Chalk it up to experience

Busy, busy, busy and now it's October!

So I started off with good intentions when I began this blog and here I am three months later clearly residing in the slacker department. Slacking with good reason though.

Neptune's Jewel

This month Hansen Hand Dyes (aka Me) is sponsoring the monthly KaL in the Solid Socks group on Ravelry. Every month Solid Socks has a specific color or theme in which socks must be knit to qualify for prizes. I was able to choose which color I wanted to sponsor and I decided to do blue. I've never been a blue person so I wanted to challenge myself in my dyeing. It has been a great learning experience for me and I am coming away with a new appreciation for the color. I'm particularly fond of darker blues with green overtones.

Thanks to the Solid Socks group I've been busier than a one armed wallpaper hanger. Their support has been overwhelming and I'm very thankful for that.

First one there!

In addition to dyeing up a storm for Solid Socks I participated in my first ever craft show as a vendor. It was a fall festival with kids activities, food, hayrack rides, etc. Honestly I wasn't expecting much so I knit up some pair of fingerless mitts and put out some hand knit socks I hadn't gifted or worn to feel out the water. Well, the water won't handle $50 socks but I did sell four pairs of fingerless mitts and one skein of yarn. I know that this wasn't the best place to showcase my wares but I've got a little experience under my belt which was well worth the price of admission.


And since my last post we have adopted a new cat. I couldn't not have a furball around the house. This is Mellie. We got her from the Humane Society where she had been adopted out twice and returned twice; a very sad situation for a seven year old cat who lost her original human. We're pleased to have her be a part of our family.

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The Longest Week

Last week was possibly the longest and most emotionally stressful week I've ever had. My husband and I lost our 17 year old Maine Coon Thomas. He had been winding down all week. Usually a very social cat, he withdrew a little and lost interest in eating. We decided to let him expire in peace at home in the comfort of his own surroundings. That all changed on Thursday afternoon when his condition deteriorated rapidly. I suspect he only had a few hours left but we couldn't let his last hours be uncomfortable or painful so we took him to the vet to be euthanized. We stayed with him while the injection was administered and petted him and talked to him until he left us. That was really hard to watch but I hope it provided comfort to Thomas in his last moments in an unfamiliar place. We brought him home and buried him in the back yard. My husband made a beautiful memorial garden of his burial site.
I've had pets all my life and Thomas was hands down the most remarkable, superb pet I've ever had. He was everywhere I was; he followed me around like puppy. I even set up a chair next to me for him in my office so he could "work" with me. He'd come get me some mornings before I was ready to work. Crazy cat! He is greatly missed and while I suspect the pain will subside over time my memories of him will never fade. I hear his voice in the corners of my house and see him everywhere I look.

In memory of Thomas I present my new colorway...Ghost Meow.

Old dog, new tricks

So, it's true. You can teach an old dog new tricks; it takes some time but it can be done. I figured out how to make wrap around labels for my yarn skeins. Sounds trivial I'm sure but I'm pretty excited about it. I think it looks a little more polished. While the computer isn't a new thing for me you should know that I did make it through all four years of my college career using a Smith Corona. Some of you probably don't even know what a Smith Corona is. Computers were around they just weren't as prevalent as they are today. Anyhow, without further ado I present my "new" label.

Don't ask me why it took six months to figure this out but I'm pretty happy with the result. No more dangling tags that will bend and tear when I label the yarn and store it.

And here's a comparison shot. With the wrap around label I am able to use a larger logo...always important to be able to identify the product, right? I'm also still using the little hand cut out. It is just to the side of yarn info and shows the color of the skein peeking through, I like it. Until I become a graphic artist and can figure out how to superimpose a hand graphic on the label it'll have to work. I'm guessing it's here to stay.

In addition to my time on the computer working on labels I managed to steal a few hours in the yarn cave and produced some new colors. I'm excited about that. There is something about all of that naked yarn just sitting in front of you waiting to be colored. I've currently got a sale going until June 30th in my shop and will load the new colors when I return from visiting family in mid-July. Until then here's a peak at some new color.

Welcome to the blog world I guess...

This is a first for me, a blog. I've been tossing around the thought of starting one for some time now and here I am. I remember first hearing about them several years ago and thinking what a novel idea that was. Throwing your thoughts and ideas out there for everyone to see. You won't encounter any lunatic ravings here political or otherwise, unless something goes horribly wrong (read: Zombie Apocalypse). I'll be posting primarily about knitting and dyeing yarn: my most loved hobbies. For me they encompass many things; they are creative, meditative, exciting, and just plain fun.

So for my inaugural post I'd like to show off a skein of yarn I dyed a couple of months ago. I call it 1976. If you were alive then you understand. Well, maybe you didn't have my wardrobe and don't understand. Never the less, here is the yarn.

I probably should mention that I have an Etsy shop, Hansen Hand Dyes, where I sell the yarn I dye. This is a skein about which I've received numerous compliments yet no one seems to want to buy it. So today I decided to reskein the yarn in an effort to show what it might look like when knit. Here it is. 

What do you think? I think it looks pretty bitchin' reskeined. Makes me almost not want to sell it now.