What have I been up to?

wholesale, originally uploaded by Reesa.

This is my first wholesale order, shipping out to Pocket Meadow Farm, in Berkeley Springs, WV!

Very cool things are happening! Not only is my fiber now available in a wonderful yarn and fiber store- I'll also be selling it at a variety of craft fairs this autumn and winter! A complete listing will be coming soon, but in the meantime, I'll tease you with this, a preview of some new colourways, and some old favourites.

Experiments in green.

I believe I'm going to invest in a tester kit of Greener Shades Dyes. I want to see what kind of colour intensity I can get from them, and how they blend.

On the up side, they are available in several different base shades, and everything I've been reading about them says they are relatively easy to mix for a wide variety of different colours. They are heavy metal free (make your own Danzig joke, please), meaning there is no chrome involved, which according to their website makes them "non-hazardous". That's a pretty vague term, however, they also go on to state that the dyes meet the criteria developed by the Organic Trade Association and the Global Organic Textile Standard for Organic Fiber Processing and Handling.

On the down side, there are only 9 base dyes. That means a LOT of mixing to get back up to my standard array of about 35 different colours. They are also much more expensive than say, my Jacquard Acid Dyes.

If they are truly stunning in use, I will seriously consider making a gradual change to them, but they are going to have to wow me to outweigh both the drastic increase in price and the fiddly factor. I would find out about these after spending massive money on a full complement of dyes within the last 6 months.

Bordello Birthday Socks en pointe!

Bordello Birthday Socks en pointe!, originally uploaded by Reesa.

Michelle's birthday socks, all done and tested and ready to block.

Can I just say how insanely cool it is that I have MADE SOCKS?

The rest of the pictures can be found here.

I have cast aside my wooly shackles!

I'M DONE, I'M DONE, I'M DONE, I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9.5 miles of yarn, all in skeins I can dye and sell.

I'm REALLY excited about some of the new yarns, too. The Alpaca/silk/merino blend is soooo drapey, and the 500+ yard skeins of super soft, squishy merino singles are going to be PERFECT for felted bags. In fact, I'm thinking of either trying to come up with a nice pattern myself, or holding a contest to design one.

19.7 pounds, 9.5 miles, and it's all sitting in a box in my dining room.

HOORAY!