Increasing inventory

When I finally muster enough courage and make the decision to try and sell some of my handpainted yarns, I should have plenty in stock, that’s for sure! One day last week, I handpainted three skeins all at once, in the same method and in the same colorway. I know that’s really not much, but it is the most I’ve tackled at one time so far. Just taking baby steps…

This is SoftSock, a very soft 75% superwash wool/25% nylon blend in fingering weight, and it’s reminiscent of Brown Sheep’s Wildfoote. At first I thought I would name the colorway Larkspur, but I’m not so sure I like that. Anyone have any ideas? What do the colors remind you of? I would love to get some input!

Hopefully, when our homeschooling starts again at the end of this month, I’ll be able to continue dyeing yarn a few days a week, but if not, I’ll just have to make up for it on the weekend. My days are going to be really structured here soon, and I’m going to have to fit in my new craft or I’ll die! (LOL — pun intended!)

Today I tried a couple of new methods for dyeing my yarn, and I’m both surprised and pleased with the results. This time I used Wilton’s Icing Colors, and using the same mix of the same colors, I got two completely different results with these different methods. Both skeins of wool turned out wonderfully and I should have more pictures of them up for you soon, but for now, here’s one of them (at right) twisted into a skein after drying on the line in the day’s 101-degree heat.

Elsewise, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on in Furryland, unless you consider the endless numbers of interesting critters we keep encountering on a regular basis. For instance, just a couple days ago, we happened upon our little friend again… the one we met back in May, only this time he was a little longer and a little more plump. (Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them.) In the image on the right, you can see that our friend has just had a nice meal. Hopefully it wasn’t a bird.

Earlier the same day, I was out in the yard walking around when something caught my eye. There was this bright red thing running around erratically on the ground, and it didn’t look like it had a purpose at all although I’m sure it did. I tried to chase it down and take some pictures of it crawling around on the ground, but this little guy (gal!) was too quick so I caught it in my son’s bug jar. We’ve been seeing them all around the neighborhood, and they’re out and about with the purpose of reproduction.

The common names for this insect includes Cow Killer and Red Velvet Ant, but did you know that this isn’t an ant at all? Nope, it’s not — it’s a wasp. And they don’t really kill cows! Here’s a link from the University of Nebraska so you can read all about them. That is, if you’re interested. Personally, I’m completely fascinated by bugs and snakes and critters of all kinds, but I think that’s enough creepiness for one post.

This last shot was taken at Seacrets in Ocean City, Maryland, just a couple weeks ago. My sister and I went there to celebrate her birthday, and while we were having dinner at a table in the sand, this little family of Mallard ducks was waddling around the tables. People started to toss food to them, and the ducklings were eating whatever they threw down… popcorn, french fries, bits of bread and God knows what else. Probably not healthy for them, but it was a nice surprise to see them, and they didn’t stick around too long before Mama duck led them in single file across the ripples of the Isle of Wight bay.