One Year, One Sweater

A year.

We've been at this for a whole year. 

It's been forever.

It's been no time at all.

I remember casting this on because I needed something to do to try and keep myself calm and grounded. 

Shawls felt useless. Where would I wear one to? There weren't any events for the foreseeable future, so why bother making lace and pretty things?

No, what I wanted and needed was something I could wrap myself up in and hide away.

So I cast on Writer's Block.

I'd already planned on making it at some point and already had most of the yarn, so why not?

I just needed two more skeins of the Malabrigo Rios I used, so I ordered it from Harps and Thistles. 

It felt so weird, to order yarn from them online. Every other time, I'd happily go to the shop to get what I needed. Just so I could spend an hour or two with my fellow yarn friends. 

Cindy brought my yarn out to the car. No going in, no chatting or browsing.

That's actually the last time I've been to the shop in a year. 

I can't even begin to describe how much I miss it. And the people. Oh god, do I miss the people.

I've caught myself crying quite a few times when I start thinking about all the pj parties we've missed.

I haven't gotten to share my accomplishments with them, the new things I've made. Instead, I only see the social media posts of others. 

No chatting or discussing, really. No in-depth back-and-forth conversations about what went right, what went wrong, laughing and joking and actually TALKING.

I crave that human interaction. Especially because just seeing and sharing strictly through social media can make me doubt myself and my talents. I rely on the social cues from person-to-person interaction to understand and make sense of myself. To help combat the voice in my head, telling me that I am somehow lesser.

Watching other knitters crank out sweater after sweater after sweater during the lockdown made me feel inadequate. Like my knitting skills weren't up to par. 

But time seems to be irrelevant now. It's no longer linear. Things ebb and flow in different ways for different people.

I thought this sweater took me a year. 

Cast On Date: March 26th, 2020

Cast Off Date: February 9th, 2021

Finished Date: February 12th, 2021

But in actuality, this sweater only took me 47 days to knit. 

Perspective can really change things, can't it?

That's what I'm trying to hold on to. That looking at all this from a different view can help me make sense of the world. To not fall completely to despair.

Isolation and distancing have been hell.

But it's also forced me to change perspective.

I have learned and changed and grown and discovered just how strong I actually am.

I have learned secrets about myself, wonderful revelations that are shaping me into who I am supposed to be.

I've learned what I can actually accomplish if I am given the tools and resources I need.

We're not out of this yet.

Not even close.

But I feel a little more hope than I have in quite a while.

Guess I just needed to change my view a bit.

Harbinger of Loom

Okay, listen. There really isn't any weaving content in this post, but I HAD to make that pun. 

Like, legally obligated.

Let's just move on to the yarn, shall we?

That's right!

I'm adding a BRAND NEW YARN BASE to my line up!

And, y'all... I AM SO IN LOVE WITH IT!

Introducing Harbinger, a DK weight yarn made up of the same superwash BFL as my Omen lace base.

It's 245 yards of pure bliss. 

Seriously. I've barely taken my hat off since I finished it.

I'll have a very limited quantity going up in the shop this Friday, December 4th at 3pm Eastern.

So be ready to snatch it up!

See you Friday.

Dawning

There have been 3 distinct moments on this journey that have triggered my "oh-my-god-this-is-actually-real-holy-shit" reaction: when I got my bank card with the business name on it, seeing my tags hanging on my yarn, and photographing the first project using my yarn.

In my previous post, I introduced you to the 3 colors that I'm starting my repeatable color catalog with. As we got closer to the initial opening date, I had an "oh shit" moment when I realized that I didn't have a sample actually showing said colors. 

It was actually super hard finding a pattern that fit my requirements. I needed something with a lot of lace (since that's what I feel a lot of my yarn is good for), used 3 colors, and could be done relatively quickly. 

There were a LOT of 3 color shawls out there, but most of them were shapes I don't generally like to wear (sorry, asymmetrical triangle fans, but they're not for me) or didn't actually use all 3 colors for the lace parts.

I ended up finding a Boo Knits pattern (Bright Tomorrow) and diving in.

And, HOLY HELL, is it fucking nerve-wracking knitting with something you've dyed. The whole time, all I could think was that it was going to bleed all over my hands, or that I'd damaged the yarn during the dyeing process somehow.

I don't think I breathed until it was done, washed, and on the bed, blocking.

But the results are fucking PHENOMENAL.

LOOK AT IT! 

I DID THAT!

I DYED THAT!

And it's not just a one-off for me!

I can make these same colors again and again and send them out to other yarn friends to enjoy!

I am so dang excited to see others working with these yarns, these colors. Creating their own magic.

We're almost there, my friends. Are you as excited as I am?

An Introduction

Well, July is here.

And with July comes the looming opening date of my yarn shop. (The 17th... mark your calendars)

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely terrified. Being someone with anxiety, my brain is constantly trying to undermine me and tell me that everyone is going to hate my yarn and that I'll be stuck with a whole bunch of stash that I'll never be able to get through. Not to mention all the money I'm out.

But I can't sell yarn if I don't, y'know, show it off...

But I've still been weirdly reluctant to write this post... to introduce y'all to my yarn. Even though I adore it all. Like REALLY love it.

So, I'm going to fight against my instinct to apologize for it all and instead just show you what I have to offer.

Without further ado, here are Black Goat Fibers official repeatable colors.

For the initial launch, I'm offering three repeatable colors and a whole butt-load of one-off's. Like a TON of them.

But let's just focus on the three.

First up is Moonwashed Lavender.

It hovers between silver and purple, depending on lighting and what you pair it with. 

I accidentally created this color when I was just chucking random dyes together to see how they worked and absolutely fell in love. 

This is shown on my lace weight base, Omen.

Next up is probably my favorite name so far, Goat Feathers.

This is cooler than a celery color, but more green than sea foam. Not quite mint, either. 

But it's A Good Heckin' Green, if I do say so myself.

This is on Familiar, a fingering weight merino/nylon base.

And lastly we have Cloaked.

A very deep cool grey, Cloaked is a great neutral and pairs well with practically everything. Especially with the other two colors in the collection.

I don't want to overwhelm y'all with everything I have, so I'll leave this here for now.

This is also on the Omen base. I do have one other base, but I haven't gotten those photographed yet.

Good lord, there's still so much to do...

*panic intensifies*

Anyway, next time I'll show you the shawl I made with these three colors and share what it felt like to actually make something with my own products.

For now, here's a teaser.

Cheers!

A Moment of Sweetness

I haven't been doing much in the way of knitting lately, but I did get to check the hives recently. So I thought I'd share the pictures from that.

A moment for you to sit back and smile and see my wonderful girls.

We transferred some queen cells (something new to me!) because we were splitting off new hives.

I also learned about festooning, which is where bees interlock their legs and form a chain. You can see some doing that in this photo.

I also got to shake bees for the first time, which is TERRIFYING.

"Let me just take this frame full of live bees and just *SHAKESHAKESHAKE* it into a new box!"

And lest you think I've given up on the yarn dyeing...

Black Goat Fibers, opening June 19th.

Mark your calendars, because it's gonna be fun.

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Brave Hue World

I knew, going into this, that I would probably enjoy dyeing yarn.

But even I didn't think I'd enjoy it this damn much.

It's all I want to do every day when I wake up.

My brain is constantly dreaming up new color ideas, wanting to experiment to see if I can make what I see in my head.

I've dyed 32 skeins now.

I'm out of my first order of bare yarn.

I've resorted to rooting around my stash for anything that I can dye.

And I can't wait to share all of it with you.

These are 32 of the 33, most of which will be for sale.

The last one I wound up to start on a shawl... because I obviously need shop samples, right?

But don't worry. I took a LOT of gratuitous glamour shots first.

AHHHH! I LOVE THIS COLOR SO MUCH!

This is the blue faced leicester lace weight base I'll be carrying.

I'll also have a sturdy 75/25 superwash merino/nylon blend and a super luxurious merino/cashmere/nylon blend (both fingering weight).

I want to start with just a few bases so I don't get overwhelmed straight out the gate.

And I'm still working on developing a color catalog.

But things are still looking like I'll be able to open by June... which is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.

I really, REALLY hope you all love these yarns as much as I do. Because I'm having so much fun making them.

For now, though, I guess I better get back to work.

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This Is A Lot

There is just Too Much going on right now to try and write a cohesive post, so it's time to bring back an old favorite... the list post!

1. First and foremost, the world is a terrifying place right now. Coronavirus is in our area and things are looking grim.

They've shut down our schools for the next 3 weeks, which means some of our kids are going to be going hungry because school was the only place they got consistent meals.

People are selfishly hoarding everything, which means that lower income and disabled folks aren't even to get the bare necessities.

And because of fucking capitalism, this virus is going to spread through the masses as we've created a system where missing a single day of work is the difference between surviving and complete ruin for a lot of folks.

I personally am terrified for a few family members who are older and/or immunocompromised.

I can't really do much other than offer to listen if you need someone to unload your anxiety on to, but know that I'm here if that's the case.

2. It's been said a million times in a million other places, but please minimize your contact with others as much as possible. Frequently disinfect communal surfaces. Keep away from family members and loved ones who are more susceptible to illness. AND FOR FUCK'S SAKE, WASH YOUR FUCKING HANDS!

Seriously, I don't fucking care if you think this is "no big deal" or that "I'll survive it fine." Think about someone other than yourself for once and realize that NOT EVERYONE CAN AND WILL BE OKAY! And do you want to be the one responsible for someone else getting ill AND POTENTIALLY DYING because you can't pull your head out of your own ass?

Do your research. Listen to ACTUAL SCIENTISTS AND DOCTORS. Not your bullshit consipracy-esque facebook memes.

3. Sorry, I'm a wee bit frustrated with Certain People at the moment.

4. Because of the virus, huge events are being cancelled everywhere. This is going to severely impact and hurt a lot of indie dyers, artists, and other content creators who rely on these events to make a living.

So if you can, try to support them as much as you can. Order from online shops, donate money, sign up for folks' Patreons... whatever you can do to help make this time less stressful for others.

5. I was actually supposed to be going to the Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival next weekend with Morgan, but it's been postponed.

Which means that this shawl that I started last Thursday...

And finished yesterday (a mere week later) with the intention of wearing it to said event...

 Doesn't really have a purpose.

Which means three out of the last four shawls I've made have earned that designation.

Maybe I should stop making shawls for events...

6. We know that isn't actually going to happen.

7. Speaking of Morgan, we've been hanging out a lot and it's been AMAZING.

Mostly because they're just an awesome person and the extrovert writing this has sorely needed some human interaction.

But also because they're teaching me to dye yarn.

Which leads me to...

8. I may actually soon be in a position to sell my own hand dyed yarn, something I've literally dreamed about for YEARS.

Morgan has literally thrown open the door to a path that I never thought I'd get close to. (Seriously, I've cried several times over the last few days because of how grateful I am and how overwhelmingly happy I am that I get to do this. And even saying that isn't really a good description for my current emotions.)

I am SO EXCITED to share the plans and schemes I have soon. I think my fellow lace knitters will be happy in particular.

It'll be awhile before anything is finalized and fully set up, but keep an eye out.

9. And if that wasn't enough excitement, I also GOT ASKED TO BE A GUEST BLOGGER FOR YSOLDA TEAGUE!

Apparently, her and her team loved my giant friggin Orchid Thief and would like to feature it.

I'll share a link when it comes out.

But y'all, WHAT EVEN IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW?!?!?!?!?!

10. And on top of all that, I'm ALSO working on writing up a worsted version of my Rainbomb pattern with the intent of selling it.

I'm making the sample in all affordable yarns, too, so anyone will be able to make it.

I'm not sure exactly when it will be out, because pattern and testing and such, plus trying to figure out the whole yarn business thing, but I promise it WILL be out sometime this year.

11. Is that still not enough? Because guess what?

I ALSO have found my passion for painting again.

One of my favorite artists released a how-to-ish video for watercolor, making this piece at the end.

View this post on Instagram

HAPPY LITTLE TREES! This is the final product from my most recent art tutorial over on YouTube. I had no idea what it was going to be. Still don't know. NAME THE CREATURE IN THE COMMENTS! #watercolor #colorfulpaint #painting #oddart #creatures #howtoart #creativeinspiration

A post shared by Mary Doodles (@marydoodles) on Mar 1, 2020 at 8:27am PST

And I was so firggin inspired that I whipped out my own paints and made this.

I loved that little creature so much that I also made this.

And I started a new Henry piece.

I feel like I'm waking up and living again. I WANT to make stuff. I'm excited to.

I've missed that.

Of course it has to be while the rest of the world is burning down around me, but I guess I'll take the wins I can.

12. And to round us out (and because it wouldn't be a good post without some yarn porn)...

Why hello, there.

This is Serendipitous Wool's Vajra yarn in Forbidden Forest.

And y'all, I've got SOME PLANS for this.

Which I should probably get to.

So I'll catch up with y'all later and leave you once again with this:

WASH YOUR GODDAMNED HANDS!

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Wild and Wooly

Welp, we're most of the way through February and I still don't have a shawl done.

Just like when I knit it before, Orchid Thief is taking a wee bit longer than I anticipated. I'm SO CLOSE to finishing it, but it's gotten so heavy that I have to often take breaks to rest my poor hands.

So in the meantime, why don't I show you some yarn porn instead?

Last weekend, we went to Wild and Wooly in Cleveland. It's a fast and furious one day show with around 30 vendors.

I'd seen that Bewitched Pigments was going to be there and I really wanted a chance to show off my vow renewal shawl to them in person. Which in hindsight, may have been a bit of a mistake. I couldn't walk more than 5 feet without someone wanting to talk to me about it. My throat was killing me from talking for like 2 and a half hours straight.

But I DID get to hand out my new business cards, so that was exciting!

And there was also all the yarn I bought. That was pretty okay, as well.

First off was a skein of sparkly fingering weight from Icemelon's Stash. Observant viewers may notice that I bought this exact same yarn at Great Lakes Fiber Show last year. I thought one would be enough, but I should have known better. So into the shawl stash this goes.

These I fell in love with immediately as soon as I spotted them. And then I saw that the colorway name was Ida McKinley and all hope of restraint was lost.

For those who don't know, Ida McKinley was the wife of President William McKinley and was born very close to my hometown. My grandparents took me and my sisters to the McKinley Library and Museum every summer. These visits helped to form my deep and abiding love of history.

Ida was a prestigious crocheter herself, making an estimated 4,000 pairs of slippers in her lifetime. They actually have a pair of them, along with a project bag and crochet hook, in the collection at the museum. You can see the slippers here.

It seemed that this show, soft ivory with muted colors were the name of the game for me.

I found this AMAZING handspun silk and alpaca blend from Four Square MicroFarm. It feels amaaaaazing.

And you want to know something EVEN COOLER?!

You can watch the batt that this was spun from being made RIGHT HERE!

I only have a wee bit of this and I want to use it for something special, but I'm not quite sure what yet.

My last yarn purchase was from Bewitched Pigments again. Vi actually spotted this colorway and when she showed me that the name was Swamp Witch, I said to hell with the budget and bought it.

I'll probably end up buying a second one sometime because, holy hell, I want to just bury my face in this.

I also picked up an OLIVE FRIGGIN GREEN pompom from their booth. And Vi bought me the rainbow one!

So that was Wild and Wooly, but I'm not done yet.

Oh no, my friends. I have BONUS YARN CONTENT!

The most wonderful and amazing Morgan of Knitcraft & Knittery has released a new yarn base and you know I HAD to get in on that action.

It's a Targhee/Columbia blend and it's WONDERFUL.

I'm actually thinking that it needs to be a hat and that olive green pompom needs to go right on top.

For now, though, it's back to this giant monster.

Maybe I'll be done by the weekend... which is what I've been saying for the last 3 weeks.

*sigh*

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