Awesome Colorways from Three Irish Girls

For those of you who have been waiting for the arrival of Three Irish Girls Premiere of Sharon's latest colors, that day has arrived...
The table is set for fall knitting and we at The Net Loft are here to help fill your knitting basket with some wonderful new yarn treasures.    Out of 34 Awesome new colors, we have selected sixteen.  Not all have arrived yet but they should be here soon.  This is first of three shipments coming from Sharon.  Today we are letting you know exactly what has arrived so far for this initial release day.

For mail orders email us at:
thenetloft@gmail.com

Include your name, address to ship, phone number
    
If you want to pay by visa, we can call you, and if you want to pay with paypal we can send paypal request to your email address

Freight charges
1-3 skeins    $3.95
4 skeins        $4.95
5 skeins or more  or $100 free shipping

International :  by weight and country exact postal fee
                             if $150 or more  free freight


So here are the colors we picked...
There are four more colors coming that we haven't received yet :  Lucky Penny, Amazonia, Mimsy and White Rabbit.
We tried to get some good photos of the skein laid out so you could get a clear view of how it dyed on each yarn base.

All yarns first come first serve by order of emails received or sold in shop. We open at noon today (Alaska time) and planning to take orders from email and our walk in customers at that time.
We are happy to  place orders for more and there is more coming in other bases soon, but know many of you are wanting an immediate fill.   We will update you on changes.  Thank you so much for supporting us as we participate in this Three Irish Girls Fall Yarn Premiere.

Prices: per 100g skein
Adorn  $22
Glenhaven Fingering  $30
Kells Sport $22
Carys BFL  $21
Glenhaven Cashmerino Worsted $30
Springvale Supermerino   $21
Springvale Bulky  $21




Cognac

Adorn    (4 skeins)

Glenhaven Fingering   (3 skeins)

Kells Sport  (4 skeins)

Carys BFL  (4 skeins)

 Glenhaven Cashmerino Worsted  (3 skeins)

Springvale Super Merino  (4 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (4 skeins)

Guiness

Adorn (3 skeins)

Glenhaven Fingering (3 skeins)

Kells Sport (4 skeins)

Springvale Supermerino (4 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (3 skeins)

Carys (4 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (4 skeins)

Kale

Adorn (5 skeins)

Glenhaven Fingering (3 skeins)

Kells Sport (4 skeins) 

Springvale Supermerino (4 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (3 skeins)

Carys (5 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (4 skeins)

Fresh Earth

Adorn (4 skeins)  

Glenhaven Fingering (2 skeins)

Kells Sport (4 skeins)

Springvale Supermerino (4 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (3 skeins)

Carys (5 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (5 skeins)

Globe Trekker

Adorn (5 skeins)  

Glenhaven Fingering (3 skeins)

Kells Sport (4 skeins) 

Springvale Supermerino (6 skeins)

Carys (5 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (5 skeins)

Cabbages and Kings

Adorn (6 skeins)  

Glenhaven Fingering (3 skeins)

Kells Sport (5 skeins)

Springvale Supermerino (6 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (4 skeins)

Carys (6 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (5 skeins)

Rainforest

Adorn (5 skeins) 

Glenhaven Fingering (2 skeins)

Kells Sport (4 skeins)

Springvale Supermerino (3 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (2 skeins)

Carys (5 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (3 skeins)

Little Black Raincloud

Adorn (4 skeins) 

Kells Sport (2 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (2 skeins)

Carys (3 skeins)

Springvale Worsted (2 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (4 skeins)

Night Cap

Adorn (6 skeins)  

Glenhaven Fingering (4 skeins)

Kells Sport (4 skeins)

Springvale Supermerino (6 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (4 skeins)

Carys (5 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (4 skeins)

Summer Magic

Adorn (4  skeins)  

Glenhaven Fingering (3 skeins)

Kells Sport (5 skeins)

Springvale Supermerino (6 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (4 skeins)

Carys (6 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (5 skeins)

Cottage Garden

Adorn (4 skeins) 

Glenhaven Fingering (3 skeins)

Kells Sport (6 skeins)

Springvale Supermerino (6 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (4 skeins)

Carys (4 skeins)

Springvale Bulky  (4 skeins)

Marmalade

Adorn (4 skeins)  

Glenhaven Fingering (3 skeins)

Glenhaven Worsted (3 skeins)

Carys (6 skeins)

ps...Our Quartet Mini Skein Sets make a great compliment for edgings, trim and colorwork accents to many of these colorways...Photos to be posted soon on those as well. Just think, a sock or wristers, hat, sweater with a sweet edging trim in an alternate color.  Skein sets are great to have on hand for that little bit of accent color to set off your project.   Picture below is Cordova Blues (Blueberries) in a couple different bases... just a thought...

Enjoy!!!!

Happy Fall Knitting

Net Loft Dotty

Skeins in the Stacks

Blessed

in just a single word

Blessed

In the midst of the many things that don’t go right, I am in constant and active remembrance of an overwhelming  appreciation for all the things that do.

This summer they came like ocean waves.

swells after swells of them

Why yes, there was the retreat of them, but all I choose to see, feel and remember is the soft and gentle seafoam of those moments  that wrapped around my ankles and swept me  up.

I realized at one point that I had to start writing them down.  There  were just so many of them…these waves of gratitude for these exceptionally priceless moments that were there for a fleeting moment and then gone in the same way that a wave on the beach is there one brief moment and then  not the next.

Last week it was found in the moments preparing and creating these little felted mushrooms for our celebration of the local fungus festival.  I am such a pushover…give me a handful of  colorful wool,  some soapy water, fresh gathered green moss, sweet little alder cones, with a friend by my side, and I am in heaven.   I was thinking of this one thing.  It is the power of multiplication in handcrafts, and how it is actually an exponential process, for the passing of a new creative idea multiplies itself in unforeseen ways.  One idea always seems to expand itself into many more, above and beyond what I initially introduce. We ended up with a wonderful array of beautiful mushrooms under glass and globe.  I don’t know what it is about a bright red cap and a little white stalk that gets  to me, but it just does, and I was delighted to see purple ones and multicolor shaded ones appear and come to life in this amazing way when surrounded by fresh moss and miniature woodland gatherings.   A wave upon the shore.

Two nights ago ,  Anna Hernandez, our local librarian came by the shop.  Her arms were full of a heavy load; large bags overflowing with skeins of  beautiful hand dyed yarns.  We were to put together her new yarn launch, and so together, we visited and shared an evening filled with thoughts and ideas, as we prepared the upstairs Net Loft tables for the unveiling. 

As I scurried about, under my breath, I thought to myself,  “THIS moment… is one of those moments, don’t miss it”.  And so, paying close attention, I tried to keep my eyes wide open to all that was going on around me.

Anna’s new yarns are lovely, just like her, full of beauty and grace, both  sweet and thoughtful.

Read here and you will understand better the concept of  “Skeins in the Stacks”  and Anna’s first release.

True to her librarian roots, the yarns are organized in a Dewey Decimal sort of way,   100 being the finest laceweight, 200  Fingering,  300 Sportweight,  400 DK..etc.  Each weight is named after an author such as “Potter”,  which is a luxurious laceweight cloud-like angora with over 437 yards per 50 grams.  

The first release has two components.  The natural dyed component,  “First Frost Cranberries” is dyed with hand gathered low bush cranberries, gathered by Anna and her mother.   It has shades of soft ballerina pink,  that vary into a soft  pale magenta.  Natural dyed yarns have an essence unique to them alone.  The soft undertones of this plant dyed collection causes one to simply say, “Ahh..”   It has immersed within its fibers, walks in the woods on fall days with buckets filled with natures gems, ripe bright red cranberries.  These yarns have a few that are not part of her regular yarns including a fine 4 ply Corriedale, 50/50 Mohair Wool DK, and a 12ply Heavy Worsted Corriedale.  All yarns with great wearability.  They may not be as soft, but they are good wearing wools and make for articles that need that wearability factor.  Good old fashioned wool.  Some are on angora lace, and a few are on the Organic Dk.

"First Frost Cranberries"

The other component is a collection of conventionally dyed yarns that follow the book theme of the story of Peter Rabbit.  Named after different elements of the storybook,  Anna stays true to her librarian roots with displays that are a reflection of that aspect of her life using the old familiar card catalog trays for displaying her creations. 

Her colors are:

 "The Little Jacket and the Shoes"

"Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail" 

"Camomile"   (we think this would make a lovely tea cozy)

 

The bases she uses for these are the following, which are all Anna’s invention:

Laceweight Yarns – “Potter”

   Long Staple Angora

   437 yards  50 g

Like a cloud.  If the fog could kiss you, this would be what it would be like. Ultimate luxury. Perfect for a fine lace scarf or cowl.  The bunny yarn.

Fingering Weight Yarns – “Herriot”

Superwash BFL 75%, Nylon 25%

   464 yards  100 g

Rarity, warm and durable Superwash Blue Faced Leicester is great for sweaters, socks, and wristers. Picture James Herriot pulling on his handknit socks from this yarn as he goes out on a late night winter call.

DK Weight Yarns – “Thoreau”

Ultrafine Organic Merino Wool

   246 yards  100 g

Ultrasoft, high quality organic yarn, as Thoreau would have appreciated. Very good stitch definition. Great for babywear and children’s clothing, men or women’s accessories such as  hats, mittens or wristers.

Worsted Weight Yarns – “Austen”

Merino Worsted Superwash

   218 yards  100 g

If Jane could have had a superwash wool,she would have chosen this yarn to knit herself a cozy shawl. 4 ply with great stitch detail, perfect for cable stitch patterns. Would make a beautiful sweater.

And so, we had a lovely party yesterday afternoon, complete with Anna’s delicious home baked carrot cake with yummy frosting decked with fresh juicy blackberries in true Beatrix Potter fashion.  We gathered around, oogled over her yarns, hand made dolls and knitted kitty cats, made lavender sachets with Anna’s trial skeins, drank chamomile tea and Net Loft punch and left the world beyond the doors of the classroom behind.

 I have recently begun to refer to this space as “La La Land”, where, for that moment I walk through the doorway, there is nothing left behind the doors that open into our classroom loft.  Paperwork, boxes of unpriced freight, piles of unfinished and unresolved merchandise issues and unopened mail, conveniently  disappear when you pass through the gateway to “Lala Land”.  And these past two weekends were a pleasant journey to this special place, where the waves lap up and wrap themselves around your ankles, and the pleasant sensation of the moments that make up these special times amongst the company of friends and fiber prevail. 

We are excited to be the launching site for Anna’s new yarns and hope you get the opportunity to swing by and take a peek and soak up her Peter Rabbit inspired collection.  For any of you whose childhood or parenthood included repetive readings of this familiar tale, it will conjure up memories of this sweet bunny and Beatrix Potter’s engaging watercolor drawings that often say as much as the words themselves.  We look forward with anticipation to Anna’s future releases and wonder… which book will she choose next? 

We hope you will join us, even if it be via the internet as we journey into that place where handcrafts and friendship intersect, and that you are able to sense and savor the waves of special moments in your own daily life that lap around your very own ankles, even if they be for brief moments as they retreat to the sea.

Blessed

Truly blessed.

as always,

Happy Handcrafts

yours truly

net loft dotty

next week...the premiere of Sharon from Three Irish Girls Fall Collection..

Yarnista Fall Premiere

All this wonderful yarn!

Knitting and Crochet Season is upon us.

Come see next week our cozy up and knit for fall table

the wools are waiting for you...

From Birds to Black Bears and Blueberries.

What a leap of time!   I must say..  SO sorry four months have passed since my last post.  There is a lot of Net Loft living packed into those months.
I was running so hard that I  hardly had time to catch my breath.  Summertime is always so fast and furious for me.  The light grows rapidly--- the light leaves in a fury. But as I stop a moment and think about these days of summer, each one is marked with a special memory.
  

In between the Shorebirds and the Blueberries came fields of lupines after slow melting snow.  I remember  a sunny day of kayaking and a scenic hike the day after, as part of a delightful natural history illustration workshop that pulled me away from my busy Net Loft  piles.

 I have fond remembrances of  our summer's Children's Handcraft Tuesdays, with kind friendly souls arriving each week where we made everything from hand sewn felt birds to silk ribbon roses as well as hand painted salmon garlands and summertime storybooks, old favorites for new smiling faces.

I was able to take Terri Stavig's fantastic knitting class in Designing Your Own Nordic Sweater.  I used some of the Three Irish Girls quartets and learned so many little helpful details and totally enjoyed being the student and sitting back and being taught.

This was true also for Sue Shellhorn's scrapbook class where I played student as well.  Both of these teachers are naturally gifted and have a way of helping you be successful with your projects, and so it was great to be in the learning position.   I am close to finishing my sweater AND my scrapbook, which is good news for me, considering my summertime busy schedule.   

Looking back, we had some great teachers and classes this summer.
           Michelle Dockins taught some great  jewelry and felting classes.  We are carrying the VINTAJ line of supplies and it has great components along with a machine that impresses brass and copper to make unique and creative  vintage jewelry pieces.

        Jessyka Dart-Mclean was able to  teach a 4 shaft weaving class and  I  just loved seeing everyone at their looms as well as seeing their finished projects.

Val Covel taught a group of new sock knitters.

               Gail Nowicki's weaving classes continued to introduce Rigid Heddle Weaving to students with her boucle scarf and cotton tablerunner classes, as she has done for the past several years.

          It was great seeing new knitters and weavers come to life.  This is really one of my most favorite things.  Seeing someone take on something new, seeing what everyone makes, and watching projects grow from a thought or idea or inkling into something they walk in the store wearing, something they can use in their home, or before being wrapped up as a gift to give away.  This really  makes me happy.

And then, there was the freight,  yes the freight,  as always, boxes and boxes of freight... packages filled with colorful fibers, new tablecloths, spinning wheels, Meyer Lemon syrup, canning jars from Italy...more yarns, more jewelry, and of course, more chocolate, including my new favorite,  a coarse stone ground organic chocolate from back east. 

And because it is so fast and furious one has to not hesitate to not miss the many opportunities to appreciate all the glories of summer.  

Fireweed in full bloom

A trip in a float plane out to the boat to see and be with family

 and to simply catch that exciting view of salmon boiling in the net.

And so,  fall is upon us,  school has begun, I have already returned from a very nice trip of dropping off my youngest son to college and this current rain ought to be getting those mushrooms happy enough to pop out of the ground just in time for me to scurry through the woods in my Cortinarius collecting mode, filling my hands and whatever vessel I have on hand with those lovely cinnamon treasures that bring that delightful orange into my life and yarn and fiber... We will be making felted mushrooms and mushroom garlands next weekend to celebrate.

It is the gathering time here, the fishing season is winding down and home packs are taking place.

Daughter Nelly is off picking blueberries and making jam, and we are in the midst of packing up our winter's supply of silver salmon to keep us well fed.  I love the new Three Irish Girls yarns, Black Bears and Blueberries, that reflect this collecting time outdoors in this wild land where bears still roam and share in  the season's bounty.

(from "Blueberries for Sal"  by Robert McClosky)

And so, this cycle from barren empty spaces after endless snows to lush green fields.and then to fireweed at it's peak, has been almost completed.  The seeds go out and the fall sets in.  The cool rains arrive  and another summer has passed.   The fish head up the streams, the eggs are laid, and what is done is done, and what will come will come from that which has been done.   The days have been cool and stormy and all I want to do is hunker down (as my friend Christa would say) and just put my mind's swirling ideas into action with needles, floss, yarn, paper...any and all of it.   Just have to plough through a little more of  that freight.  It is those dear boxes in the shop hallway that stand as an intimidating wall between me and my needles.  I love the stuff inside, it is just the transition from box in the the hallway to shelf that slows me down.  I am determined however to conquer them and then I have lots of plans and dreams and ideas.  They help me through these great transitions of growing children and heartfelt losses.  They take my mind and my energy to a positive and  constructive place.   They bring me close to friends  and the simple sharing of something sweet and beautiful in the midst of trying times.   They help my aging mind stay active, these simple, and sometimes not so simple, little projects...

So,  here's to the autumn days ahead.  We are here for you to learn something to new, to gather with friends and to just be a place you can come to on a grey day.

This fall some of our classes include  some great papercrafting classes with Misty Olsen,  hopefully  a joint class with the Cordova's Quilters Hideout in wool applique, and as always our handcrafter's nights out on Monday and Wednesday nights.  Becca will be starting a cowl knitalong soon for her Wednesday knitting at noon time.   There are lots of wonderful projects just waiting to be started and now is the time, especially for holiday gift making, to plan and proceed. We are here to help...

Happy Autumn Crafting Days 

with love,

Net Loft Dotty


ps. Sorry I was gone so long.

I will try to be better about posting again.  Had some technical difficulties, but had some help from Eddie Olsen resolving them, which was great, so a big thank you to him and  I am now officially back in business with The Net Loft blog.