Update since July: Lots of Finished Projects! And tons of new yarns!

November 24, 2020 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

I’m not sure what happened, but I totally forgot about updating this blog (I have several blogs), so I have lots of finished objects to show off and new yarns to show too. (Only Deep South Yarn Hop purchases are being shown here).

I think I bought more yarn over the summer than the whole of last year…well, maybe not that much, but close. The 2020 Deep South Yarn Hop just finished up a couple of weeks ago…and I bought more yarn than I had planned, but some of the deals were unreal. So, that being said, I don’t have to buy yarn for the next decade…and that’s if I’m using it almost every day. My stash has seriously gotten out of control. I tried to do an inventory, but after a few hours, I gave up.

I also relaunched my own indie dyed yarn line this fall: Mythos Yarns, which are available at Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun (Madison, AL). I’m only dyeing in very small batches at present to see what bases/colors sell best before I do a full scale launch next year.

I’ve woven 13 scarves in the past month….along with knitting some hat projects. I’m still working on my Soundtrack Sweater and another sweater that I’ve had on the needles for several months. But, considering I’ve knitted 5 sweaters between March and August, I’m not feeling too bad about it.

2020 Deep South Yarn Hop Purchases: Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun (Madison, AL), Yarn Boutique of Decatur (Decatur, AL) Taming of the Ewe (Gadsden, AL) Ewe & Co. (Kingston Springs, TN) Bliss Yarns (Brentwood, TN) Haus of Yarn (Nashville, TN)

Memorial Day Week: 2 New Projects & (more) New Yarn

May 31, 2020 Emily Wallace Handwoven1 Comment

I’ve started two new knitting projects as of Memorial Day…both of which are raglan style knitted tops. The first one is Nuuk from Jonna Hietala (using Noro Tennen yarn “Alpine” colorway) and the second is Wedge Yoke Lace Pullover by Eunny Jang (using Louisa Harding Trenzar yarn “Pumpkin” colorway). The first is worsted weight yarn and the second is chunky weight, so they should work up quickly (and have so far). I’m alternating projects…knitting one in the morning and one in the evening so I don’t get bored with either.

Here are pics of my progress as of two days ago:

(Left) Nuuk by Jonna Tietala in Noro Tennen yarn; (Right) Wedge Yoke Lace Pullover by Eunny Jang in Louisa Harding Trenzar yarn

On Friday, I stopped by a Huntsville, AL yarn shop, Fiber Artwork, and picked up some British wool yarns: Lore by The Fibre Co. and Soft Donegal 2-ply by Studio Donegal. On Saturday, I revisited Thread in Florence, AL for more Hedgehog Fibres yarn and another bar of lotion by Love+Leche–this time in Lemongrass scent.

Yarns from Fiber Artwork (Huntsville, AL)

Items from Thread (Florence, AL); The skinny singles yarn is the same colorway I bought last week (“Bramble”). They didn’t have anymore “Teacup” colorway in Merino DK, so I got all they had in “Ferrum” colorway.

Additions to my stash from 2 LYS

May 27, 2020May 27, 2020 Emily Wallace Handwoven2 Comments

I think I’ve bought more yarn during this pandemic than I have to-date this year. But, in my defense, my wedding anniversary, birthday, and Mother’s Day did fall during this time…so I’m technically getting “gifts” of yarn from my husband for those events. And, there was a sale at my LYS (Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun) on Memorial Day, so what was I supposed to do? Our Local Yarn Shops need all the support they can get right now…even the ones that have already opened back up to the public.

With the preamble out of the way, here are my new acquisitions that have not been shown in previous posts:

Yarns/Accessories from Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun (Madison, AL): Dream in Color Juliette (2 colorways: BFL/Silk) Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere; Dream in Color Smooshy; Ancient Arts Socknado (2 colorways; I got each of these in a mystery bag previously, so I wanted to add an additional skein for each color); Lornas Laces Sportmate; Malabrigo Rios; “Deathly Hallows” stitch markers from yBSquare

Yarns & Lotion Bar from Thread (Florence, AL): Hedgehog Fibres Merino DK & Skinny Singles; Love + Leche Little Bee Lotion Bar in Cedarwood scent

Mystery Bags from Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun that I forgot to mention before!

17th Wedding Anniversary and Mystery Yarn

April 6, 2020 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

April 1st was my 17th wedding anniversary, so my husband and I hopped in the car and visited all of the outdoor places that were significant to us in the area. Since he proposed to me in the same city as my favorite yarn shop, he bought me another mystery yarn bag that Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun was offering for curbside delivery. I did tell the shop owner that I needed a row counter, so she threw in a row counter ring (Knitter’s Pride), which I absolutely love. I’m excited to start a new project with some of the yarn I’ve gotten from both mystery bags.

Mystery Grab Bag from Hook A Frog (Madison, AL)

March 28, 2020 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Yesterday, I picked up a mystery grab bag from LYS, Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun in Madison, AL. They’re offering these mystery grab bags via curbside pickup or FREE shipping. I told her what I wanted (anything DK weight or heavier, yarn-wise) and she put a bag together for me to pick up.

They’re offering these bags at $50 (You get $75+/retail items) or $100 (You get $150+/retail items). I loved my bag and might go back for another before all this COVID-19 craziness is over.

You can also order regular items and mystery grab bags via her online shop or call in any order and she’ll ship it to you at Hookafrog.net .

$50 Mystery Grab Bag from Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun (Madison, AL)

Art Batt Spinning in 2020

January 30, 2020January 30, 2020 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

First 112 yds from 100g Lucca Dot Yarn Art Batt

Last fall, the yarn shop I work at hosted a fiber blending workshop with Claire Cabe of Lucca Dot Yarn, who also happens to be a good friend and mentor.

Some of the participants weren’t spinners themselves, so Claire and I spun for those who couldn’t spin for themselves. I thought most of them would want the beautiful art yarn that Claire spins, but several wanted plain, single-ply yarn–so I got to spin those. I’ve spun 5 skeins so far (I got way behind between the Deep South Yarn Hop event and my dad going into the hospital for all of December), and I’ve got several more to go.

I’m usually fast at spinning, but my back has been giving me problems off and on for the last couple of months, so I’m forcing myself to take it slow–even though these skeins are long overdue. Thankfully, the recipients have been (and continue to be) patient with me.

These art batts are blends of merino, bamboo, stellina, firestar, and sheep locks–available from Lucca Dot Yarn.

This Week’s Project #1: From the Dyepot

November 23, 2019 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Other than teaching beginner-advanced yarn dyeing classes at my LYS, I haven’t dedicated much time to professional acid-fast dyeing recently. I remedied that this week by dyeing five skeins of 100% Superwash Merino wool yarn in DK weight. I hope to start selling these at the LYS where my studio is (Yarn Boutique of Decatur–Decatur, AL). When I owned my own yarn shop (In the Loop, Hartselle, AL), I had my own handdyed yarn brand: Mythos Yarn. This is the brand I plan to revive at Yarn Boutique.

For this “test” project, I decided on two colorways. The first is hand painted with fuscia, turquoise, silver, and black. The other is a violet purple blend. Names are forthcoming.

Handpainted 100% superwash merino yarn (Mythos Yarn)

Kettle dyed 100% superwash merino wool yarn (Mythos Yarn)

Deep South Yarn Hop 2019: Yarn Haul

November 18, 2019 Emily Wallace Handwoven1 Comment

I only got to visit 6 out of 7 participating shops during the 1st Annual Deep South Yarn Hop, but I had a great time traveling to those shops…especially the ones I hadn’t been to before, bringing home some fiber goodness. Here are pictures of my haul. All the yarn I bought was discounted for the event (except for Taming of the Ewe and Bliss Yarns).