.0 — 75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards.  These are normally $28.00 each, but for Saturday and Sunday, you may claim any two or more from this week’s collection (#195 – 218) for just $26.00 each skein.   They will all be reskeined for shipping, of course, but I like to offer this Preview Pricing discount because I don’t have to photograph the reskeined yarns or edit and post those image on the Blog Reader Specials page.  Claiming yarns from the rack saves me a little work, so I’m happy to save you a little money.  Win-win!

To claim the ones you want just send me an email with your selections.  I will mark your selections off the Available Yarns chart below and send a PayPal invoice.  On payment of your invoice, I will prepare your shipping label so that when the yarns are dried and processed I can ship them.

I expect to have these ready to ship on or about Wednesday.

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 – 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206
Rack 2 – 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218

Picture of hand-dyed yarns drying on rack.

Picture of hand-dyed yarns drying on rack.

It’s Twinset TWOS-day

Here is the group shot of the most recent Blog Reader Specials added to the BRS page.

I was battling a setting sun, with awkward shadows, but it’s still an impressive collection.

For Tuesday, March 3, all matching Twinsets will be invoiced at 15% off. Unmatched skeins will be invoiced at 10% off.  All orders paid today will ship tomorrow. 

Fun Times in the Dye Vats!

Happy Saturday!

Another fun collection of Phydlbitz Sock for you — 75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards each.

Along with several of my regular techniques, I tried something new on Twinset #175-176.  Besides being a regular sprinkle,  I used 4 different colors and overlapped each section so there are two colors in each section, but each color covers 2 section.  Interesting blending, and I’ll probably try it again in the future with different colors.

There are a few long-span two-tones (72-inch repeats), like #169-170, #181-182, and #185-186.

Twinset #177-178 is done with rich red bands that were supposed to be separated with gold bands.  The red bled into the gold while in the steamer so it looks like a deep orange bands.  It still looks amazing, just not the clearly segmented red-and-gold I had intended.

Twinset #189-190 is a purple speckled with a pink over-wash.  Twinset #191-192 is a similar style, with turquoise sprinkles with a pale gold over-wash.

If you’d like a close up or outside daylight picture of any particular pair, please let me know this weekend; they’ll be reskeined and labeled for the Blog Reader Specials page when they are fully dried.

Phydlbitz Sock is normally $28.00 each, but for Saturday and Sunday visitors are invited to claim any two or more skeins for $26.00 each.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your selections.  I’ll mark your choices off the Available Yarns chart below and send you a PayPal invoice.

I expect to have these ready to ship on or about Wednesday.

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 – 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180
Rack 2 – 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192

Rack of hand-dyed yarns drying.Rack of hand-dyed yarns drying.

Bring on Springtime!

Happy Saturday!

It’s not Spring yet but I can hardly wait and I think yesterday’s dye choices reflect this.

Most of the first batch of dyes came out pale, pastel, and perfect for wrapping a summertime infant in a light weight blanket.  Others were dyed as richer solids ready to coordinate with the pastels.

For a heavier weight yarn Phydlbitz Sock is great for knitting double strand, or even chain-plied for the equivalent of triple-strand, to  really mix the multi-colored yarns well.

These are all Phydlbitz Sock 2.0 (75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards) and normally are $28.00 each.  For Saturday and Sunday, visitors are invited to claim any matching Twinset of this week’s collection (#145 – 168) for just $26.00 each skein. .

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email (ray@knitivity.com) with your requested numbers.  I’ll mark your requests off the Available Yarns tally chart below and send you a PayPal invoice.  Let me know if you are outside the U.S. so I can calculate shipping correctly.

I won’t be able to ship on Wednesday (it’s a clinic day for me), so I’ll ship on either Tuesday or Thursday.

Available Yarns:
Rack 1 – 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156
Rack 2 – 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168

Picture of hand-dyed yarns drying on rack.

Picture of hand-dyed yarns drying on rack.

Mostly Solids This Time

Happy Sunday!

Just as I was getting ready to dye yesterday, I discovered we were under a tornado watch until 9:00 p.m.   Probably not a big deal, but my area is prone to power outages during heavy storms and I didn’t want to have a dye session interrupted (hard to dye in the dark).   But I had to get it done, so I pressed through.

I was able to get a couple Twinsets done in a splatter-dye (#131-132 and #137-138), both of which included colors I don’t normally combine.   Twinset #143-144 is done with a 36-inch gradient fade from darkest to lightest reds.

Two other Twinsets to note are #129-130 and 133-134.  Many people have been knitting up versions of the Melt the ICE resistance hat (link to Ravelry), so these Twinsets were dyed for those who want it.  I made note of the recipe for these, so I can dye more if you need them.

Since I was somewhat rushing to beat the threatened storm, most of the yarns are solid or mostly solid.   Twinset #141-142 is a very dark purple-brown-navy blend of colors from last week.   Any of these would be excellent for your lacework, shawls, scarves, and so forth, or for doing color block work with a mix of solids.

These are all Phydlbitz Sock 2.0 (75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards, normally $28.00 each.  For Sunday and Monday, visitors are welcome to claim any two or  more skeins from this week’s collection (#121-144)  for $26.00 each.   Just send me an email (ray@knitivity.com) to claim the ones you want.

I expect to have these ready to ship on Wednesday or Thursday.

Available Yarns:
Rack 1 – 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132
Rack 2 – 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144

Picture of hand-dyed yarns drying on a rack.

Picture of hand-dyed yarns drying on a rack.

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Want to always get the deals first? Insiders get a better Preview Pricing discount and sometimes reduced shipping, too! Subscribe to the Knitivity Insider.

What?! It’s Wednesday Already?

Well, yeah, I guess it is!

I’ve just finished uploading to the Blog Reader Specials page all the yarns not claimed from last week’s dye session.  Here is the group shot of them:

But there are lots of other yarns also still available so go visit Blog Reader Specials page and see which ones fit your plans for knitting into the spring.

And if you place an order today (Wednesday, 11 February), you’ll get FREE SHIPPING inside the U.S.  🙂

Easiest way to place an order:  just send me an email (ray@knitivity.com) and tell me which ones you want.

Stunning DumpDye!

Happy Friday!

While preparing today’s mailing, I’m listening to “Happy Classical Music” from HalidonMusic on YouTube.  I nearly always listen to classical music, and I think Halidon puts out the best collections  and they put up new ones almost daily.  Halidon “is a prominent Italian independent record label, music publisher, and distributor based in Milan, founded in 1999. It is widely recognized for operating one of YouTube’s top-ranking classical music channels, which boasts over 3 million subscribers and offers a vast catalogue of classical, instrumental, jazz, and pop music.

I’m reminded of an incident many years ago when one of my granddaughters came to play Scrabble with me one afternoon (a joy and pleasure on its own, which I miss). I had some classical music playing softly, and she asked if we could listen to something else, more like the country music she heard at home, if I remember correctly.  I told her she could hear her music at home on her own, but I wanted her to hear my music so that when she grew up and heard classical music  she would remember me, and hopefully fondly.  She is grown now and filling her life with amazing young adult adventures as all my grandkid are, and I’m proud of them.

Anyway, forgive this old man’s fleeting reverie.  Onward to this week’s yarns!

I went into the session not sure what would happen because the dyes that called out to me didn’t seem to go together.  But, if you’ve followed my work a while, you know that I often let the colors dictate what to do.  🙂

Most of the colors are fairly obvious, but I’ll mention a few of them.   Twinset #97-98 started with a wash of a blue-gray with a band of saturated chestnut across the middle (about 72-inch repeat).   #101-102 is a random splattering of pink and gray.   #103-104 is a steel blue fade, with spinkles at one end of the hank in dark brown and chestnut.  #107-108 is 100% splattered navy that spread and migrated in the steamer.  #113-114 is a band of chestnut melded into a band of teal on either side, fading into a wash of a pale pink-gray.

This week’s DumpDye solid is #119-120 — a mix of the remaining teal, turquoise, and navy.  I pour all the dyes into the dipping bowl, stirred it all around to thoroughly mix, but I noticed that in spite of my best efforts each of the original colors seems to shine out here and there.  From a distance, it looks like a solid color, but up close it is clearly a blending of related colors.  I think the effect is stunning.

All of these yarns would make beautiful socks, and many of them would be amazing shawls, scarves, or other accessories.

These are all Phydlbitz Sock 2.0 (75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards), and are normally $28.00 each.  For Friday and Saturday, you may claim each matching Twinset from this week’s collection (#97 – 120) at $26.00 per skein ($52 for the pair).

To claim the ones you want, send me an email (ray@knitivity.com) with your numbered requests.  After striking them from the Available Yarns chart below, I’ll send you a PayPal invoice including shipping.  If you are outside the U.S., please let me know so I can calculate your international shipping rate.

I expect to have these ready to ship on or about Wednesday or Thursday.

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 – 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108
Rack 2 – 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120

Photo of hand-dye sock yarns for knitting; yarns are drying on a rack and numbered for customers to select the ones they want.Photo of hand-dye sock yarns for knitting; yarns are drying on a rack and numbered for customers to select the ones they want.

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Want to always get the deals first? Insiders get a better Preview Pricing discount and sometimes reduced shipping, too! Subscribe to the Knitivity Insider.