Happy Friday!

Seems like every corner of the country is experiencing a LOT of extreme winter-ness, and Houston is no exception.  According to local forecasting we will drop below freezing again this weekend, but no significant precipitation (rain or snow) for Houston.

I ordered February’s yarn last Saturday.  FedEx didn’t actually get the package until Wednesday, and now it looks like I won’t get it until Sunday or (more likely) Monday.  Usually when I order on Wednesday, it arrives on Saturday, but the FedEx app shows they are having significant weather delays back east.

So, instead of dyeing up a new collection, we’ll enjoy an End-of-Month/Empty the Bins discount sale, since the rent is still due whether I dye new yarns nor not.

Here is the latest group of yarns not claimed from last weekend’s collection.  They’ve all been photographed and posted to the Blog Reader Specials page, of course.

When you claim any two or more matching skeins (shown as Twinsets on the BRS page), your whole order will be invoiced at 15% off.  You are welcome to include single non-matching skeins into your order as well.

To make your order, just email me the numbers of the ones you want.  As always they are first-come, first served, and I do try to mark off requests as soon as I can.

I was supposed to ship out the most recent orders, but my mail carrier came around several hours early yesterday and I wasn’t able to hand off the packages, so I put in another pick-up request for today.  Let’s hope the mail carrier comes within her normal time period today, eh?

What do you knit in the cold of winter?  Do you knit/crochet for the current season, or plan your handwork to be done several months in advance?  Do you buckle down with hats, mittens, gloves, and blankets?  Or do you imagine sun-drenched days and start knitting beach cover-ups or maybe light shawls against the air-conditioning draft?  What is your crafting pleasure when it is best to stay indoors and warm?

One of my long-time knitting friends and Knitivity supporter asked about dyeing Pride yarn.  I’ve tried in the past, with less-than-perfect results — the biggest issue is preventing colors running into each other.   What works better for my set-up is to dye solid color skeins, and then break them down into sets of mini-hanks.  This allows the knitter to create whatever combination of stripes or blocks, to distribute the colors in whatever way works best.

There are, of course, many commercial mills producing solid colors in more quantifies and at lower prices than I can offer, so I’m not sure it would make sense for me to duplicate what others can do more easily, especially for color-specific themes, like Pride, Christmas, Fourth of July, etc.

However, there are other times when mini-skeins would make sense for hand-dyed yarns — for example a range of nature-themed yarns, or beach/water themes, etc.    If this is something you would like me to do, please feel free to share your ideas.

I hope all of you are able to stay warm, dry, and safe as Mother Nature marches her way across the country.

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Happy Friday!

I hope all y’all are safe and warm as we anticipate a Big Freeze; we’ve gotten reports to expect an impact across much of Texas, including Houston, so I’m getting ahead of the game.  I keep hearing reports from the local news and weather people, making me quite anxious.  And I remember February 2021 when nearly all of Texas shut down and we lost power.   The governor says the Texas power grid is able to handle it this time.

Me, in a poorly insulated mobile home, just hope the power stays on.  I have a couple amazing milkhouse heaters, and a gas stove to simmer a large stock pot, so even if it is too cold to work, I can manage.

After pushing the dyeing through yesterday, the yarns are now drying in the fan room away from the outdoor cold and moisture.

These are all Phydlbitz Sock 2.0 (75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards) and are normally $28.00.  I have extended this week’s Twinset TWOS-day deal through Sunday, that discount also applies to this newest collection, i.e., all visitors are welcome to claim any matching Twinset of this week’s collection at 12% off ($24.64 per skein); or you can take individual single skeins at % off ($26.32 per skein).   You may combine your selections with any previously posted Blog Reader Specials.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email (ray@knitivity.com) with your selection.  I’ll mark your requests off the Available Yarns tally chart below, and then send you a PayPal invoice.

As noted on Tuesday’s post, all shipping rates went up on January 18, much to my surprise.

I expect to be able to ship on or about Wednesday or Thursday, but that will depend as much on the local weather conditions as on anything else.  If there is a delay beyond a day or two due to the weather, I will let customers know.

Available Yarns:
Rack 1 – 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Rack 2 – 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96

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Edit: Based on updated forecast for the coming weekend, I’m extending the Twinset TWOS-day deal through Sunday.  It looks like we’ll be in a freeze for several days, which (because we are in Texas) likely means the possibility of widespread power outages.  I’d rather be safe than sorry, so if I can sell a few yarns along the way, the better off I will be.

Yes, it is Twinset TWOS-day!

Tuesday, January 20, is Twinset TWOS-day — All matching Twinsets will be invoiced at 12% off ($24.64 per skein); all single skeins will be invoiced at 6% off ($26.32 per skein).

This is the group shot of the latest unclaimed yarns, just posted to the Blog Reader Specials page, where you will find all available yarns ready to ship.

I was also surprised to learn that shipping rates went up over the weekend, discovered after I’d already invoiced customers at the lower rate.  Per news reports it is supposed to be about a 5% increase on packages.  According to USPS.com my most common package (a 12-skein heavyweight box) would be $22.45 at the post office, but since I use a contracted service it will be about $16.75 for my customers in most of the United States.

And another thing — Houston is expected to get a hard freeze this coming weekend.  If you know my current housing situation, it maybe be too cold for me to work, so I don’t know if I’ll have a new batch of yarns coming over the weekend.  If I do, great; if I don’t, well that’ll be okay, I suppose.  I have little control over the weather.

Happy Saturday!

I am particularly tickled with this week’s collection.  I rarely pursue a theme but for some reason the phrase “Deep in the Forest” kept nudging my color selections.  Not all the yarns follow this theme but several do, which means yarns from several different Twinsets will work together in amazing stripes or color blocks.

I tried a couple new-to-me techniques for mixing dyes.  One Twinset in particular (#57-58) is a two-tone speckle, with half done in greens, and the other half in browns.  Another Twinset (#67-68) reminded me of a clear blue sky (solid) over a field of poppies or wildflowers (speckled).

All of these are on Phydlbitz Sock 2.0 (75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards), and will be $28.00 each skein when they appear on the Blog Reader Specials page.    For Saturday and Sunday, visitors are invited to claim any matching Twinset two or more of this week’s collection (#49 – 72) at a Preview Pricing discount of $26.00 per skein.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered requests.  I’ll mark them off the Available Yarns tally chart (below) and then send a PayPal invoice.  You do not need a PayPal account to pay with your debit or credit card.

I expect to have these all ready to ship on or about Wednesday or Thursday.

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 –  49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60
Rack 2 –  61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72

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Update:  Here are the yarns not claimed during the preview pricing period.  These have been posted to the Blog Reader Specials page.

Happy Saturday!

I have long held the opinion that there are no ugly colors, just unfortunate combinations.  Solid colors are fantastic, of course, but we live in a world where millions of colors collide all around us.  Each week I bring together ten different dyes and play with them to see what will happen.  Some combinations are predictable, like combining any of the blues against any of the reds; other times, like this week, some of the combinations are surprising.  And often, surprisingly good.

While I didn’t set out a particular theme this week (I rarely do),  I did manage to create quite a few Twinsets yarns perfect for socks — a dark center point with assorted colors radiating  outward to the ends of the coiled hank, so that the repeat is roughly at 36-inches.  These are excellent for creating the spiral striping effect I mention frequently.  While the striping effect is quite noticeable on socks, it also works on almost anything knitted in the round, like hats or cowls,

These are the ones with a 36-inch repeat:  Twinsets #27-28, 33-34, 39-40, 41-42, and 45-46.   The longer, 72-inch repeats are #25-26, 29-30, and 37-38.   And, of course, there are a few sprinkles and some nearly solids.

Two Twinsets have similar colors but were dyed with different techniques; #31-32 is a sprinkled dye, and #39-40 is clearly segmented.   Using one skein from each pair would create an interesting knit, done up in 6 or 10 row bands.

These are all Phydlbitz Sock 2.0 (75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards), and normally $28.00 each skein.  For Saturday and Sunday, visitors are invited to claim any Twinset for just $52.00.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered requests.  I’ll mark them off the Available Yarns tally chart (below) and then send a PayPal invoice.  You do not need a PayPal account to pay with your debit or credit card.

I expect to have these all ready to ship on or about Wednesday or Thursday.

Available Yarns
Rack 1 – 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36
Rack 2 – 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48

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Happy Saturday … and Happy New Year!

I don’t know about anyone else, but I used to have trouble remembering to write the new year on a check.  Now that I only write one check a month (rent) and it is written a few days before the new month begins, I was able to consciously and deliberately write the rent check for 1 January 2026.

I  went into the dye session somewhat blind, only making sure I wasn’t pulling dyes that would clash too horribly, and I think I made some good choices to start the year with these colors.  I didn’t aim for a particular theme, but used a variety of different techniques, creating some new combinations as the dyes migrated and blended in the steamer.

These are all on Phydlbitz Sock (75/25 Superwash 25-micron Merino/Nylon, 460 yards), and normally $28.00 per skein when they are reskeined and labeled on the Blog Reader Specials page.  For Saturday and Sunday, visitors are free to claim any one or more matching Twinsets for just $26.00 each skein.

I make every attempt to ensure the colors are true, and on my monitor they are, but your monitor may be slightly different.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered requests.

I expect to have this new collection ready to ship on or about Wednesday or Thursday.

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Rack 2 – 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24