May Day Special of Green Heather

We won't have a Maypole but we are celebrating Spring and the green that is now in our lawns, pasture and trees.

The shop will be open Monday the 2nd from 10 am to 4 pm and of course the website will be open 24 hours both days for the sale price.

Order online Sunday or Monday or visit the shop on Monday to get 4 oz. 210 yards worsted skeins for $7.65 each or a full pound of sport weight, 1,750 yards for $30.60. Multiple skeins or cones are okay, only in Green Heather, shipping is not included.

Finished Helmet Liner

I meant to show this yesterday since 12/29/09 is the actual Helmet Liner Day; no I didn't knit it in one day. It was a simple and enjoyable knit though that I managed to do during the pre Christmas bustle.

It is knit with our natural colored Medium Grey worsted wt. on size 6 and 8 40 inch circulars. I knit almost everything now with the magic loop technique and the long needle was particularly helpful with this because you leave the size 6 in the ribbing stitches while you are knitting the head part in stockinette on size 8. Then you pick up the stitches around the face for another inch of ribbing, I went to a size 3 to pick up the stitches and then knit them with the size 6. It really fits nicely, snug enough to keep out the sand but not tight.

My Early Gift to Me...dyed yarn

Dyeing yarn is a stress reliever for me although it doesn't normally take me a whole month to do it. This is one of the 4 new hand dyed yarns I have made this past month. I call it Agate, the colors remind of the Lake Superior banded agates that are so pretty when they are polished. The other 3 colors also are my mind's image of semi precious stones - Amethyst, Jasper and Rubellite. With these posted I can now relax and enjoy this evening and Christmas Day with friends.

I pray all of you have a wonderful day and can enjoy it with your family or friends. If you aren't able to be "home" for Christmas, try to picture it in your mind and remember the reason for the season. Happy Birthday Jesus.

Hand Dye Marr Haven Heathers

You may have heard that we are out of our Natural worsted weight yarn. Unfortunately it is true. We may not have the Natural again in worsted weight due to washing and spinning problems. However it is available in sport weight as well as all our other yarns in worsted or sport.

I have often dyed with the other two naturals, Light Grey and Medium Grey, also Light Heather; recently I dyed with one of our darker colors - Lilac Heather, to see how it would dye. You can see the results on the pages of our website and page 2.

The Light Grey and Medium Grey are still available on one pound cones as well as skeins. The Light Heather has a high percentage of lambswool in it so is exceptionally soft.


The skeins above were dyed by Kristi Pyatt of Tree Frog Knits . They were all dyed together to see how the same dye would show on the different colors. Shown on the left is our Medium Grey, Light Heather (middle skein) and Light Grey. You can see more of photos on her Flickr page.

I hope the photos shown of our greys and heathers dyed, will assure those of you who love to dye our yarn that you can still enjoy it. The greys and heather are mostly (75 to 90 %) white natural with a small percent of natural black or dye blended in.

Another Sweater Saved

Yesterday we had 50 + temps then the rain came and this am it was 21 degrees with strong winds. The robins and bluebirds have taken refuge in the front yard, the house is a windbreak for them. Maybe later I will stay out long enough to take a picture of them.

The weather made it timely that I finished 'reincarnating' another sweater from the huge drop shoulder oversized phase. The 'fun' part was to make sure I matched the stripes again. It really wasn't hard though, the worst part was sewing the side seams on the sewing machine. The cardigan below opened up so easily but this pullover required a bit more finesse moving it around the needle foot. I pinned the side and armhole and made two long stitch lines up one side, around and down the other. After I cut off the excess, about an inch and half, I opened the sleeve seams so I could lay it all out flat. I just pinned the sleeve to the armhole and seamed the side first. I used a mattress stitch to do it all and am very pleased with the outcome.
The sweater has a rolled neckline which I prefer to roll inwards then I wear a turtleneck to keep my neck warm. The 'dot' on the left is just a decorative brooch.