FO - Plain Jane Socks

WhooHoo! One project from the UFOs done. To be fair, I was really close to being finished.

Pattern: Plain Knit Sock
Yarn: My Own (ravelry link)- 3ply Merino Superwash. This is actually the old Surge base. The new Surge base is super duper amazing. Just sayin'.


Update on the other UFOs: The only other UFO that I'm knitting on currently is the Venezia Lady or better known as the February Lady Sweater I've almost finished the first sleeve. Sweet!

UFOs

Yep, I sure do have a lot of UFOs.

So, I'm making this commitment for everyone to see. I will NOT cast on anything else until my UFOs are either finished or frogged. Which means I have to go through my projects and figure out which projects I really want to finish and which ones I will be frogging.

Here's what will be finished:
1. Plain Jane Socks
2. Spring Weaver Shawl - this will be finished, but I think I'm going to frog it and re-start. I'll explain in another post.
3. Magical Sweater
4. Venezia Lady Sweater
7. Noro Afghan
8. Only in Bright Light sweater

Here's what will be frogged:
5. pease for me
6. Simple pullover

Well, I have 6 projects to finish before casting on another. At least some of these are pretty close to being finished.

Hi! I've been busy

I know. I know. I never call.

ahem

Well, I've been super busy. What am I so busy doing? Dyeing. I just did a small Fraternal Twins Roving update on etsy. But most of my time has been spent dyeing yarn for Sock Summit. I've got 10 skeins done and going to do 3 skeins tonight. I wanted to get more finished in time to ship to Pam. But, If something could go wrong it did. First my yarn meter stopped working. It was skipping yards (feet actually) of yarn which meant that my skein was 600ish yards, instead of 420. I had to drive to Orlando to pick up another (bought 2, just in case). So, I then tried to re-wind this one and because the tension was different pulling it off the swift I had a light skein. Oh, it first started with the new skein winder, which I LOVE, but the arms were too long which cause the skein to be too big for a yarn swift. This could be re-skeined, but, my swift is not big enough. Both these disasters have been corrected and things are back to normal, but I'm about 2 days behind.

Oh, and the fun doesn't stop after these skeins are dyed. I then will be scrambling to dye up the rest of the yarn for an etsy update before the feature yarn ad on Ravelry.

With all this going on, I will admit that all this crazy makes me happy. I've been super pleased with the Fraternal Twins Roving and these new skeins of yarn dyed in semi-solids. I can't stop looking at them. I love yarn.

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The Big Reveal - Fraternal Twins Roving

Rebecca & Regina

Fraternal Twins Roving – The Same but Different

Brad & Braden

As requested 1,000 Petals is now offering 8ounces of roving, kinda.

Fraternal Twins Rovings are divided into 4oz each. Each is dyed using the same exact dye solution, but the prep of the fiber causes the dye to absorb at different rates. See what I mean, the same but different.

Imagine the possibilities. Spin each as a single and then ply together. Or you could spin alternating sections of each twin. Or you could spin and ply each twin in your preferred way and then when knitting, knit each on alternate rows. This would create a stripy effect, but using the same colors.

Liza & Lily

By-the-way, I would love to see your finished yarns.

Update will begin at 8pm Eastern.

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hint hint

Sunday night I will be revealing my latest roving creations. I will give you one hint. They are the same, but different. That's all you get for now. This latest creation is a way for me to fulfill the request for 8oz of fiber, but not. ahem. I know it makes no sense, but it will on Sunday. Hehehe. I have a secret.


Reminders and Updates:

If you haven't seen it yet I did start a Ravelry Group. There's not much activity right now (which is my fault), but give it some time and it will be buzzing.


Also I wanted to remind everyone that is participating in the Tour de Fleece to stop by my store. If you purchase roving from now until the tour ends and enter the code "spin it up" you will receive a 10% discount.


Next update will be Monday night. This update will include the secret rovings.



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in the sea there is a fish

First skein spun for Tour de Fleece.
My own Water Nymph Roving
Colorway: in the sea there is a fish
Yardage: about 800
1 ply lace weight

Tour de Fleece has been so much fun.

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Etsy Shop Luv - 3GWOODWORKS

Spindles? Did someone say spindles? Do you want (I mean need) a new spindle? Check out 3GWOODWORKS. Did you look? They are amazing! They are creating spindles using exotic woods like Macadamia Nut and Manzanita Burl. Did you look yet?

How fabulous would it be to spin with one of these during the Tour de Fleece. Imagine the compliments. Imagine the wonderfully spun yarns. Stop imagining and go shop for one yourself.

The Organization Continues

Tweak. I like to tweak things on occasion. I like to figure out the more efficient way to do things. Work smart, not hard. Right? So in accordance with this, I’ve simplified my decision making. This is purely a decision I had to make because I'm so tempted buy all the fabulous fiber blends available. What is it? Well, I’ve decided to narrow my fiber blend selection to 4 fiber blends with the occasional special listings I just have to try out. Ahem. I know this seems like a no brainer but I tend to over analyze everything. I want to offer fiber blends that fiber people will enjoy and appreciate. So here’s what 1,000 Petals is going to carry on a regular basis (at least as long as my supplier keeps them in-stock).


1. Allure Roving and Lace (merino/silk blend) this was an easy choice.


2. Surge Roving and Yarn (superwash Merino) my fav yarn. New base yarn, still the wonderful superwash merino but with a tighter twist.


3. Soothe Roving and Yarn (superwash BFL) who doesn’t love BFL.


4. Rainy Day Roving and Yarn (superwash Merino/Nylon) my fav roving.


Of course I had to keep my favs.


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Happy 4th

Independence Day SALE!!!
10% OFF Entire Stock
Sale ends July 5th. Have fun shopping.

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News

I’ve got some.

So the other night I was drifting off to sleep and contemplating how I would manage dyeing larger quantities, such as dyeing 8 ounces of roving instead of 4 ounces. Currently I’m only able to fit 4oz of roving in my dye pans at one time without loosing dye saturation. Hmmm. Bigger pans? I have yet to find bigger pans that I can afford. Then it came to me. But I can’t tell you yet. Sorry. I’m still working out the details but I think it will be super fun and open up a new world of creativity for the spinners.

Second bit of news, a newsletter. I’m currently looking into starting up a newsletter. I’ve found a provider to use for this and I’m just working out details, such as design and content. Some things that might be included in a newsletter are: news (of course), shop updates (you’ll be the first to know), patterns, and discount codes. This design aspect of business is a fav of mine, sometimes hard, but always enjoyable.

In dyeing news, semisolid. With the release of Cookie A’s book Sock Innovation and with all the wonderfully detailed sock patterns available I decided it was time to give a little love to semisolid dyeing. This is not to say that I will change my dye process. You’ll still get the speckly, splotchy, and mosaic effect but instead of using 5 or more colors, I’ll use 2. Only 2.

Oh, more news. I’m working with a graphic designer/photographer who is helping me create a logo. This kinda goes back to the newsletter; I wanted a logo that would be recognizably mine. I’ve got lots of ideas but needed someone to help me tame them all into submission. This is an exciting prospect. 1,000 Petals will have an official logo, not just something I whipped up in Photoshop.

And the last bit of news. Not really news but brainstorming. I’m considering starting a fiber or yarn club. This is still in the “thinking about” stage. Deciding what type, how much, how many, theme… lots to think about and ponder.

So there you have it. All the mingled thoughts that penetrate my gray matter exposed to the world.