Dragonfly Fibers

Still here

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:29:00 +0000

My girlie and my mom at the skating rink on Christmas Eve

Two grandmothers

This month, post Christmas holidays, we have survived our (yes, "our") first set of high school exams and an 11 year old birthday party. With 11 11 year old boys and more nerf weapons than that:) Note to self: when will you learn that Jackie Chan movies make little boys want to do Kung Fu, however badly.

The mermaid continues to have a wonderful, affirming high school swim season. Go Titans!For Christmas, we gave her Hip hop classes. Taking her to class and watching the teens dance with attitude is a highlight of my weeks.

Bill, husband to Carol the shipping fairy, has dubbed the studio "the Clubhouse". We are now equipped with yoga mat, microwave, and flower shaped ice trays. And all important music. And plenty of room for dancing:) I love my stove, which heats the whole space when all 8 burners are lit, and am dyeing approximately four days a week.

Not a new pet, but a very cool fellow

We have begun sprucing things up for our Open Studio on February 18 from 12 pm to 4 pm. I hope you will be able to come! Bring your knitting or drop spindling project, and be prepared to hang out with us. That is the weekend before Mardi Gras, and therefore, a wonderful day for a party! There will be snacks, and Mardi Gras beads, and, of course, lots of yarn. And wonderful knitters and spinners too! I am considering doing a yarn dyeing demo/studio tour. Not a class, but we are also talking about this possibilty as well for later down the road.

What happens when you don't have a door on your linen closet

Also, if you are local, we will be doing crafty gatherings about once a month on Thursday evenings. I'll announce these here, and on Facebook. And while we are on the subject, are there any classes you would be interested in attending? We are talking to Lexi of Pluckyfluff about doing one of her fabulous workshops here, in fact. Maybe an indie designer who does beautiful things with hand dyes?

Finally, because I want to keep this short and sweet, let me tell you about Club Dragonfly. I have, for the last two years, done a yarn club with my friend Brittany of The Knit Witch. While we had a great time with it and are atill good friends, she has been branching out into other priorities (teaching at Emory! getting a PhD!) and dyeing time is limited. This year, I am offering Club Dragonfly with 6 shipments of Dragonfly fibers yarns and indie-designed patterns. Designers in our line up include:

Kate Blaney of KatyDid Knitwear (and of the former and wonderful Serendipitous Ewe) She designed the Slip and Slide cowl in my Traveller this fall.

Stephannie Tallent of SunsetCatDesigns (designer of Zylphia Pilots her Airship and Emily Prefers to Flounce for Sanguine Gryphon and Wrought Iron Cardi in my Blue Face Worsted in her upcoming book California Revival Knits, among many.)

Liz Abinante of Feministy (you know the Travelling Woman shawl, right? and my favorite, Saroyan Right now she is doing the Great Cowl KAL; cause you really can never have too many cowls)

Rosi Garmendia of RosiG and Soapy Knitter (designer of Autumn Swirls Cowl for Club KnitWitch)

Kate Oates of TotToppers and When I Grow Up (also designed for us last round, with the lovely Twisty Violet Beret, which also has some matching Twisty Violet Mitts) I have cast on and knit one whole inch of her Gramps Cardi for grown people.
And, last but certainly not least, Jeny Staiman of the Curious Knitter (and designer of the extra spicy and very cool Double Helix)

Yarns will come from my usual bases, with a few new and different yarns that i've been dying to try. You can sign up here if you want to pay for the whole year up front or drop me an email or a Ravelry pm if you want to pay as you go:) I hope you'll join us:)

Grateful

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Forgive me for the old date on this post; i started it a while back. I need to tell you that I am so grateful for this amazing year. Family is thriving, with ninja moves

and magical trips just us four.

The crazy animal zoo has given us much dog hair and chewed up shoes, and endless hours of entertainment and love.

of course, there has been swimming, mostly done by my amazing daughter and son, and husband:)

And so much yarn! Thank you so much to my dear friends, and extended family, and customers! I said in January that it was time to grow or quit, and we grew! I am so grateful for the many new and long-term customers who have supported us this year. As a special thank you, we will be offering FREE SHIPPING for the first week of the new year. The shop will be updated beginning at 4 eastern standard time. Hopefully, i will have preview pics tomorrow:)

ps. Look for information on an Open House in the studio in the New Year. yay!

Falling out of the Vortex and Looking for a Place to Land

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:28:00 +0000

Apparently, i'm not a teenager anymore (even though I still am in my mind:) After the insanity of the late summer-fall, I have been dyeing a few skeins of yarn here and there, and then getting lost in the couch with the dogs and Doctor Who. I have only just discovered this fabulous show, and after a few weeks am nearly finished with the third year of the new series. Yumm!

My last show of the year was SAFF, one of my most favorite. Both for the people

Katey, who couldn't be cuter

my fabulous set up crew

and the gorgeous Asheville area, particularly this time of year. While we missed the peak by one weekend, the color was still amazing. Rachel, of sanguine gryphon fame, drove down and back with me and set up and tore down, and we stayed a few nights with her good friends, Liz and Jason. And i treated myself with a 20 minute massage every day. Yay! All in all, a lovely way to end the show season. (Sold lots of yarn, too! Thanks so much to all of you who came to say hello AND buy yarn).

While we are all finished with fiber festivals for the year, I will be taking Dragonfly Fibers on the road a few times in the next few months. First, we will be doing a trunk show at Cloverhill Yarns in Catonsville, MD next weekend. The yarn and spinning fiber will be there Saturday and Sunday; I will be there on Sunday from 1-5 pm. I still have a couple of days to dye, so send me a note if you have any requests!

While we are on the subject, if you are somewhat nearby and would like to see us do a trunk show at your LYS, let us and/or them know it. We are happy to visit:)

Alot of people have asked how the studio is coming along. Of course, it is fabulous. Team Dragonfly is fully moved in and we love the space! We even have a comfy sitting area for hanging out, a sheepskin for the dogs to lay on, and a refrigerator, which was fonated by one of my lovely contractor buddies. As of this week, we even have venting from the stove outside. I am still dyeing yarn on my back deck (hello another rainy Wednesday!) while my lovely Jack puts the finishing touches on the stove and we get our sink installed properly. Oh, and that pesky inspection. Wish me luck!

I do have to say (shh, don't tell Montgomery County), that, with the help of my husband and father in law, I was able to dye six inaugural skeins in my studio yesterday! In a brand new colorway resulting from a collaboration with a good friend, called Weather Girl. It was a big day indeed. It will be very difficult to return to the deck till all is ready...

When we are fully operational, I will have a proper studio opening party. Something to look forward to in the cold part of the year, after the holiday season. I hope to have a stitch and bitch there, and to offer some fabulous workshops and such. Please let me know if there is anything in particular you might be looking for. I have one dear friend who is willing to come in and teach handspinning, and I am willing to do some dye workshops eventually. Any knitting techniques you are dying to learn? Or, perhaps you have a proposal for a workshop you'd like to teach and you need the space?

Next update will be Sunday, December 4th. We are skipping a week so we can offer a ton of fibery goodness at the Cloverhill trunk show, but I guarantee it will be a big one. You know where to find us if you need something before then, right? We will be doing a MiniClub to go along with our Accessories KAL with Traveller and Soft Twist Djinni starting next Friday. I'll go post a warm up thread in our Ravelry group so you all can tell me what colors you are looking for.

Rhinebeck, and a winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:45:00 +0000

First, our winning number. I had to bring something to Rhinebeck, even though i was not a vendor. This year. So, I brought little baby skeins of yarn, with dragonfly wings of course. Each set of wings has a number on them, and using the fabulous random number generator, our winning number is 259. Congratulations, number 259; you have one an Octopus Mitten kit in Traveller colors of your own choosing. Please contact me through my website or on ravelry, and we will arrange to get you your fabulous prize.

Now, please enjoy my Rhinebeck memories. And, for more fiber festival fun, do come see me at SAFF this weekend in the main building on the upper level. I'll have plenty of yarn, Octopus Mitten kits, and spinning fiber.

So, you may know that i made a last minute decision to go help a good friend in her booth at Rhinebeck, or for the uninitiated: New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. Of course, i have wanted to go for years, but with our lives, leaving town the weekend before a big show in the opposite direction (SAFF) never seemed to make any sense. It still doesn't make sense, but helping my lovely friend Steph of LOOP seemed a pretty good excuse.

I worked hard, but managed to have a wonderful time with old friends and quite a few new ones. I had the pleasure of roadtripping with my very good friend Elizabeth; we laughed ourselves silly over the number of times i turned to her and said "Did I tell you that I met Ann Weaver?" (she was lovely). I met quite a few other amazing designers and dyers and knitters and spinners and writers. I can't wait to collaborate with them all!

And of course, there were Gryphon and Lia, in their renaissance capes. And maple spun sugar. And amazing artichokes (thank you Katey!!) And jerky to bring home to the kids:) And the yummiest carded american merino. And lace spindles by Jesh. And the most spectacular collection of hand knit items i have ever seen.

And so many other things one can do with wool and color. So inspiring! It was all I coud do to keep from buying pounds of rug hooking strips to make hearts and rainbows.

Banjo music, and spinning, and sheep all in one place. All in one stall, in fact:)

And sheep. Lots of sheep.

Sock-tober!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 19:25:00 +0000

Cold, blustery rain ushers in one of my favorite months of the year. While my toes are cosy in wool socks, the rest of me wishes I had finished one of the lovely wool sweaters i have been making for just about a year. Unfortunately, my knitting has been slowed by an injured thumb (much better now) and a busy, busy show season.

My mermaid and I had a great weekend in Berryville last weekend at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Fest. We love being across from our neighbor Connie Delameter of Delly's Delights, seeing lots of local friends, watching the sheep dog demonstrations, eating freshly made peach cobbler, and hanging out in the Dairy barn. The leaves are just beginning to turn out there but it's not particularly cold. Perfect!

One more show to go, and this is one of my favorites: SAFF, in the Smokey Mointains this time, and with leaf changing season in full swing. I'll be in my usual spot, with yarn, fiber, and hopefully Knit Witch Yarn bowls, if our favorite Barefoot Potter gets a chance to make some for us.

I have been planning a few more shows for next year. In addition to the usual show schedule, I have taken a big step and applied for Wisconsin Sheep and Wool, and Maryland! I realize that both shows are tough to get into, but you have to start somewhere, right? I'm also looking at Fall Fiber Festival in Virginia, and thinking about New England festivals. Suggestions welcome!

In other news, I'm playing with a few new yarns. Above is the Spooky colorway dyed on Soft Twist Djinni. This yarn has the same fiber content and yardage as regular Djinni, but is spun and plied more loosely, making it fluffy, and uber soft. This is one of the few yarns I can wear on my neck, in fact; handspun Cormo is another. Must be beyond soft.

Why? I am sorting a few things out, in the yarn supply world. Sources change, prices increase, and sometimes, unexpected things happen. Djinni will stay, though. And Soft Twist Djinni is here for now. In the interest of keeping things simple, I may stop carrying Dragon Worsted. I LOVE this yarn and want ten sweaters knit in it, but it comes to me in big, honking 8 oz skeins, which I discount in order to sell. $32 is a great deal, considering $39 is the more appropriate price. I love Traveller, and Blue Face Worsted, and will keep them, because they are great yarns.

My cost has risen for Selkie, and the price will also be increasing. This is one yummy yarn, and I hope to keep it. For now, enjoy the discount price of $50 for an 8 oz skein. We will, in the next few months, begin to offer Selkie in 4 oz skeins at $30/skein which more accurately reflects our cost.

Enough of that. While I plan to simplify the colorway list a bit, I can't stop making new colorways. Perhaps because I can't stop making new colorways:) Most recently, we have Spooky and Hobgoblin, created becasue I was asked to invent a Baltimore Ravens colorway (and didn't quite get it right). I still will make a Ravens colorway, because I am a Marylander, and also a Redskins one. Probably never a Cowboys one, though... Aubergine was requested by a Anne of For Yarn's Sake in Oregon and Fighting Irish was requested by Rhonda of Ewenique Knits in Indiana.

See my problem? Last post, I mentioned that we will be putting summer colorways into hibernation; now, I will share some colorways going into the deep freeze: Beach Grass, Briar Rose, Copperplate, Fig, Neptune, Prophets of Persia, Rusted Root, and Scilla. Don't worry, this still leaves about 80 colorways!

What's up next? The shop will be updated tomorrow (Sunday) at 4 pm with lots of yarn and spinning fiber. Also, we have a Miniclub running now, which I will end tomorrow evening sometime. Lots of Traveller, and BFW, and fall colors. And, if your requested color and yarn didn't get into the mini club, I will put it in the queu.

Our Dancing in the Summer Heat KAL has just ended, and JudithH is the winner, chosen randomly from participants who finished by the end date. She won with a beautiful crochet project; wave of the future perhaps? I did recently provide some yarn support for this very talented crochet designer; do check her out! Now, what shall we do for later Fall/Winter? I have some thoughts; perhaps miss Blueswirly and i will put our heads together and get some ideas out there. I have been working with some awesome designers lately...

We just ran an inspiration contest for our Cancer Awareness colorway; while i have picked winning inspirations, i still owe you some yarn porn. I do want to say that I really appreciate all of the folks who have continued to inquire about my dad, and offer support to me and also those who shared their own concerns about friends and family on the Ravelry thread. Very powerful stuff there. Once the colorways are done, i will show them off here, and, of course, contribute 20% of their sales through the end of the year to the American Cancer society.

Ok, my brain is shutting down. Must be time to walk these pups and go to bed. Good night!

A quickie, with pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:54:00 +0000

And it's another post with pictures that don't match:) We are now racing headlong into Fall. Swimming has started this week, bringing more calm to the boy and more focus to the girl. And more driving to the mommy:) Ryan has nearly completed his basketball tryouts, and looks solid. He's not the star of the team, but is finally learning to play defenseand is calming down enough to get some shots in. And we have a bit less screaming in the evenings. A bit. I have to wonder: will he do this in college?

My girlie is finding her way at high school. She seems to be enjoying her challenging classes, and settling in with a lovely group of friends. We dyed her hair red this weekend, maybe a bit redder than she wanted, but it will fade soon enough in the pool.

Steampunk Dragon worn by a knitter at Stitches

On the studio front, all operations are moved over but the actual dyeing. Last week, I dyed in the rain for three days. My skin began to grow scales, my hands and feet started to become webbed, and I swear i could breath through gills:) Actually, I am lucky it was warm, and my dry kitchen waited nearby. Much better to do in September than December!

We expect our ventialtion hood to arrive today and now we shall learn about the vast and tricksy world of permitting. The inspector from WSSC came out to check our stove and panicked. He'd never seen anything like it, and had no idea what to do. He was very nice, but he failed us, saying things like "standing pilot" and "fire suppression" as he backed away slowly...

Peach Melba knit into a blankie by lovely customer Evelyn, also at Stitches

Next up? We are updating the shop this Sunday at 4 pm. The update will "roll" from 4 to about 4:30, as I need to "turn on" each item. We will have Traveller, Blue Face Worsted, Dragon Sock, Selkie, and Spinning fiber. Also, some Hurricane Lee Soaker skeins. I've been bringing in the Fall colorways and easing out the summer ones. Won't be dyeing Watermelon Head, Conch Shell, Bougainvillea, or Red Bud for a while. It's time for Turning Leaves, Mushroom Hunting, Fresh Olives, Indian Corn and Spooky.

To celebrate fall, I'd like to do two things. One, I'd love to have a Miniclub for Fall yarns and colorways. I think it will need to start after i get back from SVFF, though. This gives you time to think about what you'd like to see me offer. Fingering yarns are a bit tight at the moment, for a variety of reasons, so we will go with any Worsted, or Laceweight (okay, Squishy) yarn, and any spinning fiber.

I'm also thinking that, as October is coming, we should maybe have an inspiration contest for my Breast Cancer Awareness colorway. Last year, it was Peach Melba. this year, I think it would be nice to have a new one. Don't you?

As I get ready to dive into the muck that is Montgomery County permitting, I leave you with of my favorite beasties. This is for you, Garndfather and Memommie!

Back from Stitches and No Pictures to show for it

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Here, look at the yarn! "Wonder Woman" Terry has, for the most part, taken over the photos for the shop, and, I believe, is doing a great job. So, while i tell you about Stitches Midwest and the first week of school, please enjoy some of the yarns that i'll be listing in tomorrow's shop update (that's at 4 pm eastern time).

We had an great show this year in Schaumburg. Not only did I have excellent help and great company from Team Dragonfly-Midwest (that's the lovely Susan/auntissy and the fabulous and very funny Molly/mhardersen) but we had a very fun 4 day pj party with my buddies Steph, the artist behind LOOP, and her faithful sidekick Christina/miukat. And we were right across the aisle from each other on the show floor, so we could help each other too.

In the middle of the Sock Summit/studio move/parent visiting insanity that was my August, I learned that my driving plans had changed and that i would need to do the 14 hour drive alone. While this might not be out of the realm of possibilty ordinarily, I wasn't in great shape for such a feat. Super Jack came to the rescue (again...) with a plane ticket to Chicago courtesy of his frequent flyer miles and I shipped my yarn last minute. Susan proved her superhero status by picking up the gridwall and delivering it to me at the show...and then going back for more:)

We met lots of great new and familar customers, and some new friends in the midwest too. Look for Erin of MommyNeedsyarn to introduce her yarn for the podcaster challenge (Dragonworsted in December Baby) and a nice review from Steven of Dramatic Knits. Thanks so much, ya'll!

We had dinner with Jaala of Knitcircus and Stephannie of Sunset Cat Designs, who graciously supported my quest for noodle stir fry. I can't wait to see the sweater Steph is knitting a for her upcoming book in Dragonberry Blue Face Worsted; go see Elise from the fall issue of Knitcircus! Also, look for a review of said Blue Face Worsted in the next Knitcircus issue. Speaking of this beautiful fall and winter yarn, I have a big box from the mill and plan dye up a storm for the next few shows and stocking up the shop.

You may know that Hurricane Irene hit the DelMarVa coast while we were safely inland. My lovely husband shipped his parents out to West Virginia with the children and snuggled up with our menagerie, plus their dog. Because he had had some potentially troublesome trees removed only days before, we had no real problems. A little water in the basement, a 24 hour hour power outage. Nothing compared to other storms, and to the chaos and destruction that Irene visited upon the northeast, particularly New York where a dear friend had 4-5 FEET of water in her studio and Vermont of all places.

It's strange how it isn't always the biggest or strongest storms that wreak the most havoc, isn't it? Of course, i kept singing that song in my head: "Goodnight Irene, Goodnight..." Oddly, a lullaby in my family although it really is a bitter break up song.

Although they missed their first day, the beasties are back in school. Although life is a bit easier for the moment - no swim practices or bball - I miss summer. The mermaid is officially in high school, and adjusting well. Flirting with boys, complaining about the number of books she has to carry around, and actually studying for the first time:) Aquaboy is a big 5th grade patrol, and full of himself. It looks like it's going to be a great year:)

What's up next for Team Dragonfly? We moved most of the business into the studio this week, and all of the hanked and tagged yarn is there, sitting cheerfully in wire cubes. the stove will be officially hooked up to the gas line next week, and when we get our hood, I'll be able to move the dyeing operation over. For now, I'll be enjoying the September sunshine on the back deck with my pots, dyeing lots of rich fall colors while everyone else is working on site. I envision a few texts with yarn pictures: "what colorway is this again?" We'll make it work.

Next show is the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Fest in beautiful Berryville, VA. I'll have a double booth out in the Dairy Barn, hopefully near the alpacas and the bunnies, and across from my friend Connie of Delly's Delights. We'll be out there September 24 and 25; the weather should be gorgeous. The mermaid will be there, but only on Sunday, as she has to study for a Biology test.

Following the Shenandoah show, will be SAFF, my last show of the year. October 21-23 in Asheville, North Carolina. For that one, i'll be stealing Rachel from Sanguine Gryphon for a few days so she can help me with the driving and then stay with her good friends there. I'll be hanging with Katey and Laurie and their band of awesome knitters. Hot tub anyone?

There and Back Again

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:21:00 +0000

Ok, we were in the Land of Enchantmant until yesterday, but now I think this post is more aptly titled "Greetings from There and Back Again". Or, Here, There and Everywhere. Or Travelling with Dragonfly, Part One:) This will read a bit like Gregory Macguire novel, starting in the present and going all over the place.

Strata in the Robledo Mountains

We had a terrific visit with my parents, who were in good spirits and good health. I have begun to form an appreciation for this amazing area, with SO MUCH History. And pre-history. And natural beauty.

Aquaboy and an awesome dog we met on the trek to see Dimetron Tracks in the Robledo foothills.

Ocatillo shrub

Dimetrodon Track

So, here we are, the fearless travellers, willing to go off trail to see actual real-live pre-dinosaur tracks. The Dimetrodon, in case you are curious, was a pre-dinosaur reptile from the Permian period. this is right before the Jurassic and triassic periods we enjoy learning so much about. This trackway, as it is called, was discovered by a person named Jerry Mcdonald and is considered the largest and best track site in the world.

Pretty cool, huh? Next post, I'll have more pictures from the other half of our trip. we did a bunch of trail riding on real live cowponies, with a real cowboy and cowgirl. No really.

And yes, I did actually go to Portland for Sock Summit. I had an amazing time, as was able to enjoy some of my dearest knitting friends all together, and make a few new ones too. My friend Nikki and her husband Kuro are the most gracious hosts ever, and the town is so very fabulous. i know i'm using alot of superlatives, but it is all true! i was ready to move to Portland, until I was reminded that the weather is not always so good, and that i wood not get to see the sun too much. Oh well. It's quite sunny in New Mexico! A little far for Team Dragonfly to commute though:)

Here is cutie-pie Laura garcia, better known as Blueswirly on ravelry. In additon to being an amazing graphic artist, she is a flawless knitter, excellent friend, and super sales woman. Go ask here what she is wearing in that picture; better yet, look here.

Not even sure where to start with Katey. Webmistress extraordinaire, queen of booth set up (sometimes I find myself standing there bewildered watching her lay it out, wield the drill, and make it beautiful), dear friend, funny girl, and creatrix of Tiny Sock Garlands. Thanks so much to those many Dragonflies who contributed tiny socks. I think we may need to award some prizes!

Katey's Long Stockings, in Dragonberry Djinni

I have no pictures of Nikki; she took alot of excellent ones, though, which you can find here. Actually, I do have some of her helping me wrap my pallets after the show, but none worthy. As you probably know, Nikki is fabulous. To me, a thoughtful advisor, excellent host, sherpa and chauffeur extraordinaire, and i would definitely want her at my back (or maybe in the lead?) if things ever came to fight:) They wouldn't though, cause she'd just make us all laugh till we couldn't breathe, then give us a snack and a nap. And did I say she has the cutest dog ever? We love Piggy!

Ode To Sock Summit Colorway

Sock Summit was a great show for me. Well-organized and quite vendor-friendly. The lighting was good, and the customers were the best. For those of you who were hoping the rest of my yarn for the show (the four boxes i shipped later?) would arrive before the show was over, well, it finally arrived here in Maryland. I always seem to learn things the hard way:)

We'll be celebrating with a big honkin SHOP UPDATE next Saturday, the 20th at noon. I'd hoped to do that sooner, but with all of us travelling, we still need to unpack and inventory:)

And here we are, back to the beginning. Or the end, if we are speaking of the Summer Swim season. The Mermaid and her school of lovelies got together for mani-pedis and dressing before our swim team banquet. Aquaboy can't stop himself from jumping in to a picture, so aren't they all gorgeous?

Part II with horses, and maybe some new studio pictures soon!

Today is my Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 01:28:00 +0000

Sheherezade Djinni

And I'm gonna have a good time!

Ode to Sock Summit Naiad

Actually, despite the heat (and the very small "am I really this old?" meltdown) and Aquaboy being almost too sick to swim in Divisionals, I had a very good time. Got my update finshed with a minimum of freaking out, and had a delicious black and white birthday shake.

Ruby, Ruby Djinni

At our staff meeting this week, we celebrated our actual real live lease with sparkling cider and sparkling lemonade (who knew there was such a thing?) and planned the move for August 3rd. that's two days after i return from sock Summit, in case you're keeping track:) Mary, the queen of organizing, presented us with a beautiful map of the studio to be while 7 children carried on in the basement. Cause that's how we roll in Team Dragonfly:)

Bohemian Rhapsody Djinni

And, in case you were worried, our yarn and Sock Summit booth made it all the way to Portland. All 700 pounds of it! It didn't even fall off the pallets, or anything (as far as I know). I have since dyed about a ton more yarn, during a record heat wave, both to send on for Sock Summit and for our shop update tonight. The update is at 12 midnight Pacific Time (3 am Eastern) and contains lots of lovely things. The preview is here, if you want to check it out.

I'll be leaving on Wednesday for Sock Summit. Come see me there! Booth 906-908.

New Webstore, New studio, and New ...Pets?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:57:00 +0000

All while having lots of fun in the summer sun! We are mid-swim season here, and getting to the fun parts. This weekend, we had a our usual "A meet", which both of my kids have been lucky to participate in, and Relay carnival! This meet took place this morning at our pool (the Big G) and fielded multiple relay teams from all six teams in our division. It is a happy chaos (most of the time).

As you can see breaststroke is a favorite for both the mermaid and aquaboy. Aquaboy and his rela y team mates made it to the Allstar Relay meet for one of their events.

Hooray! Keep tearing up the pool, Tigers!

Now, isn't this the cutest face you have ever seen? This baby raccoon, who has been living with his family in our chimney, somehow fell through the heating vent into our basement last week. Team Dragonfly was dying to keep him, but luckily for us (and his mommy), keeping raccoons is illegal in Maryland.

Super Jack came home, took the vent off the chimney, picked him up with welding gloves, and stuck him back in the chimney. And did you know that raccoons purr? It was the sweetest thing ever!

He is not the new pet. Aquaboy started agitating for a new pet (cause four aren't enough) after his fish died. Somehow, after saying no to a bird or snake of any kind and the boy deciding lizards are boring, he settled on a rodent. At this point, after considerable debate, he chose gerbils. I agreed to buy the second one after he earned the money for the care and keeping of one gerbil. Did you know that "gerbs", as we call them, are much cuter than they used to be, and even come in a variety of colors. We have two, named Rocky and Fizz (or Boulder and James, depending on the day) and they are very sweet. And even kind of snuggly. They haven't been eaten yet (it's been a week).

Now onto the yarn! We are updating the shop tonight at midnight with lots of pretty yarn, and even some spinning fiber! Not just any shop, but a brand spanking new shop, with beautiful new home page. With important design input from our Laura Blueswirly, our amazing webdjinni Kateyj has made a beautiful and user-friendly website for Dragonfly Fibers. Yay! Don't be shy about congratulating her, okay? Any problems, please let me know through the contact us feature or on Ravelry and we'll work to get things fixed. Ta da!

Now, I need to let you know about some price increases. The costs of Traveller and Squishy Lace have been higher to me for over a year now; I love these yarns both for their soft and squishy hand and for their affordable cost. I am increasing the prices for both yarns to $20 for a 4 oz skein as I want to continue to be able to offer them. An excellent explanation for the increase in the cost of wool can be found here on the Fibre Space blog.

Finally, in the "new" department, I have found a studio. We are in the lease signing and executing stage, and are working on configuring the new stove. On August 1st, as I'm flying back from Portland, we will be able to move in. Copious pictures to follow, when I have them.

I leave you with more pictures from the pool. Jack is starting in the parent relay from our intersquad Green and Black meet. They didn't win, but he made a good showing!

Quickie! And an update

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:15:00 +0000

Summer swim season is rolling, with mermaids and aquaboys swimming fast and often. Camps are rolling, and I'm dyeing runs of yarn in between kid pick ups and drop offs.

So much to say, so little time! My girlie is officially a high school kid now, having managed to finish middle school with half decent grades, alot of great friends, a few dance steps, and great deal more confidence.

The boy is now a big fifth grade patrol and king of the swim team (or so he believes, and thats all that matters:) Our team is known for its spirit, and we take this tradition very seriously!

I have been dying a ton of yarn for the Loopy Ewe, Fibrespace, The Yarn Club, and Sock Summit. Phew! We have located another space for the studio and are in the "oh, you mean I have to read this lease?" stage. It's much nicer in every way than the last space, and much more expensive. I will give you more details when i get a chance to sit down and write, I promise!

And finally: Shop Update tomorrow Sunday at 4 pm DST. As requested, we'll have Traveller, Gaia Lace, Dragon Sock, and Djinni. Djinni in Violetta, in fact.

Okay, off to swim meet number one of this weekend!

End of school year ramblings and a shop update!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:24:00 +0000

Phew! It is HOT out there. Perhaps too hot to be dyeing yarn out on the deck in the sun over pots of boiling water? Not to worry; we are tough. (And careful).

In fact, if you received my newsletter this week, you already know we are having June MiniClub for Dance Rustic Silk and Selkie Worsted.

The Mini Club started on Saturday evening and runs til this Friday sometime. How this works: I offer unlimited quantities of Dance and Selkie in a limited amount of colors, based on customer requests. The colorways in question for this round are Violetta, Red bud, Conch Shell, Moss Covered Rock, Forget Me Knot, and Land of enchantment.

You order on the thread, I lock it on Friday and start dyeing. When we get close to finished, we will ask for your paypal email and invoice you, and then send the yarn out. You can see pictures of the yarn in the Ravelry thread itself.

We are having the MiniClub partly because Dance is the perfect summer yarn. Light-weight, drapey or crisp, and like linen, softens with handling. We are also doing the MiniClub because it is time for the Dancing in the Summer Heat Knit along. This CAL/KAL is focused on Dance as the primary yarn for the project and you choose the pattern. Come join us! I actually started my project, Sparrow, back in April. And then, started it again in May. I'm a slow knitter, though, so I'll be lucky to make the deadline:)

I do have two pattern suggestions for you. Below is my lovely, reluctant Mermaid modeling Summer Snowflakes designed by Susan Dingle of More than Knotz. She knit this sample for me in the Heroine colorway. You can purchase this from her through Ravelry (see above link) or for the duration of the MiniClub, I am happy to sell it to you for 30% off (at $5). The gauge is very loose and drapey, resulting in an almost liquid movement to the garment.

My other suggestion is Louet's Sasha skirt. Sorry, still no picture:) This skirt is a lovely lacy, layered skirt originally designed for linen yarn. It has also been knit with sock yarn to great effect. Try one color or one for each layer. The good news is that, unlike Louet Euroflax and Claudia Handpainted, Dance is only $14 for a four ounce skein.

Before we move on to the antics of my kitten, and other things, i also need to tell you that we are having a SHOP UPDATE! on Friday evening. I am living on the edge, as my girlie has her 8th grade dance that night (almost in high school! totally freaking me out!) but i think Team Dragonfly can manage to get the job done. In fact, for the first time, she is too cool to have me around. I will probably post pictures of her on Facebook or Twitter in her supercute strapless dress and super tall wedges.

Okay, back to the update;) We will hopefully get pictures up on Flickr earlier that day and the update will go live at 8 pm daylight standard time. It's an early edition, because i'll need to be there for the princess at 9 pm. And probably will be the clean up crew too!

School's out next Wednesday, with the girlie's graduation on Tuesday night (after exams that day-crazy!) Of course, we have started summer swim season, and this year, the boy and girl will be swimming on their winter teams as well. Mostly, we are holding our breaths to get through til next week!

As you can see, our Finn is growing. He is now seven months old, still wrestles with Cody, walks the dogs with us (often chasing Cody while he chases the ball), strolls across the street in front of cars, greets most of the neighbors up and down the block, and plays with babies and toddlers in the park. I think we have warped him:) I am becoming convinced he has some Siamese in him somewhere. Sure has alot of personality!

Finn prefers people food to kitten food, especially meet, cottage cheese, and yogurt. And, apparently, cantaloupe! See, I've been working on getting into shape and maybe even losing a bit of weight. Daily exercise (yoga, swimming, and running once a week-with the dogs and cat of course:) and lots of fruits and veggies. I've been drinking a green smoothie every morning, combining fruits and greens and sometimes some greek yogurt and ginger. Delicious, and packed with nutrients to keep my energy up. As Finn likes to supervise me in the kitchen, he was right there to sample the ingredients.

Not shy, is he?

Stitch and Pitch 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 10 May 2011 19:45:00 +0000

Come to Nationals Park on Friday, May 13 to cheer on the Washington Nationals as they take on the Florida Marlins at Nationals Park, and bring your knitting, crochet, or even your spinning project! Stitch & Pitch™ is a constantly growing program sponsored by The National Needle Arts Association. Last year, they set a new Guinness World Record for “Most People Crocheting simultaneously” at Mets Citi-Field with 426 crocheters!

This year, Stitch n Pitch™ is celebrating its fifth year, and we are proud to host the first event of the season here in the Nation’s Capital. It’s the perfect opportunity to get some fresh air and make some progress on all of those WIPs. We will have more vendors than ever, with representation from local fiber artists, including Neighborhood Fiber Company, Solitude yarns, and Dragonfly Fibers, of course.

The gates open at 4:30, the vendor area opens at 5:30 and the first pitch is at 7:05 pm. Be one of the first 500 folks into or vendor area and receive a free project bag from the Nats!

Tickets are still available but must be picked up at Fibrespace before the game. The cost is $23. Seats are Left Field Mezzanine.

Be there!

Countdown to Maryland Sheep and Wool fest!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 04 May 2011 16:10:00 +0000

First weekend in May is always a big one. If I was in New Orleans, i would be deaf right now, from all of the amazing music playing all over the city for the Jazz Fest. I'll have to leave that to my family, though, cause, while the Fest is the meca for all music that matters, our sheep and wool fest is THE big party for all things wooly! Most people say only Rhinebeck can rival it for size, selection, and good vibes. And I've never been to Rhinebeck, so it's my number one.

This year, for the third straight, i'll have my yarn and fiber at the Cloverhill Yarns booth, right inside the front door to the main building on the right. I'll be there on Saturday afternoon, hangin' out. Come see me, okay? I believe that Karida of Neighborhood Fiber Co will there then too. yay!

Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, i'll be with Steph in the LOOP booth, also in the main barn, just down the hall i think. And hopefully, the rest of the time, I'll be hugging friends and feeling fibers and not buying too much:) Sounds like a good plan, right?

And did you see that my buddies at the Sanguine Gryphon got into MDSW? This week.

Luckily, they've done this before (see Rhinebeck:) I believe they'll be in the main barn too. Very exciting for them. Also, my friend Lexi of Pluckyfluff has a booth this year, although i think she'll be outside. You should definitely check her out; she'll be selling her fabulous Aura wheels and running a FREE artyarn spin workshop, cause she's awesome like that. Also, the Poads of Majacraft will be hanging in her booth Saturday morning if you want to go and say hi!

Now, would you like to know why Finn is so tired? He has "dog-cat confusion". Finn has taken to going with me and the dogs on our walks in the morning. He goes up to the park, and follows us all the way around. I think he might be a thrill seeker. Last night, he came up there with us at the head of a storm. Everyone was excited and running. We do run into dogs occasionally, and he usually stands his ground. He has been treed once, and backed down the tree into my arms crying the whole way. Then he purred for a little while, and told me how scared he was, and then hopped down and went back to playing.

Silly creature.

Aquaboy went fishing with his dad and uncle; they caught a big Rockfish. Yum!

Cody seems to be returning to himself after more than two months wearing the cone of shame. Still hurts sometimes, and still terrified of trucks. Maybe a little crazier than before. Fits right in.

See you this weekend! And don't forget Stitch and Pitch next friday, May 13th!

Hooray for Spring!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 20:57:00 +0000

First of all, Stitches South was amazing. Atlanta was beautiful, the people were welcoming, and the knits were lovely. Jennie came by with with a pile of pretty things she had made with Dragonfly yarns, and this stunning Ardent. We hatched a very interesting plan, possibly involving Selkie:) You can see more of her pretty hand knits here.

Designer Kate Oates of Tottoppers and When I Grow Up showed off a beautiful pair of mitts she designed in Selkie (Twisty Violet mitts). Kate also designed the project for April's Club DragonWitch shipment, which, due to a stupid math error on my part, went out Friday and Saturday:) I know people will love it.

Susan Dingle of More than Knotz brought me a beautiful sample of her Summer Snowflakes sweater knit in Dance Rustic Silk. Somehow, it managed to fit me perfectly:) She and also made some sinister plans, involving Dance and this skirt pattern. Haven't you always wanted to make it?

I also met Yumiko Sakurai of Harumidori Designs, who came by to say hello. She met the mermaid, who was there with my mother in law Dorothy, and showed me pictures of her daughter, Midori. So cute! I also fell in love with her work. Go see:) Photographs are lovely too.

Now, much of the show experience involves your travelling companions. I drove down with Gryphon and her lovely assistant, and pattern coordinator extraordinaire, Jamie (seen her with her guest Marcel for the fabulous annual Scalini's dinner).

Please forgive the quality of these photos:) I'm on the road and don't have access to Photoshop. There is a story about Gryphon's exploits, as photographed by my Katey over on the SG blog.

There is also a really good picture of me over there, photographed by Katey too. Unfortunately, the one I took of her and Travis, her international man of mystery, while adorable, is of terrible quality. How cute are they? He is, by the way, a very good sport:)

I have managed to take zero pictures of my lovely mother in law and the mermaid from the show, but they were there with me and put up with all sorts of foolishness. Dorothy, much like the girlie, liked working the booth the best and both did an awesome job.

I came home to Spring Break. It's been nice to sleep in and enjoy a small departure from our intense schedule. We even took time to run the dogs and a few extra kids on a pretty sunny day in the woods. You can see Aquaboy here with the Mermaid's bff, also a swimmer.

So, what's up next?

Dyeing for the Cloverhill yarns booth at Maryland Sheep and Wool, May 7th and 8th. They have started their countdown on the blog.

Vending at Stitch and Pitch at the Nationals Game on Friday, May 13th. Do you have your tickets?

Next show after that is Sock Summit!

Next shop update is next Friday night, April 29th.

A couple of interesting swatch alongs on Ravelry, and a spring/summer knitalong planned. And maybe a miniclub for Dance? And Selkie?

Yay! Spring!

Greetings from the land of crazy!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Homespun Yarn party was amazing! Freezing cold outside but perfectly wooly and warm inside. Laura, Terry, and I met so many great people and enjoyed being with a bunch of old friends too! Here is Lori, HYP volunteer extraordinaire, showing off her lovely swirly knitted earrings. You also can see Patrick, or textillian on Ravelry, over her shoulder too.

The lovely Kate of Serendipitous Ewe brought Angela, her partner in crime, her Winter Woods and Poseidon Daybreak, and perhaps most importantly, her beautiful new baby Henry. She does good work, doesn't she?

Thanks so very much to Paula, Jess, Corinne, and Lindsay for organising an excellent show and to the many terrific volunteers who helped us carry, unpack, arrange, pack up again, and tote it all back to the trailer again! Hi Theresa! And a big thank you our fabulous customers who came to say hi and buy some yarn. Local shows are so great; I love seeing all of my fellow fuzz dyers too! There some excellent photos of the day in the flickr set; you should go check 'em out!

What's coming up for us dragonflies in the next few weeks?

Shop update, tomorrow (Sunday) April 3 at 6 pm. We will list all of the Selkie that we have in stock, as many colorway requests from the Ravelry group thread as possble, some Dance Rustic Silk, Gaia lace, Djinni in popular colorways, and a few other goodies. Not sure if we'll have a preview on Flickr yet but we'll work on that. This update will be the last until after Stitches South, as I'll be leaving for Atlanta the following Wednesday.

Did you hear that? Stitches South in Atlanta is coming up fast! April 14-17, to be exact. We'll be in booth #432-434 and will have our yarn and fiber AND KnitWitch bowls. Come see Kateyj and I, of course, and Brittany and Wayne of KnitWitch. New to the Team Dragonfly line up will be my lovely mother in law, Dorothy. Hopefully, she will be able to help me keep track of the Mermaid, who is also coming back for year 2. Anything you're looking to see in our booth? Leave a note in the comments!

A few weeks after Stitches is the one and only Maryland Sheep and Wool Fest. Once again, we will have gobs of yarn and fiber at the Cloverhill Yarns booth in the main barn (right as you walk in the door, on the right). This show is Mothers Day weekend, May 7th and 8th. I'll be hanging out in the booth on Saturday afternoon. Much of the rest of the weekend, I'll be helping my friend Steph of LOOP and enjoying the people and wool fumes.

Katey continues to work on our website, which is getting closer to going live.

Of course, we are also still planning to move into a real live, seperate studio. I'm told that they are finally starting work on the ceiling today, and things will be ready to go in a week. Hopefully, the planets will align for us with this space, but we have plans B and C if we need them!

Homespun Yarn Party is almost here!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:31:00 +0000

HYP is one of my favorite shows of the year. I love our local fiber community, and of course their beautiful work:) The other vendors are terrific, the organizers are amazing, and all of the participants are so fun. Team Dragonfly will be there, in the same spot as last year (booth #3, for those of you looking at the map) from 12 - 5 pm in Savage Mill. Directions are here.

We will have our new yarn Selkie in somewhat limited quantities. Selkie is a light worsted yarn at 500 yards to an 8 oz skein. Fiber content is delicious: 60% fine wool, 40% tussah silk. Come check us out!

Happy Almost St. Paddy's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:06:00 +0000

First, I must let you know that the pup is continuing to heal remarkably. He is now going to see his friends at the vet every other day for a bandage change (instead of every day) with the wound closing up over normal muscle tissue. Cody is returning to his old energetic, happy self and totally owns the vet's office. He is also wearing not one but two cones of shame with lots of reinforcing tape and still managed to knock his bandage off the other night. Luckily, the vet's office was open for another 20 minutes and we rushed him over.

In other news, the landlord did decide to take care of the rusty ceiling, so I find myself in the brand new situation of negotiating a commercial lease. I have to say that, despite the fact that the person i am dealing with appears to be fairly reasonable, i am finding the hard-boiled world of business to be seriously lacking in friendliness. I realize that this is a Washington, DC suburb. And that I can't get something for nothing. And that life is not all sunshine and rainbows. But why can't it be, dammit! I am not as naive as i sound (my father, who used to be a real estate guy, told me last night that the woods are full of naive people who have lost everything) and I will manage this with the help of some very smart people, but jeez! Sounds like i need more yoga, doesn't it?

Despite frustration with the knitty gritty, I am starting to get excited. We are headed into show season, of course, and i am suddenly needing even more space for the yarn i need to dye to prepare for my three spring events. So, a new studio is right on time! More space for storing raw and dyed yarn and fiber, more space for fabulous employees to do their magic, a new STOVE so i can work INSIDE, plenty of room to dry yarn, with out taking away the kids' play space, and did i mention the "dance studio mirrors"? Talk about the perfect spot for morning yoga!

So, in celebration of St. Patrick's Day (so many of us have a little Irish in us, don't we?), we will be having a Go Green Sale in the shop. I will update on Sunday, 3/13 at 4 pm eastern standard time with all of the green yarn and fiber that I have in stock as well as some other yarns and fibers i have dyed recently. All green yarns and rovings will be 20% off through March 17th, so we can all get in the spirit of spring:) Even if there is not even one tiny bit of Irish in you, come celebrate spring with me, ok?

Eastern Bluebird

My spring show season this year will begin with the fabulous Homespun Yarn Party on Sunday March 27th from 12 to 5 pm. HYP is a great party put together by some wonderful local yarn afficionados. I had my very first booth on my own last year at HYP and had such a good experience. Come see me and some of goddesses that make Dragonfly Fibers go. And buy some yarn, too:) Annnd, also I will be demonstrating and selling Trindles in my booth this year. Best drop spindle ever.

The mermaid will most likely be there; she has a swimmeet that weekend and is trying to figure how to work it out. I have also heard rumors that Serendipitous Ewe's Kate and Ang (faireattention and Angmac on Ravelry) will be coming by and bring baby Henry with them for his first fiber outing. I can't wait to hold him, and breathe in his baby smell, and maybe squish him just a little:)

Bohemian Rhapsody

I may have gone off track for a minute there. Can you tell i am baby crazy? It is all I can do sometimes to keep from grabbing strangers' babies while in line at the grocery store:)

Coming up soon after HYP is Stitches South April 14-17th in Atlanta, GA. Woohoo! I love to go down and see all of my southern buddies, and act a little silly and make friends with all those great southern knitters. The mermaid, and her Grammy, my super knitting mother in law, have just booked their tickets to come down and help me, along with the famous and wonderful Katey (kateyj on ravelry and my super webmistress). The other fabulous news is that i will have Knitwitch Yarn bowls in my booth this year, as well as the lovely and very entertaining Brittany and Wayne at times. So come by and wish him a happy birthday (I hear it's a big one:)

Final spring show (we will talk about summer later) is the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. My yarns and fibers will be at the Cloverhill Yarns booth again this year in bigger quantities than ever before. I will of course be in the booth as well. Not sure when yet. I'll also be helping my friend Steph in her LOOP booth again as well; in fact, I just heard that her booth has been upgraded to the main barn. Hooray!

Finally, I want to let you know that the Late Winter Spinning Fiber MiniClub will ship this Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for playing, and I hope to see you this spring!

Gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:30:00 +0000

As it often does, the chaos returned. Really beginning three weeks ago when I began looking for studio spaces nearby. It has become obvious, even to me, that I must move the business out of the house to grow. Or even really to continue production at the current level. Almost immediately, I found a space, right in the industrial part of my town. The space has some problems, as they all do. Parking is tight, and the door is in the back of the circa 1963 building, up a narrow, steep driveway. There is currently no air conditioning.

The space is however perfect in many respects. It is five minutes from my house and close to school and the all important summer pool. It has windows and plenty of natural light, and maybe even more space than I need to EXPAND:) And I like the neighborhood, where auto mechanics and HVAC contractors mingle with French antiques and fine cabinet-makers. And, did I mention it is five minutes from our house?

I have decided that i really like this space, and want to rent it. Although I have no lease, the landlord gave me his key and i have been in and out, showing it to friends and family. Enough to realize that it has a fatal flaw. A very rusty ceiling. The leaky roof has been replaced, and the place painted, but the metal ceiling was not replaced and is quite rusty. In the hopes of actually solving this problem, I have been obtaining estimates at the request of the property manager. I am still hopeful, but prepared to walk away if the owner does not choose to do the very expensive work. Luckily, I live in Kensington, the land of Contractors:) Wish me luck!

Now, I know you have guessed there is more to this post from the above picture of Frankenpup. Life really went off the rails two weeks ago when our sweet and silly Cody was hit by a truck. More accurately, he hurled himself under the wheels of said truck. Not their fault, but mine for taking a short cut through my morning to make it to yoga and throwing the ball in the front yard instead of giving him a proper walk. The good news is that he is making an excellent recovery. The short term "now" from that time was terrible, particularly as Cody was so panicked he ran away and it took me an hour and a half to find him and he was in terrible shape when i did.

Under the excellent care of Kindness Animal Hospital, he is growing muscle tissue over his worst wound and has had his stitches out on his head. He will be wearing the "cone of shame" for a while yet, as his left foreleg has some work to do yet. He is healing amazingly well, and loves his friends at the vet, who he visits almost daily. This is where gratitude comes in. I am so grateful that our Cody survived his accident with only soft tissue injuries. No internal injuries, no broken bones. Despite having his movements restricted, he is himself again. Today, when I picked him up, he charged into the reception area to me, completely evading the tech. Go Cody, you crazy puppy!

my two invalids from last week

heel and toe baby skeins

Finn enjoying a nap

espresso roast gaia lace

Thanks so much to my friends, family, and many wonderful customers. I couldn't do all of this without you.

Order after chaos

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:51:00 +0000

When the dyepots are boiling and full of pretty colors, you can tell that things are becoming right with the world. There has been dyeing this past week, despite my unwillingness to shovel out the studio. I did come to wish i had shovelled when a layer of ice settled on tip of the snowy deck, and i had to resort to salt to "non-skid" the surface:) I did not dye as much as I would have liked, but that is due to conflicting purposes, as much as ice and snow.

This bad kitten and bad puppy have joined forces to wreck as many things in the house as possible. Aren't they cute, and so innocent looking?

While wrangling web hosting, and web designing issues that i know nothing about, several other growth related processes have come up. The first, which has been lurking for quite some time, is the need for a larger, and more appropriate space. I have indulged a fantasy for several years now of working in a warehouse space, with a window or two, where i can store my yarns, and equipment, and can work inside on a fabulous natural gas stove like the one in the SG studio (mad love for that beautiful piece of equipment!). This space is in my neighborhood, as I live near an industrial area, both in reality and in my fantasy world. My husband, as well as the rest of Team Dragonfly, are pushing me to make this dream come true.

It's hard, cause I'm pretty sure that i can't afford it, and because it will be alot of trouble. But wish me luck, cause I have an appointment tomorrow with a real estate agent to look at a space less than 5 minutes from my house. Certainly would solve the above snowy problem.

The other is related, as I evidently have to make a real budget for the first time. You may have figured out that i came into this business more as a person who likes to make things than as a person who is interested in and knowledgeable about businessy stuff. I like to make things. If I want to sell things, I have to actually know where my money is going, how much money i have, and how much i need. I need to know more stuff, but I'm not even sure what that is. At least, i'm choosing to believe that i really need to make a budget, and not that my lovely husband has just invented this necessity as a way to torture me. Eeek! Very scary stuff.

The good news is that the web stuff is beginning to take shape, in the form of decisions made about who will build the website, and what she will use to build it. So etsy, watch out! Less fees coming your way in the not too distant future. Anyone ever used Drupal and Ubercart? Luckily my awesome friend Katey is at the helm of the website building. Phew.

If you have ever met me at a show in the southern half of the country, chances are that you met Katey too. Or, already knew her:) So, Team Dragonfly has a great web team with Katey to make it go and Laura Blueswirly of course to make it pretty; I'm so lucky to have these too as friends anyway, regardless of the yarny stuff, and they both know me and my yarn so well. I'm excited! So look for a few changes around here, as we are UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Speaking of etsy, I want you to know that i have updated the site as of yesterday. I am having a SALE in my shop this week, in honor of the Super bowl and St Valentines Day. Some of the yarns are sold for now, but we will continue to list sweater yarns, and red and pink yarns throughout the week, so keep checking, ok?

Bad Moon Rising Bigfoot Roving

Also, in honor of the pretty new spinning fiber i am carrying, I am having a Spinning Fiber MiniClub. Look for a thread on Ravelry to begin making your color requests for Camel Silk, shaded bfl silk (Bigfoot:), and Polwarth roving. Yum.

Winter Woods Gaia Lace

Finally, I changed a few things in my shop to make sales more consistent with reality. Local shipping is now $3.25 for the first item and .75 for the next. I actually increased some of the shipping costs for non-domestic shipping to better reflect what I am paying, with the exception of Canada. Feel free to contact me if I am charging inappropriately; I am very much a work in progress:)

Also, I am now charging sales tax for items being shipped within the state of Maryland, as etsy has made this possible now. Ok, that's enough for today:) Here's wishing you a great week!

Snowmapocalapalooza!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:32:00 +0000

So, this is my front yard after this week's snow. We have a row of tall evergreens (shallow rooted, apparently) along the side of our house. They have not been particularly healthy, but I love standing under them in the rain and snow, and having them next to my windows makes me feel like I'm in a tree house. They also shield us from our neighbors' lovely, but enormous house. Boundaries are good:)

People, particularly my husband, have suggested cutting these trees down, but I have resisted. Now, the front two trees are laying on top of the wires from the street to our house. Shockingly, our power is on and nothing has blown up yet. Not shockingly, despite multiple reports to the power company of live wires down on the street, no one has come to deal with this mess. My husband is taking one of his many trips to the hardware store (his favorite place) to get oil for his new chain saw. i hope he's not planning to cut the trees on the power lines. interestingly, everything is working in our house, except access to the network.

As you can see, the children are not the only ones enjoying the snow. Aquaboy and I just figured out that they have been to school one day this week. No wonder I feel alittle lost! There was a little bit of dyeing the day before the fun started, for a yarn shop in Fargo, North Dakota. Boucle Yarn Studio. Yay!

All that time in the freezing house with no heat made me decide to knit some new mitts. Even as i type in the heated house, my hands are freezing, in fact. These are figure out as you go, mitts from handspun superwash blue face leicester purchased from Wild Hare Fiber Studio. One down and the cuff started on the second!

Finally, as part of my super big website plans, i have created a group on Flickr for you to share your projects created from Dragonfly yarns and spinning fiber. My hope is that the projects shared in Made with Dragonfly Yarns and Fibers will be included in a gallery page that I plan to have as part of the site. Sound like fun? Come sign up!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:58:00 +0000

I am wildly excited. There is a box in my living room. A big one and I believe it contains the future of Dragonfly Fibers. It certainly contains a bunch of yummy shaded bfl/silk and Polwarth! roving, which i can hardly wait to begin dyeing. I am waiting for Karen, my number one, to come drink tea, knit, and paw through it.

While I am waiting, let me update you on my Cassis progress. The mermaid and aquaboy had a swim meet this weekend, so there was plenty of time to knit (but no kittens:) (scroll down till you see the kitten). I have knitted 5-6 inches on the raglan increases, aren't they pretty?

This is a great pattern. Not only is the sweater itself beautiful, but Thea Colman has written the instructions clearly, with just the right amount of detail. No wonder it has been featured so long on rvelry's pattern page. Also, the knitting is fun. The stockinette sections make the knitting fast and easy, and are broken up by simple lace repeats on the fronts and on the lower part of the back. The knit one purl one edging makes the most flattering line possible. I might actually finish this lovely piece. Maybe even this winter.

Also, I am loving this yarn. The blue face worsted is everything one wd want the a sweater yarn to be: soft, springy, drapey at the right gauge. And feels like heaven to my fingers. I have a little more in the shop, but clearly, i must list more! The Winter Woods colorway sold out during the update Friday night, but don't worry, I will make more!

If you like the Blue Face Worsted, please note that you can win a few skeins and do something really good for a small farmer whose barn burned down:( An organic one at that. Go see Juniper Moon Farm to help him out.

As I am attempting to master the art of a quickie post, I will leave you with a link to a video of my son and his buddies practicing for the variety show try out. Super cute!

Ice Day and Next Update Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:44:00 +0000

Now that Terry is on the team as the Bookkeeper extraordinaire and queen of money and etsy listings, someone else is taking pictures at the studio. Usually, she grabs the little camera when Finn does something adorable, but occasionally, she shoots other action around here. At least once a year, i wind up dyeing in the snow. i suspect it will be more this year, as we are all having more "weather". At any rate, this is what winter dyeing looks like. At least 4 layers on top, and two pairs of pants. Heavy wool socks under my ll bean boots.

And this is what the deck looks like today. Unfortunately, i'v only dyed most of January's miniclub, not all of it, so i may let it warm up a bit and get out there. Despite the ice, it's in the upper 30's today. Downright balmy.

My dragonfly biggification efforts continue. The biggest component is the opening of a brand new website, with blog and shopping cart integrated. Right now, i'm looking at Big Cartel, which charges in the neighborhood of $30/mo as compared to the $150 - 200 that i am paying etsy right now to have a shop that is even somewhat full. My dream is to have an online store that actually represents what i have in inventory so people can actually buy it.

My lovely friend and high priestess of marketing Laura Blueswirly has already created for a me a new font, and is updating my logo as we speak. What do you think? Website design is next. And we have a deadline.

Now, onto the yarn! And the knitting. This beautiful Flamboyan show sample was knitted by dragonfly and friend Susan Enger, or Auntissy on Ravelry in Mushroom Hunting and Norbert Djinni. My show booth is going to be amazing! I will say the color is a bit off; luckily for all of us i'll be getting a tutorial on more accurate color photo's very soon. Important for the website, too!

This fuzzy beauty is a silly cowl that i made from some amazing cormo fleece that i processed for my friend Steph. (have you SEEN her bullseys batts? Oh my wooly soul, but they are amazing:) I dyed it in December Baby shades, and spun it from the lock. i get the cormo thing now. wow! The softest, silkiest fiber of any kind i have ever touched. And probably the only wool i can wear anywhere near my neck.

Finally, my next shop update will be this Friday, january 12 at 9 pm eastern. Keep an eye out for what i'll be putting in it, ok?

No sleepin' on the job!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:53:00 +0000

Silly kitten! Finn is no dummy though, and that keyboard is nice and warm. So what if his help isn't always so helpful:)

He is now officially 10 weeks old, and growing into such a sweet and playful boy. Last night, he and the boy child went to bed together in a big pile. Sometimes he bites his nose in the middle of the night, but then, who wouldn't?

I want you to know that in my quest to embiggen Dragonfly Fibers, I have done a few cool things. Back in the summer, i contacted the very lovely Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops fame about carrying her patterns to shows. On thing led to another, and i sent her some yarn to design with. After a bit, she sent me pictures of this amazing shawl. Meet Coleus.

I think Kirsten may have created the perfect combination of pattern and yarn. Of course, her pictures, which i borrwed with her kind permission, are stunning. And she doesn't even know that I'm a gardener! This particular sample is made with Dragonfly Fibers Djinni in the Heroine colorway. I can't wait to knit it.

I think we may need a Coleus-along.

The other cool thing to share is that this book came out. I submitted a proposal for a design back in the early days before i even had determined exactly what woolie thing i was going to focus on. It took a while, but Little Red Riding Hoodie is now published. Oops, looks like we need a picture for its Ravelry page. This pattern is a cable and lace hooded cardigan, knit in the the very luscious Rowan Cashsoft DK. Yummy stuff. I knit the sample at a very tight gauge to get the cables to pop, but this may be less necessary with a yarn with a bit more texture.

The Lace pattern is a shetland pattern that i really enjoyed and i love the way the plaited cables look. Of course, you can't see the details in this very fun picture, but I do love the way Debbie Stoller's team styled the shot. There are tons of great looking and interesting patterns in this book, and as the call for patterns went out a few years ago, you can see the evolution of some talented and well-known designers.

Take Gryphon Perkins, for example. You know her, right? As you may know, we met early in our woollie careers, before she even knew she wanted to be an artisan yarn dyer. She was already published in Interweave Knits, though. And this one was soon to come! For Stitch and Bitch Superstar Knitting, she designed a sweet little horseshoe lace scarf. Go look at her designs on ravelry for the full range of wildness that she has dreamed up.

Back to the book, two of my favorites are Saxon the City :) by Julia Frank and the Fertility Blanket designed by Pamela Grossman. The Squirrelly Mitts by Elli of Elliphantom Kits are pretty awesome too! I feel honored and slightly awed to be in the company of these awesome knitters. Sadly, Debbie's book tour is not bringing her to the DC area, but go say hi, if you can. Actually, looks like she has one stop left, on February 24th in Philadelphia at the Free Library. So, check us out!

Happy 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:33:00 +0000

It will be, that is my intention. After a cozy and frenetic December, the new year dawns cold and bright. No plans for world domination yet, but definitely PLANS. I will need to grow Dragonfly Fibers if I want to be able to keep at it. Seem to me that the key to this is new customers and better communication. Oh, and knowing my numbers (blah, blah, blah...brain just put its fingers in its ears and said "I can't hear you!").

So, stay tuned for new website. It really is going to happen. I already have a new font, thanks to Laura Blueswirly, marketing genius and graphic designer extraordinaire. Looking at shopping Cart software; so far Big Cartel and Zen cart are in the running. Anyway, anything you'd love to see me do this year with the business, or the yarn and fiber, please let me know. Comments are great, and email is especially great: katechiocchio@verizon.net. I'm pretty sure we will not be adding any more animals to the household, so that's out;) but I promise to keep you posted on the the little beasties' progress.

For now, I have a few things to share this week. Club Dragon Witch, as you may know, is a collaborative effort between me and Brittany Newberry of Knit Witch fame and 6 fabulous designers. Every other month, starting in February, we will send a skein of yarn and a pattern, including but not limited to socks. I believe that this year will be even more fun than last, so join us, ok? The club will stay open through next.
I also want to let you know that I'll be doing a miniclub, starting this Friday. I'll be offering December Baby and a few of last winter's colorways (Winter Twilight anyone?) in a range of yarns and fibers. To influence my choices, go to this thread in my Ravelry group.

In the meantime, I have been knitting and spinning. Above is my sweetie's Christmas present, a cabled scarf in SG Bugga!, Hologram Moth colorway. This is my first time knitting the stuff and I do get it! A treat for the eyes, and the fingers. Hopefully, it'll be a treat for jack's neck this winter:)

This pretty thing is half of the collar of Cassis, knit in my Blue Face Worsted in colorway Hidalgo. I'm making it for my Rav group Sweater Kal. And no, these are not my only projects...

This beauty is n-plied Polwarth in the tempest colorway from Cloudlover. Lovely dye work on an amazing fiber. i'm in love with the yarn, and I think it may become a present for a good friend, she says mysteriously.

So, what's cookin' for you this year?