socks, stairs and dog love

 Right, so there were lots of other things that started with an 'S' this weekend. Namely SNOW. Lots and lots and lots of beautiful snow. However, it seems that I only took photos of the dogs, so I chose to leave the snow bit out of my collection of 'S' words in the title. Sorry, I do become distracted by the dogs at times...

 

Leading up to Christmas, I was in a sock knitting frenzy. Happily knitting sock after sock whilst working on my favourite socks pattern and dyeing up colours for sock kits. At the end of it all, both my parents benefited from a new pair of socks, and I just got round to photographing them this weekend. Above are my dad's in a Bronte and Mustard Seed combo that I'm quite liking.

And below, if you can see past the dog, are my mum's. These were the inspiration for the Sea Storm/Ghost/Dew Drop colour combination in the kits...and that's just what they are!

After a few minutes of pushing dogs out of the way, I just gave up and clicked away hoping to get a shot of 2 socks in focus...I think there's at least one in there...

There are so many delightful distractions outside the window in Mooresburg; wind, leaves, falling snow, any movement or noise at all...

...and so, the dogs danced around in between the socks and the camera enjoying the little bits of snow falling from the sky.

Oh, here's one of the socks!

legs...

tails...

behinds...

it's all cute really, so I'm not going to complain. Silly dogs. 

So I did manage to get a few decent sock pictures, but I think I like the dog-filled pictures better anyway...

The sock KAL is still going on in the Ravelry group until the end of March, still lots of time to join in! It has been so much fun to see Viola socks popping up, and some really lovely versions of the Favourite Sock pattern as well!

Like these, knit by the lovely traceyrr. She kindly test knit the pattern for me and made these beautiful socks in the process! Tracey's colour combo is Dew Drop (main) with Titus contrast. Thanks Tracey!

I have a pretty great prize in mind for this sock KAL as well, and I'll be dyeing that up this week so that I can share it with you soon. Stay tuned!

As for the second 'S' in the title of today's post, hooray, stairs are in place! my little dye studio now has access directly into the proper house - such a useful thing when there's 4 feet of snow outside the door!

And this seems to be the best photo I managed to take of the stairs over the weekend. I must have been really distracted by the cute dogs. Happily, I also discovered a new vantage of the studio space. It's looking pretty good!

If the weather had been on my side, last weekend would have seen running water in the shed as well. As it was, the brave plumber was rushing about Grey County fixing flooded basements and frozen pipes all over the place. I'll just have to content with my stairs for the moment.

January Sky

January is almost gone (already!) It went by in a flash for me, likely because there were so many big and exciting things going on...shed building, fabric printing, sticker painting, yarn dyeing, mini skein making, pattern writing and book printing and...you get the idea. I worked like a maniac on Kickstarter rewards, and had a blast doing it! Amongst those rewards is the first ever Viola yarn club.

I am really excited about this club- it's very close to my heart. Members will receive 4 lots of yarn throughout 2016. Each package will contain 3 skeins of Mooresburg DK in a completely exclusive club colourway! Each of the four colourways will be inspired by the season in Mooresburg. The first installment was sent out just this week, a few of those packages may have even reached their new homes by now!

I've called this colourway January Sky, and I'm sure you've figured out why. When I returned to Canada last winter, my first memories of Mooresburg and Canada were silvery blue skies, full of snow and ice and wind and beautiful clouds. I love winter sunrises, when the night's frost sparkles in a hint of warm low light. Golden, pink and peach fading into mauve. Mooresburg has great big skies and amazing sunrises!

And so I set about putting all of those colours onto some yarn. There are tiny mauve and golden hints on a greyed out icy blue colour. January Sky is very subtle and soft, but just like a grey winter sky, is full of colour upon closer inspection. Hope all the club members out there enjoy it!

Next up will be Spring. I have a few ideas, but have to wait for the season to arrive before I will know what comes next. I'm having loads of fun with this club, what took me so long to get round to this?!

HAPPY 2016!!!

After a lovely holiday in Mooresburg, I've spent the past couple of days settling back into Toronto and work and the recent cold spell we're experiencing. My holiday time in Mooresburg seemed to happen in slow motion, and my return to reality has been even more jarring as a result. It's taken me the past 2 days to jump back in, but I'm here now!

My long and luxurious break provided lots of opportunity for exploring (yay!) and knitting (the best!)

 All the pairs of my Favourite Socks are finished. Ends woven in, photographed and ready to be given to their various recipients (not one single pair is for me this time, which feels pretty good I must say). If you can believe it, I still love knitting these socks. I've even got the yarn all ready for my next pair!

 

There was, unavoidable, a lag in studio productivity over Christmas and the New Year, but it was not completely without progress. The insulation is in, the insulation is in!!! Wahoo! I KNOW that if you had tried to talk to me about spray foam insulation a year ago I would have glazed over and thought about mermaids instead. All that has changed now. It's so cozy, so toasty and (my favourite bit) so PINK! I'm going to be sad to cover up that lovely colour...

As the weather in Mooresburg turned quite blustery and cold, my little shed remained warm and comfy even without the heat connected! I have my eye on a teeny little woodburner that should be just the right thing to heat this space. 

Next week a few local Amish carpenters are putting up these lovely wall boards. Can't wait!

Happily, I was able to explore a couple of new (to me) trails that are very close to the store. Both run through abandoned farms, sugar shacks and fields and are now protected land. Miles of beautiful stone walls, the remains of tiny cottages and old forest seemed to be everywhere.

 

I could go on with the pictures...forever...but I will stop there. It was so nice to take the time for long walks, fresh air and beautiful scenery. Back in Toronto, I'm jumping back into work feeling reinvigorated and ready to face the long to do list that is 2016. 

Happy New year to all!!

a hearty thank you!

Yesterday was a big day indeed, the Kickstarter campaign that I've been going on and on and on about has finished, and what a huge success it was! Thanks to everyone who contributed and shared it with their friends, my funding goal was surpassed...and then some. As I've mentioned in the latest Kickstarter update, I'm still totally in shock over the generous support people have shown. Holy cow!
But it's time to get into action. I cannot wait to iron out all the little details that remain to be sorted. The extra Kickstarter funds will allow me to get my long list of things to buy and jobs to do scratched off much more quickly too...which means settling into the new space sooner than expected! That's pretty much the best news I can think of.

 

I spent a most luxurious weekend painting, knitting and drawing in an effort to give myself a little break. I also managed to accomplish rather a lot work-wise (sharing more info soon!) I've been working at such a break-neck pace recently, that the creative time was much needed. Now, I'm ready to jump back into the action! All backers, you will be hearing from me soon regarding your rewards. Everyone can still follow along with progress on this project just by clicking over to the Kickstarter page.

 

 Stay tuned...

SNOW in Mooresburg

It's been a week since the launch of Viola meets Mooresburg, and what a week it has been! The number of people who have supported the campaign, and each person's generosity, has been staggering! I think I was a bit delirious...

I cannot say enough 'THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU' !!!!! So thanks a bunch!

My delirium is slowly winding down now, and I've just spent a lovely weekend up at the store working out the best ways to use the unexpected donations, and the first step was simple...insulation!

As Mooresburg and all of Gray Bruce was dumped on by our first big snowfall of the year, winter boots and down coats appeared in every Tim Hortons (non-Canadians, Tim Hortons is a cultural institution in here...you can google it, but you might not get what the big deal is) it became very clear that winter was officially here. With it...COLD. The cold weather is here to stay, and my little shed still has cracks in the walls and doors that I can see through. Not for long!

 When planning this project, we considered a couple of options; the normal, pink stuff...I always loved it just because it's pink. Certainly the most affordable option, but quite time consuming to fit into all the uneven nooks and crannies of my space. The other option was spray foam, certainly more costly but better R value (look at me using the lingo!) way faster, more efficient and critter deterrent! 

The choice is easy now - spray foam all the way! The studio space will retain hear more efficiently (and the reverse in the hot summer, of course). The job of insulating will be completed in just one day, no time to waste with the cold closing in around us. AND, spray foam is apparently like building a fortress against critter invasion! This aspect was very appealing to me, being in such a rural spot I'll take all the help I can get. There are lots mice and bugs up there, but they're not getting into my yarn!

So that's the latest studio news...

back in Toronto, I'm gearing up for a busy week of dyeing, knitting, pattern writing and organizing Kickstarter rewards. The Favourite Sock pattern is coming along very well, and seems to have given me the excuse to cast on even more and more and more socks. Not such a bad thing!

I will leave you with this lovely pile of natural Mooresburg DK, ready to get coloured in this week. I'm so excited to get working on these rewards!

little update!

As the launch day for Viola's Kickstarter campaign draws nearer, I've been busily ironing out little details, proofreading a million times over and revisiting my many lists. It's all so exciting!

The campaign is set to launch on Monday, the 16th of November @ 12pm EST

I'll share a link to the project page as soon as it goes live, so it's all easy to find.

For now, here's a little update on rewards...

I've doodled and drawn my way through several pencils since the beginning of Kickstarter planning, and I'm really excited about some of the artwork and goodies that are going to be offered. Many are still in production, so the goods aren't in my hands just yet. But be sure that I'll be sharing the news as soon as products land, and sharing the stuff too!

Casting on ANOTHER pair of socks this weekend to hammer out pattern details for the Favourite Socks pattern and kit that is going to be available through Kickstarter. Is there anything better than mixing and matching colours? I can't think of anything... 

Don't forget to check out the latest KAL over in the Viola Ravelry group. We're all knitting socks this time round, any sock goes. Pretty good timing I think, considering that there are loads of sock-y rewards headed your way through Kickstarter! Any sock goes, any pattern you can think of any any Viola yarn you want to use. Looking forward to seeing everyone's plans!

Here's a first glimpse of the Mooresburg colourway, designed just for Kickstarter backers! Completely inspired by a year of watching the seasons change in Mooresburg, it makes me think of the forest, river, pond, fields of crop and big stormy skies that I've grown to love so much. I can't wait to cast on with this. Hope you love it too!

It's dyed here on Mooresburg DK, but will also be available dyed on sock yarn...back to socks again, I can't help myself!

 

This is the seriously cool Jane Smart. Mastermind behind the kickstarter video! Thanks Jane!!!

Keep checking into the Kickstarter thread on Ravelry for project and reward updates.

Mooresburg DK. This is serious.

Hey everyone! So I sneaked a little teaser onto Ravelry last night, but for anyone who didn't catch it...there's a new yarn in Viola land!

This yarn is really special. It's exclusive to Viola, it's grown and spun right here in Ontario Canada, it's brand new for Kickstarter backers and it is soft, light, rustic and wooly. So I'm chuffed. You heard me right, it's an all Canadian, hand dyed sweater yarn! Whoa. 

The lovely Mooresburg DK is a light double knit weigt, 2 ply yarn. It's spun from the fleece of a Cotswold/Dorset cross sheep that live very close to me in Grey County (how exciting is this?!) It get's even better still, because this beautiful fibre is spun by the seriously lovely folks at Wellington Fibres. They're so close to me too, I really feel like I'm winning the day today!

So, I have some pretty big plans for Mooresburg DK. I've been swatching already for a jumper that I'm going to start on soon (more top secret...man, I feel like I'm some kind of knitting spy with all my secrets these days). I can say that my jumper is going to be knit in Giant Peach, which is one of my new favourites...and the reason for all the pictures of Giant Peach coloured yarn at the moment. 

Mooresburg DK will make it's debut in my upcoming Kickstarter Campaign (launching this Monday, the 16th!) It will be available in a selection of favourite Viola colourways, and some new special options too!

I've been dyeing quite a bit of Mooresburg DK these days. The red above is Black Lodge and has traveled across the sea to my fellow Canadian abroad, Natalie (Leeleetea) who is working on a pattern for the Kickstarter campaign. The pattern is going to be a hat and mittens combo knit in Black Lodge, Mooresburg DK. I can't wait to see what she comes up with! 

Black Lodge seemed to me to be the perfect colour for Mooresburg, and Kickstarter. It's the deep rich red that can be found around Grey County throughout the autumn and winter time, from dogwood and berries to the red roof of my new studio. This red just makes sense. 

Mooresburg DK will be available to Kickstarter backers before anyone else, and there are lots of colour options for available too! It's your chance to preview this seriously amazing yarn before anyone else. Hope that you love it as much as I do!