June 25, 2016

Olds Fibre Week...

It's been a week since Olds Fibre Week started and I am starting to get back into my usual self. I was quite obsessed with preparing for this event and I was so glad that I was able to get it all done ahead of time. It left very little time to be stressed the day before 😄 

If you follow me on Instagram, I took a photo of each booth at Olds Fibre Week and did a little explanation of what they had. It was fabulous!! There were so many fabulous vendors! About 30 vendors and there's too many photos to post here. Just check out my Instagram feed from the menu on the right side of my blog! It's inspiration! 

 

I scored some pretty sweet yarn the second day of the market. I hit up the Sea Turtle Fiber Arts booth and the Danware booth! I was so good before this point and it basically helped me (or shoved me) down the rabbit hole of purchases! The skein on the left is Dark Side of the Moon on Ridley Sock and the skein on the right is Easter Eggs on Ridley Sock with a contrasting heel toe skein. I'm a complete sucker for rainbow or oranges so these skeins were mine when I saw them!! I casted on Dark Side of the Moon shortly after the market!! More on that in a little bit 😄

 

The third day of the market was a falling off the band wagon day 😂 but it was completely worth it 😄  I am a firm supporter of all Fibre Artists and love to try out other dyers yarns as well as my own. 

I also got lots of positive response from customers and vendors alike. I had a wonderful chat with Caroline from Ancient Arts Yarns and she had such positive things to say about my dyeing. It was a little overwhelming since I took her yarn dyeing course a couple years ago at Olds Fibre Week. Thanks so much 😄

Which reminds me, I got a gorgeous skein of yarn from the Ancient Arts booth!!

 

Colorway is : To Boldly Go , which is named after Caroline's coloured highlights in her hair 😄

 

I also picked up 2 skeins of 100% fingering Merino from Rabbitworks Fiber Studio. She is such a nice lady 😄 I'm hoarding these skeins and hope to find a special project for them soon! She'll be back next year at the Olds Fibre Week Market so keep an eye out for her booth 😄

I had acquired some gorgeous yarns so it was hard to figure out which one to cast on first. The determining factor was, I remembered this nice lady showing me her Fingerless mitts she knit up using Dark Side of the Glam and I fell in love with them!

 

 

Like how do you NOT get inspired after seeing it caked!!

 

I was also super impressed with how the pooling was next to none when knitting a pair of fingering weight mittens.

 

Then voila! The first mitten was done. There was a little pooling when shaping the mitten top for the first mitten but I find it very minimal! Overall, I love how it came out and I've already started the second mitten!!

A little Instagram news! I've reached 600 followers on Instagram and I decided to celebrate! The first 10 orders from my Etsy Shop get a free Snagless Stitch marker set. Just add your choice from my available stock in the comments section and I'll add them free of charge to your order 😍 Happy Shopping!!

 Just a reminder that I'll be closing up my Etsy Shop during the Canada Post Strike which will be starting July 2. I will be shipping all orders until then so they may or may not be held up by the Strike / Lock Out. Shipping within Canada takes about 7 business days and shipping Internationally takes about 2-4 days to clear Canada Post. I have gotten a couple price quotes for shipping via other avenues and they were significantly more expensive so I've decided to put my Etsy Shop on Vacation mode until Canada Post comes to some agreement for their Collective Bargaining agreement. 

I am checking into other avenues so that my customers can purchase my products in the Edmonton area and the Calgary area. So keep an eye out for that announcement 😄 

Hopefully in the very near future!  


June 12, 2016

Project Bag Sizes for the Update Tomorrow...

Wondering how big the project bags are in the Etsy Update! I've added a sock and a cake of yarn for scale. Plus rough measurements. Please keep in mind that these measurements are only a ball park measurement as each bag is different and each bags individual measurements are in the listing 😄

All pictures are shown with my current WIP, a size 10.5 men's sock for a size reference. All listings are just for the project bags and don't come with the socks, yarn or scissors 😉

Sock bags - The base of the bag measures 4" wide x 4.25" length" x 6.5" tall. The top measures 8" and the opening is 7" wide.
 
 

Small Bag - The base of the bag measures 4" wide x 4.25" length" x 5.5" tall. The top measures 8" and the opening is 7" wide.
 
 
 

Medium Bag - The base of the bag measures 4" wide x 6.75" length" x 6.5" tall. The top measures 10.5" and the opening is 8.750" wide.
 
 
 

Large Bag - The base of the bag measures 4" wide x 11.5" length" x 9.5" tall. The top measures 15.25" and the opening is 14" wide.
 
 
 

Extra Large Bag only 1 available - The base of the bag measures 6" wide x 13" length" x 13" tall. The top measures 19" and the opening is 17.5" wide.
 
 
 

Also shipping charges are very reasonable for the project bags:
Canada : $3.50, then $2 for each additional bag 
USA : $4, then $2.50 for each additional bag 
Worldwide : $5.90, then $4 for each additional bag

Although if your buying yarn with your order you’ll pay the standard shipping rate plus $2 for the weight difference.

Happy Shopping 😄

Etsy Update Monday June 13 @ 10am MST

I'm going to have a good update on Monday June 13!! It will consist of all 46 project bags I have completed and a selection of Progress Markers! 

 

I have a full preview of all the bags and the prices on the Prairie Dye Studio Facebook Page. Direct link HERE !! 

The break down is that the Sock Project bags are $25
 
 

Small Bags are $26
 
 

Medium Project Bags are $36
 
 

Large Project bags are $45
 
 

And I have one Extra Large bag for $60
 
 

The Large and the Extra Large bags have the printed fabric on the front and a complimentary or matching fabric on the back.

If you'll be attending Olds Fibre Week and would like one of these bags you can use the coupon code : FREESHIPPINGLOCAL to save the shipping and pick it up at my booth 😄

Happy knitting 😄

June 10, 2016

Building up my stock!

I've been building up my stock the last couple weeks for Olds Fibre Week and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel 😄

 

I finished all the Progress Markers and all the Snagless Stitch Markers the other day! I've added all my stock I currently have for the Snagless Stitch Markers to my Etsy Shop already.

 

They include these beauties! A Rainbow set of Fire Polished Glass Beads 😍 They sparkle like crazy and weigh about the same as the mineral stitch markers.

 

I've also added some super cute Knitted Sweater Progress Markers to my Etsy Shop! 

 

As well as some Crystal Angel Progress markers and just a few of the Hooked Crystal Angel Progress Markers. See below:

 

I use my progress markers to mark the beginning of a row. Although, I have been using them to mark every 15 rows when I am knitting plain stockinette socks and it works fabulously. Then I can see how many rows I've knit very easily.

 

I haven't added all the Progress Markers into my Etsy Shop yet but I will be adding some this weekend! I decided to sell them in smaller packages so you can choose to buy different kinds of Progress Markers and not commit to just one kind.

 

And today I'm going to work on finishing the last 14 project bags for the market 😄

 

Here's a few waiting for their final ironing!

 

I should have 46 bags available for purchase at the Olds Fibre Week Market! Some are sewn up with some fabulous fabric my mom gave me from her stash. It's been sitting there for 10-15 years, so I'm not sure if that qualifies as vintage but it's pretty cool!

Happy Knitting

June 02, 2016

Yarn Sale in Calgary this Saturday!! A quick brief PREVIEW!!

Hi Everyone!!

I just wanted to do a quick post letting everyone know about the Yarn Sale in Calgary this Saturday. Claire is one of the creators of the Fibre Shindig and she had a devastating accident earlier this year and been making slow but steady progress in healing but needs more help. So her fibre community has gotten together to put on a Yarn Sale for her where all the proceeds go to her and her family. See her complete story HERE. They are still a bit shy from their fund raising goal to make their house wheel chair accessible, so many fibre loving peeps from the Shindig and beyond have donated goodies to be sold at the Yarn Sale! If your in or around the Calgary area stop in and take a look to see what goodies are available! 

Here's a quick taste of some of the pretty things that will be available for purchase this Saturday at the Yarn Sale in Calgary!

Cara from Chasing Fire Ceramics  as donated 3 yarn bowls and they look FABULOUS!! 
 
 
 

Sea Turtle Fibre Arts has donated some pretty yarns 😄
 
 
 

 

There will be many lovely destash items for sale 😄

 

Plus what I've donated:

 

2 smaller project bags that will fit a sock WIP, 3 sets of Snagless stitch markers and 3 sheep key fob / key chains 😄

This is just a small amount of what will be available for purchase! 

 

Save the date for this Yarn Sale and get there early to get your dibs on some fabulous items 😍