The response to the recent article about Upton Yarns in the spring issue of Interweave Knits has been amazing! (And a bit overwhelming!). So, hello new readers. The concept of "working wool" is one I would love to continue to explore, and it is gratifying to discover how many others have similar interests. I have plans for all sorts of yarn, and while I love the winter, spring cannot come soon enough. I am working away in my dye space (when I can get to it - thank you snow storms) and will be sending out a newsletter announcing my new yarns during the first week of March (I return to the boat on March 6). If you would like to be included in the list for the newsletter, please send me an email at UptonYarns@gmail.com with "newsletter" or similar in the subject.
For those of you interested in traditional knitting, and better yet traditional gloves, Beth Brown Reinsel is selling many of her wonderful patterns as kits at her site here, including two designed featuring yarns from Upton Yarns. Last years she designed her Winter: A Sanquhar Glove Pattern which she used in her DVD about Sanquhar knitting. She is including the DVD and my yarn in a kit here. She is also using my yarn for her Compass Rose pattern here. I have just finally finished tucking ends on her Winter pattern, and I could not be happier with the pattern or the results. I am working away on her Compass Rose Pattern, and am equally pleased with how it is going.
My pair of Beth Brown Reinsel's Winter: A Sanquhar Glove Pattern
I spent the week skeining and skeining, but I also managed to get an indigo vat going to give my 3-Ply Cotswold skeins, dyed with weld last week, their first dip towards my Pine Green Color.
This will be Pine Green after 4 or 5 more dips.
For once a winter storm seems to have given us a miss, but we planned for a snow day, and I am using the time to catch up on Fiber Trek podcasts. Sarah Hunt envisioned a travel show based around fiber and fiber producers. Her first full episodes can be seen here. When she is not filming for the proposed show, she podcasts. I have been especially enjoying her discussion of "slow knitting" and a "soulful stash" in episode 26, posted on January 8th. She also has a great discussion about what goes into a good sock yarn, which has me plotting sock yarns for the future, though I'm not really a sock knitter. So, to all sock knitters I would love to hear what you look for in a yarn. I am thinking of using the fleece from this flock (once things warm up and they don't need their fleece anymore).
