Good morning and happy Friday. I have so many things to tell you about today. First and foremost, it’s Show and Tell Friday, and I have many beautiful projects that everyone has shared with me to share with you. I am just flabbergasted by the beautiful things you all make!

Christmas Break

Before we get to all of that, I want to remind you that I will be taking a break to spend more time with my family during the Christmas season. I will leave the shop open, but after this weekend, I will not be dyeing or shipping again until January 4th, so if you place an order, just be aware that shipping will take quite a bit longer than my usual. This coming year will be my 10th anniversary in business (!!!), and this is actually the first time I have taken off more than a few days off in all that time. I love what I do so much that I actually have trouble not working, but I think a little break every ten years or so is in order, don’t you?

The last day I will be shipping is this coming Monday, so if you need something lovely to work on over the holidays, please go ahead and place your order.

Hand-Dyed Top

One of my resolutions for the new year is to focus more on hand-dyed top for all of the spinners and felters. Spinning was my first fiber-arts love, and I’m excited to bring these to you as a complement to the art batts I carry.

Right now I have five different colorways organic Polwarth I have dyed up and four colorways I dyed up on superwash BFL. Polwarth is always soft, but I have never felt the likes of this BFL. It’s incredible.

Here’s the organic Polwarth:

…and here’s the supewash BFL:

I think out of the whole group, my favorite is this new colorway I created called Butterfly Garden on the superwash BFL. It’s kind of hard to tell the photo, but it’s a gradient that goes from fuchsia to blue with orange along the way. The photo shows two 4-ounce braids together.

After the holidays, I have lots more wonderful fiber blends to dye up, including some that are probably going to be new to you. The one that I am super excited about is made of baby camel blended with silk. I’ll be dyeing it up in early January–if I can manage to wait that long.

More Stained Glass Sock

Last week I showed you my new Stained Glass Sock yarn base, and many of you were as excited as I am about it, so I ordered more, and I have now dyed up a new bunch of colorways. I also redyed the colorways that sold out so quickly, so if you missed out the first time, there’s more to choose from.

Show and Tell

Now, on to the main event. I am so delighted to share all of these beautiful creations with you. I love being a step in your process, and I hope these projects inspire your next creation. Many thanks to everyone who sent FOs or WIPs to share.

Amanda’s Handspun Yarn

Let’s start with some handspun from Amanda. Amanda is a long-time art batt club member, and she shared some of the yarn she has spun from the monthly club art batts and other art batts too.

The top photo shows A Little Princess, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Monet’s Garden at Giverny.

The bottom left shows Renoir’s Two Girls at the Piano, Boticcelli’s Birth of Venus, and Franz Marc’s Large Blue Horses. The bottom right shows yarn Amanda spun from my sapphire top and from a batt of Kingfisher.

Amanda did such a beautiful job spinning all of these, but I think my favorite is Monet’s Garden. What’s yours?

Of course it doesn’t end with the handspun. Here is a work in progress Amanda made from yarn she spun from Lothlorien art batts. It’s the Simplette Shawl by Minja’s, and it’s a free download on Ravelry. Amanda switched it from garter stitch to stockinette. Isn’t it lovely?

Anielle’s Lyrata Top

Next up is this beautiful top made by Anielle. She used my Northanger Abbey colorway on Sock Perfection to make this. The pattern is the Lyrata Top by Linda Skuja. So lovely!

Carolyn’s Diffusion Shawl

This next contribution is by Carolyn, who made the Diffusion Shawl by Tetiana Otruta. She used Party Like It’s 2021, Beautiful Universe, and a bit of purple called Reign from another dyer.

This looks so beautiful, and it looks like such a fun knit too with all the different stitch patterns! I’m putting it on my short list.

Adrienne’s Drop Stitch Scarf

This beautiful scarf was made by Adrienne. She used my Epiphany yarn on Sparkly Merino Sock and the Drop Stitch Scarf pattern by Christine Vogel. This is another free download on Ravelry. Isn’t Adrienne’s project gorgeous and fun?

Karen’s Cowls

Karen shared two projects with me. The first one is a cowl she knit using my Eight Days of Easter Kit. Isn’t this fun?

More recently, she approached me to see if I had some good fall colors for the Diamond Twist Cowl pattern I made and included with the Easter kit last year. She used Chocolate, Fuchsia, Ode to the West Wind, and Autumn Leaves in that order on a combination of Sparkly Merino Sock and So Silky Sock. She’s just starting on Autumn leaves now in the WIP. I can’t wait to see it finished.

If you are interested in the pattern, it’s one I designed, so just ask, and I’ll email you a copy.

Leslie’s Sweaters

I have two sweaters from the amazing Leslie, and they are both gorgeous. She made the first one using Rosy-Fingered Dawn on Buttery Soft DK.

FYI, I use Buttery Soft DK for my yarn club, and I usually have it on hand to dye up, but I don’t ordinarily keep it stocked in the shop. It’s a fantastic yarn base, but it isn’t superwash, and not everyone is interested in the little bit of extra care it takes. All that is to say that if you ever want something on Buttery Soft DK, it is available for all the colorways in the dyed to order section of my shop.

Leslie’s next amazing project is the Sipila Sweater by Caitlin Hunter.

She used Chocolate on So Silky Sock for the body and North Wind on So Silky Sock for the color-work yoke.

Isn’t it beautiful? Leslie mentioned how much she enjoyed the variations in color, and I agree. I love the depth those small variations add to a project.

Marion’s Odyssey Shawl

Next up is Marion’s Odyssey Shawl. This is a really wonderful (and free) pattern by Joji Locatelli. She used Northanger Abbey, November in My Soul, and Wuthering Heights on Squoosh DK to make the shawl. Isn’t it beautiful?

I can personally attest to how very wearable this shawl is. In fact, I’m wearing mine right now. The big eyelets are pretty unique. I had never seen a stitch pattern quite like it. Not only is Marion an amazing knitter, but she also takes the prettiest photographs!

Connie’s Feathers Down My Back Shawl

This next shawl was made by Connie. Isn’t it beautiful? Look at the lace! The pattern is Feathers Down My Back by Theresa Bandy. This is yet another awesome free pattern.

Connie did such a beautiful job knitting it. It’s made of Call Me Ishmael and Annunciation Blue on Sparkly Merino Sock.

Shirley’s Christmas Socks

Next up are these darling Christmas socks that Shirley made. She made them using Forest Green and Christmas Candy. I love them!

Shirley was expressing to me how much knitting and crocheting are stress-relievers for her, especially right now. I think that is true for all of us!

I tell people that it’s like doing a crossword puzzle or sudoku puzzle, but at the end you have something soft and lovely and warm to wear.

Tammy’s City Limits Sweater

Next up is this gorgeous sweater that Tammy knit. It is the City Limits Sweater by Tanis Lavallee. It uses two strands of fingering-weight yarn held double, and Tammy was telling me that the colorways overlap, so it makes for an awesome fade.

From top to bottom, Tammy used Monet, Carnavele, Eggplant, Beautiful Universe, and Annunciation Blue, all on Sock Perfection. I can’t think of a better fade combo!

Tammy did such an amazing job!

Advent Calendar Spoiler Alert Ahead

I have one more project to show you, but first I have to warn you that it’s a spoiler alert. Gayle has been showing her progress on her Advent Calendar on Instagram, and I asked her if I could use a photo of what she has so far for my newsletter. She gracious said yes, but before you scroll down, stop for a moment.

If you are working on the Yarn Advent Calendar from me and you don’t want to see what the colorways all the way up through colorway #17 look like, then don’t scroll down.

If you don’t mind seeing, then scroll away. I can’t tell you how excited I was to see this! I’m going to leave some space so you don’t see accidentally if you don’t want to.

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Ready?

Gayle’s Yarn Advent Calendar

Here is Gayle’s beautiful wrap. She’s using my yarn advent calendar kit and Ambah O’Brien’s Adventuresome Wrap, which I included as part of the kit.

Here’s a closeup so you can see the stitch patterns better:

Those eyelets are actually a lot like the ones in Joji Locatelli’s Odyssey pattern, aren’t they?

I had so much fun designing the colorways to go with the kit this year. I wanted something bright and cheerful for 2020 with colors that would work well with everyone’s wardrobe. I have added a few new colorways to the shop that I created just for the Advent calendar. Ochre is the most notable.

Many thanks to Gayle for sharing her beautiful knitting with us.

Gift Cards

If you need a last-minute gift for a fiber artist in your life (or want to share a hint with someone who loves you), I do have gift cards in my shop. They are sent by email to the person who gets the gift card, and then that person can forward it with a personal note to the recipient. Here’s the link.

That’s a Wrap

That’s everything for today. I want to thank everyone who shared their beautiful projects. If I missed any, please do let me know so I can include them next time. It was not intentional.

I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas, but at the same time, I know this holiday season is going to be different for everyone and really difficult for some.

As I mentioned, I’m taking a break from dyeing and shipping to spend a little more time with my family starting next week, but I’ll still be checking my email most days. If you are feeling lonely and most especially if you have to spend Christmas alone, please don’t hesitate to