Saturday, June 26, 2010

One Man's Sweater Is Another Man's Project

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Today I finally posted my scarf I made about a week ago. With the coloring of the yarn I decided to simply call it my Green Tea Fringe Scarf. I also listed my Peacock Boa Scarf that I made instead of going through my yarn stash like I had planned on doing. Stayed up until midnight... Didn't even realize the time until I was cleaning up and noticed the clock. Another night flies by due to crafting... And another morning I wake up dead on my feet because of it. Thank goodness for coffee!

Fruitful Searches

I used to work for Goodwill Industries and know first hand all of the wonderful treasures that come through there. We would have regulars who would come in looking for specific materials in clothing and would make quilts out of them, gloves, and other project, many that they would turn around and donate themselves.

Every now and then I will go in there to say hello to my former coworkers and after reading several articles about salvaging knitted sweaters to make something else I decided to keep my eye out when I visited. Today I struck pay dirt! I found a medium length house coat in a light cream 90% wool/10% nylon yarn with "good seaming" (term from www.neauveau.com 's article on unraveling a sweater.) Not only was I able to find a sweater to practice unraveling, it was a nice size to yield a good amount of yarn and it was 90% wool so I get to try out dyeing and for the heck of it give felting a try!

I brought it to the checkout and had a brief conversation with one of my old managers and went skipping out as if I found a $20 bill in my pocket after doing the laundry.

I figured I'd start small and unravel the knitted belt that came with the sweater. I figured that would be the easiest part as well as give me a little bit of practice yarn to try dying with. After winding the belt into a neat little ball I set it on my little scale and was happy to see that I had just shy of 2 oz of 'brand new' yarn to play with. My adventures with dyeing will be another post though. I'll probably continue working on unraveling the rest of the sweater after my little chat with you about these WONDERFUL ETSY SHOPS!

Every Color of the Rainbow and Then Some

Today we're going to check out 5 Etsy shops that will knock your socks off with their beautifully colored yarns. Some of them would indeed make lovely socks to cover your now bare feet!


I poke my head in the Etsy chats and have seen SpinningStreak and have found that in addition to their handknit wearables they dye their own yarn! They have 35 listings alone dedicated to dyed yarns spanning from bright fun colors to sensible colors for even the more mature color pallet. I have my eye on 4 colors in particular, my favorite being Highland Fling. The deep blue and purple play well together with a splash of green and pink that make it pop.


This shop dedicated to art inspired dyelots. Grant Creek Yarns includes the artwork that inspired the colors in the photos of the yarn for sale in over half of their listings and gives a little back story on what inspired their color choice. The colors match so perfectly you'd think they used the same paints available to the original artist! Lavender Iris inspired by artwork by Carol Hoffnagle is by far the most attractive colorway in Grant Creek Yarns' shop.


Don't like the bright colors that you can see a mile away? Maybe Franknit has a color that will better suit your taste. These soft and welcoming colorways are sure to appease any pattern with their pleasant colors. Franknit's Raspberry Truffle would make an elegant top to sweater, or hat, or tank top, or scarf! The possibilities are endless and sure to produce a wonderful piece.


If color is your thing and you can't decide on one, two or three colors this is your shop! These yarns pack a punch sure to satisfy any knitters craving for color. Vintage Psychedelic Mini Dress is sure to catch everyone's eye with a blend of bright pink and blue with a splash of green any project you turn out with this yarn will be a blast to wear. And I'm sure it will be a blast to make, too!


I love how KingBecky portrays her yarn in her pictures. Wound tightly in a hank and topped upon a stick it reminds me of brightly colored candy, both lollipops and cotton candy depending on the color of the yarn. I would buy a few and display them as they are in the picture! Orange Candy brings three complementary colors together, orange, pink and yellow, to form a a yarn that will bring cheer to any knitters project any time of the year.

Yarn, Yarn Everywhere

I hope you enjoyed these shops I have shared with you today... Though I should say, 'tonight' now. Between looking through Etsy, reading information in shops, writing, and a little bit of distraction by the hubby or television, I spend a good 2 hours or so speaking with you. And that's if I do my research on shops before sitting down to to write! I get so caught up in looking through the shops and wish I could share every one that I find that has something noteworthy... Which is just about every shop out there on Etsy. (What? I can't really count the shops that are empty! They get an honorable mention.)

Please share the love and visit these shops, buy if you can and happy crafting!

1 comment:

  1. Hey There,

    Thanks for writing about Orange Candy :)

    Feel free to look around my blog - http://king-becky.blogspot.com

    KingBecky :)

    ReplyDelete