What a month it has been.   Last weekend I talked about the long power outage and the interruptions it caused.  This Tuesday I went to see my endocrinologist (no big deal, regular check-in) and came home expecting to finish reskeining last week’s dyes.  Instead, I got to wait out another power outage, but it was only about 5 hours or so.  And another storm on Wednesday knocked power out again for a couple hours.   I am SOOOO over this nonsense, but it is Texas and (apparently) Texas does power outages.  UGH.

As a result of the long outage from the 16th, my daughter’s mother-in-law was kind enough to have a spare back-up phone charger.   It was enough to recharge my phone 3 more times before I drained it out, but that was enough to last until power came back.   I liked it so much I went and got myself two more of the same model, so I will not fear running out of phone battery quite so much.  They arrived Thursday morning and they are now both charged and ready for the next outage.   

I can’t tell anyone what to buy, but I bought the INIU brand, which was marked as an Amazon Choice, and they were under $35.00 each.  If you’re in an area prone to various natural disasters and weather events, I recommend having back-up power banks for your devices.  

Onward to newly dyed yarns!

I went into yesterday’s dye session wondering how to use the colors available.  I knew I wanted mostly darks, but in order to highlight darks there needs to be some lights for contrast.  I ended up doing a few Jewel Tones, and some Confetti  dyes, as well as some that remind me of Mountain Fog and Forest Floor.  None of these descriptors identifies a specific color but rather they suggest the myriad colors that can be embraced by those descriptors, if that makes sense.

One Twinset in particular (#435-436) practically screams “Autumn Shawl” or “Harvest Socks”.    It was dyed in a Confetti technique, as were #423-424, 429-430, and 439-440.  These won’t easily pool or stripe, but should present a sprinkling of color when knit up.

The rest were dyed in either a pouring or a dipping method, each with multiple colors being layered one over another.

These are all  Phydlbitz Sock (75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards each), and normally sell for $27.50 each.  For this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) you can claim any two or more (matching or not) for just $25.50 each.   And when you claim any two or more from this week’s collection (#421 – 444), you can also claim any number of previously posted Blog Reader Specials for the same price.

To claim the ones you want, send me an email (ray@knitivity.com) with your requests.  I’ll first mark them off from the Available Yarns chart below and then I will send you a PayPal invoice with your pricing discount calculated.

I expect to have these ready to ship Wednesday or Thursday.

Available Yarns
Rack 1 – 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432
Rack 2 – 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444

Wow, this has been a wild month! Early in the month I had some health issues requiring extra expenses, ending with a colonoscopy on the 14^th.  (No sign of cancer, but other issues going on as my innards rebel against me as I age.)  As I was getting my system back into sync, southeast Texas experienced a freak powerful storm on the 16th, with winds reported over 100mph, wreaking havoc across the region. I’m guessing it was reported on the news in other places. I lost power Thursday early evening, as did most of the greater Houston area.

I sat in the dark, no electricity until Monday afternoon. I lost most of my food and all my refrigerated insulin as a result.  (Thankfully the pharmacy is replacing the insulin Friday afternoon, but I still have to pay for the replacement — eek!) Then I discovered my Internet provider was also wiped out by the storm. At the time of this writing (Wednesday afternoon) I still don’t have internet access, but I’ve been promised it should be up this evening. I guess if I am able to prepare this mailing and send it out, it means I have Internet access. We shall see.

Meanwhile, I’m putting time into preparing yarns to be dyed tomorrow (Thursday) and shown to you on Friday.

*****

It is now Friday morning.   I finally got Internet access Wednesday evening, got yarns dyed up yesterday, and after the wash-and-rinse this morning, I am really excited by many of this week’s dye jobs!

Knowing I had many techniques to choose from, I decided to combine several techniques, and I am thrilled with the results.  I could not have created these exact combinations if I had tried!  And, as you know, I don’t really take notes or attempt to duplicate colorways repeatedly.  I tried that long ago, and for me and for my available resources (workspace and conditions), it just doesn’t work.

Several Twinsets came out looking “Deep Woodsy/Mysterious”, such as Twinsets #397-398, 405-406, and 413-414.   Others look to me more like “Fairies in the Meadow” sort of colors, as on #403-404 and 419-420.   And still others were dyed in layers of softer colors, overlaid with darker splatterings in various ways.

I do know that Twinset #411-412 might look a sort of purple, it is actually a blackened red — think “regal velvet”, perhaps?

These are all Phydlbitz Sock yarn, 75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards each.   These are normally $27.50 apiece, but for Friday and Saturday, you can claim any matching Twinset for $25.00 each skein.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your requests.  I will mark your requests off from the Available Yarns tally chart first, then prepare your PayPal invoice.  Upon payment I will purchase and prepare your shipping label so when this week’s yarns are dried and process, they can ship right away.

Monday is a mail holiday, and I will be in clinic on Tuesday, so I expect to ship these yarns either Tuesday afternoon or on Wednesday, weather pending.

Available Yarns: 
Rack 1 – 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408
Rack 2 – 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 420

Last week I offered Blind Bundles made up of three skeins of Phydlbitz Sock yarns.   What made them “blind” was that I would be combining the yarns and offering each discounted trio as sight-unseen.

In the last couple of days, I have gotten emails from each of the individuals who bought one or more such Blind Bundles.  I don’t always get comments but each of these customers sent a note to let me know they were very much pleased with the selections I made in trying to make eye-pleasing combinations.

This pleases me enormously, and suggests I can move forward making future three-skein bundles to show for sale in the future.

There are several unclaimed solid-dyed Phydlbitz Sock from the most recent collection, so I might be combining at least some of them with previously posted multi-color Phydlbitz Sock yarns.  I will, of course, show them as visible bundles, but still at a bundled reduced price.

Today I am recovering from a colonoscopy after some horrendous preparations.  Basically, you have to spend a day on a clear liquid diet, then drink some nasty concoction to clear out the bowels.  Turned out my system didn’t like the concoction and half of the second batch came back up.  Yuck.  I’m fine now, but exhausted, and under strict orders to not drive, make no big decisions, and do no important work.

So I’ll tackle the most recent yarns tomorrow, but I did want to share my glee with you that all the customers buying Blind Bundles were really pleased with the color combinations I had selected. 🙂

Good morning and Happy Saturday!

I wanted to start with a reminder that there is a still a deal on the Blog Reader Specials page — 10% off all posted items, as well as the Blind Bundle deal with 3 skeins of Phydlbitz Sock for just $70 (save $12.50 for each bundle).  This offer ends tonight.

Now for this week’s new Blog Reader Special collection – two dozen Phydlbitz Sock dyed as mostly solid Twinsets.

I went into the session planning on solids because nearly all the  previously shown Phydlbitz Sock yarns are multi-color and will look amazing combined with coordinating/contrasting solids.  If there are unclaimed yarns this week, I will combine them with some other Phydlbitz Sock as 3-skein bundles, but I will photograph and post them so you can see the yarns and imagine the possibilities.  This will be coming in the next week or so.

As I prepared the dyes, I started by blending dyes into the jars — a little of this and a little of that into each jar– to create blended solids;  I specifically didn’t want just straight dyes from the jars of dye powder.  Then as I dyed each Twinset, I further blended the pre-blending dyes into the dipping bowl, further blending and combining the dyes.  Thus, none of this week’s collection is a straight dye.  On some of them there appears to be layering and separating, but they were all dyed the same way using a dip-dye technique.  It would be nearly impossible to identify each of the individual colors I used on any particular Twinset, but the pictures I show here are as true as I can make them.

If you need a close-up of any particular Twinset, please let me know and I can grab a picture for you.

Phydlbitz Sock is normally $27.50 each, but for Saturday and Sunday, you can take any two or more for just $25.50 each, matching or not matching.

I expect to have this week’s collection all processed and ready to ship on Thursday or Friday.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your requests.  I’ll marked them off the Available Yarns tally chart and then send a PayPal invoice.  It’s okay if you don’t have a PayPal account; they will process your credit/debit cards just fine so I never see your financial information.   PayPal also takes care of shipping details, so be sure they have your current shipping address.  However, do let me know if you are outside the U.S. so I can calculate your shipping charges correctly.

Also, it is perfectly fine to combine requests to take some of  this new collection and any previous Blog Reader Specials and Blind Bundles.  I can manually create your invoice to ensure you are bill correctly.

Available Yarns:
Rack 1 – 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384
Rack 2 – 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396

Happy Sunday!

Houston (and much of Texas) is experiencing heavy rains and some flooding in various areas lately.  My yard was slightly flooded Friday when I needed to get to clinic and the waters hadn’t gone done while I was away several hours.  Fortunately it didn’t come even as high as my ramp this time, so that was a relief.

I’ve had some ongoing health issues that I can’t figure out, and have several more doctor appointments this month so my dyeing is rather out of sync from what I normally prefer.  I’d not dyeing at all this weekend, but I was able to post the unclaimed yarns from last weekend.  Here is the group shot of the unclaimed yarns:

The Shropshire 160 yarns are posted to the Blog Reader Specials page.  The Phydlbitz Sock have been held aside to join the Blind Bundle special deal.  In order to rebuilding the Web site, I have to organize the available yarns, find and upload their pictures, and re-create the BRS page.   I’ve done that for all the non-Phydlbitz yarns, but I figured we’d have some fun with the Phydlbitz.

Empty the Bins!

All week (May 5 – 11)  Everything on the Blog Reader Specials page will be invoiced at 10% off.  Just email me your requests and I will take care of it for you.

BLIND BUNDLES!

There are still many dozen Phydlbitz Sock Blog Reader Specials not shown on this page, most from before the Web site crash.  Rather than reloading them here as I rebuild the Website I am offering THREE PHYDLBITZ SOCK for $70.00 (you save $12.50) as a Blind Bundle.   I will select three skeins for you, and I will do my best to make pleasant combinations.  Just tell me how many Blind Bundles you want and I’ll take care of it for you.  I can fit up to 12 skeins of Phydlbitz into a single flat-rate Priority ship box ($15.00 inside the U.S.).  No additional discounts on Blind Bundles. 

Once most of the Blind Bundles are claimed, I will begin re-loading pictures of any remaining yarns next week.

I will be shipping orders on Wednesday and Saturday, and hope to have new yarns dyed to show next Sunday.

Happy Sunday!

I hope your Sunday is going well.  I’ve been up since before 3:00 thanks to poor sleeps and some (hopefully) minor health issues.  Thankfully, I have several visits with labs, doctors, and scans coming in the next few weeks, and things should be explained and dealt with soon enough.  The first half of May will be …. ummm…. “interesting” and should be informative.  Unfortunately, dealing with health issues may mean some weird scheduling for dyeing and showing yarns, but I’ll do my best to stick to a semi-regular schedule.

Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to figure out how to use the new WordPress templates to make the Web site look better.  That’s at the top of my agenda for the coming week.  I’ll be uploading all the non-Phydlbitz Sock BRS yarns first

This week I set out to (finally!) do some more of the Shropshire yarns like a shared a few weeks ago.  There are a dozen or more cones in the box labeled as Shropshire, but as I was pulling hanks it was evident that some were the chunky/bulky yarns like before, some were spun quite small, almost like fingering.   I finally quit trying to figure it out, and supplemented this week’s Blog Reader Specials collection with some Phydlbitz Sock.  At least I know how Phydlbitz behaves.   🙂

The Phydlbitz Sock yarns were dyed as Twinsets using a dry-on-wet technique (dry dye powder on acid-wet yarns), which I’ve not done in a while.  Twinset #353-354 was actually dip-dyed in a pale gray-pink, and then overdyed with a mix of teal and yellow; you can’t really see the undercoat.   Twinset #349-350 is a turquoise fade with navy tip.

The Shropshire 160 yarns were all dyed as single skeins, and were mostly dip-dyed as solids.  I tried leaving them dipped longer to see if I could get better saturation than last time; in some cases it worked, but in other cases they came up with variations, almost like kettle-dyed.  They are still rich and fabulous colors, of course.

Phydlbitz Sock is normally $27.50 each.  The Shropshire 160 is $24.00.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email.  I’ll mark your requests off the Available Yarns tally chart below, and send you a PayPal invoice.  On payment, I’ll print your shipping label so your package is ready to ship when the yarns are all dried.

I expect to have this week’s collection ready to ship on Thursday or Saturday (I’m at clinic this Friday).

Available Yarns
Rack1 – 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357, 358, 359, 360
Rack 2 – 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372

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G’morning, and Happy Sunday!

I had planned to dye more of the Shropshire yarns for this weekend, but with the issues with the Website crashing (the hosting service servers crashed) I decided to do Phydlbitz Sock this week so I could focus on getting the rest of the Website back up as best I can.  For now it is just the Blog posts, and an empty Blog Reader Specials page.  I will be rebuilding that this coming week. I have all the  pictures on my external hard drive, but I have to go through the bins one by one and manually reproduce the new BRS page which will take some time.

By the way, I am really not loving this particular WordPress theme, but it is what came with the new Website package.  I’ll be looking for a better theme in the next week or so.

So, I pulled out two dozen hanks and got them into the pre-dye soaker bin, and then pulled out enough different dyes for 10 dye jars.  Normally I try to get some warm colors, some cool colors, and some neutrals; some darks and some lights, too.  I think I got a pretty good mix of colors this week, and made some interesting combinations, too.

Twinset #331-332 came out a little surprising; I wasn’t really aiming for or expecting the confetti look, but I like it.  I think these will make some amazing socks on their own, but would also make for an interesting contrast panel.   Twinset #327-328 has a turquoise fade at one end with a magenta-on-blue splattering at the other end.

Many of this week’s Twinsets will look amazing as cowls, scarves, or even shawls.  Another idea would be to gather all your leftover bits of sock yarns into mitered squares, and then outline them all with a unifying solid or semi-solid contrast color.

These are all Phydlbitz Sock (75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards), and normally $27.50 each.  For Sunday and Monday this week, you can take a matching Twinset for $25.50 each.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered requests.   I’ll mark your requests off the Available Yarns tally chart below, and then send you a PayPal invoice.  It’s okay if you don’t have a PayPal account, as they will process your debit or credit cards just fine.   When your invoice is paid, I’ll purchase and print your shipping label and you should receive a shipping notice with your USPS tracking number.   I expect this week’s collection to be processed and ready to ship on or about Thursday.

Available Yarns:
Rack 1 – 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336
Rack 2  – 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348