Christmas Sock Knitting 2017 has Commenced!!

About a week ago I started thinking about my Christmas Knitting! My family loves knitted socks for part of their Christmas gifts so it takes a bit of planning. My favourite part is tossing the stash a bit to pick out Yarns! I get to remember the yarns that have been sitting for a while and check out new acquisitions. I can possibly take a little to much time decideing 😂 But I decided on these pretties! 

  

I had 1 skein that my 1.5 yr old got into so it required a bit of time hand winding and detangling it 😂 I chose a good selection of Yarns ❤️ There is some Pace by Universal Yarn,  SeaTurtleFibreArts , Socks That Rock (from my fibreahare partner, thanks ❤️), Pagewood Farm Yukon , the Woolen Rabbit , some Socrates by Alpaca with a Twist and a Flames sock blank by Gingersnapthat and Mr SnapThat!

I've already detanged and casted on the first pair of Christmas Socks using Pace Yarn in a charcoal! 

I'm just working the heel flap on the first sock! Pattern is CinderBlock Sock by Anne Hanson. It's my go to sock pattern for men's socks. It works especially well if your not sure of how high their instep is or how wide their feet are. The pattern is stretchy but not too stretchy. It's well worth the pattern price ❤️

And because I can't just have 1 pair of socks on the needles, I casted on another pair of Christmas 2017 Socks!

The yarn is Comfort and Joy by Socks That Rock and was gifted to me by my Fibre Share Partner from the last instalment of 2016! It's an interesting and beautiful mix of colors! The base is thicker than standard sock yarn and I'm making quick work of the first sock! I am seriously considering Knitting them into knee highs bc the skein weighed just under 150grams!!

I should be able to get all my Christmas Knitting done in time. I was able to get it done the last couple years for Socks. But definitely need to get started in July / August! 

Happy Knitting ❤️

FO: Rebel in the Spotlight

I'm also super excited that I was able to cast off my Rebel in the Spotlight Shawl! 

Yarn: I'm a Rebel by Monsoon Calmity

Pattern: Spotlight by Woolenberry

I fell in love with this colorway when she listed it and bought it straight away! Then I spent a couple weeks debating on the perfect pattern. I decided on the Spotlight pattern because I could easily modify it to use up the whole skein! 

I loved the Gradient mix of this cotton yarn and the extra effort required Knitting it made the end product so gorgoeus!! Monsoon Calamity uses 4 plies of Cotton weaving yarn to create these gorgoeus gradients so when Knitting it can be a bit splitty. It was easily overcome by slowing down my Knitting to ensure that I was Knitting all 4 threads. I was able to whip out this Shawl in about a month. I wasn't dedicating all my Knitting time to it, so it's not like it slowed down my Knitting a whole lot, but it did require a little extra attention. I would totally recommend Knitting with her Yarns ❤️

She has so many gorgoeus gradients in her Etsy Shop!! Go check it out HERE!! 

Catch Up!!

This summer has been about Balance. Balancing Family, Work and Me Time! It's been a struggle to get these 3 to balance but the easiest way I've been balancing it is, depending on the weather! If it's nice, I take the kiddos to the beach or the splash park. Basically soaking up as much nice weather as I can before we transition into fall and winter! 

I've been doing work when the weather isn't ideal. Sewing, dyeing, stitch markers, basically whatever I feel like doing for the day. 

One of the first child free "Me Time" was when I went to the Calgary Stampede with Kim of GingerSnapThat! 

We had a super fun time and I'm sure I chatted her ear off the whole time 😂

We partaked in the rodeo events for the day ❤️

Checked out the Agriculture / Livestock of the Stampede! 

And of course there were Tanks!

Mr SnapThat (AKA Colin) made an appearance after the rodeo events! We hit up the beer garden and some mini donuts! 

It was an awesome time! Thanks so much to Kim and Colin for showing me the Calgary Stampede! I'm quite embarrassed to say that I have never been there before!! I'm hoping to make it an annual event ❤️

❤️❤️Customer Fav's Shop Update ❤️❤️

I've snuck some customer favourite colorways into my Online Shop today 😍 I was feeling totally inspired by the Painted Horse colorway as pictures of it kept popping up in the most random places 😂 So I dyed up a pot of it as well as a few other popular colorways!

Painted Horse on Anna's Sock

Columbia Icefield on Anna's Sock

My Old Black Powder on Anna's Sock

And I was totally inspired by these photos! Dendrobium Orchids were my favourite when my mom owned her own Flower Shop! 

Dendrobium Orchid on Anna's Sock

This is my favourite colorway so far! The magic between the blues and purples are beyond drool worthy and totally my colors ❤️❤️

Happy Shopping

Donate to the Red Cross for those affected by the BC Wildfires

This is completely heartbreaking for me. For Albertans (and Canadians) it's only a year since the Fort McMurray fire and now our friendly neighbors to the west have several Wildfires. Many people have lost everything and are evacuated. My heart goes out to everyone in British Columbia that has had to evacuate or will be evacuated! 

In times like these the best way to help is to donate to the Canadian Red Cross for the British Columbia Wildfire Donation ! To encourage this I am offering up a $100 gift certificate to my Online Shop. To be entered just send an email of your receipt of donation to prairiedyestudio@outlook.com . This ensures that people have indeed donated and aren't just trying to take advantage of the giveaway. 

Photo Credit given to the Vancouver Sun

Thinking about our friendly neighbors and sending prayers to:

❤️ those affected by the Wildfires

❤️ and those fighting the Wildfires in British Columbia 🙏

Last Few Vendor Spaces for the Prairie Fibre Festival

When I started the Vendor Call for the Prairie Fibre Festival I wasn't sure what the response was going to be! I know a lot of vendors from the Fibre Arts Markets and the space at the Lacombe Memorial Centre was HUGE! There's always that irrational thought in your head that says your going to fail and that no one will apply as a vendor and no one will show up the day of 😂 

Well I'm quite happy with how this market is progressing and there has been lots of positive response for it! I've contacted all the Yarn Stores in Central Alberta within a 4-5 hour drive and have asked them if they would consider hanging a poster in their yarn shop. There's been blitz advertising across Ravelry, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! There has been shout outs from Podcasters and a very overwhelming positive response from everyone! 

So much so that there is only a few Vendor Spaces left for the Prairie Fibre Festival!! There is only 2 Booths left out of 19 Booths! And 6 Tables left out of 21!

Booths are $175 each and measure 8'x8' aprox and are not side by side! 

Tables are $150 each and measure 8'x3' approx. you can easily choose to not have a table and use wire racking or your own display for these spaces! You can also get a discounted rate for multiple tables for a larger space! 2 Tables for $200, 3 tables for $250! The table isles are 3 tables long but if you would like a larger space than 3 tables let me know! 

If your interested in becoming a vendor and securing your spot send an email to prairiefibrefestival@outlook.com to fill out a Vendor Application 😄 Only completed application forms will be accepted and  to become vendors ❤️

This is super exciting and if you follow the Prairie Fibre Festival Facebook Group, Ravelry Group or Instagram Feed I've been sharing a Featured Vendor every few days! I'll continue sharing new and exciting products from the Prairie Fibre Festival Vendors up until the day of September 24 ❤️❤️ Because that's the fun part! Seeing what products they have! 

If your a possible customer this is a great way to see the quality and diverse vendors we have for Central Alberta's first Fibre Festival😍

Here's to an awesome first Prairie Fibre Festival ❤️❤️ 

🇨🇦Thank You 🇨🇦

I am so blessed to have so many orders for the Oh Canada Yarn and Project Bags! I've been making them up 3 at a time every day and the turn over from date ordered is usually about 1 business day before they get shipped out! I've added the last of the quantities of the project bags in my Online Shop  I've precut everything so I knew how much I had of each bag so there was no surprises and they could be over sold! So whatever is in my Online Shop is what's left! 

Here's a little picture parade of the Oh Canada Project Bags 😍❤️

Oh Canada Sweater Project Bag

Oh Canada Sweater Project Bag 

Oh Canada Medium Project Bag

Oh Canada Medium Project Bag

Oh Canada Small Tall Proect Bag - Just 1 available

Oh Canada Small Project Bag

And there's just 2 skeins left of Oh Canada on Anna's Sock ❤️❤️

Happy Shopping ❤️❤️