Happy Saturday!

First up — I’ve been having trouble with getting packages out this week. They were ready to go on Wednesday, as promised.  The issue is with the mail carrier not stopping to collect the packages after I put in a pick-up request.  I joked on Facebook this morning that I may have to set up Curb-Side Pick Up for yarns, but hardly any of my regular customers are  even inside Texas, so this may not be a useful service.

Anyway, I dyed up another batch of Phydlbitz Sock yesterday, and got them washed and rinsed this morning.  They are currently in the fan room to finish drying, since we’re likely getting rain this afternoon.

I got many surprises during this week’s dye session.  While most of the colors this week are obvious, some warrant extra comment.  Twinset #928-929 is a sort of rusty looking color, made with four parts chestnut and 1 part red.  Twinset #930-391 is what happens when I mix a medium silver gray with just a smidge of purple; not sure what I was expecting but it’s tending toward a lilac.  #932-933 is a two-tone teal and red, with some blending where the colors meet.  It’s hard to see in the picture but #936-937 is mostly a light navy over a pale teal base.

Down on the second rack, #938-939 is a two-tone with purple and navy, while #940-941 is a two-tone with pale purple-ish and pink (I think some young Prince or Princess will be thrilled to have sock or a springtime sweater with these colors.   It’s hard to tell in the picture but #942-943 is a two-tone with darkened red and navy; it’s quite dark in the picture,  but in person the knitted fabric will have an organic look rather than a commercial flat dye job.   #944-945 started with a splattering of the same reddened chestnut as #928-929, then a splattering of straight red, with an over all dip-dye in a bath of pink to soften it all together.    #948-949 is the silver gray with just a titch of navy as an overall dip dye.

And, of course, I can’t for #934-935 – a dump-dye blend of Kelly green and Bright yellow, mixed together.  I wasn’t expecting quite this sort of neon green, but I like it.

Phydlbitz Sock is normally $27.50 per skein, but for Saturday and Sunday you can claim any two or more skeins for just $25.00.

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

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

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 – 926, 927, 928, 929, 930, 931, 932, 933, 934, 935, 936, 937
Rack 2 – 938, 939, 940, 941, 942, 943, 944, 945, 946, 947, 948, 949

Happy Weekend!

This rainy weather is throwing me off my routine.  I pulled hanks on Thursday, dyed yarns on Friday, and discovered it was to be raining all day yesterday.  Finally late in the afternoon there was a break and I was able to run the yarns outside, get pictures, and run them back into the fan room to finish drying.

Anyway, I hope this finds you well and excited for the projects you will create with this week’s offerings.   There are all on Phydlbitz Sock, an excellent yarn for socks of course, but also terrific for garments and accessories as well as things like baby blankets and booties.

There was a lot of leftover dye from last week, so I wanted to use up what I could; most of this week’s dyes are solid or nearly-solid with variations along the strand, but also a few sprinkled combinations.

Most of this week’s colors are clear, as I try to get pictures in outdoor daylight, the way you’d see them at an open market, without filters.   If you want a closer look at a particular yarn or Twinset please let me know Sunday or Monday before I reskein these.   A few Twinsets seem worth pointing out:

When Twinset #910-911 was wet, it looked like the most aubergine-like aubergine I’ve ever dyed, even better than blackened purple, but this Twinset started with a blue-modified red and then double-dipped in navy.  When it was wet it looked fabulously even, but as it dried it is easy to see the red undertones beneath the navy.   Even so, I think this pair is begging to be knit into a dramatic open-work shawl to be worn over a smart ivory or cream outfit.  Of course, your inspiration may be quite different.

Twinset #920 – 921 is more coral than pink, as it was made with pale red and pale orange, while #924-925 could be an Impressionist’s pond scene watercolor.

Twinset #906-907 was dyed a solid Olive — this is one of those dyes blending at the manufacturer that tends to break apart while dyeing.  It comes out looking like the colors of the late autumn leaves on the forest floor, all wet and clumping — it’s an amazing color, in my opinion, and would look good paired with an outfit in either lighter or darker neutrals.

All of these will be available on the Blog Reader Specials page at $27.50 apiece.   For Sunday and Monday, you can claim any matching Twinset of this new collection (#902-925) for just $50.00.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered requests.    I expect to have these ready to ship on or about Wednesday.

Available Yarns
Rack 1 – 902, 903, 904, 905, 906, 907, 908, 909, 910, 911, 912, 913
Rack 2 – 914, 915, 916, 917, 918, 919, 920, 921, 922, 923, 924, 925

Don’t need more yarn, but want to help support my work? You can always Buy Me A Coffee.  🙂

Happy Monday! And Happy December!

It’s been a wild time lately, and I’m having to make some adjustments in how I do things, especially with dyeing and yarn processing.  For quite a long time I’ve been getting morning pictures before the sun gets just high enough to glare into the lens and mess up the shots.  Today (I’m typing this on Sunday), I got afternoon pictures with the sun behind me, shining directly onto the yarns.  I’m not sure this is better or not.  My goal is to present the yarns as if you were viewing them at an open air market, rather than styled with props and sets in a formal photo shoot.

All of these are on Phydlbitz Sock (75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards each), and as is my custom they are dyed as Twinsets.   Most of them are solid or nearly solid, but there are a couple of splatters – Twinset #884-885 is splattered with navy and overdyed with violet; #888-889 is splattered brown with an overlay of gold.   Twinset #892-893 is a tri-color blend of pale blue,  beach sand, and wet-sand tan, while #894-895 is a two-tone of brown and purple.

Twinset #878-879 is gray, #880-881 is spruce, #886-887 is a nearly solid brown but it looks more like a grayed-out brown rather than chocolate or woodsy brown for some reason.  It is still a handsome color, of course, and will work well to use as a dark contrast in combination with brighter colors, like a solid rich red or forest green.  (The current batch of brown dye seems to be an odd but interesting shade of brown; I seem to get a richer brown by mixing espresso bean and teddy bear.)

I didn’t mix any green this time, but Twinset #890-891 is a blend of yellow with a smidge of sky blue, if I remember correctly.   And #900-901 is visually purple from a distance, but up close you can catch a hint of the red and blue that were blended in the jar before applying.  Blending different dyes together can be fascinating — while wet and in the blending jar it appeared solidly burgundy-purple, but as it strikes on the fiber the individual dyes behave differently.  Personally, I like the effect with most combinations as it gives the effect of multiple layers of color.

Phydlbitz Sock is normally $27.50 per skein.  When you claim any two or more of this newest collection on Monday or Tuesday, they will be invoiced at $25.50 per skein.

To claim the ones you want you can send me an email with the numbered items you would like.   I’ll mark your requests off from the Available Yarns tally chart below and then send a PayPal invoice.  On payment I’ll pay and print your shipping label so I can ship as soon as the yarns are processed and ready to ship.

I expect this collection to ship on or about Thursday.

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 – 878, 879, 880, 881, 882, 883, 884, 885, 886, 887, 888, 889
Rack 2 – 890, 891, 892, 893, 894, 895, 896, 897, 898, 899, 900, 901

Buy Me A Coffee

This coming Thursday in the U.S. is observed as Thanksgiving, always the fourth Thursday of November.  It seems fitting I extend my thanks to all the friends and fans of Knitivity; you all have kept me going for over 18 years now, and I truly do appreciate you for that.

Last weekend I opened the mid-month Empty-the-Bins sale over on the Blog Reader Specials page, and showed a picture of all the available yarns that were in the bins.

Many orders came in and were shipped out on Tuesday.

I can’t remember the last time I had to carry two full bins to the street to meet the mail carrier, but this load went out on Tuesday.   Surprisingly, one of my customers reported her yarns arrived on Thursday.  I’m hoping everyone else’s yarns have similarly arrived.

Anyway, after pulling all the requested yarn and accounting for all yarns on my local inventory and on the BRS page, I discovered there were almost two dozen additional yarns that were in the big group shot, but were not marked off on my inventory OR located on the BRS page.

Because none of these were marked off, I have restored all of the prodigal yarns to the Blog Reader Specials page.  And as noted at the top of the BRS page, the mid-month Empty-the-Bin sale continues through November 27 – every yarn is invoiced at 15% off, but if you claim two or more I will invoice at 20% off.  (Those with an Insider discount can use it as well.)

I hope everyone has a marvelous Thanksgiving with friends and loved ones, or in whatever way fills you with joy.  Some people like the big gatherings, and others keep it low-key.   For example, one of my daughters has gone camping for the week with her husband.  The main thing is to keep the attitude of gratitude and extend thanks for whatever is good in your life.

I had planned to dye a new collection of yarns this weekend, but I went to the clinic on Thursday for a fasting blood draw (only took 2 vials this time) and then got 3 vaccinations (flu, COVID, and TDAP). I felt fine most of Thursday, but then it sort of hit me in the evening, and I laid out most of yesterday.  Most of the day was spent researching all those unaccounted yarns and then reposting them to the BRS page, instead of preparing more new yarns.    So I’ll dye yarns this coming weekend and show them next Saturday.

Well, I’m a failure, I guess.  Okay, no I’m not really a failure.  (Anybody who keeps working along for 18+ years isn’t really a failure.)  But I just spent the good part of the afternoon staging yarns, collecting my thoughts (more like gathering my thoughts into a jumbled pile), and then recording a video showing how to combine colorways from a yarn stash into a project.

This is the yarn pile I was working with.

These are all the yarns from all the bins available and ready to ship from the Blog Reader Specials page.  I know I have a face for radio and I’m not always the suave and glib speaker, but I was getting into it a bit. I had a good time pulling a random yarn and seeing what else would go with it, either coordinating or contrasting.

With two or three or four of these yarns, you could make shawls, cowls, scarves, or baby blankets in a wide array of knitting techniques — granny squares or miter squares for a baby cover, or one of those Find -Your-Fade shawls popular on Ravelry a while back.

Just for example, right in the center of the pile is a Twinset in a rich teal solid and I combined it with a nearby teal gradient fade that would look smashing together.  I pulled out a half-dozen or more various combinations.

Then I went to edit the resulting video.  I had the camera stationary with the ring light to ensure the camera could see the array of yarns as well as the ones I was holding up.  The video quality was just so-so, but the audio was nearly impossible to hear.  All that effort was for naught.  I need to buy one of those fancy clip-on microphones YouTubers are using these day.  They aren’t expensive, just out of reach until after the holidays.

Anyway, the whole (or main) point of this effort is that I must send all these yarns shipping out this week if possible.  Sales have been down and my monthly bills are not only overdue but seem to be increasing month to month as well. It’s an ongoing struggle.

All yarns on the Blog Reader Specials page at 15% off.  But, if you take any two or more, you’ll get 20% off.  Just claim the ones you want and send me an email.  I take emails in the order they are received, and will mark your requests off first, then send your PayPal invoice.  Upon payment I will pay and print your shipping label so your yarns can go out with the next pass of my local mail carrier.  I can’t travel to the post office to drop off packages, but they’re usually pretty good about picking up if I put in a request online.

If you are outside the U.S., I can ship up to six skeins for the flat rate of $37.50 (oddly it doesn’t matter if it is one skein or six).   The increase in U.S. postage means I can ship a flat-rate Priority box for $16.50 — normally, 12 skeins can be squeezed into such a box, but I’ve been known to “strongly encourage” up to 14 skeins to snuggle closely.   I mention this because it is easier and less expensive to send a lot of yarns to a single address.  If you have several knitting friends local to you, I am more than happy to make a group box to your address — you and your friends can get 20% off their individual requests AND chip in for a shared postage rate inside the U.S.  Not a bad deal, really.

I post regularly to Facebook and Instagram, have begun showing again on Ravelry, and just recently joined Blue Sky.  My sister is trying to get me on TikTok as well, but I’m having a hard time figuring it out and accessing my page there, and that platform is very video-centric.   If you are on any of these platforms, please do share my links there so others have a connection to find me.

And, of course, there is my Blog here, and the Knitivity Insider mailing list, but that list has dwindled to fewer than 250 as people’s interests change and they unsubscribe.  I only use the Insider list to show the newest yarns each week so that  those who are really interested can get First-Look and get an extra discount before I show on Facebook and other platforms.

I understand that not everyone wants or needs yarns right now.  Out of a sense of need, I have opened an account at Buy Me A Coffee, so that those who feel so inclined are invited to pitch in an amount of your choosing. Or, for those who use Zelle, that’s another way to support an indie artist if you don’t need yarn right now; Zelle is connected to my personal email or phone (just ask if you need it), and Zelle doesn’t deduct a percentage fee like BMAC or Paypal.

If I could sell every yarn every week, I would be okay, but with so many yarns still available, this is clearly not happening.  The only way I can think of to increase sales is to increase exposure.  I need more eyeballs rolling over my yarns regularly.   Feel free to share this Blog post or Insider email with your friends.

I’ll be dyeing again next weekend, so you can expect a new collection of Blog Reader Specials.

These four skeins would make an amazing asymmetric shawl, easily knit up in (for example) Fibonacci stripes!   Claim these four skeins today (BRS24 – #872-873 and 876-877) and get 20% off your order.  Just email me your request and ask for the Thursday Foursome Deal, and I’ll take care of it for you.  These are all one-of-a-kind dye jobs, so it’s first come, first served.

Want a different combination?  For Thursday (today), pick any two Twinsets and get the same deal.

Edit to add:

I’ve just posted pictures of the unclaimed yarns over on the Blog Reader Specials page, but here is a group shot of all of them.

Happy Saturday!

There’s a little chill in the air this weekend.  Nice!

I was just outside getting pictures.   I felt a drop.  Then a couple more.  And more.   I had to move quickly to get it done, and then whisk the yarns into the fan room to finish.  But now pictures are taken and the yarns are safe from rain.  Not sure how much rain we will actually get later on, but better safe than sorry.   🙂

Anyway, here are this week’s offerings, mostly in the darker ranges this time.  There were several Twinsets that suggested names that were surprisingly not food-related!   A couple of them reminded me  of things like Shadows in the Forest or Waves on the Sand.  As always, yarns look different between wet and dry.   But even so, I think there is something for everyone this week.  🙂

Since I don’t work with standardized color recipes too often, I also no longer try to name the yarns.  But, just for fun, what you you name some of these colorways?

Several of this week’s Twinsets were dyed at 72-inch centers, like #854-855,  866-867, and 870-871, to point out a few.   That is,  each hank is 2-yards around, or about 1 yard long when laid flat for dyeing.  Sometimes I will leave them laid out and dye from one end to the other.

Other times, I will dye the centers, move those centers to the ends, and then dye a new center, so that the color-changes occur at roughly 36 inches rather than 72  inches.  Good examples of this are Twinsets #864-865 and 870-871.  These are all approximations, but can give a good idea how the colors will appear in knitting, and  will change depending on your knitting.  Socks are great on Size 1 or 2 needles, but you can use Size 5 or 6 to knit lighter shawls on Phydlbitz, producing larger stitches and color changes appearing closer in the knitted fabric.

These are all  Phydlbitz Sock, normally $27.50 each.  For Saturday and Sunday, you can claim any two or more of this new collection (BRS24 – #854 – 877) for $25.50 each.

Edit: This discount is extended through Monday.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your requests.  I’ll mark your selections from the Available Yarns tally chart below and send you a PayPal invoice.  On payment, I will print your shipping label so it is ready when the yarns are ready to ship, and you will get an email notice with your postal tracking number.  When the mail carrier picks up packages, I nearly always announce it on Facebook so customers can start tracking their packages.

A friend on Facebook was asking about yarns to the U.K.   I do ship internationally, although the rates have gone up (again!) so an international package costs $37.50 to ship.  BUT, it’s basically a flat-rate up to a certain limit, and will cover for one skein or up to six in a single soft package.  If you have friends who want to try my yarns, it is better to make a package to a single address.

I expect this week’s collection to be ready to ship on Wednesday or Thursday.

Available Yarns:
Rack 1 – 854, 855, 856, 857, 858, 859, 860, 861, 862, 863, 864, 865
Rack 2 – 866, 867, 868, 869, 870, 871, 872, 873, 874, 875, 876, 877

I am busy this week building more Trio Bundles of Phydlbitz Sock yarn.  Normally thee skeins of Phydlbitz is $82.50.  I will be marking the Trio Bundles at $70.00 (15% off would be $70.13).  I will be posting my assembled bundles on Wednesday or Thursday.  While I am building bundles that look good to my eye, visitors are welcome to select their own unique Trio Bundles — any 3 Phydlbitz (or 6, 9, or 12) for $70.00 for each Trio.

The only workspace available for sorting yarns is on top of my queen size bed.  This might take a while!

I will be building Trio Bundles based on color compatibility and/or contrast.  I know there are hundreds of projects on Ravelry and elsewhere that feature three (or more) colors to create shawls, baby blankets, scarves, and so much more.  I am really not a project/pattern designer, and prefer playing with colors and allowing others to imagine how those colors work for themselves.