Hand Dyed Heaven

Photos taken from each individual shop's product photos.

Lately I've been oogling the world of hand dyed yarn! It is sooo gorgeous but with my trying to not over stash my yarn stash I have yet to actually purchase some of this BEAUTIFUL yarn but I wanted to share what was on my wishlist and explain why and introduce you also to the heaven which is hand dyed yarn. Especially since I can't find amazing yarn like these in Japan, I am slowly going to start working through my wishlist... be prepared for some awesome yarn hauls in the future. 

Stray Cat Socks - I came across this shop while searching Etsy and fell in LOVE. I haven't started knitting socks yet but when I saw these self-striping balls in amazing colorways like "silver star" and "hopeful heather" I instantly wanted to learn how to knit socks. These will definitely be my first sock project!

Juno Fibre Arts - These yarns have the most wonderful muted tones! I want pretty much every colorway to make hats and sweaters and shawls, everything! IF I had to choose my favorite colorway at the moment it would be "Clifftop." (pictured above) Her bases look so fluffy and they have the best sheen to them. This will be one of my first hand dyed yarns so help me. :-)

Gynx - I fell in love with this dyer from her podcast. She is wonderful and so lovable. Every colorway she has seems to have an awesome story behind it. She is so fun to watch and I have a ton of fun perusing her shop. My favorites right now if I had to choose are "siren" (pictured above) and "lavender tea."  She also has an amazing sounding self-striping collection coming out soon that I'm so excited for! Another reason to learn to knit socks! 

Dyeabolical Yarns - This shop's yarns are so fun! I instantly fell in love with her colorway "poisoned cherry" (pictured above). What I LOVE  about this shop is that you can shop the way I love to shop for yarn... by color! Once you find the colorway you like you can then choose from her various bases. No more trying to match bases with the colors you love. Easy! Can't wait to try!

Ewe and Me Yarns - This dyer has some of the fluffiest and delicate looking yarn I've seen yet. And what's even more amazing is her hand painted yarn. Not just hand dyed, but hand painted! "Ocean Tide" (pictured above) is my favorite right now but there are so many beautiful colors!

VoolenVine - Kristin is probably one my favorite podcasters ever. I found her podcast and instantly became a devoted viewer. So naturally I was super excited when she started to dye yarn! Her yarn is exactly up my ally of a color palette with muted purples, teals, and greys. She has a constant changing supply which makes it fun to see. Earlier I fell in love with her Poe inspired yarns but I missed out on those. :-( But Currently I'm in love with her " Tough Chickie" and "Gothic Garden" (pictured above) colorways. 

So naturally my wish list is VERY long but filled with gorgeous color from indie dyers that are amazing! Please visit these dyers when your hand dyed yarn fancy hits you because they are truly talented and amazing. I am not being told to talk about them nor being sponsored. They don't even know who I am as I'm typing this, but I truly would recommend them to anyone in a heartbeat.

Do you like hand dyed yarn? What shops and dyers do you buy from? Let me know!

KnitCrate Newbies Series #1

Photo is not filtered or edited so you can see the real color of the yarn.

I recently talked about KnitCrate Newbies when I signed up for the program and about a week ago I got my very first shiny red envelop package! I can tell you now that I'm going to be counting the days every month for my KnitCrate to arrive!

Each month I'm going to share what I've received in my KnitCrate so if you end up being interested in joining and learning to knit you can do it a long with me and see what's in store. 

Here is what I received in my first KnitCrate and my thoughts on each thing:

YARN - 1 hank of Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Cotton in "dandelion" for practice swatches and 1 skein of Ella Rae Seasons in "wine, peach, tan" for the pattern project.

VIDEOS & PATTERN - this first package came with 11 instructional videos and a cowl pattern.

FUN EXTRA -  Knitter's Pride Dreamz needles, 10" Straight US 8

SWEET/SOOTHING EXTRA - David's Tea: Read My Lips

I LOVED this first KnitCrate! The videos were exceptionally well done and really really easy to follow along with. But my favorite part of the KnitCrate? The YARN and the NEEDLES. I haven't knit with straight needles yet but I loved working with these. They are GREAT beginner needles and probably some of my favorite right now. And the yarn was so soft and beautiful. The cotton was meant for swatches but because I  know these particular stitches already I'm saving the practice yarn for a future project because it is so pretty.  The pattern is the PERFECT first project for a new knitter and even myself with a couple projects under my belt this was awesome for perfecting my knit and purl stitches. I am finally done knitting the cowl. It took me a little less than a week and now all I need to do is block it and seam it. I ordered a "block n' roll" mat from KnitCrate already and I'm anxiously awaiting it arrival.

Overall this was an amazing first KnitCrate and again I recommend it for EVERYONE to try out if you are a new knitter.

Did you get a KnitCrate newbie series one package? If so share with me your thoughts and how your first project is going! I'd love to see it and encourage each other on this journey!

BTW if you are wanting to just buy any of these products and would like a discount use this link to get 10% off your first purchase.

I HATE Knitting

I hate knitting... Plain and simple... It's stupid and a waste of my time... 

These are the emotions I went through a couple weeks ago when I tried knitting my first hat. I had to frog (start over, rip out, what have you) the project THREE times! I was knitting so tightly my hands ached and my eyes hurt from concentrating on such a little area. I wanted to give up!

But... I couldn't.

My personality is not to quit and I found myself being drawn to pick up that curly, tangled yarn again and again until I was able to get past the place I kept messing up. That's the moment I realized this was definitely a skill I needed to continue to hone and progress. Every time in my life that I've wanted to give up and quit and persevered through has become some of the most important lessons of my life. 

Knitting is slowly teaching me many life lessons while having fun and creating things. I am a creator and I don't quit. Knitting has reminded me of that. 

So some days and moments I do HATE knitting but more often than not I LOVE knitting and will continue to experience frustrations while creating beautiful pieces of art.